ByKat Hours Updated
Comments 142 Comments

Coffee Break: Brush Cleaner Spray

white bottle reads "Daily Brush Cleaner Spray" from Sephora's brand

I noticed some readers recommending this daily brush cleaner spray a week or two ago and put it on my “to try” list– and lo and behold, all of Sephora Collection stuff is 30% off.

I've written before about how I've generally been happy with things I've gotten from the Sephora Collection. (I really like their 10 HR Cream Lip Stain in dark red.)

The brush cleaner is usually $16, but you can take 30% off (today and through 11/11) as part of their sale.

Sales of note for 12.5

142 Comments

  1. a friend is having a party with a latin dance instructor to celebrate her 50th. Any suggestion for something festive and fun to wear (like a skirt or dress that twirls) but is also not too expensive and not crazy age inappropriate? know it’s a weird mix of ask.

    1. Maybe a tulle skirt? Some ladies here posted one with layers that seem good for twirling — I think it was the Cheri ruffled tulle midi skirt from Anthropologie

    4. I know this is super consumery and billionaire-enabley, but… if you type “latin dance dress” into the search bar at Amazon you will find a million options.

  2. How do you decide how to spend holidays and vacations? Do you go along with what your family of origin did growing up, did you consciously choose to do something else, and how do you handle it if you have branches of the family (divorced parents, in-laws from this morning’s post, annoying siblings) who are unable pleasant or don’t want to be in the same room? Do you do the same thing every year or do you decide each event based on how you feel at the time?

    1. I’m single and most of my family is dead, so I get to generally do what I want. My dad is alive, but moved away. This year he’s coming to see me for Thanksgiving and I’m going to him for Christmas. Last year I stayed home (as did he) for both holidays. Vacations tend to be 100% what I want to do.

    2. Hubs childhood custody arrangement was dad got him for Christmas Eve + presents in the morning, and then mom got him afterwards. We are middle aged adults and the custody arrangement is still going strong with the exception that my parents get presents in the morning (everyone lives in the same no-longer-that-small town) when we come back for the holidays.

    3. We’re Jewish but not religious and Hanukkah doesn’t have much religious significance, so I feel like we have it a lot easier than people who celebrate Christmas.

      Since getting a house with guest bedrooms 10 years ago, my husband and I have traditionally hosted Thanksgiving and invited both sets of parents and his sister’s family (I’m an only child). My parents always came; his parents and sister came probably a third of the time. My FIL is no longer able to travel, and MIL is his caregiver and doesn’t want to travel without him, so they’ll no longer be visiting anyone. This year my SIL is a new homeowner and wanted to host us and her husband’s family, so we’re going there. I feel bad about my parents being alone, but historically the balance has tipped towards them so it seems only fair to mix it up. I guess going forward we may alternate between having it at home with my parents and going to SIL’s?

      We often visit my in-laws for Passover. My husband’s mom’s sister used to host a huge 60+ person Passover gathering, which I loved, but Covid ended it, and I hate going to my in-laws for Passover. My MIL is a terrible cook and they don’t do a traditional seder so the whole thing feels very weird and anticlimatic. But Passover has a bigger significance to my husband’s family of origin than mine, so I suck it up.

      Vacations my husband and I pretty much 100% plan. We invite my parents to join us once in a while. I also take a decent number of trips with my just my kid and parents because my husband is not a huge fan of traveling with them. I’d be open to inviting my SIL on vacation with us some time, but the schedules never seem to align.

      1. Would your in laws invite your parents too?

        My family is in the same geographic area but we’ve always included both sides of the family + family friends in holidays.

        1. My SIL did not want to invite my parents, which I think hurt their feelings a bit. But they’re introverts and probably would have said no even if she’d invited them, so it doesn’t really matter.

