Crate & Barrel was one of the few places we registered for gifts. Here are several of my top picks if you need some ideas on what to register for.

Electric hot water kettle – We use this thing multiple times a day. Soo much better than a tea kettle. No more running to turn off the stove once the kettle starts whistling! It has an auto shut-off and boils water rapidly. We use it for french-press coffee, tea, cooking, etc,.

Griddler/panini maker – I love this. You can make warm and gooey paninis with perfect grill marks or switch out the plates for the flat plates to use as a griddler for pancakes, eggs, etc,. Easy to clean and use. I’ve been making paninis to bring for lunch at work.

Picnic table in a bag – We finally broke this out on a recent, unusually warm Valentines Day in San Francisco at our neighborhood park. We picnic often (when the weather is nice), and a table makes it so much more convenient. We got the previous version in the red bag, but this one looks identical to the one we have. It’s simple to set up and I love the practical carry-on bag that holds it all together.

Wine saver – Makes our wine last so much longer! Both T and I are not big drinkers, so it’s rare for us to be able to finish an entire bottle by ourselves. So handy! And again, so easy to use (notice how I like to keep things simple?). It comes with two bottle tops so you can “save” a red and a white at the same time.

Salad spinner – The small size is perfect for the two of us. It’s efficient and practical, especially for those who aspire to eat more vegetables. The spinner part recently broke on mine (T went a little overboard with it), but Crate & Barrel said they would replace it for me even though it’s past the 90 day policy.

Smartstick Hand Blender – I really wanted to like this, but ended up returning it. I mainly got it for the whisk attachment for baking purposes, but the whisk really sucked. It made the ingredients fly all over the place. According to the reviews, it’s supposedly really good for immersion blending for soups and stuff and useless for the whisk attachment, but I wanted an electric mixer so back it went.

[all photos by crateandbarrel.com]