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I recently ordered this reindeer sweater from Loft because it looked cute and festive but relatively understated for a holiday sweater. The bow on the reindeer's neck adds some interest but is more subtle than if it were red. Regarding sweaters in general, I prefer V-necks and turtlenecks to crewnecks, and I appreciate that this neckline is roomier than a crewneck but warmer than a V-neck.
The color of this machine-washable sweater isn't exactly Christmas-y, so I think earrings like these green sparkly studs at Etsy ($20) would complement it well. (I may actually buy these, in fact…)
I didn't pay attention to the fabric when I ordered (it was a bit of an impulse buy), but when the sweater arrived, I found it to be soft and non-itchy. It's a combo of cotton, polyester, acrylic, and spandex, but it has only a little stretch.
The sweater is available in regular and petite sizes and is currently 40% off $70, bringing it down to $42.
Because this sweater is selling out quickly, here are a couple of other festive-but-not-loud Loft sweaters that could work for casual holiday parties and the like: this “Merry Merry” style (regular and petite; 40% off $75) and this puff-sleeve one with tiny Christmas trees (regular and petite: 40% off $85).
P.S. Post-purchase, I realized that in any Christmas photos in which the reindeer head is obscured, I will appear to be wearing a sweater with creepy demon hands, but c'est la vie.
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Sales of note for 10.10.24
- Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
- Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
- Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
- White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles
Thursday boots
I’ve seen several people here recommending Thursday boots, and I’m getting heavily targeted by them on the socials. I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on a purchase. Which boots in particular do you have and like?
Anon
I’ve been wearing my Indigo Thursday Vanguards for over 3 years now for all sorts of activities and in all sorts of weather. I keep the leather in good shape myself and just recently sent them out for their first resole. They’re expensive, but a good value considering how much I’ve worn them, will continue to wear them and that they’re made in the USA. I wear a Brooks Women’s 10 running shoe, and wear a 7.5 mens in Thursday and Allen Edmonds.
Anon
If you look at the In Our Time: History podcast you will find roughly a half-dozen episodes that cover different people and events during that time period. I find them perfect for dog walking! You have to do a bit of digging, which is easier on their website than the app. There is a particularly good one on the transition of Britain from a medieval state under the Tudors and one on the Spanish Armada.
They also have a good one on the War of the Roses, an understanding of which is critical to understanding a lot of what happened during the Tudor era, particularly Henry VIII’s obsession with a clear line of succession.
Greensleeves
I have the Legend Chelsea boot. I got mine last year so they only have one season of wear, but they’re holding up great. They are comfortable to walk in and the lug sole feels solid in bad weather.
Curious
I have the Duchess Chelsea boot and wear it all the time in Seattle winter. It is my go-to shoe for 5 months of the year. I’ve had it since spring 2020 and still get compliments almost every time I wear it.
Anon
Apparently, infinity is the number of Tudors and British history youtube videos I can listen to (but not watch) while walking the dog (4+ miles/day, lots of pauses for sniffing, dog is a multi-pooper). I have never read the Wolf Hall trilogy and doubt I’ll have time to do that. Given how often I seem to need to look things up on Wikipedia, would it make sense to get the audiobooks of this? I am sensing that these books are dense and even though I know the general gist of it, it might be hard to casually listen (I tried to read War and Peace and dropped the gigantic book and could never quite find where I had left off and it was just to hard to keep plowing through).
Vicky Austin
What about a podcast instead? I like Talking Tudors (super well researched). If you like history/royal family drama in general you might like Noble Blood.
JTM
Noble Blood has quickly become my favorite podcasts! The episodes are well researched and very entertaining.
Vicky Austin
I feel like Dana is a friend of mine, I spend so much time listening!
Anon
I’m not a big audiobook person (I prefer podcasts) so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think the Wolf Hall books would be tough as audio books. I thought the books were fantastic, but they were dense, sometimes slow going, and you want to sit there and savor the language and atmosphere, not listen to them while doing something else. They definitely require 100% focus or you won’t really get anything out of them. It doesn’t really matter if you’re already familiar with “the plot” as the plot is really just background to the character study.
pugsnbourbon
+1.
