This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I was poking through Amazon's bestsellers and was intrigued to see that these foldable flats are on the list! Obviously, we've always loved foldable flats — they're the perfect thing to slip in your bag if you worry you'll have a long day, or if you might be surprised by a long walk.
I have a pair of these Silky Toes myself — they're pretty flimsy, as you would expect from something that's less than $20, but they're still a lifesaver on those days when you're just about ready to take your shoes off and fling them across the room and walk home barefoot instead.
They come in a number of different colors and styles, mostly for under $20.
Some of our other favorite foldable flats are below:
Sales of note for 10.10.24
- Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
- Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
- Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
- White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles
Anon
I am making a full Thanksgiving meal for my family for the first time this year. I am a competent cook, but horrific about timing when to cook things if I have lots of dishes going for big meals. Does anyone know of a resource that I can use that will help me time when to put dishes in the oven, etc.? I don’t necessarily need the recipes, just like “Turkey in at 7AM, start mashed potatoes at 11, etc.” Or, any other good hints? Even if it’s like, make pies on Monday, casseroles on Tuesday, and then just cook the turkey and reheat casseroles on Thursday.
Cat
Don’t forget about oven capacity. My family uses a standalone portable oven for the turkey which leaves the ‘real’ oven free for casserole dishes.
Anon
I have Wednesday off work so I do all the desserts and any sides other than roasted vegetables then. The only things that go in the oven on Thursday are the turkey and the roasted veggies (and the vegetables are chopped in advance, so it takes no prep time). We normally start the turkey around noon to eat around 4, but the timing of the turkey depends on a lot on the weight since big turkeys take longer to cook.
Nesprin
The biggest one is the turkey- when its in the oven (unless you have a gigantic oven), you’re probably not going to bake anything else. Turkey should be rested for 30min-1 hr before you eat, so you have time to reheat but not bake.
I usually dry rub prep my spatchcoched turkey day before and high temp roast which takes ~1-2 hours, and for a 6pm dinner time means turkey goes in at 4 and out at 5:30. I usually do pies+ casseroles in the morning (11-1 or so) or day before. Roast veg is usually day before as well, with the exception of brussel sprouts that I roast same time as turkey in a cookie sheet. I usually do stovetop stuffing which gets heated with casseroles at 5:30. I hate making mashed potatoes but I do, usually at 5 or so while cursing a lot.
Anon
my mom used to make almost everything in advance, except for the Turkey. That was the only thing she cooked the day of.
Anon
Oh, fun question!
#1 most important: MAKE SURE YOUR TURKEY IS DEFROSTED! It can take DAYS!
Bake all your desserts on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Set the table on Tuesday or Wednesday. If you’ll be putting items in pretty serving dishes, go ahead and set them out on the table and put a post-it or scrap of paper in them labeling what goes in them, so that when you have things ready, someone else can grab the bowl labeled “mashed potatoes” and dish those up.
Make all your casseroles on Wednesday as far as you can, and put them in the fridge so that all you have to do on Thursday is put them in the oven. Consider selecting casseroles that can cook in a crockpot or stovetop if your oven space is limited.
If you’ll be hosting Thanksgiving regularly and have storage space, consider investing in an infrared cooker. I’m not a gadget person at all, but this thing is AMAZING. It frees up the oven and a turkey’s cooked in 3 or so hours. (Your first year, get a turkey with the pop-up I’m done button to help you know when it’s done.) I’ll post a link in reply. We actually love the thing so much that we buy a turkey on clearance after the holidays and spend a Saturday in January preparing turkey pot pies (frozen veggies and refrigerated pie crust – it’s quick!) for homemade “frozen dinners.”
Anon
https://www.amazon.com/Charbroil%C2%AE-TRU-Infrared-Technology-Stainless-Oil-Less/dp/B071VT9RRR/
Anon
I just sent this to my husband and he’s very excited about it, so we’re getting one. Any tips on using it that you’d warn us about? Do you use it outside?
Anon
Yes, definitely use it outside! My husband texted and said, “Follow the directions. Don’t cover it while cooking or it’ll brown too quickly. Use a brine for best results.”
This is the brine we’ve used for years, multiplied to account for a whole turkey. (Warning, the brine + raw turkey stinks to high heaven. He makes the brine on Tuesday and lets it cool overnight in the garage, then brines the turkey all day Wednesday, and cooks Thursday.)
https://www.pauladeenmagazine.com/cider-brined-turkey-breasts-recipe/
Anon
Thank you so much! Thrilled to free up oven space!!
Turkey Day Host!
Gah, I love Thanksgiving so so much and took over family hosting duties for 30 people for the last 5+years. Sadly can’t host this year because I’m pregnant and due ON Thanksgiving (fitting…).
+1 million on defrosting turkey time. For real. it takes forever. Given our family size, I always get the largest turkey I can find usually either side of 20 lbs. It’s taken over a week before and we’re still scraping some ice out of the cavity morning of.
Don’t underestimate the time to prep the turkey in the 90 mins leading up to popping it in the oven.
