Coffee Break: Etsy Print from FlatOwl

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A number of readers commented that they loved the art print in the background of one of the stock photos we used recently for our story on how to set up a great home office — and then another reader did some sleuthing and found the actual print. It's for sale at Etsy for $17-$99 from seller FLATOWL, so it seemed like a fun thing to mention as we're all doing little improvements to our home workspace.

What kind of art do you guys have in your home office space? I used to have a framed print that said in hot pink lettering, “Just put your favorite lipstick on and deal with it,” but I replaced that with a pretty print with hot pink and bright teal swirls I found at an estate sale of one of my mom's neighbors; I also have a few fake plants and some abstract splatter paintings on canvas made by my kids at an art camp. And lots and lots and lots of post-it notes saying things like “grace not perfection” and lists of blog color hex codes and so forth. Etsy print

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Sales of note for 2/14/25 (Happy Valentine's Day!):

  • Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save up to 25% on select suiting, this weekend only
  • Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase — and extra 60% off sale
  • Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + 15% off (readers love their suiting as well as their silky shirts like this one)
  • Boden – 15% off new season styles
  • Eloquii – 300+ styles $25 and up
  • J.Crew – 40% of your purchase – prices as marked
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site and storewide + extra 50% off clearance
  • Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – Flash sale ending soon – markdowns starting from $15, extra 70% off all other markdowns (final sale)

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

108 Comments

  1. I am 12 weeks pregnant and unfortunately my husband is not allowed at any of my appointments. We completely understand why but after a long 15 months of trying, it’s been really hard for both him and me to not have him there. I am allowed to FaceTime him but the problem is that I can’t zoom in on FaceTime so he can’t really see much of what’s happening on the ultrasound when the monitor is about 6-10 feet away from me on the wall and thus not zoomed and smaller for him on his phone screen. Is there a video call format anyone here can think of that allows me to zoom in so that he can see? Or am I missing some feature on FaceTime?

    1. Can you hang up the facetime call and make a short video of the ultrasound for him to view later?

    2. Wouldn’t it be better to just film the ultrasound on your phone and show it to him right after?

      1. They do not allow filming but they do allow live video calls because of Covid. Also, given that it’s hard on both of us for him to ‘not be there,’ he wants to be able to hear and see what I’m witnessing as it’s happening. We had to work with a clinic to conceive and they allowed him to come to one early ultrasound and some alarm bells were raised at that visit and I am so glad he was there with me in the moment.

        1. This might be ridiculous, but would a selfie stick help? You’d get a few feet closer, at least?

          1. Haha, that actually sounds super smart! Won’t be seamless but might help. (Not the OP, I hope that sounds like a helpful idea to her, too.)

    3. Congrats! I’m in the same boat but a little further along than you. Can you point your phone at the screen the ultrasound technician views, instead of the screen that you watch? My tech helped me position my phone as I held it so it showed my husband the screen beside me, and I watched on the second monitor in front of me. That screen is closer to your phone so he’ll be able to see better.

  2. I don’t think that I’m classically asthmatic. Instead, since I was a kid, I would sometimes get wheezy, or where it was hard to get in a full breath. Often, it was a sleepover in a friend’s basement that was noticeably damp (but the breathing thing would go away once I got home). My parents never took me to a doctor for it as it seemed to be predictable and always stopped soon on its own. I had one incident in college and for a while once or twice after it.

    And now, allergies in my area are awful and it’s happening again. I’d love to see a doctor, but an allergist? Or who? And are they going to flip out in these COVID times (or make me get / wait out a test first)? I sincerely don’t think I have it, just this sporadic annoying breathing thing.

    1. Sure you could be asthmatic (my father wasn’t diagnosed with asthma until age 80, even though he had symptoms his whole life). I don’t remember if he saw an allergist or a pulmonologist due to his advanced age. In terms of Covid testing, they will tell you whether they want you tested or not. It seems to vary doctor to doctor. My husband was tested prior to an unrelated procedure – the test was ordered by the doctor and was only done a few days before, so they seem to have a way of getting quicker results.

