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Updated: Feb 27, 2023 153 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Makeup Organizer

Coffee Break· The Personal Shopper (TPS)

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rotating clear acrylic tower with lots of makeup bottles on it; the middle shelf is an adjustable height

My husband's and my bathroom is forever a mess, so when I found a recommendation for a makeup organizer tower similar to this one on a Buzzfeed listicle I thought, ooh, I need that. Alas, the one they recommended was sold out, so I wound up buying this one on a whim. It came, I set it up in a few minutes, and — so far at least! — I really like it.

It's clear acrylic, which is good because you can see everything. (It's also good because it feels a lot lighter and cleaner than what we had before, a blue tray.)

The tower rotates, so I'm happy all of the shelves have a lip. The middle shelves are adjustable heights — you can add them wherever you want (or not).

The top portion comes with a few holes in the middle for brushes. The kit also comes with two removable inserts that have slots for lipsticks and other small pieces. (I think they're intended for the top portion but in theory you could put them wherever.)

The pieces all fit together , and are locked together with small clear rubber bands — it's actually a clever little system.

I was worried that the middle shelves (which have a sort of clear triangular pattern on them) would look cheap, or like it was trying to be GLAM! — but I don't mind them in person.

The tower is $28, at Amazon.

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Sales of note for 9.30.24

About Kat

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

Comments

  1. Anon

    Has anyone tried Ripley Radar pants? They’re stalking me on Instagram and I like the look but know nothing about the brand.

  2. Anon

    Is it a terrible idea to go to the San Juan Islands in April? I’ve always wanted to go to the Skagit Valley tulip festival, but don’t want to go all the way across the country (I’m in the eastern Midwest) just for that. I’ve been to Seattle and don’t have a lot of desire to go back. Plus, there’s a good chance this will be a solo trip and I feel like I enjoy solo trips to nature-y areas more than to cities. So I feel like the San Juan Islands makes the most sense, but I know it’s more of a summer destination. Curious if anyone has been in the spring or has advice for a spring trip?

    • Anonymous

      We had a great trip to the Olympic peninsula and Victoria BC in April a few years ago, driving through the Skagit valley on our way back to the airport in Seattle (it was definitely a drive-through attraction for us). Victoria is warmer and drier than the Olympic peninsula due to the mountains. We spent a few days in Port Townsend and drove to the Hoh Rainforest and to a stream where we watched salmon swimming uphill (amazing) that was somewhere in the national park – last minute a recommendation from a park ranger. Then we took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria and spent a few days there. I would love to go back to the OP or Vancouver island. If I had to do it over I would stay in Port Angeles rather than Port Townsend as I think the latter probably shines more in the summer and it made for more driving. We really enjoyed Victoria, which my younger brother found kind of kitchy and Disneyfied, but we were there before the cruise ships arrive, and we live in NYC so get enough urban realness at home. Also, it was off season and we got a great deal on a fancy hotel room. Enjoy!

      • Anonymous

        PS – we came back from Victoria to Seattle by way of several ferries through the San Juans – I can’t remember the exact route but it put us on the mainland north of Seattle so we drove through the valley.

      • anon

        I’ve done Victoria multiple times in April. To stick to the theme, I would absolutely also do the Butchart Gardens (also filled with tulips) and plan your day so that you can go to afternoon tea there. The Fairmont in Victoria is also great for solo travel, and an overall chill day. You can also check out Hatley Castle, which has been in tons of films but most notably as the school in X-Men (and, has beautiful gardens). Short version, a whole bunch of rich women lived on Victoria Island and liked to garden (or at least have gardens).

        • anon

          Love to be able to edit – should be “a whole bunch of rich women lived on Vancouver Island”

    • PNW

      Seattleite here.

      San Juan Islands are gorgeous year-round, but it depends on what kind of vacation experience you want. April would likely still be cool and misty, but if you have the mindset that it’s cozy and atmospheric (instead of gloomy and depressing), then you’ll love it. The tulip festival is a lot of fun, and Skagit Valley is adjacent to Bellingham, which is a beautiful, energetic, vibrant college town. Whidbey is the largest island with the most “civilization”. Orcas is a little less populated, and Lopez is even quieter. Post again if you want more info, but I’d say go for it!

      • PNW

        ETA: I agree with everything the other posters wrote about Victoria and the Olympic Peninsula, but they are answering a different question. They’re not really part of the San Juan Islands. If you want to branch out, would consider Vancouver (the city) or Victoria Island. There’s also Tofino, but that’s a little harder to get to.

      • Anon

        Yes I love cool and misty! I think I’m a PNW-er at heart. This sounds great. I’ve been to and enjoyed the city of Vancouver, but don’t have much desire to go back (if I were doing a big city I think I’d prefer Seattle) and I’m one of the people who didn’t love Victoria and found it too touristy, although I did go on a cruise and I’m sure it’s a different experience in off season.

        • Anon

          I went to Victoria on a delayed honeymoon many years ago, and agree about the touristy part, but that trip started my love affair with Nanaimo bars, which continues to this day, unlike that marriage!

          A waitress in Victoria was kind enough to write out the recipe and mail it to me. Heart emoji here.

    • Coach Laura

      I’m late to this question but Friday Harbor/San Juan Island is my favorite place in the world. In fact, I’m going to a yoga retreat 3/31-4/2 in Friday Harbor and can’t wait. I’m going to see the tulip fields on the drive back to Seattle.

      My daughter lived on the Island for 9 months (as a travel nurse at the 14 bed hospital) and she had a great time. She got there in April 2020, just as the pandemic shut things down.

      Like everything in Seattle/PNW, April will be wet and a bit cold. But oh so beautiful.

