dinnerware

One of my favorite things about traveling is checking out the maps of the area. I love the way the roads curve, the rivers wind and the streets intersect. Now, thanks to the folks at notNeutral, I can easily travel to four fantastic cities from the comfort of my dining table. Their City Plate collection is a series of four cities (LA, Shanghai, Cairo and Berlin) mapped out on 12" plates. The city's downtown core is on the center of the plate, with key buildings represented in bright orange. While it is a little pricey - each plate costs $32 - it's still small compared to airfare. Now if only they came with authentic food too... Thanks to TeamSugar member amadeo for the tip!

As someone who understands the need to find just the right color, I find both the Pantone Palettes Dinnerware and Pantone Mugs exceptionally fabulous. My personal favorite, Pantone 021C is a vibrant orange that just screams good morning! If orange isn't your thing, then perhaps a muted cup and saucer in four shades of burnt ochre? Either way, just make sure you get the right color to match your Pantone cell phone!

Pantone mugs are currently only available in the EU and are £8 each. The Pantone Palettes sets begin at $5.95 for tote bags and end at $14.95 for large cup and saucer sets. However if you act fast, they're on sale in several places. I really don't need another tote bag, but think of how cute it would be full of fresh farmer's market veggies!

I was looking through the Yum Market and noticed a bunch of beautiful nature inspired dinner and glassware. Looks like I'm not the only one with a weakness for branches, flowers and all things organic. My favorite part is that all of these incorporate nature, but manage to look young, modern and hip, not old, rustic and stuffy. For example this Batik Floral Dinnerware Set that TeamSugar member RedPointyHeels found is absolutely lovely. It would be perfect for both summer and winter meals. Scroll through the list to discover more nature inspired finds.

I'm not a real sentimental kind of gal, but every now and again something comes along that just melts me. This time it's the personalized dinnerware from designer Jessica Rust. Her rabbit toes wedding & anniversary ware is absolutely adorable. They are adorned with birch and bird motifs (which are very cute and very "in" at the moment), but the best part is that they're all personalized. For example in the birch mugs, you can actually have two sets of initials put into the heart, as if they were being carved into the tree! And on the family tree plates and platter, you can actually have the names of the parents and children put on to it. Oh man, they're too cute. They'd make a great anniversary, wedding or Valentine's gift. The prices vary depending on the set, but range from $45-$110.

Source: HostessBlog

All week I've been talking about how to register for fancy dinnerware and flatware, but what if you just want something cheap and fun? Well hey I've got just the thing for you. Check out the Snap-a-Party from Fred. Okay, so it's not exactly the sort of fine china that will last you years and years, and you probably can't register for it anywhere, but it's definitely fun. The Snap-A-Party makes me think of those little bits and pieces from toys or model planes. It comes complete with a knife, fork, spoon, plate, chopsticks, toothpick and (this one sort of baffles me) a napkin ring. They're packed 4 to a pack (it is after all snap-a-PARTY, not snap-a-solo-outing) and come in 4 colors.

Source: Tastespotting

Ah, the wedding registry. Some people hate it, while others love it. But one thing's for sure, nearly every couple has one. Personally I think they're fantastic. Creating a registry is probably the only socially acceptable thing you can do where you tell people exactly what you want and have them purchase it for you. And besides, the majority of newlyweds rely on them to get their home stocked with essentials.

Purchasing things off of someone's registry is usually pretty simple, however setting up your own registry can be quite daunting. So to help you maneuver you way through registry dos and don'ts, we'll spotlight each of the five traditional kitchen/dining categories (dinnerware, flatware, glassware, appliances and kitchenware) and provide a bunch of extra tips too. So be sure to check it out each day this week.

To start things off, we'll look into the world of dinnerware. To see what you should add to your list, read more