Coffee Break: LouLou Bag

120 Comments

1. I’d love a snapshot of just who is buying this. That would fascinate me. Modern day Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexters, who are busy running their own ColbyCo? FWIW, I’m a lawyer and that’s a lot of money for me, and I’m guessing that a bag that big would be stuffed to the point of being heavy, especially with a laptop. It’s a working woman’s bag, though, so it’s not for fun jaunts to wineries or the country club on the weekend. So I want to really know more about the customers and how they got where they are.

   1. I picture someone on the Board of a Charity… certain type of Charity

   2. The chair of the board of directors for my employer would absolutely carry this bag.

   3. I like a nice bag but I’m practical so my Cuyana hits the right spot for me. However, I’m in a handbag afficionado group online and plenty of women in that group would by something like this. They’re in all professions – it doesn’t necessarily have to be a litigator bag or a laptop bag.

   4. Thought about buying this bag a while back and bought a similar one from another brand for about 1k less. It goes to non-work occasions where I need my iPad to take notes, but not my laptop. In my circle, the bag would be normal. But then, golden goose sneakers are also entirely normal weekend shoes.

   5. I mean I have a same category bag, not that one but my every day work tote is a designer bag. I’m very senior at my company and it’s common with my colleagues to carry bags like this.

   6. I have this and it’s lovely. The logo is very subtle. Much classier than a Neverfull.

      1. How heavy is the bag? I’ve been wanting it for a while but I have an aversion to heavy bags (I’m looking at you my Chloe Large Marcie bag).

2. Posted late – Travel ideas – looks like I may have a week in early March where I can take off and travel, so counting weekends on either side it would be nine days. I’m in DC and would like to go to Europe. Am not well traveled at all – I’ve been to the UK a bunch of times but that’s it.

   Thing is I’d prefer not to go someplace super cold, dark or rainy, which I feel like eliminates the places I’d want to go – back to the UK or to Switzerland. I mean I’m not expecting warm weather but I’d like it to be at least 50 or 60 degrees and somewhat sunny if possible. Also for various reasons I’d be interested in going someplace where it’s possible to have meals outdoors – March may not be the time for that.

   I like cities – walking out of a luxury hotel, exploring, stopping to grab coffee along the way, love old towns and architecture. I like medium cities that are walkable though am open to big cities too esp if someone could tell me where to stay. All I can think of is Italy – though unsure what cities as I can’t do it all in nine days as I want a leisurely type of trip. No real interest in Greek Islands, nor Spain right now. IDK if nine days in Portugal is too much. I’m looking for a leisurely trip though and am not super worried about getting bored – like I’d rather waste time in a city I enjoy than have the type of trip where I am jumping on a train here for two days or renting a car and driving for hours just to be able to check off a list. Ideas?

   1. Paris. It might be cold and rainy but you can eat outside in cafes year round.

   2. i think you could totally spend 9 days in portugal if you split between Porto and Lisbon, or Lisbon and Algarve region. Idk what weather is like, but i feel like Florence, Italy is the perfect medium sized walking city. any reason you can’t push the trip back to April or May because weather would probably be better. You say no to Spain, but Spain has some great old cities with amazing architecture. March is generally a rainy time in many places unfortunately

   3. Fly into Rome – 4 days Rome.
      Train to Florence – 2 days Florence
      Night jet sleeper cabin to Vienna (but book the long stopover in Venice so you can stroll around Venice a bit before the night portion to Vienna
      3 days Vienna
      Fly home from Vienna

      1. Vienna will be cold and rainy in March. I would definitely do Italy, Portugal, Spain.

         1. I’ve been to Vienna mid March and it was fine. It’s often around 50 degrees that time of year.

      2. I was also thinking Rome! If you don’t want to do Vienna, you could just stay in Italy and do Rome, Florence, Sienna, Pisa, whatever. You can hop on a train and go places pretty easily.

   4. Your options are basically everywhere in Southern Europe – Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece. Greece is out if you like cities, I personally like Athens but wouldn’t do 9 days there. I would personally do Italy – Rome, Florence and maybe some small towns in Tuscany if you like medium cities – I liked Sienna and Lucca, both are walkable and easy to get to from Florence. If you want a third bigger city do 2 days in Venice. Or I would do Barcelona and Seville, or Lisbon and Porto. There are some fun days trips from Lisbon like Sintra, Ericera (? not sure I’m spelling that right) and Cascais. I’ve done Southern France in late March and the weather was very nice, but no guarantees.

      1. Agreed that 9 days is too long in Athens but there’s a lot of stuff to do in mainland Greece without going to the islands. Meteora is great.

