Suit of the Week: Banana Republic Factory
Sales of note for 12.13
- Nordstrom – Beauty deals on skincare including Charlotte Tilbury, Living Proof, Dyson, Shark Pro, and gift sets!
- Ann Taylor – 50% off everything, including new arrivals (order via standard shipping for 12/23 expected delivery)
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything + extra 20% off
- Eloquii – 400+ styles starting at $19
- J.Crew – Up to 60% off almost everything + free shipping (12/13 only)
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off everything and free shipping, no minimum
- Macy's – $30 off every $150 beauty purchase on top brands
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off, plus free shipping on everything (and 20% off your first order)
- Talbots – 50% off entire purchase, and free shipping on $99+
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
This group always has such great travel recommendations: can anyone recommend a good local tour company for Bhutan?
My relatives, who have been all over the world, report it is their favorite country. They even went back a second time! Their tour was focused on bird-watching. I’ve always heard rave reviews about Abercrombie & Kent and Tauk tours.
That’s really great to hear! Considering it for a milestone birthday. I believe Abercombie & Kent (and all other foreign companies) would have to contract with a local Bhutanese company, so I’m hoping to cut out the middleman!
What made it their favorite? The scenery? I’ve been to 50+ countries and I’m embarrassed to admit I have only the vaguest sense of where Bhutan is and know very little about it. Clearly I need to change this.
I am going into a negotiation tomorrow with an opposing counsel (older dude) whose favorite tactic is to say, “you know [so anon] that under [random regulation] that this is the way that it has to be” or “from your time at [biglaw firm], [so anon] you know that this is how this works.” I find it unbearably patronizing and an attempt to bury the premise with which I may or may not disagree. Any suggestions on how to handle this particular approach?
If it is tangential, then say so. “That is not the point of the discussion” then pivot back to the point.
“That is only true when X, but our situation is Y.”
Or turn it back on him. “George, you know that is only the case in certain circumstances, such as X and Y. You know from your experience that in situations like ours, Z, this is how it’s done.”
^^^ Use his name, too. IME people who use your name are not expecting that tactic to be used back At Them.
“Well, actually…”
“That’s an ‘interesting’ interpretation, but the real issue is…..”
I don’t think that is patronizing per se. I speak that way when I want to acknowledge that I know someone knows something and it is contrary to the position that they are taking in a negotiation. In your shoes, I’d respond as if a judge was pointing out the law to me. I’d say “you are right, in most instances, we would have to do X. However, in this case, since Y, we are able to do Z as it is an exception under ABC and it does not “have” to be this way.”
“No.”
Try not to find it patronizing! It’s just a negotiation tactic. I do this all the time. You can totally flip it on its head and do it back to him.
Yes, but as you know, our situation is different because of x
We’ve both done enough of this to know that y is the appropriate response.
Yeah, this is just a negotiation tactic. Explain why he’s wrong – that’s all you have to do.
Ugh so frustrating, especially when the guy’s not even right. I have one particular OC who does this a lot and I generally just ignore it and keep making the point I was making. He’s usually wrong, anyway. Once, he wouldn’t let up — it was during a deposition, and he kept threatening to call the judge because I wouldn’t comply with his demand (which was patently incorrect on its face). I pushed the speakerphone over to him and said “it’s your deposition.” He called the judge, and I won (and the judge was pissed). So satisfying to call his bluff.
It doesn’t sound like your adversary has become quite this antagonistic, OP, but I’ve had good luck with opposing counsel who have crossed the line from patronizing to antagonistic deploying this technique: wait, let them run off at the mouth, and say, very neutrally, “Are you done?” or “Is that all?” and then keep going like it never happened–basically not even acknowledging the tantrum.
I wonder if a similar tactic might work in response to truly these truly inapposite statements as well: “Anything else you’d like to add?” and then just returning to the issue the two of you are actually confronting.
I hate being patronized like this. Men always like to lord themselves over me, and after they try to humiliate me, then they ask if I want to go out for a drink! Are they crazy? Do they really think I would socialize with a guy who belittles me then wants to go to a bar and drink with me and mabye have me go to bed with them? FOOEY!
Has anyone here had Zoom Whitening done? Was it worth it or not? Is charcoal, crest white strips or in home whitening from the dentist a better option? I would appreciate hearing your experiences with teeth whitening. TIA!
I had it done recently and it was a waste of money for me because I have what the dentist calls “naturally discolored teeth.” They have been this color my whole life so they aren’t stained. We tried it just to see if it would work before exploring more invasive options such as bonding or veneers and it didn’t do anything. It also hurt much worse than I thought it would for a day or so afterward (like shooting pains through my teeth and extreme sensitivity, even to air). So if you have naturally discolored teeth, I wouldn’t bother. If you have stains, it may help.
