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Coffee Break: Mind Your Business Patent Card Case

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Mind Your Business Patent Card CaseI always like a colorful card case (whether for business cards or extra credit cards), and this fun patent leather one is priced right at Henri Bendel. Available in purple (pictured), green, or gray, the cases feature satin lining and snap closure. They were $38, but are now marked to $22.80. Mind Your Business Patent Card Case (L-2)

Sales of note for 12.5

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

100 Comments

  1. Great price! And a really cute case. Wish I’d known about this when I was ordering for grad gifts. I got Audrey mini card cases from Lodis, my standard gift.

    1. Did people like them? Did your student decide where she was ending up for law school?

      1. We haven’t had graduation yet. I plan on giving three presents before graduation (one at a senior recital) and only two at graduation. I got two card cases, one pearl necklace (silver chain with one pearl), and a linen scarf. I’m giving my colleague’s daughter cash. Her friend who is going to law school has still not made up her mind. She wants to go out of state but I think she’s worried because she’s never lived anywhere else.

          1. Thanks! I had originally ordered another scarf but when it came, I didn’t like it. Then I saw the pearl necklace at Nordstrom and snapped it up. They’re all under $50 so good for the budget.

          3. The one I kept was the Halogen Carryover scarf in a blue green. I have that scarf in gray and brown and I love it. It’s lightweight but warm and so versatile. Found out about it here, of course. I wish I’d ordered it in every color.

  2. This is seriously cute. Would be a great graduation present with cash inside.

  4. That is adorable!

    TJ: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your support when things went south with the boyfriend… things are still not okay, we may or may not reconcile, but I know that without you ladies I would not have dealt with any of it well. so, thank you <3

  5. TJ: I am taking a short beach trip with my family next week and am looking for a couple of books to read. Does anyone have some suggestions? (If I’ve missed a recent discussion on this topic and you want to send me to that instead, that’s fine too!) I’m open to both Lean In type suggestions as well as lighter/fiction options.

      1. I recently picked up The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – fascinating multi-line story, excellent writing, thoughtful without being a slog. It’s non-fiction.

    2. Some of these are oldies but goodies, in case you’ve missed them.

      Freakonomics
      The Female Brain / The Male Brain
      The Big Sort
      The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith
      The Help
      Moneyball
      Overdressed
      Silver Linings Playbook
      Bossypants
      Is everyon hanging out without me
      Anything by david sedaris is good for me on vacation

  6. I love the purple! This actually reminds me that I need a card case because otherwise I always forget to make sure I have my business cards on me…

  7. Does anybody have any Loft coupon codes? It’s their own fault. They have sales so often that I refuse to pay full price. However, I unsubscribed from their email list, so that part is my fault.

        1. Actually, unfortunately, that doesn’t work for maternity clothes. :( Any other codes?

          3. Haha, that’s terrible!

            That’s probably worth calling to complain about – they may apply the adjustment.

    2. Darn, just bought a dress from the LOFT brick and mortar store at full price. Any insights on if they price adjust or if the 40% off was only for online?

      1. It’s good in stores, but I don’t know about price adjustments. I suppose you could always return and rebuy?

        Unsolicited advice: NEVER buy anything at Loft that isn’t at least 40% off. If you sign up for their emails, you’ll see that they run a 40% off sale almost continuously. Wait a week and don’t over-pay.

        1. thanks! I have never actually purchased anything from there before, but the dress I got isn’t available online and the one I got was the last one in my size at the store, so I don’t feel as bad about it this time :) Definitely remembering that for next time though!

  8. Regular reader/commenter, but going anonymous for this.
    I’ve been seeing this guy for about two months and things have been great. Over the weekend we had the talk and decided to be “official”. The next day he dropped a small bomb on me. He has bipolar disorder. He was diagnosed about 7 years ago. He was upfront about what his treatments are, his symptoms and triggers. I care about this guy a great deal, but truthfully I’m kind of freaked out. I’ve never known anyone with BPD, so this is all kind of new to me. Anyone have experience being in a relationship with someone with a mental disorder you’d care to share? Anything I should know?

    1. Forget everything you’ve ever seen in tv or movies when it comes to people who have mental illness. they always get it wrong. Specifically for bipolar, the mood swings are not fast – they come and go gradually over days and weeks, or months, instead of hours.