   5. Italy. Always Italy. Rome and Florence, maybe Venice.

   6. Rome.
      Or, notwithstanding your expression of non-interest: Barcelona and Madrid.
      All are very approachable, walkable, small cities, with a wide variety of things to do, places to go, people to see. Enjoy!

      1. I would say Seville over Barcelona and Madrid. It’s significantly warmer, and more likely to appeal to people who aren’t crazy about Spain. I never understood why people loved Spain until I went to Seville.

         1. I defer to this opinion, having never traveled to Seville. Someday, maybe!

         2. I think just the opposite: Seville fulfills all the wrong stereotypes about Spain.

            1. What are the “wrong stereotypes” of which to speak? Genuinely asking, as an American who spent 2 months in Spain and doesn’t know what you are referring to.

         3. I’m curious what other cities you visited in Spain in two months that made you prefer Seville over the rest. Andalusia is perfect for spring but I would choose Granada or Córdoba first.

            1. Granada and Cordoba are very nice too, but are quite a bit smaller than Seville so I think it makes more sense to base yourself in Seville and take side trips to these cities. Cordoba in particular is a very easy day trip from Seville (~1 hour train ride).

            2. Then in your two months in Spain you were only in Andalusia?,
               just trying to understand the appeal of this city to Americans over the rest of the country. I thought the reason was its accessibility from Madrid due to the shortness of the trips.

         4. I loved Seville too.

   7. Italy, Spain.

3. We have houseguests soon and my favorite hosting breakfast formula is something savory + a seasonal quickbread + fresh fruit (and coffee). For some reason I cannot think of anything good and fall-ish for that savory component. What’s your favorite fall savory breakfast/brunch thing?

   1. could you do a strata with roasted butternut squash? or some kind of roasted apples + cheese + bacon tart that straddles the savory/sweet line?

      1. omg an apple/cheese/bacon tart sounds divine.

   2. A spinach quiche? Sweet potato hash?

      1. Now I’m craving the sweet potato hash from 24 Diner.

   3. can i come visit your house? i’m a lazy hostess i guess – id just buy bagels and call it a day

      1. Ha, you’re not lazy! I’m just very not used to having that option – we’ve lived in some pretty rural places. Good reminder that I don’t have to do it all!

      2. I also do bagels. Noah’s near me sells a box with a baker’s dozen and two schmears. Peet’s next door will sell me a box of coffee. Done.

   4. Strata with spinach and gruyere

   5. Not sure if it’s fall-inspired, but I like Shakshuka for hosting brunch. Make the sauce ahead of time, plop some eggs in it and simmer for a bit (about 15 minutes, but it depends how hot your sauce is and how well done you want the eggs). Serve with bread/pita and hummus. It’s cozy but not too rich. I think I originally used the Smitten Kitchen recipe, but at this point I make it on autopilot and add whatever I have around the house that might be good.

      1. Shakshuka is just instant heartburn for me. I wish I could make it work.

         1. Yeah, it’s a good thought but one of my guests is on a low-acid diet. There’s such a thing as green shakshuka though, I think? I might go see if that will work.

            1. If you have a low-acid guest and they like coffee, you could get a bag of Tylers No Acid coffee for them. I can’t tolerate acidic foods/drinks, and I can literally drink this all day. https://tylerscoffees.com/
               I’ve also gotten it from Amazon. It is really tasty, too. I prefer it to most other blends I’ve had in the past.

            2. Ottolenghi’s green shakshuka is delicious.

   6. I would do a savoy breakfast casserole with chicken and apple sausage (love the Applegate brand for this).

   7. Although not very breakfast like, guests often rave about roasted cubed butternut squash (you can buy it pre-peeled and chopped), with garlic, pine nuts, and chopped fresh sage leaves sauteéd in olive oil, sprinkled with crumbled goat cheese. Maybe omit the garlic for breakfast. Perhaps with microwaved scrambled eggs for a crowd? (Both recipes can be found online.) Or just the scrambled eggs? Enjoy!

      1. Ooh, I have pine nuts from making end-of-summer pesto that I was wondering what to do with!

4. Does anyone have the Spanx on-the-go pants? My white jeans are too small and I like this style. I’ve got big hips relative to my waist — I’m thinking to size up b/c there isn’t really a curvy cut? [I think that the pull-on jeans will look like maternity pants and these look a lot closer to current non-jeans styles — my eye wants “jeans” to have a fly unless they are maternity ones.]

