Coffee Break: Nodde Bag

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1. Instagram is obviously a highlight reel etc. etc. but I recently came across a friend of a friend’s account and I’m a little jealous of her location – right near the water in a community outside D.C. where after-work sailing, rowing, paddleboarding, etc. are all part of the daily life in the warmer months, plus beach walks all year. I’ve been feeling so cooped up lately due to a variety of life stressors and we’re located in an area where it’s been hard to get into nature as much as we’d like. I LOVE water and find it so relaxing but can’t afford to live near the coast in my area. I don’t really have a point to this little vent (I don’t even like sailing?!) but I guess it’s a reminder to keep trying to find ways to spice up the weekdays and add in time outside however we can find it. Anyone had any luck with that in general – anything that works better for you to avoid the “collapse on the couch” end to a weekday?

   1. I find it’s helpful to lean in to what I like about where I live. Do you life there because of family? Friends? See them. Do you have great museums? Go to a museum. Do you like the walkability? Do a bunch of walkable things. Whatever it is that drove you to live there / keeps you there.

   2. Outdoor dining if it’s not too hot out. Walks on the Mall. A visit to the botanical gardens. A historic garden tour. Tea at a hotel that has a gorgeous courtyard.

   3. Honestly, having a dog is the main reason I can’t collapse on a couch at the end of a weekday. He needs walks, and walks are nice, even if they aren’t paddle-boarding-on-instagram nice.

   4. This might sound silly, but can you purchase a standalone hot tub from Costco so you can enjoy some outdoor relaxation time in a swimsuit? It’s not the same as living on the water, but the investment is relatively small and it seems amazing. (I put in a pool a few years ago against everyone’s advice, and I’m loving it).

      1. Have you seen the price of hot tubs since Covid? They’ve always been expensive but they are eye poppingly expensive now, like used car level expensive (and used cars have gotten more expensive too!).

   5. If you expand your standards for nature does it help at all? Maybe not, but sometimes the coast is not happening, but there’s a lake or a river that gets ignored because of the coast. One of the nearest parks to me is the recovery garden at the hospital; another is a cemetery. Maybe those seem morbid, but in stressful times it’s oddly encouraging to me, and it’s a lot better than collapsing on the couch.

      1. Yeah, I currently live far from the ocean, but you can’t go five minutes without running into a lake or river, and there are parks and trails everywhere, which makes it easy to get outside. Also, think about your schedule. I’m a morning person, so I prefer to start my days outside and then end them happily on the couch. A midday break could also work if your schedule allows.

   6. Growing food has made me so happy. If a particular crop fails, I don’t get as despondent as I do when my flowers die; plants you eat aren’t that expensive or, in most cases, ornamental, so it doesn’t feel like such a waste. I love growing lettuce and kale in particular. It gives me an excuse and purpose to get outside, which always seems to brighten my mood. Maybe having a low key outdoor activity like that would help?

      1. Same! My garden instantly makes me forget whatever annoyance or slight I’ve experienced that day. I’m in my 50s and have never seriously gardened before, but I finally have the time (newly-empty-nester) and the space (a sunny backyard).

   7. I know this isn’t accessible everywhere, but biking to do daily errands and kid pickups/drop offs helps with this for me. We bit the bullet on a cargo bike–so it’s possible to more schlepping, of both people and things–and have been really happy we did.

      1. OP here and I do love to bike – we have a Shotgun seat ready to go for our toddler who is *almost* old enough for it. I think he is going to absolutely love it.

      2. +1 to the cargo bike for errands. My toddler will often fight about getting in the car, but he never fights getting into the bike seat.

   8. I don’t know if you have this kind of flexibility, but one thing I do is keep shorts & a tee in the car, and if there’s a greater than +15 minutes over typical traffic delay on my way home, I go to the park near my office. It’s half guaranteed nature time & half “wait until the traffic clears” time

      1. This is a really great idea. One of my formative-years bosses took the same approach, but with happy hours.

      2. Such a great idea. I’ve heard others say to keep swimsuits and towels in the car too.

   9. During the Covid shutdown, I turned to hiking for exercise. I was surprised to find so many great trails close to home, including one that is literally on my way home from work and a handful of others a 10 minute drive from home. One daylight savings time hits, I make a commitment to hit the trail at least two weekdays, in addition to weekend hikes. I know everyone does not have this option, but there may be more trails nearby than you realize.

      1. Yes! We luckily do have great open space nearby for hiking and mountain biking. That’s one area where we’re not lacking. I agree that hitting the trails even once or twice a week feels huge mentally compared to walking residential streets.

