I am in a shopping quandary. Yesterday I found this Fiesta Masquerade flatware:
which I have wanted for literally years, at $40 for a 20-piece set. That is a very good price for this flatware. I bought it and rejoiced. Ever since, I have been petting it and crooning to it and holding it to my cheek (sideways, to avoid danger to the eyes).
Here is the quandary: the store where I found it had two more sets. Do I rush back today to see if they still do, and buy another set? Issues:
1. Forty dollars is a good price for this flatware, but it is still forty dollars.
2. We have enough flatware. We have enough that even with seven of us, it’s not often we run out of utensils. (I think it’s actually BECAUSE there are seven of us: it means the dishwasher gets run pretty often.) We may have to start a second drawer for flatware, and we do not have a generous number of drawers in our kitchen.
3. Four place settings is not enough for our household if I wanted to set the table all rainbowy.
4. I read some reviews online complaining that the little pieces of colored enamel can fall out. This makes me think I won’t be happy with the flatware in the long run and shouldn’t buy more.
5. I read some reviews online complaining that the little pieces of colored enamel can fall out. This makes me think I need replacements on hand because I can no longer live without rainbow utensils.
6. It’s a half-hour drive to go check, and maybe they won’t even have it. (I’m not going to call.) (Really, I know, but I’m not.) (Listen, you and my ex-psychologist both.)
7. When I really love something, I’ve found it’s better to BUY IT UP. Otherwise I later find myself on eBay paying too much.
8. When I really love something, I’ve found it’s better to buy a reasonable quantity. Otherwise I later find myself with huge overstocks of something I used to love and now feel done with.
POLL! We need a POLL!
[yop_poll id=”6″]
I vote go back and get the other two, then put away your current flatware. Enjoy exclusive rainbow flatware until you cannot, then bring back the other stuff, by which point it will seem charming because you haven’t used it in a while!
This. THIS. This is an excellent answer.
Also – I would be thinking about those damn other sets obsessively until I waited too long and then I WOULD drive over (would not call either) and they would be gone.
Perhaps you could get a non-phone-phobic friend to call. In my experience I wouldn’t be talking on the phone to the friend either. I might text dh with the phone number of the store and ask him to call. He has no phone issues.
No…it’s horrible… 2 yrs in with mine, the enamel colored pieces are at 50% gone…it looks horrible!
Fiesta is a classic. You can’t go wrong. Buy three. Don’t open one, or two if you’re feeling on the fence when you get home. Maybe YOU can be the one selling overpriced on ebay. Although, I think you are going to love it and pet and be so glad you bought for YEARS that the ebay scenario won’t happen.
First let me say, I love it, and if I ever come across some, I’m totally buying all I can get my hands on. Second, love what Michelle said – get more, use it until you hate it, then bring the old stuff back and it’ll seem new again. Win win!
Buy more, then hoard all of it for exclusive Swistle and Paul and occasional special guest use. Children do not deserve such beautiful cutlery.
If it were a passing thing, then no – but you have wanted it for ‘literally years’! If there are 7 people in your family, then you should at least have enough for each person to get a place setting. $40 is not cheap but it’s also not $400. If you love it that much, then to me this seems like a very nice splurgy treat for the fall – satisfying to buy, not too too expensive, and you’ll get a ton of use out of it. I would def go for it.
Your oldest will be moving out before you know it, and he could inherit all the extra flatware that you DON’T love. Buy all the sets of Fiesta!
Cindy is full of wisdom, and I know this because I was about to post the same thing.
This is what I was going to say. I’m experiencing this right now. We have two kids – one graduated college in 2011 and the other will graduate college in December. Both have lived away from home off and on for a few years and this is one thing they need. My daughter lived with 4 girls and none of them had flatware. My son lived with 2 guys and one had flatware but my son moved into an apartment a couple of years later, and he had no flatware! I ended up buying each kid a fork, a knife and a spoon. I’m pretty sure this means they were rarely washed, but I’m not asking.
Anyway, get yourself the flatware you want and shortly you can give your kids the pieces you don’t.
I’d get one more because you’ll regret it if you don’t.
I don’t blame you for the not calling the store thing either. There’s two people in the world that I’m comfortable calling without psyching myself up for it first. If my boyfriend were available I’d have him call for something like that, otherwise I’d just drive to the store. I’d have no problem asking for assistance at the store but I just can’t do it over the phone.