      The things I like to do on the Island are walk/hike, see the shore, look for whales, go to the historical sites, go to Roche Harbor and look at the old lime kiln, go to the lighthouse, go to all the harbor shops, go to the restaurants/bars. I’d stay at Roche Harbor if you can. And Saltwater Farm is where my yoga retreat is – they have rooms to stay I believe. Go to the Lavender Farm, the alpaca farm and the animal sanctuary if they allow visitors.

      In the summer they rent bicycles and these little two person electric cars. I don’t know if they are rentable in April or not, sorry.

      I’ve also taken the ferry to Shaw Island and rode bikes around it – there is exactly one commercial enterprise, a general store, on the whole island. And take the ferry to the other Island. Lopez is also very rural and agricultural but again, great scenery. Orcas and Eastpoint are more touristy and worth a few days to see the sights.

  3. Anon

    Is it possible to wear in flats? I recently bought beautiful leather flats from Vagabond….and the first day I wore them I got AWFUL blisters on my heels. Is there a way for me to wear them in to avoid this? They were $130 and I missed the return window, so I’m hoping to make it work…do I wear them with socks around the house? Help!

    • Anne-on

      I have a two pairs of flats where I put moleskine on the inside lining. There was a seam that kept causing me pain and the thin strips of moleskine were enough to fix it. Alternately, if you really love them, I’ve put blister bandaids on my heels prior to long days wearing dress shoes (conferences) and that worked well although it is annoying to have to remember to do it.

      • pugsnbourbon

        +1. I even keep a little bit of moleskin in my desk drawer in case my feet don’t like my shoes on a particular day.

    • Anon

      This is rough. Do you have triangular shaped feet, with very narrow heels, so your feet often slip out of shoes? We are doomed for blisters for even the nicest of shoes that don’t mold to our feet well.

      But things I have tried…. slowly breaking in shoes in my house. Wearing them for an hour … working up over time. Sometimes I add inserts or pads in the back to try to optimize the fit for my foot. Sometimes I use a hair dryer on the back of the shoe and massage it/soften it. Sometimes I wear bandaids/liquid bandaid on my heels. I never wear a new shoe for an entire day out right away.

      Now I know the brands that fit my feet better or avoid certain styles of shoes all together. But it is still a crap shoot…..

      Always try wearing a shoe in the house only and you should know quickly if it isn’t going to work… cut your losses and send it back. You can’t send a shoe back after you have worn it with bare feet, outside. It is not the manufacturer’s / store’s fault. Not every clothing item/shoe fits all people.

    • Anonymous

      I have several pairs of the same flats from Sam Edelman. Each new pair caused major blistering the first and second times I wore them. I had to cover my feet with blister bandages. But after that second wearing, they are always fine. So there is some hope for you!

    • Anonymous

      I had a pair of flats that caused terrible blisters on the back of my heels the first few times I wore them. I used blister bandages and then they got better and eventually became one of my most comfortable pair of shoes!

    • Another anon

      A similar pair of shoes caused me problems until I wore off the top layer of the leather that was rubbing and causing the blisters. After that, all good. Some really sticky athletic tape on my heels helped for the first few wears.

    • Annony

      New shoes always tear up the backs of my heels. It usually goes away after they’re worn in, but will irritate them again if I’ve gone awhile without wearing them. I bought some adhesive liners from Amazon and they’ve been a lifesaver. They just stick to the inside of the shoe … I have to be a little careful putting them on, but they’re not visible at all and really make a huge difference in comfort.

  4. Anon

    Back to the purse discussion. I would want to get Sabyasachi Clutch or anything with the Bengal tiger because I love animal print.

    • Monday

      If anyone was on the edge of her seat waiting on an update about whether the backpack of my dreams would fit my 15″ laptop…it does! It’s a leather “city” backpack from Saint Laurent, navy with a small group of stars embossed near the outside pocket. I don’t like switching my bag regularly, so it is now my all-the-time all-purpose bag even though my main reason for getting it was for work.

      For my 30th birthday (long ago!) I splurged even more on a Chloe Marcie bag. It looks worse for the wear at this point, and I’ve had one repair done, but I still love it and use it. I think pricey bags like this wear exceptionally well because the leather is thick and/or pebbled.

  5. Anonymous

    Inspired by the weekend’s discussion on showering… how often does everyone brush their teeth? I do it 2x a day but quickly, certainly not 2 minutes. Rarely floss. My roommate brushes her teeth only a few times a week and I find it surprising and kind of gross.

    • Anon

      Brush every morning and every night, without exception. Sometimes more, if my mouth feels gross or there’s stuff stuck on my teeth. Floss multiple times per day. I have a permanent retainer bar on my bottom teeth, so food can get stuck, which is very motivating to floss. I also chew sugarless gum after every meal, in part because I have some issues with dry mouth due to allergies.

    • Anon

      Oh my gosh. I can’t fathom brushing only a few times a week. Gross. I brush every morning and at bedtime for at least 2 minutes (my electric toothbrush has a timer) and sometimes more of things feel grimy. I also brush during the day at least couple times a week if I eat something pungent or lots of sweets and I can feel the sugar stuck to my teeth. I’m forever working on flossing more regularly and probably get to it a couple times a week on average.

    • Lily

      Sorry, that’s truly disgusting and really bad for her health. I think if you’re brushing twice a day for at least a minute each time, with an electric toothbrush, you’re doing at least enough to maintain decent hygiene… but not flossing is probably going to cost you in the long run in terms of dental health.

    • Anon

      Ewww I’m guessing your roommate isn’t kissing anybody regularly.