    2. As someone diagnosed with asthma as an adult, this sounds like allergic asthma. First step is to schedule a video appointment with an allergist. That will be the first step anyway. They will probably then schedule you for pulmonary tests and, while you wait for those, you will probably be prescribed an emergency inhaler (as asthma can change with age you don’t want to end up in the emergency room) to carry around and an everyday or seasonal allergy medication.
      I went from slightly tight chest on heavy allergy days to ending up in urgent care twice within in the span of a year from not treating it. If you are mild, you might be able to largely be okay with allergy meds. I’m controlled with everyday zyrtec and flonase during off-season and adding a maintenance inhaler during allergy season.

    3. You should see a pulmonologist. It does sound like you have allergy-induced asthma, which is definitely a thing (as opposed to exercise-induced). A pulmonologist can properly diagnose you and provide you with a rescue inhaler, as well as helping you understand what your triggers are. Good luck.

      -Asthmatic since birth

    4. I have allergy induced asthma. I take montelukast which has no side effects and takes care of the symptoms.

      1. My PCP just prescribed this without any particular test or exam, and it worked fine, so this isn’t always a big deal either in terms of consulting a doctor or in terms of treatment—though I do have an inhaler just in case.

    5. Allergic asthma aka atopic asthma is the term you’re looking for. An allergist/immunologist is port of first call- they can help you figure out what your triggers are and give you controller medicines or talk about allergy shots for desensitization.

  3. Can anyone recommend a Middle Eastern bakery that ships? I’d like to send a friend (from Kuwait, lives in the US) a thinking-of-you gift box of treats, but the local ME bakery she once mentioned doesn’t deliver. I don’t know if there are regional differences in the treats – that it would be bad form to order from a bakery that advertises as Palestinian or Iraqi, etc? And I hope Muslims aren’t currently observing a holiday that involves fasting? Thanks for any info!

      1. OMG they will mail me knafeh. I love you for recommending this (my waistline may not)

    1. No current fasting holidays and as a Muslim I personally wouldn’t care if the treats that were sent to me were Palestinian or Jordanian or whatever and I’m not. I guess some Muslims would care but you know your friend best — if she is an easy going type of person who doesn’t speak passionately about how Muslims from x are better than y or Middle Eastern politics, I think you’re fine. As for recs, I always go to Jenin Pastry in Falls Church Va which has every middle eastern dessert; I believe they do ship but I’d call to confirm esp now with Covid because it’s possible services have changed.

    2. Could you ask her sometime what her favorites are and then order those? That might solve the regional issue.

  4. You all were so right about the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. Literally everything I wanted is sold out. Barefoot Dreams cardigan, bras, underwear, socks, candles, beauty items, everything. So much for that.

    1. I have a card and ordered some stuff last week, but the few things I did get are all on a delayed ship. Ugh.

    2. I can’t believe that the Anniversary Sale has the effect that Nordstrom wants it to have. The goal seems to be to get people to sign up for their credit card, but they generate so much ill will with the tiered access and scarcity of merchandise. Nordstrom used to be my favorite place to shop, but the combination of terrible on-line return processing + closing my local store + the sale has driven me to shop elsewhere.

      1. OP here – I agree. They closed my local store as well. I like(d) Nordstrom a lot, but I don’t want the credit card, so I’m forced to shop last. You’re right that it seems like it’s just an effort to make people get the credit card now. It’s almost like the scarcity of merchandise is intentional because people will start to learn that shopping with the regular crowd means they won’t get anything.

        1. I’m sure that the scarcity of merchandise is intentional and designed to get people to spend more on the card. It makes me want to shop less, not more, at Nordstrom all year.

      1. It used to be great. Pre-influencer, I used to schedule a personal shopper appointment and get all of my fall/winter work wardrobe squared away.

        I have liked the merchandise less and less since then, and this year I didn’t order anything.

      2. I truly think the “hype” is because bloggers think “Yeah! I don’t have to think what to write about for awhile. I can just copy, paste, and comment.”

      3. +1, I loathe NAS season. Every blog is trying to be the blog that gets you to click through so they can get credit if you do find something to buy, which leads to absurd and hyperbolic recommendations.