The turkey can definitely sit for an hour (or more) and will be incredibly hot, so that’s usually when I’m finishing the stuffing, finish warming the casseroles, etc. Turkey comes out and everything else goes right in, basically.
Don’t serve any dessert that can’t be made the day(s) before.
I know your question was about timing but some unsolicited advice…. Set lots of things out the night before and put them in places where you can quickly direct people to when they offer to help. My first year hosting for the family I didn’t do this and was the only person who could articulate where, for example, the gravy boats were stashed (basement, next to the stairs, one of the cabinets, behind the pitcher, etc etc). So then annoyingly I was the only one (who needed to be cooking) to could go retrieve All The Things and took me away from the kitchen. Now, I set up a staging table the night before at the bottom of my basement stairs with all the needed serving dishes and put post its on each so that I can say “go to the table and grab the corn serving dishes.” I also pre-distribute serving spoons to each of the dishes so there’s no scrambling in the silverware drawer as the food is going out. This table doubles as dumping ground for the dirty dishes when you’re clearing the table and not wanting to clean everything real-time. Works like a charm.
Vicky Austin
Take advantage of the turkey rest time!
Also, crock pot mashed potatoes.
Senior Attorney
Also crock pot stuffing.
anon
I make as many side dishes and desserts as I can in advance, so all I have to do on Thanksgiving is heat things up in the oven. With the turkey and gravy, there are still plenty of things going on that can’t be done until the last minute.
anon
Also, after hosting several Thanksgiving dinners, we broke down and bought a roaster. They aren’t expensive. Now the turkey is always done in there, and I don’t have to worry about having enough oven space for the sides. My family doesn’t care about the picture perfect presentation of the bird, so it works for us.
Anonymous
I never really concern myself with down to the minute timing. Often I’m keeping something warm while I’m finishing up on something else.
I do timing by counting backwards from when I want to serve, and can plan sides around how long the turkey needs to be in the oven. I make desserts the day before so the only thing I need the oven for on the day is the turkey.
Formerly Lilly
I make a chart with an hourly timeline down the left side, and then each dish gets a column. Every single thing goes on the chart, from roasting a Turkey to warming bread. In the time block for something that goes in the oven I note “OVEN” and the temperature. This will help avoid oven jams and conflicting temperatures. For all hands-on time, I put a thick black line on the left hand side of the chart to note that it’s no good for other hands on tasks.
Overkill perhaps, but I was single handedly producing Thanksgiving dinner for us, my father and my then H’s extended family. MIL showed up with two pumpkin pies, one for the feast and one the sole property of her precious baby boy. Another guest reliably brought bread or rolls. Except for one pie and the bread, I did the rest. Once the timeline – chart thingy is figured out, you’ve just got to execute the plan and don’t have to do any more figuring. I also print or copy any recipes I’m using and keep them with the timeline/chart. And if you are roasting a Turkey, buy a leave in thermometer with an alert on it. Takes the guesswork out of the bird cookery.
Formerly Lilly
Additionally, grilled Turkey is wonderful. Spatchcock and season it and send it outside to be tended by others who are willing to sit around outside with drinks, monitoring the grill. The leave in thermometer with an alert will prevent mishaps.
Anon
Yes, this is the type of chart that I do. It’s hard to do the chart without your specific recipes. One thing I regularly have to remind myself about each year is that the turkey can and should rest for a period of time after it is taken out of the oven. That gives me a significant amount of time to make a fresh side (my stuffing takes 45 minutes, so I can pop that in when the turkey comes out). I also do my mashed potatoes while the turkey is resting. The only things that I made ahead of time are the pies. I’ve also made apple crisp the day of by throwing it in the oven while we eat.
Senior Attorney
In addition to the timeline chart, I get all the serving dishes out and put them on the table, and then put a post-it note on each dish to indicate what goes in it. I started doing that the year I opened the microwave after everybody had gone home, and discovered the forgotten corn pudding that I’d put in there to heat up right before dinner…
Anon
Dispatch the would-be helpers to the backyard with some beers and the turkey to spatchcock it on the grill or fry it and try not to set the back of the house on fire. The kitchen is freed up and less folks are in your way.
Anon
we just baked a 25 pound turkey yesterday….great for leftovers. Took 6.5 hours to roast. We will use the drippings to make gravy for Thanksgiving. If we’re having more than 4 of us (and we have done up to 40) we roast the turkey and ham the day before, slice it down, put in aluminum half pans with some gravy to keep them moist and then reheat Thanksgiving day. Then we have the oven and kitchen free to make/heat all of the sides. Stuffing and mashed potatoes go into crockpots, so oven is left to heat the meats, cook other casseroles or sides such as mac and cheese, roasted brussel sprouts, etc. If you must have a ‘show turkey’, get a small 10 lb one and roast that day of. This strategy has alleviated alot of stress and also timing issues, and allows us to enjoy our guests more on Thanksgiving.
I will add that we have a a second refrigerator and freezer in our garage so we are able to store prepped foods the night before in that fridge.
Anon
In the oven, I would only cook the turkey and then reheat anything else on Thanksgiving day. All the sides I usually make on the stovetop to avoid oven congestion issues.
An.On.
