Giveaway at 2 Preppy Girls

Thanks to Sweet Southern Prep for sharing this! 2 Preppy Girls is giving away a PSA Essentials personalized stamp, 1 Peel & Stick pack, 1 ink,  and 1 alignment tool. YAY!!!

Go to 2 Preppy Girls for directions on how to enter. The deadline to enter is midnight tonight :)

China Patterns

Registering for our china pattern with Peter was one of the highlights of our engagement for me (probably not for him - although he did have some definite opinions on our china options - I was surprised and impressed!). We registered for everyday china, formal china, and crystal stemware. We inherited a set of silverplate flatware from Peter's grandmother (Lovely Lady - 1937 - by Holmes and Edwards) which is special to us, and we decided since we have that silver and very limited storage in our small 1-bedroom apartment, we would hold off on registering for sterling silver flatware. You can bet that I already have my pattern picked out, though :)

Strasbourg by Gorham



Christmas, my birthday, Valentine's Day, etc. will be excellent opportunities to be gifted with pieces of this lovely pattern!

Our crystal pattern is:

Stephanie Platinum by Mikasa

Our formal china pattern is:

 Parchment by Mikasa

Our everyday china is from Target, and the pattern has been discontinued since our wedding. We decided against registering for nicer everyday china since we knew we were going to move at least twice before we bought a house and china breaks easily. Now I'm kind of regretting that decision since the china is not good quality at all and started chipping badly about two weeks after we started using it. I like the colorful pattern (it has roosters on it!), but now I would also like a solid white china pattern that is better quality.

I've checked Williams Sonoma, Macy's, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Neiman Marcus, Sur la Table, and Gift & Art in Memphis and here are the possible upgrades:

Berry & Thread by Juliska (my favorite but a bit pricey for us right now, I'm afraid)

 Estate by Neiman Marcus (looks similar to Juliska china but at a fraction of the price)

Wickford by Kate Spade (love the rope detailing on the edges!)

Emma by Pottery Barn (a bit on the simple side but you can monogrammed mugs to go with it)

Hmmm ... decisions, decisions! While I was searching for white china, I came across the cutest yellow china from Neiman Marcus. Since my name "Melissa" means "honeybee," I'm partial to anything with bees on it.

Isn't the teapot darling? Love it :) I'm not sure how I feel about having this as our everyday china, but I would at least like to have the teapot and mugs for tea in the afternoon.

(images from Beverly Bremer Silver Shop, Neiman Marcus, Macy's and Pottery Barn)