ALT
I’ve recommended the Not Just The Tudors podcast here before (maybe to you, even!) but she does episodes allllll about the key players which will add context and detail.
I *love* the Wolf Hall books, but I think they would be really difficult to listen to in audiobook format. There are a lot of people with the same names which got confusing when while reading. Also the main draw for me was the writing and how lyrical the prose is at times. I feel like you would lose that in audiobook format.
Maybe Alison Weir’s books about each queen would be better audiobooks? They are fiction, and her facts need to be taken with a large grain of salt, but it might scratch that itch?
Anonymous
Wolf Hall is fabulous, but it does require close reading, it’s not the easiest to follow.
How about trying one of the more accessible and entertainment based Tudor novels to start, maybe something by Philippa Gregory? Audible has samples online so that you can see if you like the narrator before committing to a book.
One trick when listening or reading historical novels is to not look things up. Just accept the words or people you don’t know and think “I’m sure I’ll understand later”.
Cant Read
I guess I’m the only one who feels this way, but I love the audiobooks and struggled to read the books. I am not smart enough for Hilary Mantel’s writing style, apparently, but the narrators translated it like a good Shakespeare actor or something would.
Anonymous
Say you’re considering buying a townhouse of about 1600-2000 sqft but you currently live in a one bed apartment, so you need to furnish an entire house. The few pieces I have in the apt are pretty old as I bought them cheap and have had them for the last decade and a half since I graduated law school. How much would you budget to spend if you wanted all new furniture and were looking to go middle end – think Macys? I wouldn’t need everything on day one, but right away I’d need a sofa, dining table, would love a new bed.
Anon
I’m right there with you, but for temporary pieces, I feel like you can’t beat Ikea. And for real wood pieces, depending on how your city goes, FB Marketplace and Craigslist can’t be beat for mahogany and nicer items for way less than Macy’s. I’d only buy new if something were upholstered. Ain’t nothing wrong with pieces that are paid-for, especially when you are moving also.
Cat
For the whole place? Somewhere around $100K and likely higher – think sofa, living room chairs, coffee table, end table, storage pieces like media cabinets or sideboards or bookcases or shelving, dining table and chairs, beds, mattresses, nightstands, dressers…….. plus of course things like lamps, art, etc.
Anon
LOL, what??? What non-filthy-rich person has 100k to blow on furnishings?
For non-upholstered furniture, I wouldn’t even look at new. You can find better quality and cheaper used. If you really, really, really want new, google Vermont wood studios. They are expensive, but running some specials right now, and the quality is very good.
Cat
If we are talking 3 bedrooms, an office, living room, dining room, all from scratch? At mid-range prices? Just a sofa, coffee table, and pair of wing chairs ran me $8K last winter… and that wasn’t the most expensive models. Browse around Pottery Barn’s webs.te and see how fast it adds up!
Normal non-filthy-rich people don’t spend that much all at once, but over 5-7 years as you gradually ‘finish’ a hosue? Very normal among my acquaintances…
Anonymous
Yeah, based on recent experience I would estimate $10K per room to furnish from scratch with midrange quality–a step up from Ikea but not Stickley. Rugs, mattresses, bed linens and pillows, window treatments, picture frames, plants and planters, throw pillows, lamps, organizing bins, etc. all add a lot to the cost.
Anon
But what townhouse has 10 rooms?! If you exclude the kitchen which doesn’t typically need much furniture, it’s probably 5 rooms at most (living, dining, three bedrooms/offices) and it could easily be less.
Mary
We bought a 1400 square foot house when we became empty nesters along with mostly new furnishings, including lamps, curtains, and art. We blew through more than 50K in no time buying every brand from Ikea, West Elm, and Ethan Allen. The expense involved in filling up a house is one of the reasons I didn’t want more square feet.
Anon
Yeah, this is super out of touch with reality, even over time.
Anon
Agreed! Down to the “LOL, what???”
Anon
Thank you! You *can* spend almost infinite money furnishing a house, but there is no need.
