Earlier this week, we introduced you to the winners of our Crate and Barrel registry giveaway. (You can read all about their story right here. Warning: Bring your tissues.) And today is the day you get to vote on what goes home with them!
To recap, this month we get to give away a $2,500 Crate and Barrel registry package to one lucky APW couple (who, because the universe works in mysterious ways, could not be more deserving of this gift). But there’s one small catch: we get to pick out their gifts, and you guys get to vote on them. And because we value your opinion so highly, when you vote, you automatically get entered into a giveaway for a $200 gift card to Crate and Barrel.
I KNOW. Happy Thursday. Let’s do this.
Let’s meet our contestants
Before we get to shopping, I wanted to give you an opportunity to meet our winners, Jessi and Steve. Because once I got to know them, I was like… oh, I need to deliver for them. (Translation: they are awesome; we are BFFs now.)
Jessi and Steve met online and have been dating for three years. He works in marketing, and she’s in the nonprofit sector, and they are currently in the process of moving in with Steve’s mom to help support her after the recent loss of Steve’s dad. To avoid the cost of movers and storage (plus to get some cash to pay the final wedding costs) they are selling a bunch of their stuff and starting from scratch, which means they gave us free reign to choose… whatever we want. (No pressure.) But to help out, they gave us a little backstory on what makes the two of them tick. So before you get on down to voting, here’s a little about these two and the goings on of their daily life together:
APW: Do you two have any important rituals in your home? Coffee or tea in the morning? Sunday pancakes? An evening nightcap?
Jessi & Steve: We make breakfast together most Saturdays. For little celebrations or silly holidays like Valentine’s Day, we like to cook a fancy meal together. For example, last Valentine’s we made pasta together—a first for us both. Steve also has a tradition of bringing me home cookbooks. He most recently gifted me the Heritage cookbook after a trip to South Carolina and the author’s restaurant. We’ll pick the prettiest pictures out of the cookbook and make a fancy meal for ourselves or invite friends.
We both like booze. We are not competent bartenders, but I could see us playing around in the kitchen as much with cocktails as we do food if we had some tools to compel us.
APW: Do you cook? Do you have any favorite dishes?
Jessi & Steve: Yes! We cook a lot and love cooking together. Steve is a total grill master and makes excellent Korean food. His favorite dish that I make is shakshuka or any dessert. I have a tradition of baking the birthday cakes for my office, and I often send Steve to work with cookies and other treats for his office mates. Thanksgiving is our biggest holiday. We do the entire meal for his family. We pull out all the stops—including making the rolls and other bread from scratch.
APW: Is there any part of your routine that would be easier with a piece of technology? Or something you’ve been dying to incorporate into your home but haven’t been able to justify?
Jessi & Steve: Hands down, a smoker. I’m a Texan, and Steve loves to grill. I promised one day I’d buy him an egg smoker. Now that we are moving to his mom’s place in the suburbs, we wouldn’t have neighbors calling the fire department on us for smoke pluming off our tiny little balcony! I have a KitchenAid mixer I use at least once a week, but none of the attachments, any of which would be awesome to have. I think an espresso machine would be an excellent addition to our home—one of my coworkers is a competitive latte maker on the side, so I think we could really learn to make some cool stuff from her.
And with that, let’s go shopping. I hope I did you proud.
The Bar Edit
1. Coles Antique Brass Bar Cart 2. DeLonghi Stainless Steel Pump Espresso Maker 3. Hayes Marble Serving Board with Handle 4. Hatch Decanter and Brixton Decanter 5. Cocktail Mixing Glass 6. Berry Box White Colander 7. Crafthouse Cocktail Smoker 8. Weber Smokey Mountain 18″ Black Cooker Smoker 9. Pryce Coupe Glass 10. Hatch Drinkware 11. Mercer Dinnerware Collection 12. KitchenAid 3-Piece Pasta Roller and Cutter Set 13. Biggs Aqua Drinking Glasses 14. Beck Cheese Board and 3 Copper Cheese Knives Set 15. Hatch Cocktail Shaker 16. Fenton Graphite and Wood Bar Tool Set 17. Gold Bar Spoon with Muddler 18. Peak Glass Pitcher
The Bar Edit: When I interviewed Jessi and Steve, they mentioned that they really want a bar cart. So knowing that they love to entertain and are looking to up the ante on their bartending skills, I focused on items that would be good for a crowd. First, if we were going to get them a bar cart, we might as well stock it right? So I picked out some of our favorite decanters, drinkware (the Hatch collection is so good), and accessories. I like the idea of Jessi and Steve having special glasses just for guests, so we opted to include a handful of different kinds of drinkware: the Hatch glasses are dishwasher safe, so that felt like a fun choice for every day. And then this aqua drinkware can add some color to special occasions. And of course, a silver rimmed coupe for when you need to break out the bubbly. Jessi and Steve also mentioned they needed more cutting boards and cheese boards, and I love the metal accents on both of the cheese boards above (especially that round one). And since it wouldn’t be an APW shopping trip if we didn’t add one fun thing just because, we included this cocktail smoker in the mix. After talking with Jessi and Steve on the phone, I totally buy that they are the kind of couple who would find an excuse to use a cocktail smoker as a bonding experience or a fun party trick for their friends.