      2. Literally never occurred to me not to spend holidays with family until I moved flying distance away 8 years ago.
        In college I was still driving distance. also Jewish and traveling for Hanukkah is not really a thing, though growing up when I lived in NYC my parents used to host a Hanukkah party that my cousins often came in for from DC and Philly, though that went by the wayside years ago. if I still lived driving distance from family it would honestly never have occurred to me to do holidays without family. as a kid we lived in NYC and then in MD. for the first day of Rosh Hashanah we went to my mom’s family in Westchester, NY and then in CT and the second day to my dad’s family in Brooklyn, NY and then later years in Philly. (we drove A LOT). same thing for Passover. Thanksgiving we alternated every other year between my dad’s family (NYC or Long Island) and my mom’s family (CT or our house in MD). This went on for most of my childhood until a combination of some grandparents passing away, a HUGE falling out among relatives on my mom’s side of the family and my uncle deciding he’d rather please his wife than make any effort to see his side of the family. then we switched to Jewish holidays just in Philly and thanksgiving every other year between my parents home in MD with some of my mom’s side of the family or Long Island with my dad’s side.

        when I got married this was a big issue because while I married someone Jewish, the Jewish holidays are not as important to DH’s family (like they don’t celebrate half the time) and my MIL wanted us every thanksgiving. DH agreed we should alternate because otherwise we’d never see my mom’s side of the family at the Thanksgivings she hosted (people travel in from all over). On the years DH’s family decided to celebrate Rosh Hashanah or Passover we’d make an effort (on my insistence, not his) to go for one of the days. now I live flying distance from family which I never envisioned. we alternate Thanksgiving between DH’s family and mine, generally flying, though one year DH’s family came to us. And we fly for Passover to see my family (my cousins fly in with their families from all over). It often makes me sad that my kids will never experience what I did growing up in terms of huge holidays with lots of extended family and won’t have the same memories with their cousins. DH’s parents have zero relationships with extended family, largely out of laziness, so they didn’t totally get where I was coming from. BIL is now dating (and will soon be engaged) to someone with a large extended family like mine and we joke she is lucky i paved the way.

        pre kids vacations generally did not include family, though my in laws have a beach house so DH and I used to go there frequently. now that we live farther away just about all of our vacations involve family. This past year went skiing with DH’s family (everyone paid their own way), Disney with both sets of grandparents (everyone paid their own way), and a summer trip with my family (my dad treated all of us) and visit to DH’s family’s beach house.

        1. Yeah, I’m glad Hanukkah is not really a traveling holiday. I feel like we’re luckier than people who do Christmas in that way, because it’s really nice to have one holiday that’s at home and nuclear family-focused. My parents are local now and often come over, which is fine, but we’ve never hosted out of town guests for it, and I prefer it that way.

    4. Absolutely do not do what my family of origin did growing up, but what we do is communicate very clearly and far in advance what we’re doing.

      For Thanksgiving, we alternate sides of the family – I can tell you 5 years in advance if we’ll be with Husband’s fam (odd years) or my fam (even years). I don’t accommodate my miserable, emotionally immature parent and haven’t since I was maybe… 21? 22? For Christmas, we stay local and do go to Christmas Eve Lunch with husband’s fam and then stay home for Christmas Day and anyone is welcome to drop by for something or anything.

      We do whatever we want for family vacations but generally try for one ‘exciting’ and one ‘chill’ vacation a year. We adjust based on price and other details, but don’t plan at all around family and like to rotate what we do.

    5. MY dad’s side and mom’s side are both active and loving so I grew up going to at a minimum, 2x Thanksgiving (one with Mom’s fam and one with Dad’s fam) and 3x Christmas (one at home, generally Christmas morning, one with Mom’s fam and one with Dad’s fam). Growing up, I also did Easter with both sides but Mom’s doesn’t really do Easter anymore and I only go to Dad’s side for that. My grandparents are gone are both sides but I have lots of aunts and uncles and tons of cousins and they’re all having kids now so it’s a ton of fun. I’ve skipped Easter before because I was working out of country, but if I’m available I can’t imagine skipping one basically ever. My parents are divorced it was late enough that it didn’t change much of this.

      1. I should note this isn’t all on Thanksgiving day or Christmas day. I think this year my mom’s side is having Thanksgiving on Saturday and my dad’s is having is having it on Thursday. I know my mom is hosting Christmas on Christmas Eve. I don’t know what my dad’s side is doing but Saturday before or after is common for them so I’m guessing one of those.