I’ve definitely seen this laid out on certain websites/books if you’re doing the whole meal from one place (although I can’t remember where I’ve seen it now!), but if you’re picking recipes from different sources, then I think you just have to get a big list and write down what dishes will be using the oven, at what temperatures, for how long and when each dish will be served and then work backwards.
For a first time host, I would also focus on dishes you can prep ahead of time and ones that can use different methods of cooking (grill, crockpot, stovetop, oven, etc) so you don’t wind up with a bottleneck. And if people are bringing dishes, find out if they need oven time too.
Elegant Giraffe
I think Real Simple provides a full meal with recipes and timing breakdowns every year.
Anonymous
My hack: make mashed potatoes first thing in the morning, then keep them warm in crockpot for the day. They hold up beautifully, and it takes one of those last minute things off the table so we can concentrate on the bird and gravy and rolls.
AnonOP
Ack!! this is all so helpful, and slightly overwhelming :)
We only have 6 people coming, and I love a beautifully set table. So I think I’m going to lean into prepping as much as possible the days before.
So, Monday/Tuesday will be pie day;
Wednesday – sweet potato casserole; some kind of veggie gratin; and stuffing (I always dry out the turkey if I make it in the turkey) + table set
Thursday – turkey (early), then mashed potatoes (midday), casseroles back in oven while the turkey rests, and I can prep a green salad and rolls (right before eating).
Formerly Lilly
Set your table several days ahead of time and throw a bedsheet over it.
Anon
I feel like Monday/Tuesday are good days for dry brining the bird, making turkey stock, and making cranberry jelly if you’re doing that from scratch. But it’s too early to bake whole pies and expect them to be fresh on Thursday. Get up early Thursday to bake the pies. It’s fine if the crusts and filling are waiting a day in the fridge, but I wouldn’t go earlier than that. Sorry. With a good oven schedule, you’ll definitely have time to bake them before the turkey goes in.
Anonymous
Another good tip is to know your limits and don’t over extend yourself, especially by using complicated or new recipes.
I don’t set a full table, people fill their plates from the pots and pans in the kitchen.
I also make very few dishes, and I do the same dishes every year. Maybe once in a while I will try something new, but not often, because I prefer simple.
Anonymous
I have an old Cooks Illustrated or Americas Test Kitchen cookbook about “making food ahead”that has a whole chapter on Thanksgiving and what you can make in advance, etc.
Anonymous
I build my whole menu around the cook tops I have available and don’t doublebook anything of them. For example, I have one oven, so only one item on my menu goes into the oven. Then I account for four stovetop burners, a crock pot, and a grill, as well as chopping space for uncooked selections like a salad. My menu typically includes a turkey or ham (oven), green beans (crock pot), stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy, and maybe corn (burners), salad (counter), and one dessert and compound butter prepared on another day. It also reduces the mad dash right there in the last 30 minutes.
Anon
I sit down the night before and make an oven schedule. Everything is built around the turkey. So say I want to eat at 3, and the turkey will take about 2 1/2 hours, and I want it to rest 30 minutes before carving. That means the fully prepared, fully defrosted if applicable turkey goes into the oven at noon. The last 30 minutes are when all my other dishes go in, like green bean casserole, candied yams, dressing, etc. Pies get baked earlier in the morning before the turkey. If a pie takes 45 minutes, that means preheating the oven at 11 or before, and sticking the pie in at 11:15. Just work backwards from the turkey.
My kids are in college now and have started to want to bake their own dishes on the day of, so they sit down with me the night before and we work out the schedule and they agree to it. Like my son wants to make the pies – he knows he can’t have the oven past noon. My daughter fortunately has a 30 minute squash dish that can go in with everything else for the last 30 minutes.
You’ve got this! Just make the schedule yourself.
ArenKay
Yea you for raising kids who want to contribute to the cooking.
Anon
Absolutely agree with the commenters about staging your serving dishes and utensils with post-its. Other random tips: utilize a garbage bowl while cooking. Keep a big mixing bowl on the counter to collect trash and food scraps. It’s easier than walking to the garbage can every five minutes. Set up a DIY drink station (including your booze, glassware, ice bucket, jigger, corkscrew, pre-sliced garnishes, water pitcher, and soft drinks) and easy appetizers in a room far from the kitchen. It keeps people from getting under foot while you finish cooking. Set an alarm a couple hours before showtime to do your own hair and makeup. If you leave it until the final hour you’ll be too busy.
Trixie
1. Make a menu. Delegate some items to to others, and make sure they make them at their house and not yours. 2. Tape many pieces of printer paper together, and thus make a timeline, with “Eat dinner” at 4 pm or whenever you are going to eat. 3. Work backwards, and add in 3:30 pm, 3 pm, 2:30 pm, etc. until you have reached “preheat oven” and “then put turkey in oven.”. This is your T Day starting line. Turkey is the top line in this chart. (called a Gant Chart by many) 4. Below the turkey line, starting at “eat dinner”, work backwards for each menu item, add a new line for each item. Green beans, mashed potatoes, bake the rolls, etc all get a line indicating when they go in and out of the oven. 5. Add some fun things like “go outside and scream” and “pour a glass of wine.” 6. Tape more pieces of paper onto the chart as necessary. 7. Add little decorations if you wish, like a turkey sticker or some pilgrim hats, etc. 8. Add all items that are on the menu. 9. For the appetizer stage, tape on more pieces of paper and add “put out crackers and cheese” and “make negronis.” Then, tape the big chart onto the kitchen wall, or across the cabinets somehow, so everyone can see it. I also make a similar timeline for the days before–grocery shop for non perishables, grocery shop for perishables, set table, etc. But that is for me…not for the multitudes.
