There are a bunch of little things I want to buy that I haven’t quite committed to paying for yet.
A New Belt
- My pants keep doing that thing where they fit when I put them on, but then an hour later I have to keep YANKING them up and then that’s all I do the livelong day. I suppose this is where a belt comes in handy. The thing is, I hate belts. They are cute, sure, but on other people. Surprisingly, given my strong anti-belt feelings, I do own a few belts, but the majority are a) the kind that you wear around a dress or shirt and b) very old (and do not fit). I do have two belts that you can wend through belt loops, but they are so old that they disintegrate when I try to push the metal thingy through the loop part.
I like this Madewell belt – it’s simple, it’s classic, it’s called the “Perfect Leather Belt.” I wonder if it would do the trick?
images from Nordstrom.com
New Placemats
- I love my placemats. They are woven and blue. I received them as a gift and have enjoyed them for many years. Only this fall, after having so very many houseguests, have I realized that they aren’t great to clean – the cleaning spray gets all over the table below them. And food tends to get deeply entrenched in the fibers. My mother-in-law uses cork placemats, which I like. But the only ones I’ve ever seen are, well, hideous, or expensive, or both. I want something simple and non-hideous and affordable. These cork placemats aren’t terrible, on either count, although they are a little busy. Plus, I am not sure I have room to store them.
I suppose I could get clear ones, but… for some reason I don’t love them. And I would fear they would get cloudy over time. Or perhaps faux leather ones would be okay; they are supposedly for outdoor dining, and I do need some new outdoor placemats as well. These ones are blue, non-slip, and silicone – and I like that they are a non-traditional shape. These oval placemats have a “fabric appearance” and they seem to be the same shade of blue as the ones we have. I think these are the ones I’ll buy; add to cart.
A Good Silicone Whisk
- It turns out that it is difficult to find good quality silicone whisks. I’ve owned quite a few, and they seem to either fall apart or water gets into the handle and then slowly seeps out into whatever you are trying to whisk which is unacceptable. OXO gets good reviews in “best whisk” articles, but I would be afraid that water would get into the handle. Seems like my best bet, though.
Appetizer Tongs
- When I have guests, I find that I have many uses for little tongs. They are good for salad toppings, taco toppings, appetizers, bread. I have a couple of small silicone-tipped tongs that I’ve been using, but I would like something a little prettier, I guess. This option has a bunch of tongs, probably too many of them. But I like how there are some tongs with wider hands and some with narrower hands.
I really like these wooden tongs – and how there are three of them, and they are different sizes.
New Pot Holders
- My pot holders are in a sorry state indeed. I really NEED new ones. But the thing is that I have a favorite among my small, sad collection and I want only this particular kind in future. Also I may have (stupidly) asked my husband to get me some for Christmas, so now I feel like maybe I can’t just go out and get them myself. (Why did I do this? I would despise getting pot holders for Christmas.)
It seems as though I am doing NaBloPoMo this month, which is 30 blog posts in 30 days. (Will I make it??? Only time will tell.) Details at San’s blog here.
There is a hole in one of my oven mitts, and I saw my husband looking over them, and I think I may be getting a pair for Christmas, which is great! Except. Now I can’t just buy a pair of oven mitts and I have to be careful taking things out of the oven. I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
We have “fabric look” wipeable black placemats that I like, but I have no idea where I got them from. I’ve had them for many years, but like you, I struggled to find ones that I liked.
BELTS ARE THE WORST FOR ME. I have never liked them and now that my body is changing with perimenopause, they are just evil.
After my only belt stopped fitting recently, I commandeered one from Noah, who had a few and didn’t want it anyway. Its sole function is to hold my pants up. I always wear shirts untucked so it doesn’t actually show, but I wouldn’t mind if it did. I also considered punching a new hole in the old belt and I saved it in case I do that one day.
I have a lot of thoughts and questions. Why is a silicone whisk superior to a metal one? We have had the same two metal whisks that we bought at IKEA about fifteen years ago. What am I missing in my metal only whisk life?
We got a new to us dining room table from my FIL and his wife and I freaked out about the rings from glasses on the wood and immediately went to the gift store in town to buy placements. What I really want is the placemats my MIL used to have, but instead they’re these weird bamboo-ish ones that were the only ones left. (The store is going out of business because the owner is retiring and it’s being replaced by a “golf experience” and I’m SO SAD.) Anyway, I am also on the lookout for placements and may put them on my Christmas list. Please let us know the outcome of your search.