      I brush every morning for two minutes and, like, 90% of evenings for another 2 minutes. I’ll admit, when I’m not in a good place mentally brushing at night is one of the first things to go. Having an electric toothbrush with a timer has made all the difference for me in terms of actually brushing for a full two minutes.

      • Vicky Austin

        This is where I fall – I seriously went most of high school without brushing my teeth at night (shudder, don’t be me!). But I cannot physically get up in the morning without brushing my teeth, it’s a big fat sensory nope to have nighttime gunk on my teeth as I go about my day. Nights I’m less fanatical about, but still get 90%.

        Also, sometimes I just brush my teeth right after dinner; DH does this and it’s better than waiting for a self-prescribed bedtime brush which I might be too stuck in the doomscroll to get back up for.

    • Anonymous

      Brush 2 min morning and night.
      Floss every night, and during the day if needed
      Sugar-free gum if having eaten something stinky or sticking (cookies, tuna) wothout access to toothbrush.

      • Anon

        I brush every night and try to brush in the mornings but sometimes it’s just a swig of mouthwash.

        I also only floss maybe 1x-2x a week. Every time I go to the dentist they compliment me on my dental health and say “it’s so great to see someone who really takes flossing seriously!” and I don’t have the heart to tell them I barely do it.

    • Anon

      I brush and floss religiously every night. Morning is another story…I used to brush every morning but since COVID/WFH, I’ve lost the habit somewhat. It’s always “oh I might have another cup of coffee, I’ll brush after that” and then oh maybe I’ll have a snack, oh I’ll have lunch, and then it’s the end of the day and I realize I haven’t brushed my teeth yet. But I feel very strongly it’s most important to brush your teeth at night. Brushing in the morning before breakfast doesn’t feel as important because you haven’t eaten anything.

      • Anon

        It’s very important to brush off the nighttime worth of secretions, which cause tooth decay.

    • Anonymous

      morning and night, no exceptions. I let a lot of things go when I am tired, like I’ll go to sleep with makeup on and not wash my face. But I always brush my teeth. I feel so gross otherwise!

      • Anon

        morning and night, no exceptions. I let a lot of things go when I am tired, like I’ll go to sleep with makeup on and not wash my face. But I always brush my teeth. I feel so gross otherwise!

    • Anon

      I brush my teeth like 4-6 times a day, usually after I eat anything. I can’t stand the feeling of a gross mouth to the point where I’m unable to focus.

    • Anon

      I grew up only brushing at night. That’s how my parents were raised. Toothpaste and tooth brushes were expensive…. As an adult I HATE the idea of brushing teeth in the morning and then eating immediately afterwards. And then tell you that you shouldn’t drink coffee and then brush your teeth, because the combo damages the enamel.

      Then one year as an adult my hygenist even ask me how often I brush my teeth. She pushed me to go to twice a day.

      So now I use a regular toothbrush for quick brush in the AM, and I use an electric toothbrush in the evening for the 2min at least. The Hygenist actually told me to do it that way! Floss daily. And I love the little plastic pick things for after meals/before brushing. I have tight teeth!! So much junk gets stuck, and that’s where most cavities start.

      Brushing a few times a week is really asking for trouble. My little brother was like that (! or he brushed for like 10 seconds) and as he got older he developed a ton of a cavities/root canals. Dental work is really expensive and often you don’t see the repercussions until you are much older.

      I want to keep my teeth!

    • cat socks

      I floss and brush every morning with my Sonicare and then use mouthwash. In the evenings, I do a quick brush with my regular toothbrush. My dentist says she notices a huge difference when I floss, so that’s what got me in the regular habit. But I’m much more motivated to do it in the in the mornings than evening.

    • Anon

      I brush morning and night, floss nightly before brushing.

      Your roommate probably has the worst halitosis!

    • anon

      Brush every morning and night, floss every night. I’ll brush or floss again during the day if I eat something pungent or get food stuck in my teeth.

      Seriously though, you should floss every night. I used to work in a dental office and it’s so gross when you see the buildup in non-flossers’ mouths. It takes thirty seconds before bed. Just do it.

    • anonshmanon

      You roommate sounds honestly like me a couple of years ago. I’ve now built a habit of brushing every night, most mornings, and floss every night, but it’s taken years. In hindsight, a few things contributed to my bad habits. The 2 different dentists plus the orthodontist who saw me regularly in my childhood and teen years, never EVER told me I was doing anything wrong with my dental care. Maybe they erred on the side of being nice, to head off dentist phobia? I don’t know. What I remember is many nights of being too lazy to brush, sometimes just wetting my toothbrush head to fool my parents (I definitely knew I was supposed to brush every night, but also I was a kid and kids are dumb sometimes!), and then brushing really well right before the dentist visit(which happened twice a year plus orthodontist visits for braces checkups), and then being told ‘everything looks great’. So my message internalized over many years was that it’s obviously fine to brush thoroughly every so often.
      One of the dentists was actively terrible, because one year I was home from college, went to this childhood dentist, and specifically asked him to check one spot that felt weird. He of course said it was perfect. A year or two later, that tooth was my first root canal.
      In elementary, we learned about toothbrushing and I vividly remember the demonstrations, but I don’t think flossing was ever mentioned. Also I don’t think biannual cleanings were a thing? Also nobody ever suggested that my mouth smelled, including people I kissed.
      Once I started going to a new dentist near my college, we fixed tons of cavities, and I had two root canals. There was a lot of beating myself up while I worked on better habits. The happy ending is that I haven’t had any cavities for a few years, and my dentist seems happy with my gums as well when I go for my cleanings.

    • Senior Attorney

      I literally said “ew!” out loud when I read your last sentence. Yes, surprising and kind of gross.

