Corporette.com

Updated: Nov 1, 2018 90 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Jonnie Bag

Coffee Break |

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.

Kooba's Jonnie bag has had a LONG run (here's our post from 2013 about it!), but I was still excited to see them in stock at the Nordstrom Rack last week for $250 — the leather is nice and soft, and it's a nice size bag if you want something between a tote and a crossbody. Only brown and red are still available online (call your local store if you want to check on the black); they also have the mini size. (It looks like Kooba still offers the bag online, but a lot of other stores no longer carry the Jonnie bag — so if it's been a bucket list item for you, or you want to replace an older one, do consider it.) (Another note: Nordstrom Rack had Liebeskind bags, also in a super soft, good leather — nothing from the online collection is calling to me enough to post it, but your mileage may vary.) Pictured: Jonnie Bag This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

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

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Minnie Beebe

    Can I wear a maroon velvet suit to a PTO Formal (fundraiser) in early November? I really don’t want to buy anything new, and I also really don’t want to be cold. I just wonder if it’s too “holidays” for this event? Men will probably be in suits or sportcoats. Maybe just the pants with a fancy blouse/heels?

    It’s Banana Republic, Sloan pants with matching velvet blazer, so a modern fit.

    TIA!

  2. Anon Lawyer

    Any tips for getting through IVF? I’m planning on going through it next month and I’m not particularly worried about the medical side of things, but I’m not sure how to cope with the emotional side of things and the uncertainty. I’m paying for this out of pocket and can’t afford a lot of rounds, so it just seems like everything is resting on this one thing that’s so out of my control.

    • Anonymous

      Hugs

      It may be too much pregnant Meaghan Markle for you right now, but I found go fug yourself dot com to be very helpful in taking my mind off of things with silly celebrity bad and awesome fashions and commentary thereon.

    • Patricia Gardiner

      Be gentle with yourself- acknowledge that this is tough and feel your feelings.

      The reddit infertility board is a supportive community with no BS.

      Remember it is more common than you might think- so many people are dealing with fertility problems, you are not alone.

      Hugs and good luck!

    • Anon

      Lots and lots of self care. Find a good show to watch or book to read (or whatever your distraction of choice is). Reward yourself after the shots with a treat. Allow yourself to mope/cry if you need it. Take a mental health day or two from work if possible (works well early in the cycle for days with scheduled appointments). Lean on the people in your life that lift you up. Plan something to look forward to after the cycle, even something small like a nice dinner out or a pedicure. The emotional part was the hardest for me too…good luck!!

  3. Boston meetup

    Everyone who sent me a note, should have received a link to a doodle poll late last night/early this morning. If you haven’t please ping me at ruthbaderG on g00gle and I am happy to send it to you.

  4. Is it Friday yet?

    Any recs for a a solo female traveler in Athens? I have a three night stopover there on the way to visit a friend in Dubai in two weeks, and have done no research or planning yet. Obviously, I’m seeing the Parthenon and some museums, but any suggestions for hotels and restaurants, as well as things a bit off the beaten path would be welcome. Would be looking to spend approx $250 per day on hotels/food/entertainment.

  5. Sweater Blazers?

    What is you favorite sweater blazer/ponte blazer/jardigan/whatever you call it? I want the blazer look but the really structured ones give me headaches.

  6. Anonymous

    Can I just vent for a minute? I am feeling so incredibly overwhelmed in this chapter of my life.

    – My mom is moving to Florida. She’s acting helpless (though she is 72 and lives alone, so she does need physical help with packing) like she has no idea how to call and get moving quotes, call and turn the utilities on, hire a maid to clean before move-in, etc. I’m having to do all of this for her.

    – We just heard from the RE that I have “nubby” fallopian tubes that might – but, eh, who knows – make it difficult to conceive, or if I do, I’m at risk for an ectopic, so why not just go ahead and do IVF at $12k with no insurance coverage.

