Happy New Year’s Eve – Sales Roundup!
Happy New Year's Eve! I thought we'd take a look at what sales are happening today… The ones I'd check out first are in bold.
- Ann Taylor – FLASH SALE – Extra 75% off 3+ sale items, extra 60% off 1-2 sale items.
- Ann Taylor Factory – Up to 75% off! Flash sale, extra 21% off your $50+ purchase (and free shipping on $49+).
- Anthropologie – Biggest sale of the season — up to 60% off original prices with an extra 40% off.
- Banana Republic – 50% off sweaters, dresses, blouses and dress shirts; 40% off pants, denim and shoes. Great GAP sale — take an extra 50% off markdowns and 20% off regular price sizes. Old Navy – Epic Clearance. Athleta – semi-annual sale, up to 60% off.
- Banana Republic Factory – Winter clearance event, up to 70% off original prices. Extra 10% off purchase.
- Bloomingdale's – Save up to 75% off a large selection of clearance items.
- Boden – Up to 60% off sale!
- Brooks Brothers – Winter sale, up to 70% off.
- Eloquii – Semi-annual clearance, up to 80% off. Special link to shop all clearance for $20.21 and under.
- Express – 100s of new styles added, take an extra 50% off clearance.
- J.Crew – 30% off your purchase.
- J.Crew Factory – Extra 50% off clearance. Up to 70% off off-duty outfits, up to 50% off women's new arrivals.
- Lands’ End – Up to 60% off your order!
- Loft – Flash sale – your new fave tops, pants and jeans are $20.21. Extra 60% off all sale styles.
- M.M.LaFleur – Daily flash sales! Today: 30% off cold-weather staples, including cashmere joggers and hoodies.
- Neiman Marcus – Sale's on sale, up to 65% off.
- Nordstrom – The Half-Yearly Sale just started! See all of our picks from the 2020 Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale here!
- Reiss – Sale – further reductions, up to 60% off!
- Soma – Semi-annual sale, extra 25% off! 6 for $39 panties, bras and sleep $14.99+, BOGO 50% off bras.
- Talbots – Biggest sale of the season — all markdowns extra 60% off 3+ markdowns, 50% off 2, 40% off 1. (Don't forget to check out our recently updated roundup of how to build a work wardrobe at Talbots, with all of the bestsellers that readers have loved over the years!)
- Zappos – Winter clearance sale!
Stock photo via Stencil.
I have a “what would you do?” travel question, but first a little background.
I was born in India, but moved to the US when I was very young. My mom and I live in the same city and my brother is in a different state. My dad passed away unexpectedly a month ago. The rest of my family (aunts, uncles, cousins) are in India.
My mom wants to go to India for three weeks next June or July. She asked if I would be interested in going. I would go as moral support/help since this would be the first time traveling there without my dad. She’s very close to her brothers and I know it would be a good thing for her to spend time with them.
She’s a teacher, so I think she would be able to get the vaccine before traveling. I don’t feel comfortable traveling without a vaccine and I’m not sure if I would be able to get both doses before traveling in the summer.
I feel bad not traveling with her, but I wouldn’t want to risk it without having a vaccine. Sometimes she will travel to India during her winter break. I was going to suggest that maybe me and my brother could go with her next December.
She wants to book the travel soon, but I don’t feel comfortable saying that I will go. Am I unreasonable in not wanting travel with her in the summer?
No, you are not unreasonable. It would be unreasonable (and frankly, unconscionable) for you and your brother to travel unvaccinated. Particularly to a developing country where even more people probably will not have been vaccinated en masse by June.
Not at all. Just tell her what you told us: you’d be happy to accompany her once you’re vaccinated, but you don’t know when that will be and it may not be in time to travel this summer. You sound like a caring and conscientious daughter, but it also sounds like your mom is capable of traveling alone even if she’s nervous to do so. (Maybe you could offer to pay for her to have wifi on the flight so she can stay in touch with you if she’s lonely or nervous?)
Thanks! Appreciate having some feedback. I checked the vaccination updates for my state and there is not a plan in place yet for non-essential people to get the vaccine. I am going to push for her to get vaccinated before traveling as well.
I think she will be able to handle the logistics of traveling because she and my dad used to travel quite often. It would just be more for emotional support.
I think you are very reasonable. I would tell her that you would love to go, but only if you are fully vaccinated by the time the trip rolls around. I would encourage her to book the trip for dates as late as possible to make it more likely that you can accompany her.
Not unreasonable. I wouldn’t go far as to say “unconscionable” though. I would either:
– Plan to travel later in the year
– Book the flights for this summer but choose an airline that is still waiving change fees (isn’t that all of them still?) on the understanding that you’ll know – obviously – at least a month out whether or not you’ll be vaccinated
– Tell her she can book her own travel for this summer and you’ll try to get the same itinerary later if possible/vaccinated
Thanks! The last option is what I am most likely considering. She and my dad were supposed to travel this past summer so she needs to call the airlines to see if she can use those credits. I’m going to encourage her to go ahead with booking travel for herself.
Are you / is she sure the people she intends to visit want to be visited? I don’t know the vaccine schedule in India but imagine many of your relatives will also not yet be vaccinated.
Indian here. I wouldn’t go with her but would assist with the bookings etc. Assuming she gets the vaccine, it would be safe for her. If not, I’d caution her but leave the final decision to her.
Any recommendations for small, comfortable gold earrings? My ears have started to close up, so I’m looking for either small studs or thin hoops/huggies that I can wear all the time (i.e., don’t easily snag or fall out). Budget is up to $400. Thanks!
There was a post recently on Cap Hill Style:
https://caphillstyle.com/capitol/2020/12/30/the-range-huggie-hoop-earrings-2.html
Are there even small gold studs that cost $400 or more…? That seems like quite a bit more than you need to spend on earrings with an express purpose of preventing your piercings from closing. Can I ask how you came to that budget? Genuinely curious.
Anyway, this is a job for a department store. Go online and select any gold studs from Macy’s or Nordstrom. I think at least 18K is when you get good quality.
Atomic Gold is a small, independent jeweler that has both huggies and studs in solid gold. They come in well under your price point.
Finally a question I am qualified to answer! Bony Levy sells lots of small hoops. I got the 14k yellow gold and white gold mini hoops last year, for myself, but ended up using them for my daughters (then 3 and 6, both kept losing their studs). I like them so much that I’ve just reordered then (Nordstrom, $150/pair — should arrive next week), so that I can wear them again, and in case my daughters ever lose theirs. That same brand also sells studs if you prefer those, but I (not normally a hoop person) really like their hoops and found them quite comfortable, even on phone calls and for sleeping. I think the brand’s quality is very good. Also, if your holes are closing up, try putting some aquaphor or vaseline on the tips of the earrings and on your holes, to make them go in more easily.
thanks for the tip on the aquafor/vaseline!
I would say go to a piercing shop and get some piercing studs. They’re meant to be worn 24/7 and keep your piercings open. You can also find them on amazon. I got my daughter some piercing grade titanium ones when her second piercing started being irritated and threatened to close up.
My holes started closing up this summer. I previously wore earrings daily to the office but WFH I didn’t. Most of my earrings are bigger and dangly, not something to wear 24/7/365. Plus anything dangly got caught in my facemask and was painful or frustrating. I wanted something to wear to sleep and to swim and hike and sail. I got these small CZ studs from Nordstroms. Not full gold but no quality issues so far. They are very comfortable for sleeping and haven’t fallen out or had any issues after six months wear. https://www.nordstrom.com/s/nordstrom-precious-metal-plated-cubic-zirconia-stud-earrings/4032836
I wear small gold huggies for the same reason, I avoid studs or hoops with posts that poke the area behind my ears. I bought my current pair for around $60 at the jewelry counter at TJ Maxx but I’ve also seen good options at Macy’s.
