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Coffee Break: ‘Pointy Lace Mix’ Colorblock Suede Pump

I love a pop of color that's a little bit understated, and I think these shoes from Hugo Boss are just sublime. I love the tall, proud heel, and the gray/yellow/black color scheme is a really winning combination. These are $455 at Hugo Boss, with only lucky sizes in stock at this point. Pointy Lace Mix Colorblock Suede Pump Here's a more affordable option in heels, and this comfort brand has a colorblock options if you like the tights-with-heeled-sandals look. This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 12.3.24 (lots of Cyber Monday deals extended, usually until 12/3 at midnight)

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

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84 Comments

    1. No idea, but also love them. I had a bathing suit like this once but with a streak of purple thrown in and it was the greatest.

    1. Maybe just mine. let me post again.

      I have posted before about outsourcing. I’ve decided i want to have someone cook dinner. I’ve heard of chefs that provide meals either delivery every night prepared or they come to your home 2-3 times a week and cook in your kitchen. I don’t want blue apron or similar because i want to do nothing more than maybe just stick something already prepared in the oven to heat and salad is already made.

      can anyone recommend such a chef or service in the DMV? i’m in north arlington.

      1. I keep getting emails fromt his Galley service. I’m in Courthouse, north arlington, seeen people getting it delivered to my building. I have no idea if it is good, but it looks like exactly what you are talkinga bout.

      4. Email me at crossedpaws10 at the google mail. I have a recommendation for a personal friend that does this.

    2. I have been away being treated for a medical issue. I hope to be back soon. Happy new year to the entire hive! Yay!

  3. Looking for off-registry wedding gift ideas. Friends eloped and aren’t registered anywhere but I want to get them something to commemorate the occasion. My usual go-to in these situations is a bottle of “good champagne” (as Ina would say), but I’d like to be more creative here. Having a little trouble because I don’t know the bride as well as the groom and I feel like this is a scenario where it would be easier if I knew her tastes better. Budget of $50-100. I don’t want to just get them a restaurant gift certificate or something like that.

    1. I feel like if you don’t know their tastes well, a gift certificate probably is the best solution, although it can feel a little impersonal. Restaurant and/or a nice home good store (like Crate and Barrel) would be good choices. If they’re taking a honeymoon, you could add a guidebook for the destination to personalize it (a honeymoon guidebook + a check is what I usually give as a wedding gift for all but my closest friends).

      1. Agree with this. Also, no registry may be a hint that they are not looking for people to buy them stuff (I know it was for us). We mostly got money, which was nice but not necessary, but we did get some restaurant gift certificates, which we are looking forward to using. Also wine.

    2. If you know they are wine drinkers I think it is cute to wrap a couple different kinds of good wine with labels that say “drink on 1st anniversary” or “drink after first argument” etc. Amazon has some cute sets.

      1. Ehh, ymmv and know your people and all that, but that idea seems tacky to me. Just get wine; no need for twee labels.

        1. +1 million. I would hate absolutely this and would much rather just have a nice bottle of wine with a sincere congratulations note. Also, who gets married in 2017 without already having had their first argument?

          2. Well, yeah, but by the time you’re married who needs a bottle of wine after an argument? It just seems kind of patronizing to me, in addition to being tacky.

          3. Hopefully the recipients would recognize the kind and thoughtful intent behind the gift and overlook if the packaging wasn’t quite to their taste.

        2. Everyone knows the first good fight is time for our friend Shots! Shots! Shots! anyway, amirite?

      2. It’s all the rage among my friends to do anniversary bottles. Some do 1,2,3 some do 1, 3, 5, some do 1, 5, 10. If you aren’t into it, you can just open them and drink them whenever. It’s cute.

    4. No advice, but “as Ina would say” made me laugh. Whenever I cook from one of her cookbooks I announce that I am getting out the GOOD olive oil, the GOOD mayonnaise, etc., because Ina will only tolerate the good ingredients.

      1. So true. The pearls would be clutched if you offered, say, cava instead of the “good” stuff.

    5. I mean this gently, but if you don’t know a couple well enough to know what type of sentimental gift they’d appreciate, you probably shouldn’t buy them a sentimental gift. That’s especially true if they eloped and don’t have a registry–it sounds like this couple does not want stuff that other people picked out for them. I think a bottle of good champagne is perfect. You could also buy a bottle of wine from the year they met, if it was several years ago. Or donate to a charity or have a tree planted in their name.

