Wednesday’s Workwear Report: Maeve Knit Blazer
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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
This knit blazer from Maeve might be one of my favorite “jardigans” of the season so far. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but it is double-breasted, which makes it look just different enough from the other sweater blazers hanging in my closet to justify the purchase to myself.
The lipstick red color is calling my name for fall, but it also comes in oatmeal, black, and leopard print.
The blazer is $158 at Anthropologie and comes in sizes XXS-XL.
Sales of note for 9/23/25
- Nordstrom – Fall savings event! Also: get 15% off select beauty items and 6x points on beauty.
- Ann Taylor – 30% off tops and sweaters
- Banana Republic Factory – 40% off everything + extra 15% off
- Boden – Up to 40% off
- J.Crew – Extra 30% off sale styles, plus up to 50% off layers they love
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything + extra 60% off clearance
- Nordstrom Rack – UGG up to 40% off
- Rothy's – Up to 50% off last-chance sales
- Soma – 5 panties for $39 + 35% off 3+ styles + buy 2 get 3 free panties — readers love these PJs and these no-VPL panties
- Talbots – Anniversary event! 25% off entire purchase, plus fresh fall classics from $34.50
- White House Black Market – $50 off $200+ purchase
Yesterday’s conversation where a poster asked if she should stay in Toronto an extra day and most people said no really surprised me. Not specifically for Toronto, but I have a more a “why not?” attitude to getting the most out of work travel by tacking on another day. So curious to hear other thoughts.
The poster didn’t mention that money or time/caregiving back home was an issue. Given that, in these situations the cost would be another hotel, meals, and sightseeing (assuming work is still covering the flight). Why not stay around for just one day more? It’s not like you really have time during a work conference between getting your real work done before/after the day or evening networking. You never know if you will be back somewhere so I always thought take advantage. Most places have at least 1 interesting museum/park/viewpoint, 1 neighborhood to walk around, and 1 restaurant to try.
I agree with you
I do too, I always stay an extra day when I can to see a new place, even if and especially if it’s not a tourist destination.
[deleted by mgmt]
Have you been to Toronto? I generally share your philosophy but there’s really not much to do as a tourist in Toronto.
Re: time during the work trip to explore the city, it really depends on the nature of the trip. My work travel is mostly for org-wide conferences and i don’t do other work while I’m there because the whole team is at the conference. I go out to local restaurants every night and have time to go for a walk or run in public parks in the morning. I know some work travel is more intense but it’s not impossible to explore the city while working.
I see the logic of workings things in without taking an extra day.
Glancing over stuff in Toronto, the TD Gallery of Indigenous Art looks like it could fit into a light conference day downtown.
Generally in cities, gardens and churches have sometimes worked out for me if they’re nearby.
I go to Toronto allll the time. I am personally a fan of staying in the Broadview. I check out a concert at the Danforth, opera house, Lee’s, history etc. sometimes multiple if the scheduling works out. I usually have at least one weird specialty errand I need to run (there’s some old school lock Smith’s and other specialties that are rare). Always up for a visit to the ROM or the waterfront. There’s lots to do, just depends on your interests (or lack thereof).
No one from NYC gives a rats A about what’s on at the Danforth or whatever LOL.
I think there is tons of stuff to do as a tourist in Toronto – but considering the OP was from NYC, it won’t be that great for her.
People were characterizing Toronto as more of a working city than a tourist destination. I’ve learned that it’s just something for me to know about myself that I enjoy visiting working cities and getting a sense of people’s daily lives there. I’d genuinely rather eat at the good restaurant that people eat at than the buzzy place that is trying to get on the map. I like where I live and enjoy similar things while traveling that I enjoy at home, and local differences stand out more to me in those contexts as well.
So I agree that most places have a good museum, park, neighborhood, restaurant, and place of worship to visit. Often there’s some kind of immigrant community with incredible food and unique history that would be easy to miss out on entirely without an extra day.
Though honestly with an extra day in Toronto in particular, I’d probably just go to the zoo.
I do like working cities and just seeing how people live. I used to go outside of Nashville for work regularly and had a great time squeezing in things and eating blueberry pie ice cream I still dream about. I don’t know how different Toronto will be from NYC, tbh.