    6. My family of origin includes my divorced parents and two siblings We all live fairly close to each other and usually do Thanksgiving and Christmas Day together. We alternate dinner (because both my mom and my MIL think dinner is the more important meal.) My siblings both have in-laws they have to arrange around as well, so sometimes we end up doing Thanksgiving on Friday or whatever. We sometimes take turns hosting but my mom really likes to have it at her house so we usually end up getting together over there (and we all bring food.) My dad will go over there as well, even though they don’t otherwise get along.

      For vacations, we take a beach trip every year with our kids, my siblings and their kids and usually my parents. I sometimes invite my mom on other trips we take and my siblings sometimes do as well. My dad travels a lot on his own and sometimes I invite him to go places with my family but he is usually busy with his own travel. My MIL’s family has a family reunion every few years in different locations and we try and take her to that when we can.

    7. My grandparents lived close so we’d split Christmas morning and afternoon. Now we live abroad and my parents have moved nearer (but still 3 hour flight). We spend Christmas with my parents in their warmer country and try to arrange something with my in laws before Christmas. This year, they’re coming up a few weeks before, we’re going to a Christmas play, nice lunch, and then we’ll do a Christmas lunch and present on the Sunday. We combined families once and it was awful, and my in laws guest room has a damp leaky wall, so I won’t stay (will leave me wheezing for weeks). I think my MIL would like Christmas because she thinks it’s unfair, but her partner has tons of kids and I’ve got no desire to spend Christmas in this cold, damp country, so my parents’ it is.

    8. I’m actually the parent of the grown up kids who are feeling their way through their first holidays as married couples. Both my kids married people with extremely tight family connections — my son in law has a giantantic family and my daughter in law has a small family. I’m trying to step back and let them figure it out, and being flexible (dh and I are completely willing to eat a festive meal on a non-holiday day, or exchange gifts on a convenient weekend). The one thing I do want is to have both my kids and their partners in the same room at the same time. I also realize that whatever happens the next few years will change as they have children.

      1. get them on the same cycle. my sister and I are on the same thanksgiving cycle (we alternate)

        1. +1, while this is of course easier the fewer kids you have. Also, you as the parent need to reassure the kids that it’s then ok that you are ‘alone’ on the other major holiday – maybe you visit your own sibling, go on a trip, etc.

    9. Partner’s family is local, mine is far way. For thanksgiving, we usually split up. He usually hosts a dinner for his family (they immigrated to the US and never picked up the holiday; partner loves to cook and host). I spend it with my family of origin, since I live pretty far. We spend Christmas with my family, and do the Jewish high holidays with his.

    10. For context, I’m married and have a 9 year old.

      For big holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), DH’s parents are divorced and remarried. The schedules pretty much have to stay the way they’ve always been because one small change disrupts the delicate balance that each sibling and step-sibling has with their other parent’s family and their in-laws. So, you’re either in or out of each gathering. We’re typically in town and see lots of family but limit ourselves to one “event” outside our house per day. My parents also live in our city, but they travel for Thanksgiving and are flexible with Christmas (they’ll come over whenever we’re not busy, including the day after if that’s when it works out). We spend NYE with my parents, but we stay home and cook something fancy and drink a lot of wine, and they stay over in our guest room.

      For vacations, we typically take one vacation with DH’s family, one with my parents, and one with just my nuclear family. We go to the beach with DH’s mom and sister every year, and we stay in a family member’s condo for free. We usually take a trip with my parents each year, and they pay for a substantial portion of that. We take one vacation that’s just our nuclear family, and we tend to find a small city within a 1-day drive, with a mix of decent food, tourist activities, and nature. We’ve been to Chattanooga and Asheville, and I’m looking at places in the Ozarks for next year. Of course, I’d love to take some “bigger” trips, but it’s not in our budget right now.

