Coffee Break: Branch Initial Necklace
This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I'm always a fan of initial necklaces, and I haven't seen one with details like this one from Cathy Waterman before.
I love the more organic, textured details on the initial itself, and the diamond leaf accents add some sparkle and interest. The necklace is handcrafted in 22k yellow gold.
The necklace is $1,360 at Ylang 23; you can find a similar version (inside a branched circle) at Shop Etc. Jewelry. (Ylang 23 has been around for years and is always fun to browse; I'm not familiar with Shop Etc. Jewelry.)
Sales of note for 8/21/25:
- Ann Taylor – $20 sale types (select styles), 25% off tops and sweaters, and extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 10% off new womenswear styles with code
- Dermstore – 20% off the Anniversary Edit
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off all sale
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off late summer styles, plus extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything and extra 15% off $100+
- M.M.LaFleur – Up to 70% off new markdowns – try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off.
- Neiman Marcus – Last call designer sale! Spend $200, get a $50 gift card (up to $2000+ spend with $500 gift card)
- Nordstrom – 9,800+ new women's markdowns
- Rothy's – Ooh: limited edition T-strap flats / Mary Janes
- Spanx – End of summer sale
- Talbots – 25% off your regular price purchase, also, end-of-season clearance
- Tuckernuck – Sample sale, prices up to 70% off! (Including lots of this bestselling work dress marked to under $75)
Family member just had a come-to-Jesus discussion about kidney function. He has very little clue about a kidney-healthy diet. How can I help him find a good dietician out there (if that is the right term) who isn’t trying to push supplements or highly-processed pre-cooked meals but understand his good foods and his bad foods and good/bad choices? IDK how to help him sort through the fraudsters and the woo (and I get what a kidney-healthy diet looks like from parents with these concerns, but it’s all new and calling me before every meal is not going to cut it).
Who had this meeting with him? A health professional, right? Then the health professional should be making the recommendations – have him call as a follow-up.
A registered dietician isn’t going to do any of this. He should ask his doctor for a referral.
There are dietitians who specialize in dialysis and kidney function. You can absolutely get a dietitian with experience on this topic.
I meant try to sell him on weird pre packed meals and snake oil
Oh, yes. RDs won’t push weird stuff. And I think supplements are only recommended in cases where inadequate intake is unavoidable (in which case supplements are good actually!).
In general supplements and processed foods aren’t likely to be kidney friendly, so a nephrology dietitian isn’t going to be recommending them.
I really wish we had better labeling laws for kidney patients.
A nephrologist can refer to a specialized dietitian who works mainly with kidney patients, or they can provide the information the dietitian needs to work with.
Maybe the National Kidney Foundation has some tips: https://www.kidney.org/
Most major medical centers that see complex patients like your family member have nutritionists on staff who see patients for these questions. The cancer centers have one, the gastroenterologists have one, the nephrologists have one etc.. Ask his doctor who sees the patients with kidney disease.
These folks are great. You see them once, then all follow-up questions can be by phone or by MyChart messages. Super convenient. If you need another full appointment, you can do it remotely. These days you may be able to do the first appointment remotely too.
Do not get your diet advice online. Only follow your doctor’s advice. Do not buy ANY supplements as they are no screened / regulated / studied sufficiently and many can cause serious issues if your kidneys are not working correctly.
And every doctor who prescribes him/her medicines needs to know about this issue because some medicines are contraindicated if you have more severe kidney dysfunction, or the doses have to be changed.
Hopefully if they are a major medical center they have RDs and not nutritionists.
DaVita has an app for patients to use to track diet. The app also has recipes etc.
This week has been 100 years long. Hoooooooooow is it not Friday yet?
Tell me about it!!!
I thought this morning was Friday….
Favorite high-veggie recipes that still have protein? I’m sick of baked chicken and veggies. Bonus if they are easy and or take less than 20 min to prep (cook time is fine, I’m talking hands on). I need to eat a lot more veggies and I hate lettuce, as a general rule.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/kalyns-stuffed-cabbage-casserole/
https://www.skinnytaste.com/chunky-beef-cabbage-and-tomato-soup-instant-pot/
Lots of quiche/frittatas/strata/egg bakes – here is one https://www.skinnytaste.com/spinach-ricotta-quiche/
https://www.skinnytaste.com/broccoli-cheddar-soup/ – I add cooked ground turkey to this sometimes to increase protein
Spaghetti squash lasagna
this has been my summer of quinoa salads. I make a simple oil and vinegar salad dressing (store bought will be fine), add vegetables, hard cheese, and canned chickpeas. I make a double batch of quinoa to make prep the next day easier.