I find this to be fun for everyone, and people then know how to help. Also, post the full menu in big print on the frig–people will like to read it.
Anonymous
+1 for making it absolutely clear to anyone bringing a dish that there will be no prep time or oven time or space at yours. Bringing a dish means an actual, ready dish, not ingredients. (Don’t ask me how I know now to specify….)
Think about whether you want people to take leftovers home – if so, a few extra ziplock bags, foil or tupperware you want to declutter will work better than tupperware you want to have returned to you.
Make sure the dish washer (or sink) is empty when you start the meal, even if you have to run half a machine while finishing your preparations – it’s so nice to put everything straight in instead of having to empty it or make stacks on the counter. Same for trash bags.
Remember that it’s a bad idea to run very intensive electrical things like the hairdryer, vacuum, blender or electric kettle at the same time – half an hour before the guests arrive is not the time you want to blow a fuse. (Don’t ask…)
Anonymous
I recommend delegating to your guests, Marney-style:
https://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/11/26/home-for-the-holidays/
Anonymous
And the follow-up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkFI4VLjo40
Anon
I had to use the search box at awkward family to find the Marney letter but boy was it worth it. Thank you!
Anon
Make the mashed potatoes a day ahead using the mashed potato casserole recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It’s delicious and I’m always asked to bring it for Thanksgiving.
Creamed spinach, sweet potato casserole, etc. – make as much as you can the day before, store in oven-safe dishes and reheat on T-day. Take them out a few hours before so that they’re not ice cold when you need to reheat them. Place in the oven as soon as the turkey comes out.
Anonymous
Prepping ahead is KEY. We usually host 20-25 people in a small house. I second the person who told you to set up a drinks station (don’t forget the non-alcoholic stuff and the water!). Outsource what you can; my family brings everything from sides to pies (and yes, always make it clear if something brought needs oven time). We have a full-size crockpot AND a triple “buffet” crockpot and they are KEY for us.
Weekend before: we roast chicken (usually just pieces) and use the drippings to make gravy (like, a LOT of gravy). Heat gravy in small crockpot on T-day.
Monday/Tuesday: do mashed potatoes and creamed corn. Reheat in crockpot (potatoes in the full size, corn in the small).
Wednesday: bake pies and prep things that need to be cut.
Thursday: stuffing/turkey. My husband likes to spatchcock his for more even cooking. He carves it before it hits the table anyway, so no one misses the picture moment.
Seventh Sister
One thing that works well for our family Thanksgiving is that the non-hosts bring things like dessert or a particular side. My MIL believes that stuffing is deadly (even if it’s never gone near the turkey), so we bring some, and my brothers-in-law bring a few pies. Also extra (or in my family, drinkable) wine is usually the province of the non-hosts.
Anon
“(or in my family, drinkable)”
I see we are related. Does your aunt also stick the cork back in the red wine and put it in the fridge every time you turn your back? Can’t be having room temp wine!
Anon
PSA: if anyone is planning ahead for holiday desserts already, the King Arthur Flour pecan pie is the easiest pie ever and it’s AMAZING. We use pre-made crust and the whole thing could not be simpler/more worth the effort.
Anonymous
This makes my feet hurt just looking at it. It’s only slightly better than barefoot. I’d rather wear sturdy heels than deal with a lack of arch support like this. That’s one of the best things about today’s fashion versus the early oughts–you no longer need items like this because there are enough comfort brand flats and heels (and passable fashion sneakers) now.
Anon
Same. I could wear something like this in my 20s but not now.
Anonymous
These are one-use at best, the soles look like they would be destroyed by a small crack in the pavement.
Aren’t we at least a decade past uncomfortable shoes? Why would anyone need disposable foldable flats in 2023?
Anonymous
i’m curious about the weekend thread on sunscreen — to everyone who said they use the three-finger method, how the heck do you get it all to absorb?
(also, have you heard anyone say that except fiddy snails? the NYT said it takes “it takes about 1 ounce to properly cover most adult bodies in a swimsuit” in their last article on it…) https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/how-to-apply-sunscreen/
Anne-on
Per the report “If you do apply face sunscreen separately, we note in our guide to the best face sunscreens that a quarter-size amount is sufficient for the face, neck, and ears” – three thick lines on each finger would generally be at or more than that amount. When I first started wearing facial sunblock daily I literally scraped the sunblock off my fingers into a measuring spoon to be sure it was the right amount. I will also use another finger for my neck and upper chest area if they are exposed.