Reasons I generally don’t do this:
1. Work travel is exhausting and I don’t feel like doing more travel when it’s done, I just want to go home unless I’m somewhere really enticing.
2. The paperwork is a hassle to split work and personal travel and often my travel is funded in ways where it would be awkward to request this.
3. I don’t have kids, but I often have other work obligations that require me to be back in town, plus I have a spouse and I prefer to take my vacation time with him.
4. It’s not that often that I go somewhere that this would be appealing. I usually end up traveling to either the same set of places I’ve been before or places I’m not especially interested in spending more time in.
Why does this sound like someone trying to get out of a wedding or something? Half of these excuses are hypothetical. Go or stay but it shouldn’t have to be that deep, especially for one day.
Because she is replying to someone who literally asked what reasons people have. So she shared them.
I think I cosign most of this, and primarily the sentiment that I don’t go anywhere cool. But if I did, I think I’d stay over every once in a while. But if I traveled a lot, it would probably get old. So, I think it depends on how much you travel. My husband travels pretty much every week, and has made it a goal to be away for as little time as possible, even if he’s going somewhere cool. So I get it. But for those of us for whom this might be a rarer occurrence…it’s cool and exciting. I would totally stay over in Toronto, and cosign all of the interesting things listed below. I personally would just walk around downtown and shop and check stuff out. I lived in Toronto for a couple of summers when I was in college, which was far too long ago to leave recommendations, but it’s a lovely city.
+1 to all of this. No offense to places like Toronto, Dallas, Nashville, Minneapolis, etc. but I’d rather not spend my limited vacation time there, often at weird times of the year. At my current company trying to split the personal reimbursement vs. the work reimbursement practically requires a CPA license.
+1 to all of this. I also rarely stay at swanky hotels. I don’t want to spend another night at the Fairfield but don’t want the hassle of packing and unpacking for a second hotel. There was one time I considered tacking on an extra night but my fabulous hotel suite was too expensive without the corporate discount.
I love Toronto. Didn’t read the convo, but there’s great restaurants. The shoe museum is amazing. I would totally tack on a day if it’s a time of year with good weather.
I didn’t see yesterday’s post, but I’m fortunate enough to travel often for a company that doesn’t care if we extend our trips. All the senior executives do. What this means in practice is that I spend the weekend in Europe and fly home Monday on my quarterly visits.
Having been to Toronto, I agree that it’s not picturesque but I did really enjoy the week I spent there a few years ago. There is some excellent shopping to be had there.
I was late to that post but a bit surprised by that too. I live in Montreal and frequently travel to Toronto for work. While I wouldn’t plan a whole vacation there, I have extended my stay and have even had my husband join me for a weekend. I have always enjoyed my time there. We like going to the Islands, walking around downtown, shopping on King Street, the U of T area and art Museum, walking around Cedarvale/St Clair, the Beaches, St Lawrence market for the bacon sandwich, the Distillery District. And we have had some good food there. There’s plenty to spend an enjoyable day or two IMO. You could even rent a car and do Niagara Falls/Niagara on the lake. I also like to extend my stays in places I go to for work even when they aren’t particularly exciting and always enjoy exploring a different town.
I will keep this list in mind and do some of this around work! Maybe the day I land, if I have an afternoon off the last day, after work meetings are over, etc
Yeah maybe this sums it up for me. I can do all of those things in my home city and sleep in my own bed and probably meet up with a friend for something.
Different strokes – I can do similar things in my city but really enjoy exploring a different place and like to do things on my own. I don’t particularly mind not sleeping in my own bed (and when traveling for work I always have a centrally located nice hotel, maybe with a pool or spa).
I’m that poster. I was thinking about it and while there will be some days with dinners it won’t be every day. I really do like to try and make the most of work travel but at this point multiple people, here and other places, have told me that Toronto is a nice city with some great restaurants, but not much sightseeing. If I get to walk around the city and just feel the “vibes” I would consider that getting enough out of a work trip.
Work travel doesn’t really tire me out so that’s not the issue, and I don’t have caregiving responsibilities etc.