    3. I’d love to know how much merchandise is actually there to count as in stock at the beginning. I was $200 away from their highest tier (so Influencer–middle group to shop). There were only four things that I was interested in. And all four were sold out when I went online at midnight. And none have come back in despite checking back a bunch. None of the four were anything extraordinary (like a designer bag or something). I think it’s the biggest bait and switch. And that’s without even the part where everything goes on equal or lower sale in just a month or two. I’m over it.

    4. Yeah, I used to love Nordstrom and would order from it frequently (outside of the anniversary sale) but I stopped shopping there because of how irritated I got about how they run anniversary sale. Total bait and switch. Every blogger and their mom is running nonstop content about this stupid sale, and nothing is ever actually available.

    5. I don’t disagree with any of this, but my anecdata is I went shopping with my son over the weekend (in person, appointment with a stylist) and they had a ton of great men’s stuff in stock and the prices were great. So if any of the men in your lives are in the market for new clothes they might want to check it out.

      1. Yes – it is great for men’s stuff because people don’t focus on it.

        I ended up with one pair of Zella leggings (pockets! so my phone doesn’t have to live in my waistband when doing chores!) and the Revitalash kit. Was uninspired by the clothes and shoes. Bloggers posting dozens of outfits and booties and scarves and sweaters…. gah. None of the stuff looks any different than the last 2-3 years!

        1. I got a bunch of pairs of Zella leggings but for two of them, they were sold out when I first tried to get them (one of which I was supposed to pick up and they then said “Oops, sorry, no longer available”) but restocked on Sunday afternoon.

    6. The merchandise scarcity has been in place for 20+ years. I worked next to the original Seattle flagship store and I remember coworkers going the first day of the sale on their lunch hour in 1995 and bemoaning that everything was sold out in five hours. I don’t think it’s anything other than that they get manufacturers to commit to providing a certain number of in-demand, new season items and then they run out. I usually order some things and get a few and then later when people return things, I reorder. This year I don’t need anything (will be wfh forever) so I’m not shopping.

  5. I need some advice as to where to put my savings. To my surprise, I have almost $150K in cash – about $90K is in a high-yield online bank savings account, but I just got an email today that said the rate is going down to 0.80% from 1.0%. About $50K is in my savings account that gets almost nothing – and about $10K is in a credit union savings account that gets 0.40%. I’d never really added it up in my head and just realized that I’m sitting on a lot of cash. I’m fully funded in my 401K and I even have a pension. It might be best to just leave it where it is until rates start to come up again. I don’t want to get a CD b/c I’ll be locked in and the rates aren’t that great either. Any advice? TIA

    1. Oh yeah, I see you have an Ally account too.

      Once you move into investments you’re risking principal, but if you want to do that, open a brokerage account and invest in low fee index funds or bond funds, depending on your risk tolerance.

      Take a look at the vanguard site for their advice about the risk level and expense ratio of various funds. Look at historical performance. See how much it rose and fell over the last year or so. See what happened in 2008 and how long it took to recover. Just get as much info as you can before investing.

      Once you do invest, don’t try to manage it all the time. Don’t sell if it drops a bit. (That’s buying high and selling low, the opposite of what you want to do.) Hold tight and don’t look at it every day.

    2. I had the same realization today too — I got the same notice from AmEx Bank. I moved about $100K into a savings account six months ago when it was paying nearly 2%. This is our emergency fund and DH works in an industry prone to layoffs, so I’m not inclined to move it, even for a relatively small amount of risk. But I will not be putting anything more into that account.

    3. I’m keeping my money in a Vanguard brokerage account — mix of money market and bond funds. I’m in an extremely safe job and 2-3 years away from having enough for a downpayment in my VHCOL area, so I’m ok with a little risk. YMMV.

