Thursday’s Workwear Report: The Everyday Linen Shirt
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
We’re entering the time of year when the weather is so uncomfortable that I don’t particularly mind looking a little bit rumpled if it’s going to keep me cool.
Linen workwear is going to be a know-your-office situation, but I think this button-up from Banana Republic would work for me on most days. I’d pick a pant or skirt that will look a little crisper, and I think this navy color would look lovely with a sky blue midi skirt currently hanging in my closet.
The shirt is on sale for $54.99-$79.99 at Banana Republic and comes in sizes XXS-XXL. It also comes in 10 other solids and prints.
Probably the weirdest question but does anyone else struggle with feeling like they don’t have enough normalcy in their life and routine? It feels like every single day is a one off. An appointment, a kids performance, a dinner out, a coffee date with a friend I haven’t seen in months who is never available on weekends. I’m constantly playing catch up and just trying to have a day where I work a normal workday and don’t have to do non- work things. Is there a better way to build barriers around this? Fwiw my working mom friends seem to constantly be doing this too. But I’m behind and constantly frustrated. I’m dreading next week when I’ll have zero childcare for one kid. I’m looking forward to the school year but you know how that goes: a holiday, a conference, a concert. I know I don’t thrive on this level of busy and my solution has been to cancel my own medical appointments and self care but it’s still not enough. I think our social life is much quieter than most people’s but my friends do matter so I can’t totally blow stuff off. I kind of of low key want to slam my office door and yell “leave me alone until 5.”
Can you just mentally allot 1.5 hours a day to “today’s one-off”? Sounds like part of the problem is assuming you’re going to have uninterrupted days, which leaves you behind your planned to-do list every time.
Yeah, I feel this all the time. No week looks the same – my teaching changes from term to term pretty dramatically. I think I’d find it easier if I was always on campus the same 2 days a week. And a student in crisis, some sort of admin mess-up, etc can really derail my day.
Prioritize what you want. You can say no to things, or to things on certain days, if you want more stability and predictability.
But if having all the coffee dates and get-togethers is your priority, you are experiencing the trade off.
It’s not like that though. Not the OP but you can’t really cut your kid’s concert or an xray for an ankle sprain. It’s always something that you can’t really defer and then something also jumps into the queue.
+1
This.
She also mentioned coffee and dinner out, though. Those aren’t mandatory, even if they might be really nice.
She can also just wait to respond to friends during her workday. It’s not like a text asking about coffee is a summons.
I feel this way all the time. I do my best to carve out an hour each day for a workout as my “me time” but our schedule is insane. We have one teen (not yet driving) who is heavily involved in sports and other school-related activities. We both have full-time demanding jobs, plus my 82-year-old mother (a very limited driver) is now permanently living with us. Between the job demands, ferrying the teen around, and getting my mother to her various appointments, we are never on any sort of regular schedule. For example, today is both my kid’s first day of high school and his first high school football scrimmage, which is, of course, two hours away from where we live. One thing I’ve done at least once a month the last 3 months is declare myself completely off for a Sunday. No church, no shopping, no social stuff, just me and a good book or tv show. It does give me a chance to recharge but only if I make sure my phone is off.
The dynamic you describe is why I stopped going to church on Sundays. I miss it, I really do. But I REALLY need one day a week where I’m not obligated to be somewhere.
This is very interesting. I go to church regularly in part because at a minimum I get to sit quietly somewhere for an hour.
But for me, when I go, my mind wanders to the schedule and my personal calendar.
I quit going to church because I don’t believe and was done pretending. I found it so freeing to get that time back. I wasn’t being pressured to spend one week a month providing free babysitting for the nursery (I don’t like watching other people’s kids and was tired of being told it would psych me up for a second child). I wasn’t being preached at about how I should feel guilty for not volunteering, for not proselytizing, for not giving more money so the pastor and his SAH wife could buy a second BMW because her Audi was just not cutting it to get her to her salon appointments any longer.
I absolutely have this experience. No perfect solution, but some things that have helped:
1. being willing to schedule things (usually appointments, house stuff, etc) far out into the future;
2. scheduling only one unusual thing per day (ideally one per week);
3. getting supplemental childcare to the extent possible;
4. reallocating things with my spouse.
This is the way.
I think the key is understanding that is a normal day and planning accordingly. Once you accept the disruptions and incorporate them into how you approach things, it feels normal.