      Be patient, and listen to them. And remember that it’s not so different from a physical illness – some days, hopefully most days will be good, but there will be bad times too but they will pass with time.

      1. I got out of a relationship a year ago with someone who was working on their mental health. After a couple of years together, they were diagnosed with PTSD (I don’t know how or from what…), Depression and Anxiety. They were eventually put on a whole cocktail of drugs but were still moody, not fully functional, sensitive and very unpredictable emotionally- though on the outside he was “successful” working for a very prestigious university in their admission’s office. He wanted to go on break and moved out because he did not want to “drag me down.” I took the opportunity to break up with him. As for your particular case- If you like them and they seem to be stable- give them a chance. Every crazy is different (heck- I am crazy fun :). If he’s managed his condition and is ok, you should move forward. A word of caution: if at any point you see something amiss or have a “gut feeling” that things are not quite right- please do listen to yourself. Also, don’t forget yourself and don’t get swallowed up by his condition and trying to “accomodate” him. Keep your standards and expectations high- If he can’t live up to him, he’s simply not the one for you. I give him credit for disclossing this to you early on. You can work with an open and honest person. Best of luck!

      2. Not always. I have an aunt (who admittedly, refuses to get good, regular treatment) who can flip on a dime. She also married my uncle and had a kid with him before she mentioned her previous diagnoses. The couple of other people I know who are bipolar do have the more gradual manifestations of the illness, though.

    2. We’ve discussed this a handful of times around here, and the takeaway I have is: if he’s really consistent about making his medical care a priority, you can have a successful relationship. If he seeks treatment irregularly or doesn’t take his illness seriously (e.g., waits too long to seek treatment at an onset), you may find yourself extremely frustrated with the relationship. I think that it’s awesome he was so upfront with you about it, and that seems like a great sign. If you have a health care professional you trust, I might suggest talking with them about it. Good luck!

      1. I second that for both mental health issues and physical medical issues. I suffer from anxiety and depression and I try to be really good about my meds/therapy so my husband doesn’t have to suffer the consequences (this included educating him on why I need therapy when things are stressful and can’t just “talk to him” and making sure I continue to take my meds even when I feel like I don’t need them). He is a cancer survivor (5 years in remission so things are looking fine) and I have to get on him to take his meds daily which really frustrates me sometimes.

        1. I third this. My husband has bipolar and the first 4 years of our marriage were incredibly difficult as he only sought treatment irregularly and wasn’t committed to watching for warning signs and modifying his behavior as needed to manage symptoms. If your boyfriend is really self-aware about it and proactively seeks support, you can have a healthy relationship. If he isn’t, you may find yourself in a “mother” role instead of “partner” which would strain anyone.

        2. Can I ask you a question? My husband also suffers from depression and anxiety. He got treatment (meds) in the past, but has since gone off of them. He never had therapy because he said he didn’t see how it would help. I keep feeling like CBT could really help him learn ways to get out of his negative thought ruts (his favorites are “I’m too fat and lazy,” “everyone I went to school with is successful except me,” “everything is terrible,” and “everything is terrible and therefore my wife might decide she made a mistake in marrying me”). His response is always that he’s just being realistic, or that things have been stressful/bad/difficult and therefore it’s reasonable for him to feel the way he does.

          I have trouble making the distinction between what’s just a personality difference (he’s a pessimist/I’m an optimist) and what’s something that can and should be treated. I don’t want to insist that he get treatment to just make him more like me (i.e., more of an optimist), but his consistently negative view is so exhausting. Also, I hate seeing him so completely unhappy.

          Do you have any insight as someone with depression and anxiety about when I should push harder for him to seek treatment, and when I should just learn to live with his quirks?

          1. “his consistently negative view is so exhausting.” That’s not fair to you. That’s what needs to be fixed/treated/addressed. Pessimist or not, he doesn’t need to be dragging you down. Can you frame this as “can you DH help me with a problem I have?” because the problem here is that you’re not happy and you feel like you can’t be happy around him. Hugs because this is really tough and I don’t know quite what to tell you.

          2. I agree, but I think *you* have to make a conscious choice – make a decision – that his bad moods will not affect yours. It’s not always easy in practice, but a rational, expecting-it-and-having-a-plan-in-place approach will help *you* feel better.