I said no because I’ve been to Toronto before and just didn’t find it interesting. I like my home and I extend business travel when it’s a place I want to be but not just routinely. Sorry Columbus Ohio you were better than I expected (go
Blue) but not like actively worth sticking around longer.
+1
+2. Plus she was already going to be there for 4 days!
I live in suburban Ohio, so I like walking around cities in general. Toronto is a bit frustrating because of the insane traffic. But I liked walking around the little neighborhoods and just taking it in. I walked through the university campus which was nice. They have great restaurants, especially Greek and Indian. It’s not a city to ‘sightsee’ per se, but I like the vibe. There are a lot of hidden gems around, but they aren’t tourist sites. I vote that you spend a slow day enjoying the city.
Also, another night in a hotel could easily be $300 and often more, plus again easily $100 for meals, plus whatever I’m then actually doing in the day. That is a lot for me for a city I’m not actively interested in.
I have kids, so maybe my calculus is different. But I want to make my days away from the kids “worth it.” And I have been to Toronto, and it is not worth it for me. Plus OP will be there four days for her conference already. There is always downtime during conferences, plus she has three evenings – I just would not waste another day away from my kids to stay in Toronto when I was already there for 4 days. I also live in NYC FWIW.
I live in NYC and my colleagues find it hilarious that one of the things I almost always do on my trips to other large cities is fit in some shopping. I have small kids, so the ability to hit up a Sephora, specialty shoe store, or nice clothing store solo is a huge draw for me!
I’m with you on this. But I also personally don’t want to just do tourist things when I travel personally. I enjoy going to a good restaurant and local businesses at least one day while I’m on a trip. I would definitely add on an extra day to do this. It’s just a desire to see something different, not necessarily more exciting.
Most of our vacations for the past 20 something years involved work travel with spouse and son. My conferences would be places like New Orleans or Philadelphia and we’d stay at nice hotels. My husband and son would do day stuff like the museum or aquarium and I would join for dinner. Then we’d stay another day or two. Cost of my flight was taken care of by work as was the hotel the nights of the conference.
My husband is a professor and has work trips to lots of cool destinations, especially in Europe. Our daughter and I sometimes tag along (this is more common and acceptable in academia than I gather it is in the corporate world). It’s been kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand, having his plane ticket and the hotel covered significantly reduces the cost of the trip. On the other hand, solo parenting with a young kid isn’t really a vacation for me, and I would rather just do the solo parenting at home and take a real vacation as a family.
We eventually came to the conclusion that we have a better time when we meet him in Europe after the conference + take a family vacation together, which still results in his international plane ticket being free, so now we mostly do that.
Toronto has so many different neighborhoods that are fun to explore – Queen West, Ossington, Roncesvalles, the Danforth, the Beaches, the Annex. You can spend a great day or two going for a long walk, browsing different boutiques, stopping for coffee or a drink on a patio. Toronto has a very diverse population and there are lots of little ethnic pockets with lots of great restaurants. If you just stay around downtown then sure I can see how people think the city is boring, but there’s lots more to see outside of the downtown core. The streetcar / subway is easy to use to get around
Do nicer microfiber tees exist to buy new in 2025? Needing a closet staple refresh on this. Cotton ones read more casual to me.
Majestic Fillatures!
I had to google this and I’m still not sure what you’re asking for. Is this for the gym or running errands, or something you intend to wear for work?
Do you mean something like modal or a similar really smooth jersey? It looks like Quince, Gap and Loft have a few options.
Try COS t-shirts if you’re willing to expand your microfiber search to include nicer jersey fabrics – lots of TENCEL-merino blends for an elevated look.
Hopefully fun question: what would you wear to a baby shower in the DC suburbs next weekend?
I don’t know this family member’s crowd at all. My first thought was a fun print sundress and nice sandals, but not sure if that’s too casual. I’m early thirties, if that matters, as is the mom-to-be.
I went to a baby shower in Arlington for a mom to be from Vienna this time last year and what you’re planning sounds good. Most people were in brightly colored floral midi cotton dresses with sandals. Have fun!
Thank you so much!