Sounds like these ARE your normal days. How do you build a structure where things like deep work, errands, chores, and exercise always get done under the circumstances you’re actually living with?
I guess that’s the struggle. When I have a day where I work 9-5 and then make my kids dinner, put them to bed on time and don’t have to drive across town or deal with the babysitter I feel like I can handle my life. I really do want that to be the default. But do I put my foot down on sports and playdates and completely drop my own friendships? Because maybe that’s what it takes for me to be ok? My normal is just so uncomfortable that I feel miserable. My work is not that demanding but I’m falling behind and my husband has alluded to me quitting. He is doing a ton as well and says he feels the same level of chaos. I really don’t want that but this feels unsustainable even when I recognize that other people are fine with this level of chaos and busyness.
How old are your kids? how many kids do you have? Weeknight play dates are unusual where I live, unless you’re talking about neighbors who walk to each others’ houses. Can you set up carpools for activities?
To the ‘do I put my foot down on playdates’ – yes. We do not do weeknight playdates, and each kid gets one activity max per season. We have also opted out of any and all travel sports, it’s just not worth the time sacrifice.
It does get better with older kids, but I think it would also be helpful for you to set more limits in terms of how much stuff you’re doing during the week, simplify dinners, and limit during the day ‘fun’ errands.
I have as much as delivered/shipped as possible – our grocery store does click and collect, Target/Costco delivers all of our toiletries, and our local drugstore does delivery for all of our meds.
I have an 8 year old – we do not do weeknight playdates ever during the school year, and selectively during the summer. Selectively meaning we do not host them, and the hosting parents has to offer to do rides. If they don’t, we don’t necessarily ask, but we just decline. It’s just too chaotic otherwise.
Yes, you absolutely can put your foot down on sports and playdates. Plenty of kids grow up into well functioning adults without being in all the social activities and musical performances and travel sports. Putting guardrails around your personal needs and your family’s time demands does not mean you must completely drop your friends, either. You can set whatever social availability works for you. You don’t have to run yourself ragged because your other friends protect their own time more aggressively than you are right now.
I agree with this. I think accepting that life is busy right now, and unexpected things come up. Build some buffer into your schedule so you have room for the unexpected. Plan breaks and when tasks are going to get done to get more control over your time. Instead of aiming for a “normal”uninterrupted day, try first for an uninterrupted hour or morning, and see what it takes to get there first. Then apply what you did to more days until you start to feel more balanced.
Yes I struggle with this also. I am desperate, not necessarily for an easy day, or a simple day, I just want a normal day. One where I am responsible only for the normal and usual work, family, and household responsibilities. In addition to a demanding job where leaning out is not a possibility (as a prosecutor a lot of it involves victims and most of it involves public safety), I am eyeballs deep in elder care, with some health limitations of my own to narrow the parameters of what I am capable of doing. I think the biggest problem right now for me is feeling like I don’t have much agency over my days and my life as whole.
Isn’t this just being a mom to school age kids? Divide what you can with your spouse and lean into the quieter times (I love Sept/Oct because we’re back in the school year swing of things but the holiday craziness hasn’t ramped up yet). But I feel like otherwise this just is what it is.
A few things:
Consider tracking your time for a week, including noting when you felt more at peace or more stressed. Laura Vanderkam is a good resource for this.
Consider if there are activities that you enjoy but only at certain times of day. For example, I typically get a lot more enjoyment out of meeting friends when it’s during the day – I’m not so great at social get-togethers at night. You can also consider combinations. If you like audiobooks, for example, you can make it a habit to listen to one on the commute. You can walk while also catching up with a friend on the phone.
On the same note, consider the scheduling options for non-enjoyable but mandatory activities, like doctor’s visits. I strongly prefer appointments at the beginning or end of the day and find them much less disruptive than mid-day appointments. I’d rather get up early, even lose a little sleep, to have a 7:30 appointment rather than a 10:45. Find out what works best for your personal clock and make your appointments early so they feel less disruptive.
Yes! Thank you for putting this into words. I have a kid who is living at home while attending college. It’s hard not to let her chaos become my chaos!
Do you think this applies to high school kids, too? I’m struggling to figure out the right balance between being aware of my teen’s schedule while not managing it for him. He’s actually doing a pretty good job overall, but I still feel like it’s my responsibility to know what’s going on. And sometimes, it matters logistically — like when can we all eat supper?
My household shares calendars just for sanity’s sake. I don’t always know what the blocked out times are blocked out for, but it helps to know who is where when.