    11. Every Christmas for close to a decade, my husband and I have gone to Mexico for a week. Neither of us are super close with our families, so we usually organize some kind of dinner out with each family in early December, and then leave town for a week. The tradition started before we were married and has continued and now we have elementary aged kids. We love spending Christmas in Mexico on the beach and really love not having to drive all over the place to visit family. For other vacations, I have found it has evolved over time as our kids got older (now we coincide with school holidays) and we earned more money (we go farther and stay longer now). We’ve done a few trips with my dad and his wife because they enjoy similar things as us, but don’t go with other family members.
      Not because we like them less or find them unpleasant, but just because the trip wouldn’t be as enjoyable for everyone because we don’t have similar interests.

    12. I’ve always been into Christmas foods, music and lights. When I was a kid, I probably was a driver to have very specific dishes on Christmas eve and Day, and I would also insist on cookie baking, and put on the Christmas music in the weeks leading up.
      Now I do these same things in my house, and DH has said that he likes it, and now also looks forward to the advent time as something special, which he didn’t really do before (yay). As we live very far away, I don’t manage to go home every Christmas, and while we miss each other, my mom also enjoys being allowed to cook other dishes on the holidays.

    13. I have kids and once they were old enough to really understand holidays, we started having them at our own home. Biggies for this are Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were ok spending Easter elsewhere because it’s usually attached to a longer school holiday.

      When my mom was alive we used to go to her house for a few days the week between Christmas and New Years when stakes were lower and less stressful.

    14. We live in a different country so we get to do what we like. If parents or in,was visit at that time, great but we don’t have to travel home for stuff. For context, we live 4 h by air away from our country of origin.

  3. Hi there! I’ve written a novel and have an agent, but it hasn’t been bought by a publisher yet. (Hopefully early next year!)

    Anyway, I have a random opportunity to get some headshots done next week. What do you like to see when you look at the author photo in a book? Mine is a mystery set in the southern US if that matters.

    Hopefully this whole exercise doesn’t jinx me! I’m trying to view it as putting positive vibes out into the universe.

      1. Thanks so much! It’s been a journey, for sure, and I keep trying to convince myself I’m not an imposter.

    2. Huge congratulations!!

      I like to see a an author headshot of a person who looks like the book could’ve been about them! For mystery in the Southern US, I’d try to look like a Southern firecracker. Hope I get to see the book on shelves next year!

      1. Wait…what!? I’m so confused by this. What if it’s a book about aliens or something?

    3. Just be natural to who you are. Don’t try to “be an author on a book cover.” You’re going to need these headshots for a whole lot more than book covers (website, social media graphics, etc.). Whether you get published or end up self-publishing, you’ll be doing a lot of your own marketing, and these photos will be a tool for that.

    4. I have never given a single thought to an author headshot and it definitely does not impact whether I want to read a book. I would just say nothing too out of the ordinary in any way (location, clothing, posing, etc).

      1. +1 yeah just a generic nice normal photo is fine. I don’t recall ever looking closely at an author photo. The cover of the book matters a lot more.

      2. Same. I never even look at the headshot but if I did there’s literally nothing that would sway me in one way or the other

    5. I personally like animals in my author photos, but I’d ask your agent for suggestions

    7. I feel like it helps if the author has glasses but maybe isn’t wearing them, holding them or on a chain or on top of her head.

      That way you know the author is smart.

    8. Go on Goodreads and look up authors of books like yours, genre like yours.
      As a reader, I think it’s hard to beat a good black and white photo, but that’s just me.

    9. I like to see authors in their context. At their desk or hanging out on their property, with their dog, next to their mountain bike, stuff like that. Something that seems like a little window into their personal life.

    10. Go to a book shop and look at authors that have lots of books on the shelves over the years. Anne Patchett, Toni Morrison, or really anyone that has 3-4 novels and see what they look like over the years – likely warm and classic. Roxanne Gay actually wrote about her appearance, so you may want to see their perspective (beyond a headshot) as professional “spice” – as in look, and don’t look away.

      And yes, we think you will have more books – if you have a seasoned photographer, ask to see their portfolio in this area.

  4. Please recommend your favorite wicking underwear/sport underwear that feels so light and stays up so well you forget you have it on. Soma’s microfiber doesn’t work well for me, and I am so over cotton that bunches and falls down. Briefs/hipsters preferred.

    1. fruit of the loom has a line that’s pretty good if you’re ok with random colors. Tommy Jon’s light as air ones are incredibly thin but I think I’d size down in them. (The sale section of their site has lots of things under $7.)