    – My husband has fallen in love with a piece of property (admittedly a beautiful, once in a lifetime opportunity). He’s never bought a house and has no idea what he’s doing, but he really wants this property right.this.second (even though it’s been sitting on the market for 2 years with no bites), so I’m having to answer all of his first-time home buyer questions. And oh yeah, this is a 200+ year old house that would need completely restored, so I’ve got builders and architects emailing me about inspections and drawings.

    – I’m not a litigator, but in 3 weeks, I will be. I have a pro bono case (“Oh, they ALWAYS settle!”) going to bench trial. I have no doubt that legally the case is 100% in my client’s favor, but I have no idea what to do in a courtroom. How do you structure oral arguments? Oh, I need to depose the opposing party beforehand? Well, I think the ship has sailed on that one. What should I ask the opposing party on the stand? Heck if I know the answer to any of these, but I have three weeks to figure it out.

    – I just dropped the ball on a tedious but important recurring gov’t filing. (Thought the deadline was next week. Nope.) I need a number of signatures in my group before I can file, so they’re all going to know I dropped the ball. (Though thankfully there are no serious consequences for filing late.)

    I feel like I could handle one or two of these at once, but all of them together is driving me nuts. I’m exercising, I’m getting outdoors, I’m even taking bubble baths, but I just want them ALL off my plate. I’m tense and just plain stressed. Any tips for dealing with a stressful time?

    • Anonymous

      Hugs, this sounds like a lot. If you can offload just some of these things, the rest will not seem so overwhelming. A place to start might be to tell your husband that TTC (even without IVF!) and buying an old house are not things that anyone should ever try to handle simultaneously. Then, get someone with litigation experience to advise you on the pro bono case.

      • Ellen

        Yes, hugs. We all can relate to some of these issues, but not all of them. But dont worry. You will get thru it all, as you have the POWER of the hive behind you! We are cheering you on, and hope your husband does not drive you nuts with his homeownership nonsense. I am also thinking about IVF, b/c I do NOT have a boyfreind let alone one with active sperm. I will be praying for your success, as if you are, I will be embolddened to find an IVF facility and get some sperm donor to impregnate me. YAY!!!!

    • anon

      this is definitely a lot all at once. i was recently in a similar situation (not these exact situations, but a lot of big stressful things going on at once in different areas of my life) and just tried to remind myself that ‘this too shall pass.’ For me, watching tv and zoning out and carving in some alone time is really helpful in helping me relax, so I made sure to find time for that. In regards to your specific situations:

      – has your mom never done any of these things for herself before (like previously your dad did them?) which is why she is acting helpless? can you make a list for her of what she has to do and have her actually take care of it? do you have any siblings who can help with any of this?

      – Hugs. I’m sure this is upsetting news and considering the finances is also stressful. maybe get a second opinion to see what they suggest? I do not know when open enrollment is at your job or DH’s, but verify that neither insurance covers it or if one does, switch when you can.

      -of all of these things, this is the one that i’m most confused about – is this a house for you and DH to move into? an investment property? do you want this house? are you buying it together? if you do that is one thing, but if you don’t can you explain to DH that you do not have the capacity to deal with this right now

      -unclear from your post if you work at a firm, in-house or in gov’t, but if you work at a firm is there someone in a litigation department you can ask for help, did you get this pro bono case from a community organization – do they have resources for their pro bono partners? can you see if there is someone else at your firm with some extra time on their hands looking to get involved in a pro bono matter

      – for this one, instead of beating yourself up, remind yourself that we all make mistakes and fortunately it doesn’t sound like this one will have any serious consequences other than your colleagues knowing you screwed up and that making you feel bad. own your mistake, get the signatures, file the document, and for next time add the deadline to your calendar with reminders so you don’t forget

    • Panda Bear

      Yes, that is a lot – and sometimes just venting helps. For the house project – are you working a realtor? Send your husband to him/her with all the first time home buyer questions, and ask him to manage getting contractor estimates. I definitely don’t mean to add to the stress, but I will share that my husband and I similarly fell in love with a once-in-a-lifetime, 200+ year old house on an amazing piece of property (which had also been on the market for mover 2 years). As much as I still daydream about that house at times, in retrospect I am so glad we did not buy it. Owning an antique house is really special, but the projects (and associated stress) pretty much never end, and if/when you decide you want to sell, then you’ll be the one waiting for 2+ years for a buyer. On the other hand, go for it if it’s really a dream house, but it will be an ongoing project.