            Another suggestion: when he voices things like “I am doing badly in life,” it might prove helpful, consistently done and over time, to nicely and calmly tell him “no, honey, you are doing well in life- and, you know, we never know how someone feels behind closed doors.” Lovingly and regularly done, I think it might have a positive cumulative effect on him.

          3. That’s called “negative scripting.” CBT is excellent for it (as are many mindfulness practices), but if he won’t do it, he won’t do it. CBT takes daily effort. I did it for my anxiety and it was really helpful.

            But it sounds awful. If you want to point out how awful it is, I’d get a recording app on your phone and everytime he starts in, just hit record. Even if you have to ask him to wait so you can get your phone out of your purse. Then, because he is the “realistic” type, you will have data to present to him on how obnoxious he is.

    3. So I have some real world experience with this which is unfortunately not positive (this all happened over Christmas/early January – if you go back through some of those threads I got some really wonderful advice).

      I think at the time, K in Transition posted something very wise, to the effect of “If you are in a relationship with someone with a serious disease, and they are working with medical professionals and taking steps to get treated then it can be manageable. But if they aren’t, that should be a big red flag.” Unfortunately, the relationship I was in was more of the latter.

      It’s a big and scary disorder. Many times, people resist getting treatment because being on the “high” side feels good. Or they are getting treatment, but stop because they feel “fine.” It can impact all parts of a day to day life with someone. Or it can be something that someone gets treated, stays under the care of psychiatrist and psychologists, and they end up okay.

      I only had limited experience of it – things were going great (really great) with a guy, we were officially “in a relationship” and he suddenly dropped off the face of the map. No contact. When I called him on it, he told me he had BPD and was not currently being treated because “he liked his highs and drugs made him not feel anything.” He told me it was no big deal and we could talk about it when I got back from my trip. He picked me up from the airport and kissed me hello, drove me to my apartment — then never spoke to me again. I eventually ended things, over text and email, and never got a response to that either. I honestly don’t know what happened to him – I hope he found mental peace and a place of stability, but I’m not sure if he did, or he ever will.

      I think people’s experience with it are different, and I don’t mean to warn you away from it if this guy is the right guy. I think it can work, if you’re with someone really committed to being treated. But looking back – I’m glad I found out about the guy I was seeing early on. I think thinking about building a life together with someone who has a major disease is a big deal – and you aren’t a bad person to consider the impact it may have on your own plans. I think it would have been very hard for me to find out in a stage of the relationship where ending things meant more than a mopey few weeks. I realized I wasn’t strong enough to do it, at least not with someone who was not committed to treatment.

      I also think – it was probably a big step for this guy to tell you. It’s a scary thing to have to reveal and however you handle it, be sensitive to that. But I think you have to also accept that his disorder may mean you are not always treated in a way you would expect an emotionally healthy partner to treat you, and you have to figure out if you are okay with that.

      I’m happy to talk to you about my experience with this further, but as I said above, it was limited to this one partner. It’s a scary thing and it’s a hard thing to confront, and there are no “right” answers for what to do.

      1. I do remember that, & i felt/feel really awful for you, but this doesn’t sound like the same thing. He’s told her about the condition, his meds, therapy, etc in a much more straightforward way than you ever were able to get. 2 months with no signs of a problem makes it sounds like he does what he has to to manage it.

        1. I realize that, which is why I tried to qualify what I was saying with “it may be different with someone committed to seeking treatment.” I’m sorry if that didn’t come through clearly, but I think that is the case.

          However, mental illness (and specifically bipolar disorder) is often characterized by periods of stability, punctuated by periods of instability. I had been with the dude I was seeing for four or five months with no problems before all of a sudden, there was a Problem. I also think in general, managing a chronic illness (like BPD) will have ups and downs and bumps in the road, and will necessarily mean that she may not always be treated in the way she would expect a mentally healthy partner to treat her. That’s just part of the reality of dating someone with a serious and chronic illness – just like you have to accept that a person dealing with a physical disorder, like cancer, will sometimes have “bad days” or “bad periods,” mental illness is no exception. I don’t think she’s wrong to consider what impact that will have on her, and how she can handle it. It’s a lot easier to handle if someone is actively trying to get treatment and stabilize, for sure – but that doesn’t make someone’s actions based on that instability less scary or hurtful. Unfortunately, stability in a mental illness is not so simple as “okay you’re stable, and now we’re done worrying about this disease.”

