Hello adulthood...

There are certain rights of passage of true adulthood. And I don't mean the legal definition of adulthood but rather a point in your life when you have fully accepted that your youth is behind you and you're getting old with a full embrace of those things that come with that status. Some of those things happened for me a long time ago - home ownership, wearing sunscreen, going to sleep at a decent hour, etc.. But one of these marks of adulthood have been put off for too long. Well, no more! I have served my last glass of wine out of a juice glass. Its time for some proper drinkware.

Ok, so its not Baccarat. I ordered 12 of these from Target. (shh- don't tell anyone) Classic cut crystal style without being too overboard with flowers and butterflies at just the right price.


The seed of this purchase got started after my 2 year long lust for beautiul antique silver sets has been quieted by my practical side. Real silverware is just beautiful to look at and can't be matched by plain ol' stainless. Unfortuntely, real silver needs to be polished and who am I kidding? Thankfully real crystal only needs an occasional rinse with water to stay looking good.

I hope I won't be disappointing anyone to share that I don't own matching set of dishes (formal or otherwise) to go with the pretty glasses. My white plates from Kmart will have to suffice until I find a set Im really in love with. But frankly, the plain white plates seem to be serving just fine and Ive yet to have a guest turn the plate over to see who makes it. So I suppose Ill be leaving that mark of proper adulthood for another time. :)

What mark of adulthood have you put off?

27 comments:

  1. I went through the same recently as we received gifts for our wedding. I have "official" matching dishes and I just love them! Some of my older relatives couldn't believe I wanted a set of just plain white dishes and not fancy china (they're from Pottery Barn), but I love them!

    Another recent purchase made us both feel like "real grownups"... our new bed. Our mattress had been resting on a rickety metal frame that had been moved from apartment to apartment too many times. We found a wood bedframe that we adore from World Market. It seems way too big for our tiny condo, but we still love it. We feel like such grownups now :)

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  2. Pottery Barn dishes are definitely grown up. Doesn't have to be china to be pretty :)

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  3. I have china, silver, crystal and every year I go to BBB and buy more white pieces to use for holiday dinners. I know this sounds awful but I don't want to use my "good" china when I have kids from 2 to 20 banging the silver on it, and then have to hand wash everything. It was truly a waste of money. The white can be used any time and I just get different colored table clothes and napkins to match the holiday.

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  4. My personal becoming-an-adult moment occured when I paid to have someone move me. Before, hubby & I were far too cheap and our backs strong enough. Another friend commented that his becoming-an-adult moment occured the Christmas he realized the presents he gave his parents were much better than the presents they gave him!

    As to silverware, I used stainless until a couple of years ago (and I bet I'm a lot older than you.) Then I stumbled on an Oneida sale at an outlet store that was closing. For $90 I got silver-plated set for 12, plus serving untensils. I keep it in air tight ziplock bags so it doesn't tarnish. And it makes me feel like the real adult I've been for decades.
    PS love the blog

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  5. I JUST replaced my plastic dishes with matching stoneware. It wasn't expensive and it's fairly simple but it's definitely a move-up into adulthood.

    Otherwise, I would say having a dining room with a chandelier was an adulthood rite of passage.

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  6. Buying the house in December was the most adult thing I've done for sure! :-)

    The Target glasses are lovely! You know, my wine glasses are from Ikea and we get SO many compliments on them.

    I have the plain, white (cheap!)Macy's Cellar dishes and I've got to say...we've had them for like 5 years and love them. They match everything...every flower arrangement, ever holiday...and I think I'll stick with them. Plus, they're cheap so when someone has a "mishap" (not that we're throwing them against walls or anything) they're easy to replace.

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  7. "I'll never grow up..." no, not me.... yet I do love all the various phases and facets of growing up by playing house with big kid things, like silver, crystal and linens. I guess my nod to growing up is life insurance and saving in my IRA.

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  8. The thing that really freaked my husband and I out and made us say, "Wow...we're in grownup land now" was the day we signed our life insurance policies and started talking about our wills. Ugh.

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  9. Very elegant glasses!

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  10. I agree with PVE--my introduction to adulthood was investing in my 403b and buying Life Insurance.

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  11. Missing a PTA meeting tonight. Now come on, that's just nuts! PTA!

    I have crystal from my wedding, but the ones I use the most are from Pier One - Holiday Edition.

    I just love the way they feel.

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  12. Just like you, I don't have fancy plates. In fact, mine are from Ikea. And the silverware is something inexpensive too. Other than that, I think I've splurged in most other *grown lady* departments (proper furniture, antiques, art, clothing, shoes, handbags, hair dressers).

    I was just thinking today how much I'd like to upgrade my car (VW to Audi, for example). But the older I get, the more practical I get in some departments. I am starting to think a good reliable Honda might be fine. Woe is me - I am really growing up. When you go from no taste, to exceptional taste, back to practical and sane and "don't care what people think" you know you have arrived at maturity.