    • Anonymous

      Find a litigator to help you on the pro bono case. There are always emails at our firm that are basically “transactional lawyer and I need help on this litigation part of my pro bono case.”

  7. waiving home inspection

    What’re your thoughts on waiving a home inspection? Partner and I are putting in an offer on what is sure to be a sought-after property. In this climate of bidding wars, is it ever ok to waive an inspection? This house is 120 years old…It’s been renovated and my partner (who is an engineer) hasn’t noted any obvious deficiencies during our two visits, but I’m still worried about the idea of taking it out.

    • Monday

      It’s a thing people do, but I’d never do it myself. I don’t even have to spell out why! Trust your worry. Your partner’s informal observations during visits are not similar to an inspection.

      • Anon

        I mean, most inspections are pretty superficial anyway. They can’t poke behind walls or do that much digging (literal or figurative).

        I did not have an inspection because I did not want to pay for it. I also just really trusted the seller. I did have a family friend with experience in old houses visit the house with a colleague of his before I closed.

        So. Anyway. I don’t think skipping an inspection is always terrible. But I am generally a very risk-averse person, so I understand paying for peace of mind!

    • Anon

      We bought our house in a hot market and relied on the seller’s inspection. In our case we did know there were things that needed repair, and it turned out ok.

      Is there a prior bidder or a seller’s inspection report? If not, you can still get into escrow with no inspection, get your own inspection even though it’s not a contingency, and potentially break escrow by walking away from your deposit. Chances are good that the seller would counter but you are taking your chances.

    • Anon

      How much is money a consideration? If you want the property no matter what is wrong with it, and you’re willing to spend $100K+ if it turns out to have major structural issues, then sure. Go ahead. But if you have that kind of money, offer at the top of your range in your first offer and find a way to get the inspection in just a few days so they’ll still have time to act on other offers if yours falls through.

    • Anonymous

      I’d only do it if your engineer partner can get another thorough walk through that would give him an inspection like comfort level. Home inspectors are not well regulated and can’t open walls so chances are the inspection wouldn’t catch something that your DH would miss.

    • BeenThatGuy

      I personally would never wave an inspection. Have the inspection so you know exactly what you’re getting into. Then go full steam ahead if you’re not intimidated.

    • anon a mouse

      Are you prepared to pay for whatever thing you find after you close? That’s your barometer. It could be a sewer cleanout or finding out that all the wiring is hazardous or a settling foundation. Or that the bathroom fan vents into the attic and there’s a decade of mold.

      For truly scary results, check out https://www.thisoldhouse.com/more/home-inspection-nightmares

      That’s not to say that a home inspection protects you from everything — home inspectors miss things. But I would feel better about getting a professional inspection before such a large purchase.

      Would you consider getting a pre-offer inspection, so that you have comfort with the house but you can waive that contingency?

      • pugsnbourbon

        Thanks for that link – looks like a horrifying rabbit hole I can go down on a slow Friday …

    • anon

      We bought a house about 75 years old….our seller offered us a price well below asking if we would waive the inspection. We went through a home inspection and added an optional sewer inspection as well. The house was flawless, but during the sewer inspection they discovered that the pipes were deeply eroded and would definitely had burst within our first month of living there. The work to replace pipes cost our seller almost fifteen thousand dollars. Highly recommend an added sewer inspection if the house is old!

      • Anon

        That’s pretty sketchy and obvious, though. “Yeah, we’ll practically give you this house, but only if you don’t ask for an inspection!”