      These are the fruit of the loom ones I have; I like them as well if not better than my ex officio. Fruit of the Loom Women’s… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QPPLNNY?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

      1. +1 for the Fruit of the Loom mesh, with bonus points for them being indestructible. They’re not sexy, but they get the job done really, really well.
        I don’t usually wear underwear to work out, but have kept them on when I accidentally grabbed a pair of unlined shorts instead of my usual running shorts and they did the job of the liner just fine as well.

  5. I’m serving as a poll watcher tomorrow. We were told to wear jeans but no other casual clothes. No campaign, candidate or issue related clothing, and no coded message clothing or accessories (so no pearls and Chucks).

    It’s supposed to be high in the mid-50’s with rain likely. I’m thinking dark blue jeans, black leather jacket, low-heeled boots, and pink or green tee. I have the late shift, so I will be there until all voters who were in line at 7pm are able to vote and the machines are tabulated and sealed for transport.

    Watch party outfit: campaign t-shirt, jeans and Midnight Eras cardigan.

    1. Aren’t you going to be on your feet? YMMV but I wouldn’t wear any kind of heeled anything if you are standing and walking the whole time as you don’t know how long you’ll be there until every single person is done. Wear sneakers – they don’t have to be chucks.

        1. I haven’t heard chucks coded for either presidential candidate, but it’s possible! Or that it’s for a local election or micro trend.

          I’d err on not wearing those unless the poster doesn’t have any other suitable footwear. Why give anyone a “reason” to keep her away?

        3. Chucks and Pearls together is definitely Kamala-coded, they’ve had campaign events around that theme. If you’re supposed to be neutral, I’d avoid them.

    2. Will you be indoors or outdoors? If indoors do you know if your location is typically drafty or if you’ll be stuck next to the one functioning heater unit that will blast you with dry dusty air all day?

    4. Having worked many an election day, e-day is for sneakers. It’s a long day no matter what role you’re playing. Layers are also good since polling places can vary a lot in temp (especially if there’s a direct door to outside that keeps getting opened and closed). Have fun and be safe.

    5. Aren’t pink and green coded for Kamala Harris? The New Yorker just ran an article about how they are the Alpha Kappa Alpha colors and her sorority sisters wore those colors to the Democratic Convention and plan to wear them to the inauguration.

      I would go with a white, grey, purple, or yellow t-shirt this year for that reason.

    6. When I did this (2006 and 2008), I wore sneakers, jeans, basic T-shirt, and a thick/warm cardigan or sweater. Things were less “political” back then but I don’t remember worrying about the color of my shirt (beyond blue or red). I did layers because the polling locations where I was got very drafty with people constantly opening the door to the outside. I don’t see how pearls or Chucks are an issue but I absolutely would not wear anything with a heel. It’s a lot of standing around (depending on your role).

    7. I was a poll watcher in 2016 in VA – I wore jeans, sneakers, and layers that could be removed, plus a hat. I also brought a blanket and a chair. If it’s going to rain, I’d find a golf umbrella to take, or maybe even a tent cover.

    8. Pink and green together could be perceived as stealth messaging because of the AKA connection, so be careful with those colors.

      1. Yep, dont wear all white, as that would be coded message clothing (evoking suffragettes). Jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt that is black, navy, green, or purple, plus cardigan or jardigan/lady sweater, and sneakers (like normal branded running shoes) should avoid major objections. Thank you for volunteering!

  6. Reminder for everyone to get a plan to vote and to remind everyone you know to vote as well! There are so many critical House races and important ballot initiatives even if you’re not in a swing state.

    If you’re in a swing state, please remind every single person you know to get to the polls! <3

    1. +1 I’m the person who posted last week about crazy early voting lines. I had to wait in line for 3 hours but I did vote.

        1. Yes, I’m in a red state and it’s a targeted voter suppression tactic. They give the same number of voting machines to each county, so the rural counties with 20,000 people get the same number of voting machines as the urban counties with half a million or more people. The result is that it’s a minimum of 2 hours to vote anywhere urban-ish. Can’t imagine why our state legislature doesn’t want the people in urban counties voting. /s

    2. I only know a handful of people who haven’t already voted by mail (and yes, ballot confirmed as received). Makes me curious how long it will take PA to finish counting the mail-ins!