I have it done every couple of years, and am happy with the results. I am not going to lie; the shooting pains/sensitivity are really bad.
I used their at-home night kit (prescribed by my dentist) for 2 weeks and had great results (already after first night!). My teeth were stained, not naturally discolored. During the whitening process and shortly afterwards, my teeth were sensitive, but I coped with the pain using analgesics from time to time and Sensodyne toothpaste. But it was very well worth it and I am going to do it now again (after 4 years just to refresh the whiteness of my teeth).
I think I had a longer post about my experience few months ago, you may check it or drop a question here.
Yes, and it didn’t hurt while it was happening, but like three hours later, I was doubled over in bed, and just the air of my breath passing by my teeth had me in the fetal position. I generally don’t have a low pain threshhold. I swore I’d never do it again, but it’s been ten years, and I might do it again…but only if I get ahead of the pain. It was worse than anything I’ve ever experienced, including a burst appendix. Really.
It was the worst pain I’ve ever been in for a few days! And now I can’t do at home whitening kits… the same pain comes back in seconds.
I’m in a complete music rut- help me out.
What is one album/artist that you never tire of?
Paul Simon’s Graceland.
OMG, IMHO, Graceland is one of the best albums of all time! You’ve inspired me to play it for my kids tonight. Again.
I’m 43 FWIW.
Graceland, Graceland, I’m goin’ to Graceland!
My parents loved that album, so I do too. Paul Simon has a real gift.
Bieber. Lizzo. Sheeran.
Lizzo!!!
Son Little!
Head and the Heart.
eric clapton, pilgrim
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
A million times yes.
That’s what I was going to write, too!! So, so timeless and so much emotion!!
Also adding some favorites depending on your mood (and putting the ladies first!):
Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt
Carole King Tapestry
Alanis Moriss3 t +e Jagged Little Pill
Dreamboat Annie from Heart
Revolver, Rubber Soul and Beatles’ White Album
Freewheelin Bob Dylan
Joshua Tree from U2
Springsteen Born in the USA
Van Morrison Astral Weeks
Elton John Madman Across the Water
RHCP Californication
Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life
Sounds of Silence from Simon & Garfunkel
Neil Young Harvest
Weezer Blue Album
Pearl Jam Vitalogy
Soundtracks: Hamilton, Sound of Music, Disney
Not specific albums but artists who I haven’t mentioned above: Adele, Beyonce, Florence and the Machine, Coldplay, Fitz & the Tantrums, Journey, Queen, Patti Smith, Smashing Pumpkins, Madonna, Violent Femmes, the Police
Also, Fleetwood Mac – the Dance.
Cole Porter
Hamilton Soundtrack
Les Mis Soundtrack
Journey Greatest Hits
Eagles Greatest Hits
Elvis
AC/DC Back in Black
Bad Company
Metallica Black album
Loretta Lynn VanLear Rose
Said the Whale – Islands Disappear
Currently jamming to Rita Ora.
India Arie – Worthy
Lizzo Lizzo Lizzo! Stream “Truth Hurts” then buy the album “Cuz I Love You.”
Yes! I am obsessed with her atm!
Princess Nokia too.
The Hamilton soundtrack.
Lemonade.
Also Kind of Blue (Miles Davis)
By the way, I’m mid 50s.
Here are some more:
Rubber Soul – The Beatles
Jazz Samba – Stan getz
Tapestry – Carole King
Time Out – Dave Brubeck
Sophisticated Lady – Ella fitzgerald and Joe Pass
Head Hunters – Herbie Hancock
Song for my Father – Horace Silver
Side by Sude – Itzhak Perlman and Oscar Petersen
Lush Life – John Coltrane
VH1 Storytellers – Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson
Red Headed Stranger – Willie Nelson
Del Este de Los Angeles – Los Lobos
Come Dancing with the Kinks
The Hottest New Group in Jazz – Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs – Marty Robbins
Sayin’ something – Nat Adderly
Blues + Jazz – Ray Charles
The List – Rosanne Cash
Breakfast on the morning train – Stacey Kent
Inner idioms – Stevie Wonder
Think Tank – Tank and the Bangas
TOwer of Power – Tower of Power
The Descendants – soundtrack (the one with George Clooney)
Nacho Libre soundtrack
A Charlie Brown Christmas – Vince Guaraldi
Tommy – The Who
Spirit – Willie Nelson
Appalachian Spring – Mark O’Connor, Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer
Calypso – Harry’s belafonte
Sorry, got carried away!
I heart this list.
Lizzo- Boys, Truth Hurts
The National — Boxer.
Childish Gambino – Camp
Miranda Lambert/Pistol Annies, especially The Weight of these Wings and Interstate Gospel.