   10. If it makes you feel any better, I’m not sure where, exactly, she’s located, but if it’s Annapolis and surrounding areas, the actual “swimming” part is the least appealing water activity. When I first moved to DC in my 20s, I went to Annapolis for a long weekend with my friends, expecting very much to have a water focused weekend, and while it was VERY much about the water (eating sea food, oogling the boats)….you couldn’t really actually SWIM there. I actually found it somewhat claustrophobic at the time — it was like 100 million degrees outside, but the water was tidal and brackish and full of jellyfish at the house where we stayed. So it was either way too shallow and muddy off the house’s dock, or deep and very stinky with jellyfish. So, we stared at the water longingly from a kayak, but never really got the refreshing cool off feeling you get jumping in. It’s a picture perfect town, but give me a cool lake any day. Also – I’m a total grinch about sailing. Set up and clean up takes forever, and unless you are actively sailing the boat, you are staring longingly at water you cannot jump into. I found that tubing in West Virginia was actually a better summer experience in my 20s than Annapolis, which, again, is picture perfect. Most places have a river or lake nearby, you might enjoy it more than the actual experience of Annapolis!

       Your friend truly might be living an idyllic life, but just a reminder that an insta reel doesn’t give the full picture!!

       1. Haha, that does make me feel better – it is Annapolis. Looks perfect for sailing, I’ll say that, but I prefer jumping into a lake too.

       2. I lived in Annapolis for a while. It is picturesque, but I found the outdoor opportunities to be limited unless one is interested in sailing. Paddling, sure, but I agree that the town can feel a little claustrophobic. Downtown also floods frequently with climate change, and the legislature overruns the town from January—April as well. The town is not the stuff of my fantasies; I moved.

   11. Every day this past week, I spent the hour between toddler bedtime and my bedtime prepping for my first solo parenting camping trip. Takes effort at the end of a long day, but when the alternative is to rot in front of a screen I feel like it’s a better use of time. I’ll report back after the camping trip on whether it was actually worth it.

       1. OP here and I would love that! We’re taking our toddler camping this fall (we live somewhere where it’s very hard to get spots without significant advance planning) and I can’t wait. You named exactly how I feel – sometimes wary of the effort involved but anything is better than rotting.

          1. It’s still mud season where I’m at, so I’m driving 4 hours south to find somewhere that’s a little more dried out. I can’t wait until things dry out and warm up where I love, since there’s some good spots that are first come first serve about 35 minutes from where I live.

       2. My kids are teens now and love camping. We camped with them even as babies and it is such a good reset! We go places where there is no cell service and so a forced electronic detox is good for everyone. I’ve done both trips where I was the only adult and big family gatherings. So much fun!

   12. I’m in Philly and similarly love nature, especially the water. I row 2x a week with my team and sometimes another time by myself. There are also places along the same stretch of water I can put in my paddle board, but I mostly save SUPing for the shore. I’m about a 10-15 min drive from the boathouse. I also trail run 1 night after work (with a friend) and 1 weekend morning (usually solo). My usual trails are about a 30 min drive for me, but I can go further for more intense trails. Aside from sports, I usually try to take a craft class (usually a few hours a night 1x a week for 4-6 weeks) once a year in the evenings. I aim for one social event (happy hour, dinner with a friend, even just a walk) each week too.

       I try to ski one weeknight and one weekend a week in the winter – I don’t like skiing NEARLY as much as I like rowing or trail running, but it gets me outdoors and active. Last winter I played in a soccer league and enjoyed it and will pick that back up too.

       Philly is great because we’re only like 75 mins from the shore, so it’s so easy to do a day trip (I did one last week!). Ditto the Poconos. In my day to day, its so easy to feel far away from the beach or mountains or lakes, but its really very doable.

       1. Do you have kids? This kind of activity level was my aspiration pre-kids (a little less than you – superwoman!) but it’s been harder to do since. Still very worth trying for, though.

   13. get a dog! half serious but ours is what gets me outside several times a day minimum, plus we love bringing him to local-ish parks and trails.

       what area are you in? I have a hard time picturing anywhere in the US where it’s actually hard to get into nature – maybe it’s a mindset shift around what kind of nature?

2. Are we still wearing those long straight cardigan “coats” in 2026? It seemed so versatile as a third piece when I got it. It hadn’t seemed right in a while (but we had a very cold winter), but it was perfect today: cool morning (but not cold enough for a real coat, plus I’m mentally done with coats for a while) and a pair of pants that was snugger than I’d like and I wanted to hide that. So, useful, but this is also my cue maybe to buy some pants that fit and maybe a better third piece for spring?

   1. I don’t think we are wearing them at the moment. People on this board will say that blazers are good third pieces but I really don’t like wearing a blazer. A Moto jacket, updated denim jacket, shorter cardigan (unless you’re fighting the Great Cardigan Wars) would all work.