  6. Opinions, please: I’m a lawyer in the Midwest, less than 10 years experience. Actively involved in several industry groups and I’ve let myself get poached twice. I have both private practice and in house experience. Currently private practice, slated to make partner at the end of my firm’s fiscal year (soon). I was recruited to current firm with the promise of a retiring partner and inherited book – turns out that’s only partially true. I plan to leave this firm for Reasons. I am in talks with two recruiters for positions with financial guarantees that would substantially increase my earnings the next couple years, at least. One is “not partner” title at a larger law firm, the other option is a fairly senior title at a corporate entity. I believe I’d like either position. My question is – should I make partner at this firm, and then leave? Or is there an advantage to leaving before the partner vote? Even if I pay the buy in, it’s fully refundable within X months, so I’m not too worried about that. Thinking about long term resume advice and/or career pathing… I can’t decide if it looks better to make partner and potentially “step down” at another firm and/or make partner and almost immediately go in house, vs. Associate title before transitioning.

    Advice? What else am I missing?

    1. 1. Title matters like crazy to some people. I might stay just for that b/c some idiot in 5 years may make a big deal about it.
      2. We only get our $ back if we go in house or retire. If we go to another firm that is deemed a competitor, we get it back over X years. I think I could hang out a shingle at the beach and do that sort of work, but I can’t go from BigLawA to BigLawB, especially if it is in my city (they might forgive a geographic move, like I move to Florida to help out an elderly parent and we have no office there). I’d be very sure about the fine print.

      1. Thanks! This is a quirk at my firm, I think – the buy in is fairly low (under 50k) and there is a multi year payment plan. Whatever you’ve paid in when you leave gets “refunded” after the end of the fiscal year. I think at worst I’d be out 10k…not that I don’t want that money, but I’d be ok with it given the other offers’ $$.

    2. Do you like the people you currently work with? Do you need those bridges for any reason? If yes, leave now. I’ve seen people come and go for all sorts of reasons, at all stages of their career, and no one is judged afterwards as harshly as the ones that leave a hot minute after the partnership vote. Especially if there’s any chance you took the “spot” from another potential partner.

      1. Really helpful. Thank you. I don’t think I need them professionally, but I don’t love burning bridges just because. I’ve found out that my firm has a lot of problems behind the scenes (lots of partners left in the last year, not en masse but individually to other opportunities) and other firms know about those issues. Some relate to multiple, seven figure, pending malpractice suits that weren’t on file before I started but have since been filed. I like the people I work with but I’m also not too concerned about one of them tanking my future job prospects/client relationships, if distinction makes sense.

        1. To me. that cuts both ways. I’m not sure I’d want to be painted by that brush as a partner if it’s really as bad as you say.

    3. Some considerations / questions to ask yourself:

      What do you want to do long-term? That seems like the most important question. Do you want to be a law firm partner, or go in-house? In house opportunities are harder to come by and if you wait until after you make partner at this firm, or later down the line, suitable opportunities may not be available. There may also be more challenges with moving in house as a partner – some in-house departments prefer associates who are less expensive and less set in their ways. If you want to be a partner – with all that the job entails – I would stay at your firm and make partner first; then you can move to other firms as a partner (if you have an in-demand skill set or a book of business). If you move to another firm, you probably won’t be able to make partner for at least 2 more years.

      If you want to move to another firm on a contract, you may get a guarantee for your contract term, but after that you will be subject to the same billing and collections standards as everyone else. If you don’t have your own book by that point or aren’t filling your plate with work, you’ll have to jump again. Some partners do this. They jump firms every 2-5 years. But since you’ve been at 3 firms already, at some point it will become harder to jump firms because your firm jumping will be a red flag.

  7. There was a sofa question here yesterday which reminded me of this — has anyone ordered a sofa wholly online? Like you didn’t go look at it or look at the book of fabric swatches but picked based on what looked good online and using online pics of fabric? This would be thru a furniture store that’s bricks and mortar (so not a Wayfair type thing that is only online) and likely they do NOT have on the floor what I’m looking for — so I’d go sit there, look thru their catalogs and find one. BUT if I were to go in, I could look at some fabrics (because they’ll have others on the floor from the same co so I’ll see some fabrics in person + they likely have a book of fabric swatches). Part of me thinks it’s a big purchase to just do online and by phone using online pics of fabric; part of me thinks — eh it’s a pandemic and it’s only a sofa and I tend not to keep sofas forever (not that I get rid of them all the time but I see nothing wrong with ordering a new sofa every 5 years while keeping the coffee tables etc.). Anything I should be mindful of in doing this?