The Talking Heads!
Joni Mitchell (especially Blue)
David Bowie
Johnny Cash (especially American V)
Amanda Shires (My Piece of Land and To The Sunset)
Fleetwood Mac
Tell me this is a bad idea:
I have $118k remaining on my law school loans. As of last month our net worth became positive, meaning that if I emptied out all our savings and retirement and investment accounts, I could pay off the loan today. It is so, so tempting – I hate that stupid loan hanging over my head for another 4 1/2 years.
BUT this is a terrible idea, right? I should not touch our retirement savings! I should keep an emergency fund for cash flow! The loan is refinanced so the interest rate is not bad! We have no other debt (we rent so no mortgage). I’m a BigLaw junior but not a star so no guarantee I’ll keep pulling down $$.
Yea, that is a terrible idea.
Terrible idea! (hey, you asked!) You’ll have to pay a penalty on retirement withdrawals, so you’ll net less than you think you will. Plus you will lose time in the market which will be more valuable over the long haul. And you do not want to be without an emergency fund! Really, you don’t.
A better approach would be to get aggressive about paying extra, and when you get a bonus, throw it all at the loans. Or make yourself a deal — as soon as you have the savings to pay it off, you will, as long as you can without touching retirement.
Definitely do NOT do this. You are a junior, we are sitting at the cusp of a recession in the next year or two. You do realize you could be let go right? Or even if you aren’t let go, you could be thrown off partner track (which you may not even be on right now if you aren’t a star)? You do realize that if you have to seek any other type of job in law, it WILL pay less, right? That’s true of midlaw, government, in house etc.
Take in as much as you can and hold onto it (preferably invest it) under the premise that you will never make money like this again. I’m definitely thankful that unlike 95% of my peers I did NOT use my bonuses to pay off my loans ASAP, instead I walked away with a nest egg separate and apart from my retirement.
As for the loan, can’t you just pay off extra? So make double payments and you’re done in 2.25 years instead of 4.5 but you’re still holding onto a lot of cash.
This is not an emergency. Do not use your emergency fund for a non-emergency. Do not use your retirement fund for a non-retirement function. Find other ways to chip away at the loan. Also – same girl, same. It is tempting.
It’s a bad idea, but what’s a good idea is throwing all your “extra” money at your loans. How fast could you pay it off if you made dramatic changes to your lifestyle and/or paid above the minimum balance every single month? You could get that albatross off your neck and also reduce the amount of interest you pay.
No! Do not touch your retirement savings! And yes, keep an emergency fund! Otherwise if there is an emergency you will have to borrow, probably at a much higher rate than your student loan rate!
It sounds like you’re paying down in a hurry anyway. That’s great. Keep doing that.
Yeah, that’s a horrible idea. 4.5 years is not that long – you’ll be done before you know it.
TERRIBLE idea. Do NOT empty your retirement accounts. There are huge penalties associated with that so you won’t actually come out ahead.
I am not as negative as other people on emptying your savings and investment accounts. You’ll build back up an emergency fund quickly. But don’t go farther than that.
Horrible idea. And I say that as someone who completely hates being in debt.
Is there any way you could pay aggressively without emptying your accounts? Have you taken a good hard look at your budget and your biggest expenses? Whatever you do, 100% do NOT empty your retirement accounts for this. You will pay large tax penalties for doing that.
Do not get emotional about a hundred thousand dollar decision.
Stop with the exclamation points in your second paragraph. If you emptied out your retirement accounts, you would get hit with fees and penalties. If you have no savings, your “emergency fund” is a credit card with a stupid interest rate.
No. Do not do this. You know it’s a bad idea.
Your choice is not “pay it off now” or “wait 4.5 years,” either. Pay more than the minimum (when I was at your stage I put $3K/month towards loans). Allocate all but a small “treat” of each year’s bonus to them. You can probably knock them out in 2 years if you focus.
Good, ok, will not so this, thank you for the reinforcement :-)
We already pay $3k+ per month on the loan, which is more than the minimum, but that’s about as much as we can do (also have childcare for two young kids and husband is an a flexible but not high paying job). No bonus because I’m in a “lifestyle” practice group. Will keep behaving sensibly and hope my job holds out for a few more years.
Do not touch your retirement funds but take a hard look at the contributions you are making and what your retirement accounts are earning and check if it makes sense to reduce your contributions and sock that money against your loans.
I don’t think this is a horrible idea, although I’m not a fan because of the limits on contributions to tax advantaged retirement accounts means that you can never make up those missed contributions. Regardless, if you do this analysis, make sure that you are accounting for the additional tax that you will pay since your 401k contributions are not taxed (i.e., you are not getting dollar for dollar back).
You pay the tax at some point though, and unless you’re a really high earner now it probably isn’t a huge tax benefit.
She is in biglaw. She is a really high earner now.
This is insane and I’m the most debt-averse person I know (we bought our house in cash).
What? No. Do not do this. Today’s gift is that you could do it. But you’re not going to. It’s nice enough just to know.
You shouldn’t even be thinking about retirement accounts as part of your present net worth. Think of them as having $0 value until you are retirement age and can begin withdrawing.
I’m not at all opposed to the idea of emptying the emergency fund or at least taking a chunk out of it and paying down a satisfying lump sum. How much of an emergency fund do you have? It’s good to keep it for the worst case scenario of being fired, sure, but as a Biglaw junior associate, you’re probably safe and secure for awhile. If you want to have a three-month emergency fund rather than a six-month, or an emergency fund that takes into account that in the remote possibility of you being fired you’d break your lease early and move in with family or something, I think that’s perfectly fine. I never had more than four figures in liquid savings when I was aggressively paying down law school loans.
Don’t touch your retirement savings or emergency fund. Now that you have a decent emergency fund, you can divert a portion of the money you were using to save up for that to accelerate the payment of your loans, unless you need to save for other things like a downpayment. You can do this! 4.5 years is really not that long, I promise.
I strongly endorse my BR washable suits. I really have no qualms about the quality for the price, and my life is easier with machine washable clothing.
Tell me more about how you care for them? Is ironing involved? Or can you just machine wash and hang dry? Intrigued over here.
Machine wash normal cycle, hang dry, touch up with a steamer. They really do hold up well. The fit is a little boxy, but it’s well worth the price.
Sorry my response is late but I put mine in the dryer too! On low heat, and I take them out right away so they don’t wrinkle. This is a special perk for blazers because I think blazers are THE WORST to iron.
Wardrobe advice, please! What would you wear to a college reunion when the weather is supposed to be in the low 70s and rainy? I’m in the south, and I have no “dressy casual” (that’s the dresscode for the dinner I’m attending) summer clothes other than sundresses and jumpsuits that won’t be warm enough. Any ideas?
You could wear a sundress or jumpsuit with a jean jacket?
I feel like this is the perfect deployment of a leather jacket/moto jacket/denim jacket depending on your closet and/or personal style.
I’d wear a fancier more structured sundress with a jean jacket and wedges.
If you aren’t a moto person, can you toss a fun summer tweed jacket over a jumpsuit?
To the person looking for SLC recommendations – find out from people if there are certain suburbs where transplants who’ve moved for jobs at Amex, CS etc tend to live. Another of financial services companies have moved people out there and you’ll be happier living nearer to them. Don’t get me wrong LDS folks are nice to a fault, so you’ll have surface level relationships with them. But reality is for most LDS families in the suburbs, they are very focused on raising their kids as good LDS members — that means their kids are raised in church which takes up most of their time outside work/school. It’s not just time spent at services, it’s that LDS culture is so huge in SLC that anything they want to do can be done via the church. Your kids want to be in a basketball league or soccer, churches have leagues – not need for them to play in town leagues that may have non LDS. You get the point. They are plenty nice but don’t want more than surface level interaction with those outside the church and in a place like LDS, that’s doable. Even the public schools are so heavily LDS that you often hear arguments that a non LDS kid shouldn’t be student body president or team captain because “values.” Pick your town and school system wisely.
I agree with this. My adult child lived there for a year and worked at a large non-profit not associated with the church. The weather and outdoor amenities were 100% his/her style and the people were super nice but everyone threw you into a “LDS” or “non-LDS” pot. if you were non-LDS, there was no socializing outside of work. S/he had a hard time meeting people (even using Meet Up) and felt very isolated. If you were non-LDS, it seemed like it was a great place for surface level connections but it would be hard to have more in-depth friendships and relationships. S/he was glad to leave.
Yeah, both of you articulated better what I was trying to say. This has been true in all the LDS-heavy areas I or family members have lived in (Utah, Idaho, etc.)
This was the exact experience of a family member who lived in SLC. Her family (kids especially) were pretty lonely and miserable.
OMG, IMHO, Graceland is one of the best albums of all time! You’ve inspired me to play it for my kids tonight. Again.
I’m 43 FWIW.
Similar to the financial post above, tell me whether this is a bad idea:
I am looking at attending a master’s program soon and if I attend, I will need to take out a student loan to cover a portion of it (I believe I will get some funding from the school). I also have about $14k in credit card debt from various medical and family issues. Is it crazy to borrow an extra $14k on the student loan and get rid of the credit card debt? I know the loan will accrue interest while I’m in school but the program is only one year. The interest rate would be significantly less than the current APR of the card, but my main interest in doing this is that it would eliminate the need to make monthly credit card payments while I am in school. It will already be nerve racking enough to pay my rent, regular bills, etc. without the full time salary that I am used to (masters program is full time during the day). Is this a terrible idea?
This one actually isn’t a bad idea. Credit card debt is at 20%+ and student loan debt is going to be what 5-7% on the high end? This is a good arbitrage.
It’s not that it is terrible, but that it’s just pushing off a problem. Can you delay the program a year and pay off the CC debt?
If you think you could pay the $14k off in a relatively short period of time, it makes more sense to transfer balance over to a 0% interest card with a long no interest period.
Otherwise, it’s actually quite sound if the interest is significantly lower (thinking 20% on a cc versus 5 to 7% on a student loan). But keep in mind you have a much longer payment period on the student loan, so if you aren’t diligent in paying that extra 14k off, you’ll end up paying a lot more in the end, even at the lower interest rate.
Also, can you even do this? I’ve never seen a student loan for just “extra cash”, I’ve only seen it cover tuition, room, and board based on the school’s estimated expense budgets.
Not necessarily a terrible idea, but you may be limited in the total amount you can borrow, so check into that. Also the biggest risk when people pay off cards is that they have an emergency and run the balance back up, so make sure you have a solid emergency fund in place.
I think it’s a good idea because 1) the interest on a student loan will be far less than on a credit card loan and 2) both types of debt or unsecured, meaning they are not erased by bankruptcy. Please fact check me on #2 though.
Unless the living expense budget for the school is highly overestimated, I don’t see how you could do this. You can only borrow student loans up to the cost of attendance. You will need that money to pay your living expenses for the year, right?
This. I took the max Grad Plus and Stafford loans, but definitely did not have an extra $14k.
This sounds like a great idea. What’s the downside?
The downside is that non one pays their student loans off in one year. So 5-7% per year sounds like a good deal, until that’s snowballed into a ten year repayment plan, and you’ll pay a ton more over time than if you had a ~20% “albatross” over your head and really focused on paying that down. Cosign the rec that you transfer to a 0% interest card and focus on paying down your cc debt aggressively.
And to the poster above who said that cc debt and student loan debt are treated the same in bankruptcy–they’re not. At all. Student loans are nearly impossible to discharge–you have to be totally blind or fully disabled practically, for a judge to discharge them–it’s extremely difficult. CC debt, OTOH, not so hard to get rid of in BK.
Technically, student loans are to be used for education plus living expenses. I don’t think anyone would catch you, but paying off previous living expenses which are cc debt probably isn’t included.
Please also, read a basic personal finance book like “Get a Financial Life” Suze Orman anything Smart Women Finish Rich too. This will help you not ask for big money decision advice on an anon internet forum.
I hope it would never come to this, but credit card debt can be discharged in bankruptcy while student loan debt is forever. Additionally, if you’re talking about a private student loan (since this is over and above the cost of attendance), the interest rates will be high.
I’d put off grad school for a year and start with a clean slate, debt-wise, so you’re not dealing with paying the cc bill down while not bringing in a fulltime salary.
I think you’re better off working to pay the credit card bills. Stay in the workforce for another year. Get a second job, even if it’s teaching for Kaplan a few days a week. Do your master’s at night.
This actually doesn’t strike me as a bad idea, though if you can swing paying the interest on the credit card portion while you’re still in school that’s probably smart. Lower interest rate, one payment, “better” looking debt. The key is to tear up your credit card so that you don’t charge it back up.
FWIW, student loans aren’t dischargeable. But the math might otherwise make sense for you. BUT if you are a student and you have medical bills, any chance you could negotiate them down?
Are all-inclusives a thing in Maui? Or elsewhere in Hawaii? I want a really chill babymoon somewhere Zika-free where I don’t have to worry about logistics. I’m on the West Coast, so Hawaii is easy to get to. But I’m not sure if all-inclusives are a thing there (I’ve been before but always rented a condo) or if there’s an option that’s not super expensive but is still comfortable.
Also, I would take non-Hawaii destinations for a babymoon too, particularly on a beach! (Mexico might be good but it sounds like the Zika risk there is ambiguous?)
Not really a thing. I think the Disney resort has AI options but I would not baby moon there for obvious reasons :)
If you can wait until 2022 ;) I would bet Kona Village will again be all inclusive but it’s not open yet. :( It was hit by the tsunami some years ago and had to completely rebuild.
I would just stay at one of the swanky resorts in Hawaii. I’m especially partial to the Four Seasons Hualalei.
