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Saturday There were so few people on the streets today that the nervous side of my brain kept thinking Did something blow up and we're the only ones who don't know? Rationally, I knew it was just that most people are away for the holiday, but still - you can't help thinking. Today was Errand Day. Well, it was after we slept for nine hours first. It wasn't intended to be Errand Day, but the traffic was so nonexistent that we got a ton of stuff done in practically no time at all. Around 10:30 we ran to the farmer's market in Wayne where we had breakfast and then bought five of the beloved Chicken Pie, the World's Best Pastry Meal. (Elizabeth, we also bought some of that amazing key lime pie - this farmer's market sells it in quarters, so guess what's for breakfast?) We went home, dropped off the chicken pies, and picked up all the Target returns. Steve and Jen bought us a beautiful cabinet for our bathroom that I'd registered for and then bought myself a couple of days before the party without checking the registry; one of Greg's colleagues bought us sheets that (again) I'd bought a couple of days before the wedding so we needed to exchange them for color. Two of my cousins and one of my aunts gave us Target gift cards as gifts. We were only going to exchange the sheets and leave, because we were thinking of buying a grill but wanted to look into them before committing. So I picked up some new exercise shorts and a bra and Greg bought a DVD of the animated Batman series, and on the way to the checkout line we wandered through the computer department. Now we own this Hewlett Packard combination printer/copier/scanner. It's not hooked up yet but we're very excited about it. We'll get a lot more use out of it than we would a grill. The other thing we were considering buying is a hammock with stand, but Target was totally out of those. We'll get one eventually, from somewhere else. For now, we welcome our kickass new printer to our home. Target gift cards rock. Later we ran to Williams-Sonoma, where we exchanged an acrylic salad set for a Wusthof chef's knife. We also went to a local shop called Via Bellissima, where we turned in two platters and wine glasses and a big glass vase for $280 worth of store credit it will probably take us the rest of our lives to spend. Here's my service to brides everywhere: unless you know the bride and groom really, really well, just shop off their registry. Really. Because unless you are their mental twin, and especially if you've never seen their house, you have no idea of their taste or what they already have. The bride and groom will appreciate your thought, very much. Always. But if you pick out and send a random present, you are risking that your recipient will never use it. I hesitated to register, since it was our second wedding, but due to a comedy of errors ultimately ended up with three registries. People used them, so I am glad I did - and since we got gifts from just about everyone we know, and most of them used the registries (which they almost always found on their own), it was a good move. We understand why people give things like Waterford crystal - it's traditional. Trust me - Greg and I are touched by the thought and appreciative of the gesture. However, since we are not Waterford crystal types, those two bowls and one vase are going to sit in their boxes in a closet or the attic for eternity, since we won't use them and cannot return them due to the absence of a gift receipt (the gift receipt - your friend) and the fact that Waterford is unreturnable everywhere without a receipt. We understand why people try to be original - hell, I used to try all the time - but again, your taste may not be another's. Trust me. Use the registry. Lest this all make me sound like a selfish bitch, let me try to clarify again - it's not that the thought isn't appreciated. It is. But if you spend $90 on a Waterford crystal bowl for a couple like us, you have just wasted your money. That is the concern for me. (Hopefully this makes sense!) After we had the Great Return Day, we came home and read books and basically sat around. At seven o'clock we had a reservation at Toscana Cucina Italiana, a local fairly chi-chi restaurant to which we received a gift certificate as a wedding gift. We hied ourselves off for a lovely dinner - duck for me, which I never order, which came in a cherry reduction with herbed polenta and grilled mini squash; veal for Greg, pounded thin with greens and parmesan. We also had delicious antipasti (white beans and tomatoes; proscuitto; roasted red peppers) and the restaurant's signature Runny Chocolate Cake For Two, which is unlike any runny chocolate cake thing you may have had. This is die-and-go-to-heaven in a dish. I had two glasses of a smooth pinot grigio, Greg had ginger ale, the service was wonderful and dinner on a whole was spectacular. And that, ducks, was Saturday. |