Agreed, although if you’re not from DC, know that it’s been unseasonably cool lately! Lovely weather but you may want to plan a cardigan or light jacket.
At my baby shower all but one person wore a cute sundress and sandals. 40% were in Nap Dresses. And bless my one younger gay friend who wore short shorts and a crop top because it was, after all, a party.
DC suburbs here – that sounds perfect.
The styling of this blazer is making me LOL at my desk.
It’s sad that I have become so inured to this type of ridiculous styling that I did not even notice. When I scrolled up in response to this comment, just wow!
There also looks to be some editing/AI fail happening around her wrists/forearms — totally shocked this pic made a recommendation on here LOL!
Obviously a visible gray bra is too casual for the workplace. It should always be black. That’s much more professional.
Exactly. I don’t know why people don’t know this already!
The leopard print version is really special.
I mean, I really love leopard print. But yeah this is a LOT of look.
I’ve been lusting over the velvet curtains from pepper home. The pleated style with a contrasting velvet trim! I received fabric and trim samples and have my color picked out. I think they will be perfect in our guest bedroom. However the cost is a little hard to swallow at ~$1200 for two panels to cover my 60”x95” large window.
Does anyone have another source for custom velvet curtains? Is this just what they cost? I would love a velvet that is NOT polyester but I imagine that would be even more expensive.
Decent quality curtains are $$$$, and I do not have a $$$$ income, but good quality textiles are a thing for me. So I just pick something I am willing to live with for a while and spend the $$$$.
If you’re not opposed to dealing with a human you could get curtains custom made from a higher quality velvet for about the same price. You would just need to find someone in your city’s fashion/upholstery district who has a pleat machine (they’re fiddly).
I bought some very long Restoration Hardware blackout drapes on FBMP for a guest room and paid $60. They were in pristine condition and had just been dry cleaned, which probably cost more than $60. I also love textiles, but for a guest room, $1200 would be hard to stomach. With no deadline, I would be all over FBMP or even Etsy (with the caveat that I have a disastrous Etsy experience about 1/4 of the time). Custom and high-end drapes come up on FBMP regularly. Quince also has velvet, although I don’t know anything about their quality. I’m sure it’s not Pepper Home-level, but it’s also not $1200.
This makes sense to me on a tight budget or without already having found the perfect choice. I think it can lead to regret if we compromise a lot when there wasn’t a need to. But maybe polyester is also a compromise and it’s worth looking for optimal on a $$$$ budget.
(But I bet that polyester is going to be more stain and fade resistant than cotton. And silk probably would up the budget!)
Since you’ve already gone so far as to lust over them, get samples, and pick out exactly what you want, I’d go ahead and buy them. (Assuming, of course, that you can easily afford it without skimping somewhere else or adding to credit card debt.)
Yeah, that’s what they cost.
If these are perfect, then get what you want!
You can totally get cotton velvet curtains for less, but I don’t know about custom with pleats and contrast trim! Have you called local places to get quotes yet?
I saved a bundle by buying my own fabric (Etsy or directly from other online vendors) and having drapes custom made. The fabric is often marked up a shocking amount at many retail locations. Sadly though upholstery/drapery making is a bit of a dying art so I get it if you don’t have local options.
You could go to your local upholstery store and ask them how much they charge for custom curtains. They probably have fabric with similar look that’s lower quality and cheaper. It still won’t be cheap though.
Check out the IKEA Sanela cotton velvet curtains, they are lovely.
You could easily add pleats and a contrasting velvet trim to those.
DIY pleats often look really bad unless someone is an experienced sewist and has good attention to detail.
The price is not out of line. The only way to make it significantly cheaper is to sew them yourself if you want to keep the same quality. The other alternative is to buy a cheaper version, and if they don’t have pleats (normally a cost driver) you can sew pleating tape on the back of them. It is really easy, I promise.
Your best alternate source would likely be local – there are probably some small, locally owned custom window covering shops in your area.