Cat
ok obviously if you’re ordering everything from Ikea or willing to spend months sifting through CL or FB postings, the answer is different. Also, for all I know, OP is a Biglaw attorney pulling in $400K a year but has just been too busy to deal with updating her student furniture (raises hand as something I 100% ignored bc I wasn’t home enough to care).
I was reacting to the OP’s description of “furnishing a 2000sf home from scratch using new mid-range brands” and using Pottery Barn (mid) and Ethan Allen (slightly more) as examples, a 5-piece bedroom collection (bed, two dressers, two nightstands) is easily $8K when you include a mattress and bedding, not to mention rugs or mirrors etc.
I’m not opposed to a helping of Ikea or Wayfair, in fact am typing on a Hemnes desk right now!, but don’t consider either a “mid-range” brand. I’m not as familiar with Macy’s pricing but let’s assume it’s 30% less than Pottery Barn, that’s still a solid investment to order the volume of furniture described!
Anon
It’s not a binary choice between Ikea or Craigslist on the one hand and spending $100k to furnish <2,000 sq feet on the other hand. I know tons of professional women with six figure incomes who purchased new furniture from places like Macy's and furnished large single family homes on way, way less than $100,000.
The fact that a BigLaw attorney with money to burn *could* spend this much doesn't answer the question of what a reasonable budget is. A couple who always flies first class and stays in five star hotels could easily spend $100k/year on travel, but that doesn't mean that's a normal travel budget for most people.
Anon
6:41, I bet you’ve never added it all up. Easily 100k in a house that size over time, even with a mix of old, new, IKEA and PB. Don’t forget to factor in light fixtures and other fixtures, curtains or shutters too.
Anon
I mean, I know for a fact I spent about $10k on furniture when I bought my house and have spent less than $5k since, and a lot of that was furniture for a nursery and then child’s bedroom, which I put more in the “having a kid” budget category than the “furniture” category. I probably came in with $3-5k worth of furniture from a one bedroom apartment. So maaaaybe $20k in total if you want to count all of that. But I have a big house, almost double the size of the houses OP is looking at. I don’t see how you couldn’t furnish a 1,600 square foot townhouse on a $10k budget with the bulk of the furniture from brands like Macy’s, particularly if you’re willing to go more budget on a few trendier things like bookshelves and end tables. I wouldn’t call light fixtures furniture. We didn’t replace any light fixtures in our home except as part of a kitchen remodel, and obviously if you’re remodeling that can get into the high five or low six figures. But that’s completely different than just buying furniture for a house that’s move-in ready.
Threads like this remind me that even as someone who runs in educated, professional circles where most people earn six figures, I live on a different planet than most of the commenters here. You know that in the vast majority of the country, townhomes go for less than $500k, right? There are many places where you can get a decent one in the $200k range. Spending somewhere between 20-50% of your home’s purchase price to furnish it is truly wild. Honestly, even if I earned far more than I do now I can’t imagine spending $100k on furniture for a small house. That is legit Real Housewives $hit to me. It just seems so wasteful and there are so many things I would rather do with the money instead.
Anonymous
Not for the whole place on day 1- sofa and dining table and bed with mattress on day one. I was just trying to get a pricing on those items. Then other things flow in over months or the next year. I do have solid wood, keep forever types of items – a media center, book shelves, and a dresser, which would come with me. But then of course I’d need to buy a bed and night table to match said dresser, which I will because the dresser is a solid piece.
Cat
For sofa, table, and bed with mattress I’d estimate $5-7K, less if you go with used wood table or bedframe, but given your original post it sounds like you’re not interested in scrounging Craiglist. Furniture is expensive.
Anonymous
I think this is realistic and also rugs and windows treatments are crazy expensive. Why is everyone advocating for a professional woman who wants new furniture to buy used furniture from social media? its ok to to have new nice things if it works for your budget, op.
(I love antiques and mid century vintage but the vast majority of social media furniture is awful. It may be solid wood but it’s still mass produced and dated. My mom thinks her mahogany table is a “classic” but it screams 1990s to anyone who bothers to look.)
