I'm married.
(WAHOO!)
Not gonna lie, I definitely recommend marriage. It is so different than I expected, but so much better than I ever could have imagined. I think the advice that we have heard the most from other married couples is this: you'll have the best and worst days in your life, but the "best's" will far outweigh the "worst's" so don't give up. I have no doubt that they are right. And I know that pain is one of the sure-fire ways to bring two people closer together if it's handled correctly, so in a weird way, I'm really looking forward to the bad days as well as the good.
The thing that has saddened me the most are all of the somewhat patronizing and almost sympathetic looks, accompanied with a knowing sideways smile and a "well I hope things work out for you guys..." It's unfortunate to see how skeptical people have become, and how they know it's a good thing but have lost faith in it. I'm not sure what exactly my point is... maybe it's simply this: believe in marriage! Have faith! Encourage marriage and encourage perseverance and faithfulness!
Oh! Another thing. I CANNOT believe how generous all of our family and friends have been. We have received gifts out of our ears, and now have so many wonderful things that will make our home functional.
I don't think it's possible to pick a "favorite" gift (how can you pick between a kitchen aid and crate and barrel dishes? seriously?) but I do have to say that I was pretty excited about this one....
I know it doesn't look very exciting, but it has changed my life. (Okay not as much as getting married, but you know what I mean). It's a butter pot. It holds butter and keeps it fresh. At room temperature.
Basically, you take the top part out, flip it over, and it's a little bowl shaped thingamajiger (the left piece in the picture below). You fill it with softened butter (press it in real nice; it holds about two sticks), then fill the bottom part (right piece in the picture below) with about a centimeter of water. Flip it back so that the left piece is upside down and the opening is complete submerged (like if you let gravity actually work in the picture above). The water will create an air-tight seal; you can keep it out on the counter, and the butter stays fresh.
1. No more butter splat from spices falling out of the hurricane of a spice cupboard into the nice pad of butter you left on the counter on a plate.
2. No more messy butter trays and/or lids that get greasy; the only part that might get messy is the very edge.
3. No more torn toast from butter that you keep in the fridge to prevent 1 and 2.
4. No more settling for little chunks of butter instead of a nice smooth layer if you aren't patient enough to try number 3.
5. No more yucky translucent butter edges from sitting out on the counter all day in the open air.
That's my two cents for the day... I'll keep you updated on other things I find brilliant once we finally move in to our apartment and actually unwrap the rest of our gifts. (House-sitting is great, especially when you don't have a place to live yet, but we are definitely ready to have our own home)
Comment and let me know if you have any kitchen gadgets or household things that you can't live without. We have lots of gift cards and want to put them to good use!