          I honestly think it’s way too early for OP to know whether he does what he has to to manage his disorder. She should keep her eyes open, if she elects to continue the relationship, and have a frank discussion of what level of stability SHE needs him to have in the relationship, and what the plan is if he is struggling to maintain that. But I think it’s important that OP also consider that it is a major, hereditary disorder which will require constant and careful management for the rest of his life, and even that may not be enough to keep him 100% stable and healthy. That doesn’t make him a bad person, and I don’t mean to stigmatize people with mental illnesses at all, but it is a serious disease and there are many factors to consider here.

    4. The other poster’s say what I do, the key is that the guy stay on his MED’s! I went to law school with a very pretty freind of mind who wound up marrying a guy who was Bi-Polar, and when he stuck to his med’s he was fine. However, he did NOT like the meds (LITHIUM, I recall), b/c it made him slugish, so he said. So he tried MANY times to WEAN himself off the med’s with NEGATIVE results. He would get outrageous and yell and scream at her for no reason and blame her for thing’s that she had NOTHING to do with. One day, he went into a RAGE after MY FREIND b/c he put his beer bottle down and the dog licked the beer bottle! She had NOTHING TO DO with the DOG LICKEING the Beer bottle, but it was HER FAULT, and he had a FIT OVER IT.

      He later cooled down but he NEVER apologize’s for wierd behaveiour when he was MANIC. She finaly got divorced from him b/c she could NOT take the UNPREDICTEABILITY of it all. When he was on the med’s, he was OK, but you NEVER knew when he would EXPLODE, b/c he did NOT like the med’s. I say you have to be with a guy 24/7 for a week b/f knoweing whether he is the right one. Dateing a guy like that w/o the overnights will NOT help predict if he is going to go BATTY on you. I say even tho you should n0t sleep with a guy w/o a ring, to make an exceptetion for a guy who is bi-polar b/c this way you will protect yourself from a life of misery if you cannot predict what he is up to. Even then, he may be on his med’s now, but will try to wean himself off later. NOT a good thing. I say FOOEY! Sorry about bieng the bereare of bad new’s but it is better you hear it from those who KNOW. DOUBEL FOOEY!

      I did NOT have a bipolar situeation with Alan. He was just a drunk, but I got rid of that b/f he could ruin my life. I deserve better for a HUSBAND then a drunk. FOOEY!

    5. I think it’s a good sign that he was upfront with you as soon as you two were getting serious. Hopefully someone with more experience can point to good resources for you to learn about BPD.

      As your relationship continues, be honest with yourself about whether you can handle being his partner. My husband has depression issues, and I can handle it. Our relationship is great. I personally could not be a good spouse to someone with BPD (or someone actively serving in the military, or someone who isn’t deeply religious, and a million other characteristics), but that’s me. Maybe you could.

    6. Please think carefully about pursuing this relationship before you are deeply emotionally involved. I was in a serious relationship (eventually engaged) with a man whose family had significant mental health issues. His mother had diagnosed Bipolar Disorder. He showed similar symptoms at times. The repercussions on the rest of the family were enormous. Even though it might be well managed at present, it is a diagnosis with a huge impact, and it can be very very difficult to maintain stability in the future.

      You will need to think about the fact that you are signing up to be the primary support person for a serious chronic mental illness. Think about the hereditary nature of bipolar in particular, and the impact it could very well have on your kids, should you choose to have them with this man. Think about what the worst case scenario could be (weeks and months and years possibly spent in and out of hospital treatment, personality changes from the heavy medications bipolar requires, financial debt because of spending sprees during manic episodes, possible suicide in the end). On the other hand, you might have many relatively uneventful years.

      Of course, some people with bipolar are able to manage treatment and function really well. There are different types of bipolar disorder. Really spend some time educating yourself. My personal choice was not to continue with the relationship even though he was a lovely man. The emotional toll was incredible, and the stress on the family caused many fractures in relationships.

      Please don’t take this as a judgement against people who struggle with mental illness and bipolar specifically. Mental illness affects many wonderful people who do deserve love and support and relationships. But in these particular circumstances, you need to make the personal choice as to whether you are willing to sign up for being the support person and partner they will need. And that is your personal choice for your life too.