    3. Not even in a swing state though kind of a purple state and felt paranoid enough to email the local election office to ask why my ballot dropped off Friday wasn’t showing as received. Turns out they are processing all Friday through Monday batches together but I was getting anxious.

    4. Do people in swing states usually want to remind everyone they know to vote? I think I will get along with some people I know better if I can at least imagine they stayed home.

      1. I believe this is the honest undercurrent. Encourage people (you believe will vote for your preferred candidate) to vote!

      2. And please encourage your friends and family to vote even if you are in a state where “your vote won’t matter” because the elections are routinely won by one party or the other, because running up the popular vote has value in undermining potential bad-faith arguments about who won the vote.

  7. I’m looking for a white elephant gift of around $20 for a group of women (mostly ages 25-50) for a church holiday lunch/fellowship. Last year I bought something cool but small (a unique candy dish) and was bummed that it was the last thing chosen, so I would like the size to be somewhat substantial. Happy to pay a little more for the right gift.

    1. you mean a big box? what about a throw blanket or a funny pillow (tj maxx, home goods).or else you could even try to make it about the size and wrap a box and then make them smaller and smaller until you get to a bracelet or a giftcard or something….

    2. Giant squishmallow was the first thing that came to mind, which may or may not work for your group.

    3. What were the first three presents chosen? I think modeling your present after those will make it most likely to be successful this year.

    4. For non-personalized pass around gifts I like a “set” of some kind, like, oven mitts + fancy pasta + fancy pasta sauce, or fun drinking glass + bottle of liquor (airplane sizes work with a budget) + mixer, or candle + eye mask + lotion. These also have the benefit of being intriguingly shaped and if you wrap them separately, multiple items are enticing.

    5. Food/drink/highly regiftable items usually go fast- so a ‘beers of the world’ collection or a bottle of wine + a corkscrew, a fancy lotion set or a nice box of chocolates usually go fast.

    7. Powerbank for the car?
      Multi-bit chargable electric screwdriver?
      First-aid kit, including extras like a candy bar, small bottle of wine and condoms.

      Make it pink, if that would please the crowd, but something genuinely useful?

    8. It’s been a while since I did a white elephant, and I think our limit was $25, but mine was the most stolen gift and it was a cocktail shaker from World Market.

        1. Which, coincidentally, is currently priced at $20, the OP’s gift price limit!

    10. One thing I do with White Elephants is to get something I would like to take home so I can steal it if I don’t like anything else that shows up. That’s how I got my fabulous fuzzy steering wheel cover that keeps my black steering wheel comfy to grab in the summer heat and the winter cold.

  8. If someone was hospitalized yesterday and won’t be released tomorrow, is there any hope of them being able to do a last minute absentee ballot or provisional?

    In PA, so they obviously really, really want to vote.

    3. On the off chance they’re at a big academic system like UPenn, Pitt or Hershey – ask because the health systems do have plans and instructions for these things. IDK if all health systems do but the big ones talk about it.

    5. Oof! Too late for this person, but all the more reason to vote early the very minute you can, instead of waiting for the last minute.

      1. I wanted to vote early and obviously knew who I was voting for in the president, governor and congressional races. But our hotly contested, non-partisan school board race had a lot of late-breaking news, surveys and candidate forums so I decided to wait and vote tomorrow. I’m not in a swing state, and probably would have just voted early if my presidential vote mattered. But it’s still frustrating how much the local races can complicate early voting. :/

        2. +1

          I know who I’m voting for in major races (vote blue no matter who), but so much changes last minute for local stuff I don’t want to vote early.

      2. This is my grandparent – PA doesn’t have early voting, just mail in. But, also mail in ballot receptacles have been vandalized in the past so many people I know prefer to go in person on Election Day.

        Also, for someone in their 80s they like what they know – which is going in person to vote.

        And, going online, printing, filling out, and mailing an application is a lot of steps for someone who neither uses a computer nor drives.

