Coffee Break: Tech Carryall

80 Comments

1. We picked around 8-10 apples from the backyard this weekend. What should I do with them? Please tell me your favorite apple recipes. It’s just for me and a toddler, but I’m not adverse to making a cake. Or some toddler friendly breakfast recipe?

   1. Sally’s Baking Addiction has an apple cinnamon quick bread recipe that sounds up your alley :)

   2. Core them. Stuff the middle with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Bake at 350 until they start to get a squishy but still have structural integrity. Top with ice cream.

   3. Apple crisp is my favorite!

      1. +1 Apple Crisp that uses graham crackers is a perfect dessert to make with a toddler. They can help crush the crackers in a zip lock bag.

      2. Actually, apple crisp is a way better idea (and one of my favorite desserts).

      3. This. I make it “healthy” and let the kids eat it for breakfast. Extra oatmeal, less sugar, more cinnamon. It’s still dessert for breakfast but hey.

   4. If pie is too much work, apple crisp is super easy and delicious.

   5. My favorite is apple crisp. So easy and so good.

      Homemade applesauce can be fun with a toddler too. They can participate and use the food mill (if they’re interested enough to participate).

   6. I’ll third apple crisp. Easy and I think it’s even better than apple pie. You can also just chop up the apples and sauté with a little butter and cinnamon and a bit of sugar (if needed) to eat plain or on pancakes/waffles/French toast.

   7. Ina Garten applesauce cake with bourbon cream cheese frosting. To die for.

      1. Ina can do no wrong. This sounds amazing.

   8. Sally’s Baking apple Bundt cake is simple and delicious. I skip the glaze because it’s already quite sweet.

   9. My kids (even now as teenagers!) love homemade applesauce. I peel, core, and roughly chop the apples, put them in the crockpot with a little water or apple juice and some cinnamon and let them cook all day, then mash/mix once soft.

   10. I’m lazy, so I core, peel and toss in the instant pot for applesauce. But other people gave you much better ideas!

   11. For the toddler: applesauce.
       Boil washed, cored and quartered apples in water (equal weight) and a tablespoon of lemon juice until soft, immersion blend so the peel is pureed, add a little sugar, boil until sugar is dissolved. Freeze in portions for toddler.

       For the grown-up: apple cake with almonds, either almond flour in the dough, or a frangipane almond paste layer like a bakewell cake.

   12. Don’t laugh: apple sauce. Toddlers love and adults should love it more! And your whole house will smell amazing.

   13. Olga Mason’s Russian Sharlotka in the Washington Post.

       1. Olga MASSOV

   14. Smitten Kitchen’s moms apple cake. I make it every year

2. My MIL gave me a set of cute dish towels as a gift. Problem is, these things do not soak up water at all. I can’t even use them for drying my hands, let alone pots and pans. Is there anything I can do to make these things useable, or is it a loss cause with what I suspect is a cheap, synthetic fabric?

   1. Housekeepers and hotels used them for streak-free cleaning, so maybe with windex or ammonia/water?

   2. Are they cute towels that are meant to be for looks? Donate them or hang them on the oven door when she comes over. I’m actually pretty picky about my towels for this reason.

   3. Would the work as cleaning rags at all?

   4. Have you washed them yet? I have some towels that were like that initially, but were fine once they’d been washed a few times. Otherwise you can use them for other things, like I have a cute one under the fan in my bedroom to keep it from vibrating on my desk and making an annoying sound.

   5. Wash them in hot water with some washing soda and borax, then dry them in a hot dryer with no fabric softener and see what happens. It might be factory gunk or detergent/softener buildup making them like that.
      If stripping them does nothing, either donate or use them as decor…

   6. are they tea towels (super super thin material that you could still in theory use to dry your hands) or something else?

      1. They’re definitely heavier than a tea towel. The fabric is soft, but it also has a very slick feeling to it. I’ve washed them a couple of times already.

         1. Those are microfiber towels. They’re useful for wiping dishwasher spots off glassware and silverware, as well as general wipedowns.
            They’re a different animal from cotton towels.

   7. Use as small table cloth on a tray for carrying coffee mugs and plates of cookies.
      Use as place settings on top of neutral tablecloth at kitchen table.
      Sew a couple together, add a woven ribbon belt to make an apron.
      Use as cloth liner in bread basket for dinner or parties (foccacia and aiioli, anyone?)
      Make reusable cloth bags to keep food in your bag or backpack, or any kitchen camping gear that need to be organised.

