10 Things to Know About Bridal Registry

If you are among the masses who recently got engaged over this post holiday season, or know someone that did, here are some tips and advice before you start registering.

1. This is your ultimate wish-list. It's okay to ask for "splurge" items.
2. When creating your registry, don't be afraid to ask in-store consultants questions and advice.
3. Always register for more gifts than you have guests. And remember to choose gifts for all price ranges to give guest options.
4. Register more than one place to make it easier for guests to buy gifts, and make sure these stores have online bridal registries for out of town guests.
5. Register early so guests can rely on your registry for all gift giving events, including the engagement party, bridal showers, and the wedding.
6. Think of the sort of living and entertaining you want to do - and select items accordingly. Will you ever need that Soup Tureen? Do you want sterling silver?
7. When it comes to tableware, it is okay to mix patterns and shapes.
8. Include your husband in the registry decisions - he will be using these items, too.
9. Register items to consider: table, bath and bed linens; flatware; cookware and bakeware; dinnerware - everyday and fancy; crystal - white wine, crystal, champagne, and cocktail glasses; things for entertaining - cheese board, barware, candlesticks...
10. Give your registry information to your immediate family and those who are throwing parties and let them spread the word. If you have a wedding website, like knot.com, include a section for your places of registry.

Some popular registry brands to look at:
China: Raynaud, Anna Weatherley, J.L Coquet, William Yeoward, Philippe Deshoulieres, Annie Glass, Juliska
Flatware: Ricci, Couzon
Crystal: Varga, William Yeoward, Steuben Glass
Table Linens: Le Jacqaurd Francais, SFERRA
Bed Linens: Yves Delorme, SFERRA, Peacock Alley, Matouk, Scandia Down
Bath Linens: Matouk, Yves Delorme, Peacock Alley, Abyss and Habidecor

Visit Sallie home's online registry, today. You can e-mail info@salliehome.com for questions about the registry.

Butterflies Fly to New Heights with Varga Crystal's Springtime Highball Glass

In an earlier post, I mentioned butterflies are an upcoming trend for this spring and summer. Now I can't stop seeing butterflies everywhere! Varga Crystal has an amazing collection called Springtime that features what else but these delicate creatures. Each piece of stemware is beautifully etched with delicate and lively butterflies and leaves. The Springtime Highball glass is the perfect glass for sipping lemonade on a hot summer or spring day. It's perfection will make any drink refreshing and thirst quenching. Click here to view other Varga Crystal stemware available from Sallie home.

Price: $170

Relive the Renaissance Like Royalty With Varga Art Crystal Stemware

The Renaissance was an amazing era for the world; it was a time of intellectual pursuit in areas of the arts, philosophy, politics, science, literature, and religion. It was a time for grandeur and the Renaissance collection by Varga Art Crystal embodies this characteristic of the movement. Made with impeccable Hungarian craftsmanship, each piece is hand-cut with a crown design, symbolizing royalty. Like the linear perspective developed in painting during this era, each glass is created keeping lines in mind. Like the straight body of the highball glasses and the stems that draw the eye up and down on flute, martini, wine, and water glasses. The Renaissance design is available in clear, raspberry, sky blue, amber, and yellow/green.

Click here to view more of the Varga Art Crystal stemware and barware available at Sallie home.

Price: $150 - $450

The Center of Attention; William Yeoward Megan Flower Vase Centerpiece

The Megan Flower Vase by William Yeoward is the perfect centerpiece for your table. This handmade crystal vase has huge curve appeal which is enhanced by the bold flat vertical cuts running down the body, juxtaposed with a horizontal rimming around the neck. This crystal body is finished with the a scalloped rim to create a stunning and versatile tabletop accessory. At eleven inches tall, this vase is the perfect height for a dinner table centerpiece. Click here to view all the dazzling William Yeoward crystal available at Sallie home.

Price: $971

Printemps Stemware Emerges from Varga Crystal

Printemps crystal by Varga has it all, taste and style. Handcrafted with the most excellent quality and skill, Varga is one of the top crystals in the world. The Primtemps collection is adorned with dainty butterflies and emerging vines. The design is beautiful and perfect for any occasion, whether it be a spring dinner, baby shower, or New Year's celebration. This particular design comes in multiple colors, one for every mood. You can choice from clear, raspberry, sky blue, yellow/green, and amber (perfect for a fall celebration).

Click here to view Varga crystal stemware and giftware available at Sallie home.

Price: $160-432

Lady Primrose Vanity Trays to Keep Your Bathroom Vain

Vanity trays are a romantic way to show off your perfume bottles and lotions in a bathroom or powder room. Storing your bathroom items on a vanity tray can make your bathroom look ten times classier and more organized. There are so many vanity trays to choose from, so you need to pick the right one for your decor and personal style. Lady Primrose carries many wonderful vanity trays now in a few different styles.

Lady Primrose is known for their beautifully cut crystal decanters and bottles, so it is fitting that their primary vanity tray is made of crystal. The Large Crystal Vanity tray by Lady Primrose is exquisitely cut with a diamond design in the middle that bursts open into rays and is finished with a wonderful scalloped rim. For a different look, they now offer the Mirrored Vanity Tray. This is rectangular and completely mirrored for an uniquely reflective look that can be paired with a matching tissue box. Whatever your style, Lady Primrose creates excellent and high quality bathing products and accessories that can be found at Sallie home.