IANAL, and am asking for advice on the next step I should take to handle a situation with my emotionally abusive ex whom I need to coparent with. I am trying to follow parallel parenting and have as low contact as possible while still communicating necessary information by email for documentation, and text if an emergency. I want to keep communication in writing to have documentation for accountability. At the time of the divorce, I was deep in the fog of abuse and didn’t realize what I was dealing with, and we have shared custody 50:50. The decree was written based on 2 people who can communicate well with each other. Since then, the post-separation abuse has ramped up. It’s below what I could call police about, but examples are internet stalking to make sure I know he’s watching me, having my son send me emails to convince me to give over some of my parenting time in wording I know my son didn’t write, having our son keep secrets such as dad’s new girlfriend is moving in and don’t tell your mom, and creating a narrative of me as a villain. It’s the beginning of the school year, and again this year my ex has been on a streak of trying to convince me to communicate with him over Zoom, and I refuse. For example, saying he can’t share tutoring costs if I won’t talk with him over Zoom to discuss it. I start shaking when I have to be around him, and it takes a while to calm down. The divorce decree has some gaps, for example it details how much we will each contribute toward our son’s college fund until he turns 18, but not past that, and with rising costs we don’t have enough saved to cover the full cost of 4 years of college. Without legal enforcement, I expect I will end up having to pay most expenses after our son turns 18 and that my ex won’t help with college or other expenses.
Our son turns 18 at the beginning of his senior year, and he just turned 16, so only 2 years left for the decree rules to be in place, and we have been divorced since 2018.
A couple of questions:
1. Is it worth the expense to try to make an amendment to the divorce decree to require use of a parenting app for communication? Are the parenting apps an improvement over emails, or is that just going to be the same problem in a different format?
2. What do I ask for to have my divorce decree reviewed for gaps considering the current situation? Do I just find a divorce lawyer and ask for a consult?
PLEASE talk to a tough, honest attorney in your jurisdiction. Yes, you find a divorce lawyer and ask for a consultation. You call, email, or schedule through their online portal.
You just call a divorce lawyer. This is all very location specific. And you start talking to your son about the costs of college.
I am a lawyer, but not a divorce lawyer so this is just my practical take. I would take whatever money you’d spend on one and save it for your son’s college expenses. Communication difficulties are never solved by a court. You have to figure out how to deal for two more years. Get a friend, or a therapist, or someone who you can vent to in real life to help with these things. What you’re describing won’t be fixed with court orders and you just need to get some tools to manage your reactions for a little longer. At the risk of you ignoring this, I would also consider talking to your ex on zoom – written communication is the worst possible way to resolve conflict. There’s a reason lawsuits are usually settled in mediation and not by letter.
I agree. In my state, divorce court cannot mandate paying expenses for a child over 18, so even if the parenting plan says your ex will continue to contribute, it is not enforceable.
Save your legal fees for college expenses and find a friend you can buy a drink and complain to them. There’s really not a lot you can do about that part.
I am sorry you’re dealing with this.
Which is why it is a great idea to speak to a lawyer. In my state child support continues well past 18
I feel like NJ is the one notable state for enforcing paying for college and CS past 18 if the child is not disabled.
But many if not most states stop child support once a kid reaches the later of 18 years old or graduating from high school (so all those kids who turn 18 as seniors get until they graduate; my kid who turns 18 right after graduation would get it cut off then).
Signed, used to work in interstate child support before going to law school
Similar post-divorce, 50-50 co-parent with a terrible, irresponsible adult. Court orders will not make him more pleasant to deal with. Focus on raising your kiddo to be the best happy adult they can be. That’s all that really matters in the end.
Host the Zoom and initiate the recording feature. Your ex will be notified that the meeting is recorded. Best case scenario is this puts him on his best behavior. Worst case is that he refuses to go forward with Zoom, and maybe that’s not so bad.
I disagree- the context of abuse here could be dangerous for OP, and asking her to continue co-parenting with an abusive spouse is going to be devastating for her well being.
Getting an order to do all communication by a parenting app, and dropoffs at the police station could massively improve her safety and quality of life.
That said, the way to do this is to talk to an aggressive local lawyer and figure out what would be needed to actually get these modifications in place.
There’s abuse and then there’s annoying. Nothing she’s described rises to the level of the former. She’s not living with the guy and life is a lot easier when you figure out how to be civil.
The poor kid though. Why are so many dads such crappy parents.
