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Updated: Dec 21, 2020 151 Comments · by

Frugal Friday’s TPS Report: Ruffle-Hem Print Shell

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5/24/24 Update: The Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale has started — see our big sale roundup! Also, sign up for our newsletter to stay on top of all the great sales!

New York & Company Ruffle-Hem Print Shell | Corporette

The below content is about the 2014 Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale.

Our daily TPS reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices. This week’s TPS reports come to you from guest poster Staci Zaretsky, who blogs with our friends over at Above the Law.

This shell top is fun, feminine, and flirty — perfect for a Friday in the office. It comes in modern taupe and basic black, and this is the best part: it only costs $39.95.

It’s available in sizes XS to XL. This would look really great with a three-quarter length blazer.

If I were in a buying mood, this would be on the way to my house right now. Oh wait… now it is! New York & Company Ruffle-Hem Print Shell

Seen a great piece you'd like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.

Update: This top is now marked down to $19.97!

Another update: FYI, ladies, the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale for MEN just started — lots of pieces are flying off the shelves, so I thought I'd mention it sooner rather than later. Lots of fun socks, Tumi briefcases, Hugo Boss suiting, and great denim picks. – Kat.

Sales of note for 9.30.24

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

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

Comments

    • marketingchic

      No kidding! Did all of the cool girls pick up their Lo & Sons and go elsewhere?

  4. Anon for this

    I’m hoping to get some advice on how to handle a family situation (sorry for the novel). I’ve been happily married for a few years, but DH and I come from very different families and it’s causing a little tension. My MIL is playing a bit of the martyr and tries to use the fact that my family is happy and intact as a reason why her needs should get priority. I’m lucky to have parents who are very happy together after 40 years and have a lot of nearby family/friends. We see my family a lot because we live nearby, and gatherings are casual, impromptu and not the kind of “command performances” that seem to stress family dynamics.

    My DH’s family has a less happy backstory. His parents had a very contentious divorce and his mom has since been single for almost 30 years. His mom is estranged from her only sibling. She doesn’t really have a group of close friends near her home, which is a 3 hour flight from us, and a 4 hour flight from my SIL. The bottom line is that she doesn’t really have a great support system or anything really going on in her life that makes her happy, except for her kids. There are certain traditions that they had that seem like the only thing she really ever looks forward to. And while I try to be as generous as possible with my time and try to understand her troubles, I’m getting nervous that some of these traditions will get in the way of DH and I having a totally healthy marriage.

    My main concern: After college, (when still single) DH and SIL would usually spend about 10 days with MIL at Christmas time and about 5 days at Thanksgiving. They would always take a 1 week trip to the beach every June. All in all, it’s about 3 weeks of vacation time. DH and I now only get 3 weeks of vacation time from work, which means that if MIL gets what she wants, we have no time left to go on a vacation just the two of us, and there’s not really any time left for us to go on any kind of vacation with my family. This is a new issue for us because we were both in grad school for the beginning of our marriage so we had plenty of vacation time; now that we’re both working, I’m not sure how to deal. Whenever there’s any discussion about having to turn the week long summer vacation into a weekend or adjusting the time at Christmas, MIL gets very melodramatic about how this is all she has, and that my family has enough that they can “spare” us.

    Has anyone ever successfully dealt with this type of dynamic or does anyone have any advice for how to handle this? Thank you so much!

    • Shay-La

      I don’t have experience with this specific dynamic, but all families are complicated in their own way. My biggest piece of advice is to decide with your husband what you two want to do and how you will spend your time. Make sure that there’s equal time with both sides of the family, or proportional, or whatever you two are comfortable with. Making sure you two are on a unified front is the most important step. Then, it is his responsibility to let his mom know what your (you+him) plans are, and that they are non-negotiable. It’s your responsibility to do the same with your parents. For similar problems, my husband and I have found it very useful to make sure we say “we” in the conversation, “this is *our* plan,” “we’ve decided X.” This is important because the parent who is hurt by the time distribution usually blames the other spouse…so we had to reinforce that it was *both* of our decisions, and if they were mad they needed to be mad at both of us. Then, execute your plans exactly as you said you would. It’ll take time for everyone to adjust, but they will. Especially if your husband is the first in his family to need to alter the schedule, it will be hard, but he’ll be doing his siblings a favor when they need to too :-) (just like us).

      • ArenKay

        This is excellent advice. The only thing I would add is to expect her to push back, manipulatively, and just be prepared to repeat the decision calmly. You don’t want to start explaining. Good luck!

      • Mpls

        Agreed. You and H talk, decide what works for the two of you, and then he presents it to his mom. And also explains to her, in a loving way, that now that everyone is done with school, it is completely unrealistic to continue to act as if they still have a Christmas break, Thanksgiving break and summer break – that’s just part of growing up. Maybe H can phrase it as a way of creating some new traditions – rotating holidays between the two sides of the family (what were you guys doing for that before you finished with school?) or rotating who travels to see whom for the holidays, etc. Then its a constructive thing (building new traditions!) instead of a destructive thing (breaking old traditions).

