Weekend Open Thread
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I'm a big fan of Athleta's sweatshirts, but they only have a few colors in the shorter styles that go well with flared and wide leg pants… so I've been branching out. I just ordered a few more colors of this Sweaty Betty sweatshirt because I like the first one so much.
Admittedly, I am a sucker for any sweatshirt with thumbholes (why? I have no idea), but I also like that this one comes in pretty colors and has a good weight. It's clearly a sweatshirt but it's soft and it isn't too bulky. Even better? You can find lots of older colors on sale. (There is also a longer version, although I haven't bought one yet.)
The pictured one is full price at Nordstrom for $68 with a few sale colors in lucky sizes, but check Amazon, Nordstrom Rack, Dillards, and Simon's for more sale colors.
Sales of note for 1/27:
- Nordstrom – 800+ new women's markdowns!
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your full-price purchase + extra 60% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off + extra 20% off
- Brooks Brothers – Clearance up to 70% off
- Elie Tahari – Great sale! Love this sweater blazer, and this reader-favorite sleeveless silk blouse is down to $50 from $198
- Express – $40 off $120, $75 off $200, $100 off $250 with code
- J.Crew Factory – Up to 70% off everything + extra 70% off clearance (ends 1/27) + 50-60% off hundreds of styles
- Lo & Sons – Winter sale, up to 50% off (ends 1/31) — reader favorites include this laptop tote, this backpack, and this crossbody
- M.M.LaFleur – Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off
- Neiman Marcus – Up to $250 off + up to 70% off select sale styles
- Talbots – Extra 70% off select winter markdowns + extra 60% off all other markdowns (both end midnight 1/27)
I finally joined Costco and today I chose not to renew Prime. Let’s discuss alternatives and dupes.
I will begin: During COVID, I went looking for a cheaper alternative to Estee Lauder Double Wear and found No. 7 Stay Perfect to be very good.
Where can we buy every day housewares like drinking glasses or air conditioning filters? All the stuff we would get at Amazon, Target or Walmart? Costo is great on appliances but not so much on the small items.
I love Costco and while the section is not great, I have bought sheets, pillows and cookware from there with great success. I also shop at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Nextdoor, Wayfair, Macys, and Home Depot.
It’s possible that some of the listed retailers are terrible too, and if I learn that they are, I will reconsider.
Oh, and I still visit the Amazon site to read reviews. Sometimes, I’ve had success finding and ordering directly from the same retailer that has an Amazon storefront.
You buy your air conditioning filters at a hardware store. Big box or local, up to you.
You buy tableware and drinkware at your favorite department store, home decor store (Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Ikea, Wayfair, etc—whatever your style/taste/budget is.), low-end department store (like JC Penny), ebay, estate sales, or thrift store.
IKEA is great for basic dishes and other small household goods. Not super high end, but most of the stuff I’ve gotten there has held up really well.
I no longer live near an IKEA, and I’m sad about it because I agree it is great for this sort of thing. (also because I’m a fan of ikea meatballs and lingonberry sauce)
They ship now!
Co-sign their shipping. I’ve ordered glasses that arrived excellently packed with no breakage.
This is amazing news! I’ve about broken enough of my glasses that I need new ones.
+ 1
IKEA is great for lots of stuff – they have air filters and pet supplies as well and lots of free ship promotions on holidays
Lowe’s or local hardware stores, restaurant supply stores, department stores. Either W-S or Pottery Barn has a ‘pantry’ collection of glassware and tableware staples that are decently priced.
Costco does have drinking glasses and plates and things and they’re pretty decent. They’re all going to be fairly big sets though because… Costco. They might be seasonal (like there might be more home goods things in store in September-January because college is starting and people are refreshing their homes in Jan.) You can check in the aisles but I find that I end up buying a lot of crap I don’t need, so I just check online to see what their selection is and then try to buy it in the warehouse if I can. (It’s usually more expensive online by $3-5.) (“Glasses” right now shows they have pages and pages of glasses in stock.) They also have air conditioning filters online.
I really like Costco leggings and sweatshirts and half the time the sale is better than you’d have gotten at Amazon.
Get your glassware at Goodwill.
this is a good point, i’ve gotten a ton of great glassware at a local auction site that does estate sales, and i’ve gotten a few things at goodwill also.