No it’s abusive to be speaking to the child about adult matters. I’m divorced and the hardest part is watching your child be abused. They either end up being abused as adults or being an abuser themselves. Neither outcome is good.
Judges in family court need to wake up and start protecting the children and I see lots of red flags for abuse in the OPs message.
A child being encouraged to keep secrets from the other parent is extremely serious. IMO It should result in supervised visitation but despite clear documentation the judge didn’t care about it. My lawyer was able to show how this delayed our child receiving help. Child had told Dad who didn’t act on it. Therapist figured it out, who told me and I acted on it as did the therapist as a mandated reporter.
The fact you don’t see factors abuse in the narrative is extremely concerning. I really hope you do some research on DV. These people do not know how to be civil and they are incapable of it.
I don’t have advice to your questions above, but…
You say that you won’t have enough saved to cover the “full cost” of college. Do you have enough to cover most of the cost? Like 80%? If so, your family is way way ahead of most.
I’d explain to my son that he will need to partially support himself in college via student loans and a job. Give him the first semester to adjust to college and then job for the spring.
I held a part-time job all through college, after my first semester. My parents also could not cover the “full cost” of college and I felt tremendous pressure to earn money. It was not a fun period in my life but I did develop great financial habits as a result. I’ve built a mid 7-figure net worth while single. The need to work in college kickstarted that. My old schoolmates from more affluent backgrounds did not get to develop sound money habits.
It is a really weird artifact of our divorce system that it assumes parents will fund their kids’ college plans without any participation or sacrifice on the part of the kid, assuming there is any money available to start with. The classmates whose parents divorced had a lot more parental financial help and a lot less in loans than kids from intact households.
Why would students with divorced parents have more financial support than those with intact families?Supporting two separate households is way more expensive than a single household when you have to divide the money. My parents divorced when I was 15 and it made college much harder to pay for. Despite the fact that my mom was a single parent teacher, she made way too much for me to qualify for any kind of need-based aid.
I don’t think it’s coming from the divorce system per se; it’s baked into our financial aid systems (both FAFSA and school/private scholarships) that parents will support college financially to the best of their ability. While at the same time our culture puts forward a strong “adults are responsible for themselves [and have neither the right to support nor the obligation to support others]” message. It’s just a weird cultural contradiction.
Throwing this out there with college: will your ex need to fill out the FAFSA for your child to get need-based aid? My recommendation is to ask a lawyer about adding in language surrounding having both parties filling out all available financial aid forms.
Sometimes, even merit aid requires a FAFSA.
You keep saying age 18, but most divorce decrees specify until high school graduation.
Most communication is supposed to take place on AppClose. Why don’t you have that?
Again… talk to an attorney. Talking to an attorney doesn’t mean that you litigate or even do anything; you might merely learn that your best bet is to grit your teeth for three more years.
[deleted by mgmt]
May I suggest that you JSFAMO? Because I think you’re the person who originated that phrase….
I am not a lawyer, but you may want to consider ensuring you are your son’s health care proxy when he turns 18.
OP here, I appreciate all your replies! There are many different angles and questions you brought up. I’ll review and decide what will make the most sense for my situation.
I’m in your shoes and yes it’s hell watching my children be abused and not being able to stop it.
Here are the things I have done which keep my children safe:
1. The children are with a mandated reporter as often as possible. That includes therapist, school, camp (ymca are amazing) and hire teachers as your sitters.
2. Use talking parents so calls are recorded. This is the only line of communication my ex has with me and if he deviates from it I reply with his message in the app and tell him to keep communication to this spot only.
3. The stalking is annoying and no one cares. I’m sorry. Get yourself a damn big nasty ass dog and change passwords monthly at a random day. Keep a paper file of your passwords. My ex husband is a lunatic and it is unnerving. I live in a very urban area and I have a nasty ass dog (German shepherd) that attacked him when he entered my building without my knowledge or permission. Dont open the door to my building because I will release the hounds. Everything in my common areas of my home, the community areas of my building and the immediate vicinity of the exterior of my building are recorded. I used blink cameras. I hired an off duty fireman to install them. Don’t ask an off duty cop. They think we are all crazy.