I have tiny “sleeper” earrings made from surgical stainless steel. Super comfortable to sleep in. They’re like $15 on amazon.
Kids – camps – vacation musings for 2021
So we were vacation / summer camp planning yesterday (like it’s usually an early-December task for me, but these are unusual times) and it dawned on me: No one will likely take any more than a mental health day of vacation in 1Q21 and maybe 2Q21. Am I right that if things turn on the coronavirus front, we may be in a vacation stampede all summer (plus, people may put in for it all at once so that it’s not really obtainable due to businesses legitimately needing to not let some functions go unstaffed)?
[Also, camp-wise, in my city, many indoor “academic”-type day camps are either skipping 2021 or have yet to commit; I usually am not crazy into these for my kids but one would have loved something like this after what is likely to be >1 year out of the classroom; outdoor nature camps look to be happening (day and sleep-away; many happened sans incidents last summer and we went to a local one as day campers); ditto outdoor sports camps (it looks like this is the year the kids get signed up to golf as it is better than so much screen time). Ugh.]
Two random thoughts: yes, employers are looking at somewhat higher vacation banks, although I don’t know how many parents or caregivers have also had to take days to cope with the workload this year. Wherever there is a use it or lose it policy, it will eventually result in lost PTO for employees, I’m afraid, albeit delayed.
Our employer has been encouraging people to take time off and has done a holiday shutdown with mandatory PTO as they do every year, even though many people requested to work from home this time.
Knowing people who staff these academic camps (grad students and postdocs volunteering their time), I’d like to think that they might be in a better space mentally to offer these things next summer than they were last summer.
I am maxed out on how much annual leave I can carryover and I did not use much in 2020. I was able to donate the value of a month’s worth of leave to employees in my organization who had exhausted their paid leave due to illness. I am glad that my unused leave was available to help others in need. I hope that I can use mor of my leave in 2021, but if not, I will donate again.
Thanks to generous rollover this year, I am going to have a ridiculous amount of PTO in 2021. I will be using it throughout the year because there’s no way I can save it all for late summer/fall. But yes, I am ready to be loaded into a cannon and shot anywhere, yesterday. Google Flights is going to be smoking with overload the minute DH and I can go.
I love this image and i absolutely concur.
Yes, I absolutely think there will be in for a vacation stampede summer/early Fall. I’m tentatively planning one for August. Although as a lawyer, I’m also concerned that every trial or deposition we’ve been putting off “until the COVID situation is better” is going to get rescheduled for late summer/Fall, and then I’m not going to be able to take vacation time, and god do I need a real vacation.
Seriously. I don’t go to court, but it’s regulatory alert after regulatory alert, so busier, but not all of it billable. And with a regime change in the White House, probably more of the same in 2021. Remote work and remote learning have made it take 12 hours to get even 8 hours of work done. I am so sore from 12 hours a day of computer work that I desperately need a massage, so that will be the first thing I do out of the gate.
Lots of people are banking vacation but I think Covid will “end” more gradually than most people realize. I’m desperately hoping we’ve been vaccinated by late summer because Dh is a teacher so June-August is really the only time we can travel and we’ll be traveling in August if we’re vaccinated by then. But most of my friends are planning travel for fall 2021/winter 22 because that seems like more of a sure bet at this point. And I know quite a few people who are waiting for herd immunity before doing any traveling, so that’s likely 2022 or beyond. And on the flip side. I know some doctors and nurses who’ve already gotten the first dose of vaccine and booked trips to Mexico or the Caribbean for February. So I think it’s going to be a very gradual thing depending on when people get vaccinated and what their comfort level is. And also what the travel rules are – if we can’t go to Europe this summer (and we probably won’t be able to) the “rush” on travel will be significantly diminished.
Solid brightly colored pencil skirts. Store or donate?
Inspired by some of the posts here, I’ve been cleaning out my closet and have a bunch of brightly colored pencil skirts (yellow, teal, red, etc). I’m not wearing them now and don’t see myself wearing them any time soon but I liked them a lot at the time and wondering if they’re worth hanging onto.
I don’t wear skirts at all, but I think of them (depending on the cut) as being classics. Do they spark joy?
They do not spark joy. I also wasn’t really wearing them before covid. But I agree they seem like classics and if I wound up in a more formal position in the future I think (?) I’d be glad to have them.
You weren’t wearing them before. You aren’t wearing them now. You don’t have plans to wear them in the future. And they don’t spark joy. Obviously they should go!
I think asking if work wear sparks joy is a great way to destroy a functional work wardrobe. Unless you love suiting fabric or pinstripes, that’s the wrong standard for work wear.
I’ll dissent. There are definitely A-list and B-list pieces in my work wardrobe just like in my off-duty wardrobe. I feel more confident in the A-list pieces and so am gradually working the B-list out. (Like of my blazer collection, there are basically 2 I always reach for and the others only if one of those is at the cleaners, etc. Time to prune.)
I haven’t worn mine in a couple years because I’m not in a job where I need them currently, but I’m saving them. (I expect I will have a job where I’d wear them in the near future.)
I wore bright pencil skirts a lot about a decade ago and thinking back over the last year to pre-Covid, can’t really remember the last time I wore that look or saw it around the office. I donated mine awhile back and kept only black, camel, and navy- the others had fallen out of rotation. If you love them, by all means keep them, but if they were just “the look” at the time and you liked it then, but not so much now, time to go.
Are you not wearing them now because of the pandemic, or because when you put them on you deep down think they look dated for whatever reason?
I personally would wear bright colored pencil skirts at this point in time, but if there is a reason you personally feel dated in them then I would probably donate. I’m a firm believer that even when trends come back, they always come back in a way that the old version of the trend doesn’t quite work.
Going through the same thing here. I’m parting with my winter wool colored pencil skirts, but I’m keeping my summer cotton colored pencil skirts. I wear lots of bright colors in the summer, but I find myself defaulting to more subdued colors these days in the winter.
Do you like them now? That’s all that counts IMO.
Keep if they are colors you really like, and mix with current pieces.
I think a brightly colored pencil skirt is out of date. You could wait for it to come back into style if you really love the skirts, but it sounds like you don’t. You have my permission to donate.
This sounds like a fantasy self wardrobe item. When and how did you intend to wear them when they were bought? Didn’t you have any tops that go with them, or didn’t the occasion arise? How about keeping one, in the colour that would fit the best with your summer wardrobe, or the colour you like the best? Donate the rest.
If your problem is what to wear with it – I quite like a striped top (black or navy with white) with a brightly coloured pencil skirt.
I’d choose two in colors I really like and then donate the rest.
Whoops, this was meant for the pencil skirts question!
What are your plans tonight?
I live alone, am monitoring email today but otherwise off and cleaning house. Then hosting a friend in my “pod” for an early dinner. Getting carry out from our fav local place. Will toast the end of this year at about 8p local time with non-alcoholic bubbly, and then either fall asleep by 9 or if I can’t sleep, read Untamed.
Surf and turf dinner that we are making at home. Drive through holiday lights thing with the kids. Then champagne and video games after the kids go to bed. I’m actually really looking forward to it!
Working today and tomorrow to try and get ahead of things before the university reopens next week (while childcare remains closed). We’ll have dinner, watch the last episode of Bridgerton, and head to bed. I have some Swedish cider I’ve been saving.
Burrito bar and margaritas for two, finish Bridgerton, knock TF out.
