Coffee Break: Gwen Circle-Quilted Jacket

78 Comments

1. Be aware – while I love the look and warmth of Dawn Levy coats, they run very small in the chest and I’m not even that busty.

2. Hi Ladies, over the last few days, the back of my head down toward my neck has started to itch like crazy. Of course I googled it and there could be a variety of things going on. But I think it’s weird that it’s just at the base of my head (as opposed to my whole head). Has this happened to anyone? If so, any remedies? TIA!

   1. Are you doing a good job rinsing off your shampoo/conditioner in that particular spot? Sometimes I will consistently miss a little patch behind my ears, and over time it makes my skin irritated and flaky.

   2. Do you wear your hair up on your commute? Is it eczema or dry skin? My ears get weirdly itchy lately. You may also want to wash your pillowcase and your coat collar.

   3. I hate to say this, but the one time I ever got lice, that’s where the itch started and was strongest and most awful. I think it’s because the hair there is often thick and so it’s a warm spot for the little critters.

      1. Yeah this was the first thing I thought too. I didn’t get lice, but my kids did, and this is where I found the majority of them when combing.

      2. That’s my initial fear/panic. But where would I have contracted lice? I don’t have kids, but I do have pets to sleep on the bed. Can I get lice from my dogs? I’m at a conference, so I’ll have to wait until I get home tomorrow to have my husband check. Ugh….

         1. You can get lice from a hotel, train, bus, airplane, movie theater, rental car, etc. It’s pretty un-nerving if you start to think about it. Hoping for the best for you!

            1. Yes, and lice prefer clean hair, so don’t feel like you’re dirty if you get lice.

            2. You can — but just to put the OP’s mind at ease– I have two daughters who share a room and routinely share the same hair brush. One gets lice multiple times a year, and the other has only had it once. Likewise, despite sharing a couch, lying in bed to read to the kids, etc., I only got lice once. (Which was one time too many! What a PIA!)

         2. You can’t get lice from dogs, they’re species-specific :)

         3. If you’re traveling, are you using hotel shampoo/conditioner? maybe thats got something to do with it? and base of skull because thats the hardest place to fully rinse?

         4. Your boyfriend could have brought lice into your bed. Unless you are with him 24/7, you do not know where his has been, and if it was in the wrong place, guess what, it is now moving the lice from there to your head. Check his head, and elsewhere on his body, as lice congregate where it is warm and moist, and with men, this could be under his arms and in his crotech. FOOEY!

   4. Itchy tag maybe? I’ll have that happen and then my skin is left irritated from it so it takes a few days to go away. Maybe try some hydrocortizone cream plus Cetaphil lotion?

3. Prayers, good vibes requested:

   Older kiddo has been hit with puberty: first period, oily hair (to the point of having to become nearly a daily hair washer), skin breaking out (she’s a fidgeter and I’m go glad she hasnt started to pick at the bumps). Having to move mountains so she can get advil at school for cramps (all items are likely significantly influenced by my genes — still having crampy periods and breakouts and v oily hair as I am pushing 50).

   1. Can I ask a dumb, genuine, non-parent question? Why can’t she just…take Advil? I know having to go to the nurse or whatever to get it would have made me miserable at that age, and I recall just keeping some in my backpack (late 20s here, so maybe things have changed?)

      1. Everyone I know also kept advil with them at school, but we knew that if we were caught it was a big deal. We were not allowed to have medication with us at school– even something over the counter like Advil.

         1. That was the rule at my high school too – and I routinely flouted it because everybody knew that if you took even a handful of college prep classes, your bag was never searched because you were a “good kid.” Getting in actual disciplinary trouble was the province of “those” kids.

            I’d NEVER suggest this to my own kids today – the stakes are much higher and our school district takes that kind of thing very seriously.

      2. A lot of schools don’t allow students to carry any sort of meds on them. I’m in my mid 20s and even I wasn’t allowed to carry anything at all back in middle/high school. You would have to go to the nurse for literally anything (including OTC pain relief meds).

         1. Right, I’m sure this was the rule at my school too, but how do they actually enforce it?

            1. Yeah, that was the rule when I was in middle and high school, and I’m in my mid 30s. But I don’t know a single person who followed it. We just took the OTC pain meds in the bathroom.