      • Torin

        Yeah, for a house this old, I’m not sure I would waive. Your engineer husband might notice structural issues, and maybe they’ll let him walk around on the roof to check it’s general condition, but he doesn’t know just by walking through it if the electrical is up to code or the pipes are in good repair. Also, I’m in Houston so I made sure my inspection was very thorough when it came to the AC unit, which, again, just because he’s an engineer your husband still might not know anything about AC units. The AC can be $10k (or more depending on size of house) to fix and I would want to know it was in good repair.

        Or if you are willing to waive the inspection, I would make sure you’re getting a discount for doing it and have $20k earmarked for repairs for the first year.

      • SC

        Our house was about 80 years old when we bought it. We did the sewer inspection and learned that the main drain line out to the sewer needed to be replaced. We factored that into our decision making and bought the house anyways. A couple months later, the downstairs toilets stopped flushing, and we replaced the drain line. It cost about $8K, plus we had to re-sod that part of the yard (another $800 + DH and BIL’s labor). It was nice to know that we needed to prepare and save for that expense, and also that there weren’t others in the immediate pipeline (no pun intended).

    • M in DC

      This may only be possible in certain cases, but we did an inspection before we put in an offer. It worked for us because there was a bid deadline of Tuesday COB, and we were able to get the inspector in on Monday. The downside is that if our offer hadn’t been accepted, we would have been out the $$ for the inspection in any case. But in our competitive market (and knowing that the owners were relocating out of state and wanted to close quickly), I do think waiving the inspection helped us get the house.

    • Anon

      What type of engineer is your partner? I would personally never waive the inspection, but if your partner is a structural engineer and you can get another walk-though, it would be less crazy to do so.

      • Anonymous

        My partner is a structural engineer and was unwilling to waive it, even in a coop apartment building where very little belongs to the unit. (And the inspector did find electrical work that needed doing). I can’t imagine him being willing to waive one in a 120 year old house. They know too much about how much can be wrong.

    • blueberries

      It’s super common in my market to waive an inspection for entry-level houses. However, the vast majority of the purchase price is in the land, not the house. Also, demand is far greater than supply for 2 to 3 bedroom houses, so buyers typically can’t be picky about conditions to close.

      That said, it doesn’t seem like a great idea to waive inspection unless you have to.

      • Anonymous

        right

        You can do an inspection pre-bid; and you can do an inspection and not make it a contingency (so you lose your deposit or whatever else the remedy is for the seller if you don’t close). But I wouldn’t NOT do one.

      • Walnut

        If you’re in a hot market with multiple offer situations and housing going well above ask, you’ll pretty much never be the accepted offer if you have an inspection contingency.

        I bought in Seattle without an inspection.

    • CPA Lady

      A friend of mine skipped it and a year later discovered black mold so severe that fixing it is going to be more expensive than the value of the home (and she was not moving into a cheap starter home by any means). Obviously this is a complete horror story, that level of catastrophe is unlikely, but house problems are incredibly expensive, and I would rather know what I’m getting into.

    • Anonymous

      I’d never do it. We waived appraisal, because it was a hot market and if the house appraised for $50k less or whatever, we were comfortable taking that risk because we knew it would increase in value soon. And we could afford to lose $50k. But if you waive inspection, you may get a house that is essentially worthless and DH and I couldn’t afford to take that risk.

        • Anonymous

          Not the Anonymous above but our mortgage lender let us waive appraisal as long as we could come up with the difference in cash (i.e. they would only write the mortgage for 80% of the appraised value) and still satisfy the other loan requirements.

        • Anonymous

          We did pay all cash, although our realtor said it’s not unheard of for banks to agree to waive appraisal if the lenders put significantly more than 20% down. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be a 100% cash transaction.

    • Real Estate Professional

      Nope. Never. Don’t do it.

      You could try to submit an offer that permits an “informational inspection” and waive the inspection as an actual contingency. But what that does is allows you the benefit of an inspection but if the results were so bad, you would walk away from your hard money deposit (typically $1k in my market). Not saying you should do that, but I know I’ve seen people in my very competitive suburban Boston market do it. More and more people are doing this, so it’s not quite as effective as it was last buying season but it is an idea.