I saute vegetables in the wok and add a good sauce (see below link for an example) https://andrewandheathereat.blogspot.com/2017/11/surf-and-turf-black-pepper-udon-noodles.html
Also gochujang sauce goes with any veg!
One of my staples is homemade lentil soup made with a ton of vegetables. I blend it with my immersion blender after it’s finished cooking. I don’t have a recipe – just use whatever veggies I have on hand. Sometimes it’s a bag of Trader Joe’s cruciferous crunch bagged salad sautéed with onion/garlic/spices, then simmered with stock or broth and dried lentils. A big squeeze of lemon really brightens up the earthiness of the lentils.
1C cooked lentils = 18g protein.
Stir with lots of veggies and meat or tofu
Tofu salad – cube soft or medium tofu, add vegetables and use a soy-miso dressing
Some of the things in our regular rotation:
Sheet pan veggie shwarma –
https://therealfooddietitians.com/sheet-pan-veggie-shawarma-lemon-tahini-dressing/
I also make a pasta salad with Jenny Rosenstrach’s marinated beans. Pasta, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. The beans make enough marinade to use as dressing.
https://www.randomhousebooks.com/campaign/pizza-salad-weekday-vegetarians/
Zucchini boats – I can’t find the recipe we use, but we hollow out zucchini halves, then we cook a lb of turkey with half a jar of salsa. Add a can of black beans and two cups of corn. full the zucchini halves, sprinkle with cheese and bake. There are recipes online for many variations of this.
I put TJ’s chicken on this salad, but the chickpeas and quinoa alone are a good source of protein:
https://rainbowplantlife.com/quinoa-salad/
I also make her lentil curry. I haven’t added chicken to that, but you could and see if you like it.
– egg roll bowls are great – I have a Skinnytaste cookbook recipe I use but this might be similar. You can cheat with pre-chopped coleslaw. https://www.skinnytaste.com/chicken-egg-roll-bowl/
– stirfries — you can get premade kits and add more frozen stirfried veggies to them very easily. i get some at Walmart from Taylor Farms I think but Aldi’s has also.
– lasagnas are easy to make veggie heavy — swap some noodles for zucchini if you like, or keep the noodles and load up on veg in the sauce
– if you like peppers, try making nachos in them with ground beef + cheese (i hate peppers so haven’t tried!)
I add veggies to a lot of things. Broccoli is usually pretty inoffensive, so is spinach if it’s chopped. I think of beans more for fiber than veggie servings but I think they count — cannelini beans or black beans are usually inoffensive. Broccoli slaw or shredded carrots can also work. And then the obvious swaps like riced cauliflower for rice, zoodles for noodles, etc.
and check out VB6 by the NYT guy (Mark? Matt?) — he has a lot of seat-of-your-pants recipes that are based on what you’ve got on hand that are kind of nice.
Mark Bittman
<3
Absolutely love the fact tha Mark Bittman can an afterthought idea to mean "that guy". I have read him (fine in principle, but OMG so dull for the two books I've bought), and think he's made a massive impact, but yeah, hilarious that he also can be, you "that guy".
Zucchini lasagna with sauce from a jar: it’s just slice, layer, and bake. You can add a lot of flavor with herbs and fancier cheese mixes with no additional work on your part
This is super watery unless you salt the zucchinis first
Stir fry is the answer- shrimp/ground turkey/lean ground beef/chicken
$1300 for something that looks like it came from Claire’s or the Icing. Got it.
That was my thought. For over $1k, I want something that is beautiful.
22k gold though?
I feel like several of the recommendations this week have been… not great.
That’s part of the charm!
Gosh that’s so rude. I like this, btw.
Huh? Rude?
I like it too.
It totally looks like that necklace Anne Bolyne wears in those portraits where no one is sure if she’s Anne Bolyne or just a woman wearing a B
I like it and was thinking it would be a good birthday present for my 10-year-old niece so yeah, Claire’s.
At least it’s real gold. What I can’t stand is costume jewelry that costs $300+. Costume jewelry should be like $30 and you can’t convince me otherwise.