    6. We eloped & didn’t register. My favorite gifts were open table gift certificates, followed by food subscriptions – we got cheese of the month from cowgirl creamery (local Marin, CA company, but I think they’ve gone national), random food of the month from Zingerman’s in NY (this was seriously random but fun to see what they’d send), and wine of the month (we’re in California & got this from K&L Wines – not sure what shipping rules apply elsewhere, but I’ve copied this one & sent to other couples. We also got serving platters & various house things – I liked vases & candlesticks the best because I never really invested in those before myself & neither had my husband so that was a “gap” in our collective things.

      1. Zingerman’s is in Michigan, not NY. But they are the best, they have a bread of the month club that my husband got me for my birthday. I have one loaf still in the freezer and can’t wait to break into it. We get my grandparents gift baskets from them every year.

    7. Ok. Thanks all! I think good champagne it will be. I know the bride is not very into wine but likes to drink some bubbly on occasion and, if nothing else, it’s nice to have a bottle on hand for new year’s, etc., whether to give away or drink at home. Maybe if I find a simple ice bucket I’ll get it to go with, and inc. a gift receipt.

    8. In these situations, I’ve given a Hello Fresh or Blue Apron gift certificate. They can choose their meals, and then its fun date nights of cooking — which I think I enjoyed much more as a newlywed.

  4. Anybody taken (or plan to take!) any unique and amazing trips around May? I’m planning a trip for early May 2018 and am looking for suggestions for where to go. This will be for me and future DH’s honeymoon (but we are not necessarily looking for a honeymoony place). We will have between 10 days and 18 days. Budget is not a concern as of now – I want to start by narrowing down the best places for that time of year and amount of time.

    Leaving the day after the wedding and looking for something outside of the US. I’m hoping to find somewhere warm with a combination of adventure (for us that’s hiking, swimming, scuba) with some natural wonders and relaxation. We don’t want to spend a lot of time in cities on this trip. Something off the beaten path would be ideal. For reference, our favorite destination to date was the Andaman Islands in India.

    1. Two of my favorite trips ever have been the Galapagos Islands (took a small cruise ship) and sailing (with a hired captain) around St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Those are both “budget is not a concern” trips though.

    3. Galapagos fits your description perfectly and is very doable in 10-12 days from the US.
      People will probably suggest Thailand, but I was SO SO unimpressed with the snorkeling there – we went to all the famous spots and I thought they were worse than the average Caribbean beach. I’ve heard the diving is better than the snorkeling, but I still wouldn’t recommend it for people with a lot of snorkeling or diving experience.

    4. Morocco is lovely in May and seems like it could meet your requirements for natural wonder. The big cities are popular tourist spots, but there are smaller areas with more of an outdoors focus. Since you have a bit of time, I’d recommend travelling around the country to do some boating/swimming in the ocean (take your pick of Atlantic or Mediterranean), an overnight guided trip into the Sahara, and hiking in the Atlas mountains. Azrou is a lovely little town near Fez with good hiking in cedar forests that offers an escape from the heat and the opportunities to see monkeys. Chefchaouen is more popular, but has hiking as well, and is near the Mediterranean. Agadir is slightly larger, but not as big as Marrakech or Casablanca, and has beaches on the Atlantic. Merzouga is a small town in the Sahara where you can go for an overnight desert stay. Also look into trips leaving from Rissani and Erfoud for Sahara tours. Doing all of these places will take you all over the country, but you could obviously adjust your trip to have more or less travel if you wanted. In May it will be hot, but not completely unbearable the way it is in the later summer months.

    5. Galapagos or Seychelles. With climate change, there will be significant impacts on both so see them while you can.

      1. Maldives and French Polynesia are being affected by climate change, although I think there may be less non-beach/scuba stuff to do in those places than there is in the Seychelles. Certainly less than the Galapagos. But the diving in both those countries is phenomenal and the overwater bungalow is the ultimate in romance and relaxation.

    6. The trips suggested are some of my dream trips. A lower cost option that meets your criteria is Belize. You could see the whole country in 2 weeks and have whatever combination of luxury resort/Air BnB/glamping/camping you might desire. It is all natural wonders. World class scuba locations and more. May is not high season, but I liked that.

    7. The weather won’t quite be what you are looking for in all of these but I’d look closely at Seychelles and Mauritius, Namibia, Bhutan, and Mongolia.

    9. Thailand, including 3 days in Bangkok, 4-5 in Chang Mai, and 3-4 in Phuket. Best trip we ever took. Great hotel options on Agoda.com. Would go again in a heartbeat. I’ve also heard Bali is amazing.