      As I tell clients, don’t try to ‘out stupid’ another buyer.

    • Sutemi

      In your case, I would not waive.

      We did waive inspection, with a lowering of the price by $15K to compensate. The sellers had an estate sale and we were the only bidders who were not developers; they had a preference to sell to a family but wanted a quick easy sale. However, there were several caveats. This is a gut rehab so we knew we were replacing HVAC, plumbing, insulation and electrical throughout, taking much of it down to studs. This is not our first rehab. The foundation looked good and there was minimal sinking/sagging compared to other 90 year old homes. The yard and location are excellent and we knew we could not replicate them easily. If you aren’t planning a gut rehab I would not recommend it.

  8. Anonymous

    I just went to a meeting that ran half an hour long, accomplished only about 25% of what it was intended to, and was so filled with joking and poking fun at things that no one even tried to restore order.
    I had actual ideas that I was excited about bringing to the table, but I couldn’t get anything across because the meeting overall was in such disarray. I can make my voice heard in an exchange of ideas, but I don’t know how to break through in a context where no one is on topic and nothing is getting done. We have another meeting next month.
    I don’t know if I’m venting or looking for advice. But it an incredibly frustrating waste of time.

    • Anon

      I don’t know, just go along with the joking and fun? At least if it’s a one time thing. If it happens at every scheduled meeting, stop going to them. Send your ideas to the group by email.

    • Panda Bear

      Ugh, I hate hate hate meetings that go off the rails and waste time! Do these meetings usually have an agenda and facilitator/person responsible for running it? If not, sounds like that’s what this group needs, and can you suggest putting those things in place? Of course the potential downside of suggesting this is that a) you become the default agenda creator/facilitator (which maybe wouldn’t be such a bad outcome), and/or b) your goof-off colleagues resent you for trying to get actual work done. To combat the latter, is there anyone else at the meeting who you trust/respect and would support you in keeping the next meeting on track?

    • Idea

      You could offer to run the meeting or be the timekeeper? I know something like this stinks and often falls to women to play the Nagging Mom, so it might be a bad idea. But a role like that is a good way to keep the Meeting Leader – was there one? – on course. You should offer to lead the meeting, really.

  9. Paging Morton's Neuroma from morning post

    I have MN, and Dansko rocking sole were the thing that got me over the first flare up. now I can wear a higher range of soles, but the toe box needs to be roomy – abosultely no pinching. There needs to be some shock absorption in the sole (can add shoe insert, but cannot wear thin soled shoes without insert). I can only do a very low heel, and this is 3 years after onset.
    Check out The Walking Company, they have lots of options, and can give you good direction.
    I wore out a pair of Dankso booties the first year, they were my saving grace.

    Also check out the blog “Barking Dog Shoes” – they do great round-ups of generally attractive shoes, and have posts targeted to different foot conditions.

    • Fussy Feet

      Kirsten from the Barkingdogshoes blog frequently posts articles on shoes for folks with Morton’s neuroma. You can search for that on her site. For example: https://www.barkingdogshoes.com/mortons-neuroma-shoes/

      You can also go to the Barkingdogshoes Facebook page and post a request for something specific you are looking for or use messenger to ask her. She always responds and is really very helpful. She and her blog are just great! A godsend for someone like me who has feet with a number of challenging problems.

  10. Giving Yourself Permission

    Posted too late in the morning conversation for much feedback, reposting:

    I don’t make much money (earning under 50k/yr) but I am becoming very busy with projects that will take 12-24 months and doesn’t pay upfront but will hopefully pay off in the future. As a single person (no partner, no kids), I am struggling with juggling house chores and meeting deadlines of these projects. I’m struggling with figuring out when I just need to muscle through this and when to allow myself to spend some money to outsource these chores.

    Any advice or stories you would share would be much appreciated!

    • Anonymous

      You’re very busy with projects that *may* pay off in 1-2 years? That seems like it’s taking too much out of you to be worth it — I might drop them all together and start waiting tables or any other sort of job that will give you enough $ to live off currently. Unless they’ll pay you TONS of money DEFINITELY, maybe making some money later while taking all your time now is letting people rip you off. Can you not get a progress payment? Down payment? If not, I don’t think that these people respect you or your time and how will you collect later if they don’t pay you???