      That said, I have historically been a religious morning brusher but not so much at night. For 2022 my one and only new year’s resolution was to brush every night, without fail, and I stuck to it and it made my life better. So: Twice a day, religiously. Don’t floss because I’m a tartar depositer and I don’t think it helps, but I use these between-teeth-mini-brush things that have been a game-changer.

    • LeeB

      Brush in the morning with a toothbrush and at night with an electric toothbrush. Floss 5 or 6 nights a week.
      Trust me, I know what I’m talking about when I say that you DO NOT want to have periodontal surgery. Take care of your teeth and gums.

    • Anonymous

      brush at least 2x. floss at night/more as needed. the last time i went to the dentist they complimented my flossing, which has NEVER happened before.

    • Cat

      Twice a day! Gross any less than that. I did hear that you brush in the AM for your social life and in the PM for your teeth health, but not sure if any truth to that!

    • Anon

      These might be the nastiest threads I’ve read on here, brush your teeth, wash your face, take a shower, this is all very basic hygiene!

  6. Anon

    Speaking of money and fashion, I was surprised how many feelings I had seeing the sale of Joan Didion’s apartment and the belongings. (I also didn’t know that Sothesby’s does digital staging!) Links for anyone who wants them:

    https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/stair-galleries/an-american-icon-property-from-the-collection-of-joan-didion-10565

    https://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sales/detail/180-l-1182-kcs3g3/30-east-71st-street-5a-manhattan-new-york-ny-10021

    I feel like Joan Didion was a mostly unconscious fashion icon for me when I was young and probably making it too big a part of my identity that I would be the first woman in my family to go to college!

    • Anon

      I love that one of the lots is 13 blank notebooks. Nice to know that even the accomplished writers have notebook hoarding tendencies.

    • Anon

      I love her writing so much. The Year of Magical Thinking was especially meaningful to me when I was going through a similar grief experience, and I re-read it again recently just because it’s so well written.

      • Anon

        I read it not long ago for the same reason and seeing the empty apartment hit me harder than I expected. (I’m sorry you’ve also gone through that kind of grief.)

    • Senior Attorney

      Well, I think we have our answer to “what does Old Money look like?” It looks like blank notebooks and monogrammed silverware and old hurricane lamps in a multi-million-dollar amazing apartment.

      And may I just say that there is not one single thing offered, up to and including the apartment (OMG those Tiffany blue painted shelving units!) that I don’t want.

      • Anon

        I’ve been feeling bored by my place’s white walls with white trim, but unmotivated to try to strip it down to the wood. Thinking hard about Tiffany blue now.

        And yes, the dishes…

    • Anon

      couple of things –

      1) there’s a very good, very personal documentary about Joan Didion on HBO called “The Center Will Not Hold,” by Griffin Dunne, her nephew.

      2) This is a good article about her early years by Caitlin Flanagan (with whom I usually disagree!)
      https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/06/chasing-joan-didion-california/629633/

      And it’s weird to read it sitting here in Berkeley, also as a native Californian, though not a rich one. Her family sold land a McDonald’s was built on. My family would have worked at the McDonald’s, if they’d hire them.

  7. Anon

    Academics, my college senior was just accepted to the grad program of her choice, which required three letters of recommendation. She’d like to thank the recommenders who wrote the letters in support of her candidacy. I suggested she write a handwritten, heartfelt note to each of them, but she feels like she’d like to include something. Would a $10 Starbucks card be welcome? Or just the note?

    • Anon

      Echoing everyone else. PLEASE just the note. Money, even in gift card form, is inappropriate.

    • Anon

      Just the note! And keep them updated in the future. I love hearing from past students! Students do sometimes send $10 Starbucks cards and I accept them because I figure it’s the equivalent of a student taking me out for a coffee and I don’t want to make things awkward, but it’s definitely not necessary and I don’t want students to feel guilty about asking for letters… though ironically, even as someone who has been doing this for two decades, I still hate, hate, hate asking people for letters of recommendation and think it might be the worst thing about academia. I just had to do it this morning, and I totally agonize over it every time.

    • Anon

      Please, no Starbucks card. So…. wrong.

      The most wonderful thing she could ever do is after she finishes grad school and/or starts her new career, is to write them again and tell them about her path and thank them again for helping to get there. They can become some of your best sources of advice, inspiration…. and more letters of recommendation over time! One of mine became a Chairwoman of a prestigious department and my greatest advocate.

    • Anon

      Thanks all. Proud mom here. I’ve passed your feedback along. She especially likes the idea of following up with a note once she’s through the program.

      She says “thanks to the lady blog,” which, obviously, is what I call this place!

  8. Anonymous

    I need logistics help. Over the school break in April, we need to fly to see my in-laws. It will be almost $1500 less to fly out of NYC than Boston, where we live.

    Are there decent hotel options for a family of 5 for 1-2 nights that would let us park our car and not be crazy far from a couple NYC sights? We’d drive down, do a day or two in nyc then drive out and park in long term parking at the airport. I looked at just parking at LGA or JFK the whole time but it seems like a headache to deal with the shuttles/subway.

    My other option is that my brother lives in southern CT, about 50 minutes in no traffic to the airports (we can fly from either). We could stay with him (tight, but not tighter than a hotel), take them train into NYC as a daytrip, and either drive in, get a car service, or have him take us to the airport on the day of the flight. That seems like a lot of back and forth.

    Or….just skip the sightseeing and drive the 3 hours to the airport from Boston and call it a day.

    WWYD? I grew up in southern CT and always day tripped NYC so have no idea where to stay and/or if there are even car-friendly options. The cost of airport parking is high but actually cheaper than Boston, which is hilarious to me.