    10. Possible eaten comment, sorry if this posts twice. I’m not sure if it will be warm enough in May – but we just got back from a week in Greece (northeast region of the Peleponnese and some surrounding islands) and it was lovely. It had all the things you are looking for – we didn’t scuba dive ourselves, but many of the coastal towns in the region have opportunities. My favorite town was Nafplio.

  5. Just wanted to say thanks to all of you who chimed in the other morning with sweet support about my outdoor cat/neighbor situation. I went over to get the check for her veterinary care from my neighbor the other night and he invited me up to see her. She is slowly healing from the Eosinophilic granuloma. Her front paw is healing nicely and, although the lip swelling is still there, it looks a lot less painful. My neighbor is retired (but retired youngish) and he had been doting on her all day, making sure she was well fed and figuring out if she would use a litter box. I got to cuddle her and talk to her and she seemed a bit more comfortable after I was there. I also got to see that my neighbors’ other two cats are happy and well cared for. They are going to take her for the follow-up to their vet and I sent them her veterinary files. I’m feeling really relieved that she will have a great home and will be a sweet, pampered house cat. My other little outdoor bada$$ feline is a little lonely, but she was with me for quite a while before the other one showed up. I’d love to bring her in, but I don’t think she’d stay and she would likely cause chaos. I’ve never had outdoor cats before, so I’m getting used to the worry it causes!

  6. I have an Apple iPhone 6 and the volume is SO off that even when I turn it up to the highest, I can barely hear the person on the other line (this happens only when I’m walking outside where there is a good deal of ambient noise). Anyone else have this issue? It’s gotten so bad that I can’t even talk to anyone when walking outside.

    And on a related topic, my husband thinks I should get rid of the 6 and upgrade to the iPhone 8 or X. Any thoughts on either, or the key differences between the two?

    1. Have you taken off the sheet of plastic that came on it? I thought I was being so clever doing that and it turns out it blocks the speaker. The people at the Apple store laughed at me when I brought it in, which I guess I deserved.

    2. Yes! My 6 has this problem too. Got worse after I dropped it on accident (lol). It sounds good with headphones so I try to use those most of the time. It also sounds fine on speaker so if I am in the car or something I will do that. It’s annoying though.

    4. I’m actually taking mine to the Genius Bar for this later today — I’ll try to remember to report back!

    1. What goes around comes around . . . They look fine. Plenty of people will be able to pull them off.

  8. My work brings in nurses to give free flu shots, but I’m visibly pregnant – does anyone know if they’ll be reluctant to give me the shot without a doctor’s note? (I asked my doctor about the shot and she said absolutely get it, but I dont have a written note).

    1. I had a flu shot at my work while visibly pregnant and they had no issue with it. Clearly this might differ based on the service doing the shots…

    3. I can’t imagine why, it’s especially recommended for pregnant women to get it (along with children and the elderly).

    4. my work sends out a million reminders that they won’t give shots to pregnant women without a doctors note. U think you could get one faxed?

      1. The flu shot clinic at my work similarly will not give you a shot if pregnant, and directs you to get a shot from your doctor.

    5. Not in my experience. But, you may ask your office admin ahead of time to get in touch with them to tell them you’re pregnant. The provider actually asked my office admin, and prepared a special preservative-free vial for me. I asked my doc out of curiosity, and she said it’s nice but not necessary to have a preservative-free version.

    6. I got one through work both while I was pregnant and nursing. They gave me the egg-free one as a precaution, but otherwise didn’t hesitate.

    7. Can you get your shot at the doctor’s office? What about a pharmacy like CVS or Walgreen’s? Their hours may be better than a doctor’s.

  9. For those of you with term life insurance, what is your monthly premium, policy amount, and age when you got the policy?

    1. $1.5 million/20 year term, $48/month premium and I just got it at 36. Mr. AIMS’s premium is a little higher ($52?) for the same amount/term but it’s my understanding men are usually a bit more expensive to insure than women.

    2. $1 million/20 year term. I am in year 8, purchased at 36. I think the initial premium was about $36/mo and escalated, with my last annual payment being $745 (so $62/mo). I purchased through a mutual ins co and expect to get back about $50 in profits this year.