I feel this way a LOT. I am busier than I’m actually comfortable with. Most of it’s really not optional, which leads to cutting out things that are just “for me” because it’s the only negotiable part of the whole operation.
I feel this way a lot and struggle with it too.
I hate that so many of us feel this way, but I’m also finding it validating? I swear I work with people who are either robots or truly love being busy and on the go 24/7. And that is not me, and I beat myself up for it.
We decided to have one kid (and I LOVE having a kid) in part due to not being mentally equipped for as much go-go-go as you need in our area with two kids.
We also stopped at one kid, mainly for other reasons, although this has been a nice side benefit now that she’s older. I still feel like we’re constantly on the go, but i don’t know how I would manage it with two kids.
God, I hate the “I don’t know how I’d handle x” trope. You’re a capable woman. You’d figure it out just like you’ve figured everything else out.
It sounds like you made the right choice for you, and I don’t mean to suggest you should have had more. But can we all agree to stop discounting our own capabilities by saying “I don’t know how I’d manage [insert life circumstance here]”? You would figure it out.
I think you’re missing the point. Obviously she would figure it out – we all would if we had to. She’s just saying (I presume, because it’s how I feel) that we could see the way forward with one kid in a way that we can’t with two or more. There’s a lot of value in feeling like “yes, this path is manageable. I feel confident I can do this” even if *technically* you could also say “if I had to have multiple kids, I’d handle it.”
Saying you’re “not mentally equipped” or “don’t know how [you] would” to handle something women have been handling for millennia is fundamentally underselling yourself and your capabilities. If you want to communicate that you think it would be a big lift for you, go off, I guess, or you could just say “we chose not to have a second, and that’s been the right choice for us” without the handwringing.
You’re reading way too much into it – handwringing, if you will.
I’m allowed to have a pet peeve, bestie, and mine is women who cut themselves down for no reason.
One of the comments was mine and I absolutely wasn’t “cutting myself down” – saying I wasn’t mentally equipped for more kids was shorthand for saying I did not desire that life, that it would push me beyond a level that I would enjoy. I’m extremely capable and tough as nails. I also have a high degree of personal awareness and am protective of my well-being. I knew then (and know now) what kinds of choices will make me happy.
My pet peeve is women who try to normalize suffering for other women. I stopped at one child by choice, with zero desire to have another. Could I survive? Yes. Do I want that life? No, and before I permanently prevented the possibility I would have taken steps to stop it if it foisted itself on me.
These past years, I’ve had a number of friends go on Vyvanse or Adderall, and I feel like I’m being left in the dust. The pressure to keep up is a lot!
It’s giving 1960s housewives taking quaaludes.
People are doing this? Is it really ADHD, or is the pace of modern life wayyyy too much?
The main thing I hate after the schedule chaos is that I never have anything but divided attention. It sucks.
A few things that have helped me:
– I try to avoid mid-day appointments whenever I can. Not always possible, but if I can schedule them in the early morning or late afternoon, I will.
– I keep 9 a.m.-3 p.m. as my core work hours, and even though I’m in the office longer than that, I try really hard not to schedule meetings outside this window. Again, not always possible, but it does help.
– Build some no-activity evenings into your schedule. We do our best to avoid Wednesdays and use that as a re-set day to catch up on chores or just relax. I commented above that I stopped going to church on Sundays because I truly need a day every week when I’m not expected to be up and dressed at a specific time. I miss it, though.
– I would do lunch with a friend, because that’s my set break time anyway, but I wouldn’t do a mid-week coffee because it’s too disruptive.
Even so, it can be hard, and I’m not sure there’s a right answer here. Especially when school-related things start stacking up.
I’m considering a long weekend in a walkable city. I’d like to fly there, ok to uber to the town/city, then just walk everywhere until I have to get to the airport. I’m open to US or outside US. I’m in Chicago, don’t want NYC or Boston. Might do a week-long vacation next year so open to recommendations for both in and outside the US. I am comfortable walking several miles a day but I’d like museums, eclectic food, entertainment, maybe gardens/outdoors, and a nice hotel. I don’t want to take a train, bus, etc. while there (unless weather emergency, then I’m ok with a taxi or uber, anyway). Just me, I’m 42.
How long of a weekend? Like, in your shoes, I would 100% go to Paris or similar since ORD has so many great nonstops – fly Thurs night, take 3 days off, home on Tuesday.