    • NYCer

      Do you want to go to NYC in April or are you just doing this to save money? Because once you factor in the costs of driving 6+ hours roundtrip, plus hotel, plus sightseeing in NYC, plus food for 5 people in NYC, plus parking at the airport, how much money are you actually saving? It does not sound worth the effort to me honestly. YMMV.

      • Anonymous

        +1. just drive to the airport, although I don’t know where you live that it will only take 3 hours. Staying with your brother would probably be easier actually. I live in Brooklyn and driving to any of the airports would take me the better part of an hour (Newark more). Have you looked up how much long-term parking costs at NYC airport? It is very expensive. Hotel parking is similarly expensive.

      • Anon

        It’s not silly to drive a few hours to save $1,500! Good grief I know this board is wealthy but $1,500 is a lot of money to most people. I would absolutely do that drive to save that much money.

        • Anon

          OP isn’t going to save money by visiting NYC, so I really don’t think it’s a question of wealthy or not. If OP couldn’t afford the inlaws trip otherwise, absolutely fly out of NY. Otherwise, she’ll be spending at least as much or more on hotels, hotel parking, attractions, food (crazy expensive), and shopping/souvenirs with her family.

          • Anon

            One night in NYC doesn’t cost $1,500, even for a family of 5! I get that it’s not free, but it’s not anywhere near $1500. We fly to NYC from the Midwest and regularly spend <$1500 for a long weekend trip. And that's with plane tickets for three people.

          • Anon

            ok, fair. I was thinking 2 nights x 2 hotel rooms is already $1200 before gas, tolls, meals, and parking. One night is going to be at least $800 all in.

          • Anon

            Why do you need two hotel rooms? I know lots of people with three kids that do one room when they travel. Each parent takes one kid and one kid has a rollaway bed or air mattress.

          • Anon

            Again, fair. But NYC hotel rooms are very small. A room big enough for 5 people, that allows 5 people, will be a lot more than $300.

          • Anon

            Also – I don’t know if OP is wealthy, but Boston is a pretty HCOL place, even more than many suburbs of NYC. If I could afford it, I wouldn’t go through 8 extra hours of driving plus staying with kids in a hotel to save maybe $700, max. I mean, unless the kids got really excited about a NYC trip and it was a good choice for them. I’m not the only one saying just fly out of Boston.

          • Anon

            I’m not saying she should stay in NYC and sightsee before the trip. That sounds tiring and is not something I would do personally. I’m disagreeing with your statement that a 1-2 night driving trip to NYC costs $1500 and originally I was disagreeing with the poster at 4:24 who dismissively said “What this is silly. Fly in and out of Boston where you live.” $1500 is a very significant amount of money, and lots of people would drive a few hours to a different airport for that kind of cost savings. I am very affluent, thought not as wealthy as many here, and I have driven similar distances to save smaller amounts of money. It’s not “silly” at all, unless you have more money than you can spend, which is obviously not a common situation.

    • Anon

      Parking at a hotel in NYC is probably $50-$70+ per night, or more these days. You’ll need 2 hotel rooms. Driving directly to the NY airport of choice is probably the most cost effective way, but then you don’t get anything enjoyable in return for the 3 hour drive each way (longer with traffic). I guess for the same cost you’d get a quick NYC vacation along with your inlaws trip. In terms of hotel and sites to visit, everything is close to midtown by subway. There are a lot of FB groups about NYC travel which you could use to narrow down the places you’d want to visit.

    • Anon

      I wouldn’t try to combine it with sightseeing in NYC. We live a couple hours from O’Hare and we fly out of there for most international trips and we always think we’ll go up a few hours early and drop into one of the museums in Chicago or eat at a great restaurant, but in practice we’re always too stressed and busy on the day of travel and just head straight to the airport. In both Chicago and NYC (and most places), the airports aren’t near the tourist stuff and it just becomes too much of a headache. But it would be worth driving a few hours to save $1500 to me for sure! If you need to stay overnight hotel, we stay in the Newark Marriott a lot and it’s normally around $200 a night, so you’d still come out way ahead even with gas, tolls and a pizza delivery to the hotel.

      • anon

        O’Hare is far from downtown but have you been to the outlet mall in Rosemont? There are some good restaurants nearby as well.

        • Anon

          Yes we have! A few months ago a flight got canceled and we spent the night at the airport Hilton and went to the Fashion Outlet so my kid could run around and burn off some energy. It’s not that there isn’t good stuff in the suburbs too, it’s more just (for me anyway) it’s stressful to try to do anything else right before you fly out and when you fly back you’re tired and just want to get home. Maybe other people are wired differently than me, but we always have these great ambitions of doing stuff in the Chicago area and then it never happens.

    • anon

      Skip the sightseeing. With all that hassle, you’ll be exhausted once you arrive at your actual destination. Either drive right to airport or go to your brother’s the day before, enjoy a nice visit that evening with him, and take a car service to the airport in the morning and leave your car at his house.

    • Anon

      You live in Boston. Do not sightsee in Manhattan – you can do that on a different trip. You are making this complicated.

      • Anonymous

        OP here, and I think this is right. It’s either a straight shot to the airport or maybe visit for a day with my brother on either or both sides of the flight. He lives in Stamford which is <1 hr (all Highway) on a weekend morning which is when we’d fly out.

        Parking costs are hilariously the same between LGA long term and Boston. I was shocked, too!

