Coffee Break: Day Buckle Mary Jane
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Brown is having a moment, and these “rum” brown leather Mary Jane flats look perfect — especially if black feels too harsh for the season, i.e., almost spring.
I particularly like the way the edging looks slightly darker than the rest of the shoe — it adds a nice layer of definition.
Everlane offers the shoes in five shades of leather, as well as 4 fabric shades (satin and velvet), in sizes 5-11. They also have a flat Mary Jane without a buckle, if that's more to your liking.
The shoes are $158, at Everlane.
Our general favorite Mary Jane flats for work in 2025 include Dolce Vita, Sam Edelman, and Manolo Blahnik. We also like comfort-first styles from Rothy's, Vionic, and Dansko. Looking to splurge? Manolo Blahnik just started making their classic Mary Jane heel as a flat, as well.
Sales of note for 3/10/25:
- Nordstrom – Spring sale, up to 50% off
- Ann Taylor – 40% off everything + free shipping
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + 20% off
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off all sale and select styles with code
- J.Crew – 40% off everything + extra 20% off when you buy 3+ styles
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off all pants & sweaters; extra 50% off clearance
- M.M.LaFleur – Friends and family sale, 20% off with code; use code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Flash sale until midday 3/14: $50 off every $200 – combineable with other offers, including 40% off one item and 30% off everything else
I can’t believe how pointless and preventable all this economic pain is. A good friend just got laid off (USAID-adjacent work), I’m bracing to get laid off myself, national parks are a mess, the tariffs are hurting us at home as well as our trade partners, people are losing health insurance, prices are going up, and the stock market is struggling. It makes me so mad that we could have voted for Harris and had…a normal time. Instead people wanted this incredible chaos.
I can take politicians who have different beliefs, but I, like most other people, don’t do well with extreme instability.
It’s not pointless. The point is to crash the US economy so oligarchs can get richer and Russia can gain more power.
You’re right. I guess I mean more “preventable” or “avoidable.” It’s not like a normal cyclical recession or a downturn due to a natural disaster.
How to they get richer if no one buys their stuff? All the trade relationships are orientating away from the US and Russia doesn’t have enough money to buy anything.
When the economy crashes oligarchs can buy up assets in the fire sale for really cheap. The temporary loss to networth is nothing compared to the gain
But that assumes it gains again. Who is going to buy American products after all this? It’s clear that trade agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. I guess essentials like electricity and food production will remain valuable for domestic use.
It’s hard to see how firing Joe Schmo, Forest Service worker in Bumf*ck Montana, is going to make anyone significant money. There are elements of this I don’t fully get.
@3:32 step one fire forest worker, step 2 cut down forest, step 3 sell lumber, etc
I’m Jo Schmo FS worker literally in Bumfuck MT.
The idea is for uppity women like me to take our degrees and leave. Or take part time, no benefits jobs working at the Town Pump while our husbands if we have them do manual labor the way God intended.
The people in my little town are cheering our suffering. It hasn’t mattered one bit all the time I’ve put into the community outside my job.
I don’t really know where to go or what to do next.
Those little town people might stop cheering once their small businesses are decimated. All those gateway towns to national parks are in for it. They’re utterly dependent on the government teat they profess to hate.
Who will be able to afford lumber? Landlords who will charge vassals exorbitant rents I guess.
This. Look at all the federal buildings that are suddenly up for sale. Once they are gone, that’s it. But I’m sure an oligarch will be happy to lease them back to the government….
It is already happening in national forests at a greater scale. Parks are next.
Yeah they profited so tremendously off the pandemic crisis that they’re determined to do it again, but it’s short term thinking. It’s possible to profit off destruction when some people lose and others gain, but ultimately there’s less to go around to begin with.
Have you read disaster capitalism? It’s like the Trump administration took it as a how to and not a warning
I think it’s more about destroying the traditional stock markets so Musk and his bros can get even richer in crypto. I’m not sure there is going to be a rebound in the traditional markets.
this is terrifying, yup
It is so darn frustrating. Gross how so few people with greed and lust for power can affect so many.