Philly is extremely walkable. You can start as far down as Penn’s Landing and essentially walk the length of the scenic areas up to the University of Pennsylvania, which has got to be 40 or so city blocks. If you walked along Walnut Street you could also veer off to other neighborhoods – Chinatown, South Street, Rittenhouse Square. It’s been ages since I lived there so consult a map, lol, but it is an amazing city for walkers.
100% – I always forget to suggest Philly for this kind of question because I live here, but it is amazingly walkable. We own a car, but typically put 1,000-2,000 miles a *year* on it, and that is 90% shore runs in the summer.
Yup. My car use is exclusively for the shore and hiking/skiing
Philadelphia is super walkable. You can walk from the art museum to the eastern edge of Old City in an hour or so.
just spent a weekend walking around Bologna and totally fell in love! Not sure there’s enough for a week just in the city but there’s also easy train connections to other places.
Montreal
Seconding this, or Quebec City.
Agree with Philly, their art museums are some of my favorite. Last fall before thanksgiving I did a long weekend solo trip to Quebec and that was fun. Several good museums, I did a food tour, and lots of cute hotels. Depending where you stay in DC you could make it walkable, but I do prefer doing some train to get between the major neighborhoods. So many museums though.
US cities where you can do this beyond Boston/NYC:
-Philly
-DC
-Chicago
-San Francisco
-Seattle
In non summer months – i’d also include charleston, miami, key west
I would not pick San Francisco or Seattle these days, having split the last decade between the two. The good museums are in the bad parts of town in both, and you have to REALLY like hills.
I’ve never heard anyone describe SF or Miami as walkable, lol.
You have to take brief taxis/ubers between neighborhoods but they both have a number of neighborhoods that are walkable.
I’ve actually done LA and San Diego without a car too. Again you have to uber between neighborhoods but once you are in a neighborhood/area you have a lot of interesting places to walk through.
I’ve had great times doing all of the cities I’ve sited without a car.
The issue is that it sounds like OP does not want to take any ubers or use public buses or trains to get between neighborhoods.
Eh, I think SF is pretty walkable as a local. It just smells like pee a lot, and the rough streets are like one block off the good streets, so it’s more walkable for locals than tourists.
San Diego.
Hmm I would not say that San Diego is particularly walkable. You can get by without a car in the downtown / Gaslamp area, but I personally do not think there is enough there to keep OP occupied for a long weekend.
+1 I spent a long weekend there recently. We would have gotten bored without a car. There’s just not much that to do in the walkable areas.
If she’s willing to walk 7-8 miles a day, I think there’s plenty to do! If she means 2-3 miles, then yes, I agree.
Kind of an odd requirement, I live in San Francisco where you can absolutely vacation without a car, but you’re going to want to take an uber or Waymo to get to things. The only places that meet your criteria are tiny vacation spots, like Newport, Nantucket, etc. Cities usually do not have alll the things in one walkable place. That’s why they’re cities.
I think you could do this in San Francisco. Depending on how nice the hotel has to be, I’d aim to stay at the Holiday Inn on Van Ness, or somewhere in Japantown, which lets you walk to essentially the entire northern half of the city, including Yerba Buena for the modern art museum, etc.
OP wanted museums and entertainment, so this next proposal isn’t necessarily a great fit for her, but I think you could also have a great walking-only weekend anywhere from, roughly, the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park to Divisadero Street, Geary to the north and Frederick to the south. Great food, pleasant neighborhood, park activities, etc. all within easy walking distance.
Totally disagree with this! DC is like this. So is Paris, and London. You may not see the entire city, but you’ll have an amazing three-day weekend.
There is no point in going to those cities and staying within a walkable radius of your hotel.
There is if you are easily capable of being happy.
Ok? Most people aren’t. They want to see more.
This is both incorrect and weirdly hostile, lol.
OP, Rome is great for this. I’ve also done Charleston without a car, and it’s fine (but hot this time of year!!).
Charleston (not in summer) would be my vote as well. The tourist area is very compact and walkable and filled with great food. Charleston is somewhat unique among American cities in that the best restaurants are right in the most touristy areas. In most big cities, you will want to get away from the tourist sights to eat, and doing that can be hard without using a subway or bus. (Like how in Chicago, if you’re looking for the best food you don’t go to the Loop/River North even though that’s where all the hotels and many of the tourist attractions are.)