Asian sunblocks tend to use a fair amount of alcohol which will evaporate after rubbing in so once they are absorbed you really don’t feel the sunblock. The tricky thing is that if you wear base makeup you need to make sure the makeup works with your sunblock otherwise you’ll get pilling (similar to if you use a water primer with a silicone foundation).
Anon
I was the commenter who likes the Country & Stream Honey UV, and I also use three fingers. I cover my entire face and ears, but not neck and chest. That’s an additional amount. I don’t have any trouble with it absorbing. It’s slightly moist for a moment, so I spend that time doing very basic eye makeup, by which point my face is ready for more – which for me is primarily a little concealer and a very small amount of BB cream. (less than pea sized)
Eldercare and taxes
We’re at the point with my MIL that we need to hire someone to come in a few hours week to provide senior care (through care dot com). We’re almost certainly going to be paying them more than $2,600/year. Do I need to withhold taxes for them? I have no idea how this works.
Chl
Yes – an accountant can help you do this and withhold taxes. Or I think care.com has its own service or you could use a nanny pay company. We used The Nanny Tax Company. They walk you through getting an employer number and doing tax forms.
Josie P
+1 to the Nanny Tax Company, they are great!
Anon
Yes, but there are services that take care of everything. We used HomePay for a nanny, but I believe they can handle any kind of in-home employee. They made everything so straightforward and when we got a letter from the IRS about the payroll taxes, I just contacted them and they took care of everything. Well worth the few hundred dollars we paid. I file our taxes myself and did so even when we had a nanny – they supplied all the info I needed and it was really no different than any other tax year except one or two additional forms to enter into TurboTax.
anon
In addition to tax issues, you’re going to want to ensure you understand the obligations of a household employer on things like workers’ comp, paid sick leave, etc.
Anonymous
Note that you will have to gross up their pay so they do not get dinged for the withholding. Also the majority of people want to be paid in cash without any withholding so good luck.
Lots to Learn
Am I crazy to buy scalpers’ tickets at a local concert? I know it’s safest to buy tickets through the resale function on Ticketmaster or through StubHub. But I’m curious about whether I’d be taking a big risk if I went down to the concert with cash and tried to buy tickets from scalpers just as the show was starting, for rock-bottom prices. Any sense of whether I’d be likely to get fake tickets or be totally scammed? FWIW, this is for a Queen concert, not something like the Eras tour…
anon
You are 100% taking a very real risk. Don’t offer money you’d be upset to lose. But, yes, you can get legit tickets through this way – I’ve done it before.
Anonymous
Use Ticketmaster or Stubhub from the venue to buy last minute tickets. Safer and you’ll likely get a good deal.
anon
But be aware that ticket sales shut off a certain portion of time before events. Sometimes it’s 2 hours, sometimes it’s the minute before the scheduled start date. A little homework should answer this for you.
Anon
This is how my family saw basically every Rose Bowl game in the 1970s. Cash. Outside the stadium morning of.
Anon
I have vivid memories of my dad haggling for tickets outside baseball games. That was 30 years ago tho so I imagine things have changed.
Anokha
It can be risky — so I would only do it if it were a situation where I wouldn’t be upset if the money was totally lost.
NYNY
I’ve found that prices from the official scalpers often drop significantly if you wait until the week of the show. Since you’re willing to show up without a ticket, maybe check back on Tmaster a day or two ahead and see what’s up? Many venues only accept electronic tickets these days, so old-school scalping isn’t always possible.
Anonymous
How does meeting and buying with scalpers work these days in terms of getting the tickets after you pay cash? Is the scalper:
1) giving you a paper ticket or
2) do you then both pull out your phones and the scalper transfers an electronic ticket to you
(2a) via ticketmaster app—where you give them your email and watch them type it in or
(2b) via their apple Wallet app—often your Wallet can send tickets via text or airdrop. Not sure about androids.
It seems that Option 2A is the only safe way to receive tickets regardless if you pay cash or not.
Why not Option 1: This summer, I had paper tickets issued from the box office window of a local venue (they were also selling on Ticketmaster…my office is two blocks away and I wanted to avoid the fees lol). Each ticket also had a code that you can use to upload it to your Ticketmaster account/app. Assuming that once a ticket is “converted” to electronic format, you can transfer / send it to other people via the TM app….And more importantly, I assume the paper copy would no longer work…but you won’t know until you try at the door and the scanner rejects you. In your case, the scalper could give you a paper ticket that they converted to their TM account and sold that electronic ticket to someone else.
Why not Option 2B: also this summer, we purchased a block of baseball tickets for some friends and their families. The seats were in an irregular configuration across two rows…And because some families and individuals from other families dropped out and new people wanted to join, we ended transferring some tickets back and forth a couple of times.
In the process, we learned that TM lets you download a ticket from your TM account to your apple Wallet. But you are still able to transfer that same ticket from your TM account to a friend and the ticket would remain in your Wallet. For example, you had ticket for Seat 6B and download it to your Wallet. Then you then transfer the Seat 6B ticket to your friend and they send you their ticket for Seat 6H—both transactions are done via the TM app. Your TM account would show Seat 6H (which you can also download to your Apple Wallet). And your Apple Wallet may be showing tickets for both Seat 6B and 6H. No idea if that 6B ticket in your Wallet would still work at the gate.