5. Favorite affordable percale bedsheets? I love a cool to the touch sheet but don’t want to spend a fortune. Currently have LL Bean and they’re decent but just wore a hole in them, ugh.

   1. I would have recommended Garnet Hill or the Company Store, both of which are old standbys, but both have gotten holes in sheets within a year lately. Following for better recs!

      1. i’ve had company store sheets for two years and are going strong

      2. I’ve bought plenty of sheets in my lifetime but have never worn a hole in them – how does that even happen? Stains, pilling, sure…but holes?

         1. It only started happening to me with sheets I bought these last few years. I honestly am not sure how it happens!

         2. Not sure, but two brands that used to last for literally decades have had it happen…

         3. If you’re my husband, it’s your manky dry feet that rub a hole in the fabric.

            Why yes, I bought new sheets this week.

         4. Yeah I don’t know!! I guess I move around in my sleep a lot? And I often use a heating pad in the winter, which I think might be degrading the fabric. I’ve had this happen with every set of sheets I’ve owned for the last five-ten years. It’s usually a vertical slit in the fabric. (I promise it’s not long talon-esque toenails, haha)

         5. I wore my sheets to a thin spot once with the way I stretched out when going to sleep (habitually, night after night), and then once put my toe right through it and ripped it open.

   2. I recently bought sheets at target (dog chewed through the sheets so I needed new ones that day with no free time), and I love them. Dog apparently knew what he was doing with that one.

      1. +1 for Target, and if you have a full bed, as opposed to queen or king, their kids (Pillow Fort) brand are cotton, percale, come in some all-age-appropriate patterns and cost even less than their regular ones!

   3. Tuesday Morning (or similar stores) used to be my standby for discount quality sheets. (I could not care less that my sheets are overstock or outlet items.)

      For a while now I’ve been too lazy to shop in person and haven’t had as much luck shopping online.

   4. I used to buy Wamsutta or Fieldcrest or Martex at mid-level department stores like Macy’s. They were exactly what you describe: affordable percale sheets. They wore for years. Now, I guess you either pay a boatload of money for something made in Europe that won’t last very long or you pay very little money for something made in China that won’t last very long. Welcome to late capitalism.

      1. +1

   5. Target–really. They have good ones!

      1. I do like the Threshold line. I wish I could find more interesting but subtle patterns in general. Don’t want florals or plain sheets.

   6. My favorite sheets from Lands End — I think they are 400 threadcount. Nice and smooth.

   7. not Brooklinen, they wear out exactly every 12 months.

   8. Charter Club sheets at Macys. I have multiple sets and love them and they’ve hung in with 3 dogs. Wait for a sale though, there’s always a sale.

   9. Not Ralph Lauren any more. Used to be my one and only for sheets, but the percale sheets I got about a year ago are so thin that you quite literally can put them over a printed page and read through them.

      1. I have Ralph Lauren sheets from the ‘90s that are still going strong. Super soft. A lovely green color. Adore them.

   10. I’ve purchased several Martha Stewart for Macy’s sheet sets over the years as my go-to when I need a new set. Generally, tiny, retro-ish floral patterns on percale sheets. Always and only on sale. I haven’t check recently to see if Macy’s still carries this brand.

   11. Costco set is $80 for the king and lovely. They have them in the warehouse this time of year.

       For the children’s beds which are twin sized, Target threshold range is 100% cotton and excellent. Not as cheap as it used to be but still very affordable.

       1. Yes. This is my recommendation too. We had Brooklinen sheets that felt great, but they wore out quickly. These Kirkland brand sets are real workhorses.

   12. I am positive that for the first 45 years of my life, I could wear shirts for several years before they started to wear. Now, my t-shirts get those pesky holes within a few months. What is happening.

   13. Amazon!

6. I am waiting for my UGG boot/shoes to be delivered today! I shared the link with my college-aged daughter and she gave me the thumbs-up on them.

   As opposed to her reaction to the sneakers I am currently wearing….. (FitFlop). I’m just out of a boot for a broken foot, though. I’ve got to wear “supportive” shoes for the forseeable future.

   1. I hope they are soft, comfortable, and just what you need for support!

   2. UGG’s “fashion” shoes are great! Waterproof, warm, and comfortable. If you got the classic shearling boots they’re not exactly stylish but I see them all over my city during winter. I have a sequined pair that I wear running errands. If they’re not fashionable to begin with they might as well be fun.

   3. Ugg boots aren’t supportive at all, they are just sheepskin. We just wear them as slipper in Australia. (Unless you are a bit of a derro and wear them for a trip to the shops late at night).