      1. You’re very creative! Thank you for the ideas.

         1. Actually I think those are lovely ideas, and a great way to use the towels in MILs presence!

3. The featured item is beautiful, but what is the use case for it? Can anyone who has something like this tell me how/why you use it? Just curious, as a desktop user…

   1. For travel.

   2. It’s a slightly more elegant solution to going to in-office meetings than precariously balancing things on a laptop.

      1. So it is for charging cords? My army friends use zip ties and binder clips and knotted paracord for this.

         1. Ok? I’m not a military member. I would use this to hold my laptop phone and Id when I go to a meeting in another building.

            1. What do you do for pens, pad, other ephemera? I didn’t used to need a purse to go from space to space at work, even on different floors with an elevator / stairs.

               I guess accessory companies are just going to try to market stuff to us, sort of like how big open tote bags now having pouches to go with them.

            2. Omg I cannot with you. Use it or not it is not this deep.

         2. Read the description? It’s for a laptop and anything else you want to carry.

            1. Like the question is what does a “tech case” really do? Especially if you have, say, a laptop bag or larger tote and a laptop case. To me, it is just a larger clutch with compartments.

            2. Great? I don’t always want to bring a tote but still have stuff to carry. No one is saying this is a critical need.

      2. I actually would find this useful! I don’t put my laptop in my handbag because it makes it way too heavy, even though it theoretically fits, and a backpack is overkill unless I’m commuting.

   3. The use case is to separate you from your money

      1. ding ding ding

      2. Yeah I don’t find this practical at all. A clutch is glamorous for a wedding or something, but otherwise, something for carrying requires a handle.

      3. Very droll and accurate !!

   4. I actually would use it, not for its intended purpose, but for external meetings where I have to leave behind a few brochures and hand-outs (think sales calls).

   5. I used something like this for dropping my laptop into a large tote bag without a laptop compartment.

      I think it’s supposed to be for carrying a laptop around the office, but since there’s no handle or strap, I dislike this use (if anything my laptop feels easier to drop when it’s in a sleeve).

      1. The only use I can think of is your first one. This type of pouch cannot be used alone because it doesn’t hold a charger, cable, mouse, etc.

         1. no this one does have pockets for tech stuff

            i’d use it to go to meetings or with tape flags, post-it notes, pens, etc, like a big supply pouch, or I’d use it as a schmancy laptop sleeve

            1. Does it stay shut? Or have a way for stuff not to spill out? It needs to be easy to take into a bathroom and not wind up all over the place. This doesn’t look to shut securely.

            2. And does it stay flat when the charging cord, its accompanying brick, and mouse are all stuffed in those pockets? That’s what renders these things useless in my mind. They become bloated footballs that just look so awkward and don’t fit neatly under my arm by the time I shove an of the tech ephemera inside.

   6. Lady, if you don’t wanna buy it, don’t buy it.

      1. discussing the product posted (and its pros/cons/usefulness) should be a valid topic of conversation. if you don’t want to discuss it you don’t have to engage in that thread. goodness knows there are plenty of unrelated threads here, lol.

         1. It is a valid topic of conversation but the discussion does not either acknowledge the actual product features or the fact that some people have different needs from others. The tone is . . . obnoxious.

         2. it just seems that someone (maybe several someones, hard to say) is all over this thread and very invested in nitpicking every potential use case and why they wouldn’t enjoy this product. It’s fine, we don’t all have the same life. Seems like they expect us to convince them?

   7. The description says it’s an insert for the system tote…

   8. Did you look at the product at all? Even the description here? It is an envelope with a magnetic closure that keeps your laptop and related accessories and perhaps some documents or a writing pad together but apart from other items. It can be carried separately or it also attaches by snaps to the interior of a larger bag made by the same brand. It may not be for you but I find the similar Leatherology product immensely useful for the life I lead, which includes meetings in and out of the office where I want to take a laptop, a travel mouse, and a few documents or a notepad and not much else. I would find the whole Cuyana system very handy personally. You don’t have to buy it. But don’t whine about it.

   9. Not sure about this one specifically, but the leatherology one referenced – and more broadly the kind of thing that it’s supposed to do – is actually really great if you need to carry around lots of papers. It’s basically like a leather redwell and it’s fantastic if you need to have all your papers neatly in one place. Not everyone needs this, but if you do it’s really great! It’s also nice when you don’t want to bring a bag with you to a meeting but just want to have a few items corralled together – e.g., some papers, a pad, a few pens… Yes, you can just carry the, but I find this is more convenient for me actually remembering everything, not dropping it and being able to balance my coffee cup.