        My kids have that week off and before we decided we had to see the in-laws (4 day trip), we had been talking about an overnight to NYC so I was thinking of combining things…but it’s getting hairy. It wouldn’t be expressly to save money, but I figured we could do a day/night in nyc for $500-800 (hotels + fun) and then fly out. Basic tourist stuff; i grew up with NYC as my city but the kids have never been!

        It’s not that we can’t afford the more expensive airfare, but the $500++ flights are wildly priced for our destination so if I’m going to drop $2500++ on visiting the in-laws in a city I hate for 3-4 days, my thinking was we may as well get a side trip in :).

        • Anon

          Can you take a side trip from the destination? Maybe even a couples trip? Leave the kids with grandparents for a night or two?

        • Anon

          If you can afford to add on a day or two in nyc, just do it! I’m usually super frugal but after the past few years, my perspective has changed. Do something that will make you and your family happy and if that includes a few days in nyc and a stretch budget trip, so be it.

        • AIMS

          I think the only way any of this makes sense is if you stay with your brother. Train to the city.

          It probably won’t be cheaper but also look into flying out of the Westchester Airport, which is only about a 25-30 min drive from Stamford.

          • Anonymous

            Nah, I love westchester (it was my home airport growing up!) but I’m not doing a layover :).

    • Ginger

      I live in SW CT. We usually drive to JFK and park in LT parking in JFK (Lot #9) and take the monorail to the terminal. It’s about $15-$18/day, reserve at least a week in advance. If I’m traveling by myself, I often pick up Amtrak in Stamford and take it directly to Newark Airport and pick up the monorail to the terminal. Also inexpensive, the Amtrak ticket is about $20. I’m leery of offsite parking places. My friend had someone from the parking place use her van. She found out a few weeks after her trip when she received photos and fines from an EZ Pass toll plaza in MA, and her van was towing a UHaul trailer.

    • Mmg

      What about taking the ferry from New London over to LI, staying somewhere there and flying out of LGA?

  9. anon

    AITA? Since January I’ve been focusing a lot on reducing carbs and eliminating added sugar for a health-related concern. Husband knows this. Last week he brought me home my favorite chocolate. I’m annoyed. He thinks it’s a nice gesture. I’m like…why would you tempt me with something you KNOW I am avoiding?

    • Anon

      My husband is a feeder too. He thinks I’m depriving myself and wants to be nice, or so he says, but there’s stuff online about “feeders” wanting to keep their partners overweight so as to be less attractive to competitors. I don’t think that’s what’s going on with my husband, or yours!, but something to think about.

      Can you dole out your candy 1 ounce at a time and still meet your goals? I have individually wrapped dove dark chocolate with almonds for that purpose.

      • Monday

        Oh–the OP said she has a “health concern” so I assumed this wasn’t about losing weight. If it’s a diet for weight loss and he knows that, my take below may be too simplistic to be useful.

      • Anon

        Okay WHOA. There’s a really long bridge between “OP’s husband brought chocolate home” and “OP’s husband is feeder/has feeder fantasies/is trying to keep her fat.” Like HOLUP there! Wow!

        In my household my husband bringing home my favorite chocolate when I’m on a diet would mean. A. he completely forgot about my diet; B. he may have thought I had already forgotten about the diet – because I have certainly, in the past, done things like say “I’m on a diet!” and then given up on it a week or two later, or C. maybe I was having some other stuff going on, like a rough time at work, and thought “I’ll get her a little treat and maybe the diet doesn’t matter as much.”

    • Monday

      Unless something important is missing here, it sounds like he just misjudged how strict your current diet is. He may have thought this small amount would be ok, and you’d especially enjoy it because it’s your favorite. It sounds like a bummer to me, but nothing more. Once he knows you really can’t make any exceptions, he will presumably not do it again.

    • Anon

      NTA I got into a huge fight years ago with my husband over this exact situation. He compounded it by getting fancy chocolates for me two birthdays in a row, after I specifically asked him not to. The huge fight apparently worked because he has never made this same mistake again.

    • Anon

      NAH. He thinks he’s doing something nice, you’re not wrong to not want that right now.

  10. anon

    My spice cabinet is an absolute disaster. I can’t find anything, and probably have too many, but I swear it gets used. What solutions have you used? I have one of those organizers that looks like I stair step, and I hate it. Stuff falls off constantly. Organized people who don’t have spice drawers, tell me your ways. And assume that I am not going to take the time to decant things into perfect, aesthetically pleasing containers.

    • Anon

      Ugh, I’m using the stair step one right now and hate it the same way. I have used the rotating ones on the counter, but those use up precious counter space and then you have to buy the jars that fit or just get the round spices. The best solution was when I rented a condo that had some sort of pull out drawer designed just for spices. But who is going to re-do their kitchen and remember that…. not me….

      So I’m following…. :)

    • Anonymous

      I have a shallow spice cabinet that’s only one jar deep, where I can see everything on the shelves in the cabinet. My most used spices are there, with the most used closest to the opening – aka the ones I repurchase several times a year.

      My spices in bags (star anise, cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, bay leaves etc), awkward jars, small sachets (saffron) are dumped in containers in a deeper cabinet, where I can just slide the whole container out and dig for what I want.

      My baking spices are in a similar container in the cabinet where I keep baking stuff.

      • anonshmanon

        similar to this, I have my 10 most used spices in arms reach near the stove, and the rest in a cabinet in the pantry. That cabinet includes a box with spices in refill bags, and also jars that I only pull out once a month. I pull from the stash probably 3 times a week, but then that container goes back in the box until next month. In it there is no organization whatsoever. I do all the cooking, so I don’t need it to make sense for somebody else.