      1. They’re more of a sneaker, not the classic boots.

         1. In Australia ‘Ugg’ is the generic name for a pair of sheepskin boots – literally two pieces of sheepskin sewn together with a bit reinforcing the heel – not actual shoes! So weird that it’s a brand, like in the US if you had a brand called ‘Truck’ and they started selling skateboards.

            1. huh, I didn’t know the origin of the brand name. That’s interesting. I think they originally just did sell the kinds of apres-ski slipper boots you mention and for a long time “I’m wearing UGGs” meant you were wearing those boots, but now they sell at ton of styles.

               https://www.ugg.com/women-casuals-sneakers/alameda-mid-zip/195719865016.html

               This is the style I bought. It’s called Alameda, which is the county I live in, so a real mismatch of cultures.

               And I would be zero percent surprised to see a company called Truck selling skateboards!

            2. Trucks are skateboard components – they’re the metal things that attach the wheels to the deck!

7. If you need a good chuckle, might I suggest the currently ongoing international travel tip thread over at AAM. The gems I have unearthed so far include:
   – A suggestion that a cervical collar/neck brace (like the medical kind) is better than a travel pillow! Can you imagine a coworker whipping out a neck brace to take a nap??
   – A poster who suggested you bring a portal air purifier with you – he does, as he uses a CPAP, therefore cannot SLEEP IN A MASK in his own hotel room. See also, he wants to book MOTELS not hotels bc he thinks the air is somehow better?
   – SO MUCH extreme mask talk, respirators, etc. Like height of 2020 level worry.

   1. People who are immunocompromised prefer motels these days (I assure you this is not a pre-pandemic preference!) because we can get from our car to our room without having to be in the lobby, the hallways, the elevators with a bunch of people who might be infectious and who are done with masks or spacing in buildings that are done with HEPA filters or improved MERV filtration.

   2. Obstructive sleep apena increases risks with covid including long covid. If I had to share with a co-worker who wasn’t very health conscious, I’d be worried too. Ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure and all that. Plus your hotel room is like 1/3 of your time on a trip so hotel room issues do have a bigger proportional risk associated.

      1. I would not share a hotel room with a coworker. I would be horrified if my employer expected me to do this, and if the trip was mandatory I would book my own room and get reimbursed for however much they’re willing to pay (even if $0).

         1. A few years back I worked for a nonprofit. My boss and I had to go to a training to fulfill a grant requirement and the training was in San Francisco – so not the cheapest place on the planet. Our executive director was going over trip costs with us and tried to sell us on sharing a room – it’s so common in the nonprofit world! She used to do it all the time! It’s really not that big a deal, because we know each other! Etc. etc. I had never heard of this (all the business travel I’d done before involved everyone having their own room) and was horrified. My boss looked at the ED and was like “sorry, not happening” and just kept going.

            There is literally no way I would ever share a hotel room with anyone besides my husband, my son or my very best friend of 35 years. I won’t even share with my mother; she snores.

            1. I did once have to share a room with my nonprofit boss, and it was in San Francisco! It was awkward AF. I’m glad you avoided it.

   3. Every commenter on AAM is ADHD, autistic, disabled, immunocompromised, etc etc. it’s exhausting.

      1. Truth.

   4. I’m a 2020 level masker (immunocompromised) but I won’t be taking any travel tips from that lot.

      1. Hard same. I have to live my life in a way that would probably seem extreme to many here, but I want tips from people who will help me optimize it, not freak out about it.

         1. +1

   5. Making fun of measures that immune compromised individuals take isn’t the flex you think it is.

   6. I looked at the thread on your recommendation but it’s not very dramatic. They were just two comments like what you mentioned and a few other basic tips to mask. The rest was take melatonin, bring compression socks, etc. Bait and switch!

      1. I feel like posters over here like to fixate on the crazy parts of AAM and declare the whole site bonkers. There is plenty of down-to-earth workplace issues discussed there.

      2. Yeah, and I don’t think masking on planes is that weird, even in 2023. My last few flights have been about 20-25% masked at least. I’m not worried about getting Covid in general (I had it and it was very mild for me), but who wants to get sick on vacation?

         1. +1, I wear masks on public transport & platforms/airports/shopping centres. Lots of us around.

         2. Exactly, especially if you (I hope) follow CDC guidelines about isolating and masking.

   7. I take a small wearable air purifier on the plane (please don’t wear perfume on the plane btw) and it’s hardly noticeable.

      Try not to be so unkind about things that you probably won’t see and don’t affect you.