I wish we had shut it down when started at corporations. Now the whole country gets to go the way of Boeing
That tariffs aren’t seen as short term self-inflicted inflation is really wild to me.
I’m a project manager for specialized technical projects, and we got hit with our first tariff related price increase today – vendor wouldn’t honor the quote when we sent in our PO, increased the pricing a couple hundred bucks. Obviously the manufacturer had this planned and ready to go. It’s literally self inflicted inflation. This manufacturer is NEVER going to lower prices if/when the tariffs are going to go away.
It’s because people don’t understand how economics works.
It’s not short term at all. Volatility is what kills international trade. Donald repudiates even agreements he himself personally signed during his first term.
Countries will look for other trading partners. India and the UK are currently negotiating a free trade agreement. After the Canada- EU free trade agreement was signed, Canadian exports to the EU increased almost 50% in only 4 years. These agreements only mean something if countries stick to the agreements and it’s clear that the US does not.
MAGA are happy to suffer if it means owning the libs. Musk saw this as his opening. Truly this is the dumbest country.
Under the prosperity gospel, they don’t believe they will suffer because they are righteous.
They say that…but when it comes to their Medicaid being cut off (50% of births in the US are paid for by Medicare), their debt wracking up, their cars being repossessed, their kids losing their college aid, and their SS check delayed, they will feel true suffering.
*by Medicaid, obv
Aside from everything being “fine”, which seems unlikely, my dearest hope is things implode enough to lead to an actual blue sweep in the midterms, and the Senate will successfully impeach T and then V. Then whoever is the speaker will see the writing on the wall and repudiate MAGA. My pie in the sky dream, just have to hold on
2026 is so important. If the Dems lose the 13 seats they have, then the GOP will have almost enough senators to start impeaching judges who make decisions that Trump disagrees with and we will lose the judicial branch as a bulwark.
The only potential silver lining to this train wreck is that it’s going to be so spectacularly bad that Dems can’t possibly lose if they have a pulse (and for the love of Pete, stop talking about those special pet issues). Enough people voted based on the perceived poor economy in 2024 — including registered Dems — that they should be a shoe-in on the same grounds.
Now, this assumes we are still alive and have elections by then.
I don’t think there will be another meaningful election – maybe a sham one.
It sure doesn’t look as though MAGA are worried about future elections.
Why would MAGA be worried? They’re making a dictatorship. There are no more fair elections.
I think there will be some sort of “election” but it won’t be the kind of free election we’re used to.
Can you use expired flour, or does it ruin the taste? I specifically am wondering if I can use expired buckwheat flour to make buckwheat crepes.
Whole grain flour goes rancid. Smell it and see. If it’s been in the fridge or freezer, it’s probably okay, but if it’s stored somewhere warm, it can go rancid even before the expiration date and will taste bad.
I didn’t know flour had an expiration date. I use it until it runs out or the bugs hatch.
After a bad experience I store my flour in the freezer.
It should be fine unless the smell is off.
How expired are you talking? How have you stored it? What is the ambient temp and humidity during the time you have had it? Is there anything off about it, either smell-wise or appearance?
Flour can go rancid (especially whole grain flours due to their higher oil content), and if it grows certain types of mold or fungus, those can be toxic. We do a lot of baking and have a stand-alone deep freezer where we store our excess flour because of this.
woah, how much baking are you doing? Do you have a big household to feed or is this also about buying flour in bulk?
We buy in bulk. It’s so much less expensive to get 50 lb bags from the restaurant supply store!
I have one brother. He is recently married to an incredibly lovely woman. They met and married within a year. They are both early 40s so it moved quickly.
My new SIL’s family is straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. They are so kind to me and have started to invite me to join their own family’s events.
The problem is that I get teary and emotional around them. It is embarrassing. My own family is not kind to me, including my brother. I am constantly overwhelmed by the contrast of their family against my own. I’m older and haven’t dated for years. I expect to be alone forever at this point.
I need advice on (1) how to manage my emotions in response to their kindness, and (2) whether I should distance myself in anticipation of their marriage not going well as my brother reveals himself. Brother is very supportive of me being around, but I think he is using me as a prop (“look at my sister who checks these boxes and who I love so much!”). Brother has treated me dismissively since I was in college. If I say it is a nice day, he will disagree just to disagree with ME.