            2. IDK if they enforce it, but the penalties (kicked out of magnet programs, potentially on zero-tolerance expulsion for “drugs at school”, banned from activities or honors, etc.) is too high to risk. This is the rule even if you are an 18-year-old high school senior.

               We can get a doctor to allow the nurse to give a specific dose of a medicine (even if OTC) to a child, but if you go from chewable advil to pills, you need another form b/c the dosage / form is different.

               I think it stems from kids sharing Adderal, etc. And parents’ meds.

            3. Yes, this. The rule is the same, but the monitoring and penalties are much different today than they were when I was growing up. People (teachers, other kids, parents picking up a sick kid) watch for pills on students or in the hallways or in the bathrooms, and being caught with non-approved drugs (even OTC) on you while on school grounds leads to very serious consequences. The risk is too high now.

            4. By suspending you for violating it if you’re caught.

      3. Because in nearly every school district that’s a serious violation of school policy with significant consequences.

   2. What’s wrong with daily hair washing…?

      1. Ha, I wondered the same thing! I’ve always washed my hair daily.

         1. Same. There is nothing wrong with washing hair daily.

         2. Me, too, but it’s just another girl task to do. For boys and shorter-haired girls, they can wash and there is minimal combing, dealing with wet hair dripping, etc. Some kids with dryer hair have it as a weekly task to wash their hair.

            My hair is so oily that if I washed at night, the part I slept on would be slimily plastered to my scalp by morning, which is not a great look. And it’s straight hair, which IMO does not hide oil well and seems to just be a pipeline for spreading the slime around.

            1. I don’t see this as a male/female thing, it’s about the kind of hair you have. If I wasn’t washing it I’d still have to do something to it– putting it up in some way to hide the grease, adding products and dry shampoos, trying to plan my showers rather than just knowing that it’s gonna get done every morning and look acceptable until night. My hair is like yours. Fine and long. If it’s not washed every day, it’s awful. I would much rather wash it every morning when I’m already in the shower (takes 2 minutes) slap deep conditioner on the ends (1 minute) and blow dry (takes 5-9 minutes depending on how wet my hair is) rather put in more effort for worse results.

      2. Not everyone needs too. Some people do, but not everyone. Especially if you have thicker hair, oil production is such that it doesn’t become a problem for 3-4 days. And it keeps your hair from drying out (and breaking and having split ends) if you avoid washing more than necessary.

      3. Until recently, mine was always so oily that it required daily washing.

   3. I’m in my mid 20s and had terrible cramps when I was that age. I used to carry children’s painkillers at school (Calpol Melts) and they were hidden in the bottom of my backpack – so no teachers ever knew they were there, and had they found them they weren’t the kind of thing that could be particularly dangerous to anyone. The thing that actually helped was going on hormonal BC to control my periods as an older teen (initially only for summer holidays and then permanently at 17ish)

   4. Technology has come a long way since I went through puberty. The stick-on heat pads area great for cramps. The CosRx spot stickers and similar work well on healing blemishes and keeping hands off of them.
      I’ve always had to wash my hair daily so I can’t help there.

   5. How about Aleve? That only needs to be taken every 12 hours, so she could take a pill before leaving for school and it should relieve the cramps until after she’s home for the day.

      1. OP here: we just might do that. I find that a constant drip of heroic doses of Advil is the only thing that gets me through, so Aleve might work for her. She’s still quite young (sorry, my genes again), so at the age where she can take chewables but light enough that the adult version of Advil isn’t recommended until you are 12.

         1. I would try out the Aleve on a weekend if you can. I took it once for bad cramps and it made me puke.

         2. +1 to trying at home. Aleve is worse than useless for me. 4 Advil every 3-4 hours is the only thing that keeps me from curling up in a ball on the floor.

      2. My 16yo takes Aleve.

   6. I was your daughter as a teen. Dry shampoo can help her go at least one day between washes. Spring for a good brand like Amika, it’s not itchy and the white powder can be worked in if she has dark hair. (This is my routine and I’m in my early thirties). Also, get her on a made-for-her skin regimen. I recommend Renee Rouleau. It’s pricey but it has seriously changed my life. (Get the anti bump solution for her if she is having cystic acne and isn’t old enough for Accutane).