No it isn’t, if you insist on only walking only you’re going to miss most of what’s in major cities. If you broaden it to “don’t need a car and can uber places,” much more opens up to you.
Or the subway. You definitely do not need or want a car in NYC but it doesn’t really meet OP’s criteria, because you’re going to miss a lot if you won’t get on the subway or bus.
I do think Charleston works and maaaaybe Philly but a lot of major US cities you will really need to take Uber or ride a subway to see properly.
Nope. You can hit every touristy thing, cute walkable neighborhoods, and plenty of great food in Philly entirely on foot.
The only “must do” rec I have that would requires transit or a car would be the Wissahickon. The Wiss is a massive, forested park in the city. To get a park of its size and level of “wilderness” you need to be away from the center of the city.
But, you want to see historic Old City and the sights along the parkway and enjoy the cute neighborhoods and good food in Rittenhouse, Wash West, South Philly, Fishtown, and other great neighborhoods? You can easily do that all on foot.
Okay, but that’s not what she wants to do. Obviously, you can do more with a car. But for a 3 day trip, you simply do not need to get in one in many major cities around the world. You might not hit “all the highlights,” or whatever, but you can have a wonderful, enriching trip.
Definitely can’t do it in, like, Houston, though.
Right, which is why I said she needs a small vacation town like a Nantucket or a Newport and not a major city. A major city is not compatible with her specs.
Again, many major cities absolutely are, both domestically and internationally. She’s ruled out two obvious candidates (NYC is basically built for this), and weather makes some others challenging (you can absolutely fill a weekend without getting in a car in DC if you choose your hotel well, but who wants to be in DC in August?). SF and Seattle would be viable options but for the homelessness issues.
Again, you’re not going to be able to get through the top 10 attractions in any given city without getting in a car, but you can certainly have a wonderful, enriching weekend in most cities, other than the ones that really embraced sprawl as their main urban planning thesis.
Most cities are more walkable than SF, but I do agree that in a large city it’s going to be hard to see everything without using uber or public tr*nsit.
Charleston in the spring or fall would by my US rec. Amsterdam is super easy if you’re up for Europe. There are actually lots of viable options in Europe I think – Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona.
Coming from the Chicago area like OP, Charleston has very mild weather even in the winter. We went in January and it was lovely (not to southerners, but it was about 40 degrees warmer than Chicago when we went).
Totally fair! You are right, Charleston is downright warm in the winter compared to Chicago.
Savannah is lovely and you don’t need a car once you get to the city. I am a pretty good traveler but would be reluctant to fly to Europe for a long weekend from Chicago; I feel like even mild jetlag would be cut into my weekend exploring time.
Montreal or Vancouver are both great if you want something outside the country though.
I’m the one who suggested Paris above- fwiw, I picked that in particular, though Spain could also be good, because they run “late” – like we had 9:30p or 10p dinner reservations and then slept in. At home we’re more like 6:30 or 7p reservations so the adjustment was a lot softer than a city that closed up earlier.
Can’t believe no one has said Quebec City yet!
Because it’s boring and over touristed in the old part and you would absolutely need a bus/car to get to the industrial and ugly part where people live.
I just love Savannah with an intensity I can feel in my bones. It’s beautiful but gritty, isolated but worldly, utterly walkable, fancy but strange. It’s the old south without the good ol’ boys energy. If it were a person you just know it would be the wise old lady with painfully elegant clothes and pink hair who doesn’t take cr@p from anyone.
That’s how I feel about Berlin. I love it.
Berlin or Munich. Being open to taking the subway would be beneficial but not a must.
Do ferries and boat tours count as public transportation? I’m only partially kidding. I love walking, but make an exception for boats since they feel like an extra treat and not an impediment to the fun stuff.
I would add New Orleans and Portland, Maine to the list.
Portland ME has a good food scene but not much to do, and the scenery is so blah compared to the less developed parts of Maine, which are beautiful. I would do a day or so there, have a couple of great meals, and then get out into nature. Though that requires a car.
I like the scenery in Portland ME.
+1.
What I’m getting from these comments is that a lot of you don’t enjoy vacations unless you hit All The Main Sights in a city. I am totally fine just filling my weekend with a mix of A and B+ activities, even if I miss out on most of the A+ activities. (And just walking around a new city is usually an A+ activity for me!)
I think this comment section reflects the satisficer vs maximizer dynamic pretty neatly. Seems like there are a lot of maximizers here today.