I won’t buy secondhand dishes or glassware because of lead.
You can still purchase from Amazon and get free shipping with a purchase of $35 (in most cases). If you’re used to Amazon, no reason to keep prime but you don’t have to cut it out of your life, unless you’re doing it for ethical reasons.
I am doing it for ethical reasons but will use it as a last resort if absolutley necessary@
This isn’t a perfect answer, but it’s realistic for me and my life.
I’ve dropped Amazon and Target but I’ve kept Walmart. While not ideal ro support Walmart, at least I’m only supporting one of the bad companies now.
Honestly, in my area, Walmart is the only affordable groceries (cheaper than Aldi).
I do try to get as much from Costco or second hand as possible, but sometimes I just need something that I can’t find either of these places or I don’t have all day to look for.
I gave up Prime at the start of 2025, and didn’t miss it at all. Unfortunately, the only way I could find to subscribe to PBS kids was via Prime, so I had to rejoin. I couldn’t keep watching the same 6 Daniel Tiger episodes with my toddler.
I recently joined Costco and was surprised to learn at checkout that they only take debit cards or Mastercard. You can buy a membership on line with any credit card, but they won’t take those same cards at checkout. We have every other credit card but no Mastercard, and we don’t use our ATM cards as debit cards for security reasons, so we will not be shopping there much.
This is not a secret.
huh, that must be a local decision — ours was like that when we joined but now I use my Visa card there pretty much exclusively.
They also take Visa
This is incorrect. They take Visa
They wouldn’t take my Visa card.
Why didn’t you get the Costco credit card? You get additional discount cash back, on gas as well. That is a no brainer. I also use them as my travel credit card, since I am not a frequent traveler and the travel benefits are quite good.
My local independently owned hardware store delivers. I like Etsy for house stuff and eBay for stuff like air filters.
It’s not ideal, but I have just switched to Target for things I used to get from Amazon. I also try to shop in person locally when I can. But to me Amazon & Bezos is way more objectionable than Target so that’s where I landed.
I feel so grumpy at the world and at work and everything. I have to travel to DC next week for corporate meetings and pretend it is not cold AF and the world is not burning. I have the evenings to myself. Any ideas that might help?
I would go to a museum or gallery or something in the evenings. Even just 1-2 hours of something new, interesting, and just for you can be very revitalizing (especially if you can meet up with any old friends there). I always feel way worse if I just go straight back to the hotel when I’m in a funk.
Are museums open during the evening? Whenever I travel, I find that museums are closed when I’m not working.
Never hurts to check – some museums will have extended hours once a month/week. Hoping OP gets lucky or can dash in for an hour or so before closing.
Yup, and resist the urge to say “an hour isn’t worth it.” You can see SO much in a museum in an hour!
https://washington.org/visit-dc/museums-after-hours-programming
Yes! The National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum is open until 7 p.m. Accessible by metro at the Gallery Place/Chinatown stop (Red, Green, Yellow lines) which is closest, or Metro Center (Orange, Blue, Silver, Red) which is just a few blocks away. And it’s free. Be sure to go up to the third floor where Lincoln’s second inaugural ball was held (and I think Michelle Obama’s portrait is still up there). It also has a nice courtyard with water features and tropical plants.
I love that courtyard.
Maybe visit one or two wonderful restaurants.
+1 and I’d say Jose Andres restaurant! the world may be burning, but JA does amazing relief work
I went to his restaurant Zaytina when I was in DC last month and we loved everything!
Check out the DC Improv – it’s nowhere near as polished as NY or Chicago, but tickets are cheap and it will feel good to laugh.
Go to the Dabney or the Red Hen and sit at the bar as a solo diner. Cozy atmosphere!
Shopping? Tuckernuck, Evereve and MM LaFleur all have locations.
Wear sturdy shoes – the intersections are a mess for pedestrians right now.
If you want a chill evening I’d get out of downtown and go spend time in some neighborhoods. Takoma Park is on the red line and has some good restaurants (Cielo Rojo, Girl and the Vine, Red Hound, Motorkat), a nice bookstore (People’s Book), etc. Union Market also has good food options, and Georgetown is always a good standby. Maybe there’s a show that interests you – check the Anthem, 9:30 Club, and Black Cat for music and Warner Theater, National Theater, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, or Studio Theater for shows next week.