Now, I understand that you cannot live on bourbon alone, so we also included a few everyday items not explicitly related to booze in this edit. The APW team has used a lot of Crate and Barrel dinnerware in our photo shoots, so the team is all too familiar with which pieces we like the best, and the Mercer set is always at the top of our list. The simplicity of it makes it great for day-to-day use, and the organic shape makes them feel almost handmade (but unlike more delicate dinnerware, you can throw these in the dishwasher, oven, and microwave). Knowing that one of Jessi’s colleagues is a competitive latte maker, we included a nice espresso machine too, so that Jessi and Steve can practice what they learn. And I loved the story of Jessi and Steve’s pasta making Valentine’s Day date, so we added a KitchenAid pasta attachment as well. And of course, the smoker. Because meat.
The Entertaining Edit
1. KitchenAid 3-Piece Pasta Roller and Cutter Set 2. Ice Mold Wine Bottle Chiller 3. Rabbit RBT Matte Black Cocktail Shaker 4. Legend Pitcher 5. Carson Cheese Board 6. DeLonghi Dedica Slimline Espresso Maker 7. Beck Cheese Board and 3 Gold Cheese Knives Set 8. Addison Grey 16-Piece Gold Rim Dinnerware Set 9. Refreshment Drink Dispenser 10. Weber Smokey Mountain 18″ Black Cooker Smoker 11. Pryce Gold Coupe Glass 12. Oven To Table Serving Bowl Sets 13. Metallic Plates with Stand, Set of 12 14. French Marble Pastry Slab 15. Hayes Black Marble Boards 16. Libations Carbon Bar Cart 17. J.K. Adams Heritage Serving Board
The Entertaining Edit: When I spoke with Jessi and Steve, one of the things that resonated with me most was how much they have cultivated a community around entertaining. It’s not just that they like to have friends over. It’s more like their friends are family. Steve has had a close-knit group of friends since childhood, and the way Jessi talks about them and how they’ve made her feel like extended family makes me 😢. Every year, Jessi and Steve go all out on a Thanksgiving celebration with this group, so I wanted to give them versatile items that could take them from weeknight dinners to a full on dinner party. Since they mentioned they need more cutting boards and cheese boards, we picked a variety of shapes and textures that would be interesting enough on their own but would also play well enough together to exist on the same dinner table. These heritage cutting boards could easily double as serving platters, and I really like the way they look paired up with the marble pastry slab (useful for Jessi’s baking adventures) and this black marble board. And for practicality’s sake, we also added this oven to table serveware, a drink dispenser, and this lovely copper pitcher. I like how the wooden accents all complement each other without being too matchy-matchy.
Crate and Barrel recently added some new dinnerware collections to their lineup, and I’m low-key obsessed with this gold rimmed design, for obvious reasons. And when I found these dessert plates that kinda-sorta matched, I didn’t really have an option to not include them, did I? And same as above, I was looking for something to include just for fun and remembered this ice mold from one of our photo shoots last year. You can put anything in it (flowers look especially nice), pop it in the freezer, and have functional art that also keeps your booze cold.
And lastly, we included a few of Jessi and Steve’s must-haves in this lineup too. A bar cart with a slightly more industrial vibe, the KitchenAid pasta attachment, and the smoker.
Vote on Your Favorite, Win $200 to Crate and Barrel
If you follow us on stories, you know that a couple of weeks ago, I left work on Friday and returned on Monday to a completely made-over new office. Think artwork hanging on the walls, a little nook for making phone calls, the works. It was the closest I’ve ever gotten to being on one of those home makeover shows with the big reveal at the end. Being someone with strong aesthetic taste, I always thought I would hate having someone else pick out decor for me, but as it turns out, what I actually hate is how much pressure I put on myself to pick the perfect thing every time I shop. So it’s been a total joy getting to pass on that sweet release of responsibility to Jessi and Steve, and I am so excited for you guys—and your good taste—to weigh in on the final selection.
So now it’s your turn. Use the widget below to vote on your favorite registry, and you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win a $200 gift card to Crate and Barrel.*
This post was sponsored by Crate and Barrel. Crate and Barrel is joining us this summer in making registering a little more fun. With Crate and Barrel, you not only get stylish on-trend housewares alongside your keep-forever pieces, but you also get like-price guarantee, free shipping, and exclusive pieces from Crate and Barrel’s artists and designers. Click here to learn more or sign up for a live Crate and Barrel registry event near you. We just co-hosted one in the San Francisco store, and it was super fun. You get to register privately with just a handful of other couples while the store team answers any questions you throw at them, plus there are swag bags and door prizes, all just for showing up! Find one near you.
*Voting ends Sunday, August 5th, 2018 at 11:59PM PST
