Wednesday, August 21, 2013

What's Been Annoying Me Lately.

I think it's time I go back to my roots on this little blog. This includes my ranting ha ha. So, the last time I looked, it's been over a year since I did a "pet peeve" post. Don't believe that I'm now cured from letting so many things get on my nerves. Ha ha. It's funny thinking about it. Nope, I'm still the same old ranting Annie. I guess I've just been outsourcing my rants to easy outlets like my husband. But my husband has been working 12 hour shifts seven days a week for the last month, so it's all been building up, I suppose.

I've been getting pretty upset lately seeing the complete decline of etiquette and propriety in our society. I would have fit in very well in pretty much any society before 1970 or so. Any society that put great emphasis on etiquette. I'm the type of person who consults Emily Post frequently to see if I'm justified in my pet peeves. And I usually am.
^^^Emily Post: My hero^^^

Case in point: wedding registries and bridal/baby showers. For years I have cringed every time a wedding invite comes with the wedding registries boldly printed on them. Yours might have been one of them. I don't hold it against anyone, because it's become an acceptable thing. But for me it's not. You're just not supposed to put that there, implying "hey! buy me presents!" As engaged couples, we're all thinking it, but we should still be polite and not presumptuous about it. I refused to put my registries on my wedding invitation and so many people seemed so confused when they had to ask me, parents, etc. if we had a registry. But that's how it used to be!! You asked. Or went to the department store and asked them. Of course it's never been like that in my lifetime, but I wish that etiquette would return.

What brought on all of this? Well, just a few days ago, I ran into a friend at the post office who opened a wedding invitation she had received. And I saw a new low--possibly a new trend in wedding gifting. The insert read, "the couple is registered at [store], but in lieu of gifts, cash donations are appreciated for honeymoon expenses." I've also been seeing "cute" but incredibly tacky pinterest ideas to put a "honeymoon donation box" out at the reception. Blatantly asking for cash, to me, is in very bad taste. I just don't agree with it!! Emily Post would not approve either. And yes, I did receive a lot of cash when I got married (and it was great) but I made sure to not give off any airs that I was asking for it or expecting it.

Same thing goes for bridal/baby showers. It's not cool to go out and ask who is going to host you a shower. And yes, I just saw this happen on a facebook group a week or so ago, and I was in shock. It's nice to have a shower, but it seems the social norm is becoming to expect everyone to give them everything instead of viewing a shower as an "unexpected" bonus of getting married/having a baby.

Basically this is just a plea for etiquette. Bring back the manners!

For the sake of this not turning into a super long blog post, I think I'll leave it at that, even though I have a few more things. I always do. So stay tuned for my upcoming post in this series about pinterest trends that need to go away, newborn photography, and Brad Pitt false doctrine.

Thanks for reading, and stay classy!

4 comments:

  1. The cash thing is crazy! If you don't have the funds to go on a big fancy honeymoon then don't go! Go somewhere you can afford. Not everyone has to go to these exotic places on their honeymoon. Also, asking for a shower?! That's a little embarrassing. I think it's because young people these days feel entitled.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your rants and agree with leaving the registry off your wedding invites, but I'm sure it was the store marketers who started that trend. Shower invites, on the other hand, don't bother me when it says where the person is regisrered because the whole reason you go to a shower is to take a gift.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh Annie, how I love your posts. I feel the exact same way, I almost died when I got a birthday invitation (well, my 5 year old at the time) and it said that the kid in question, had very specific toy preferences, so they provided a list of the toys she wanted and stores where they could be found. My daughter didn't go ;)

    ReplyDelete

 
BLOG TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS