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Updated: Oct 31, 2018 68 Comments · by

Coffee Break: ‘Eliza – Bedford’ Nylon Satchel

Coffee Break

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MZ Wallace 'Eliza - Bedford' Nylon Satchel | CorporetteI must say, I was worried for a while that MZ Wallace was phasing out its super popular, highly rated, reader-beloved nylon line, in favor of its new quilted pieces (such as here or here). Happily, they still seem to be in stock, and just as highly rated as ever at Nordstrom. These nylon bags are lightweight, durable, and great for summer because they don't add a lot of bulk, particularly if you're walking for your commute. The pictured bag is $385. MZ Wallace ‘Eliza – Bedford' Nylon Satchel (L-5)

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Comments

  1. COSTCO

    What are your favorite COSTCO products? I’m thinking about getting a membership.

    • Annie

      Kirkland Signature Shampoo and Conditioner
      Brie
      Pesto
      Smoke Salmon
      Toilet Paper
      Paper Towels
      Laundry Detergent
      Sunglasses

    • ANP

      Costco addict here!

      Kirkland detergent
      Oxyclean
      Cheap milk (97 cents/gallon this past week)
      Diapers and baby wipes
      Napkins, TP and paper towels
      Snacks: granola bars, trail mix, veggie straws, crackers
      Cheese — especially Babybels
      Guacamole and hummus singles for work lunches
      Tires
      Giant tubs of Greek yogurt
      Frozen Asian noodle and dumpling dishes
      Fruit
      Muffins
      Bread
      Bagged salad
      Premade foods of alllllllll kinds
      Kid clothes and books
      Naked juices
      Dried mango
      Microwaveable rice/quinoa and lentil packets

      Should I go on?

    • a.k.

      I don’t use it for much (small apartment!) but still think it’s worthwhile.
      The ground turkey is really good and half the price of regular supermarket.
      Kind bars
      The rice/quinoa packets are amazing for a quick meal – heat some black beans, add spices and a tortilla and you’re golden

      Honestly, the membership more than paid for itself when I used it for a rental car. Saved us 50% off travelocity/expedia.

    • L

      In case you’re still looking for reasons, I LOVE COSTCO. In addition to all the bulk food items we get (see below), I think Costco is great for expensive purchases. You get better quality at a reasonable price point and if ANYTHING goes wrong, you take it back no questions asked. We’ve purchased my husband’s wedding band, printers, tablets, and all were much more reasonable. We also get our rental cars through them and have done tires which has been a life saver.

      In terms of household stuff we tend to go towards things that don’t go bad. Our staples are:

      Frozen veg
      Organic eggs/soymilk
      Popcorn
      Kirkland detergent (free and clear)
      Kirkland shampoo
      Chocolate covered mango
      Kirkland breakfast blend K cups
      Kirkland Organic Salsa
      Organic Chicken breasts

    • Chicago Bean Accounter

      There are only two of us so we generally only buy freezable and non-perishable things:
      Meat – Chicken Breasts, Pork Sirloins, Ground Turkey (so much cheaper!), some kind of chicken sausage
      Pickles (Claussen addict)
      Pita Bites (boyfriend uses these for any and every dip possible)
      Nature Valley Granola Bars
      Quaker Oatmeal Squares
      The raviolis you can get in the coolers by the meats/cheeses – they’re freezable

      Great place to go for entertaining too – our favorite is the $10, 4lb veggie tray.

      I’m in the process of “hacking” our grocery budget, so I have a google sheet going to compare prices across the stores we frequent. Some of the items might not always be super cheap compared to the regular grocery store, but some of the convenience weighs in for me – the chicken, pork, and ground turkey come in separate-able packs that are super easy to freeze.

    • Maddie Ross

      Pretty sure we pay for our membership in gas alone. But our normal haul there includes: TP, paper towels, fruit snacks for LO, palmetto cheese, hummus singles, la Croix water, generic Claritin and chicken breasts in two-packs to freeze. All of the entertaining goods (food and paper products) are awesome for cookouts, baby showers, etc., but we don’t normally buy them on a regular basis.

    • Bonnie

      We eat something from Costco pretty much every night. They have a good selection of frozen fish filets that are individually frozen. As soon as we get home we take out two pieces of mahi mahi, tuna or salmon and quickly grill or pan sear it.

    • Stefanie

      Don’t knock it until you try it. The quality is top-notch, and MZ Wallace is all I’ve been carrying these days.

      • Killer Kitten Heels

        +1. My MZWallace is hands down the best work bag I’ve ever owned, both for appearance and for functionality.

      • Anonymous

        +2. These bags are seriously amazing. Have used mine every single day for 2 years, and it looks no worse for the wear. Lightweight and also so functional. I love it way more than any leather bag I ever owned.

      • Scarlett

        +3 best work bag ever. Also daily use for 3+ years and it looks brand new.

    • Collars

      I hear you, but I want to drink the KoolAid (on the Bea bag, at least). I got a killer deal on a Lo&Sons OG bag, but I think of that as my mobile office (so highly recommend for that) when I travel and need something a bit more purse-like.

      It’s a lot of nylon, but I’ve ruined more expensive leather bags (which area also too darn heavy). For $ per wer and enjoyability, I want to think that this wins.

      Any Bea fans out there?

    • Pretty Primadonna

      This was my first thought as well. But, then I considered that I would spend $1300 for a canvas one. Go figure, lol.

  3. Ellen

    Yay! Coffee Break! I love Coffee Break and the Nordstrom satchel’s, tho I do perfer LEATHER sachel’s, especialy if I am goieng to pay $385, I do NOT want nylon, Kat.

    I am not sure what the other hive member’s think, but my dad is very annoyed at the MUNI market, where he has invested for my future. He says that his Puerto Rico Bonds are at risk, and he think’s the rating agencies have NOT been doeing their jobs. Does anyone else in the HIVE invest in muni bond’s? If so, what do they think? Do they agree with my Dad?

    Myrna’s firm underwrite’s bonds and she is NOT saying anything. I think she think’s the same thing but she is being MUZZELED by her company. Myrna is goeing to get a share in the Hamton’s with me, but onley for 2 week’s around LABOR day. I think that by then I will have a svelte tuchus for my new bikini. YAY!!!!

  4. Ginjury

    Suggestions for super quick, semi-healthy, non-vegetarian weeknight meals? I’m realizing that 1) I kind of hate cooking/don’t get home early enough to cook a full on meal without getting very hangry and 2) I generally use eating out as an excuse to eat unhealthy food. To combat this, I’d like to gather some resources for easy, healthy meals. Ideas?

    • ITDS

      Cook a batch of rice. While the rice cooks, brown a package of ground turkey, add 1 can drained/rinsed black beans and 1 cup frozen corn. Season with taco seasoning packet or two. Serve turkey mixture over rice with cheese on top. Takes 20 minutes, tops.

      • Rosemagilly

        This sounds good. I would George Foreman grill some chicken and while it cooks steam some veggies (fresh or frozen in the microwave). Also trader joes (and I’m sure others) have prepackaged marinated fish – takes 15 mins to bake in oven etc. if you have 20 mins you can cook urself a real dinner. Grab a handful of baby carrots to nibble while it cooks to ward off the hangries.

      • APP123

        I do this exact same thing, but add in a can of Rotel tomatoes. Also really good with shredded chicken (I usually throw some chicken breasts in the crockpot with a couple cans of Rotel, then shred when I get home).

      • JJ

        I do something similar and we call it our homemade Chipotle bowls. Rice (20 minutes or use the Trader Joes frozen brown rice that’s ready in just a few minutes), brown some chicken in a skillet (10ish minutes) and add black beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, etc.

        Chicken fajita salad: same concept with carmelizing an onion, browning chicken strips, then topping a salad with those, corn, black beans, etc and use salsa as your dressing.

        • ITDS

          Ha! We actually call it “turkey tacos”, since we used to eat the turkey mixture in taco shells until we learned about rice bowls from Chipotle! It also makes a nice enchilada stuffing.

    • jc

      To make things easy on myself, I usually bake/roast everything. I buy salmon premarinated (or I just mix together some soy sauce, honey and garlic) and then bake it at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. I also buy chicken and bake that at 400 for 25-30 minutes. I usually throw a veggie in the oven while the meat is cooking, broccoli, asparagus and brussel sprouts are all easy to roast in the oven with a little olive oil and salt. Also, if you put down aluminum foil, there’s almost no clean up at all. I also have a rice cooker and sometimes make a big batch of brown rice on Monday and eat it throughout the week. I also like the pre-cut Alexia sweet potato fries.