Were you the one who posted about whether you should warn your soon to be SIL about your brother? This fact pattern sounds very familiar. Either way, I wouldn’t distance yourself pre-emptively. If things go south in their marriage, she may really appreciate your support. Of course, she may not want to maintain a relationship with you if it’s too painful. But it should be her choice.
I would keep building this relationship, if they’re as kind as you say they will still be kind when your brother ultimately shows himself and blows up the marriage.
I’m sorry this is hard, sometimes I cry around nice people too because it’s just so rare for me to experience. The looming dread that it will end must be heart breaking.
Yep. My MIL kept my husband’s ex-family in her life and even they have been kind and loving to me and our son.
I think you should lean into this family. You deserve to have a supportive loving connection, even if you have to “choose” that family.
Also, I stopped dating around 30 and started again around 45. I’ve been in two long relationships with good men in that time. One obviously didn’t work out, but I got a lot out of it and it brought me to the second. You don’t have to accept being alone if that is not what you want for yourself. That said, I did have to change some of my habits/routines to put myself in a position to date again.
I’m in same boat. Long time single and wondering what you changed in terms of habits/routines?
I don’t think you need to manage your emotions at all. Be you. It is lovely and sincere. Cry away, if you are touched. Honestly, being “older” you may be perimenopausal like me, where even a commercial can make me tear up!
Enjoy being around a supportive family. It sounds like you deserve it. I hope it improves your feeling of self-worth, and confidence. You future is still long and unknown. I have hope for you.
I agree. Women are taught that expressing emotion somehow means we’re weak or less than. That being an “emotional women” is like a dirty word. But it is incredibly brave to wear your heart on your sleeve. If cringing your genuine reaction then it will come off as sincere. I don’t think you could give this family a bigger compliment than to be moved to tears by their kindness.
Sorry cringing = crying is
+1 all of this. If the opportunity arises (it sounds like it has/will), lean into building these relationships independent of your brother.
Yes! I’d lean into building the relationships outside of your brother. Get to know SIL and her mom and any other siblings even when your brother isn’t there. Ask them to coffee, lunch, spa days, whatever. Hopefully if SIL does break with your brother eventually, this family will keep you because they have relationships with you that are outside of him. They sound great.
Aw, I resonated with this so much. I was a pretty neglected child, and whenever I received love and warmth from other families or friends, it would make me cry. Please do not lean away from the relationships with them. You deserve this warmth and love, and as you experience more of it, it will become easier and easier to accept. Honestly your SIL also deserves to have someone in her corner who knows how your brother is, and so really investing in that relationship is a favor to her as well. It’s possible (honestly likely) she and your brother never break up, in which case you can nurture this chosen family and forge as deep of relationships with them as you want.
I agree that you shouldn’t preemptively lean out. Enjoy the relationship. I also want to suggest that you may want to leave room for the possibility that your brother has also changed/matured. Perhaps this woman and this family are also having a positive impact on him as well. I’m not saying you need to forgive and forget his previous unkindness, but maybe just leave the door open for reconciliation if that’s something you would be interested in. It sounds like he was unkind as an adult, not just a child, but it also sounds like he learned that from your parents. Maybe seeing a different family structure has been good for him as well.
Someone mentioned Deep End on the morning thread and I thought it would be fun to discuss more. Did you enjoy? I’m aligned with both commenters who said they typically like the author but found this one a bit icky. For me it was not about the subject matter, but the way it was presented. I would have enjoyed more if they were older and more experienced.
I’m the one who originally brought it up – I understand she was a sub but she just really seemed like a pushover. I could understand a type A person wanting to have their mind blanked but here it just seemed off given all her other accomplishments.
(Also, I had to go to Reddit to understand the TiVo references!)
which other romance authors do you like? adriana anders is good in this vein
I’m not that commenter, but I also read it this weekend. I *loved* her earlier work, but I haven’t liked the last two. I had put off reading her work for years because I do not find Adam Driver to be attractive (Kylo Ren is a huge turnoff; obviously he’s better in other roles). I then found I adored her…and I just don’t like how her work has evolved. It’s completely within her rights to change, and I’m just no longer her target audience.