      1. Woah, dude. He disclosed early in the relationship and is undergoing treatment. No need for this knee-jerk reaction.

    8. You should know that bipolar disorder has a heavy genetic component and can be interrelated with family histories of suicide and schizophrenia. If you are not interested in children, would prefer adopting or don’t see the relationship progressing that far, no worries on that front. If you do want biological children you may need to sit down with him / his therapist / a genetic counselor for a serious talk about what you want, what he wants and what the risks are.

      Again, that may not apply in your case — but it’s something to be aware of.

    9. I am happily married to a man who has bipolar disorder. We’ve been married for 8 years; he was officially diagnosed about 5 years ago. If you’d like to share the specifics of what kinds of treatments, triggers and symptoms your boyfriend shared with you, I’d be happy to give you my insights. My husband has been on a slew of different meds over the years, and has also tried many different treatments. I’d be happy to offer specific advice; respond to this post and I’ll give you my contact info.

    10. I just wanted to point out that the acronym BPD is used to refer to borderline personality disorder, which has different symptoms, treatment and prognosis from bipolar disorder. I’m guessing that you’re clear that he is being treated for bipolar, but wanted to bring this up because a Google search using BPD will provide results leading to borderline information.

  9. I got a metal card case that was almost immediately dinged up from my keys so I’m now looking for a new one, preferably leather. Do they get damaged as easily as my metal one did?

  10. Does anyone have any great ideas for a high school graduation present in the $50-$100 range? It’s for my sister. I’m including a homemade, sentimental gift, so I am looking for something practical (i.e., no clothes or jewelry). She’s going to college and will be living in the dorms…

    1. School bookstore gift card, Amazon gift card, Starbucks/Movie ticket packages/giftcards, coffeemaker/blender if she can use one, nice boots or heels, business clothes if she’ll need them, nice winter coat / dress

    2. This is totally random, and some colleges might not even allow one, but I got so much use out of a rice cooker when I was a freshman in college and didn’t have a kitchen. You can make almost any type of dry grain (rice, quinoa, cous cous) and steam vegetables (in fact, some models have a separate steamer part so you can do both at the same time!). And it’s small, so it’s easy to store and you can just set it on your desk when using it.

    3. You might be able to get a piece of carryon luggage for that.

      Also, messenger bag or backpack, a few dishes for the dorm, towels, or special event tickets in her new city.

      If she’s from a warm place and moving somewhere colder, then maybe pretty gloves and scarves or fleece lined tights or leggings.

      1. Get one that turns off when the water boils!

        I had the same model in college and nearly burnt down the room a few times because I would turn it on and get distracted. I have one now that shuts off automatically and detaches from the base (for easier pouring, instead of unplugging it), and it is so much easier.

      2. second paralegal’s advice – my college didn’t allow them at all, for that very reason, though my sister said hers is fine with it as long as there is an automatic shut off switch.

    6. A microwave or small refrigerator if they’re allowed in her dorm room and not provided by the school. A foam mattress pad might be good, because dorm mattresses are sometimes extremely hard. Something very small that I never managed to get in college was a book stand–it would have been so useful to be able to stand up a book next to the computer while writing a paper. It sounds weird, but real furniture for a dorm room is also awesome, if she will have the space. My roommates and I had a loveseat, armchair, and papasan chair in our room in college (all acquired secondhand for free), and it was great. Something from a thrift store should be nice enough and fit in your budget.

  11. Can anyone help me, or talk me out of, defacing a gorgeous handbag?

    I scored a Kate Spade bag at TJ Maxx this weekend! It’s the Cobble Hill Finley Hobo (in oyster). It’s really comfortable to wear on the shoulder, but when I’m traveling, I like to be hands-free. Would it obscene to buy a separate cross-body strap and wear the bag like that? I’m thinking of a strap with clips on both ends; the rings on the bag look like they would easily handle clips (the current single strap is not detachable but it links into large rings on both ends).

    Is this a dumb idea? If not, where could I find such a device? I’m coming up short on etsy, and I obviously don’t want a luggage-type strap…

    1. I’m curious if this is something Kate Spade’s customer service might help with? There are bags that have the longer strap (like the Little Minka), so I know they make them. It might be worth an email to see if they would sell a strap separately.