Anonymous
absolutely if she wants nice things – but you can get nice-adjacent things for steals if you don’t have any thunderclap-must-buy moments with dining sets but also want better than ikea.
Anne-on
Omg my husband nearly had a heart attack the first time he saw what rugs and curtains cost (he lived in a shared bachelor pad type apartment, while I’d furnished two apartments by then). You CAN get a deal on curtains but it takes some serious sale stalking and/or buying fabric yourself and having them made up at a local place (major metro areas will have upholsterers/seamstresses who will do simple tab/pocket curtains for you).
No Face
Some of us advocate for that because we are professional women who bought wood furniture used. I don’t care if someone wants to spend $100k furnishing their home, but I’m not doing that. I get compliments on my free table and have great dinner parities at that table too.
Anon
I make mid 6 figures and I’m all about second hand wooden wooden furniture. The older stuff is better.
Formerly Lilly
The older stuff is better! I have good luck finding high quality wood furniture at “antique mall” level antique stores. There’s Henredon pieces and the like for a fraction of the cost of something new, and better quality too.
Anon
100k to furnish a townhouse seems absolutely INSANE to me. We furnished a 5 bedroom (two bedrooms set up as offices), 3 bath house for less than 10k and we have what I consider decently nice furniture. Not fancy brands like Restoration Hardware stuff but most of our stuff is a step up from Ikea or Target, think like West Elm and Macy’s. Even coming from a 1 bed 1 bath apartment as I did you’re not starting with nothing – you typically have a bed, mattress, couch, some kind of kitchen/dining table, a TV/basic entertainment and in this day and age often some office stuff in the bedroom. Basically, the density of furniture/sq foot is a lot higher in a small place so in my experience it’s more about expanding what you already have vs buying a ton of new things. We bought a nice dining room table and the furniture to set up a proper second bedroom for guests (second king sized bed, mattress, dresser and nightstands). We already had the office stuff, which just expanded into the new rooms, and most of the stuff for our living areas including the fifth bedroom which was initially set up as a TV room.
Also most people furnish a house gradually over a period of years, especially art, and you don’t have to invest in quality pieces when you do buy. My best friend just bought a large, expensive home and is still using her IKEA furniture from her condo because they were cash poor after the house purchase. This is totally normal in my upper middle class/wealthy circles.
anon
In defense of Cat, if you are using a decorator and depending on the city, the estimate is probably about right. Most decorators typically go with 10-20k per room to get to the fully furnished, not just check the box on furniture components. In terms of a living room, its easy to do with a 3000 sofa, 1000 coffee table, couple 1000 side chairs, etc., then factor in art, any additional storage, if you are painting/changing any fixture/adding built ins, add a rug, and you see how it happens. Not to mention if you need to order any non-standard sized blinds (looking at you $500 blinds to fit on the oh so needy doors). It can of course be done a lot cheaper and over time, but fundamentally it is likely a matter of tens of thousands, not thousands. Sofa will likely run you $2000 to $5000 even at Macy’s, dinning table and chairs will be in the same price range, and beds themselves are probably around the same not including the furniture. So, just those basics, could put you in the 10k-15k range.
Anon
But using a decorator is not a thing most people do. While some upper middle class people might be able to afford one if they saved and budgeted for it, it’s only the “default” for the uber wealthy. Most of my friends are in the $250-500k HHI range and I literally don’t know anyone who has used a decorator.
Anonymous
Ethan Allen will do in-house consults for free, which isn’t a decorator but was sure better than me trying to figure it out myself. We spent roughly 12k on couch, 2 side chairs + ottoman, and room-sized rug at ethan allen, and then another 4k on amish-made coffee table, 2 side tables, and 2 large bookcases for our living room. On the other hand, my wooden bedroom furniture is all Macys or craigslist/facebook/nextdoor finds and was considerably cheaper and fine.
Anon
I was going to also say 80-100k for midrange for that size place. The nice part about furniture is you don’t have to do it all at once.
No Face
My Macys couch was about $2k and it has been used hard for 10 years. Absolutely worth it.
Solid wood dining tables tables are great used. Mine was free. I spent a few hundred on my dining chairs.