Light a candle, do about 30 min of nice calming yoga, take a hot shower, then do a mini-spa night at home with a face mask and paint my nails while finishing up Bridgerton. Maybe order delivery & tip very well, or eat something out of my freezer stash – I honestly can’t decide what I want to eat for the last night of 2020. Oh and I’ll probably have a mug of hot apple cider before I go to sleep. Have lost interest in alcoholic beverages this time, even if I do have a bottle of rose in my pantry.
But on Saturday, I plan on making a 35 min trip to get a slice (or three) of a crepe cake because 2021! May it be better than 2020!
My parents invited us over (they’re in our pod) but my spouse somehow developed a stomach bug, and has been a complete mess for two days. Seems appropriate that we’re ending 2020 with puking and sh***ing.
Cocktail party dinner for two – not sure what it will be, but there will be pigs in blankets – and whiskey. Bedtime whenever. 2020 does not deserve a big sendoff. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Cheese and charcuterie platter for dinner, with lots of bubbly. DH and I both are coming off a busy week and are hoping to stay awake long enough to see each other after kids are in bed. If so, we’ll probably play a board game or make some more progress on Schitts creek. Odds are about 3/10 that we make it to midnight.
im working a half day, then taking a long walk in the afternoon and watching some tv. we’re making creamy tortellini soup for dinner, then watching soul and going to bed early! im really excited. i need some rest time
The usual. A bottle of champagne and a ridiculously competitive connect 4 tournament. Just me, husband, teen son who will probably want nothing to do with us.
Tasty dinner, TV and board games with husband and kid until 12, ring in 2021 and open the traditional pastry hunting for fortune tickets inside. (Last year’s predictions were laughably off target considering what 2020’s been, but we’ll do it again any way).
Call family back in the home country in the evening (when its 12 over there), like every year.
One of the sides I made is ridiculously complicated and is a favourite dish of my best friend who we usually spend new year’s with, so I doubled the batch and took one over (dropping it off on the porch) and she gave me some stuff she prepared so we’ll be kind of together in spirit even though we can’t get together this year.
We’re doing a Zoom wine tasting with four other couples and a representative of the winery at 8 p.m. They sent us recipes for food pairings so Hubby and I are spending most of the day cooking fussy food like homemade cheddar biscuits with Iberico ham and homemade tomato jam. We’ll probably be zonked out by 10 p.m.
I work in healthcare and just got the first dose of my covid vaccine today! I am so relieved and just had to share.
Congrats! I am so excited every time I read/hear about a healthcare worker or nursing home worker or resident getting vaccinated.
Well then I’ll share as well! Also in health care. I got my first one on Xmas eve, and the next one is on 1-14. It was one of my few viscerally happy memories of this year.
Got mine on 12/23! Our nursing home residents are also getting them one by one.
I’m so glad vaccines are getting distributed to those most at risk of dying. Nice job! My grandparents were notified they’ll be able to get it in mid-January and I’m so happy for them. Chatting with my grandma the other night, she says she can’t wait to go back to her favorite cafe and ditch my grandpa for awhile.
My sister in healthcare got hers today, too! So relieved for her and for you – best way to end the year!!
Wondering…. do you have colleagues who work in health care who have already had COVID, and if so, are they getting vaccinated right away or waiting > 90 days after their initial infection?
I know the CDC is currently saying that if you have already had COVID you should still be vaccinated, and that you **can** wait until 90 days after your initial infection to get vaccinated if you want to, since re-infections during that early time are quite uncommon. But with the delay until you get immunity from a vaccine and the two shots needed I wonder how much you should practically delay.
I ask because we have a dear family friend that works in support staff (cleaning) in a major hospital, and she and her cleaning coworkers got ravaged with COVID over the last couple months and their hospital is still packed with COVID patients. Their boss was actually discouraging all of the cleaning staff from getting vaccinated (more of an anti-vax/let’s wait and be sure this thing is even safe etc..) even though they were supplied with plenty of vaccine, claiming that even the doctors are not getting it because they are worried(!). I was very disappointed to hear this and am pushing her strongly to get vaccinated ASAP, and told her to call her own doctor and not trust her cleaning crew manager for medical advice.
And sorry – didn’t include… my friend recently had COVID and recovered well.
I’m in Healthcare. Our system is not providing the vaccine to most essential workers who have been infected in the last 90 days. I say “most” as there is a difference in risk between a nurse on the covid unit and a recovery room nurse for example. As a rule we are not vaccinating those folks yet.
We are also not making anybody take the vaccine although most are happy to be at the top of the list.
My system is allowing vaccination right away, even if you’ve had covid recently. Also not requiring it for anybody right now but most everyone is really excited to get it asap.
Thanks so much to both of your for sharing your experiences.
Since cleaning crew and other support functions in a hospital like dietary don’t have the “pull” doctors and nurses have (sad but true), I would urge her to get it now while the getting is good. Is her cleaning crew manager a medical professional? If not, he needs to keep his mouth shut.
I am a doctor and I do not know a single doctor who has had the opportunity to get vaccinated and has chosen not to. The people who have already had COVID are getting vaccinated right away – one of my colleagues got the vaccine about one month after his diagnosis. Anecdotally, people who had COVID already are having more of the ‘strong immune response’ side effects to the first dose like fatigue and fever – side effects that are more commonly following the second dose for those who have not had COVID prior to vaccination. I am glad they are offering the vaccination to this group at your friends hospital. I found out yesterday that many environmental services and food service employees in my hospital have not been offered the vaccine yet even though our initial wave was 2 weeks ago and we have had shipments of both vaccine types.
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I really appreciate the info about the side effects too. Makes sense.
On my urging, my friend talked to her doctor and her doc unfortunately told her to wait 90 days. I think she should get it now, regardless. Our state is having a very rough time rolling out the vaccine and it is pretty erratic how it is getting distributed. I suspect that if my friend misses her “turn” now, by the time 90 days finishes she will be stuck trying to get a slot that will be much more competitive in later waves.
And yikes… you’ve got to be vaccinating the housekeeping crew… that are going in and out of every (COVID) patient room…. all day… every day…. As well as the non-COVID rooms!
Everyone I know personally (high school and college friends, mostly) in healthcare has gotten the vaccine, but I live in a very red state and one of our counties began vaccinating teachers and 75+ year olds last week, because only 20% of healthcare workers took the vaccine, so they had a lot of excess vaccine from the first distribution. Now “healthcare workers” definitely includes nurses and probably janitors and other people who work in a hospital, not just doctors, but there are definitely people in healthcare out there who are turning it down.
Congratulations! It makes me so happy and gives me so much hope to see healthcare workers getting vaccinated!
Congratulations! The hospital system my husband worked for until recently got their vaccine allocation and used it on all of their executives before it trickled down to actual front line workers.
My daughter and son – both ICU workers – got theirs in the last 10 days. I’ve not been so happy and relieved in a long time. My daughter posted on IG how happy she was that she works for a hospital that values its people and gave it to the frontline patient caregivers (including ICU housekeeping staff, respiratory therapists and CNAs etc) before managers and executives.
How wonderful!
We found out today that my grandma will be vaccinated on Tuesday. She has volunteered at a local hospital for years (though not since March of course) and they called her today to offer it. I was so touched!
I absolutely hate my current shoes. I’d like to buy one pair, budget $150. I mostly wear jeans to work now. I have slightly wide feet. Weather is slushy and snowy here so if I don’t have to wear snow boots, I’d like a bootie. Chelsea boots are ugly in my opinion, but I’m having a hard time finding another style of flat or very low heel (aka not going to make me slip) ankle boot that goes with skinny/straight leg jeans. Any help?
I’m trying to imagine flat ankle boots that wouldn’t look like Chelsea boots and it’s pretty hard. Maybe you could browse on Zappos.
