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I mentioned before how, after 2 years of barely using my purses, I really wanted a small, minimal wallet — so I bought a super affordable card case to see if I liked it. Update: I really do like it — I've only once regretted not having my bigger, well-stocked wallet with me in the months I've had it, and that's my own mistake for not putting my business credit card in one of the available slots.
Anyway: if you want a card case with a fun design (either as a card case or minimal wallet), this pictured one from Tory Burch looks amazing — and it's on sale in the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale. There are two colorways to choose from; it was $88 but is now marked to $61. (If you like coral, this McQueen card case is marked down to $150.)
(I will note that this one doesn't have an ID window, like my current affordable one — but I usually end up taking my license out when I need to show it to someone. As they say: your mileage may vary.)
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Sales of note for 9.30.24
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals through September
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 50% off select styles
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 60% off everything + 50% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Friends & Family 25% off
- Rag & Bone – Friends & Family 25% off sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Fall Cyber Monday sale, 40% off sitewide and $5 shipping
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
Anonymous
I’m looking for what I consider to be the Holy Grail of work totes/travel bags. I am looking for a “professional enough” looking bag that can hold a 13″ laptop, has some structure to it, preferably a top that closes (zipper or snap), and a strap of a decent length (in my experience at least 9-13″). Oh, and I’d rather not go above $300. Thanks for any leads! I’ve spent way too much time looking!
Anon
Cuyana zipper tote
Anon
+1 – my only complaint is I can’t get it to look worn and in need of replacement so choose your color wisely as it lasts forever.
Anon
Ha! Same!
Anon
Another. But I did come up with a seasonal color plan so now I have two – stone and open top for warm weather, burgundy and zip top for the wet weather months.
Anon
+1. I have been using mine daily for about four years and looks like new. It is the best bag I have ever had!
OP
Do you all feel like the strap drop length is ok? I hate struggling to get a bag on and off when I have a coat on. Thanks!
anon
yes! I love mine, use it year-round and live in Boston, so I use it with some big azz coats. It’s my dream bag. I work the s h i t out of it and it’s held up wonderfully for 4+ years and counting…
Anon
Yes, definitely. Even with bulky coats.
Anon
I hate that feeling too and am happy to say I haven’t experienced it with either of my Cuyana bags.
pugsnbourbon
Might be tight on the laptop: https://www.openhandleather.com/product/deluxe-sophia-tote
Comes with a second longer strap: https://www.howlandhidesupply.com/collections/totes/products/zipper-shelby-everyday-tote-black
Anon
Tumi.
AIMS
I have the Boden “leather tote bag” and love it.
Not too heavy, surprisingly great quality, zips, and has been wearing well for about a year now (looks brand new and I am not especially easy on my bags). I wear it over my shoulder without issues.
Anon
Lo & Sons Seville?
Anonymous
I can’t say enough good about the Knomo London Grosvenor Place. It’s pretty close to your price point but you can get 10% off by signing up for emails and sometimes they go on sale for 50% off. No feet on the bottom but I don’t mind that. Super light to carry but refined looking. Shipping fast and customer service is great. I LOVE mine.
Betsy
Portland Leather has some lovely work appropriate totes, although a leather tote is heavy on its own and I’m not sure I’d want to put a laptop in it as well. Maybe with a cross body strap to take the weight off your shoulder.
Anonymous
It’s not readily available where I live (EU), but the Madewell leather zip tote is the one I’ve been eying up for similar needs.
Julie
As someone who has to carry eye drops and a rescue inhaler everywhere I go, a minimalist purse doesn’t work particularly as I often have to carry my son’s EpiPen.
Anom
Yup, I too am an allergy mom. My purses need to be large enough for epipen case. And I’m the summer I need a backpack so I can bring the epipen in a small cooler bag.
Anon
Someone commented on my DC thread this morning about being careful choosing Downtown/Penn Quarter to live in because “it’s dead on weekends except when it’s packed with tourists/sports fans.” My office will be in Downtown so I was interested in being able to walk to it. I’ve also been in those neighborhoods and I liked them, but I haven’t spent a TON of time in DC so I’m not an expert. Am I making a rookie mistake choosing to live in that area? I’m visiting DC on Saturday for apartment tours so I’m all ears for adding places/areas to my list to tour.
Anon
I used to work in Penn Quarter (2014 – 2018) and used my office parking pass several times a year to go downtown on weekends. There seemed to be plenty of people around. Some tourists, and if there is an event at the Capital One Arena there will be sports fans around. (Basketball and Hockey, so often in the evening). That area was dead on nights/weekends, and frankly quite dangerous, 30 years ago, but plenty of people live there how. One tip – make sure your apartment windows DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES overlook the Arena. They have huge video screens with VERY BRIGHT LIGHTS that flash all night. No curtains will cut the flashing down to zero.
Anon
That was me! I posted a longer reply on your original post that’s still in mod. I think office location in Downtown does make a difference, although I would recommend looking a little north of that area in Mount Vernon Square or Logan Circle.
Bette
+1
Penn Quarter does not have good residential vibes
Anonymous
Check out SW/the Wharf. Especially along 4th & G St SW
DC
Look around for where you will get groceries and other essentials. There is CVS and Walgreens downtown. I work downtown and I am not aware of a grocery store in that area but could be wrong. Also, consider the walk to work when it is 95 degrees and humid in the summer.
Anon
There is a new grocery store in Chinatown. This area has really changed in the last five years, and I think a lot of people have outdated experience. I would have no problems or reservations about living in that area.
