... useful and unique umbrella and utensils...

Two items I find myself purchasing a bit too often recently are umbrellas and utensils.

I'm a commuter and I am always on the lookout for inexpensive umbrellas I can carry on the commute. Many of these little umbrellas aren't made to stand up to wind and, at least in my experience, end up breaking. I do have some "big girl umbrellas" for days that there is obvious inclement weather; however, at 4:30 in the morning, I'm not always good about checking the weather channel. I try to keep a few umbrellas in my car, one in my commuter bag, and one in my office at work. The one in my office at work is considered an emergency umbrella and since folks know that it's there, it often gets borrowed and not returned... hence why I'm often buying umbrellas. This was was on clearance for $7.48 at Target. Apparently others don't find skulls as charming as I do.

A little over five years ago, I Ctrl + Alt+ Del 'ed my life and didn't take the silverware with me... even though it was the silverware I went into the marriage with and that which I had had for YEARS! But anyway... I bought some cheap silverware when I moved to an apartment. After moving to my house, I decided to buy some better quality silverware and searched all over Pinterest for some awesome gothy-goth styles. There weren't many out there that I wanted to invest in. Some of those beautifully dark loves included the Vivanti Romano from Oneida which has a black titanium finish. But at $140 per 5 piece setting, it would cost over $550 before tax for just four people. Plus, I don't even get to touch them since they're only online so nope, they weren't for me. I went with Gourmet Setting's Downtown collection which was actually a bit pricey at $50 per place setting but they were pretty offering "a bold and unique dark colour, attractive modern lines and highly-polished finish" and I have a job so I went with them. I've had them for almost three years and they have become my albatross hanging around my dining neck! They are beautiful if you wash your dishes and immediately take a cloth and wipe them dry banning anyone from touching them. Water stains and fingerprints embodied my nemesis. When friends came over, I found myself polishing each piece much too often in fear that my friends would think the utensils were dirty.

Finally when I saw the Goth collection by Gourmet Settings, a 20 piece collection for $70 I decided that it was time to retire the Downtown to someone with more patience than me. The Goth flatware arrived today and they are stunning! I'm really hoping that they work out because when you use something daily, even the simplest things matter.