        Also, H needs to step up to shut down the melodrama. “Mom, I love you, but it isn’t fair to us to continue as if circumstances haven’t changed. We still want to spend time with you, but we need to find a new plan that works for everyone. Things are going to have to change, and we want you to be part of deciding what the new thing looks like. Those kinds of comments don’t help and just tells me that you aren’t interested in finding a new path. I know change can be difficult, but it’s going to have to happen, one way or another.”

        • Meg Murry

          Yes, I would not bring up the part about having to give your family equal time, especially since that would bring up the fact that “you can see them anytime”. Instead, make it about your limited vacation time, and if necessary blame work schedules “Sorry, as newest employees we can’t get a week off at Christmas, only a day or two”. Then either decide yourselves or offer her the choice – which is a priority to her, Christmas or Thanksgiving, because you can’t do both this year. And you could also have it as a 3 way conversation with SIL – would she rather have SIL for Thanksgiving and you and DH for Christmas, or everyone for Christmas?
          Also, could she switch to flying to visit you or SIL for one of the holidays instead of you going to her? Would you be ok with her coming to your family events? Or do you not want to invite her to stay at your place (I totally understand if you felt that way)?
          If she doesn’t have much of a support structure where she is now, is there anything tying her there other than job & house? Are you and DH semi-permanent where you live now? Would you be ok with discussing her moving closer to you or SIL in the future, perhaps after she retires? Not saying it has to happen immediately, but it might be something to lay groundwork about.
          But overall, no, she does not get to guilt you about the time you spend with your family. Shut that down, make it a non-issue. But let her know that she can’t get all of your family vacation time anymore, and she needs to adjust to that reality. And don’t forget, DH could always go to see her on his own for a long weekend – it doesn’t have to be only for holidays and only the 2 of you, especially if he has the kind of job where he could jump on one of those last minute flight deals.

      • ContractsinTX

        +1 about deciding with your immediate family and then telling both families what your plans are. I feel like this is an issue that is applicable to all extended families. We used to try to work around everyone else’s schedules. It was too much work trying to make everyone happy. Finally, we decided to just tell our families which holidays would be spent with each family. Ex: We try to do my family for Thanksgiving, his for Christmas, and then switch the next year. Is everyone going to be happy? No. (Ex: my mom was mad no one was with her for Thanksgiving one year, and then my MIL told me 7-month old she “hated” his other grandma for having him at Christmas) You just have to space out when you hear the guilt trips. In the end, we try to be fair, and it’s much less stress for my husband and me.

    • mascot

      Trade off holidays, one family gets Christmas and one gets T-giving. Does she have a more flexible vacation schedule to that she could come see you? Also, if she is “keeping score” with how often you see your family, I’d just refrain from mentioning all the impromptu gatherings to her.

    • Wildkitten

      I thought Double X had written a good piece on this but now I can’t find it – Another option available to everyone is to have your families visit you. If retired parents come for the weekend they can spend their time travelling and you don’t have to spend you minimal vacation days on transit, but can use them just for the quality time.

    • anon-oh-no

      there is some of this that goes on in my family — both between me and my husband, and then also my family and my SIL (brother’s wife). Luckily, my family is the most understanding, but its a pain.

      my advice is really just to do what works for you and your husband (and your kids if or when you have them) at any given time. sometimes, that means giving in to your MIL, or telling your family you cant vacation with them; other times it means having to tell your MIL you dont have any vacation days left — i.e., don’t say we cant plan a long vacation, MIL. rather, plan your own vacation and go on it. then when planning for a vacation with MIL gets discussed, just say you only have x days of vacation time left, so thats that. And ask your MIL (and SIL) to visit you at chirstmas or thanksgiving instead of you visiting them.

      its frustrating, but you do what you need to do for your family. have a talk with your husband and figure out what works best for you two.

    • Anonymous

      How does your husband feel? I think you first need to resolve this with him, and then he has to be the “ambassador” to handle his mom.
      I have a more manageble but similar issue: in-laws don’t travel, and my family does. That means that my family comes to visit and we see them a lot more often (not use of vacation time required). So when we do take vacation time, there is an expectation of visiting the in-laws. Husband and I negotiated: 1 vacation alone, 1 vacation with his family, 1 vacation with mine. However, for the 2 family vacations, we always invite the other one’s family to join. So, last Christmas, my family spent it at my in-laws, my sibblings were with their spouses’ families, so it worked out. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law instead try to get them all in one place for every vacation, or split every vacation half his family and half hers.
      No solution will make everyone happy, but if you have a system that you and husband agree on, the consistency will help adjust expectations.

    • Away Game

      We (husband and I) had this same issue when we married, about 10 years ago. His parent expected him to do what he’d done all through his life, up to grad school – fly home for all the milestone holidays, whether he wanted to or not, and other “family” traditional times, and spend a week or two with them, every vacation and holiday. When we married and we both had real jobs, it meant a huge adjustment. There were two of us, and two of them. We pointed out that it wasn’t fair to expect us to be the ones to travel to them all the time, either financially or as a time committment. We also pointed out that we simply did not have the vacation time that students have available, so that we could not do what had been done previously and not get fired. So, while we were happy to spend X time with them this year, they were welcome to visit us if they wanted more time (although we would not be able to take lots of time off, so they could visit our awesome city sites while we were at work and we’d see them in the evenings, and we’d take off at least enough to make a long weekend.) MIL threw a fit. We repeated and simply didn’t go visit when she demanded. Drama for the first year, but we stuck to our guns.