    • HFB

      i hung long narrow tray baskets around the inside of the cabinets (removed the shelves) so it was in a horseshoe shape. i was able to get a couple “levels” in a standard kitchen cabinet. alphabetized the spice bottles that would fit in the baskets, the for large/odd-shaped spice containers, piled them in the middle on the actual shelf of the cabinet. it’s not the most efficient use if space but it does keep things organized and easy to find.

    • Anon

      I have this in white to match my kitchen

      https://www.amazon.com/AllSpice-Wooden-Spice-Jars-Cherry/dp/B00NO3QLKS

      I have a narrow wall underneath one of my cupboards that this just fits under, and it looks nice. I hate the spice cabinet with things falling on me, though I admit I do still have backup and extra spices in there, even with a 64 jar spice rack. I really should be able to control myself better!

      This is meant to fit Penzey’s jars, but the racks also come with jars you can decant into. I also use the pre-printed labels, and have bought more labels as I’ve cracked jar lids (I am super clumsy).

    • Anonymous

      Lol. I got down to the 12-15 or so spices I actually use, and then I dumped them into the icebreakers gum containers after they’ve been cleaned. You can both scoop and pour. You can see the spices on the top and they hold enough. Then I put a little label on the top of each one. I love it, and I actually am using them now.

    • Anon

      Looks around kitchen, which looks like a ransacked Penzey’s.
      I got nothin, but my food tastes good.

    • bluebonnetanon

      I own a rack from container store. It’s Elfa, mounts on my pantry door and hold tons and tons. I’ll link in a reply comment.

    • Jules

      I have drawers like this and absolutely love them.
      https://www.ebay.com/itm/354548576065?hash=item528cbdef41:g:OXQAAOSwgLdj1cor&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4N9P%2B9P1YKdgi4YBO5FMlmS00m4ocZQbBhny8wU23OLKyQKRf%2FvL9T78F6rjcZLBrJn3ikZt7fAQKi0adUutfYJjQPBXwWMN%2F9cXz0BKYU9EbeHf6%2BJSG%2BW3pd4ljM1aKcGVYb%2B3FfhKRt2z%2BSXv9oWyca6JJYTGZfvcAgqgPy4KnAJJ7bQZnMJTAa%2BlIdX%2BJyIoLYAE4pI2yIkFju8LLm6UN3JtY1rcJ05x7X5VGFCAw7XqSVFOdhrZU5pang8RH036JW6KqV4tW75qu%2B3SM7jWuPR4hiZvce25E54lTQ2Z%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4rWr83SYQ

      There are also two-tier versions, which IMO would be even better but my cabinets are not tall enough for them.

      https://www.ebay.com/itm/165958927026?hash=item26a3ec42b2:g:flMAAOSwWopj-7QI&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoO1yyNmGyOku%2FFdYqXn0PbiHSRTMrZMBkBqfARRO05jkl29oMbsRzC5lJH8YJ9pcaQk4V%2BTNNxZFY2Mmb6levSsMos%2B5vbVYYlkUPe8joeIwfZV9hnjkKA7dB2XSE693JeVUHRZfL7g8%2F%2B3ecQWMJmEOh%2F0SSxQDAPqWmamycj8yNvzYqAz9ecLDKJ5xRsS7wOtIM2MyjW2OiGYSF1WjvOE%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR4jWr83SYQ

    • Anon

      I have issues with this too, though the main problem is just that I have a lot of spices and not a lot of space. I have a stair step thing too, but I like mine. It’s just only only big enough for maybe 16 spices that are most often used. After that, I have two more bins of spices, stacked on top of each other, and I have the names written on top of the jars in silver sharpie so I can easily tell what they are. Those hold maybe another 12 each. And then I still have some overflow of weird shaped jars or backups that get stashed elsewhere in another bin. I’m a big fan of bins. They contain messes and it’s easy to pull the whole thing out of the cabinet and go through it.

    • Anonymous

      Not the question you asked but the drawer one works so much better than the cabinet. My dad gets so jealous when he comes over to cook and sees my spice drawer but it’s a matter of a single drawer organizer and just moving his spices to the drawer. They’re just a really annoying thing to find in a cabinet.

      • anon

        If I had the drawer space to spare, I would totally do this. Alas, things are already tight.

    • Anonymous

      We have 2 round lazy susan shelves that each have a top shelf (so we can fit short jars on top and tall on bottom) that we put on the inside of one of our upper cabinets. Within each lazy Susan, there’s really no organization, but we can see most of the jars except those on the inside of the round shelf, and I can find things quickly enough. I do not decant or relabel. When we used to get baggies of bulk spices, we did buy and label a bunch of jars, but we no longer shop at that store.

    • Anon

      I have racks mounted on the wall. My kitchen is definitely not a galley-style kitchen, but the wall opposite the stove isn’t *that* far away. It’s not difficult to grab what you need while cooking. I keep them in alphabetical order and it’s really easy to see and grab everything. I absolutely don’t decant into other containers. Original packaging all the way. Things that come in larger packaging are in a little basket on a shelf above this.

    • Nom

      We stuck magnets to reusable spice containers, and now the side of our fridge is the spice rack. We like the fridge but you could also put up a magnetic chalkboard or something similar. Makes it very easy to grab spices while you’re cooking. All of our containers are matching so it’s not as visually cluttered as it would be otherwise.

      • SFAttorney

        Yes – magnetic stainless steel sheet on the wall. Not a chalkboard. You can get glass jars with metal lids Gneiss Spice. I would not use metal jars, because many spices are corrosive over time.

    • Anon

      A shoebox. Laugh all you want – I used it for loving across states a few years back and never unpacked it because it works so well.

      • anon

        OP here, and there might be something to be said for the simple solution! The stupid spice cabinet makes me feel defeated every time I open it.