8. I’m sad to see that Britney Spears seems to be doing not well after she is finally free from her horrible conservatorship and her controlling dad. I want her to just live her life, but it seems like she’s looking for attention in the wrong way? Obviously it totally doesn’t matter what I think, but I can’t figure out what’s she’s trying to do and I’m concerned it’s not going to end well for her.

   1. I think she’s lonely. How to you make friends at this stage of life and level of fame. Like kind people that you can trust.

   2. It’s almost like she needs supervision.

      1. That’s a really creepy take. Adults can make decisions that are objectively bad without needing legal “supervision,” because part of not living in a dictatorship is that we get to make our own decisions.

   3. I mean, the conservatorship was just a piece of the problems in her life. If she has bipolar disorder, she is going to be fighting it for the rest of her days.

   4. The conservatorship stunted her emotional growth so now she has to go through all that teenager crap as an adult.

9. If anyone feels the need to slow clap today, find the clip of Jasmine Crockett in the impeachment inquiry hearing today. Holy smokes. Mike drop.

   I didn’t know who she was before watching that but – my goodness – that’s the kind of fire that I don’t see nearly enough of out of our politicians (on either side, for that matter!).

   1. Holy buckets – she gives me hope!!

   2. I thought it was trite and lame. Whataboutism is what you say when your person got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

   3. Saw this:

      “I can’t seem to find the crime and no one has testified what crime they believe the president of the United States has committed,” she added.

      She said the GOP is acting like they are blind to evidence,

      —

      Hahahahhaha.

      “I can’t see evidence of corruption in Hunter Biden arranging bribes in behalf of his father… but it’s the Republicans who are blind!!!”

      Hhahahahahaha.

10. There was a roach on my coffee maker this morning.

    Almost 6 years in this apartment and this is the 1st one I’ve seen. It’s been a good 6 years but this requires tearing the whole place down. On my coffee maker guys. At 6 am.

    srs, Ive spent the better part of today doing the deepest clean I’ve ever done of my kitchen and bath. The floor of the bath is drying from scrubbing and the lower cabinets and the kitchen floor are left to do. And the inside of the fridge.

    I had plans for laundry today. And there was something I had planned on getting off my to do list, but cleaning every surface I can in overreaction obviously takes priority.

    May your coffee makers be safe my friends.

    1. Well, at first I read this that you found a roach IN your coffee maker and audibly gasped. So, at least it was ON and not IN?

    2. If your neighbours have them and that’s how they’re getting into your place, no amount of cleaning your own place will help. The other units need to be treated.

       1. +1 (don’t ask me how I know…)

    3. Ohhhh . . . definitely not an overreaction. I would be doing the exact same thing!

    4. I once opened up a CD player (this was in the early 2000s) and there was a massive scorpion sitting on top of one of my Tori Amos discs. I’ll never shake the memory of its little beady compound eyes staring at me.

       1. There have been two zoropsis spiders in my bedroom recently. One of them was on the pants I was putting on. I’m trying to figure out whether burning down the entire house is the correct solution.

          1. It’s the only solution.

             I’ll never forget the day I came home and thought it was weird that there was bird poop on the inside window sills ( of my prior apartment). I just about had a heart attack when I found the dead bird half hidden under the door of the fridge at 11 pm that night.

             Friends, I’m going to attempt to get at the 3 inch wide space between the fridge and counter. Truely and clearly where no man has gone before. The horrors I’ve ignored until now are down there.

             My new years resolution is also going to be to use up the bag of bags.

    5. Yikes…I’m sorry to say that no amount of cleaning is going to get rid of roaches -they infest clean houses too, and if you see one you more than likely have an infestation somewhere in the building- only an exterminator can do that (and even then…these are the bugs that will survive a nuclear bomb…)
       I’m horrified along with you and hope you can get rid of them quickly!

    6. Have you purchased bug traps/roach bait and notified your landlord that you need an exterminator to come treat your apartment and all adjacent units and spaces ASAP? Because where there’s one roach…

    7. So I hate roaches with a passion and would one thousand percent be freaked out too BUT sometimes one just appears – it could have crawled into your bag at work, or even come in the mail. True story: I once ordered something and the envelope had a live roach inside! (I’ve also seen mosquitoes just get in the elevator in our building). So absolutely clean, be watchful and call an exterminator, esp. if this a service your building offers but don’t panic just yet. Good luck!

    8. Wow. No one wants to live with bugs but this is an extreme germophobe reaction. Put some borax down, maybe a few traps and be done with it. Sometimes I am thankful for growing up in run-down apartments because this level of anxiety of a bug seems crippling.

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