I usually think of myself as more of a maximizer, but have no idea where the “see everything” criterion came from in this thread!
I’m not someone who needs to see everything and I like to walk a lot, but I also can’t imagine visiting NYC for even a couple days and not riding the subway. I don’t really think most US cities are designed for walking-only trips, so the requirement to not take Uber (except to/from the airport) or ride a subway or bus does feel a little confining to me.
NYers can go a long time not taking public transit for anything but their commute, and OP won’t be commuting. There’s just a lot to do within walking distance!
I did not recommend Pittsburgh because why would you avoid the light rail though.
+1. I totally understand not wanting to rent a car, but I think it is an odd requirement to totally avoid public transport and Ubers while visiting a city.
But you could absolutely do it if you wanted to. And OP wants to. So giving advice to OP isn’t about what you want to do; it’s about what she wants to do.
I mean, you can literally go anywhere and do this if you want to. But she’s asking for cities where it will work well and I think “no major US city” is the correct answer to that question.
I firmly disagree as someone who has actually done this several times. It isn’t hard at all unless you’re not used to it and committed to not getting used to it.
It’s not a correct answer at all.
OP should also consider university neighborhoods if the goal is to walk from a decent hotel to museums, galleries, food, and performing arts.
Not at all. I love just going to a city and walking around cute neighborhoods and just being there. But I recognize you need a car or similar to get to most places. It’s the weirdest limitation on travel I’ve seen here.
Agreed. Not renting a car is one thing, but not taking a bus, subway, or Uber is another.
I get it; it detracts so much from an otherwise nice day.
Taking a brief subway or Uber ride detracts from a nice day? That seems like an odd perspective. There are cities where the subway is a destination unto itself. My kid could not get over “Mind the gap” on the London Tube, she thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.
I know some people enjoy the trains.
I hate every moment of being in any car.
There have been times in my life when it was the choice between getting really motion sick or getting doped up on motion sickness meds. Yes I got where I was going, no I was no longer interested in the eclectic food.
Wanting to not be in a car for 2-3 days is really not a weird limitation at all in most of the world…
OP, are you open to renting bikes?
There are plenty of cities where you can easily be car-free, but the request was narrower than that. She doesn’t want to do anything except walk, which is much more limiting.
It isn’t all that limiting at all if you’re willing to walk multiple miles a day like OP.
You would to be doing 10+ miles a day on foot to make this workable in most places. That’s not “several” miles to me, but maybe I misunderstand.
But her list is so modest. She wants to walk to “museums, eclectic food, entertainment, maybe gardens/outdoors, and a nice hotel.”
So many cities have downtowns designed around locating all these things within walking distance. So many SEUS second cities could offer this depending on food preferences (though I’m not not recommending any for this time of year because I wouldn’t want to walk in the temperatures).
Quebec? It’s lovely all year – you just have to tolerate cold for the winter to be pleasant, but it’s beautiful.
Philly would be my top choice but Savannah GA is very walkable too and so charming.
+1, also Boston for anyone else interested in this (OP said no Boston). I walked everywhereeeeee when I lived in Boston.
I’ve done similar vacations in New Orleans and Austin, but if you’re looking to do this soon, they’re both too hot. Same with Baltimore around the harbor.
Santa Fe is great for this, lots to do and see in the downtown area. Also Boulder if you stay downtown. In both cases, the airport is in a bigger city, so you’ll need to budget more time for the trip to and from the airport.
I’d also consider either Portland.
Philly, Charleston or New Orleans if in the U.S. Outside the U.S. – smaller cities like Florence, Salzburg, Krakow, Prague. If you wanted to see more/do a day trip you could opt to engage in transportation, but otherwise not necessary
Paging the data center poster looking for resources: I work in public utilities and we are all listening to the new Ezra Klein podcast episode that came out this week about data centers, and there is also an article form the Atlantic earlier this summer.
I just listened to that, too. Usually I can only stand to listen to a quarter of his podcasts, but I appreciated this one.
Washington, DC meets your specs. Lots of excellent restaurants at a variety of price points and nearly all the museums are free. You can take the Metro from DCA, and I’d recommend staying in my own fair Arlington, an easy commute into downtown.
Also Philadelphia. Take a look at the Mutter Museum (medical history) and the Barnes Foundation (modern European art).
You could combine these two by taking Amtrak between your home base city and the other — it’s about a 2-hour trip.
It’s a longer ride, but you can also take the Metro in from Dulles now.