      • Anon

        Shoebox is brilliant! Most of my spices are in those plastic ziptop bags from the grocer, so i got a bunch of shoebox-sized baskets from the dollarstore and labelled them Garlic and Chilis, Herbs, Spice Mixes, Baking, and so on. They live on shelf risers in the cabinet next to the stove.

    • Anonymous

      We do have the stair step one in a cabinet – spicy to the right, others to the left. The boring basics like oregano/basil are back row. Pretty much the only ones I use regularly are the EBTB, garlic powder, onion powder, the TJ umami/mushroom one. THEN in the drawer where we keep the tea we have a few shoeboxes full of spices — I’ve written the names on the top of them in black or silver Sharpie. (I also use the Sharpie to note when we procured the spice – we don’t pay attention to expiration dates generally but it’s good to know if something’s off.)

    • Senior Attorney

      I feel like having them two deep is just as good as the stair step thing and you don’t need to worry about the falling off component. That’s what I do in my narrow spice cabinet (built in using space that would otherwise be wasted). As long as you’re at least semi-alphabetized and generally know what you have, it’s reasonably easy to find what you need.

    • cat socks

      I use small baskets to corrall the spice jars on my pantry shelf. I also keep stuff alphabetized so I have a general idea of where to look for things.

    • Anonymous

      On the counter we have two long, three-level spice jar holders – we decant into those jars. Then in the pantry we have a large, totally unorganized box of spice overflow- back stock (because you gotta have back up cinnamon!) and those things we use infrequently like sumac or asafoetida.

    • Anonymous

      I know that you said you don’t want to decant into “perfect” containers, but I made my life a lot easier when I started storing spices in small Lustroware containers with reusable/erasable sticker labels. They are flat rectangles and thus can be stacked with small labels facing out. They don’t snap together or anything, but stay together pretty well, so I can pull out a single spice or pull out the entire stack so I can see the stack behind (I have a lot of spices in a pretty small, square cabinet area!).

    • Anon

      I portioned everything out into the Ikea magnetic fridge jars and never looked back. This system has held for 8 years now. I keep the large spice containers in a big tupperware in the garage. Some things that really made it work:
      2 or 3 fridge jars for things I use all the time (cumin and paprika for us)
      I keep a large container of garlic powder in the “spice” cabinet (which is now just a sauce, oil, and vinegar cabinet) because we use lots of it daily.
      I still use a standalone pepper grinder and keep salt in shakers at the table and the original jars in the cabinet.
      I get the tub of spices out about once every 4-6 months and refill everything on the fridge. If I’m ever in a situation where I ran out of a spice before everything else, I add a fridge jar for that item so I don’t have to bother refilling it special again.
      Someone will argue that spices go stale but I just haven’t seen this be a problem. I go through a costco sized container of cumin in about 1.5 years. I may need to add more by the end but it still tastes like cumin. I also use whole seeds and fresh herbs in combination to get the whole depth of flavor (add a few whole coriander seeds when using coriander powder, throw in a twig of thyme if I have it when using dried thyme). I feel like I’m much more likely to use a spice when it takes 10 seconds to find it vs 5 minutes.
      I used to have everything organized in alphabetical order on the fridge but – kids. It’s still super easy to find it though.

    • Clementine

      Late to the party, but we have a swing out spice rack which is the upgraded version of the step thing on one side and two small lazy Susans in the remainder of the cabinet. High use spices get the best real estate. I know you don’t want to do this, but getting similarly sized glass jars (or just reusing glass ones of a convenient size) made everything easier.

    • Nesprin

      So, I’m going to put in a plug for perfect, asthetically pleasing containers.

      I finally bought a bunch of matching, plain glass spice jars at Ikea and transferred the spices I use regularly into them, and my lazy susan with spices on it looks so much better. They’re heavy enough that they don’t fall off the lasy susan and it makes me happy to arrange them by color. It took like 40$ and an hour, but now unfortunately I’m hooked and slowly converting my beans and rice into larger perfect asthetically pleasing glass jars.

    • AIMS

      So I have a long pull out drawer where everything stands up. The easiest to find jars are from a company that labels them on the cap (genius!). Short of buying everything from this company I just try to stick a little sticker dot or piece of tape labeling the spice so it’s all easy to see. It’s not perfect but it works and nothing falls over.

      My more organized friend has a beautiful big drawer where every jar lays flat on a sort of incline holder. It seems to work and is even easier to spot things but I can’t sacrifice that big a drawer in my tiny kitchen.

    • Anonymous

      The Spicy Shelf works for me in our basic 90s house skinny spice cabinet. As seen on TV!! I was able to adjust the shelves in my cabinet so I can fit regular-sized spice jars below and above the first spicy shelf, then some taller spice jars below the next spicy shelf with half-size spice jars above. The top shelf holds a basket for assorted spice packets. I like how the u-shape leaves the middle open for things that are oddly sized. I don’t decant spices but I do stock up when there’s a sale so most of my spices are the same brand/jar size at any given time.

  11. Anom

    Job application question. I’m a law firm associate and want to apply to a legal division in a multinational that has been a client (but not to a division where any of my legal contacts sit). Should I submit an application first and then reach out to my contacts at the company? Or reach out to my contacts first? Any advice on how to approach contacts? I’ve only ever worked for a law firm.

    • Cat

      I would approach your most trusted contact first. “I saw opening X and was thinking of applying – confidentially of course. From what I’ve seen of Client Culture and your team, it looks like I might be a good fit, but would you have any insight about the opening?”

      If they like you they’ll offer to pass your resume along. And maybe net themselves a sweet sweet referral bonus in the process.

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