Anon
H Street if you want a more going out vibe is great and can easily take bus downtown. Capitol Hill is lovely for a quieter vibe and easy metro to downtown.
First Time Homebuyer
We went into contract on a home recently (NYC). Due to a disability, we have very specific needs. This is the only place we’ve found — in more than a year of looking — that was within our budget and ticked all our boxes without needing a bunch of work.
Our lawyer just got a call from the seller’s lawyer: The seller wants us to let him out of the contract (basically for his convenience, not for a ‘sob story’ reason). Our lawyer advised us that contractually, we can force him to sell, but that the legal process could take years, and it is not worth the time and effort.
We are so angry about this. For now we’re planning to stick to the contract, and maybe the seller will back down. But if not, we’re not sure what we’ll do. Has anyone else been in this situation (as seller or buyer, or even broker or lawyer)?
TIA!
Anon
Can you extract some money from the seller for accommodating his request? Perhaps enough to finance the renovations that might make other options a possibility? I’m thinking $100K plus.
Anon
Stick to the contract. It doesn’t matter that you have a sob story and they don’t; they signed. If they don’t back down, them talk about getting out in exchange for a large payment.
Anonymous
This is what I would try to do. I’d hold out as long as possible and ask for a break fee equal to either your total down payment (presumably 20%) or the 10% you put down when you signed the contract.
Are they aware of your or your partner’s disability? It also raised the question for me of whether the seller, or more likely the building (coop or condo board) is backing out as a result of your/your partner’s disability.
Cornellian
I think this is good advice, but it’s not my area.
I also think if you try to enforce (at least for a while) you may see the market soften and the seller may change their tune, since it doesn’t seem like he has a sob story that really necessitates him staying there.
Or perhaps you offer a leaseback but that seems risky here.
anon
Interesting. My parents just went through this and their attorney threatened to sue and put a lien on the house (or something…) – like went bananas on the seller and seller’s attorney, and the seller eventually conceded and the sale closes next week. Seller wanted out because they took the first offer (my parents’ offer) and regretted not getting more, so in my case they were going to sell no matter what so maybe it would have been an easier case to win? IDK, I’m not in law. Odd your attorney didn’t press any harder?
anon
Coming back to say, there was never a discussion with my parents and their lawyer about this being a years long battle (I know because I was in these meetings / calls, fwiw). They were very confident it was open and shut. In fact, my parents’ broker and the closing attorney exercised every avenue to compel the seller to actually perform on the contract and sell before filing legal paperwork against them. Like, my parents’ Realtor called everyone they knew at the seller’s brokerage to convince them not to do this, cried ethics, etc. Their collective efforts clearly worked.
Surely a closing would have been somewhat delayed while waiting for the lawsuit or whatever, but it never crossed their attorneys’ mind to just fold. I think you need a better attorney who will fight for you.
Anon
I’m a lawyer and I feel like the lawyer saying it isn’t worth it is kinda weird. I would do exactly what your parents’ attorney did.
Anon
No kidding! It’s one thing to advise the client that litigation usually takes years. But to not even think it’s worth it to write a nasty gram and raise a fuss??
The lawyer is supposed to be representing your interests and going to bat for you, OP! I haven’t been through this but would absolutely be pushing for the sellers to perform under the contract.
Anonymous
Why would the legal process take years? If you are already under contract, can’t you just execute it as written?
Anonymous
ROFL. OK, you are clearly not a lawyer.
Explorette
I’m assuming because the seller isn’t going to cooperate. They will need to sue for breach of contract and seek specific performance.
OP, if your contract allows specific performance for a breach by seller (which is rare btw) then you can use that as a negotiating tool. Typically if seller backs out you can get your reasonable costs and expenses back, but that is it.
Anon
I would definitely not just let somebody do this.
Elizabeth
Yes! This happened to me when buying a house several years ago. Basically, the sellers wanted to back out of the contract and put the house back on the market because they wanted more time to find a new house for themselves. My attorney told their attorney that I wasn’t interested and if they refused to perform, we would bring them to court. Also, their broker would ethically bound to inform anyone that he was showing it to that it was already under contract. I had no plans to actually follow through on the threats of litigation, but it was enough to scare them into complying. (Not sure if this helped, but at the time this all happened, I was a partner in one of the larger law firms in our small city.)
If they had still insisted on breaching the contract, I would have insisted on extracting some kind of settlement from them. I had a dollar figure in mind for what it would cost to put all my stuff in storage and find a new apartment, because I had already terminated my lease in anticipation of moving into this house. I would suggest telling your lawyer to insist on specific performance, but be prepared with a settlement figure that will make you whole.
Anon
I bought my first house from sellers who thought they didn’t get enough money, even though we paid slightly above market – they basically caught a bad case of seller’s remorse. They tried to back out of the sale, it didn’t get to the point of attorneys but our buyer’s agent did say that we would hire an attorney if it came to that. So the sale went though, and then the sellers made our life hell for the entirety of the escrow and move-in period (including not moving out when they said they would, leaving us to beg to stay in our apartment for another two weeks, rescheduling movers, all of that). I was younger then and very emotional, but it took a lot of fun out of “yay! we bought our first house!”
I’m sorry you’re going through this!
First Time Homebuyer
(I’m the OP) Thanks so much to everyone who responded — it’s all very helpful and reassuring. We’re definitely going to push back (on the seller, and also on our lawyer I guess). Fingers crossed!
Anonymous
Can anyone recommend any good resources on anger management, particularly with preteens?
Hamin
really nice