Yikes!
I went to an outdoor market this weekend, and a vendor took a pic of me browsing from an incredibly unflattering angle and posted it on their social media. This is on the heels of a doctor’s appointment last week where my weight was the highest it’s ever been (putting me firmly in the “obese” category…)
I’m not sure what I need here, but definitely not having a great self-esteem day!
(I’m not going to ask the vendor to take the pic down! I don’t mind them using it in theory because it’s a business I love… it’s just hitting me hard that I didn’t realize what I look like.)
Anon
Maybe it helps to reframe it in your head? They obviously liked your photo enough to feature it.
Anokha
+1. I love this framing.
An.On.
I’m sorry! Nothing like feeling you’re getting salt rubbed in an open wound, but here’s a reminder that this won’t always feel so raw, and hopefully in a few days/weeks/months/years you’ll be able to think of it without wincing.
Anon
One of my good male friends showed me a similar pic. It was from a gathering and it was an unflattering, un-posed pic of him. He asked, “do I really look like this?” I could honestly answer no. He has never looked that way to me, and I’ve known him for a long, long time. He’s a super handsome man in person, but from that photo you’d never have guessed it. The camera really does lie sometimes.
Anonymous
Yes – it’s all about lighting and position. Some people take great photos and others are better looking in person. It’s not you, its the angle.
Elle
Someone who works adjacent to me is getting let go and I’ve been told I need to learn part of his job. The guy knows he is being let go and will be with us for another month. I’m having a hard time writing the email asking for him to train me. If I was being laid off I wouldn’t want to train someone on my job.
How would you phrase it in a way that’s compassionate? Or am I overthinking this?
Anonymous
Overthinking. You didn’t fire him and he’s still getting paid. “Hey Karl, Cindy told me to reach out to your about xyz. Would Thursday afternoon work for us to connect on that?
Peggy Olson
This. It doesn’t have to be weird, if you don’t make it weird.
eertmeert
Could you organize the first meeting as a big picture discussion over coffee? Give context of meeting map out the areas of importance? Find out what written instructions he has, determine the scope, etc? This could have a softer touch and you could communicate your complicated feelings about it in person which is much easier than email.
Anon
Your manager/his manager should be handling this communication.
Anon
Except OP’s manager clearly told her to get this done by herself.
Anonymous
Talk with your boss on the best way to handle—you may need some transitional meetings with a broader team. If boss says to handle directly, then I would work with the employee to set up a series of transitional meetings via Zoom or Teams and try to record. Don’t bad mouth employer. I also wouldn’t let on that I knew he was being fired but merely acknowledge he’s leaving and that you’re sad to see him go.
Anon
Be neutral in your email and supportive in person.
Is he a bad employee or is this a restructuring? Especially if it’s the latter and your company allows it, write something positive about him on LinkedIn or volunteer as a reference.
Stay away from conversations about the holidays. I would hate to lose a job near Christmas and wonder how I was going to get presents for the kids, and would not want to put on a smile for coworkers.
I would also check with him about his workload. From my own perspective, after being told that they were doing a massive reorg and I would be training my replacements (hired through a third party), I was pretty mad when anyone expected me to stay late or put in long, long hours. Like, what gets done gets done and if the corporate overlords don’t like that, maybe they should have listened to the people who were fighting to keep me on.
Also don’t be shocked if he lands another job and does not give notice.
Favorite Mascara
It’s time for a new mascara, particularly one that won’t make my dark circles worse. What are your favorites?
Anon
Boom!
Anon
Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye. I try other things and always come back to this.
If your mascara is running/bleeding, the cause could be too much eye cream.
Anonymous
Tarte Maneater
Anon
I was a longtime fan of Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes, but they’ve been sold out a lot recently so I tried YSL’s Lash Clash on the rec of a salesperson and I am a total convert. It’s incredible!
Anon
Low-stakes question for the afternoon. Are after market leather insoles any good? I have a pair of fantastic loafers but the leather insole is peeling up. It gets stuck to my toes, then gets wrinkly, balls up, and drives me batty. I think I either need to pull it out all the way and apply some sort of spray adhesive to the bottom to keep it in place, or just replace it altogether.
Anon
Take them to your local cobbler. They’ll be able to fix them right up and it probably won’t cost much at all.
Anonymous
I outsourced this to the cobbler before. If you decide to DIY, try rubber cement – it is great for leather and will be easier to control than spray adhesive. Do a thin coat on both surfaces, and then let it fully dry, and then adhere the insole.
Velma
I bought a pair of Ecco “everyday” leather insoles and love them so much that I move them between two pairs of shoes (loafers and oxfords). They don’t slip around or pull up under my toes. They are replacement insoles–you’d need to pull out the current insoles. Great arch support and feel so good, even barefoot. They are about $40 and worth every penny.