    1. I’ve bought a couple of article couches this way. In fairness, a friend had one so I knew it was comfortable to sit on, but the fabric was a guess. I figured it would probably work and wasn’t that fussy about an exact shade so I went for it, but in general I’m pretty comfortable shopping online this way. Read reviews, look at photos people submit too.

    2. Of course people buy sofas online, sight unseen. Find one with lots of reviews and read them carefully.

    3. Have you tried to request swatches? I’ve never had an issue about getting swatches buying furniture (from a furniture store not a “marketplace like Wayfair” they won’t that). At the very least verify the colors in your living space and read reviews on feel very well.
      My easiest online buying experience was from Costco honestly. Free swatches mailed, 100+ reviews on the feel and longevity, free delivery and set up, great returns – but I’m not fancy lol.

        1. I’m not sure what type of couch you want but if you browse the Costco website you’ll find a large variety of couches, sectionals, chairs, and sets in fabrics and leathers and ranging in styles from modern (I got a brown leather sectional in a mid-century modernish style).

    4. I’ve done this because I have very limited options where I live. It’s fine. I did some research, asked some friends, and was pretty sure about what I was getting. It worked out well, but also it’s a sofa so I’m not going to get too worried about it.

    5. I ordered one a few years ago from Apt2b dot com, based on fabric swatches and looking at the styles online. I was really happy with it.

    6. I did through Joybird. I looked at a lot a reviews from multiple sites on the sofa style I wanted, and they also send you fabric swatches to look at. The sofa I bought I really love, but it took a long time to get it – several months.

    7. Yes, I did this with an Article Sven couch during Covid. Everyone here raves about it, it has good reviews online, and the color I wanted didn’t need to be perfect. I got the navy blue velvet. It is lovely in person and more comfortable than I expected. So I’m very happy.

    8. Yes. We bought ours from Crate and Barrel sight unseen during the height of the pandemic. It looks just like it does in the pictures and we are not very picky at all about fabric or colors (aside from, I don’t want a brown couch, I want a gray one). However, I wish I could’ve tested it in person because it is not as firm as I’d like, but most couches are pretty squishy these days. Also, most of the reviews said it was firm, but now I know my desired firmness = rock solid? I would read ALL the reviews.

  8. So is the prevailing thought in client-based work that what the client wants, the client gets, even if it’s objectively wrong? Trying to walk this fine line right now and struggling – the client is extremely ignorant about a technical issue we’re having and is demanding a “solution” that works for her, but that will effectively break the product (an analytic tool) for everyone else and cause much larger problems. There’s an easy alternative that would be a win-win for everyone, but she doesn’t want to use it for reasons unbeknownst to me. How much do you push back?

    1. Just build her a site that works with Internet Explorer already & quit trying to prove her wrong.

    2. You’re using free hosting etc to build her website, this client hardly seems like a big spender so why do you care so much?

    3. Is this the internet explorer issue from last week? If so, I don’t have any idea how you crack that nut.
      If it’s not, at the firm where I had a summer job after my 1L year, I overheard a lawyer having a conversation with what seemed like a very difficult client. He said at one point something to the effect of, “I don’t tell my dentist which teeth to drill. He looks at my teeth and tells me what my options are, and then I tell him what I want him to do. After that, I have to let him fix my teeth the way he said he was going to because we cannot both have our fingers in my mouth.” Later in the same conversation, he said, “You don’t have to take my advice, but you’re paying me for it either way.”
      This lawyer is gruff by nature, and I don’t know how his client responded to the conversation, except that the client has remained his client in the ensuing 10+ years. But I’ve thought of that conversation many times–when I was clerking and the judge was my client, as a very junior associate the client was functionally the partner I was working for, and now, when I have client interactions myself.
      I would never phrase things that way, but it’s useful for me to remember that the best I can do is lay out the options for the client, with the relative merits for each, and let them make the choice. Assuming the client’s choice doesn’t create professional responsibility issues for me, once they make the choice, whether I think it’s the right one doesn’t matter much. It’s my job to execute.