    • Coach Laura

      1) Stir Fry with meat/veg/sauce combo (not exclusively Asian but Italian, French etc) where you chop up the meats, veggies etc beforehand and toss together at cook time. Serve over pre-cooked rice or leftover frozen rice saved for this purpose.
      2) Premade meatballs, purchased sauce, (add in precooked zucchini, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, greens) all heated up and served over pasta or zucchini noodles. Make a batch of roasted veggies on the weekend ahead of time.
      3) Crock pot meals. See Kat’s prior post on this or Stephanie O’Dea’s a year of slow cooking.
      4) Make-ahead (make double on weekends and freeze) chicken cacciatore, beef/turkey chili, vegetarian chili, stroganoff. These all sound too hot for summer!
      5) Main dish salads – Greek with shrimp or chicken, feta, cucumbers, olives, onion etc; Nicoise (with tuna or salmon); Caesar with chicken or shrimp or salmon. Pasta salad with leftover pasta, chicken/shrimp, veggies; toss with prepared or premade salad dressing. Prep ingredients ahead of time. Buy a rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked shrimp. These can be almost anything – last night it took me five minutes to chop some precooked chicken, cucumbers, bell peppers, feta, lemon juice, fresh oregano and olive oil and served with hummus. (we don’t eat many carbs at dinner.) Yummy

    • January

      I’m in a similar boat. A rotisserie chicken from the grocery store (or a homemade roast chicken) helps a lot – you can use that as the foundation for lots of meals.

    • century ride

      I make big batches of meatballs, and freeze them on a baking sheet. They can go from freezer to oven and are cooked in about 20-30 minutes. Add some starch (fries, potatos, rice, pasta, quinoa, polenta), sauce and a veggie and that’s a really good meal.

      I also do the same thing with crockpot chili

    • Anon

      When you do take-out, what do you usually get? For me, it was figuring out that I was actually craving Asian flavors but kept making Tex-Mex style or vice versa. I might have perfectly delicious food at home, but if it wasn’t what I wanted, I would still go out.

      Favorites of mine:
      – Asian inspired meatballs – either turkey or beef. Skinnytaste has a version of the turkey ones I do, and I make sesame soy meatballs from Cooking Light frequently.
      – Shrimp with Garlic from Skinnytaste. I always have shrimp frozen, so this takes planning to start defrosting, but then it is super fast
      – Stir fries – precut (or cut) veggies, garlic, ginger, a sauce I make up (depending on my mood, some part of soy/hoisin/honey/rice vinegar/mirin/spices), usually over quinoa which I throw on and then do the stuff for the stir-fry

      My most common meal, to be honest, is a protein + steamed veggies (I eat a lot of steam broccoli, which is easy to prepare) + quinoa. Once you get into the routine, it’s easier than you think.

      I also like having full meals in the freezer like soups for when I just don’t have the energy. Frozen meatballs, frozen rice, and frozen ravioli are also always good.

    • Rogue Banker

      I have a small (6 cup) rice cooker with a steamer basket. I’ll put a cup of rice in the bottom with a pinch of salt and a small pat of butter, and a fish fillet – I like salmon best, but you can use any fish with a strong flavor – with salt, pepper, and a few springs of thyme or whatever herbs you like best in the steamer section. Seal it and turn it on, set a timer for 15 minutes, and when the timer goes off, either throw a SteamFresh or another steam-in-bag veggie into the microwave, or reheat leftovers from last night’s steamed veggies. Around the time the veggies are done heating up, the fish and rice should be done as well. Stupidly easy, tasty, and healthy.

  5. Anon

    I’ve been searching for a holy grail work travel tote for ages. At long last, I found it.

    Knomo London Maddox

    Leather, zipper, holds a laptop and papers plus my regular purse essentials. Shoulder straps. Feet. FINALLY.

    Mine is black but it also comes in red and green (at Amazon). $295.

    Thought I’d pass it on!!