      When our first was born, we scaled down visits even more. Two parents plus kid plus baby gear was more than (his) two parents – so we’d be happy to host,etc etc. Now there are five in my nuclear family and two ILs, so we do expect them to visit us more than we visit them. We have paid for their travel more than once.

      Now we get the occasional “but we hardly seeeeeee you” plaintive emails and calls, to which we reply with a variation on “yeah, this whole parenthood pluswork thing makes scheduling tough. Must have been the same for you when we were kids and dealing with grandparents’ expectations; thanks for all of what you did. Wish one of us would win the lottery so the work thing wouldnt’ interfere with our leisure plans! So, what have you been up to lately?”

      Bottom line – we set limits (the whole thing falls apart if there is any daylight between you and DH) and stuck to them, and were super welcoming when they did come visit and tried to make those visits as stress-free and fun as possible. It’s a boundary issue between “when we were kids” and “now we are adults”, frankly, and it takes awhile for all parties to get it, in my view.

    • ac

      My MIL is a widow & my DH is an only child, so we have a similar situation (though it sounds like less drama/guilt).

      When my family visits, we include MIL in our celebrations — including taking her with us to extended family holiday celebrations, etc. While that is not without it’s issues (mainly a little guilt from my mom about wanting to have “just family” time), it’s worked out OK. Perhaps suggest your MIL visit you/you host certain holidays so you’re not always on her terms? And if she’s in town, include her in celebrations with your family?

      I echo everything PPs said about the decision being a joint decision with your DH and communicated as such. Good luck!

    • Killer Kitten Heels

      Why does she think this is her vs. your family? I’m wondering if your H is using them as an excuse/shield/place for Mom to focus her blame that isn’t him when telling her your decisions (“Oh I WOULD come for Christmas, but Wifey’s fam is sad we’re never there for Christmas so we have to see them this year”). Your family shouldn’t even come into the conversation – the conversation around plans should be along the lines of “Mom, we have decided we aren’t going to travel for Thanksgiving this year, we’ll see you at Christmas, okay?” Full stop.

      It’s tempting to push the blame off elsewhere, because saying “we totally would be there if not for my meanie-head boss/Wifey’s family crying about seeing us/the vet not having room to board the dog/whatever” feels like softening the blow (you’re not rejecting mom! it’s someone else’s fault! so she should cry/yell/rage/whatever at someone other than you!), but ultimately all you do with that kind of language is give Mom the impression that your absence is the result of a problem that can be fixed – it isn’t. Your absence is the result of you both *choosing* to be absent. The sooner H owns that choice, the easier this will be.

      Last thought, at least for major holidays – since Mom is only one person, is having her come to you and join your family’s celebration an option? Even if you pay for her plane ticket, it’s still less expensive than both of you going there, and even just offering to do this at holidays when you won’t be traveling to be with her may help H feel less guilt/responsibility for her negative emotions. My MIL always refuses the joint-celebration invitations (because she will have her own children in her own house or NOTHING, dangit!), but I know it makes H feel a lot better to have at least tried, and gives him an easy out when she starts with the “woe is me, my son is abaaaaaandoning me” talk. (Uh, no MIL, you’re the one who isn’t coming to the thing you’re invited to, sorry.)

    • MissK

      I’ll jump in as someone who is in almost the EXACT same situation, although his parents are still together (but in a marriage with a lot of tension).

      When we were in college, we both had so much more time off than we do now – just like you were talking about. It made seeing all families at the holidays easier because at Christmas, for example, we had six weeks off from school. When we got the point that we were splitting up holidays and not spending full weeks with his family, my FIL really started to raise a big fuss about it. He tried to say that I was pulling my husband away from his family, always was trying to make us feel guilty for not spending more time with him and my MIL, etc. It was very difficult for me to deal with because I come from a family that is really cool about all of that. My parents understand that now that I’m married, I won’t always be there for a week at Christmas or Thanksgiving or for the full week that they take off during the 4th of July.

      My husband and I finally just created a rotation schedule and told everyone our plans, and basically said that’s how it’s going to be whether everyone else liked it or not. I know that seems a little harsh up front, but we feel like we are our own family unit just like everyone else and sometimes we want to have time to ourselves. We are lucky in that all of our family is within about 2 hours of each other, so that makes travel logistics easier. We also decided to host Thanksgiving at our home a few years ago, and stuck with that and basically said that if family wants to see us then, they can come our home or not see us. Our holiday rotation is:

      Memorial Day Weekend: (also my birthday, so I get some more say here…) Family BBQ at my parents and ALWAYS go to Memorial Day services as a family. His parents are welcome to join, but never do then FIL complains that we aren’t camping with him….

      Christmas Eve: Dinner with my parents at their home.
      Christmas Day: Spent at my BIL’s house with the family. (FIL is always late, then complains he missed the grandkids opening gifts)

      Thanksgiving: We host. (FIL hasn’t come in 2 years because something always comes up)

      Basically, you have to get a point where you AND your husband are willing to put your foot down on an arrangement that makes you happy (or as happy as one can be when dealing with stressful in-laws and family dynamics). We have found that since we’ve basially had the same holiday rotation for 4 or 5 years, nobody can compain and say “Well we didn’t know that’s what you were doing!!”

      Good luck!!!

    • Anon

      Sometimes you’ve just got to grow up and do your life the way you want to. Be nice in the process (and by that I mean pleasant and not overly confrontational) but live the life you want to. Hopefully your H agrees.

    • My Stepkids' Mom

      I may be able to give you some perspective from the parent end of this. My husband and his former wife had a high conflict divorce. She refused to create a custody schedule for their two kids. Even though the two kids are now 23 and 18, scheduling issues still are hideous and cause a lot of tension for us. (Now they are about vacations/holidays instead of daily life because kids are older.)

      Regardless of what the actual solution is, I would feel MUCH more positively toward my step kids if we could all discuss this without the drama and manipulation (which I of course believe they learned from their mother). To me, that would mean planning in advance (ie give their father and me the courtesy of knowing with time to do something about it whether they will be with us for a holiday or not), transparency (ie be direct about where you are going so we don’t find out later you dumped us for your mom), and drama free (ie don’t cry when canceling on us because it is stressful for you to deal with your mom), fair (ie don’t let the default be that if mom wants you, she gets you — even if you’ve already accepted our invitation — no matter what).

      Perhaps I am projecting. OK I totally am! But I think these game rules will help your MIL accept whatever decision you and DH come up with and then share with her without resenting you or your family.

      • B. Ross

        Oh brother. How in the world are these “ground rules,” all of which are about making *you* feel “MUCH more positively” toward your step kids themselves, supposed to help this poster, who is asking for advice on navigating family dynamics between her mother in law and her own family?? Yet another post hijacked by one of your passive-aggressive posts about how much you hate Your Stepkids’ Mom. ALL OF THE EYE ROLLS.

      • Anon

        I think my mother in a lot of ways sounds like your step-children’s mother and I would encourage you to cut the children some slack. Although I am 31 years old now, have a family of my own, and a successful career as a lawyer, it is still difficult for me to navigate family situations involving my divorced mother and father, as my mother makes everything into a test of loyalty.

        As I have gotten older though, I have really, really come to appreciate the fact that my father understands this and does not lay on any guilt when we do cancel on him, or change the date or something to appease my mother. (I try to limit/be firm/ etc. the times this occurs, but it is hard and has only gotten easier as I have gotten older. At 18 or even 23, it was very difficult to push back against her.)

        I have told my father that I really do appreciate that he is rational, understanding, and forgiving, and just appreciates that we go visit him when we are able to make it work with all the other demands on our time (including a similar dynamic as the OP with my only-child-husband and his mother who is a widow. . . ) So your step-children will likely learn to set boundaries with their mother as they get older and feel more in control of their own lives, and will also likely really appreciate the fact that their father (and you?) were just happy to spend time with them whenever they were able to visit.

        • My Stepkids' Mom

          Thanks, Anon at 12:48, for this perspective. This is what we think and have been told by our stepfamily/blended family therapist. It is hard, sometimes, to have faith that time and experience and the maturity both bring will help this happen while we continue to get the short end of every stick. But we try really hard in the meantime to be accepting and stable and loving and warm to the kids. We would never, ever tell the kids what we tell ourselves. I don’t know why I care as much about this as I do, but if either of my stepkids told us what you told your dad about how appreciative you are, that would totally turn this around for us. In case you don’t already know how much that meant to him, please know that I’m sure it did.

          • Anon

            Thank you for your response. Just so you know, I did not tell my dad that until I was probably in my late 20’s or maybe 30 years old. I knew he was more “relaxed” (not quite the word I’m looking for) than my mom, but did not really understand until I was older with my own children that he actively and intentionally chose to react in that manner to make my life easier. I was not able to recongnize that when I was younger.

        • JBB

          I think every family has to play nice to make it all work. And it’s tough in blended families. Just an internet stranger’s perspective, but I think My Stepkids’ Mom didn’t mean to say “these kids have to please me”.

          To My Stepkids’ Mom – been there! My stepdaughter is 26 and stepson is 23. My husband and I have been together for 9 years, so I came into the family when they were teenagers after an unpleasant divorce. It was super tough. But my stepdaughter was married about 3 weeks ago and all the ex’s family was there – it was a peaceful, lovely event. The ex and I weren’t hugging or anything, but what a relief. The bride and her groom were so happy, I was thrilled for her, and she and I had some great moments. It was a very very long road to get there. It will happen for you too, it takes time.

    • In House Lobbyist

      We didn’t have too many problems when it was just two of us and would sometimes split up for holidays. But throw grandchildren into that mix and everyone starts counting how much time they get. I wish we would have worked out a schedule before children came along so everyone would have been used to it. You have to make your plans and stick to them without feeling guilty. We decided to do Christmas morning at our house once we had kids and you wouldn’t believe how much stress that has caused – 4 years later and we still have to calmly explain it every year.

  5. AIMS

    Can I just say that I am having one of those mornings…. It’s pouring rain here. I didn’t wear my trench coat because the forecast said it was going to be 81 and muggy and I lugged it around all day yesterday when it was supposed to be 60s and muggy and ended up not needing it, meanwhile now my dress is a wrinkled mess from the rain and my backside is completely soaked (the umbrella didn’t do much). Something weird dripped on me on the subway and I now have a mysterious gray stain on the top of my cardigan. I wore flip flops to work because it was raining and I was going to pick up the shoes I wanted to wear from the cobbler on my way to work to wear later but even though shoes were supposed to have been ready Wednesday they weren’t ready this morning (and, yes, he is by my house and not by office).

    I am not sure I have a question as to how to not feel like a mess for the rest of the day but I am seriously considering locking the door to my office and take off my dress to air dry. Sitting on wet fabric is just the worst.

    • Sydney Bristow

      Ugh, me too. Luckily I didn’t get rained on during my commute this morning but I will need to run out for lunch today, which is rare for me. I also managed to completely miss my transfer on the subway this morning (realized it as the doors closed) so I had to transfer at a different stop where instead of crossing the platform I had to go through the maze of tunnels and stairs. I’m over today, can it be tomorrow already?

      Can you figure out a way to temporarily rearrange your desk so you can stand while your dress dries?

      • AIMS

        If it’s raining heavily during lunch consider ordering in. That’s what I do when it’s nasty out – usually you can find a few others who’ll want to order in and that makes it more fun, too.

    • Pink

      Do you have a store in your building or close by? Although I’m generally opposed to “disposable clothing,” this may be one of those days that you find a dress on clearance at AT/Loft, etc for comfort; and sometimes that dress ends up being a workhorse anyway.

      • AIMS

        Sadly no, but maybe if it stops raining by lunchtime I can pop out to get something a bit further out. I have to go out to dinner & drinks after work so it would be nice to be at least a little presentable.

      • Mischief Managed

        And a full moon tonight too! When I realized it was Friday the 13th AND a full moon, I braced myself for a wacky day at work… and sure enough, the (unhinged) opposing party on one of my files has somehow gotten my cellphone number (apparently from my own client, which is a rant for another day) and left me several agitated voicemails. Happy hour can’t come soon enough!

    • Cat

      ugh, sympathies – can you wear the dress backward for a bit at least? or stuff a bunch of paper towels under your dress to sit on?

      • AIMS

        I gave up – locked my door, put on a spare top and letting dress air dry. If someone knocks I can reassemble quickly enough. (And I can’t believe I shared that even in internet anonymity)….

        Thanks for all the helpful suggestions and the sympathies, you guys! I think I am going to plan ahead for next time and bring in a spare outfit for these kinds of situations.

        • Meg Murry

          Time for some emergency pants! Or skirt, if that’s more your style! After a disaster where I had to send a coworker to Target to buy me pants one day at lunch, I always keep a spare outfit in a drawer in my desk – down to bra, socks & underwear. It may not be my best looking work outfit, but at least its better than being pantless in the ladies room for an hour, as happened to me.

          Sorry for such an ugh day, but at least its Friday?

        • Blonde Lawyer

          I had to do some PT stretching exercise at work around lunch time for awhile. A couple times my outfit was not flexible enough for my stretches. I locked my office door and took off my outfit and did the stretches on a yoga mat in my bra and undies. I am quite confident in my door lock but it was still such an odd sensation to be practically naked in my office. Many people change behind their locked door before going to the gym/golf/out at night so it isn’t that absurd. But, changing and actually doing something half nude feel very different.

  6. Rain Rain Go Away

    What is your choice for commuting footwear when it’s raining but warm? I can’t deal with my (tall) Hunter boots when it’s above 65, my Converse get soaked, and any sort of sandal feels gross after a block. Not entirely sure what my other options are – any ideas?

  7. anon in tejas

    best everday food blogs? I am feeling wholly uninspired about dinner these days, and need some new ideas and inspiration.

    • Clementine

      Smitten Kitchen is my absolute favorite!

      I also really enjoy the Podcast the Splendid Table. They have a bunch of ‘Weeknight Suppers’ that are creative and most are very good.

      Often, I just cruise Pinterest for some inspiration. Orzo salad with chicken and broccoli in a yogurt dill sauce? Yes please!

      • BankrAtty

        The Splendid Table cookbooks are also very good–simple recipes using whole, easy to find foods, that usually come together quickly.

    • SummerGal

      Not a blog, but Nigella Lawson is fabulous for quick and easy recipes you actually want to make.

    • Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler

      Love this one (crockpot365.blogspot.com), especially in the summer when I loathe turning on my stove/oven.

    • Anon

      Dinner, a love story – geared toward family dinner but lots of easy/fast/healthy recipes.

    • Baconpancakes

      By every day food, I’m guessing you mean less time? If you don’t, and just want inspiration, I’m in love with Bon Appetit, the magazine and the website. They are just gorgeous, and I did their 2014 Food Lover’s Cleanse recently, which was very labor intensive but very healthy and so flavorful (and I lost 4 lbs!). Smitten Kitchen’s good, sometimes she has pretty easy recipes that are quick, but also has complex baking projects, but I’d also honestly check out Martha Stewart’s Everyday Dinners. The only real problem with them is that they are largely meat based, and I usually add 2-3x the spices in the recipe, but they’re designed to be quick. http://www.marthastewart.com/276948/dinner-tonight

      For actual blogs: Dinner: A Love Story, and Serious Eats.

      • anon in tejas

        thanks!

        Every day for me means less time and also reasonably healthy. I actually haven’t had much luck with Martha Stewart’s everyday dinners, and most of her stuff seems bland and cooking time/estimations are completely off :(

        Thanks though. I’ll check the others

        • BankrAtty

          You are not wrong about Martha’s recipes–I believe many of them are untested. Results vary widely!

        • Baconpancakes

          I definitely use her recipes as starting points, and make a lot of changes. I would suggest reading through the Bon Appetit Cleanse, to get ideas for boosting flavor without adding unnecessary fats and sugar (lots of healthy fats, though – walnut and olive oils, avocado, salmon, etc). If you have two weeks to dedicate to it, I’d really suggest doing it – as many of the recipes as you can. It was a great “reset” for my eating habits, without making things boring, and gave me more perspective on what’s actually healthy to eat, and just how much bread I normally go through in a week (the answer: a lot). If you only have time for one recipe, make the roasted red pepper relish. It’s amazing on everything – baked potatoes, kale salad, mixed with sriracha and hard boiled egg, omelette, roasted chicken, butternut squash, tofu -everything.

    • BankrAtty

      A Couple Cooks (flexitarian)
      101 Cookbooks (mostly vegetarian)
      NYT: Recipes for Health by Martha Rose Shulman

    • BankrAtty

      A Couple Cooks
      101 Cookbooks
      NYT: Recipes for Health
      I’ll probably catch flack for this, but I’m also frequently inspired by Rachel Ray’s magazine

      • Awful Lawful

        No shame in that! One of my favorite meals is a chicken ratatouille recipe I adapted from Rachel Ray’s magazine.

    • AEK

      Saveur has a Weeknight Meals newsletter you can sign up for. Delivered every Monday (which is a little silly, because shopping for the weeknights usually happens on the weekend before). I usually take at least one from the week’s offerings.

      Also, Cooking Light has a Weeknight Meal Planner where you create a weekly plan based on their recipes. I get good ideas there too. http://www.cookinglight.com/weeknight-meal-planner-quick-and-easy

      • I'm Just Me

        Cooking Light also has a weekly menu on the blog … on Sunday they do a week’s worth of healthy dinners and a dessert.

        http://simmerandboil. cookinglight. com/ (remove spaces)

    • Canyouwink

      I love smitten kitchen too but I’d also recommend Alexandra cooks and budget bytes

  8. Wanderlust

    Can anyone recommend a good pair of sandals that are waterproof AND that I can walk around in all day comfortably? I’m headed out on a 3 week trip to SE Asia, but it’s the rainy season so I’m weary of leather/suede. I have Teva Tirras for more “rugged” walking, but I’m hoping to find something “cute” to put on for dinner, strolling around town, etc.

  9. Did TBK ever have her twins?

    I had my own baby and have been absent for a while. Did she have them and did everything turn out OK?

    • tesyaa

      She just gave an update a few days ago – the twins are about 3 months old and doing really well!

  10. Trial College?

    I’m going to a trial college in a couple of weeks. It’s a week-long course, similar to the NITA course. I have to wear courtroom attire during the day, but I assume some of the dinners and after-hours activities will be more casual. Does anyone who’s been to one of these have any suggestions for things to pack that I may not have thought of? Did the people for your course come having already done outlines and other prep, or do people just read the problem before they get there? The one I’m going to is run by ABOTA if that makes any difference.

    • Ellen

      Yay!!!! Fruegel Friday’s! I love Fruegel Friday’s!

      As for the OP, I never knew there was a trial college before. At GW, which is where I went to school, there was college and there was LAW school, but NOT trial college. I would have LOVED to gone to a place that had a trial college b/c I think that by the time I was a JUNIOR, I kind of knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and if I had a chance to go to Trial College, I would have KNOWN ahead of time that I should be a trial lawyer. FOOEY ON ME FOR NOT KNOWING THIS.

      What schools has trial college? I should already know this, but this is the VERY first I have EVER heard of this. How about the rest of the HIVE? Is anyone else a Trial College Grad? YAY if they are!

      I am to meet Butch tonite and Myrna’s Uncle tomorrow, and the manageing partner’s brother keep’s texteing me. I am VERY busy and it is NOT even the 4th of July yet! YAY!!!!

    • s

      I participated in the NITA national course, which was 10 days long. I wish I had packed a large water bottle to keep with me throughout the day, and a travel mug to keep coffee/tea in throughout the day, rather than using the tiny water cups/coffee mugs available. I also wish I had packed ear plugs — I stayed at an extended stay hotel, and it was VERY loud — the person above me would wake up really early and pace around his room, practicing his opening statements, etc. very loudly. I did not prepare at all before the course, other than skimming the materials on the plane, and I wish I had — a lot of people did, and I think it helped them. I found that I did not have much time for socializing, as our days did not end until 6 or 7 pm, and then there was a lot of necessary preparation for the next day. When I did go out to dinner, I would either wear what I had worn during the day, or something casual — jeans/t-shirt, casual summer dress/sandals, etc. I also brought comfy lounge wear (yoga pants, etc.) which was great for late nights working in my hotel room.

      • Trial College?

        Yeah, I can’t wait. I’m quite nervous, but I’m sure it’ll be fun. Also, thanks for those ideas s. I wouldn’t have thought about the coffee mug and water bottle, but it’s such a great idea.

  11. I'm Just Me

    Sale FYI:

    The dress that was featured on 5/27 is marked down at Nord str oms. It was a Classiques Entier tonal inset ponte dress. When featured, it was $228 and it’s now $137.

    I’ll link to the post and the dress in the reply.

  12. Senior Attorney

    Oh. my. gawd.

    As I have posted before, my divorce became final a few weeks ago and I am changing my name back to my previous name. Talked to the appropriate people at work and was told it would take a while to get the email and payroll and so on changed. Have been waiting to “go live” with the name change at work until the new business cards/name plates showed up, which they haven’t yet.

    Well. This morning I came in and discovered that after I left work yesterday for a 4 p.m. doctor’s appointment, somebody came and changed my email to the new name. And by “changed to the new name,” I mean “deleted my old email account and set up a new one.” So my old email archives, including everything from divorce stuff to more recent stuff re: the house I’m buying, are gone. Gah. And not only that, but email sent to the old address will not be forwarded.

    I’m trying not to go Medieval on whoever did this, because yes, I asked for the name change. But… I would like to have had a heads up and a little discussion about what it was going to entail.

    Ugh. Friday the 13th, man…

    • tesyaa

      My sympathies. I don’t know your IT situation, but I assume you’ve already inquired as to what backups might exist. I can’t imagine losing all my email.

    • Clementine

      WHAT. Is there an IT department? I know that (although this isn’t common knowledge), our server actually holds onto everything and if something happens, you can go back and pull up all files as they were 24/48 hours ago.

      • tesyaa

        I thought the same, but this might apply only the email in the inbox and not to email that’s been filed in folders. I recall coming up against something like this a while ago when using Outlook.

    • Anon

      The fact that the email will not be forwarded is insane and borderline unprofessional (not on your part since this was obviously done without your consent – asking for a name change does not mean you consent to them imploding your current email account with no notice). How are you supposed to know if a client is trying to contact you, particularly with a time sensitive issue? You would be totally justified in going medieval.

      • Meg Murry

        Yes, insane. Totally worthy of going medieval. Go back and insist that emails sent to your old name be forwarded to the new one. How else are people supposed to contact you, since you weren’t given any warning to be able to give notice of the change?

        Gah, IT people who don’t understand how a business works is one of my biggest pet peeves. No offense to the good IT people on this board – but there are a lot of bad ones out there that give the good ones a terrible name. Often because companies won’t pay to hire competent ones or pay to send the decent ones to training to keep their skills current, but that’s a rant for another day …

    • LT IT

      Someone has just not set up your account correctly. They should have been able to just rename your previous account and then you log in as usual with the new name, not start from scratch w a new account. It’s pretty common to rename accounts – people get married, the HR dept gave IT the wrong spelling of a new person, etc. And email is always backed up somewhere unless you truly don’t have any kind of IT dept/consultants. They will just have to reimport mail from your old account into the new one.

      If not I’ll send you my resume to pass on over there :-)

      • Senior Attorney

        I KNOW, RIGHT???

        I am raising hell and trying to get to the bottom of things. At the moment they are saying they did rename the account and “data loss is always a risk when we rename an account.” Whatevs, man, but a heads-up in advance would certainly have been nice.

        I. am. so. gobsmacked.

    • BB

      Oh my god. This would incite serious rage in me. What IT flunky thought this was a good idea!!!! I mean, seriously…why wouldn’t they think this through?! There’s no reason they have to delete everything to give you a name change – someone screwed up.

      I hope your firm is either 1) small enough that you can get person IT attention to fix this or 2) large enough that they have the resources to recover your files. On the plus side, since you’re at a law firm, chances are ALL your emails are archived for legal purposes anyway, and they should be able to recover them.

      • Senior Attorney

        Alas, not at a firm. This is gubmint, and the email system is, shall we say, not exactly cutting edge.

        • Marilla

          In that case, everything should be backed up daily. It should all be there — just raise hell until they get it back.

    • Samantha

      What the WHAT.
      I’m so sorry. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping there’s some way to get the mail back. That’s seriously idiotic to just delete everything.

      • emeralds

        Yeah, that situation really sucks and IT undoubtedly screwed up, but this was my initial response. I would NEVER deal with all of that stuff through my work email.