      1. That’s not my issue, but shudder at the thought of anyone still using Internet Explorer…

        And yeah, you’re probably right. It’s just frustrating to lay out Option A with tons of merits and almost no downsides and Option B with tons of downsides and no merits and have the client insist on Option B because she has no knowledge (or interest in hearing from people with knowledge) about the product’s tech specs. I honestly don’t know what’s going through her brain.

        1. Have you written an email to the client with all of the options laid out and the risks and benefits? I think you need a CYA email here that ends with something to the effect of “Based on the information you have provided to us about your situation and needs, we believe that Option A provides you with the most benefit and least downside. However, it is our understanding that you would like us to move forward with setting up Option B for you/your company. Therefore, we will be proceeding with implementing Option B. “

          1. This is basically how I handle it. I make sure to CYA in writing and then proceed from there. I’m getting paid as an advisor to my client. It’s their choice at the end of the day. I do occasionally turn down business if their choice is so far misaligned from reality (also usually a flag about working with them in general… life’s too short for some know-it-all clients).

    4. In this situation, a lot: she’s paying you to push back. Rather, she’s paying you to be the expert and develop a working tool, and part of that involves pushing back.

    5. Please stop posting this, you aren’t going to get the answer you want. Either build the lady the website she is asking for or give her the money she paid you back. I realize IE is an antique, but she is not going to budge.

    6. Hey all, the Internet Explorer thing isn’t my issue, FYI.

      In any case, I just had a meeting with our project director and he was somewhat helpful in settling on our approach. We’re going to go for somewhat firm pushback, but then clearly outline the risks of Option B. Hopefully we get somewhere.

    7. It wouldn’t break the site for everyone to lose unless you guys are incompetent at developing. I’m sorry, but you need to improve your tech skills. It is not a hard problem and you should make her happy.

  9. I need to get a window seat cushion to go by an area that already has a red/navy oriental rug in it. I feel like a solid or strip picking some of the rug colors is a safe bet here. I know “leopard is a neutral,” but I think it (or another loud pattern) wouldn’t work here in an area where you otherwise have light solid colors on the wall and white trim (like you can have a lot of patterns/stripes/etc. or minimal, but just two looks weird to me unless they relate to each other).

    Are there good blogs / pinterest things that help show combinations of things? I feel that an oriental rug on a reddish wood floor is almost invisible in that it’s not a stark contrast to the floor. OTOH, I don’t want to make an expensive mistake. Or have like a C- result.

    1. Light blue or slate blue? I always like those shades with red and blue, and they seem fairly nuetral.

    2. I would look at pictures on Instagram, lots and lots of them, and let the algorithms then start showing you similar things. If you look at a few designers’ Instagrams, Instagram will probably start feeding you lots of other pictures of rooms. Then you can figure out what you like. I will say, as someone who likes a very neutral house, some designers have an amazing eye for putting together bold colors and patterns in a way that makes me understand why those designers’ advice is worth so much.
      And there’s this guy whose handle is circadwm who rips off designers’ pictures and posts them like his own. It’s a terrible thing to do, but the pictures are drool worthy. Start there.

  10. Can anyone here comment on the fit of the Lydia dress and whether I can hand wash the “dry clean only” fabric (65% Viscose, 30% Nylon, 5% Elastane)?

    1. The Lydia fits tighter than some of their other styles, and one of mine shrank when it was dry cleaned. I wear a 2 in some MMLF sizes and was happy I went with a 4 in the Lydia.

    2. you can hand wash but it will shrink! ask me how i know…. i sized up in general anyway bc it was too tight around the hips in my normal, size, and then it shrank (evenly in all directions) with an accidental cold wash in the machine. i actually still wear it bc coincidentally i lost weight around the same time but it was not an expected thing. normal mmlf dress size 8, i ordered a 10 in lydia, it shrank to about an 8 but maybe a tiny bit shorter.

  11. I bought two of those prints, including the one shown, after you featured them previously. I’m still waiting for them to arrive from the UK.

    The timing of your post was good; I’ve been converting a “meh” little-used room into a real office, since I’ll be WFH at least through 2020.

    1. Velma – do tell! What are you doing to decorate, etc? I’m trying to do the same and I stink at decorating. So far I have a desk, real office chair, and a bookcase. I’ve been thinking about moving 80% of my books in this room to make it library-like, but haven’t decided.