Anonymous
Your money will go a lot further on second hand, antique and very ntsge furniture, plus it’s best for the planet. I furnished a similar size townhome with very high end antique and second hand pieces for about $20k. Plus there’s something kind of special about owning something uncommon, I love being able to marvel at my American chestnut dresser for example.
Anne-on
I’d stalk facebook marketplace and local estate sale companies for things like dining tables/chairs/entryway tables/lamps. For soft furnishing I’d buy new – Macys and Bloomingdales often have holiday sales so I’d start there. The comfortable couch company is great for mid-tier but higher end looking pieces, and Ashley/Bobs will be just fine for stuff like occasional tables. This is also a great time of year to stalk things online as many places will have black Friday sales – one of the better tips I saw is to look at the kids/teen section of brands like Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel/Restoration Hardware for things like lamps/bedding/full or queen sized beds as it is the same quality but much cheaper. Ikea is totally fine for things like bookshelves/mirrors/drapes/drapery hardware! And don’t beat yourself up when you wind up spending $500 at Target for bath mats/trash cans/toilet paper holders/drying racks/etc. there is SO much stuff that you don’t realize you need until you have to buy it yourself!
Anonymous
You can definitely get a good dining table second hand. It seems to be one of those things people downsizing get rid of frequently. We got ours I think off Nextdoor’s marketplace equivalent.
Anon
We spent about 10k- this was eight years ago so things were a bit cheaper, but our place was also a little bigger. We went with West Elm and LL Bean for the big stuff like couch, dining table, chairs, and coffee table, but Ikea for stuff like bookshelves, lamps, bedside tables, and our bed. We’ve moved cross country since then and everything is still holding up fine, including the Ikea stuff.
Anon
I got most of my furniture for very cheap. My couch was only about $1,400, my TV stand was $200, etc. I don’t think there is anything wrong with slowly furnishing your new place. If you’re buying a condo I would give it a year to furnish most things and there’s nothing wrong with looking of Facebook for second hand things like a coffee table (obviously not a mattress!) I mostly shopped Amazon, wayfair, overstock, Raymour and Flanagan, etc. however, I still rent so my pieces don’t have to last as long because who knows where I will be next year.
Senior Attorney
Sofa say $2,000 to $3,000. Dining table say $2,000. Dining chairs $200 to $800 apiece. Bed including mattress let’s say $2,000 to $4,000. So you could probably do it for as little as $10,000 for all the pieces you listed, and the sky is literally the limit on the upper end.
Anonymous
Dining table absolutely look at estate sales or local online auctions (estate.net will tell you which) – entire Ethan Allen sets go for like $200 regularly near me. You can reupholster the chairs if you want. Ditto for bedroom furniture like headboards, dressers, bedside tables. Art too. I wouldn’t get anything involving a lot of cloth secondhand like sofas, but that’s me.
Macy’s furniture is garbage, skip it.
Bed isn’t that expensive — $1K-$2K unless you’re going Hastens.
Sofa is the bigger question – could be $1000-$5000.
That said, when I moved a few years ago we did spend about $100K, but I think that included 2 new cars and a bit of landscaping. And it was before I discovered estate sales so we have a lot of Ikea and Wayfair.
Anonymous
Five years ago I budgeted about $5000 per room, knowing I already had some things that I would keep, at least temporarily, and was willing for some things to be lower end and nothing truly high end. I spent more in some rooms (bedroom – all new wood pieces from PB, C&B-type stores, amazing new mattress) but my dining room was closer to $500 as I already had a table with benches and I just added a Wayfair cabinet, two Target chairs, and a polyester rug (that I love and my guests compliment). The table is Amish-made farmhouse style and cost less than $1200 with two benches, so even adding that in that room is way less than $5000 and makes the overall budget work. 5 years later I might budget a bit higher but not much, as I would follow the advice to shop secondhand, esp. for storage items and tables. Art is not in that budget and I don’t have much because I really only want “real” art so I am setting about collecting that over the next few years. I am fine with the bare walls. YMMV.