For those of you with workplaces that are cracking down on WFH or have rules for qualifying for WFH related to workspace in the home or presence of children, what do those look like? I’ve been in liberal WFH for about 17 years (family member with chronic health condition) but it has never been formalized. Now that so many people are perceived as abusing it, I’m worried that I will be caught up in a dragnet meant to weed out people not actually doing the work (has never been an issue for me and I prefer to be at work working but it’s not always in the cards).
This doesn’t really answer your question because this is absurd and drafted by not serious people. But a draft WFH policy was just given to me for review in my org… it includes nonsense like “random internet speed checks will be conducted” and “if you do go into the office for any reason, you must work a minimum of 4 hours onsite” and authorizes “random home visits by supervisors to determine compliance with all policies.”
lol, if supervisors have time to drive around for home visits…
Right?
I think it’s usually just certifying that you have childcare for a minimum of 40 hours a week. Sometimes they might ask to see proof, but that isn’t always straightforward to do if you have family help. I’m not really sure what sort of proof they could demand if you say your kids go to a grandma’s house after school, for example.
So many colleagues lie on those attestations. I see lil Jimmy pop into frame of calls all the time.
I have one exceptionally well-behaved child, am full remote, and have always had child care for him except when he’s sick.
It’s not fair *to him* to be plopped in front of the TV while Mommy does work. And if I’m outside playing wiffle ball with him, I’m being a terrible employee.
It’s really kid-dependent. My kid could actually play alone (without screens) for a couple of hours straight by age 6 or 7. Not every kid is like that, but I know others who are the same way. She does aftercare 3x a week but it’s because it’s a fun social thing for her, not because we really need childcare after school.
Isn’t the point of being home sick is that you are resting/reading/sleeping/watching TV? Not outside playing wiffle ball?
Sick kids happen, sick caregivers happen, holidays and caregiver vacations happen.
That’s what sick days, personal days, and vacation days are for.
Not the posted on this but I often have no notice of a sick kid but am stuck with a deadline I can’t move, so I am going to be working no matter what. We are staffed to the bone to squeeze out profits and there isn’t the equivalent of a substitute teacher to call. It is just a case of no way out but through. At some point something in the system will break and people will miss a filing but that’s on the people making the big $. I’m just trying my best.
I WFH and have unlimited PTO. Sure, I could take a full day of PTO every time my kid got sick or were out of school for a random teacher workday. Or I could attend my meetings, do my work, and let my kid sleep in, play with Lego, and enjoy some screen time, with the slight risk that he’ll pop into a Zoom.
I’d love to have dedicated sick days! Give them to me and I’ll use them.
I have unlimited, dedicated sick leave but it’s really frowned upon to use it every time you have a cold or your kid is home from school. Unless my kid is seriously ill, I work from home with a sick kid.
What even is a child for WFH? Like your teens get home from school at 3. Is that really going to be a problem? Or a disabled child of any age? Or an elderly parent living with you? I feel like this works for a solo adult with a 2BR apartment so one BR can be a dedicated office with a real door on it but my living situation was set before I took this job and I can’t just manufacture a new living situation for a to-be-drafted policy.
That’s my issue with it – having your 3 year old home while you try to work is totally different from having your 13 home. I’ve heard of age limits, but they usually skew too old (plenty of kids under 12 can be reasonably self-sufficient after school) and it doesn’t account for disabilities and for things like elder care. There are a lot of responsibilities besides kids that take your focus off work.
Yes, 12 is too old. A 9 year old can get themselves a snack and stay busy for two hours after school while the parent finishes work.
More likely they will just drag *everyone* back to the office 4-5 days per week rather than picking out individual abusers. This is happening to me. I’m at the point where I won’t ever work in an office again (at least not more than 1 day per week, or for occasional trips to the home office). But I know not everyone has that luxury.
How are you pulling that off?
Late in my career and decent retirement savings. Enough experience to (hopefully) get contract roles if needed.
I currently have a full time remote job and also won’t go back to the office. I’d quit if they forced it, and if I couldn’t find something else remote, I’d go all-in on my side hustle which is currently earning about ~50% of my full-time salary, and growing.