      1. This is a good idea but I suspect Kate might want to charge me $$ for such a thing…and she might not be psyched that I didn’t buy her bag at an authorized retailer. Can’t hurt to inquire though!

        1. $ is $. I bought a coat at a sample sale and paid $100 at the regular store to get it shortened by the store since it’s their staple item and if they screw up, they’d be more likely to fix it.

          Some $ is better than not selling it to you… I think the academics call it “market capture” or something fancy, to describe the idea that businesses not only like the guy that pays full price, but would sell it for less to others as long as it’s higher than cost of production.

    2. I hate to be the one to say it but consult your local search engine. There are plenty of purse straps available in as many colors and materials as you could possibly want.

      I don’t know if you want to match your purse exactly but getting a different color on purpose could be cool. I think it’s smart and functional to get an additional purse strap. I’m partial to the color green myself.

      1. Either my local search engine is broken or your Fu is just better. Please don’t report me to LMGTFY yet. I did see Mautto…

    3. eBay. I can’t figure out how to link it but search for leather purse strap -faux. It would look cute with a contrasting color like red.

  12. Hi guys,

    I’m a bit confused, and I’m assuming that one of you wise ladies can sort me out. I got my hair chopped into a pixie a few months ago (I think there were a couple of us doing this all about the same time!), and I went back today for a trim, the first since the big cut. I didn’t expect the price of the trim to be the price of the initial cut–and yet it was. Did I just sign myself up for bi-monthly expensive haircuts, or is this a non-standard thing that my salon is doing?

    1. Since it’s been “a few months,” I would expect this. It takes a lot of work to shape a pixie properly. When I had a pixie, I got mine cut every 3 weeks to make sure it maintained its shape. If I went much longer than that, the hairdresser had to spend a long time touching it all up.

      When I was going every 3 weeks, my hairdresser and I worked out a deal where she’d only charge me half each time. She volunteered to do that, but I think it’s because I was coming so often. I wouldn’t have expected her to do that if it was months between cuts.

      1. Hmm. That is helpful–thanks!

        I’m also learning about haircut maintenance–before the big chop, I just had long, straight, single-length hair, so the idea that my haircut needs to maintain its shape is a bit new to me.

    2. If you got your hair cut a few months ago, this wasn’t a trim, this was another hair cut. I would totally expect them to charge you full price. It’s one thing if you have a hair style with bangs, many stylists will give you just a quick straight-across bang trim for a small price. But if you’re talking about having to make cuts all over in order to keep the shape of the original cut, then that’s a real hair cut and they should charge accordingly.

      1. Gotcha. Thanks! I’m totally okay paying for the effort that goes into, but as I said to AnonInfinity, I don’t have a great sense of how much maintenance is appropriate, so I just wasn’t anticipating to pay full price again today.

        Still, my hair looks great, so no complaints!

    3. My hair is really short and I get it cut every 6-7 weeks which I think is pretty standard for short haircuts. My stylist charges the same for a cut every time and I think this is standard. It takes a lot of skill to maintain a good pixie cut – I don’t have to spend any time at all styling it in the morning, just smear in a bit of hair goo and I am good.
      I do save money by not getting a blow dry. Since I style it wet every day for general use (and it dries really quickly) I don’t see any need to have it blow dry styled after a cut.

    4. I don’t have short hair but my mom has had a short cut for about 40 years, and it’s standard to charge the same for an all-over trim as for the initial cut. They still have to go over your whole head and even up all the different pieces and make sure it all works together. It’s not any different than doing a “trim” for any other length of hair. (Most cuts ARE trims.) The only thing salons tend not to charge for is doing just a bang trim if you’re already a regular customer of theirs.

      1. Right. I have shoulder length hair that doesn’t grow very fast. Every cut of mine is a trim! But its always the samefull price

    5. My hairstylist will give me a “bang trim” for my pixie cut (which basically consists of trimming the very front and then buzzing the back a bit…though she’s a perfectionist so she does a bit more than that) for a discount after about four weeks as a way to extend time between full haircuts for my pixie cut. But yeah, I think generally you have to get a full cut ever 8 weeks if you don’t want to end up like me…a shaggy mess. :-P

    1. Does this mean you wound up trying some stuff from The Limited?

      Wedding season is definitely upon us! Between the 3 weddings I’m going to in the next 6 months, my sister’s new engagement, and my free time between projects that I’ve apparently decided is best spent marathoning Say Yes To The Dress and Bridezillas, I feel like I’m in the wedding zone. Really, I just need to leave my house!