  10. My 6 also has this problem! I’m both glad and annoyed that it’s not just me…

  11. My best friend of 15+ years and her husband were high school sweethearts and tried for numerous years to become pregnant. After numerous rounds of science, they’re pregnant with twins. I’ve already purchased items for the babies from the registry plus books as were requested for the theme of the shower. However, I’d really like to get something for my friend, something that might be meaningful to her, something keepsake-like. She’s not doing pregnancy photos as she’s super tall and bigger so docs don’t expect her to look pregnant til she’s pretty far along, so I can’t do a starter baby book kind of thing, and she’s been horribly sick the entire time so far, with most free time spent in bed, so pampering won’t work for her as she’s too sick to go anywhere or see people most days. She and husband have a huge extended family who all live nearby so she’ll have support around her when the babies arrive so the usual food/cleaning gift cards won’t work. I’m at a loss! Any ideas?

    2. first edition (or otherwise super nice) copy of her favorite childhood book? One for each of the twins?

    3. Jewelry, cert for newborn photography, meaningful framed art,

      if you’re really close…..not a physical gift, but I’d say running interference with in-laws who are “assisting,” (post-partum me HATED ALL THE SUGGESTIONS AND JUST WANTED TO HOLD THE BABY AND SNUGGLE), maybe offering to go over one night to assist with nights so she can sleep, gift cert for a specialty bra store…

    4. Not twin specific, but my best friend got me a delicate little necklace with my daughter’s first name initial and birthstone that I really treasure. It was like my little talisman in the beginning, especially when I had to go back to work and had all the feelings that one could have at that moment. Lots of options for this sort of thing to suit her style.

      Another thing you can do is to get her a post-baby photo session. Many hospitals have them, too, and you can probably call and find out the company that does them, but not everyone is into this sort of thing, so ymmv.

      1. Or maybe a nice bathrobe if she’s spending a lot of time in bed already and certainly will be up at night once twins arrive.

    5. I’m 11 weeks and feel like death. All I want is to not smell food cooking in my house. Take out gift cards or dropped off meals would be a DREAM right now, although I now that’s not a sentimental gift AT ALL. Also, as soon as I’m feeling good again (hopefully soon!?) I want ALL of the prenatal massages and pampering. Consider something like that? A gift card for a package of 5 massages maybe at a nice local spa?

    6. My favorite “keepsake” gifts were ones where I didn’t have to do any work. So (a) a wooden block with Baby’s name and birth stats inscribed, (b) flowers that came in a nice vase that I kept, (c) a wooden keepsake box themed to the Year of the Sheep (the year my son was born), and (d) baby blankets, cups, spoons, etc. Not everyone likes having knick knacks and keepsakes around, but I appreciated those more than baby books, the stickers or cards for certain months or events, etc. It wasn’t until 4-5 months that I had my sh*t together enough for family photos. (Baby was born early, and early premie days are rough. Of course, that’s common with twins too.)

      A keepsake item like jewelry would definitely have been appreciated too!

      For something useful/pampering (but won’t last forever), a tote bag for the hospital could be nice, especially if you put some goodies in it (granola bars, extra phone charger, nursing/recovery essentials).

    7. I would have loved it if a friend got a gift set from Storq for me. Their stuff looks nice but I’m too cheap to buy it myself. Prenatal massages were also always welcome. Neither of these are super sentimental, but I both would be highly appreciated. Sentimental is maybe easier to do for the babies’ christening, if that will be a thing?

    8. You mentioned that you can’t do a starter baby book, but could you help her with the baby book after the twins are born as a project the two of you do together? My twins are approaching 4 and I still haven’t finished mine. I would have loved help from a friend. The early months are exhausting, but around 5 months might be a good time to get it going.

      You could also help with the other things that are hard to get together: birth announcements (if she’s doing them) and regular printing of photos (if she wants hard copies).

    9. I have twins and have worked hard to treat them as individuals (as well as celebrating their bond), so I would have liked maybe a nice picture frame for three pictures (so one of each separately and one together), or a baby book with designated spaces to record something for each baby?

      A piece of jewelry of something non-baby that is a pair? Classic metal or ceramic piggy banks? Two set of baby booties? My kids never wore theirs, but it decorated the nursery and I would look at them when I was pregnant and it would get me excited about what was to come.

      Not sentimental, but a massage? She will be very very uncomfortable.

  12. I got a this blazer(see link below) in the color “cherry red” on a whim, it got here today. I tried it on and liked it. But not really sure about whether I should keep it or not, I’m not sure how versatile this color is. What other colours would it pair well with? Also would you wear this with a dress? If I do keep it I would want it to be something that can be worn in different outfits as opposed to just one.

    3. Search “burgundy blazer outfit” on Pinterest and a lot of colors come up. I like the idea of it with a dark olive green, whites and off-whites, creams, black, jeans, leopard, a mustard-y yellow, or a muted orange.

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