      Something else that took me years to figure out was that I had to take 4 advil immediately upon feeling the beginnings of period cramps. Otherwise, I would end up throwing up from the pain, especially if I was stressed from AP tests or finals or whatever. If that’s her, teach her that lesson early. Just my advice. Hope it helps!

      1. Something else to consider– my cramps were so bad that I had to go home from school a few times when I was in middle school/high school. When I started taking birth control pills in college, my cramps all but went away. I think there are other hormone pills they can give you now that are not BC that can help with cramps. I would absolutely look into it if her cramps are that bad.

      2. I was your daughter. I survived on Women’s Tylenol for the first few years, and later switcted to organic cotton pads (used Natra Care before, now have washable organic Hannah Pads) which effectively got rid of my cramps FOREVER. I suspect the chemicals in pads were contributing to the cramps in hindsight. I got terrible mood swings and became super anxious and/or depressed on BC, so I’m sticking with the organic pads for the foreseeable future.

         1. What? Respectfully, no. Women all over the world, including places where commercial pads and tampons are unavailable, have cramps. The hidden chemicals in everything absolutely have an effect on our bodies but the cause and effect in this specific case cannot be applied to the general population.

      3. Additional dry shampoo with dark hair tip: Put it in at night and “scrub” it in like shampoo.

         We hid our advil/tylenol in alternative containers, like an Altoids tin, and also tended to keep it near/in the pocket with the tampons. I never got caught, but my thought was always that a male teacher seeing the tampons in that pocket was unlikely to search it super closely. Taking something from an Altoids tin and putting it in your mouth is not very suspicious at all. But, there was definitely a privileged reliance on being a “good kid” who was discrete. The odds were good that an exception would be made to avoid ruining my life over Advil.

      4. Dry shampoo is really not good for your hair. I would just wash it every day.

   7. Sometimes this board. Mom asks for support and so many of you just argue whether she is correct that her daughter can’t take Advil at school and how often your own hair needs to be washed vs her daughter’s.

      1. Yes, that is literally the entire point of this place, a fashion blog where 99% of the comments have nothing to do with the post. Congratulations, you get it.

         1. Agreed…I thought I must have somehow stumbled onto another board. I’ve scrolled to comments a few times to see what others are saying about the highlighted product only to find conversation that has nothing to do with it. Not throwing flames, I know sometimes people need a community and have no where else to go, just not going to have my hopes up about comments anymore and wish there were a way to filter out those that are actually product/fashion related.

4. Does anyone have any must-try fall dessert recipes that are easy and, ideally, not horrible for calories? Looking for something to make with my son for dinner Fri night.

   1. Apple crisp….super easy. Peel and slice apples, toss with lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar and some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves). Put in buttered casserole or pie plate. Top with favorite streusel topping – butter, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, brown and white sugar, mixed with fingers until crumbly. Bake at 350 until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

      1. and serve hot with scoop of vanilla ice cream:)

         1. OP here….yes agree, you don’t need to add any sugar

      2. +1 and I don’t include sugar and it’s yum (natural sweetness from the apples)

      3. +1 And you can omit/reduce the sugar in the apples if you want. (My mom leaves it out completely, I add a TBSP or two). My streusel topping for an 8×8 casserole is 1/4 c butter, 1/2 c flour, 1/2 c oatmeal, 1/4 c white sugar, 1/4c brown sugar + heavy sprinkling of cinnamon.

   2. This is my go-to fall dessert recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/01/apple-sharlotka/

   3. I made this super easy pumpkin dessert the other week. Can or pumpkin purée, boxed spice cake mix, and 2 eggs. Makes great muffins, or a loaf like banana bread but way more “fall”.

   4. If you really need to, I sometimes do this exact style over a pre-done pie crust (whole foods frozen pie crust, unrolled and thawed) and it’s a big hit at thanksgiving and friendsgiving. If the audience isn’t nut-wary, I like to add walnuts to my streusel crumble.