      1. Darn, drafted a long message but lost it. In short: We’re doing this on the cheap–need to fit out two side-by-side offices due to our WFH scenario for the fall.

        My new space has a postwar military-surplus wood desk that we’ve had forever, good chair (borrowed from the office–will eventually replace), and the necessary electronics: laptop docking system, large monitor, and headset/webcam acquired since March. Some non-negotiable furniture in the room includes shelving on one wall (not the one that shows in Zoom), a file cabinet, a wooden wardrobe (seen endwise on Zoom), and a sitting area with a celery green futon-type couch and heavy chest as coffee table.

        I deep-cleaned a couple of weeks ago and cleared out tons of detritus. Painted the beat-up white walls sort of a light gold, with white semigloss woodwork. Got a large area rug (yucky gray linoleum floor–grr)–ivory/gold/taupe/black in an abstract marbled pattern that ties together a lot of the colors. Polished all the woodwork.

        Now I’m making decisions on artwork–especially for the “Zoom wall” behind the couch. I think the two prints will work well. I got the one shown on this post + https://www.etsy.com/listing/266079952/minimalist-wall-art-minimalist-art-print. They are 16×20, and I’ll frame them in wide frames (barnwood–taupe or grayish) .
        Dominant colors in the room are now ivory/gold with some warm green, blue, and black. I have an inherited large b&w piece by a Belgian modernist artist that will go somewhere in the room. Some throw pillows–maybe blue and orange or gold–once I work out the art situation.

        That’s what I got. :-) Spent ~$500 including paint supplies, prints, frames, and area rug.

  12. Does anyone have a boneless skinless chicken breast crockpot recipe they’d like to share?

    I would usually prefer thighs, but the breasts are what I have. Worried they will be too dry.

    I’m thinking for use in tacos, because it’s Taco Tuesday.

      1. a jar of BBQ sauce also works. I just do that and shred the chicken and voila, delicious BBQ chicken.

    1. buffalo chicken! this is our recipe but there are lots. we eat it over pasta or zoodles but skinnytaste has one with lettuce wraps. 4 Bonelss Skinless Chicken Breasts
      1/2 cup Franks hot wing sauce
      2 Tbsp white vinegar
      2 Tbsp melted butter
      1/8 tsp celery seeds
      black pepper to taste
      4 wedges Laughing Cow or cream cheese

      cook 6 hours on low or 3 on high

    2. My favorite way to do chicken in the crock pot is to mix a couple tablespoons of chile powder, 2 jalepenos diced, a couple cloves of minced garlic, lime juice, some olive oil, a shot of mezcal, and some salt. Mix it all together and pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours and then shred and use in tortillas with all the toppings.

    3. It’s not written for a crockpot but I would go to Joy the Baker’s Best Ever Weeknight Chicken Dinner (I think that’s what it’s called??)

    4. NY Times Slow Cooker Salsa Verde chicken. So good! The recipe says to use thighs but I’ve only ever used breasts and it’s great and not dry at all.

  13. I love that someone tracked down that print! In beforetimes, my husband and I had commissioned a portrait from a friend of ours. It was recently completed and we hung it right behind where I usually set up my home office. I’ve since moved to a different spot in the house because remembering to turn 45 degrees when starting a video call to not have….myself looming over my shoulder was a bit much.

    1. Embrace it!! Maybe put it on an easel in front of your monitor with some earbuds and snacks?

  14. You should see a pulmonologist. It does sound like you have allergy-induced asthma, which is definitely a thing (as opposed to exercise-induced). A pulmonologist can properly diagnose you and provide you with a rescue inhaler, as well as helping you understand what your triggers are. Good luck.

    -Asthmatic since birth

  15. Made my savings goal! In March when the world shut down I only had 7k on hand. Now I’m up to 20, which gives me 6 months’ cushion, while on a pay cut. It’s been hard and I’m proud!

    1. Yes, you can save money if you do not eat out every night and buy alot of stuff. I have learned to cook better and am saving money b/c I eat in most nights, and I am not crazy about takeout from places where the cooks do not wash their hands. FOOEY!

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