      1. Nope, alas, still haven’t pulled the trigger on a suit though mostly because I almost made it to an actual Limited store in an upstate mall (darn Sunday hours) and was really hoping to try on their stuff since my sizing tends to be somewhat odd and a lot of blazers just don’t work on me. Not too mention that I’ve spent too much money on shopping and vet bills and really have no business buying anything that’s not a cat antibiotic until at least June. But I was on the website because I’ve been stalking this dress which I am entirely obsessed with but which is sadly not available in my size (I waited too long waiting for a promotion) – if you’re curious, it’s this one (I love the paisley and the general 70s vibe)
        http://www.thelimited.com/Border-Print-Shirtdress/3278555,default,pd.html?dwvar_3278555_colorCode=813&start=27&ppid=c27&cgid=dresses

        As for wedding season, just try to enjoy it for what it is. Much better than the baby season that comes a few years after (food and booze tends to be way superior at weddings vs. children’s parties). And if you need another wedding show to keep you indoors, may I recommend Something Borrowed, Something New on TLC? Seriously fun.

        1. Sorry your cat is sick!

          I’ve already been through wedding season and baby season for those weddings once. Then there was a nice gap and now its round 2, which is also coinciding with second babies for friends. I’ll have to check out that show if its on Netflix.

  15. For those of you who are pretty handy around the house, how did you learn? I just bought my first home and I’ve had a LOT of problems, some big and some small, and I just really wish I knew how to take care of the small stuff myself. I don’t really have anyone in my life who can teach me. Are there classes about general stuff to know around the house? Do you bring in someone to teach you how to take care of it yourself? TIA!

    1. Spending time at your local Home Depot or Lowes can help. Also, maybe look into classes at your local community college? Check craigslist? What sort of stuff are you counting as “small” stuff that you don’t know how to take care of? I assume you’re changing lightbulbs and hanging pictures just fine… /no snark, just curious.

      1. Running toilets, leaky pipes, replacing light fixtures or repairing fixtures that are coming out, repairing drywall, sanding and refinishing some dings in the hardwood floors, replacing the plungers in a storm door, rehanging some interior doors, getting rust off some screens, repairing screens, digging a drainage ditch, installing a drainage pipe… the list goes on! And actually I had some trouble changing light bulbs from a few light fixtures because I couldn’t figure out how to get into them…. This stuff just makes me feel so stupid, idk how I spent the first 25 years of my life in school but never learned such basic things!

        1. Oh and I have this light… sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn’t. Not sure why.

          1. If the light’s only coming on sometimes, I’d have a electrician come over and check that out ASAP.

          2. Obviously I meant “an” electrician. It’s hard to type with a stuffy allergy nose. ;)

        2. How about watching This Old House and Ask This Old House? Full episodes online at pbs dot org, I think. I’m a forever renter, but I have serious love for watching home improvement shows – so much useful stuff!

    2. I feel like you can find a video or blog post on many DIY issues (say fixing a running toilet) so start with some research on those. Google whatever little projects you have in mind. Learn where your breakers are, where your water shutoff is, where your pilot light is and how to operate those. I would also check with your local hardware store to see if they have free Saturday classes for projects. Maybe check your library for some books for basic home repair? I’d leave the big stuff/dangerous stuff to the professionals for now. The Young House Love blog focuses more on remodeling porjects, but their posts are super detailed with pictures and they tackle things like installing ceiling fans.

    3. I think you can get a basic idea by doing some googling and reading up on a particular project. Then, we go to our local, independent hardware store and ask the people working there for additional tips and they are always so, so helpful! Then it is mostly trial and error from there.

    4. I recommend YouTube and the book Dare to Repair. And buy a cordless drill. I love projects that require my cordless drill.

    5. In my experience, the generally kind folks that work at the Lowes and Home Depot in my area are dying to give (unsolicited) advice – you are gonna make some retired guy’s Sunday.

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