3b. The cops are there to serve and protect the law. The law is ok with this behavior towards women but they are not ok with child abuse. Always lead a call to the police with the harm to the children, not you.
4. Forget wasting time with a lawyer. Understand the system is entirely broken. This is why we have the issues in our society today. Focus on detaching yourself entirely from him. Dont engage at all. It’s called grey rock of biff. Use ChatGPT to draft messages and be done. Not every message deserves a reply.
5. Get yourself to the DV shelter and use their legal help. You will easily drop $500k on these people because they keep sucking you in with legal abuse. Escape by ignoring him and not having his chaos in your life. My ex husbands chaos lives in talking parents.
5 should say get yourself to the DV shelter *for therapy* and use their legal help.
I can’t emphasize this enough. Allow yourself to grieve. You are reacting which is completely normal. A good therapist can help you get to acceptance. This final stage is where you can move on. I’ve accepted I will probably have to give up my children at some point.
NJ demands both parents support college but honestly this is a joke. He can legally and will force it that our child will attend a state school. She has her heart set on Princeton. So, that’s on me to pay for it.
Help me with what food to serve at a party we’re hosting this weekend! It’s for board members (to welcome new board members) and artists of a small local non-profit that I serve on the board of. Around 40-50 people from 4-7 on a Sunday. People are expecting light bites, not dinner. Heeelp. I asked chatgpt and got too many choices. Easy would be good. Also beer and wine? Should i have anything else? We don’t entertain very much!
Keep it simple. Charcuterie boards placed in various places (to avoid clustering in one place). Crudites & hummus. Nothing that needs to be kept hot.
Beer and wine, yes. Not hard alcohol. Make sure you have non-alcoholic options.
+1 to this. I would definitely have still water, as well as a sparkling option (something like LaCroix). I would also add in a fruit tray and perhaps some other type of simple app like finger sandwiches or chips and guacamole.
FWIW, if this were me, I would get this catered by my local market.
Beer, wine, soda, iced tea, water.
For food… I get that people are expecting light bites and not dinner, but this seems like a case for heavy apps. Hit up Costco for cheese boards, veggies, hummus, crackers, sliced and chilled meats; also consider something to round it out, like sliders (meat and veggie).
I cook and entertain a lot, and for this many people on this short notice, I’d call up my favorite good grocery store and get this bad boy catered. Trays of fruit, crudite, dips, finger sandwiches, etc.
This. I always thought catering was “so expensive” but after throwing enough parties, it normally nets even with buying everything myself. Plus, less stress.
Omg this weekend and you have no plan?! Pick whatever the fanciest grocery store is near you and order catering. Trying to do this yourself when you’re clueless is madness
+1
Dude…50 people and it’s this weekend? You need to throw money at the problem.
+1 costco (or local fancy grocery store) will make this easy. And it will be godawful without.
Whole Foods has good catering options, too. It could be fun to pick up five or six of their platters.
Also, in case you haven’t already planned to, recruit one or two people who help you with checking food tables, bringing out fresh platters two hours in, picking up glasses, checking/refreshing bathrooms, renewing ice supplies, etc. 50 people is a lot, and you don’t want to run ragged trying to do all this yourself while also greeting and hosting people.
My work lanyard is causing pilling on my shirts. We are required to wear our badge on a lanyard above our waist (so no badge clipped to a waistband or belt loop).
Any suggestions on how to prevent the pilling?
There are lanyards made with satin weave straps, those might be gentler on your clothes.
What fabrics are you seeing the pilling happen in?
can you supply your own lanyard? might be the clippy portion. Or a clear cover for your badge?
Do you have to use the work issued lanyard? I was able to move my work e-card into the clear compartment of a lanyard from Vera Bradley that was more thoughtfully made.
I feel incredibly dumb asking this question, but I will anyway. I am considering getting Botox for the first time. Did anyone experience any bruising after the injections? I am client facing and am worried about getting Botox and then sitting in a client meeting the next day looking puffy or bruised.
I’ve been getting Botox for 20 years. I have light-colored skin, so bruises generally show up for me. Botox is a very small needle. Sometimes on the day of the injections or the day after, I can press on my forehead and it’s tender, but there aren’t visible signs of the injections.