Anonymous
Lot of travel over the last few days, and man is it rough out there. If you are the lady standing behind me in the long coffee line at the hotel in Chicago, having a conversation with your credit card company reviewing each and every charge, all on speaker, and then sneezing twice without covering your mouth, yes, you are a gross A**. And to those who feel perfectly comfortable sitting in the airport waiting area, watching videos or playing video games on your phone, on speaker with your volume high, you too have earned my undying glare of death. You too are rude AF.
Wish I could say rant over, but I have more travel in my future.
Anon
Yes. And to the colleague who just told me he and his wife tested positive for Covid the morning they boarded their return flight from their vacation, you are vermin.
Anonymous
Wow ok. You’re so out of touch
Anonymous
What?!? No, you do not fly with Covid and expose a ton of people like that. Just like you wouldn’t fly with measles, which is equally transmissible.
Anonymous
I mean pretend that all you want. But your odds of running into someone travelling with measles are extremely low. And I think every single time you enter an airport there are many people with Covid there.
Anonymous
So you should travel with measles?
Anon
No doll, I think that’s you. But enjoy being a massively inconsiderate jerk.
Anon
I wonder whether people who do this are more “My convenience is more important than other people’s safety/health.” or more “COVID never existed/if it existed, it is gone now.”
Cb
I just think it’s weird to test if the testing isn’t going to change your behaviour?
bird in flight
+1000 this. I do not get it.
Anonymous
Or, maybe “wow I can’t afford to pay for another 5 nights vacation nor do I have the pto and plenty of people are out there flying with Covid everyday I’ll wear a mask and hope for the best”
Anonymous
Because literally everyone around you should then also face the burden of “I do not have PTO, my vacation is ruined, etc.?” And that’s best case scenario and assuming everyone around you is healthy. You know what’s more expensive than a few days of isolation–weeks of work missed because you’re having a hard time recovering. Or things like missing a relative’s funeral or an important conference you were supposed to speak at or any other important thing going on with those around you. Completely selfish and vermin like to do that.
anon
I wouldn’t personally do it [I don’t think – never been in that position I suppose, so never say never if there’s some absurdly important reason I have to get home], but I think you’re living in La La Land if you don’t assume that you’re absolutely exposed to covid on every airplane and in every airport (let alone crowded restaurant or venue) you visit.
Anon
I think it’s more it’s basically the flu now and I’d fly home sick with that. I don’t begrudge people for this at all.
Anon
Not the flu. More people getting more sick (some long-term). More people dying. Not the flu.
Anon
There was an article the other day that said 95% of people who are dying of Covid are over 65 and unvaccinated. I have no sympathy for those people, sorry. Please don’t spread misinformation.
Anon
I don’t know. I think people should wear a mask whenever they’re sick and should absolutely wear one when they have a confirmed flu/RSV/Covid diagnosis, but at this point I’m not sure it’s reasonable to expect people to isolate for an extended period of time, since we have vaccines and multiple other treatments for this virus (and I was very Covid cautious for a long time). The vast majority of people aren’t even testing, so it seems like directing your ire at the few people who are still taking Covid tests seems a bit misplaced. I think you shouldn’t head *out* on a trip with Covid, but if you get it while you’re there it’s not really realistic to expect people to extend their trip by several weeks until everyone in their family has completed a 10 day quarantine. People have to get home and go to work – there are plenty of people who would lose their jobs over returning home even a few days late. And even people with generous sick leave and/or the ability to work remotely may not be able to afford weeks of lodging in an expensive destination. To me, Covid isn’t really different than flu or RSV at this point. It’s not “just a cold,” it can make vulnerable people very sick, and you should wear a mask to avoid, but the unique precautions that were appropriate in 2020-2021 are not needed now.
Anon
We don’t test any more. So we could be flying/traveling with Covid all the time, and never know it, if we’re talking about low-symptomatic infection. I have year-round allergies and so have a slightly sore throat and a runny nose consistently; if I tested every time I had “symptoms” I’d have to test nearly every day. If we were running a fever or seriously sick on the day we had to fly somewhere, we’d probably just cancel travel rather than testing – but, TBH, more for our own comfort than anything else. So, yeah. Is it better for people to test and then do what they were going to do anyway? Or be like me, and just not test? Because we’re not going back to the time when everyone tested all the time before traveling, sorry.
Anonymous
I get not testing daily, or routinely before travel, but why wouldn’t you test if you were “seriously sick,” whether traveling or not?
Anon
Because I’m not worried about dying of Covid. I’ve already had it twice. The second time, it was like a mild cold. So no reason to worry. If I am “seriously sick” it’s probably not Covid, actually.
Anon
I agree they’re vermin. That’s awful.
Anon
I’m high-risk and have made my peace with people boarding return flights as long as they wear an N95 mask. For too many, though, that appears to be an insurmountable burden. My best friend’s kid had COVID (the thickest, darkest line you ever saw) that had ripped through their whole house on vacation and she didn’t have him wear a mask of any kind on the plane. I thought that was very wrong.
Anonymous
This. I unknowingly came back from a trip with COVID but I was wearing a N95. I only tested positive after I got home. For some people, there’s no choice but to travel but they should take care to protect others.
Runcible Spoon
Could we please not use the term vermin? It has been deployed in quite unsavory fashion, historically. “They are not good people” works just as well. Thank you.