    • Anon

      I’ve been in a similar position and was very resistant to help, but the following helped me and I stayed in budget:

      1) Mentally agree with yourself that it’s ok to let certain things fall by the wayside until you have time to address them, especially if they don’t have a strong impact on your survivability in that moment. Fridge needs cleaning out? Don’t worry until something it smells off. Dishes need cleaning? As long as they are rinsed off can sit for a few days unless you have a critter problem. House generally cluttered? Doesn’t matter, who’s going to see it?

      2) Swapping cheap and quick with homemade and healthy where it made sense. Fresh veggies and complex dishes don’t mesh with my lifestyle, but organic steamable vegetables and TJ entrees do. Healthy frozen dinners became lunch or dinner. Breakfast bars, yogurt and fruit snatched to go were my staples.

      3) I caved to get a cleaner to do the more intensive cleaning work once a month – the stuff it would take me an entire two weekends to do that she could do in an afternoon. Totally worth it and only left me to worry about random clutter and immediate cleaning (basically dishes and laundry). Depending on your city, you can get a monthly cleaning from an independent person for $150 a month or sometimes less – that was worth my piece of mind knowing that my home had been dusted, cleaned, disinfected and sheets changed at least once a month.

      4) Grocery shopping digitally over lunch and doing curbside pickup at the store to avoid delivery fees.

    • Shopaholic

      I think it depends on what you like to do/what you hate.

      I hate the scrubbing of my bathrooms/kitchen so I outsource that to a cleaning service. If you’re tight on money, I honestly find once every 4 weeks is more than sufficient for a single person without kids and pets.

      I actually really like cooking/meal prep so I carve out a couple hours on Sundays to grocery shop and cook. I listen to podcasts or music and it’s actually pretty enjoyable.

      I do laundry as I go (although sometimes I don’t fold things, just leave underwear/PJs in the dryer). If I need to buy household goods, I buy them online and get them delivered.

    • Ellen

      I think if I were you, I would work hard to find a nice boyfreind who will be there for you. It is not that difficult, as most guys are not able to find, let alone hang on to, a decent girlfreind like you. Once you are able to project your value as a girlfreind to men within reach, I am sure you will find a decent guy in the pile you can choose from. Once you do select a decent one, life will get alot easier for both of you. YAY!!!

  11. Anonymous

    Best sweaters for non-pilling? I am good with my wool and cashmere but need lighter weight – maybe silk or cotton? Mine are all blends from AT/BR and super pilled.

  12. Anonymous

    I am SO SO SO SO SO sick of men at work not reading my emails, requiring me to repeat myself, claiming that I should have received an email they didn’t send, mansplaining to me over email, completely missing my point in emails, and basically making me want to throw my computer out the window.

    Where are the all-female companies to work for????

    • The Grass is Brown

      I worked for an all-female company, and there were some Big Personalities that came to play. If only that behavior was reliably gender based…
      Regardless, wishing you luck and patience with those fools!

    • Of Counsel

      My deepest sympathies – but I second the caution that working for/with women is not always (or in my experience even reliably) better than working for/with men. In 25 years of legal practice, the absolute worst business environment I ever worked in, my boss (and her #2) were women.

      And I worked really hard to come up with a series of non-gendered and creatively insulting ways to describe them.

      Which is not to say that your frustrations are not valid! Sorry you are having to deal with that.

  13. KonMari Addict

    Can anyone recommend a sweater similar to the MM Lafleur Bell Sweater but smaller, and hopefully under $200? What I like about it is the cable knitting, what I don’t like is the oversizedness – I wear a 0 or 00 in JCrew/BR/Ann Taylor, and I have a hard time imagining that something sized like this would not look ridiculous on me. TIA!

Back to Top

About

Work with Corporette®

Serious Stuff

work fashion blog press mentions