Have you looked at Sorel? I have the Harlow booties, which are a chelsea style, but they also come in a zip.
The Sam Edelman Petty has a pretty low heel and I think they come in wide widths. Toms may also have options.
I’m not sure what characteristics define a Chelsea boot so apologies if these fit in that category, but…I have the boots in the link below and absolutely love them with jeans. The heel is run-around-after-my-kids-all-day-in-them-comfortable. I like them so much I bought a back up pair as I knew I’d be sad if they wore out and were discontinued. I guess they are a little higher than ankle though?
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/band-of-gypsies-creed-bootie-women/5358688
These are more on the casual side, but I wear them all the time in winter:
Dr. Scholl’s Wanderay Women’s Bootie
https://tinyurl.com/ybxyef9z
I like Chelsea boots, so that makes it hard to envision what you might like, but maybe more of a lace up boot?
https://www.clarksusa.com/c/Trace-Pine/p/26146374
https://www.timberland.com/shop/womens-ankle-boots/womens-sienna-high-waterproof-boots-brown-a24tw201
Or a moto style?
https://www.colehaan.com/newburg-bootie-walnut/W18428.html
https://www.thefryecompany.com/collections/sale-womens-boots/products/wyatt-harness-short-3472370-72370-black
Or just a slight variation of a chelsea boot?
https://www.colehaan.com/newburg-bootie-walnut/W18428.html
https://www.colehaan.com/4.zerogrand-chelsea-bootie-black/W21531.html
https://www.clarksusa.com/c/Mazy-Eastham/p/26154854
I’m wearing black Goretex fake fur lined Chuck Taylors. Warm but not too warm. Easy care. Good with the jeans you mention.
I have these, too, and they are indeed very warm!
This is extremely specific but I have these and I love them. They are divinely comfortable.
https://miz-mooz.com/louise.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAirb_BRBNEiwALHlnDx1cfdBboH6CW9l62CCap2rcg-Vr-FtrG8OviRK9JdtapbOpJaQo6BoCaLkQAvD_BwE#92=253&149=37
ooh, thanks! I have two versions of the tall Miz Mooz boots and concur that they are amazingly comfortable.
I’ve been doing a change towards barefoot shoes lately, and if you like zero drop flat shoes and wider toe boxes, that might work for you.
I have found some great recommendations on brands and styles on https://anyasreviews.com.
If I were you, I would get a pair of real winter boots. Forget Fashion–since you have wide feet, Dad says for you to go for the things that work, including men’s sizes, which dollar for dollar are a much beter buy.
Check the LLBean and Timberland Websites; if you have to see what they have; then see if you can buy local. Dad gave Grandma Trudy a pair of Timberlands which are guaranteed waterproof. They also have real tred on the bottom, just like a snow tire, so she is less likeley to slip on the outside when it gets icey. Grandma Leyeh is much more picky since she had bunions. She dresses well and does not like to look clunky. But I say in the winter, we must focus not so much on looking sexy, but safe. Good luck to you in 2021 with your new shoes.
Check out Kuru Footwear
Bridgerton, anyone?
I finished ep 6 and am liking the series more than I anticipated (other than that one scene in ep 6). I read the novels a couple years ago, so none of the plot twists are surprising to me. What I do like, and am keeping in mind while watching, is that the Netflix series is kinda like fanfiction of the novels which are fictional Regency-era romances written by a modern American author. So the tone of Bridgerton (Netflix and the novels) is much more lighthearted than say Pride and Prejudice, which was more of a satire written during that era, or Downton Abbey, which I loved the first three seasons but Downton takes itself too seriously.
I finished ep 5 and so far I LOVE it, just because its tone is so fun and relaxed. Ariana Grande on the strings at the ball? Cackling.
I loved it! Super fun, and now I’m rereading the books.
Yes! Also Love & Friendship and the Way We Live Now.
If you like Bridgerton, you’ll adore Georgette Heyer.
So is there going to be a Hilaria Baldwin skit on SNL or no way in hell are they going to touch that? Si? No?
I would cackle so hard.
I would love it! The Hilaria Baldwin story brought me a lot of joy.
I am really hoping her story is no longer in the news by the time SNL comes back in a few weeks. I would be surprised if they don’t slip in a reference, but a whole sketch might be a bit much.
Why? I think they could do name that vegatable, focusing on a, que es la palabra, cucumber. It is not just amazing that this happened, but that someone I am aware of only b/c she’s been doing “look I am still in my post-partum underwear doing selfies and yoga” all over the Daily Mail for years has been able to do it for this long. She even gave her kids Spanish names, so that is real commitment.
[I lived somewhere else as a kid. I am white , but could pass as being from there if you didn’t know I had a blonde and blue-eyed full sibling. It would seem very adult version Varsity Blues to invent something that isn’t true and carry it over to your kids, but it would seem wrong not to comment on it at all. I wouldn’t think that Alec Baldwin’s wife would be an untouchable. This isn’t China.]
+1. I would be fine with a recurring weekly SNL sketch about this. Also would welcome a podcast and documentary.
I am from Texas, look like I could be of Mexican or other Latin American decent, and married someone with a Spanish last name. Everyone assumes I am Latinx and I could totally go with it and probably never actually lie (unlike Hillaria). But I am not. I am Greek and I always correct people. It’s shitty to play games like that. She should be made fun of. It’s such an ridiculous thing to do.
Oh, I don’t think she is untouchable and the grift here is real — she really committed to this ridiculous farce. I just don’t think that it is that interesting a story to still be topical in three weeks. If there were an SNL this week, sure, but I think that by late January this will hopefully be old news.
There really should be, but I doubt it b/c they don’t want to piss of hubby Alex Baldwin b/c they need him to do Trump for the next few years.
I always wondered about her name; mabye she did not want to be known as Hillary b/c that would be bad for Alex’s claim that he is neutral. It has not stopped them from having 5 kids, so at least we know he is not shooting blanks!
Alec Baldwin has been their golden goose for the last 4+ years so I don’t think they’ll touch his wife.
They will only do this if they never want Alec Baldwin to appear on their show again and so is not particularly likely.
And while I think you could reasonably make fun or HER, this would be difficult to do without making fun of bilingual people who legitimately have word recall issues. As discussed at length in an earlier thread, that is a real thing that is quite common and has been studied by linguists at length.
Here is a fun frivolous question. I’m buying a car (actually a small SUV) and having trouble picking a color. Help me out! What color do you drive, like, not like, etc.
And yes I know this is totally a personal preference thing, I am just curious.
I like silver or gray because (1) not as hot in summer, and (2) doesn’t show dust, dirt, pollen, or salt as much.
If I lived in a cold area and had an unlimited car wash budget, I’d pick black because I like that the best as a look… but not practical :)
+1
This was my rationale as well. We have a grey car and a black car.
Otherwise I like slightly atypical colors but they are harder to find. Deep navy blue or a deep burgundy.
I agree. My husband INSISTED on getting black despite all warnings about dust, dirt, and especially salt in the winter making the car look dirty. Couldn’t be talked out of it and it was his car, so do what you do. Years later, when it came time for him to get a new car, he begrudgingly admitted that getting black was a huge mistake and he regretted in the first week because he could never keep his car looking clean.
Metallic neutrals like silver, bronze, and grey hide travel dust well. This is a personal preference, but I also loved having a car in this kind of metalllic light blue color that Mazda used to make, and it also didn’t show dirt either.
PS DH also admitted that his black car got so hot when parked in the sun. He had a silver car previously and noticed a big difference.
Oooh, I had Volvo XC60 in Osmium Grey, medium silver with a faint hint of blue, it was beautiful. I am team grey.
I drive a silver car. It does not show grime very much; however, it looks dingy when it gets dirty.