        1. Both of my young adult children told me they were excited about voting tomorrow in person. Their first presidental election was 2020 and they felt they didn’t get the voting experience. They both work for companies that give them time off to vote. Both have alot of friends that want to vote on election day in person.

          I voted early by mail. Their father, who used to take them to the polls with him when they were kids, is voting in person tomorrow.

    6. I’m sorry and hope they get better. I’d call the election protection hotline 866-OUR-VOTE or the local campaign office – if you want to post the county and party happy to help look it up.

  9. I know this has been asked before, but recommendations for getting smells out of workout gear? Bonus points if it works in frontloading washing machines (I miss my old top loader where it was easier to soak things!).

    2. I have had great success adding Lysol Laundry Sanitizer Free & Clear to the rinse cycle – it kills the bacteria that keeps the gross smells in my workout clothes, but also doesn’t leave an artificial fragrance behind.

      1. Duh I actually already own some of this, but I mostly use it for baby diaper blowouts. Will give it a try.

    3. I do a presoak in a bucket with hot water and the active laundry detergent I use for 30 min or longer, then the longest cycle available on the machine.

    4. Soak the clothing in a bucket of degreaser (like what you’d buy at the auto parts or janitorial supply store), then launder as usual.

    5. Let the sweat air dry before putting in hamper. Use Sweat X detergent (River site). Air dry, do not put in dryer. And honestly sometimes clothes have served their use and lifespan and just need to be tossed (did this with a shirt today that seemed to smell right as I started to sweat).

    6. Use the “Sport” formula Tide. I then follow with a normal wash to get out the perfume-y smell of the sport detergent. It’s made exactly for this type of grime and does the job better than anything else I’ve tried.

    7. Cup full of Nathan’s sports wash in a small bathtub. Stir the workout clothes soup a couple times during the day. Be shocked by how gross the water is. Then launder as usual.

    9. Vodka sprayed on the fabric, air dried, repeat 3x. I’m amazed at how much stink this completely disappears.

  10. I don’t have cable but I would like to watch live election results on CNN or ABC or similar. I do have Hulu, but not the one with live tv. I also have amazon prime and netflix.

    I don’t mind paying for a 1 month subscription to something. How can I watch live results?

    1. I’m pretty sure they provide free live coverage on YouTube for special events like this. That is how I usually watch

      1. Yes! If you are okay watching on a laptop, the CNN (or other news station) website will probably also have a live feed.

    2. I watch the PBS coverage via their website. It’s least likely to be veer into hysteria.
      You can also usually watch your local stations via their livestream. Either download their app or go to their websites.

    3. PBS streamed their coverage live for free online last election. I think ABC did, too.

    4. PBS streamed their coverage live for free online last election. I think ABC did, too.

    5. A handful of the ABC local affiliates have their own, free streaming apps that you can watch from anywhere (new york, LA, Philly, Chicago l, Houston, SF, Raleigh, Fresno, last time I checked). Standalone Paramount Plus for CNN (cheap version if you just want the national stream; if you upgrade to the one that’s ~$12 you get your specific local affiliate); or Peacock if you want NBC (same, the cheaper standard plan has the national plan, or you can pay $5 more for “peacock premium plus” and get the local feed).

      If Hulu isn’t offering you a free trial of “with Live”, any of Direct TV stream, YouTube TV or Fubo also have all the majors, and at least someone will have a free trial available. Just remember to cancel bc these are all fairly expensive.

      If you in a city/suburb, a $40 antenna could be a good investment – they’ve gotten a lot better than the “rabbit ears” of the 80s. I use mine rarely because I’m not willing to watch commercials, but it’s so nice to be able to just know I can watch whatever major event without f signing up for a streaming service I’ll forget to cancel

  11. I use this brush cleaner every day! I love it. I like a clean makeup brush so by using this after I do my makeup (it’s very quick) I have a clean makeup brush every day. Then I do the full bath with Dawn maybe one weekend a month.

    I have the travel size too. It lives in my suitcase.

    1. do you have one set of brushes or multiple? I feel like my brushes wouldn’t dry in a day.