      This particular one seems like it might be more of a computer case and there are probably better computer cases but I would highly recommend the leotherology one or something like that if you need to tote around a bunch of reading every week like I do. There are so many more useless things that people buy, not sure why this one prompted such an outcry of “i don’t get it.”

4. I’m starting a new medication that must be kept refrigerated. I’d like to have it delivered to my office. The pharmacy uses FedEx. I’m concerned that it might be delivered on a weekend when no one is at the office. Our building front desk will not accept packages and will return to sender. I signed up for the FedEx app in the hopes it would allow me to schedule delivery or bump it to the next business day if needed, but apparently that only works for residential addresses. Both the doctor and the compounding pharmacy are 1.5 hours away so I’d really like to avoid having to pick it up. What should I do?

   1. 1) pay extra to have it sent over night. order it on a monday- wednesday.
      2) have it sent to your house, bring it to work in a lunch bag with an ice pack

   2. I think you need to send it to your house. I take a medication that has to be refrigerated and the pharmacy sends it with enough cold packs that it stays cold for several days. I can’t control when it gets sent, so it can show up any day of the week after I order it, as the processing time is variable. Is the issue that you worry about it being stolen?

      1. +1

         This is what we do.

         And usually we have to call every month to set up the delivery, as many of these shipped on ice meds are pricey and they want to be sure they get into your hands. So we always make sure it is delivered on a day where someone can be there to receive it, or at least get to it within several hours. Agree that usually the med companies pack these with plenty of ice. You just don’t have it delivered on a weekend at work, if that is your concern. Have it delivered on a weekend at your home, or use a weekday and always have it go to work. There is flexibility for delivery dates.

         Some of these packages are very large, for a very small amount of medicine, as they want to include a good sized cooler and lots of ice packs, and sometimes supplies if they are needed to administer. So I can’t imagine receiving this at work, if you have a commute. And even if I was driving, I honestly wouldn’t want everyone wondering about my medical history by watching me pick up this large package every month and carrying it home.

         1. And of course, call the compounding pharmacy directly to discuss this. Don’t rely upon an App.

            Sometimes phone calls are the right thing to do.

         2. Yeah, I forgot to mention this. Mine is in a decent sized styrofoam cooler that says keep cold on it (no external box). It would be pretty noticeable if you got it shipped to work and didn’t want questions about it.

      2. This is what I do as well. Theft would be a concern but I work from home now.

   3. juuuust a note that if you’re going to need needles to inject this medication then you may not want to keep it at work.

      1. Why not?

         1. I feel like I would not want to be caught with a bunch of needles in my office. (I’m currently on a compounded GLP-1 that I have to inject; I keep the needles in a Clinique makeup bag on my desk at home. I’m waiting to dispose of the needles until I need to go get new ones, but they’re single use.) Also wouldn’t want to inject in a public bathroom, so I hope your office door locks. Mine has to be frozen though.

            1. If I somehow came across a coworker’s needles or saw them injecting something in a bathroom I would assume they had diabetes. Nothing nefarious.

      2. I doubt the syringes would need to be refrigerated unless I suppose they’re pre-loaded? I’m not sure what you’re envisioning.

   4. Is the pharmacy shopping it in a cooler with ice? I would speak to the shipper about delivery dates. I have meds shipped from a speciality pharmacy and they always ship it overnight and I know which day it will be delivered (but not always the time). I get a text message with the tracking number. In hot weather it’s shipped in a mini styrofoam container with an ice pack.

   5. Have it shipped to your home and intercept the package to be held at your local FedEx store for pickup.

   6. Can you have it sent to a fed ex access point? Near me, Walgreens offers this service, and several people have wine deliveries sent to Walgreens (due to needing a signature of someone 21+). Then you’d pick it up on your way home.

      1. +1 to Fedex at Walgreens. I use it regularly. Works great!

   7. Have it shipped to a fedex site which stays open late+ weekends so that you could pick up after work.

   8. https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/hold-at-location.html

   9. I use a medication like this (Humira) and I choose the delivery day when I order a refill.

5. Has anyone used a Packie bag IRL? I am traveling a lot more and it has shown up in my SM feeds (along with others). It is more duffle with sleeve to fit over a wheelie bag. My wheelie bag is tiny — the smallest Away model. This would help for leisure travel (probably will not replace my Lo & Sons Seville for work trips). My kids could use now that they have school trips (currently then have a LE duffel that is good for a sleepover but not a longer trip). They are reasonably priced. Kids currently have resorted to the Ikea zipper bags for longer trips b/c we seem to need something larger that isn’t a wheelie bag for them.

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