Anon
Photography is “real” art and is pretty affordable. Everything But The House and local emptying-the-house auction firms have some great deals on paintings.
anonchicago
We went from a 1,200 sq ft condo earlier this year and are probably looking at $10-20k all in and understanding we still have a bit left to do. Most items came from Macy’s or similar, though I supplemented with Wayfair for things like bookshelves and rugs.
Very high level estimate:
Living room: Macy’s sectional ($2,500 bought during after-Christmas sale), Pottery Barn coffee table and entertainment center
Bedroom: King bed ($1,500), West Elm nightstands and dresser (still waiting for them to come in, $3k). Still want to buy a headboard, full length mirror, and stuff for the walls
Dining room: Sturdy all-wood table and 8 chairs ($3,500), server ($1,200)
Kitchen: 4 top table ($900 on sale at a local store)
Back deck: Sectional from Costco ($1,800), fire pit ($200), grill ($800)
Other stuff you didn’t ask about but which adds up: rugs for dining room, living room, and my office, standing lights for the rooms that don’t have good overhead lighting, bookshelf, recliner for DH’s office and a loveseat for mine (we both WFH most of the time and it’s great to take calls in a comfortable spot), blinds, artwork, picture frames for the walls, paint, nails. Most of that stuff came from Wayfair, Home Goods, or Lowes and while each transaction was usually <$150 it adds up quickly.
Anon
My biggest tip is wait until you’ve lived in it a bit to see what you actually want/need. We furnished our small-ish single family home for probably $10k right off the bat and have done well under $5k of total additional purchases almost a decade later (the only significant expense was upgrading our small TV stand into a large, high quality entertainment center). But a huge chunk of our initial spending (probably at least $2,500) was for fancy-ish (Sunbrella) patio furniture. We live in the Midwest and until we’d owned a house for a while we didn’t realize it’s not actually pleasant to spend time on our deck most of the year (there’s winter and mosquito season and maybe two weeks in the fall when it’s nice). And although the furniture was high quality it got really gross fast from the heavy elements we have here, like rain and snow. Within a year we discovered a mouse or chipmunk had made a nest in it and eaten away the corners of several of the cushions. We ended up having to pay a junk removal almost $500 to haul it away and replaced it with $20 plastic Adirondack chairs, which are not as ugly as they sound and work great for the approximately twelve days a year we actually want to sit outside. In my entire life this is the only time I’ve p1ssed away money like this and I still think about it all the time. $3k+ just totally wasted.
We got an insane deal on a dining table (about $700 for a beautiful real wood table) from Wayfair that looks way more expensive than it is. To this day, it’s the part of our home that gets complimented the most. We spent about $1,500 on a couch and about $2,500 on a king sized bedroom set (bed, dresser, two nightstands, both from Macy’s). We also have a guest bed set from Macy’s that was a similar price, and otherwise we mostly used things we already owned and supplemented with some cute accents from Wayfair and Target. My amateur opinion is that cheaper furniture is often cuter, so for things like bookshelves where you don’t need them to last forever I don’t necessarily want to invest in a pricey piece. We don’t buy expensive art. We decorate the private areas of our home with photos I’ve taken on vacations and photos of our family, and we decorate the public areas with art we’ve purchased from street vendors on vacation or at local art fairs. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $50 on art (excluding framing) and we have some really beautiful, original pieces.
Anon
I’m not a big audiobook person (I prefer podcasts) so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think the Wolf Hall books would be tough as audio books. I thought the books were fantastic, but they were dense, sometimes slow going, and you want to sit there and savor the language and atmosphere, not listen to them while doing something else. They definitely require 100% focus or you won’t really get anything out of them. It doesn’t really matter if you’re already familiar with “the plot” as the plot is really just background to the character study.
Anon
Oops, threading fail. I’ll repost.
anon
Back in my day…The comments about Taylor Swift tickets this morning reminded me of when I had to physically stand in line at a Ticketmaster location to get tickets.
No Face
My husband waited overnight for U2 tickets back in the day with a group of buddies. Some of them went and saw an entire baseball game while the others stayed in line.
I remember waiting in line to see Big New Movies too.
