Weddingbee

We have just completed Week Two of married life, and it sure is blissful! I love knowing that we are a Team for LIFE!!

Anywhoo, our major task over last weekend was tackling our wedding presents. Strangely enough, our guests bought the majority of the “miscellaneous” items off our registry such as vases, crystal, candle holders, etc., instead of the “practical” items such as our dishes, pots and pans, knives, bedding, etc. As much as we appreciated their generosity and wanted to keep all the fun and pretty stuff, we decided to return some of those items in exchange for the necessities. I really don’t want to sound ungrateful, ‘cuz that’s not it at all, but we were really trying to be practical.

First of all, here are 2 important things we found out about our Crate & Barrel and Macy’s registries:

Crate & Barrel - you only have TWO chances to redeem your 10% off completion coupon, (once in-store and once online) within 3 months post-wedding. Also, if there are any additional items that you want to get the discount on, you have to actually add them onto your registry (even if your wedding has passed).

Macy’s - You get a 10% off coupon that is valid EVERY DAY for 3 months after your wedding, on ANY home-related items, whether or not it is on your registry. Wowza, I was really surprised to hear that!

We ended up spending about an hour in the cookware department with one of the registry consultants. A while back, I really mulled over the All Clad versus Calphalon debate. Initially, we had this 7-piece All Clad set on our registry, but I still felt a bit guilty cuz it’s such a costly brand.

It includes the following pieces for $419:
- 10 inch fry pan
- 2 quart sauce pan w/lid
- 3 quart saute pan w/lid
- 6 quart stock pot w/lid

But last weekend we walked out of Macy’s with ALL THIS for about $389:

Calphalon Tri-ply 13-piece set including:
- 8-inch omelette pan
- 10-inch omelette pan
- 1.5 quart sauce pan w/lid
- 2.5 quart sauce pan w/lid
- 4.5 quart sauce pan w/lid
- 3 quart saute pan w/lid
- 6 quart stock pot w/lid
- 6 quart pasta insert
- BONUS - 9-inch Calphalon One open skillet
- BONUS - 10-quart Calphalon One dutch oven

The two bonus offers are available if you spend over $400 on Calphalon products. However, since we had the 10% off completion coupon, the set would only cost us $360, so we were ready to purchase something else in order to make up that $40 difference. But the lady at the counter said that we didn’t have to, the value of the set itself qualified for the offer (even though it was technically $399.99, and the bonus was valid for purchases over $400…). I thought they would call us out on that technicality, but YAY!

We happily walked out with 16 pieces of cookware, and immediately made jambalaya for dinner!! My only dismay was that after cooking and washing, the stainless steel had a rainbow-like cast on it, which I’ve heard is normal and easily removed with some Bar Keepers Friend cleaner. Must get me some of dat ASAP!

As much as I initially wanted the All Clad for its excellent name and reputation, we decided that 1) we are by no means master chefs 2) we probably wouldn’t know the difference and 3) the extra money could be better spent elsewhere. I really think this set will last us the next 20 years (*knock on wood*).

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