Can you get Botox on a Friday afternoon?
This. I have been getting botox a few times a year and while I rarely bruise, it has happened a few times (all coverable by makeup).
I have had some providers recommend you make faces after to help move the tox around, so I typically get injected friday lunch and work from home (making faces when I am not on a call) that afternoon.
I’m currently sitting here with a bruise on my forehead from Dysport, so yes, you can bruise. It’s usually not bad (mine would be easily covered with foundation) and icing helps (I was lazy). I’ve never experienced swelling though.
I have sensitive skin and don’t get brusing but do get slight redness + my doctor recommends no makeup that day. I try to go early on a WFH day, and if I need to be on camera it’s not that bad. One thing I didn’t know as a Botox newb: you shouldn’t lean over or move around too much for a few hours after. The first time I scheduled too close to my kid’s daycare pickup and was leaning over to help with shoes, strap in the car seat, etc. So now I schedule it in the morning.
I’ve been getting Botox for two years and have only bruised once in that time — on my chin, where the muscle is especially tough. If you’re worried, I’d get it done on a Thursday morning, bruise appears Friday (faint), clears up over the weekend.
I got it for the first time a few months ago on my crows feet and forehead. I had a couple tiny bruises on the forehead, which wouldn’t have been particularly bad on their own, but I had a larger bruise from the crows feet injection and it made me look like I had a black eye. Not ideal, but still went to work with makeup on
How do you clean your (real wood) hardwood floors? Struggling to figure out a safe way to protect the wood that will also properly clean the floors. Thank you!
Murphy’s wood soap in a bucket of water, and a sponge mop squeezed out well so it doesn’t leave much water on the floor. Easy.
This is exactly what our housecleaner does every two weeks. I once tried Orange Oil myself and it left the floor looking filmy. I’ve since learned that Orange Oil causes buildup.
I use a spin mop and method wood floor cleaner because I like smell (almond). A lot of people use Bona for wood floors.
We have wood floors and I don’t think bona actually cleans vs just pushing wet dirt around. If I mop, and then take a wet paper towel and wipe the floor, there is still dirt. Maybe I’m just an awful mopped. I just got the swiffer power mop with the wood specific cleaner that has good reviews.
I meant the bona cleaner, which you can use with any mop. I think all mops with pads that you can’t rinse out are bad mops.
You need to know if the floors are sealed before you use any water. My house has 100 year old hardwood floors so no water. I have a Miele vacuum with a parquet attachment because rotating brushes are not good. I then use a wood floor cleaner and a cloth mop.
Murphy’s wood soap with a spin mop.
you also need to figure out if your floors are real wood all the way through or just the top .5″ or whatever. when i last researched it I thought I was supposed to use the Bona hardwood floor cleaner
Sealed floors, I use a Bissell Crosswave or Bona and a flat microfiber mop.
+3 or 4 for Murphy Oil Soap.
I recently came across interior decorator (designer?) Caroline Winkler on YouTube and she is a delight! Personable, funny, with realistic and actionable ideas. I have been loving watching her videos in the evenings – they are soothing and inspiring at the same time. I have no natural design instinct, but feel like I have a good direction now as I tackle a few new projects.
Someone here recommended the podcast from Ballard Designs, which I’ve also been enjoying, so wanted to bring this gem to the hive, too
+1 I’ve been watching Caroline as well!
I love her so much! She is delightful and it’s been so fun to watch her fall in love and get engaged – and that is not even the point of her channel. She’s a hoot.
do we still like zappos as a place to order shoes?
I still order from them but they’re owned by Amazon now. So you can find the same shoes at the same price on Amazon (usually) but Zappos’s interface is better.
I have fewer problems with fakes and damaged goods on Zappos.
Yes.
Sure, that’s usually where I order shoes from.
No, at some point after the acquisition they went from having great customer service to having the Amazon dreadful customer service. So no more calling in if you missed the return window by a day and getting some help. And if you order and return too much they cut you off. I was trying to find new shoe brands after a bunch of my favorites went under and they were not at all helpful.