   2. This seems to be a real hot button issue on the site. i think you can wear it and no one will look askance and also i think if you’re goal is to look current than they are not. I think they really work best over skinny pants which are not on trend. That said my boss has a grey cashmere one she leaves at work and wears over everything when she’s cold and it is remarkably versatile and really looks ok with almost everything. but yes, buy pants. don’t wear things that are tight. so uncomfortable and demoralizing.

      1. I saw a woman wearing a light blue cabled one the other day and was thinking how great she looked. She was just out running errands but she looked seasonal and comfortable and I sort of wanted one, it was perfect for the weather we were having.

   3. With the right outfit, they still look good. They never played nicely with my hips, so I’m glad they’re over as a trend item.

3. It’s over 80 degrees today, and I’m dreaming of wearing shorts. Where do I find shorts for a pear shape with chub rub? I have some drawstring denim and linen pairs, but I’d love some with a real zipper fly for when I want to be a smidge more polished.

   1. Spanx; 40” hips and a large fits.mme; M was a bit snug. You can’t see through the white ones.

      1. Agree on the Spanx twill shorts. I think I learned about them here or Cap Hill Style last summer and they’re amazing. I had given up on nice shorts and only wore skorts or athletic shorts. These are flattering and fit my athletic thighs well without riding up or rubbing.

      2. Thanks for this info! Have been considering, and this just clinched it!

   2. I have been thinking the same thing and wondering about the spanx shorts. they don’t have a pair of denim ones though, i wish they did. was debating NYMJ ones.

   3. I was about to offer suggestions and then I realized that all my shorts have a drawstring. I tried on some Democracy denim shorts a few weeks ago and they fit well over my thunder thighs. They didn’t do great things for the booty, but YMMV.

   4. NYDJ Bermuda shorts. And linen blend from a really inexpensive brand from Rack, Gemma and Jane.

4. Besides here, what are your favorite sites to peruse? I’m in a work lull, and I can only read so many news sites or industry newsletters to fill the time! Any hobby sites? I could use fewer fashion and shopping temptations, hah

   1. I’m off social media, but when I need to scratch the itch for a quick and light read (a la when I used to scroll/stalk), People works. Vogue has good articles, and the online ads are outside my normal wardrobe, so I’m not tempted to purchase.

      Outside Online is my personal favorite online place to read when I can’t do any more politics or heavy stuff. I pay for a subscription bc the platform gives me access what used to be Runner’s World and Skiing Magazine and Backpacker. I also read the climbing articles, but those are more aspirational for me personally.

      1. Outside mag has some really great long-form reads.
         I like The Guardian for both news and non-news articles.

      2. I like to borrow magazines from Libby for scrolling,

         1. I never regret this. The editorial standards of real magazines still seem far and beyond a lot of what’s exclusively published online.

   2. Reddit subgroups and Bogleheads.

   3. Current favorites include Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, Emily Henderson, and Slate.

   4. I’m picky about Reddit, but sometimes there is something in hobby drama or something similar I want to catch up on. Right now there’s some huge kerfuffle in the coffee subreddits about surreptitiously flavored single origin specialty coffee playing out.

      There was also a whole thing that went down with Helen DeWitt recently that was entertaining to me wherever discussed.

      As for actual hobbies and interests on Reddit and not just subculture drama, sometimes I try to research books I may want to read or shows I may want to watch (the various Asian drama subreddits have valuable participation).

      Venmo trip planning is another one that can be fun even if a lot of browsing only leads to one short getaway.

5. did anyone get the email from Eli Lily this morning about the new pill? Orfoglorpin maybe? I’d thought retratrutide would be the next to hit market.

   1. Drug names are getting more and more preposterous.

   2. Only a few of these words are in the Bible

   3. Foundayo (orforglipron) already has its FDA approval. Retratrutide is further back in the pipeline with Phase 3 trials still underway.

6. I have a kid in a very large public high school. One of her “specials” teachers has been very helpful to her over the years and has really given her (and others in her class and a related club) room to grow and develop as humans in a way that hasn’t ever really happened before with us.

   Now that kid is at the end of her school journey there, would it be inappropriate to give a gift just to that teacher? In elementary school, we collected gifts for homeroom teachers and the PTA raised funds for teacher lunches and gifts. It feels like this hasn’t happened since COVID / middle school for us. I never wanted to do this before because it felt a bit too quid pro quo maybe (if your kid gets the lead in a play, is it because of the kid or your funds) but now that won’t be a counterweight.

   Was thinking $ or restaurant gift cards, along with a heartfelt note.

   1. Heartfelt note for sure, and I lean towards a gift card rather than cash in this rare instance. My daughter’s school had rules against teachers accepting cash, and it put them in an awkward position of breaking the rules to accept it or declining when they sorely deserved and needed it.

      1. Same with our school. Go with a gift card to something fairly universal like Amazon or target.

   2. Appropriate and I would do Amazon or Walmart gift cards because those go a long way for teachers who need classroom supplies.

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