I have a jar of celery seed that came in a spice kit. I have never cooked with celery seed, and I’m trying to try all of my spices! Anyone have a good recipe that uses it?
i use it in buffalo chicken pasta — i’ll try to find the recipe. it’s basically raw chicken, wing sauce, white vinegar, and celery seed in the crockpot for 8 hours. and i really do notice when i’m out of celery seed.
can’t find my recipe online anywhere – it’s an old WW one. here it is:
Buffalo Chicken Pasta
4 Bonelss Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Franks hot wing sauce
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 Tbsp melted light margarine
1/8 tsp celery seeds
black pepper to taste
4 wedges Laughing Cow Light Creamy Herb and Garlic
4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta (you can do protein pasta for more protein)
(I also like to add chopped cauliflower to add bulk and vegetables)
Instructions:
Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker. Combine the wing sauce, vinegar, margarine, celery seeds and black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the chicken and cook on low for about 6 hours. When chicken is cooked, cut it up into small pieces and add the 4 wedges of cheese, stirring until melted. Cover and let it cook for awhile longer, just to let the cheese mix in well. Serve over hot cooked pasta.
I use it to rim a bloody Mary. It would be good in tomato soup.
It’s a great addition to Cole slaw
You can sprinkle a little in egg salad or potato salad.
Hot dog!
it’s great in chilli!
I use it when I make roast in the crockpot. I don’t have a proper recipe, but here’s what I include: worcester and soy sauce in the crockpot, garlic salt, celery seed, black pepper, and meat tenderizer powder rubbed on the roast. I cooked it with bell pepper and onion on low for 6-8 hours, and add carrots and mushrooms for the last ~hour of cooking.
I used it a lot (ground) as a substitute for lovage, which figures prominently in ancient Roman cuisine. Look for recipes by Apicius.
I’m aiming a little more for Tuesday night and a little less Trimalchio, haha. But I love this suggestion!
How do you deal with it when people in positions of power spread deliberate falsehoods? (Often conservative but not always.) Examples: a priest telling a congregation that third trimester abortions happen “because the woman gets mad at papi at 38 weeks and decides to abort,” various falsehoods about what was done/said at protests, what’s in books, etc.
Challenge them directly and make them uncomfortable. I called someone out for spreading lies about a certain author on a work Zoom and have no regrets.
The same way I deal with anything I don’t like. I JSFAMO.
:)
What does this acronym mean?
Never mind, got it from Google: “Just Say Fooey And Move On”
I would find organizations that align with my worldviews.
For that one I would tell them that my mom had a later term abortion because she was told that if she carried the baby to term there was a good chance I would be left an orphan.
Speak up, talk to the vestry, call them out on it
I don’t want to be friends with the lonely middle-aged guy in my condo building. I’m happy to say hi in the hallway. I don’t want to go over for coffee or be invited to birthday parties or give him my phone number. I’ve made the mistake of going for a few walks and am now dodging him.
Kind ways to say no and discourage more? He has unlimited time and nothing to do, so “sorry, I’m busy this weekend” leads to “how about next weekend.” I don’t have family/pets/SO I can blame.
What is your gut telling you about the danger/crazy level here?
Low. He is disabled and socially awkward, not creepy. I just don’t have bandwidth for someone this needy.
I get it, and that’s good. Do you listen to Awesome Etiquette? This is the sort of sample script they usually nail.
How about something like ” You seem like a nice guy but I’m not really feeling a connection — friendship or otherwise. I wish you all the best.” or “I appreciate the invitations, but I prefer to keep my relationships with neighbors more casual. I’m happy to chat when we run into each other though!”
I wouldn’t say any of this. OP, I think you can just say you’re busy with work right now and leave it at that. A few times of being vague, and I would guess he stops asking.
+1.
It’s Dallas. Channel your inner NYC bitch or go AOC democrat.
ChatGPT gave some options:
“No, thank you. I’m not looking to make plans.”
“I’m not interested in hanging out, but I’ll see you around the building.”
“I understand you’d like company, but I’m not available for that. Please don’t take it personally.”
“I’m not looking to make new friends right now, but I’m happy to say hi when I see you.”
“Thanks for the invite, but I prefer to keep my social life separate from home.”
“I don’t give out my phone number, but I’ll see you around the building.”
“I’m not up for socializing outside the hallway, but it’s nice to say hello in passing.”
Also some exit lines if cornered:
“I’ve got to get going now—take care.”
“Good seeing you, I’m heading out.”
“I’ll let you go—I’m in the middle of something.”
I also like this section:
Body Language Helps Too
Smile politely, keep moving in the hallway.
Don’t linger to explain.
If you do stop, angle your body like you’re on your way somewhere.