It’s not AI, so you’ll have to pay for food and drink, but there really aren’t “logistics” to worry about. If you don’t want to leave the resort it can be just as relaxing as any AI (minus having to take out your wallet). If you do want to leave, there are lots of options for activities on the big island.
Staying at the Andaz with family (through a Costco package, which helped the price quite a bit), and it’s not all inclusive in terms of food/drink being included, but in terms of on site amenities (yoga, standup paddle board, snorkling, etc.), it’s all there.
Since you won’t really be drinking I would wonder if an AI is worth the money vs ad hoc options?
Not OP but DH and I are non-drinkers and like AIs. We have gone to a couple nice ones in Mexico where we paid less than $500/night (in the offseason, admittedly) for a room at a luxury resort, very good and unlimited food (including room service and poolside service) and low-key activities (non-motorized watersports, pool volleyball, yoga, etc.). That felt more than worth it to me. I’m sure it varies from resort to resort, but generally you don’t have to drink to get your monies worth. Also even if it’s not the best deal out there, there’s also something very relaxing about pre-paying for your vacation completely and spending essentially no money while you’re actually traveling.
Not 100% positive Hawaii is known to be zika-free (although definitely acknowledge the lower risk there than other tropical areas). The reason I say this is that I was in Maui two months back, and began looking into giving blood this week. Canadian Blood Services mentions that areas outside Canada, the continental US and Europe as carry a risk of exposure to zika virus. Just food for thought!
Thanks. CDC says Hawaii is okay and they’re usually pretty conservative but I’ll do a little more research.
That seems excessively cautious, bordering on absurd. According to the CDC, no mosquito-borne Zika transmission has *ever* been recorded in Hawaii. I’ve never heard of an OBGYN advising against travel there (and my OB did tell me not to go to the Caribbean or South Florida – this was a couple years ago when Zika transmission had been reported in Florida).
Does anyone have and loves their linen bedsheets? Can you explain what convinced you to switch to linen from cotton? I live close to a country which is famous for its linen products, will be going there for a trip soon and am considering buying some nice linen bedsheets, but not sure what to expect.
I got linen sheets about a year ago and like them, although I do somewhat miss my very worn-in, very soft/smooth 600 TC fitted sheet. I switched because I’m a hot sleeper in a hot place, and I do find them much cooler. I also like the weight and feel and heft, so to say, of my duvet. The look appealed to me and I was bored with what I had. Also, let’s just call my bedroom maintenance/bed making aesthetic “disheveled chic,” and linen’s aesthetic tends to lend itself to that look.
I love mine. I also have a linen duvet cover. I also just love linen generally–clothes, drapes, upholstery. All linen all the time.
They are cooler than percale cotton. They add interesting texture that I find especially nice when you layer with other things–an upholstered headboard, pillows in various fabrics. And as anon points out above, for me, the wrinkling is part of the texture and the visual interest that provides, especially when layered with other things. Thus, it’s lower maintenance than percale, in which the wrinkles bother me enough that I iron my pillowcases and duvet cover.
Thank you, both!
I loathe linen sheets, I find them scratchy. I have sensitive skin, if you don’t your MMV. I do love the linen tablecloths and napkins I bought. Note that the colored one faded, so a neutral may be best.
Thank you, this is helpful as I have sensitive skin as well.
Does anyone have a Roomba?
We’re closing on our new house (YAY) Friday that is 100% hardwood and big floor plates. I’ll have a couple area rugs but low pile so the Roomba should handle it. We have a black lab that sheds like nobody’s business. I’m willign to pay the pricetag for the Roomba but I’d love some reassurance from current owners that it is, in fact, the $hit?
I did the ‘find your fit’ test and the one the recommended to me is about $800. I think I can get 20% off at Bed Bath & Beyond with my coupon. $800 is worth it to me because that’s how much I truly loathe the dog fur tumble weeds we currently live with.
Any advice would be most appreciated!
I love love love my two roombas. I have one upstairs and one downstairs because I’m lazy.
I have combo hardwood and wool area rugs (Persian type rugs)
Everyone is sick of me talking about how much I love them
We have one. The $1000 one with the base station that it dumps the dirt in. GREAT purchase. We don’t have kids or pets, so I have it run twice a week, and can now enjoy walking around in bare feet on hardwood floors without grit sticking to my feet.
I have one and love it so much, and I don’t even have pets. I have a lot of hair, and it’s generally nice to not have to worry about the floors. I have a 1000 sq ft apt and it seems to make it around the place and back just fine.
We just got a Eufy Robovac and I’ve been very happy with it, especially because it’s quiet. The price point is much lower too.
We have a border collie and the I7 Roomba that self-empties. It is wonderful on hard floors and low pile area rugs. Sometimes it leaves behind tufts of wadded up fur on the wall-to-wall carpet. Not sure if that is because of the BC fur or the carpet or what but it doesn’t do that on hardwood.