You just wrote a whole post on whether or not to get it. That probably took longer than the 30 minute drive. I say: “Go, go go!”
I have the same flatware and I love it.
I haven’t had any issues with the enamel falling out.
I would go get another one and have lunch!
I am a big time regretter of things I *didn’t* buy. I almost never regret something I *did* buy AS MUCH as I’ve regretted things I didn’t. I guess I’m a ‘the one that got away’ type of person. (Which isn’t to say I buy everything I’m interested in just in case – I’m a cheapskate, too, so I usually pass things up. Some that I regret and many that I don’t.)
Anyway, since what I just wrote is in no way clear, BUY THEM!
Oh, and if it was me, I’d continue using the flatware you already have for children. If you’d like to switch over completely and use only Fiesta, buy three sets! (I’m also the type of person who would be slightly resentful of children if their use of the flatware caused the little stones to fall out.)
And, as I go further down this rabbit hole, how awesome is the cutlery set???
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1689058/Fiesta-Masquerade-7-pc-Cutlery-Set.jsp?ci_mcc=ci&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=34-245251258-2&CID=shopping15
I was perfectly happy until I followed that Kohl’s link and saw those awesome Fiesta steak knives!
I have these & they ARE awesome.
So excited about this post. I love all things fiesta!
BUY MORE. Actually I have another option. I hate the phone a whole lot, but I’m invested enough in you getting the pretty flatware that if you email me and tell me whom to call, I will call the store for you to make sure they have it/put it on hold for you. You NEED the pretty flatware. NEED!
I was going to make this offer too. :)
Buy it and send it to meeeee. What was the store?
I would buy three sets and keep them tucked away. This way you can replace your pieces of they start to break or you would have extra sets there as an awesome wedding gift should you no longer love them in a couple years.
Our family motto is “Moscow rules” (which we define as, buy it now because as in Soviet Russia it might not be there tomorrow). So if you see something and can’t decide, ask yourself how sad you’d be if you returned to buy it and it was gone. Besides, you could likely sell it on eBay if you regretted it AND you may as well have enough so your whole family can enjoy the rainbow goodness!
Moscow rules! I love that!
Lol love this!
I didn’t read all comments so I apologize if someone has already suggested this.
(First, OF COURSE you go and buy more.)
But on the calling thing — I totally get it, and now is the time you can start to teach your children to make those calls for you. It’s good training for them. I remember when I was a kid and we had to do things like place long distance calls (yes, I am that old that we had to actually call the operator to make a call) and make reservations and appointments.
This is a great idea. Phone skills are one of the “soft skills” that a lot of college students are lacking when they get their first office job – when you can find out so much online, and you only ever text your friends, it makes sense that you’d never get a baseline of phone etiquette established. You’re helping them prepare for their future!
When I moved into my own place after college, I bought four place settings of dishes from Crate and Barrel. I figured when I had more money I’d buy more dishes so I’d have 12 place settings – what I think is the appropriate number to own.
When that time came, they were no longer selling my dishes. I found a similar dishes that almost match (they’re less white and less thick) and bought those. I’m not sure anyone else notices the difference except me. The Crate and Barrel ones are pristine, the supplemental ones have gray scratches from my silverware.
At least once a week, I regret not buying all the dishes I wanted to own initially. They weren’t that expensive. And I also regret not buying the shallow bowls because every time I make certain dishes I think to myself, “A shallow bowl would be the best way to serve (said dish).”
Conclusion: Buy enough silverware so you have 12 place settings and do it now.
Sooo… is this the recalled set? Or are they making it again? http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2010/Flatware-Recalled-by-Cambridge-Silversmiths-Due-to-Choking-Hazard/
Even if it’s the old stuff, your children are probably past the choking hazard stage. Although your dishwasher might not like it if little bits come off.
It must be a redesigned version of the one that was recalled, since the recall was in 2009—which is very pleasing, since this means it could be that all the complaints I found were about the OLD sets.
Oh, mine is newer than 2009, so maybe they have fixed it!
Also, I own all the cutlery sets as well, & they are fabulous!
THEY MAKE RAINBOW FLATWARE? MUST BUY.
The price is good. Amaz0n wants 90 bucks. Buy it. If you have too many one day, you can sell it on ebay for a bloody fortune.
