Weekend Open Thread
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Something on your mind? Chat about it here.
This bestselling sweater at Evereve looks great for an elevated weekend work or a casual workday look. I love the contrasting stripe detail on the sleeve. For the navy one it looks like denim, whereas for the black version it's a shiny faux leather stripe. Fun!
The sweater is $99, available in sizes XS-XL, at Evereve.com.
Sales of note for 10/3/25
- Ann Taylor – 40% off must-have styles, and 30% off your full price purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 25% off
- Boden – 10% off new womenswear styles with code
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything + extra 60% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Fall style event! 25% off $500+, 30% off $750+ — try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Nordstrom – 1000+ new markdowns!
- Nordstrom Rack – UGG up to 40% off
- Soma -$25 off when you spend $110+, also get a free bra when you buy two
- Talbots – 30% off entire purchase, and free shipping on $150+
what’s everyone up to this weekend? i’m in the mood to cook a bunch of batches of soup for some reason.
A bunch of kid activities and social stuff – Scouts this afternoon followed by a movie night at a friend’s house, swimming lessons and math club tomorrow and dinner with my parents, and Sunday school and a swimming play date with a friend on Sunday.
It is so hot here — upper 80s. I want to bake and make soup and go to the pumpkin patch, but not in this weather.
I’m in the mood to sit on the patio at a fancy restaurant and drink pink champagne and soak up the glorious autumn afternoon sun. Im in for an entire weekend of youth sports.
My heart is ready for fall activities but it’s still hot so I’m hanging out by the pool.
I just got really excited that we’re supposed to have two full days of sunshine, which means I can clean my window screens and leave them in the sun to dry. And then I realized that I should probably find some other things to be excited about. #thisis40 (Also squeezing in some kids’ sports and batches of soup!)
I have an audition for a local musical theater production! I’m quite antsy about it, but I have a backup show in mind in case this one doesn’t work out (still need to audition for the backup, so who knows… I might not have a show in the near future, but fingers crossed).
Ooh! Break a leg!!
I did a big batch of butternut squash soup yesterday, taking some to a neighbor whose husband passed away last weekend. The rest I froze for winter lunches.
Tomorrow and Sunday, we’re doing something called the farm tour. There are over thirty farms, vineyards, orchards and wineries that open their doors to the public to give them an opportunity to see what happens in modern agriculture. A number of the participants have become our friends over the last few years, so it’s pretty special to watch how they have grown their businesses.
We are going to a wine pairing dinner tonight at The Club. Toorrow we are going out to dinner with friends, and on Sunday evening we are going to a fundraising dinner at a fancy private home. Other than that, I need to tackle Mount Laundry and think about what I’m going to pack for a short trip the following weekend.
A youth volleyball tournament. I also want to go pumpkin patching, but it’s supposed to be windy and in the upper 80s, which would be miserable. cannot WAIT for the cold front that is supposed to hit next week!
I’m looking for a new coat, and it’s my first time buying a nice coat vs. whatever Old Navy has on sale.
I’m debating between a grey herringbone or a solid burgundy as the color. I want knee-length, wool blend, and I tend to like a slimmer cut vs. super slouchy or over-sized.
I’m willing to spend up to $1,000, suggestions on great brands and sizing (I’m 5’6″, 135 lbs., athletic build, so I need a bit more room in the upper back and shoulders to accommodate muscle and layers)?
Check out Aritzia’s wool coats like the Cocoon coat. I’m 5’4 and similar weight as you, not athletic build but busty, and I wear a small in the coats. I wish they were a bit shorter on me, so probably perfect on you. Very nice quality.
I vote for burgundy over grey. Finding your coat in a sea of dark colors is so much easier if you have a color.
I have a bright jade colored wool peacoat and that was an unexpected bonus the first time I had occasion to retrieve my checked my coat. The valet was able to locate it very quickly when I told him it was the green one.
I get tons of compliments on a mustard yellow wool coat. That one was a gift, I don’t know if I would have been so bold had I been the one to pay…
Hobbs. I’m 5’9, 150ish, athletic, and my Hobbs coat fits like a dream.
If you had a leather bag that was a brown-y beige coffee color, and the straps wore out on it and matching the color of the bag would be almost impossible, what color would you get instead?
(and to further visualize it, the bag is something like the Michael Kors saffiano bag in brown).
Just get a black strap if you are only replacing the strap.