I would love metallic blue.
My last car was metallic cobalt blue and I loved it very much.
I just bought a new car this week and I got it in a deep burgundy and I love it so much! (I also realized I have a lot of clothing in that color so for the last two days I’ve matched the car.)
I have a blue car, and love it so much. I like that it is easy to find in a sea of black and silver cars in parking lots, I love that it is bright and lively, and it just matches my personality so much more than a car in a more standard color.
Same. Poster with the blue car above. It was always easy to find and I loved the color. It was a subdued light blue, but it was unique enough that I felt like my car had a little extra spunk haha.
I bought a new car this year and got a subdued, grayish blue that I love. It’s easy to find in a parking lot (which is a surprisingly underrated feature haha) and it’s just plain pretty! :) And it seems to hide dirt pretty well.
For practical reasons, I have a silver-colored car.
But I really like the deep purple of the previous generation Toyota RAV4. Saw one in a parking lot the other day and I wished more cars came in that color.
I drive a blue SUV because it was the only colour with the trim I wanted – but i really love the green Foresters and the old kermit the frog green of the 2008ish Escapes.
My very, very old (like old enough to vote) car is silver. I think that the color looks modern even if the car isn’t, which I like
Oh, I have a blue car and posted above, but be wary of buying small vehicles in gray. I had a Jetta in gray and cannot tell you how many times other cars just plain didn’t see me and nearly hit me – pretty scary actually!
This was us — small invisible gray car. I miss the old Saab 900s in bright yellow.
That said, white is very visible. But you can use a Sharpie to fix small blemishes in a black car.
I have two silver/gray midsize SUVs, and I swear every other suburban parent in our area does too. I want the next one to be in a color that helps me better pick it out in a lot, as there are always a ton of gray SUVs and it takes a minute to find my car in the lot… maybe dark blue?
I like color and have had burgundy and forest green cars. They stand out better in traffic and I can usually find them in the parking lot.
I drive an orange Subaru, and I love it! My first ever car was bright blue, then I went through a period with my boring ex husband where I had a black car. Then the divorce and I thought that getting another bright car would be a great way to add some fun back into my life. It’s easy to find in a parking lot. It doesn’t show dirt very much. I enjoy being part of a “club” of sorts with other orange Subaru drivers. Whenever I see twin cars, I always wave, and many of them wave back! I know the crazy color car isn’t for everyone, but it suits me.
I used to live on a block with street parking and three orange Subarus. It makes total sense that there is a “club” for owners, esp. since living in that small, quirky neighborhood also made you a member of an informal club.
Haha! Yes! Sometimes we try to park next to each other (even strangers). There is an Orange Subaru Crosstrek Facebook group as well, where people post pics of multiples parked in a row or their cars in interesting places or new stickers or whatever. It’s really silly and fun.
I drive white cars because I have a fear that a grey or black car will fade into the pavement and another driver won’t see me. I thought this might be irrational, but I see someone here mentioned having that exact experience. I generally prefer grey and black aesthetically but choose a good pearly white or cream.
white
I drive a red car. Red is my favorite color, but when I was married XH always talked me out of red cars (insurance! tickets!).
One of the first things I did after the divorce was buy a new car – and it was screaming red. It gave me a frisson of pleasure every time I looked at it.
Team Red here!!!! I drove grey/silver cars for years, but I always wanted a cute red one. I have a zippy little red Honda Civic and it makes me so happy. I felt like the Civic part was so economical and practical, why not go for a bright fun color?
I always drive blue cars. It started as a coincidence, since I used to buy from limited inventory (used, end-of-year clearances, and once during the GM strike). Then I leaned into it, since it’s my favorite color.
I hate black, white, gray, and silver because they’re so common and unoriginal (except a white Triumph, because any other color is a sacrilege). I’ve owned red cars, but I don’t like how that color fades over time. I have seen a few really unique colors that I liked, but they were limited to specific makes or models that I wasn’t interested in–like the metallic eggplant that only came on an Outback a few years ago.
I’m a hot hatch enthusiast and would also love a bright yellow, but only on specific models–a classic MINI, a mid-90s Mustang, or maybe a FiST. I also think the tree-frog green on the Mazda 2 is ridiculously adorable, but mostly because that car looks like a tree frog anyway. It wouldn’t work on just any car.
My current car is silver. I also like white, other iterations of silver/grey, and most blues. I considered a blue somewhat between royal and navy for my current car, but unfortunately the only interior option was a brown leather I really hated. I like the silvery-blues a lot. My last car was a dark green, which I liked, but I’m not sure you can even get a lot of new cars in that color. I am not a fan of red (just generally, not only in cars), gold or tan, and don’t want black for all the reasons already mentioned.
I have a brown car, which doesn’t sound very fancy, but I really like it. It’s a bronzey metallic. I bought it because it was the exact combo of model, features, and age I wanted (<1 year). After a lifetime of silver cars, it's a fun change, and very easy to find in a parking lot full of black and silver cars.
British racing green is my favourite. Or the older Grand Cherokee red.
On the less frivolous side I’d also think about safety. Do you want to stand out or blend in? Are you a good enough driver to handle the extra focus of a brighter car? I have vague memories of studies showing red cars being in (proportionally) more accidents because of interaction with other drivers, but that might be anecdotal? And also – are Kansas City style stops something that’s an issue where you live? That could maybe point towards dull.
I’m making to-go gift bags for a (brief, socially distanced, but-for-COVID-would-have-been-a-big-reception) thing. Custom sugar cookies, mini bottles of hand sanitizer…and we were thinking champagne minis, but I know there are some folks who don’t drink. I only have to make 12 bags, so cost isn’t really a concern. All adults. Ideas for a non-alcoholic option or something else that would go well instead? Thanks!
What about a nice flavored small-batch simple syrup that could be used to flavor either cocktails or non-alcoholic beverages. (I.e. if you got a lavender simple syrup that could go with champagne or in tea or lemonade).
I keep seeing these flavored sugar cube (Nordstrom and Uncommon Goods both sell them) – you can drop them into champagne or sparkling juice to make a fun cocktail. Teaspressa.
What about those fancy Belvoir drinks, like an elderflower presse? Or a fancy ginger ale?
What about fancy Italian soda bottles? I think Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods may have a selection.
Really fancy tea bags and some pretty little cocktail sized napkins.
Frivolous question of the day –
Is this a proper way to eat curry?
I ordered curry from my local Thai restaurant (to-go) yesterday. Normally, I get a side of rice with it mix it all up. This time they forgot the rice and I didn’t feel like going back. So what I had was basically this soup with veggies and chicken.
Since the rice is offered as an optional side, I figured people must eat curry without it. So then I wondered, do they use a fork and eat the chicken and vegetables only or use a spoon and eat it like soup? I alternated between fork and spoon and shamelessly drank up the liquid. But then I wondered if that would be akin to straight up drinking gravy or eating it with a spoon…
I know I am way overthinking it and I’m clearly a sheltered white girl. What’s the correct way to eat a curry!
I think usually it’s eaten with rice, but sometimes also noodles.
Yes, always with rice or noodles or maybe a flat bread, depending on the country. Something carby to soak up all the saucy goodness. We had Indian and I ate butter chicken sauce over french fries for lunch all week. But if you don’t eat carbs, there’s no shame in using a spoon.
As a white girl who has eaten home-cooked curries as well as restaurant fare, they are almost always with rice, or sometimes flatbread. Noodles are probably popular in some regions.
As for the etiquette, in Thailand I was instructed you use the fork to put food on the spoon, and the food. Or there are cultures that still eat with their hands, which is actually a rather impressive skill for soupy curry. Not that you have any reason to follow those rules at home alone, but hey, some people eat Chinese takeaway with chopsticks.