It’s kind of a brutal ride, tbh.
I’m hiring my first admin. Meeting a vetted candidate for the first time today and looking for questions on how to assess fit. It is just a team of two so I want to get this right!
The most important thing is to know what you want them to do, and assess their experience and enthusiasm for doing that. Admins personalities and strengths vary tremendously. Two admins can be equally great, but have entirely different duties and approaches to their work. Examples:
Are you looking for a take charge person who will develop a sophisticated understanding of your priorities and “run your life”, or are you planning to keep tight control over your calendar and have the admin just execute on your orders?
Are you looking for special skills like event planning, project management, client management (CRM, etc.), complex travel management? If yes, get an admin who is experienced and enjoys that part of their job. If not, know that admins with specialized skills may find a straightforward calendar/expenses job boring and confining. Other admins will relish a “boring” job as stress free and easy to leave at the office.
Do you expect them to be responsive after hours? How do you expect to manage when they are on vacation or sick? Be up front if you are a start up founder and expect an enthusiastic 24/7 commitment because they should be as excited about that as you are.
Are you disorganized, or capricious about decision making? Do you want help correcting that, or just someone to sympathize and clean up the mess as you make it?
Everything in this comment is spot on. Know yourself and hire accordingly.
Admins are very much a get what you pay for field.
Any suggestions for pull on linen pants – without a visible drawstring? I have one pair from Madewell from a few years ago but need more. I’d also like full length, not ankle. I need them for field visits at work in a hot country. They don’t need to be formal, but a drawstring is too casual. I can always wear longer shirts I guess.
I recently bought pull on linen pants from Reformation. The waist has elastic at the back but the front is flat which I like.
Check Old Navy
J Crew’s cosmo pants don’t have a drawstring – and their soleil pants have a very narrow one that could be tucked in easily.
Old Navy has elastic and drawsring in the same pant. Just remove the drawstring.
The non drawstring pants look like pajamas. JCrew sells some, but look at Aritzia’s version with a drawstring, those look very polished. La Ligne makes some too without drawstrings.
This is not what you requested because they are not pull on, but I really like the J.Crew 5-pocket linen blend pants. They have a zipper and a button, look like real pants rather than pajamas, wash well, not terrible on wrinkling, and the blend is flowy and cool. I suggest ordering a size range up if you want them to be full length, so regular if you are short, tall if you are over 5’5”. I have been living in these this summer.
I have these in black and like them. Might be too short if you’re very tall, but they do come in talls, too.
https://www.anthropologie.com/shop/somerset-100-linen-pull-on-pants2?color=201&type=STANDARD&quantity=1
Artizia.
I bought a pair from Benetton (plenty on Poshmark) and they hit the mark! I am 5’2″ so they are full length on me (but might be ankle length on taller people!)
Perhaps Quince? I believe Emily Henderson reviewed some of their pants in a post about linen clothes on her blog last month.
Any resources for teaching someone to have a better design ‘eye’? One of my staff makes the ugliest decks ever.
We already have standard organization templates, a check list, and examples of prior good decks.
Some people are just never going to get this skill. Especially if they have tools to use as a starting point.
I mean … does it matter?
There are prob online resources for this, or you could assign them to review some AI-created versions with the intent of learning from them
But this this not a hill I would die on as a boss if they are otherwise good at their job.
Having a standard template for your organization can help.
Read a little closer.
You say you have a template; does it use slide masters?
I just purchased Quince Bella jeans in the stretch denim and like the fit. however, I’m second guessing whether I should have bought the Bella jeans on rigid denim instead. Before I place another order, has anyone tried both and have thoughts on how they compare? Primary consideration is how they look/drape, with comfort second.
I loathe rigid denim as a general rule. Stretches out weird and is too thick.
On the other hand, I love rigid denim and snatch up multiples any time my favorite cut pops up in my size.
OP – I don’t know this brand and cut, but generally find that my rigid size is one up from my stretchy size.
2 breakfast-related requests, s’il vous plaît –
1) what is the best baking mix with protein like kodiak or whatnot? just realized mine expired in 2023 which probably explains why i can’t stand it
2) does anyone have a good recipe for a muffin or something involving hashbrowns + liquid eggs? i’ve made egg bowls and the frozen hashbrowns just taste mealy… not a fan of “egg bites” (don’t know why they just totally gross me out) but maybe i could make like a savory muffin with the eggs? i do have bacon on hand also i could use for like an egg cup.