      1. With the brush spray, you spray the bristles directly and rub on tissue, or else you just spray the tissue directly and rub the brush on it. It’s not a very wet spray, the brush is not dripping in any way. It’s dry within an hour or so. I just put the brushes back into the cup I keep them in as soon as I wipe them off.

        I do have multiple brushes but I have my ride or die ones that I use every day, and don’t need alternates because they’re not dry or anything. I think my Bobbi Brown face brush that I use for BB cream is 4+ years old and still going strong. I always think that’s because I clean it all the time.

  12. Just venting into the void. It bums me out that DH and his friends find it so easy to find time to hang out together, while it seems near-impossible for me and my friends. Tonight it’s a basketball game. A few days ago, it was watching a football game at someone’s house. A few days before that, it was pick-up basketball. I am friends with the wives, and we have no real equivalent to sports to bring us together. Hanging out requires a million text messages and usually results in broken plans anyway, unless tickets have been purchased. Part of it, honestly, is my girlfriends’ doing. Their guys are fine with taking a couple of hours away from their families to hang out. The wives are less OK with that, even though they admit their husbands encourage them to go out, too. My DH is totally supportive of me taking more friend time but also? My friends are hardly ever available, and yet vent that they have no social life, either! It’s just frustrating and I don’t think there’s any real solution at this stage in life. Part of it is couple dynamics, but part of it is just a choice that we’ve made, I guess.

    1. Can you do some activities to meet some people who aren’t the partners of his friends? Maybe you’d have better luck planning something with just one or two of your existing friends rather than the whole group?

      1. Hard to explain the dynamics, but we’re not just friends because we’re the spouses of these dudes. Fair point that maybe it’s best to invite 1 other person, rather than trying to get the 4 of us together.

        1. I invite everybody but make it clear that I understand if they have kiddo tasks or whatnot. I usually end up with at least one taker. It’s nearly impossible to find a time that works for four adults, especially if some are in different life stages (babies while others are the taxi for middle school sports).

          I also try to use the ticket thing to my advantage. We’ll do a pool afternoon on a Resort pass or we’ve booked a head spa session or something like that rather than just coffee, so it “sticks” better. Do you do manis or pedis? Maybe see if you can get in sync with one of them. What about a recurring yoga class or with a juice bar after or a monthly dog walk/hike? If I get something on the calendar ages in advance or that is combined with something folks are likely to be doing anyway, it makes it easier to get at least one or two together.

    2. This is a really hard dynamic.

      I am in a book club, and we meet the 3rd Tuesday of every month. That way, people can really plan around it. There are members who have or had small children who come every single month, and one who has a child right now who almost never comes bc of child/husband stuff. She has told us in conversation that her kid and husband are her priority right now (though she doesn’t complain about her social life). But I do really think having the date on the calendar consistently helps. Everyone knows that if they have to miss, there will be another meeting the next month. It’s also a low commitment bc it’s just once a month.

      This could work with anything your group enjoys!

      1. Yeah. It’s hard. We’re in the stage of life where kids and their activities are everyone’s priorities. I know how stereotypical it sounds, but we feel that pull more than our spouses do. It’s nobody’s fault, and I truly don’t think it’s because we don’t want to be together. It’s just a hard thing to change.

    3. Solidarity. Neither DH nor are I are particularly outgoing or good at making friends, but he does pick up sports or running groups several times per week, and gets a lot of adult social interaction and casual friend connections through those. In our case I’m not sure it’s really a gender thing (women can run and play ultimate frisbee too!) but as a non-sporty person it definitely feels like there’s no equivalent for me where I could hang out with people regularly that I don’t otherwise have anything in common with.

    4. Can you just go for a walk and invited them to join?

      “I’m headed to the park at 4pm to walk the loop, anyone care to join?”

    5. I have the best luck with wine after bedtime hangs and letting everyone know that I’m happy to put a movie on for any kids in tow.

      Also, mileage is way better when this plan is thrown together ninth hour than pre-planned.

    6. If you have flexible jobs, can you meet for coffee after school drop off and before work? I know that is less exciting than an evening hang out, but I still find it to be a good way to catch up.

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