    • BB

      Thank you! I have been looking for something like my Lo and Sons Brookline (I have the older model that they don’t sell anymore), and these Knomo bags look perfect – stylish but with laptop pockets!

  6. Anonymous

    Are any of you going to the iHEA conference in Milan in two weeks? Or any conference? Or just to Milan? Can we pretty please discuss outfits and what you recommend that I pack. Thank you!

    • Cb

      I was in Northern Italy recently and it was very, very warm! I saw a lot of dresses and slim ankle length trousers with lightweight blouses.

  7. PNW Confessional

    Point 1: it’s too hot here, and likely to stay that way all summer.
    Point 2: my (male) manager is wearing shorts today. My coworker has declared he’s wearing them tomorrow.
    Point 3: our (female) CEO occasionally wears coordinating shorts outfits.

    Conclusion: if this ridiculous weather continues, I may join them, standards be damned.

    • ALN

      Dude, the weather here is bananas right now. I shudder to think at what late July will be like. More power to you if shorts are acceptable. My office gives us the reprieve of jeans if it’s over 90, but still no shorts.

      • PNW Confessional

        I cannot fathom putting jeans on when it’s 90! Mostly dresses & linen pants for me, but I think some slim black knee-length shorts with a crisp top could be a nice alternative. I’d probably time it for the day after our CEO wears shorts so I don’t look like it was all my idea!

    • Annie

      Seriously, it looks like it going to be capris and flowy skirts all summer for me. But my company’s dress code is basically don’t look like a slob, pretty much everything else goes.

  8. Too sensitive?

    I wore Jean shorts a crew neck long sleeved shirt to work today with causal flats. I work in a casual office where jeans are always worn and sweatshirts often donned. I am an attorney and am in court about half of my work day. When I return from court I always change into my casual gear. It’s 80 degrees out today. Was my outfit improper?

    To take it a step further to explain my issue – a male attorney, slightly older than me, came up to me in front of three other employees and said, while pointing at my outfit, that “I’m not sure that outfit is okay.” He said it in an extremely condescending tone. I explained I came back from court and changed and what was wrong. He then said “its not okay as an attorney”. The whole time pointing at me up and down in front of others. I feel like this comment was borderline sexual harassment, as my outfit was not revealing or in violation of any policy that I know of. Please help!

    • Too sensitive?

      I should add that I’m so embarrassed that I closed my door and don’t want to leave until everyone in the office has left for the day

    • cc

      No you really should not be wearing jean shorts to the office. No shorts at all. I dont see how that even comes close to sexual harrasment. Suck it up for the rest of the day and wear either pants, jeans, or dresses or skirts that come to about the knee from now on.

      • cc

        Edited to add he certaintly didn’t handle it correctly, he should have spoken to you privately. But I cant say I wouldn’t have a similar reaction- I would honestly just be shocked seeing jean shorts in an office. But to sum up, I think you should let this roll off your back- no need to die of embarassment.

    • Anon

      In the minuscule chance that you’re not a troll, you should consult a therapist to discuss this incident and your inability to pick up on social norms.

    • Anonny

      Not even kind of sexual harassment. It’s likely hemline, which is where I would take issue. Shorts are super casual and super revealing.

    • PNW Confessional

      In case this is in any way related to my post re: shorts at work, these are NOT the shorts I was referring to. In my non-law, very casual PNW office, on very hot days, based on managerial precedent, shorts would be possible. But never jeans shorts. Heck, jeans shorts weren’t allowed at my on-campus job in college in the 90s. I can’t imagine wearing jeans shorts to work in a law office. The other attorney wasn’t very nice about it, but I can understand his reaction. I’m sorry you were so embarrassed, but lesson learned, no?

    • TravelAnon

      Harrassment is defined by your discomfort, not the other person’s intentions. So yes, this was harrassing behavior. Sure, jean shorts are pretty informal (and apparently not okay for this office), but his behavior was also egregious. Totally with you that you feel this way.

      • Fran

        Seriously? By that definition her wearing the shorts harassed her office. Harassment is a real thing- and certainly not just feeling discomfort

        • TravelAnon

          Sure, but if someone makes a comment about your clothes and points at you, and it makes you feel uncomfortable, that’s absolutely harassment. Public commentary on people’s physical appearance is generally inappropriate. It’s also definitely in the category of things that can be considered harassment, at least according to the company policies I’ve seen. Perhaps it’s not in the legal definition everywhere (law can be conservative), but it’s certainly moving in that direction.