Sorry, fork the food onto the spoon, spoon the food onto your mouth. Phone glitch.
One more thing – depending on where you’re at, you may encounter local starch with the main course/curry. My time in eastern Russia in the late 90’s was full of Japanese food served over thin fried potatoes. So…. don’t get too hung up on what your starch is, or any at all if that’s not your thing.
Taco rice is another really yummy cultural mashup (world’s best drunk food, too) where rice substitutes for tortillas.
Speaking as a SE Asian, curry (and many other dishes) are typically flavored to be eaten with bread or rice and would be too salty on its own. As for what utensil to use, we use spoons for soup. But Japanese slurp their soup/broth from the bowl and I found out much later that I only get a spoon for my miso soup because they’re catering to me, the foreigner. So really, whatever works for you.
There are currys in very different countries, but for SE Asian a good rule of thumb can be that the rice historically often can be the meal proper. The savoury dishes are for flavouring the rice, and served family style with everybody having their own rice bowl but with common vegetatable, fish or meat plated served to everybody.
In the restaurant it’s probably a side for practical reasons (all the people wanting fried rice instead or boiled) and for economical reasons (the curry seemingly cheaper) and because you might want less than three rice units if two people share three different mains or vegetable sides, for example.
Unless your curry yesterday actually was a soup, it’s unlikely its traditional to eat it without a starch.
Fun random question for a holiday weekend: What’s your most-used spice, and what do you use it in? I use a lot of cumin and paprika because I make chili frequently, and then vanilla extract because I bake and everything is improved by vanilla extract (which must be real, not imitation).
I loooove smoked paprika. I put it on/in everything. I make Cajun food rather often so it gets used quite a bit, but I also love putting it on soft-boiled eggs with sea salt and black pepper.
Smoked paprika is the only way I can get a decent smoked meet or bacon grease similar flavoring in my vegetarian foods, it’s great.
I use a ton of red pepper flakes, and sub almond extract for vanilla whenever I can.
Almond extract is my favorite extract.
Smoked paprika, dried garlic flakes, and pure vanilla extract! Also, Gail, if you like good vanilla extract, get yourself some vanilla bean paste. I use it 1:1 when a recipe calls for vanilla extract, but it’s sooooo rich and luxurious. I’ll post a link in a reply.
https://nielsenmassey.com/products/madagascar-bourbon-pure-vanilla-bean-paste/
I use cardamom a ton. I use it as a substitute for cinnamon in a lot of baked goods, and also sprinkle some in my coffee almost every morning. I will make cardamom simple syrup as well and use it in… everything. I love it so much.
Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, rosemary, and thyme are probably my most commonly used seasonings. I make a lot of soups and chilis, and most of these find their way in, whether the recipe calls for it or not. I also LOVE smoked paprika in chili and always add that to my recipe.
These are the spices I have to repurchase often: Black pepper (freshly ground), paprika (all sorts, I live in Hungary), chili flakes (all kinds), cumin (for soup and stews), ground coriander, Korean BBQ mix, dried garlic, curry, anise stars (for curry). I grow my own fresh basil, coriander, rosemary, dill, chives, thai basil, perilla.
Spice, I would say freshly ground pepper. Probably a close second is red pepper of some sort – red pepper flakes, Aleppo pepper, cayenne, I love it all. Caution, if you buy your cayenne from an indian market watch out. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s like three times as spicy, which I didn’t think was possible.
I love to use a flaky pepper like Aleppo or red pepper flakes on a finished dish. Like, you haven’t lived till you’ve had softly scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with Aleppo pepper on top. Please try it!
You didn’t ask, but in terms of herbs, I can’t get enough fresh thyme and fresh chives. I just had minced fresh chives on a ham and swiss sandwich. Yum.
Also you didn’t mention spice blends, but Penzey’s Northwood seasoning is my current favorite blend. I sprinkle very generously on chicken pieces or a whole chicken before roasting and it’s delicious. (The whole chicken I try to season a day in advance – it makes such a difference letting the salt soak all the way in)
Cumin for sure, followed by paprika and red chili flakes. Also fresh cilantro and fresh Italian parsley.
Cajun seasoning. To be more precise, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. It’s the secret something in all my homemade soups, even soups you wouldn’t think of. I even use the More Spice variety to kick up bland pizza and pasta. It almost like it fulfills that umami role that MSG does.
I go through red pepper flakes the fastest. Besides that probably coriander, cumin, and cinnamon.
The ones I rebuy most often are ground cumin and coriander (tex-mex, chilies, curries), rosemary (potatoes and other roast vegetables), sage (mushroom risotto), parsley and basil (Italian whatever) and proper Ceylon cinnamon (breakfast, chili).
Vanilla bean paste or bourbon vanilla for cocktails and baking, and muscat (mace?) for béchamel and gratins. I mostly use fresh chili, but chili flakes for some uses does make it high turnover. And of course salt and black peppercorns. I don’t think I have considered powdered garlic and onion as spices, but they get high turnover as well.
I get next to no use of thyme, oregano, paprika or smoked paprika.
Fun question! Black pepper (freshly ground), ground cumin and cumin seeds, chili powder, and cinnamon are all frequently used. The next tier would likely be parsley, thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, vanilla extract and granulated garlic. One of my favourite spice-forward foods is homemade popcorn drizzled with black truffle oil, sprinkled with smoked paprika. Devine. I copied the recipe from one of my fave high-end cocktail bars!
My Christmas present to myself is to have my small walk-in closet built out to be more functional. California Closets or similar. What are your must-have features? What should I be looking for? If you’ve done something similar, is there anything you wish you had known in advance? Any insight would be helpful!
This is super personal. What are your current issues?
Maybe you need more double rod as opposed to single rod length.
Maybe you need shoe shelving.
Maybe your sweaters are overflowing and you need drawers or a better bin & shelf system.
Maybe you need a better system for “lightly worn” clothes like PJs, loungewear, or other stuff that just needs to be aired before wearing again.
Maybe you need space to keep your purses organized/standing up.
Maybe over-the-door storage would help with costume jewelry or accessories.
The closet designer rep’s job is to help you figure this out!
Thank you! This is actually a super helpful list of things to think about! I have an appointment with a designer next week, but I want to be prepared!
In before times I wore a ton of dresses. Almost all of our storage renovations made what was vertical space into horizontal rods suitable for pants and blouses. Yes, you can fit more this way, but if it’s not actually what you wear it stinks.
Don’t underestimate handbag storage.
See a sample of shoe storage and try it out. Ours is at a steep angle and things constantly fall off and the tips of pointy shoes get scuffed because the edge is too sharp. If I could redo things, I would have used that wall for something else.
Think through height. One of our closets has a bar hung low that is suitable for blouses—but not pants and is so low that I can’t put anything on the floor. Space would have been more practical for my needs (hardly wear blouses but have a ton of sweaters and hand bags) if that had been cubbies or drawers.
That is a good point about the double rod. I did a homemade container-store type redo of my closet at my last house and did largely double rod. It didn’t leave a lot of room for dresses, or even longer tops or jackets/cardigans.
I have a lot of shoes, so I chose tall rolling racks for shoes so II can put more shoes in a smaller space but still fairly easily see and access them. This also lets me easily move racks of off-season or task-specific shoes to the back and pull others forward. Just a thought – not everything has to be attached or static.
I will be interested to hear how it works with a real wardrobe. I’m always sucked in by the ads and how nice it looks, but it always seems like they got rid of 75%+ of the clothes. Like, yeah, my closet would also look great if I only owned three color-coordinated shirts, two pants, and one dress.
Which clothes do you use the most? You want your most used items to be easy access.