+1
I’d probably replace the bag. A new set of straps will make the rest of the bag look worn when previously it didn’t.
By contrast, I had an inexpensive glued leather tote-style bag with terribly worn out straps. Took it to a cobbler for new black straps (couldn’t match the brown perfectly) and the whole bag looks fresher and less worn! I like the bag enough and like to try to repair if I can, so I would have been okay losing the money on the cobbler if it hadn’t worked out.
I would replace the bag. But to play the game –
I think cream would probably look the best and most sophisticated to my eye. However if you’re using the bag long enough for straps to need to be replaced, cream is probably a bad idea.
Next choice would be very very dark brown.
Like this: MICHAEL KORS OUTLET
Marilyn Small Color-Block Saffiano Leather Messenger Bag in the Luggage Multi color. https://tinyurl.com/3zh2st8v
I’d pick something fun from here: https://parkerthatch.com/collections/the-strap?
Thank you; I was looking for this because it’s what I had in mind as well. I love this look.
as anyone purchased a gaming chair (in my case for a teen boy)? is it worth it for the $600+ one that wins all the best-of lists?
No. Get whatever they have at Costco. It’ll be more than fine. You might want to hold off and see what they have for the holiday shopping season. There’s usually one that’s good quality at a great price.
+1
Boy, I would not spend $600 to encourage my kid to do a sedentary habit that can turn into an addiction for some.
And to be clear, I’m not opposed to gaming! Love it! A 16 year old does not need an ergonomically comfortable chair that’s specifically designed to allow them to game for hours on end and certainly does not need a $600 one.
I think the thing is that it beats gaming for hours on end in an ergonomically harmful chair (but there must be a middle ground!)
Yeah, I don’t want to be that person and I truly believe that amazing gifts for kids don’t need to be health-promoting, but chairs feel different. I wouldn’t spend significant money on a chair for a sedentary activity – I would go budget on this.
We splurged on Herman Miller Embody chairs for WFH/school FH during the pandemic and will never go back. They are real office chairs designed for gaming, and are worth every penny. It will go with your teen through college and adulthood.
Those chairs are not worth the cost. They just look cool. Get something else.
—Longtime gamer
FWIW, husband had a gaming chair and replaced it with a refurbished Steelcase Leap chair and LOVES the new one. Still expensive, but significantly less gaudy and can be used in your office later if necessary!
I recently switched jobs and I now am in my car nearly 30 hours per week. I drive an SUV, I rarely have other people or kids in the car (maybe only once every couple weeks). I am looking for a sturdy organizer that I could keep in the backseat of the car that will not move around, has drawers or zippers or some type of fastener so things do not fall out. I need to be able to move it to the trunk if necessary. I am picturing keeping general toiletries, a spare PJ outfit, and nonperishable food or snack items to keep me tied over when I don’t need to stop for gas, but just need a bite to eat. I Googled car organizers, but I am overwhelmed with options and I’m not convinced I’ve seen anything sturdy enough. Right now my stuff is in a bankers box which is very unorganized and also the box slides around quite a bit. I am willing to spend up to $150 to better get things organized so I could quicklystep out of the car and grab what I need, and evaluate if I need to shop to refill items! Interior of my car is black. Any reviews or ideas appreciated!
A milk crate on the floor.
What bothers me the most: kid posting dumb things, poorly-punctuated things, or things with spelling mistakes?
Maybe a fun Q for today – what is your most expensive skincare product? What’s your cheapest one?
I have always loved the Garnet Hill asymmetrical wool coat. Now that I’m solidly in my mid-40s, I can both afford it and pull it off. However. Are the current options in blue and lavender too much for the office? Because I really love those colors, but my brain is telling me that if I’m going to splurge, I should be getting something more neutral.
No no, go for it!!
It’s a coat girl live a little and buy what you like
I didn’t realize NYC’s gifted program began in kindergarten, with screening in preK. That is absurd!! If kids are “advanced” in K it is largely because of parental involvement and economic class, not intrinsic giftedness. Much of that advantage will fall away by third grade or so, when most gifted and talented programs begin.
I am a big supporter of G&T programs and appropriate leveling, but on this one I’m with Mamdani. Cut that out.
You’re clueless about this and are just flat out wrong about how developmental differences can present in kindergarten. Calling the need for “advanced” instruction an “advantage” is also messed up when it’s an educational need that kids deserve to have met to stay challenged and engaged even if they’re five years old.