We do have to clean/replace the rollers on the bottom more often than I thought we would. Also use compressed air – the compressed air cleans out the sensors that allow the Roomba to self-empty. When working correctly, it cleans then self-empties at base and then returns to clean as many times as it needs to to finish the whole house.
If you get the one that doesn’t self-empty you’ll have to empty it a lot with a dog because we borrowed one first before getting our model and learned from experience that self-empting was what we needed.
I should add that we like it even if we have to check it every few weeks. The rollers are easily replaceable and found on amazon.
I’m going to be the voice of dissent and say UGH no thank you to Roombas. I’ve had two Roombas: loved ‘em at first but got rid of both, each around a year or two—one back in 2006-8 (bought it from woot dot com…anyone else remember them?) and tried another one about 3 years ago (a 500 or 600 series model because a coworker raved about hers). Honestly, they did not improve much in those ten years—the parts (rotating brushes, brush screen, dust bin, and battery) and the “dumb” bumping/spinning motion were exactly the same; only the body looked updated and sleeker. What I hated about my first Roomba still held with the second.
-it works best if you clear out the floor beforehand: tuck away cables, rug fringes, etc. We would move our dining room chairs and other small furniture to minimize the items it needs to bump into and maximize efficiency. At that point, it was faster to do a quick loop with our Dyson.
-the batteries were awful! They do not hold charge on their own for extended periods of time (says so in the manual). So the Roomba was always docked in its charging station, which became another fixture on our living room or bedroom floor. After a year or so, it seemed it would not hold as long of a charge (we’d come home and Roomba would be dead in the middle of the room…not enough juice to return to the docking station)
-long hairs would get tangled in the brushes
-the virtual wall was nice in theory, but it became another doodad to keep track of (change out the D batteries, turn off/on when leaving the house)
Though your mileage may vary. Based on the responses above about self emptying functions, it sounds like they’ve made some advancements. Hopefully, the battery situation improved too!
I signed up for a networking event this week through the alumni group for my undergrad school in my current city. I currently live in a different city from where I went to school and I don’t know any other grads who live in my city. Please help me come up with a script for introducing myself to people.
I don’t usually go to networking mixers where I don’t already know people because that’s not my best way of connecting with people, but I would like to get connected with the alumni network in my city which is pretty active. The event is a happy hour at a bar I like near my office, so I figured if nothing else I get a drink out of my 20 minutes of awkwardly standing around. Please help me with suggestions or tips to get more out of it than that! Thanks!
Go with a goal to talk to X# people during the night and a few standard questions to ask people, since you know you already have a shared topic (your school). Maybe something like “what’s the thing you miss most about school?” or “what’s the class you enjoyed most/least?” It’ll get some conversations flowing and then from there it might naturally progress.
I work with a woman who only wears black, white, cream and gray clothing. She’s kept this up for the entire five years I’ve known her, and she always looks super polished and put together. I loooove the idea of a fully neutral work wardrobe — looks fantastic! so much easier to shop for! — but color makes me happy and I would get bored with neutrals after about a week. Can anyone else relate to being drawn toward a style that is completely not for you?
I think her natural coloring works in her favor, too. Black is one of my worst colors and I rarely wear it near my face because it washes me out. I’m one of those people who usually needs to wear color to *have* some color.
Navy, cream, and either a taupe or a gray depending on your coloring. This could be the basis of an excellent neutral wardrobe.
OP, here. Today I’m wearing navy pants with a sand-color cardigan … and a bright aqua top. Mostly neutral, but I can’t see myself getting all the way there! The colors look nice together, though.
It’s easier if you stick to a few neutrals for your bases and then indulge in your colors in a way that they go with your neutrals. Your combo sounds perfect!
Similar boat! I get overwhelmed and make bad decisions when I have so dang many clothing choices, but I LIKE having choices. Or perhaps more accurately, I get overwhelmed and make bad decisions in stores, leading me to consider just narrowing the choices I have to make, but I like having choices out of my own closet, and those two things can’t play nice.
Also this. I like the idea of a capsule wardrobe but I am certain I’d hate it in real life.
You can appreciate someone else’s style while recognizing it wouldn’t work for you.
Elizabeth McCord is my style icon but my work dress code is about three levels below hers, maybe more. Even if I wore her more casual looks I’d be overdressed.
I love her clothing too! … and her house … and her family … and her confidence and intelligence … I really just want to be Elizabeth McCord
I’m trying to be your coworker! 60% of my wardrobe is black, with some other neutrals. I add in some navy in heat of summer. Honestly I do this because I dislike colors and dressing this way makes me feel more like myself. You do you!