Anon
Um, can we not call people vermin? I honestly think that’s worse than flying with COVID while masked. I don’t think someone should need to be confined to a foreign location just because they had the misfortune of getting sick while they were there. There are steps people can take to protect others (like wearing an N95). My friend whose dad is a doctor, and whose family is definitely more on the COVID cautious side as a result, recently had to fly home from a trip after testing positive. She wore a mask the entire time, and her dad never would have been okay with it if he thought it presented a significant risk to other people. Anyone flying is assuming that risk themselves, there’s no need to use dehumanizing language with people you disagree with. There are very rational calculations for making that choice and it does not make them “vermin.”
Runcible Spoon
+ 1 on not using the term “vermin.” It’s a loaded term, historically speaking, dehumanizing, and quite over-the-top for this situation.
Anon
+2
Anon
They were supposed to stay in a hotel and spend thousands of dollars due to covid? I would mask up and avoid people. I probably would not even have tested.
Anon
I don’t know; if they wore a mask, I don’t have an issue with it. And if the people around them are not wearing masks, they should expect to get sick on a plane.
Anon
This is where I’m at, and we were/are relatively Covid cautious (I wore masks everywhere until I had Covid this past summer and still test frequently because we want to avoid making my elderly parents, who still haven’t had Covid, sick if possible)/
Anonymous
I got COVID in an environment similar to a plane while I was wearing a properly fitted high-quality mask. People with any respiratory illness need to stay home if at all possible and wear a properly fitted N95 if they absolutely must travel home.
Runcible Spoon
Could we please not use the loaded term “vermin”? It has quite unsavory deployment, from a historical perspective. “Your are not a good person,” works just as well.
Cb
My husband and son went to my in laws and they talk on speaker phone in public because holding the phone to their heads might give them cancer!!! It was a difficult trip generally (nothing puts you off visiting than cries of “it’s not fair that CB parents see you more often, but also, we can never come when you’re free!”) but the speaker phone calls were the piece de resistance.
Anonymous
How rude for everyone they’re on a call with as well. That’s bananas!
Of Counsel
I have started saying: “Excuse me. Would you mind turning your volume down?”
I did it last week and the woman was mortified. She had her earbuds in and had not realized they were not connected. And even people who do not have the grace to be embarrassed usually turn their volume down or off.
Anonymous
Yeah, that woman clearly intended to be considerate and use the earbuds. Big difference between her and the people who deliberately blast their media.
Of Counsel
Oh, I have said it to super rude people who think they are the only ones in the world too. 90% of the time they do it – but then I am old enough that I think a lot of them see me and think “Mom”.
Anon
I did that recently and the guy threw a hissy fit and was rude to me the entire flight. I asked him to use headphones while we were seated before take off. He was across the aisle from me. He was exceptionally rude as we were getting off the plane, too. I had a huge moment of satisfaction when I saw him a few weeks later and realized he was a lower level employee for an organization I’m on the board of. He wasn’t going to get fired or anything, but I did tell the head of his department about it.
Anon
No headphones, no sound, no exceptions. Travel rule #1.
Anonymous
Not travel related, but I went to a dinner theater the other night and was seated at a table with a couple who were both quite sick. They were coughing and sneezing and drinking tea and emergen-C the entire time. So, so inconsiderate.
Anon
The woman hacking up a lung AND sneezing behind me at a concert on Friday – you know you could just stay home, right?
Anon
Not sneezing, but sadly, I am often the person hacking up a lung due to a degenerative lung condition. I will be hacking for what is remaining of my life. I wish I could wear a “not contagious—really” ticker tape across my head, because I am understandably often the recipient of death glares.
Anon
I am pretty sure this young woman was sick – coughing, sneezing, blowing her nose into a pile of tissues (one slid down to my feet due to the slanted floor, which is gross to say the least. And at a concert? Rude AF.
Anon
I like Bergal leather insoles. There are different style, depending on your needs.
Anon
These are the type of “shoes” I would have worn in college circa 2004 to avoid walking home barefoot from the subway after leaving a nightclub at 2 AM. They look horribky flimsy and uncomfortable, but better than bare feet on pavement. Can’t imagine wearing them now.
Anon
Yeah, I think of foldable flats as from a bygone area when we wore heels regularly.
Anonymous
Maybe girls who are wearing heels and leaving clubs at 2 am still need such things? It’s honestly a pretty foreign concept to me at this point!
Anon
I think girls are wearing sneakers to the club now! At least that’s what I see on Tiktok*
*two-week-old TikToks that I see on Instagram
Cat
Same. Even if I’m going to a wedding or corporate evening event, which is basically the only time I’d be wearing remotely uncomfortable shoes “out” anymore, I bring cute flats or sneakers for dancing or the walk. NBD to stash a small tote under your table or at the coat check!
Anon
Yes! The Dr Scholls foldable flats – a staple in my Saturday night going out purse in college in 2005!
Anon
TV show recommendation:
Three seasons of Starstruck on HBO. Perfect little character study with extremely loveable leads.
Monte
I didn’t know there was a season 3 out. Thank you — love this show!