I swear that I have to buy new oven mitts and hot pads every year because ours get scorched and dirty and I guess I’m just careless with them. I have historically purchased mine from Williams Sonoma, but since they don’t last long, maybe I should just get some less expensive ones? Or would those last EVEN less long? Why is every decision so hard for me?
We have the Oxo whisk and it’s wonderful, no issue with water getting into the handle. We have the All -Clad pot holders and they are wonderful. I need those appetizer tongs.
Ooh, I love a good shopping spree! i hope you got all these things, with the exception of the pot holders which you’re apparently getting for Christmas (?) You’ve reminded me that I need to place an Amazon order- it’s all food though.
I’m also curious as to why it needs to be a silicone whisk. We had one whisk that was stainless with a rubber (silicone?) handle that had the same problem. I tossed it an bought an all stainless one (link below) and haven’t had any issues.
Good luck on finding placemats. We haven’t used any in years, I find it’s easier to either wipe down the table than clean the placemats or to throw a table cloth on it and call it a day.
Buy yourself the oven mitts and make sure he sees you open them; because I will bee sad if you get oven mitts for Christmas.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D1BRKGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I swear, I put a LINK in there not a picture! How did that happen?
I own a silicone whisk for using in a non-stick pan that has a coating. I use it so infrequently (less than once a month and only for that purpose – and own THREE metal whisks…which seems a bit excessive) – but if/when it breaks, I would definitely get another silicon one!
I am staunchly anti-placement because I find them such a nuisance to clean, but our table is fair game for putting things down on top (oiled wood, so it doesn’t have any stain that can get impacted by water marks etc.)
And my hot mats still work fine, but they look terrible – which makes sense because they’re 13 years old (I only know this because my husband and I got them right after we got married 13 years ago). I really like the look and functionality of the ones you’re linking to here! It might be time to upgrade?
I’m with you on belts. I love them with a dress, but not with pants. Thankfully I don’t have any “fall down” pants in my life right now.
Sigh, I gave up placemats and cloth napkins for marriage. No one in my husband’s family uses them and it wasn’t a hill that I wanted to die on (or fight for at all, actually). But I did have some very cute ones in my single life.
Speaking of my single life, I used to have rubber grippy things to help open jars, but they disappeared at some point in my life. For the most part I can work around the loss, since I live with three strong men (three living jar openers) but this week I got into a bind and said enough is enough and ordered some new ones. So that was my shopping spree this week!
Belts are so hard to find (IMO), they’re either cheap (and fall apart quickly) or hideous. I could use a new belt too, although I’d probably go with black.
I only have a metal whisk, and like NGS, I want to know: am I missing a crucial advantage of silicone whisks?
The whisk water dripping into whatever you are stirring is the worst! I’ve started storing the whisk upside down for a few days after it gets washed; i think it helps, but it is still a nuisance.
I need ALL of these things as well. I am your belt soul mate for sure– and high waist pants really exacerbate the need.
YES. I love love love high waist pants, but they are so… slidey!
I want to like belts but I also do not like them! It is so tricky to find jeans that fit well and don’t stretch to the point where you are always hiking them up!
We have placemats but only use them for special occasions/when we have company over. I think my husband would prefer that we never use them but I love how they make our table look!
I also hate belts, less because they’re not cute than because I have sensory issues and, although I don’t like my pants falling down, I also don’t like feeling a belt digging into me or even touching me at all. I have had recommended to me, and tried, belts that don’t go all the way to the front but loop around the front belt loops, and something else that I now can’t remember, but anyway, I still don’t use them. I just try not to wear pants on work days.
I need new placemats too, but because I can’t find mine. We realized this at Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, and even with all my decrapifying I haven’t unearthed them. I have been gazing covetously at linen ones on Etsy, but they’re very expensive and I’m not ready to spend the money yet.
Darn it, I had a long comment and lost it. Suffice to say, I also hate belts, and avoid them at all costs. It helps, though, that I don’t much care what I look like – wearing pants alone is a victory. 😉
And, I have no advice on the kitchen stuff, but shall eagerly anticipate the report on the purchased/received items, to perhaps inform future purchases of my own. 🙂
I usually have. the problem that the pants fit when I buy then and than miraculously become too tight. 😉
I am also on the lookout for a belt. But I really don’t wear some much or particularly like them. But for some reason I try to convince myself I would look more put together. Well, I haven’t pulled the trigger on any purchase.
Interesting, that you use those things. I would have never thought of getting something like that for serving.