    ;)

    xo Terri

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  13. I can't seem to get rid of my blankie from childhood...does that count for putting off adulthood??

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  14. Oh yeah, nice stemware is not to be found in our house. Which is why I've never used my china.

    Also, our pots and pans are in shambles. It seems so 'collegy' for us to still be using cheap stuff. But we do, and I spend money on flea market finds instead. Wow. I really do need to grow up. :)

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  15. Teaching the third kid how to drive...dear lord...can I have a little breather??!! Also sobering mark of adulthood...when your first two sons of four recieve their draft registration in the mail. Gulp.

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  16. I have a fondness for china and have several sets, but my white china is one of my favorites. It is so versatile - can be dressed up or down, used in any season, matched with plain or busy table linens, mixed with other china patterns, etc. As I've started new sets of china, I've found that I really only need dinner plates and I buy them all on Replacements.com. Their 25% and 50% off pieces are a great deal, and I've never been able to detect the imperfections (they don't sell things that are chipped - I think these pieces just have knife marks, which I figure they'll acquire the first time I use them anyway).

    Don't give up on that silver yet. I don't ever polish mine. Semi-regular use and being stored in a silver chest seems to be all it needs.

    Your new crystal is very pretty, by the way. I can't wait to see it on your table.

    I agree with Linda that having a son who drives definitely makes me feel old!

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  17. Plateaholics run in my family. I own formal china and I enjoy using them on occasion. When I first got married, over 22 years ago,my Wedgwood china was the only china I registered for I had some old hand me down white dishes. We were so broke back then my china was the nicest thing I owned. Sometimes on a Saturday I'd make myself a tuna sandwich and eat it on my china!
    Today I have an extensive collection of vintage Fiesta ware we eat on everyday.

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  18. good call on the target crystal. I have Waterford, and while it is gorgeous, I'm almost afraid to use it because it was so expensive. And then I feel stupid for registering for it in the first place!
    I use my "everyday" wine glasses much more often!
    Also, for plates, if I had to do it over again I would have just bought plain white dishes. You can mix and match white dishes that you find on clearance but they will look great together and you won't feel too bad when one breaks or scratches.

    Along these same lines, the grown up purchase I've been putting off is a china cabinet!

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  19. Hi! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog--hope you enjoyed your visit!

    Your new wine glasses are beautiful! While I do have myself some lovely matching wine glasses, G and I still drink out of mismatched bar pints he's "lifted" through the years from various establishments. Guess you can take the boy outta college, but you can't take the college outta the boy, lol!

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  20. Hi Mrs. limestone -

    I found a coffee table you might like - http://www.bassettfurniture.com/store/productDetailForm.asp?maxItems=42&imgid=2848&Seq=3&stype=&mc=1&CatID=400&ItemId=1020&SubItemId=-1&ColId=-1

    I figured you probably already saw this one but since you talked about the RH version - I thought there might be slim chance you hadn't seen it :)

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  21. As embarrassed as I am to say this, I have put off joining adult women and their taste in wine. I secretly (well not so secretly if I am amidst true friends) drink the cheap bubbly, sparkling wines most of us drank when in college. I have tried to like "real" wine, but have honestly found that it all tastes like vinegar to me!! I have even tried tasting every wine at a wine tasting event, and still no luck!! Sooo, I am the wrong girl to look to about choosing the right wine or glass to serve it in. I guess I am trashy in that regard...

    Maybe I should just skip it and belt back tequila or something like that!! Of course, that would require me actually liking the taste of alcohol...

    Fun post!
    Linda

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  22. Do we have to grow up??? Please, no, no!! But we would to have those fabulous glasses (did someone mention Target in the same sentence?!!)

    blessings,
    kari & kijsa

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  23. Beautiful! I say, who cares where they come from. As for china..I've been married almost 10 years and the most expensive dishes I have are my great white set from Pottery Barn ( which I got at 40% discount, while on a brief stint as a holiday employee there)
    Although I do have some waterford
    pieces found at TJ Maxx.. I would NEVER EVER pay full price for this type of thing...
    Is there an Old Time Pottery where you live? I discovered this store here in FL and I have the nicest (and huge )collection of platters and serving pieces from there. I've bought nice heavy (exactly like my pottery barn stuff) platters for $5 and $10...

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  24. Ummmmmmm....I am currently going through withdrawls because you haven't posted in a while...so basically what I'm saying is that you need to come back :) Thanks

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  25. All of them... still a kid at heart... not sure when I will be reaching adulthood... LOL!

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  26. when we bought our bed i said "now i feel like a grown up."
    :)
    good post.

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  27. I have put off buying dressers and bed frames. I just can;t committ to a style so our family of 4 is using The COntainer Store Elfa drawers and living without headboards.

    As far as silver, I have inherited sterling but have yet to use. Instead my mom suggested I buy the best stainless...Christofle and I have never wanted to pull put my sterlign because I LOVE my everyday Christofle and I don;t have to polish it!

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