Anonymous
15 year old me stood in line for like 8 hours for tickets to Star Wars Episode I.
Senior Attorney
Ha, I was 18 but same!
Anonymous
That would have been Episode IV. :)
Anon
I also stood in line for what was, at the time, just called Star Wars, and was considered a B movie.
I was 12 or 13 and my father was furious to find out I had paid for tickets to see the same movie twice.
Anon
You were 18 in 1999? I think you mean Episode 4. :)
Senior Attorney
At the time it was the first one. You kids get off my danged lawn…
Anon
I waited in line for two and a half hours to see Independence Day on Independence Day when it was released in 1996. My friends were in line with me, so it was like a big party.
Anonymous
This must have been a long time ago! Even in 1996 tickets to major events were being sold online. I thought the long queues reminded more of very modern lines outside apple waiting for a new device!
Anonymous
My boyfriend and I have been long distance for three years. We recently bought a condo together in my city, and he’s been here a bit more often (every 2 weeks instead of every month) helping set it up, move, relax, etc. I love seeing him but it is making my work suffer – I’m a lawyer and once a month billable hour pause was OK. He isn’t interfering or anything, I genuinely want to spend time with him and am not focusing well at work when I know he’s working from the condo. We can both work remote; he has more of an on call tech job whereas I have billable hours. Has anyone else been through the new love or new relationship phase to give advice? I expect we’ll revert back to once monthly travel when winter hits so this isn’t permanent but it adds up.
Cat
this is a symptom of a bigger tr-nsition that long distance relationships inevitably face — when you see each other only once a month, you’re in Vacation Mode when you’re together. Errands, work, chores, you can fit those in other times, why would you waste any precious Couple Time on mundane things?
Except for a long-term future, your life will include days of life maintenance and fire drills at work, and you need to be just as much or more of a Team on those days as the easy long-distance ones.
I would suggest starting to spend more time together so you can get in a ‘regular life’ groove.
Anon
+1. Also if he can work remotely I’m confused about why he hasn’t just moved to your city if he bought a condo with you there.
anon
I think you need to be figuring out how to blend your work and your relationship. Sounds almost like you’re working around the clock, and if that’s true, is that really sustainable for the long haul? The only advice I have is to carve out clear couple-time and work time when he’s in town. Also, what’s the end game here? Are you hoping for this to become a permanent commitment where you live together in the same place 100% of the time, or is remaining long distance part of the plan? Start how you mean to continue.
No Face
The benefit of the billable hour is that it is an aggregate. Bill more when he is not there if you like having lots of couples time.
I worked over the weekend and will work nights this week because I am spending next week with my family.
anonlawyer
Please help me shop. After working from home for 2+ years and wearing sweatshirts daily, I have a work event in AZ in January. It’s a team training/retreat with people I have never met in real life. Bus casual dress, jeans are OK. About me: early 40s, tall apple shape, size 12/14. Prefer pants over dresses. What would you wear? I’ll take links, style inspo pics, specific jeans recs, etc. My style is fairly minimalist and classic, but I would like to be vaguely on trend. TIA!
No Face
Personally, I would wear straight leg jeans, a nice blouse/top/sweater with short sleeves, a blazer, and loafers/slip-on sneakers. For jeans, really any cut that fits and looks good on you are fine. You don’t have to get a particular type.
Anonymous
Fellow tall apple here. Gap cigarette jeans are great for a slightly updated shape, if you want to do jeans. Another option is j crew ankle pants in four season stretch. For tops, depends on your budget. I love Ann Mashburn but they can be pricey.
Anon
Just waited in the queue for 5 hours for Taylor Swift tickets and once I got in, tried about 40 times to get two nosebleed tickets, but it kept saying another fan beat me. Why did Ticketmaster give out more presale codes than they had tickets for? What’s the point of Verified Fan? I’m so disappointed.
developers r u ok?
as a non-computer-IT smarts person, I would LOVE to know what went on behind the Ticketmaster lines today.
Like who are the poor souls who had to manage the website and traffic and had to fix the site/app after or as it is crashing? what job title do those people hold? What was their day like? Was this like their superbowl? like was this one of the largest volume days on ticket master . com? If not, what was? did the site crash because of servers (?) or machinery?