          I wish I could link my company’s training video on the topic; it’s excellent at explaining this. For example, if my colleague arrives to work in shorts and a tight top because he biked to work, it might be in bad taste, but he’s not harassing us. If we react to this as if he’s dressing provocatively, or spend time in a group or individually pointing out what he’s wearing, and it makes him uncomfortable, I do think it’s reasonable to call that harassment. This situation sounds analogous to me.

          • Anonymous

            Its not reasonable. You are allowed to say “thats not appropriate to wear to work.” and in no way is it harassment, and its demeaning to women who are actually harassed to equate the two. “feeling uncomfortable” is such a ridiculous low bar. Just to be clear this isn’t just your colleague arriving to work in tight shorts and a shirt, but actually wearing that to the office all day as office wear.

          • TravelAnon

            Can’t reply further to anonymous. But: Yes, I agree, and you want to be able to get that kind of feedback. I just operate under the assumption that the original poster is probably reasonable, and if she had received a simple correction, given in an appropriate way, by someone from whom it was appropriate, she wouldn’t have had such a strong reaction. If who he is or the way that he delivered the appraisal was enough to make her want to hide in the office, there’s probably more going on.

          • anon

            ‘Sure, but if someone makes a comment about your clothes and points at you, and it makes you feel uncomfortable, that’s absolutely harassment”

            No no no no no. No. I am quite familiar with actual sexual harassment law and this is certainly not how the issue is analyzed. It is not “absolutely” harassment by any means, and certainly not sexual harassment.

            While there *is* a subjective component to the harassment analysis (ie, the victim actually has to have felt harassed to maintain a cause of action), there is also an objective component. Simply feeling uncomfortable is absolutely not sufficient for something to constitute harassment.

            Most importantly, sexual harassment has to actually be s3xual in nature. There’s nothing to suggest that that his actions/comments were s3xual in any way- he pointed at her and told her her outfit was not ok (jorts in the office). That’s not s3xual. Nor was the comment a derogatory remark based on her s3x.

            When you say its in the category of things that could count as harassment, Travel Anon, your company policy is thinking of comments that discuss clothing in a s3xual context. Do you seriously think that when one employee points at another co-worker’s clothing a company has opened itself up to liability via a harassment lawsuit? Even if the law is “conservative,” this sort of analysis simply doesn’t make sense. I’m as liberal as they come but I agree courts all over the country that have held that teasing and offhand comments don’t constitute harassment. Honestly. Time for a little critical thinking here.

            Was it the best way to handle it? Probably not. Was it “absolutely” harassment? God no. He was reacting to her inappropriate choice that was making other people uncomfortable.

            OP- I can see how you were made to feel uncomfortable. I’d want to hide my head in a bag for a week. But just move on and continue to do good work and follow the dresscode and people will forget all about this. I interpreted his remarks as implying that your outfit was simply too casual for an attorney.

      • Anon Worker Bee

        Women who claim s3xual har@$$ment every time a man is rude to them make it much harder for those women who truly are har@$$ed to be taken seriously.

      • packing help

        It is certainly not- and encouraging this as harassment is kind of disgusting

    • Too sensitive?

      Thank you for the feedback. I guess I didn’t explain. I see guys in my office wearing cargo shorts regularly. My shorts were not “short”. I felt it was judgmental and really a double standard, as no one ever comments when the male attorneys wear shorts.

      Regardless, thanks for the comments.

  9. Anonymous

    Women who wear revealing clothes and are shocked when men notice just slay me.

      • Anonymous

        It is not being creepy or harassing to say “you cant wear jean shorts to the office” is this seriously even a question??

        • Wildkitten

          I think that the woman was wrong to wear jean shorts BUT pointing at you up and down is very creepy and harassing.

          • anon

            Jesus wept. It is not. It’s slightly rude, at worst. What on earth is “very creepy” about pointing at someone? As someone who has *actually been sexually harassed at work and by male coworkers and supervisors* this conversation is making me want to scream.

            Grow the f* up. Wear appropriate clothes to work. 80 degrees is not even that hot.

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