Do you need a separate space for slightly worn or almost dry clothes? Do you need hooks for your robe, yesterday’s trousers or airing out bras? Do you currently have an overflowing chair or similar with not-quite-dirty things…?
Do you want or need high shelves for storage bins for seasonal changes?
Think about how much of your wardrobe is hanging vs. drawers. I really like to keep all work clothes, event clothes and going out clothes on hangers, but the rest in drawers (lounge wear, excercise, night clothes, hiking or other sports wear, casual (chores) t-shirts…)
Do you enjoy dusting things? (Open shelves with things on them will have to be…) Is your laundry basket in this closet as well?
How is your bedroom for other storage? Do you need room for the extra blanket/pillow/heating pad/tray/whatever ends up on the floor of you bedroom?
My girlfriend owns/operates a small inpatient healthcare facility. We do not live together, but I am able to carefully quarantine before and after seeing her so have limped through Covid. Her facility gets the vaccine next month (employees and residents). The pharmacy is sending an extra handful of doses to every inpatient facility in case their census increases. If there are extras, the pharmacy won’t take back the doses. She invited me to get the vaccine if they have extra doses.
She doesn’t want to promise it to patient family members or employee family members because 1)they might not have extra and 2) her lawyer told her there isn’t a non discriminatory way (other than drawing names from a hat) to distribute 4-5 doses. So she plans to vaccinate her college age sisters and me if she has extra.
I’m torn. I am in the least risk group for adults. I would hate to have vaccine not get used but something about this makes me feel …wrong. What would you do?
If they have extra doses it would not be that hard for them to develop a ‘stand-by’ list of those at high risk. There is no way that I could feel good about myself if I used connections to jump the line. (And I work in healthcare, but not patient-facing, so it would be very easy to do.) I have many friends, doctors and nurses, that have been there day in and day out taking care of COVID (and other) patients who have not yet been able to get vaccinated.
There are so many ways that she could distribute the extra doses that would be in line with the CDC and public health guidelines. It may not be perfect. but giving it to low-risk family and friends is so wrong and is a huge slap in the face to all the frontline workers who are still waiting. I hope she gets in all kinds of trouble for ignoring public health guidelines and decency.
There are already standby lists at some facilities in my area. You’re right, this is not hard to do.
It’s not hard at all. What she is doing is unethical.
Would one of you please help me understand this? Not pushing back, genuinely trying to figure this out. She’s working through a vendor. Vendor said they will drop off the doses she registered for, plus a small number, and will not return to pick up extras. Unless she is able to fill staff vacancies or gets new residents by then, she is estimating 3-5 extra doses. Are these standby lists something she should be pressuring the vendor to arrange, or would the standing by party come pick up the doses? I googled this but can’t find anything in this region (although we are rural). For what it’s worth, not in a coastal state.
My comments are stuck in mod – sorry. genuinely interested in hearing more about these standby programs.
She should call the county health department and ask what to do. They might take the doses or tell her who to vaccinate.
I’m not a lawyer but if her lawyer says it’s unethical/illegal for her to vaccinate residents’ family members at random, I’m not sure why it’s ok for her to vaccinate her own family members. It seems like random is better if you have to give the vaccines to people who aren’t in a priority tier and giving them to people she has a personal connection to seems sketchier than giving them to strangers.
Can someone explain this? She is working through a vendor. Vendor said every facility is getting the registered-for-number plus more- no idea how they calculate how many. Her facility is small (less than 50 total employees and residents) and they expected to send an extra 3-5 doses. If she is able to fill a staff vacancy or gets more residents, the doses of course go to them. The vendor apparently has the ability to transport them but told her they will not take extras back. I do not know if this is due to storage/ transport / liability / other.
I totally get the concepy of a standy list but it doesn’t sound like this vendor is doing that, for lack of a better phrase. Is there some system where she should or could call another faciliry or agency to offer 3-4 doses, that will pick them up/distribute? We are not in a coastal state, for what it’s worth.
She makes a list of people that want to receive the vaccine and groups them according to the CDC priority groups (shocker – you and her college-aged kids probably don’t make the cut). Contact people who are in the 1B risk group (rank them by random draw). They show up and if there are extra doses they get them. Or she could contact nearby healthcare facilities and get the stand-by list from them. There are so many options besides friends and family. It’s not rocket science. What is the thought process behind let me help my relatives and friends jump the line????
The stand by list is not on the vendor but is on your girlfriend. I am sure that as part of receiving the vaccines she has agreed to abide by the CDC guidelines, They are not hers to give out to her family.
I have no idea what people are suggesting here. Like, a facebook post? An ad? Who and how many does this woman have to reach out to and then put their names in a hat?? She could face liability if her employees are administering shots to the general public, and she must not have the frozen storage capacity to just run them across town – if rural means where I was raised, that could be over an hour drive to another healthcare facility! I say she had better call her insurance company if she wants vaccines to go to anyone other than her employees and patients. If she doesn’t have time to do that for 3-5 doses? I get it. The vendor made the call to round up. Most of all, if you do decide to get it, don’t expose her patients to you being in the building unless you are strictly quarantining. That would be the REAL ethical issue or tragedy.
Gosh, I understand your feelings! Do you or she have any older relatives or friends who would benefit from an early vaccine?
That is slightly better, but vaccine distribution should not be prioritized by who you know.
No of course it shouldn’t. But also- it isn’t! It’s by and large being done appropriately. It’s never going to be perfect. This doesn’t matter. No one has time to be dealing with three extra doeses.
Yes, it does matter. If every place did this – gave a certain % to friends and family – that adds up This vaccine distribution is only going to highlight health disparities.
No, she has a couple younger siblings and me. Everyone else lives out of state and would need to fly or drive 10+ hours. That, especially times two, isn’t feasible or aligning with cdc guidance…and if census does increase, then someone would have traveled for nothing .
She simply calls the nearest healthcare facility (ideally, the one with the greatest need) and asks them to send her the names of the top 3 people on their wait list. And tells them when/where they should come to get their vaccine.
Yeah, this really isn’t a good look for your girlfriend. I can’t say I’m surprised by the situation and her plans, but yeah… no.
Thanks for the suggestion! She definitely doesn’t have a wait list and I didn’t think of institutions having them
If nothing changes in the next few weeks, I’ll suggest this. Based on other comments, it seems like the standby concept is widespread elsewhere and might make its way to our region. And I hope the pharmacy
figures out a system – efficiency sacrifices a lot and puts a huge burden on healthcare orgs to figure this out on top of trying to keep people alive through this horrid time.
I’d get the vaccine. There’s not going to be a prize for “best rule follower”.
And you are incredibly selfish.
Thank you for your perspective. If it does turn out that a dose is otherwise getting destroyed, I will plan to get it. But I’m hopeful she doesn’t end up with extra (fingers crossed a few staff positions get filled!) or the standby/wait list ideas work!
True story – on the first day of Pfizer covid vaccine distribution, a large well known hospital wasted about 1500 doses. They were immunizing front line ER and ICU nurses/doctors/staff and the reservation system had glitches, so there were not enough employees in line to get the shots. They made a general announcement for hospital staff to show up and used up what they could but ended up wasting 1500 because the doses were out of the freezer too long. I wish I’d been there – apparently some random patients were able to get the vaccine.
Sad thing is that the details about Pfizer vaccine were known for several months and yet the governments and HCPs in charge have no solid plan in place to efficiently inoculate those who need it the most. I think your girlfriend needs to call the local CDC or healthcare authority and ask how to proceed. If they are useless, Can she call public hospitals and ask to send their employees for inoculation if there are doses left? In company I work for, what you describe above is a textbook example of unethical behavior. I may or may not agree, but if all of the above would fail, I would rather get the vaccine shot myself than let it go to waste.