      • cbackson

        Not really relevant, is it? I mean, that part sucks for her but even if she had no personal info in the account, this would be a major, major problem.

      • Senior Attorney

        Thanks for that, Anonymous. I can always count on you to brighten the day!

        Fortunately there was nothing vital on the work email that hadn’t been saved elsewhere. It’s more of an inconvenience than a total disaster, I suppose. (So I guess you have brightened my day, which I know was not your intent, so neener neener. :p ) But the way we are set up, it’s super easy to get to work email at my desk and more cumbersome to get to web-based personal email, and sometimes I succumb to what’s easy. Point taken.

        But losing the work stuff is a very major problem and I’ll be interested to see how you can make that my fault.

        • Senior Attorney

          And by “nothing really vital that hadn’t been saved elsewhere,” I’m referring to the personal stuff.

        • Anonymous

          Didn’t say it was your fault. But it’s just plain dumb to have significant personal material on your work email. And you know you know better.

          • Silvercurls

            Enough already! I’m replying to “Anonymous” but this really applies to everyone who snarketh here. Life is too short for making unkind comments, especially anonymous ones.

    • Ekaterin Nile

      This sounds like a complete mistake, not standard practice–particularly at a law firm. IT should have been able to create a new email account for you and merge it with your old account. And if it just happened yesterday, I would think backups still exist. I would follow up on this today, now, and get it straightened out before the backups are overwritten over the weekend. You don’t need to go medieval, but this just sounds wrong and totally fixable if IT gets on it right away.

      • Anon

        Exact same thing happened to a friend at a firm when she changed her name after getting married. No auto forward, no auto reply, just poof gone. Awful. Hope you get this fixed.

  13. Peeve

    Why do people make store names plural or possessive? Like Nordstroms or Lord & Taylor’s?

      • Meg Murry

        Except Penneys actually isn’t, its actually just JC Penney. But most people I know call it Penneys, and I just had to look it up myself. Probably because most stores with a person’s name used to be possessive, as in “Smiths’ 5 and dime”, the store owned by the Smith family, shortened to Smiths.
        Around where I live there are a lot of people that work at “Ford’s”. As in, Mr. Ford’s factory. They don’t generally write it that way, but they do say it that way.

    • tesyaa

      Back in the day, Stern’s, Gimbel’s and Alexander’s were stores that were really started by families with those names. (Does anyone else remember those places?)

      • Wildkitten

        Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor were both started by folks with those names. I think another good question could be – why did some of the owners name their stores possessive and some did not?

    • Samantha

      Just a random guess, but I always figured there’s a second word that was since omitted. e.g. Lord and Taylor’s Emporium, or Nordstrom’s Clothing World. :)

    • Clementine

      In rural parts of the Northeast US, a big adventure is going ‘Upta the Wal-Mart’s’. This drives me batty.

      I should also specify that in this area, ‘Upta’ is a variation on ‘up to’; however, there is zero correlation with any direction or altitude. It just means you’re going somewhere.

      • EB0220

        Hah – altitude! Thanks for the funny mental image of people climbing a mountain to get to Wal-Mart.

    • Annie

      In the Detroit area, that’s pretty common practice, not just for department stores, but also for companies. I have heard many times “I work at Ford’s”.

  14. In the Pink

    Reposting from earlier this week…

    How do you deal with the upper part of the scoop neck cardi flopping over so the reverse side shows around your neckline?

    I’m allergic to dress tape on my skin, FWIW.

    In cooler ac offices, I often wear a cardi as a completer piece, with or without a belt … but this flappy floppy thing drives me nuts.

    Very hard to find v neck cardis it seems. My tailor is going to try to alter a scoop neck to a v neck but it may end up costing far more than I spent on a pretty printed cardi on sale at Talbots.

    Ideas appreciated.

    • tesyaa

      Where are you looking for v-necks? Most of my cardigans are actually v’s. Lands’ End has mostly crewnecks but I see a few v’s. Same for Target. I see a cute Geo Print v-neck cardigan at Ann Taylor today, and it’s 40% off.

      • In the Pink

        We all have things which bother us, some of which are rather innocuous to others… I just don’t know why an honest questions/request for help has to result in snarkiness.

        This trend really is dominating threads lately.

        FWIW, as an hourglass, I belt my cardis so it accentuates the flopping. But I can see you are uninterested.

        Thanks to all for their ideas on finding vnecks and the boning!!!

        • Silvercurls

          +1 for complaints re snarkiness.
          I’m here waving the double-headed axe in favor of civility. Yes, I see the irony of my statement. Okay, rewrite: I’m waving the placard. Banner. Picket sign. Dead fish. (No disrespect intended to vegans.) Whatever I’m brandishing, the message remains the same. Enough with the snark already.

        • Wildkitten

          I don’t think that was mean-snarky. I thought it was so obviously nonsensical advice that it was just plain funny.

    • Clementine

      Ask your tailor if it would be an option to put just a tiny amount of boning around the neckline to help it lay correctly?

      I haven’t done this, but I have sewn with boning. It’s the equivelent of mens’ dress shirts having those little plastic collar tips. If

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