5. For those of who you have a smart watch, but don’t use it to actively track fitness things, what have you found it to be most beneficial for? I’ve been thinking if I want to purchase one, but it’s one of those things where it’s hard to know what kind of benefits I’m going to get out of it before purchasing. I typically wear a watch, and have a fitbit, but just am not that committed to wearing it (mostly because I think it’s kind of ugly).

   1. I don’t have an iPhone, so this wouldn’t work for me, but one cool feature on apple watch that I kind of want is the hard fall detection that will automatically call EMS if you don’t respond to the alarm within a minute because I go horseback riding alone (I currently have a system where I text my husband when I get on and off and he knows to call me if I don’t text within a certain amount of time to make sure I haven’t fallen off. This is not ideal). I need to investigate if any smart watches have a similar feature and will work with androids.

   2. I like it most because it alerts me to incoming calls and texts when my phone is on silent (it vibrates on my wrist). That way my phone isn’t obnoxiously chiming in my office all day but I don’t miss anything.

   3. For me, setting timers and reminders, and, honestly… the little button I can press which will make my phone beep even if it’s on silent, so I can find it/ check it’s in my backpack.

   4. Finding my phone, honestly — the “ping” is great. I also text with it a ton. I do NOT text while driving, but it’s easier to take a look at my watch at a stoplight if a text came in to see who/if important than it often is to dig out my phone.

   5. I find that having texts, and especially e-mails, on my watch means that I look at my phone less. Now, when I feel/hear an e-mail come in, I can quickly glance down and determine if it’s something that merits my attention right now, and if it’s not, dismiss it. Previously, I would get the notification on my phone, pick it up, and then, even if it did not actually merit immediate attention, I was already halfway there, so I’d go ahead and respond and then–worse–fall down some other e-mail/internet rabbit hole. For me, that’s been the single greatest benefit of the Apple Watch.

   6. I love saying “siri, set a timer” when I’m cooking- especially when I have raw-chicken hands. I suppose this would also work if your phone was nearby, but given that my watch alerts me to calls and texts, I frequently leave my phone in my purse when I’m home.

      I recognize my own priveledge here- but given the discussion around skiing this week- I have loved taking quick calls on my watch from the middle of the mountain, when someone has taken a wrong turn and we’re trying to reunite at the right spot. It’s much easier to push up a jacket cuff than to fish my phone out of an inner pocket.

   7. Text and call previews, so I know when I have to go find my phone. This is particularly handy because combination of large phone and small or no pockets mean phone is frequently not in easy reach. I also like that it vibrates to nudge me when I have a calendar event coming up. I have a Garmin vivomove HR, which is more of a hybrid watch. It doesn’t even look like a smartwatch.

6. How do I cope when I’m having an too-many-patronizing-mediocre-men-angry week?

   1. Donuts!

   2. Would also like to know this, lol

   3. Imaginary slapping, literal chocolate eating. That’s all I’ve got.

   4. same same same. Except the one woman boss on my team is probably the most condescending, and she is in a MOOD this week. I plan on Netflix + couch + cozy blanket tonight once I’m done with chores

   5. Have a few lame mansplainer jokes on hand, tell them when you’re patronized, laugh maniacally and then walk away. I’m being serious, it’s pretty therapeutic. My favorite is telling them I would love to be stuck on a dessert island with them, because then I could get my water from a well, actually. ::Cue maniacal lauging::

      1. Q: Where does a mansplainer get his water?
         A; From a well, actually…

         1. Why did the mansplainer drown in a puddle? It was a well, actually…

      2. This made me laugh way too hard.

   6. Kickboxing? Also, car yelling.

      1. Ooh a good car yell helps a LOT.

7. I love saying “siri, set a timer” when I’m cooking- especially when I have raw-chicken hands. I suppose this would also work if your phone was nearby, but given that my watch alerts me to calls and texts, I frequently leave my phone in my purse when I’m home.

   I recognize my own priveledge here- but given the discussion around skiing this week- I have loved taking quick calls on my watch from the middle of the mountain, when someone has taken a wrong turn and we’re trying to reunite at the right spot. It’s much easier to push up a jacket cuff than to fish my phone out of an inner pocket.

   1. ack, sorry. I realize this is a duplicate comment and also realize my misspelling of privilege. It’s been a long day…

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