Perhaps call the county health department? Here, our hospitals are vaxing their frontline workers / doctors / nurses / etc, but the county health departments are vaxing healthcare workers who do not work in hospital settings — for example, dentists, nurses who work in a private physician’s office but never step foot in a hospital, physical therapists, etc. Perhaps they would have a way to identify some people who are “deserving” who could be sent your way.
Please be vaccinated! Every vaccination helps, and every wasted vaccine hurts.
(If the shot is going to be thrown out. Shots have already been thrown out because of logistical obstacles to patient prioritization and concerns about liabilities, when really we need to administer every vaccine we possibly can.)
Agreed! I am not totally comfortable with what is being described (I just don’t like the idea of “jumping the line” based on connections) but I am also aware that hospital systems are vaccinating dentists and dermatologists and other “non front-line” workers because they have the doses. Take the vaccine if the alternative is that the dose will be wasted (and it sounds like this is a possibility).
Dentists and dermatologists are front line workers!!! The dermatologists at my hospital see 30-40 patients a day-skin cancers, severe rashes etc. They have not stopped working since the pandemic began.
But they aren’t seeing Covid positive patients are they? I just don’t understand why it makes sense to vaccinate a dermatologist over a grocery store worker or a teacher. I am absolutely in favor of vaccinating all of the hospital staff who work with Covid positive patients first, but it seems like what most hospital systems are doing (which is vaccinating the dermatologists and the dentists) is no different than what the OP is proposing. The hospital systems received the doses, and they are using them to protect their own.
You can’t be serious — of course dentists and dermatologists are winding up inadvertently being exposed to asymptomatic Covid positive patients who just aren’t aware that they have it. Dentists and hygienists have their hands in people’s mouths all day and they are an essential service. Dermatologists need to be up close and personal with people to look at potential skin cancer and other ailments. Why would you assume they don’t have any exposure? Anyone who is up close and personal with a lot of rotating people, all day long, is at risk. While I am not at all downplaying the importance of having grocery store workers get the vaccine, grocery store workers are not physically as close to people all day long as dentists and dermatologists are. And dentists are with people who by definition are unmasked!
Dentists and dermatologists are absolutely healthcare workers who are supposed to be getting the vaccine now. Nothing about that is line jumping. Most hospitals prioritized the ER/ICU workers first, as they should, but that vaccination was mostly done the first week and they’ve moved on to everyone else in healthcare. I even have friends who work in communications/marketing at hospitals who have been vaccinated, and that annoys me (since they’re low risk and work from home just like me) but technically the hospitals have been given permission to vaccinate all their employees and aren’t breaking any rules.
Since we really don’t know who is COVID positive, dentists and dermatologists are seeing positive patients. Depending on the procedure they can be in very close contact with the patient which increases their risk Dentists are at very high risk due to the aerosol-generating procedures that are common in dentistry. A teacher, grocery store worker, etc have less intimate contact with others. The prioritization groups may not be absolutely perfect in all situations, but they have been developed by public health experts, just because you don’t understand the rationale for the grouping, doesn’t mean the experts are wrong.
The vaccines are not hers to give out as she sees fit. There are guidelines for COVID vaccine providers and as a provider, she is required to follow them. Why is she even asking her lawyer? She needs to ask the local or state health department. What she is proposing is unethical.
Unrelated, but I am constantly amazed at how little regulation exists within the medical field. In my corporate field, a decision like this could never go under the radar. So many people would have to be involved in the decision on what to do with those 3 extra shots.
I’m surprised at this, too. I understand allotting extra a month before, but day-of, if less are needed, the vendor should absolutely deliver extras elsewhere or have a group standby list for that county. If every location gets 2% extra, that’s risking either 2% waste or leaving it to already over -burdened, under-staffed facilities to figure out on their own.
The vaccine is multi-dose vials. Modera had 10 doses/vial and Pfizer had 5/vial (but with the overfill on the Pfizer vials you can usually get 6 doses). Once reconstituted it must be given in a relatively short time frame. So for smaller facilities, it can be challenging to get the correct number of people scheduled (multiples of whatever vial doses that have).
Since, once reconstituted it must be given in a short time frame, I don’t see the problem with handing out extras in the moment. Better they get used than go to waste.
Agreed that it is better to hand out extras does in the moment when that is the only possible solution. But I disagree with what the OP’s girlfriend is doing. She is not even attempting to follow the CDC guidelines (which I agreed to abide by when she applied to become a vaccine provider). The rollout is and will be far from perfect, but blatant disregard for the guidelines and in unfair and not in the best interest of public health.
I’m late to this thread but this is absolutely disgusting! At this time, the vaccine is only for the frontline workers, nursing home residents and staff. If my 74 year old mom can’t get it then neither should you. It shouldn’t go to waste but shouldn’t go to friends of those with access. This is infuriating.
It’s better for everyone if it goes to someone than that it be thrown out. Vaccines have already been thrown out in the name of rule following and fairness. This is not what we need to end the pandemic.
I never said a vaccine should be thrown out. It shouldn’t go to someone who is perfectly healthy and can work from home just because she has access to the vaccine before everyone else. It should go to those who need it first not those whose friends are willing to bend the rules for them.
I completely agree and am infuriated on behalf of my 70 year old parents who are teaching in person but don’t have any connections to anyone in health care… Obviously it shouldn’t go to waste but it should really not be that hard to find a priority person to vaccinate. A county in my state had a lot of extra doses because healthcare workers didn’t want it, so they moved on to vaccinating educators and 75+ year olds, per CDC and state guidelines. Call the county health department and ask them to give you a list of groups or individuals who are in the next priority tier. Literally 60% of the United States is “prioritized” due to age, underlying health conditions or being an essential worker (or some combination thereof). If you can work from home and are young and healthy you should NOT be taking this vaccine when less than 2% of the country has been vaccinated.
I’d get it if someone offered it to me. The system for distribution is so chaotic that a dose I don’t use might not get used at all.
Looking for gift ideas for 3 tween/teen sisters who will be starting public school for the first time, online. My friend’s daughters, ages 11, 13, and 15, have been homeschooled but wanted to try public school. They will be attending online at least the first 6 weeks. I’d like to drop off a little gift basket or something for the girls on their first day of school to make them feel supported. The family is doing well financially, so they should have all they need as far as school supplies, tech, etc. Any suggestions on little treats they might like?
Hmm…vitamin c drops, teas, hot chocolate, journals for each one,
Fuzzy socks (maybe in the school colors?), invisibobble hair ties, hot coco and fancy marshmallows, lip balm pots
Agree to something fun in the school colors or with the mascot on them. Hair scrunchies, socks, a school sweatshirt or t-shirt if you can get them?
Cute earrings or hair accessories (good for Zoom) – with a gift receipt.
I was homeschooled by choice this same timeframe and all these ideas are great! I’d add whatever the 2021 equivalent of trendy gel pens are (guessing at least one would doodle or take notes by hand) and ditto the school spirit colors. Hair, earrings, bracelets, even a school shirt if you know their style and your booster club is selling.
OP here – thanks everyone for the ideas, this is helpful! I have a son but I’m out of touch with what teen girls are into these days.
Ugh, so I have struggled with anger/irritability for a good portion of my life. I am super sensitive and just get irritated with people (everyone! coworkers, kids, husband) quite easily. I have become at not acting on these feeling 99.9% of the time, but still struggle once in a while. And even if I don’t act on these feelings, I still feel them and it sucks. Has anyone else struggled with this? I just feel like I am way more sensitive than most and take everything personally/get hurt easily. I know it is irrational even when it’s happening, but I still feel that way a lot.