I find myself very fascinated about websites and how they work and what a nightmare this must have been.
Anon
I didn’t get a code for this or the Adele tickets. So disappointed. I had a verified fans account…
Anon
Well, they gave out too many codes than what they had tickets for during verified fan presale, so even those of us with codes didn’t get tickets either :(
Z
Baffled that ticketmaster knew exactly how many presale codes they gave out and still was caught unprepared. I got tickets after 5 hours in the queue, but I have friends who got to the front of the queue and had tickets ready to purchase to be booted out and kicked to the back of the queue.
anon
I’m so confused by the number of layers to this whole process. Verified fans. Presale codes. Lines to get into lines. But, anything Ticketmaster does is suspect, IMHO!
Anonymous
Do you have a casual cool weather appropriate jumpsuit you love? Send recs!
Anne-on
Piggybacking (sorta) off the question upthread about TicketMaster developer’s day today. Does anyone have any recent book recommendations for books (nonfiction or fiction) that heavily feature people being really good at their jobs? It’s a bit of a niche focus but thought I’d leverage the hivemind here. Previous books I enjoyed that fit this category – Moneyball, Sweetbitter, Heads in Beds, Stiff, Carrie Soto is back, Nickel and Dimed, Hotel Nantucket.
Anon
Wolf Hall, apparently
Anon
Well (spoiler alert) he did end up with his head cut off so it is debatable how good he was at his job long-term.
Anon
I think that Henry VIII quickly regretted that.
anon
Off topic, but how was Carrie Soto is Back? I really really like some of TJR’s books, and really really dislike others, lol. But Carrie as a character is intriguing.
Anon
I’m awaiting to rent this from the library. I love TJR!!
Anon
Not Op but i liked it a lot. A little too much tennis for me but the characters were compelling. But I have liked all of TJR recent books (her old work is very different). Which books did you dislike ?
Anne-on
I didn’t expect to like the book as much as I did (Malibu Rising wasn’t her best book IMHO). Carrie was really well developed as a character and I appreciated that the more in-depth tennis stuff was accessible (and interesting) to someone like me who knows almost nothing about it. I also thought the (fake) contemporary news stories/comments about her ‘likability’ added a lot to the narrative and helped remind readers just how different the attitudes around successful women were back in the 80s/90s.
anon
Off topic, but how was Carrie Soto is Back? I really really like some of TJR’s books, and really really dislike others, lol. But Carrie as a character is intriguing.
Anonymous
in romance this is called “competence porn” and is absolutely a trope, usually for the heroine.
Anonymous
The Long Haul, by Finn Murphy, was interesting. he didn’t interview with Terry Gross that was really good. He’s a high end mover.
Anon
Tried on my winter coat today to discover that it doesn’t fit. This is the second year in a row that a new winter coat purchased the previous year is too small. I’m all in my feelings.
Anonymous
hugs – the “big” pants i bought last year aren’t fitting either. i’m going to try to lose 3 pounds by january, which apparently is where i was in january. (drop in the bucket of the 75+ lbs i have to lose.)
No Face
This gave me Very Big Feels last year too. I bought a larger coat at Costco.
Last year was my peak weight. I threw myself into my health and I’m back into clothes I have not fit for many years!
Anon
I’m also at my peak weight but depression wants me to throw myself in bed and I usually oblige…
Pep
Same. I tend to gain weight in my arms, so while the body of the coat still fits I can’t get my arms in the sleeves if I’m wearing any kind of winter shirt – or God forbid, a sweater.
I can still fit in the cheap Amazon puffer I bought last year for dog walking, but I need a dressier coat for holiday events, etc. I will be out shopping this weekend.
Curious
Walnut, hope you’re ok today. I’m still good for now.
Walnut
Still good. We have lots of unfilled positions, so hopefully those carry us awhile.
Curious
Fingers crossed for you. Thanks for checking in.
Anon
Was thinking of you! Glad you’re ok.
Anon
Meant for Curious.
Curious
Thanks, Anon.