Go! If they are sold out, at least you went out for lunch. If they are there, buy both. If you feel some $ guilt, sell one set on ebay for close to $80 and then it’s like you got two sets for the original (sale) price.
Also: lucky lady. I am home with 4 little kids, none in elementary school yet. We are here and I am keeping them away from my fiesta ware. I cannot take them into Marshall’s to look for something so cool. Also? All my fiesta ware is BLUE. Our wedding guests didn’t understand the point of buying all the colors. So we have 8 place settings of colbalt.
I would go and buy it. You use flat wear everyday so it’s something you’ll see often and get a lot of satisfaction from. I would even go as far as putting away your old cutlery so you could look at all of the beautiful matching forks, knives and spoons in the drawer. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
This is not even a thing! I hope you went and bought it already, at least one more set. You need at least seven. Give some away or something, leave it out in a box with a sign that says “Free Flatware!”.
Buy more! But then, I’m the person who tried to convince my husband that we needed 16 place settings of our everyday dishes. We negotiated to 12, but I still get the urge to have 16 and of COURSE now Bed Bath and Beyond doesn’t carry it and our daughter has broken a couple of the salad plates and I would have to pay HOW MUCH?!?! for each replacement. So get two more sets. Or 3. At least 2 more gets you 12 place settings, that’s a nice round number to account for any miscellaneous silverware not yet washed and having enough for everyone at dinner.
Run, do not walk to buy it! I speak from experience, I can’t tell you how often I have bought something I loved, and kick myself I didn’t go back and buy more. Like someone said above, I very rarely regret things I bought (I am fairly frugal), but I do regret when I find something I love, and I don’t stock up. Especially with something like silverware-in my house, it can disappear-so extras are necessary.
The other thing? If you LOVE something, invest in it. Some people don’t care about dishes and flatware, but I am not one of them. I would rather spend money on a vintage Pyrex dish, than on shoes. To each their own…but my feeling is…if you can’t find something you adore on sale, stock up!!
Dang-if “you CAN find something you adore on sale…”-where did that contraction come from??
I voted buy an extra set but after reading everyone’s excellent comments and suggestions I would like to change my vote: buy two more sets!
Ditto – somehow I hadn’t realized that a second box would only take you to 8, and that means you’d never have enough if you had a few people over for dinner. And when you want rainbows, I think that you’ll want RAINBOWS.
I agree with Cindy. You are only a few years away from having to help set your kids up in their first apartments or dorm rooms. Buy more, keep the ones you love, and give “extras” to your kids.
I wouldn’t call either. I also know.
Yeah – not going to call either. I’ve come to accept this about myself.
I say buy them all. Put away the old cutlery and enjoy this One Small Thing every day – pretty spoons and forks and such. If you get tired of them you can bring back the old cutlery – or send it off with future older children and justify getting something new and lovely for yourself.
Oh, this is terrible! I have no idea what to do in this situation. (Common theme for me lately). That flatware is damn cute though!
Um….what the heck is happening with my avatar? And whose dog is that, I wonder?
Buy it now. I am still mourning the plum colored shoes I did not buy in 1992. They were beautiful and I loved them. But I couldn’t think of anything in my closet to go with them, so did not get them. Here it is, 22 YEARS later, and I still regret their loss. Sad, sad, sad.
Swistle,
I used to sell this set on Amazon. Go buy what you can because Cambridge Silversmiths has discontinued this pattern and soon you won’t be able to find it anywhere! I sold my final set on Amazon for over $100 because people are having such a hard time finding it now, so RUN and buy all you can now!
And when I say “used to sell” I mean I did until earlier this year. I have some of the big kitchen knife sets and the steak knife sets, they didn’t discontinue those, just the silverware.
Do you have a smart phone? Have you discovered the Talk To app? It calls stores/restaurants/companies and asks them questions FOR YOU. :)
(I would not call them myself either. My ex-therapist is shaking her head right now.)
WHAT!! WHAT WHAT WHAT
I can’t deal with mismatched flatware, we had a jumble growing up so I always buy like 24 place settings every 5 years or so and move the old set to the ‘spare cutlery’ drawer.
So I’d go buy them all & take everything else out of your drawers and use the new stuff. The rainbow will make you happy!
I have fiesta dishes in a rainbow of colors and I’m still loving having a rainbow table every night.