Weekend Open Thread: J.McLaughlin
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Something on your mind? Chat about it here.
J.McLaughlin was kind enough to to gift me some cashmere sweaters, and I have to say I'm obsessed… they're super soft and feel really luxe. For work or weekend I love this loose turtleneck sweater with a braided stitch detail down the sleeves.
(This silk blend cardigan is also amazing, so soft!)
The turtleneck sweater is $428 and comes in sizes XS-XL in colors silver gray, taupe, and midnight. (The sale section also has a bunch of great knits, including this chic cashmere/linen sweater or this merino/silk cardigan. Ooh, and many stripey sweaters I'm going to have to take a closer look at. Love!)
Sales of note for 9/25:
- Boden – Up to 50% off sale + extra 15% off (I'm trying to figure out which color(s) of this sweater I should order…)
- Ann Taylor – 25% off the weekend collection and extra 50% off sale section
- Anthropologie – Extra 50% off sale!
- Athleta – Lots marked down to 40% off; with an Athleta card you get an extra 20% off.
- AYR – Archive sale, up to 60% off
- CVS – Epic beauty sale
- J.Crew – Fall styles start at $39
- J.Crew Factory – 40% off new arrivals, extra 20% off orders $125+
- Nordstrom – over 9800 new markdowns
- M.M.LaFleur – Labor Day Sale Event, save sitewide! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
- Nordstrom Rack – Extra 40% off select clearance
- Talbots – 40% off one item, 30% off everything else
- Theory – End of season sale is on!
The last time I went to London, I was a broke student who had a job lined up but hadn’t yet gotten that first paycheck. Then COVID hit. I did a lot of reading. For my next trip, are there trips for people who maybe have watched too much Tudors and Wolf Hall (but were actually history majors and would welcome some substance to go with the fluff)? I have been to St. Peter ad Vincula and the Tower and Westminster (which I would go to again), but Hever Castle is a bit far, and I never made it to Hampton Court). Driving on the left terrifies me, so any sort of good packaged offerings would be fantastic. Would love to travel by river as they did in the day, but car / bus is fine.
Hampton Court is easy by train.
It’s not difficult to get to Hampton Court! There’s a 40 minute commuter train from Waterloo station and then it’s basically just a bridge away, or you can book a river cruise one way from Westminster, if the weather is nice. Thames River Boats is great. During summer there is at least one weekend where there’s jousting.
Definitely go to the National Portrait Gallery and see the Tudor portraits. Windsor is also just a short train ride. There are some pubs with history are just a few decades younger than the Tudor reign, like Ye Olde Chesire Cheese, Ye Olde Mitre and the George Inn. I think the Chesire looks the part the most.
I don’t have advice, but I have a London trip planned this fall and I was thinking about how the first time I went I was so broke I could barely afford to do anything! I hope you have a great time when you go!
what’s a good neutral nail color that isn’t a gel? mademoiselle never looked right on me unless i layered different colors together. i saw something about funny bunny? trying to elevate my nail game!
Essie’s Skinny Dip is better for my skin tone than Mademoiselle is. Sheer blush color that looks nice and not-streaky with just one coat of color.
I have a dress that has a mid-shin skirt. I am wearing it with stacked-heel boots with a 2.5″ heel and I feel that this is the only thing lengthening my leg and keeping me from being too stumpy in a longer straight-ish skirt. I suspect that I would not be an elegant column if I were in flats. I think that for me, maybe I need either knee-length skirts (like to the knee or slightly lower than it; not higher unless v casual item) or flowy long skirts. I feel like every item requires thought now (and that in the suits era and the skinny jeans era that followed, I did not have to think about clothes nearly so much). #tired
a friend just posted on FB that her 20yo son passed unexpectedly and tragically. i’ve expressed sympathies, my heart really does go out to her. he was disabled, as is my son, but different disabilities. it’s just tacky to reach out to a mutual friend (another mom to a disabled kid) to ask what happened, rght? i’m not close enough to her to go to the funeral or anything.
Sometimes there’s a clue for where donations might go to, like a rehab center or suicide awareness or the like. But when the person is young and it’s a surprise, I assume it’s a suicide because if it’s an accident, that always seems to get mentioned. Sadly.
I hate the whole thing about keeping death secret and ‘in the family’. One of my best friends died and I have no effing idea how, I can guarantee we talked more than every single member of her family combined. But I dont get to know because I’m ‘not family’. There’s a huge void in my heart that will probably never be filled because I don’t know what happened to someone I loved.
Give it time. It will come out. I’m sorry though. Times are hard.
Do you see the mutual friend in-person, or maybe talk regularly enough that you can ask them next time you connect? I would be more inclined to ask verbally rather than to message them specifically with your question. It’s harder to make sure your tone doesn’t read as gossipy in writing than verbally.
I would gently push back on “not close enough to go to the funeral.” My rule is “always go to the funeral.” I still remember everyone who came to my mom’s funeral and I appreciate every single one of them, even the ones I’m not super close to.
And yes, it’s tacky to be gossiping about the cause of death.
+1. Always go to the funeral.
+2
Are there circumstances under which you’d consider giving notice before a background check is complete?
I accepted an offer with a company that has a very rigorous processes, for good reason, and there’s one outstanding search that needs to be complete. It’s going to take a while, but the search will come back clean.
Selfishly, I want to give notice soon to maximize my “funemployment” time (like 10 days, not a month or more) before my start date. But that seems foolish even though I know there is nothing to find in my background!! (Not top secret clearance or anything like that; this is a private employer.)
I would be careful. You never know how a case of mistaken identity or a not so bright background checker could detail things.
I would ask your employer-to-be if your start date can be moved to accommodate a comfortable notice period rather than risking having zero job in case of an issue. (Like, what if there is a mix-up with someone else that has your name?)
I get the impulse for extending funemployment, but I’m too chicken too quit early.
I am superstitious enough that I would never do that in a million years.
Every industry is different, but I would push back the start date at the new job rather than resign before the new job is finalized. How much notice do you plan to give at your current job?
I had a rigorous background check for my job and the offer was dependent on that being clean. I think I gave notice before the background check was complete. In fact, I had to contact the HR person at the job I was leaving and let her know the background check would be in touch with her to verify my current job title. And then it was kind of awkward because she gave the background check people my old job title, not the one I was promoted to, and mixed up the dates of my employment! I had to provide an explanation to the background check people and was super nervous about it, but it was fine. I think they’re usually looking for big deal red flags.