I don’t like her recent works for a few reasons. First, I think it’s possible to have a damaged childhood and still come out “normal.” At least I would like to think so. Second, while I applaud how much the romance industry has done to promote sex positivity, I suspect these works are going to convince young women that they are weird if they’re *not* into kink, much like p*rn has done for young men. Third, for the love of all that is good in this world: birth control does not protect against STDs and is not 100% effective as a contraceptive. All her recent works are anti-c*ndom usage, though I acknowledge she discusses STD testing.
I can’t believe I’ve turned this into a get-off-my-lawn rant, but the c*ndom thing really, really irks me. I am pro-sex and pro-whatever-you-want-to-do-that-doesn’t-hurt-others, and I am not liking trends in recent romance novels targeted at teens and 20-somethings.
I agree with all of this (except Reylo which I’ve always loved) – but the condom thing totally bugs me. Every single book! This is the only one that mentioned std testing at all.
Her acknowledgments at the end of the book admitted she knew she was veering into less marketability. From her last 5 books I think she’s testing her range – YA, paranormal, erotica – so I am still probably buying her books automatically.
I don’t know if anyone else does their taxes stupidly early, but if you are like me and you do, please don’t forget about free tax usa [dot] com. I have used a paid service the past two years but this year turbotax wanted $159 for my pretty simple tax return and I went looking. For some reason I thought you had to earn below some smaller number to use the free service or something but, nope, I qualified and it got the same result as TT.
This is another thing on the chopping block. It’s been proposed to be cut after this year.
I know, I saw that. It’s why I remembered it existed. And it’s such a great service. I don’t think I can bring myself to watch the SotU tonight. I’m so sick of what is being done to this country and to our allies
I thought this was a private business, authorized to file with the IRS, but essentially a competitor to TurboTax and the rest? I’ve used no service, HR block and freetaxusa, and the last one is my preferred option. I paid $15 for a state return and that was it, and the online interface worked well.
Smartly early this year! If you’re getting a refund, it’s stupid to leave them one second longer than you have because who knows if the IRS will be around by April…
No kidding. We have to file in a bunch of states so I’m all over the map with owing/refunds, but we have a net positive this year. Sent in everything early and posted the payment dates to April 1 where possible.
Yeah no kidding. I filed on February 1 as soon as we got our last tax form and just got our refund. It was $12k and I didn’t want to leave that money in the hands of Musk and company any longer than necessary. I need to adjust our withholding down so we don’t get a big refund this year.
I have a pretty simple filing and pay less than twenty bucks per year together for federal and state efile. I use OnLine Taxes and like how easy it is. It will forever be wild to me that people without crazy complex filing scenarios pay hundreds of dollars to file their taxes.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, as the spouse of an accountant, please send them all your docs now (if you haven’t already). You are not their only client, and when everyone procrastinates life is miserable.
File early if you’re getting a refund. I filed ours on Friday night, and our federal refund was in our account on Tuesday. (We usually pay, so I mail those suckers in with a paper check on April 15th.)
Wow that’s crazy fast. It took about 3 weeks to get mine (direct deposit to bank account). Our state refund was faster this year even though they normally take longer than the feds. It made me very nervous because of all the fed govt chaos.
Can I just say these shoes are just hideous.
Oh god, I thought I was hallucinating. They don’t even look comfortable enough to excuse the ugly factor.
Yeah if some of these “current” shoe styles were orthopedic at least I could be current and also making my podiatrist happy.
But they just look orthopedic, worst of both worlds.
I scrolled the comments just hoping to find people who agree. WHY?!
The black Dolce Vita ones are styled with white socks in the product photo, like an actual Lolita look. Just why.
Like it or not, these are in.
I’d at least like them to look less cheap and to have a little structure to them. These look nearly as cheap as the shoes we’d roll up and put in a bag for when our feet got sick of our heels in the early 00s or pick up at a pharmacy on the way home.