I only wear black, red and blue, with occasionally purple. Works with my coloring and they almost all go together.
I wear only navy and black at work, with burgundy handbags, and find navy and burgundy are color enough for my preferences. Maybe experiment with a palette that is simple and coordinated – including a few of your favorite colors – if you want to try something similar that works for your preferences?
I tried one of those all neutral living rooms and ended up hating it. I really am a person who loves color. The same is true with my wardrobe, so I stock up when stores have a color I love.
I’m the exact opposite of you. I tend to wear nothing but black, white and grey, though I always find myself drawn towards women who manage to pull off wonderfully colourful outfits.
I’ve gotten to a point where I know what works best for me and I just admire from afar.
Dang it I just got a parking ticket while parking using ParkMobile. I took a pic of my car next to the spot number, and I have the payment in my parkmobile history. Has anyone fought this successfully?
I think the process will depend on your city, since you are fighting it with the DMV. but I know people who have successfully fought parking tickets
I did in Alexandria, VA. I had the parkmobile history that showed I paid and was time stamped. The ticket was timestamped 4 minutes after my parkmobile. There is an online objection process in ALX, but I was outside of the time window to use it (my bad…) so I went to court to get it taken care. The cop was super nice about the whole thing and said sometimes it takes a little while for the parking to show up in their system, so they dismissed it all and I walked out without having to pay anything.
Don’t know if you’ll see this, but I did in DC. Brought printed screenshots of my Parkmobile history and compared it to the timestamp of the ticket.
Anyone have recommendations for things I an do now (during slow times at work) to help out my future self? Both work and home related…I’m a single mom to a three month old after my husband passed away, so I am looking for ALL the tips. For example, today I loaded all my Starbucks gift cards to my app and will now throw them all away. It didn’t take much time, but it will reduce my purse clutter and make me happier!
Oh my goodness. No advice but all the hugs.
Sorry for your loss.
Do you have any doctor’s appointments that you need to take care of soon? Eye Exam? Dentist? I would try to get those done, or at a minimum get them scheduled so you don’t have to worry about remembering to call to schedule them later.
Maybe consider pre-buying birthday and holiday cards for the rest of the year?
Can you sneak out of the office for a mid-day workout? Not so much planning for the future, but I always like to do that during slow times.
So many hugs!-
Automate as much of your life as you can. Diapers/wipes on autodelivery (we used walmart).
– If you have space, order TP and paper towels from costco so you have lots on hand and don’t have to drag bulky items home when you are grocery shopping with a baby.
– if you are not already in therapy, research grief counsellors in your area, that way when you find yourself needing to talk to a professional, you know who to call.
– self care – take time for yourself whether that is a yoga class or regular massages. Taking care of yourself is the best way you can be there for your child.
Goodness, I am sending love to you. I am so sorry about your husband.
One thing I do is if I’m at Whole Foods, I will often grab one of their pre-made lasagnas or enchilada pans and stick it in my freezer for easy dinners that I don’t have to think about other than defrosting in the morning.
Subscribe to save on all the baby stuff . . . diapers, wipes, ointment, etc. Same goes for your shampoo, hair products, moisturizer, etc.
Trip plan well in advance (right down to making packing lists; so much more efficient), including figuring out the carrier/car seat/stroller/stroller bag sitch for your child.
Recipe and shopping plan so that you can premake and freeze portioned meals for you and early purees for your child (unless you are going to do BLW, then YMMV).
Start pulling pictures for holiday gifts for grandparents (Tervis cups, mugs, calendars, etc.).
Have you transitioned your child to their own room yet? If not, is it decorated and ready?
Prewash the next size of kids’ clothes.
Update any worn essentials (socks, pjs, undergarments, basic pants/skirts).
All my sympathy to you.
If I was slow right now, I’d catch up with friends over lunch, coffee, happy hour, etc. Finally finish updating my estate plan. Change my air filters. Get my car oil changed, new wipers, rotate tires. Replace every burned out bulb and dead battery in my house. Do all my CLE for the year. Work out. Clean out my freezer, tupperware and sock drawer. Finally paint over the touch up drywall spots.
Well, in reality I’d probably watch a bunch of Netflix and spend my days reading this.
Sneak out for grief therapy at least weekly. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Put all your usernames and passwords into a password manager like Lastpass.
+1 million. I spent almost an entire weekend doing this (took me longer than doing our taxes!) but now that it’s set up I LOVE it. And I have way more secure passwords because I don’t have to remember them.
Sort out your back up back up child care. Get a physical and do the tests and immunisations you need. Get teeth cleaned. Set up toiletries on a delivery plan (we use Target). Set up files so it’s easier to keep your home records. Find an accountant now instead in a crunch next year. Find a handyman.