Crystal Tray Price: $40

Mirrored Tray Price: $60

Simply Divine: Varga Art Crystal's Simplicity Stemware

Simplicity is beauty in its purest form, especially when you start with Varga's Crystal. Varga Art Crystal's Simplicity stemware may be more plain and unadorned than Varga's other collections but definitely doesn't lack in comparison. This crystal will surely stand out in even the most extravagant events.

The Simplicity stemware is simply divine! The stem is skillfully cut for comfort and elegance. At the base of the glass there are subtle yet stunning oval cut circles that add much to its "ahh-quota". Because of this stemware's simplicity, it is a very popular glass to etch with a monogram. This collection is also available in Sky Blue, Raspberry, Amber, or a Yellow/Green.

Click here to view all of Varga Art Crystal's stemware and barware available at Sallie home.

Price: $115-$135

Varga Printemps Crystal Pitcher: A Refreshing Look for the Table

Crystal can make any table sparkle and a Varga Art Crystal water pitcher is the perfect way to make any table shine. Not everyone has a butler to make sure your guests glasses are full and a crystal pitcher is a beautiful and convenient way to serve water, juice or sangria to your guests. For a nice touch on a warm afternoon just add Fruit or lemon slices. It will give water a refreshing flavor along with a beautiful look.

The Varga Primtemps Water Pitcher is one of favorite looks from Varga. Its shape is sleek and contemporary and has a simple yet elegant design. Leafy vines are skillfully etched into the crystal and laced across the middle of the pitcher. The handle is cut for a flawless grip that looks amazing. In the Varga Primtemps pitcher your water never looked so refreshing. To view all of the Varga Art Crystal Primtemps stemware collection available at Sallie Home, click here.

"Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!": Varga Art Crystal Safari Stemware For Your Bar

"Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!" Animal prints have been ever so popular in home decorating and this trend is not dying out anytime soon. Now and in the spring, there have been, and will be, lots of safari prints to fill and accessorize your home. If you love this motif, then you'll love these Varga Art Crystal Safari stemware and barware that perfectly compliment any spot, stripe or leopard print on your walls, floors or tabletop.

The Safari collection by Varga has an exquisite array of giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, gazelles and other indigenous African animals and vegetation hand-etched onto Varga's beautiful, top-quality clear crystal. The details are so intricate the African safari landscape will come alive in your hand. The decorated crystal comes in a full set of stemware and barware, including decanters, brandy sniffers and martini glasses. My favorite is the Varga Safari Ships Decanter. It's the perfect gift for any animal lover.

Click here to view all of Varga Art Crystal's collections available at Sallie Home.

Springtime Comes Sooner Than Expected with Varga Art Crystal

It is almost time! The cold weather will soon dissipate and the sweet smells and noises of spring will circulate the air. Consumers are now starting to make the necessary preparations for this change in season, buying t-shirts and shorts and retiring their overcoats and wool pants. But why only adjust your wardrobe for the changing season? Why not change the look of your table with new dinnerware and crystal that is more fitting for the Spring season?

Varga Art Crystal creates an incredible, one-of-a-kind stemware collection that is perfect for springtime; in fact, this particular collection has been named, Springtime and is Varga's most popular pattern. Each crystal glass is intricately engraved with timeless butterflies, dragonflies, and climbing vines. What could scream spring more than that?

These works of art, like all of Varga's crystal, are offered in an array of colors including, clear, amber, cobalt blue, yellow-green, raspberry, and sky blue. To enhance the springtime look and feel, these glasses can be coupled perfectly with the beautiful Tropic Limoges china dinnerware by Raynaud, which is also offered in an assortment of colors. Toast to spring with the exquisite Springtime champagne flute by Varga. To directly view the Varga Art Collection available at Sallie Home, click here.

Varga Art Crystal: Athens Crystal Stemware for the Table

According to wine enthusiasts, the glass directly affects the savor of the wine. To truly appreciate and enjoy wine, one has to understand the role the eye plays in conjunction with the mouth while drinking wine. So I ask, what better way is there to please your eye than to drink from a beautifully crafted Varga 'Athens Collection' wine glass?

Varga Art Crystal's one-of-a-kind stemware is produced by Hungarian craftsman who hand-cut and intricately engrave each glass, turning ordinary crystal into works of art. The Athens pattern illustrates the uniqueness and skill of Varga's stemware that has captured the likes of presidents, royalty, heads of state, and corporations who have started giving Varga Art Crystal as gifts and awards.

The Athens Collection also exhibits another strength of Varga that separates them from the rest; color. The Athens Collection is available, not only in clear but, in Raspberry, Sky Blue, Amber, Cobalt, and Yellow/Green, as well. With all these color choices, it is easy to find the perfect stemware to compliment your dinnerware; making entertaining colorful and elegant at the same time. Click here to go directly to Sallie Home's Varga crystal stemware, barware, and gifts page.