Kramerbooks (Dupont Circle; red line)
Politics and Prose (bookstore, 3 locations) is showing a bunch events next week, including an open mic poetry event on Thursday.
The Library of Congress is open for Happy Hour on Thursday evenings, 5:00 to 8:00
The synagogue at 6th and I has an author talk by Vivian Wu on Wed. evening at 7:00; that venue is lovely. (Check sixthandi dot org.)
I hope you do enjoy your visit.
I’m the one who posted about buying a condo earlier today and how we were waiting for HOA documents. The documents have come in and I’m having trouble determining the significance of some things – for example, the HOA has a deficit in its operating fund, but seems to have sufficient reserves. At least one disclosure document mandated by the state notes that real estate agents are not qualified to evaluate HOA health so buyers should be wary of relying on their advice. My question now is whether it’s worth it to hire an attorney specifically for the purpose of evaluating HOA health. Accounting and legal documents are NOT my strong suit and while my husband thinks we can cover a lot of ground using ChatGPT, I’m not sure I’m relying on that for such a big decision. Would you recommend hiring an attorney or is there some other entity (an accounting firm?) that would be best for this?
When we were looking in manhattan for coops and condos, we were advised to have an attorney review those docs.
You can cover a lot of ground with AI, but then you need a human to review the results.
+1
This is what a good attorney is for. I would spend sometime reviewing a book / blog on how to buy a condo to make sure all of the key questions/issues are addressed. Push your attorney to make sure they check them!
Yeah, this is really standard in NYC apartment sales. I didn’t respond earlier as I wasn’t sure how normal this was in other areas, and I only have co-op buying experience (which is very niche). But we hired an attorney to look at our co-op’s financial documents and board meeting notes and let us know if there were any red flags, like huge assessments on the horizon or evidence of poor business practices.
do you have a real estate attorney in general for the transaction? when we bought our condo we had an absolutely useless lawyer look through things but at least i felt like we could sue his pants off if he missed anything.
Catherine O’Hara! This one hurts.
Right? Good grief she was just a few years older than I am!
Life is short my friends.
RIP to queen Catherine O’Hara. The world has lost the brightest light.
It’s so sad! My girlfriend group chat has been texting Moira Rose gifs all afternoon.
RIP to Catherine O’Hara. She was so young, only 71.
Not so young. All the women in my family die before 70. Sometimes you can’t outrun genetics, or bad luck.
So young! (said from the perspective of someone in her 70th year).
The average lifespan for women is over 80 so I think it qualifies as young. Not shockingly young like 40 or 50 but definitely on the younger side.
Although target, Walmart, and amazon have tried to convince us we need a one stop shop for everything, specialty stores still exist and hopefully will continue to exist.
I grew up in the Soviet Union and the idea of a single retailer for all your needs brings to mind the old government stores that were the only option.
Can I get a norms-check on a job application question?
I applied for an open role (different team) at the company I was laid off from back in the spring, and was rejected after a very brief HR screening phone call. No harm, no foul. However, when I first applied, I mentioned to my old boss (who I know would be a very strong reference for me) that I was going to apply and asked for any advice, and he just reached out to tell me he’d figured out who the hiring manager was, talked me up to him, hiring manager tried to find my app in the system (but couldn’t, presumably because I’ve already been rejected), and would be happy to talk with me directly, here’s his contact info.
Given that, is it ok reach out to the hiring manager, right? Do I tell my old boss I was officially rejected and double check it’s still ok? Would mediocre-Dave just do it without stressing about it?
I’d give your old boss a call and let him now what happened.
+1
I have terrible insomnia. it is a new kind for me, because the problem is staying asleep. I have no problem falling asleep, but wake up all night, the worst nights every hour. I am pretty stressed about illness in my family, so not a stressor that can be removed. Can anybody relate and how did you handle it? TIA
I have terrible insomnia. it is a new kind for me, because the problem is staying asleep. I have no problem falling asleep, but wake up all night, the worst nights every hour. I am pretty stressed about illness in my family, so not a stressor that can be removed. Can anybody relate and how did you handle it? TIA.
Here is some unsolicited advice that I hope nobody will interpret as criticism. I spent last week helping my daughter deal with a storage unit full of stuff left by her dad when he passed away in October 2024. We were lucky in that we didn’t have to pay somebody to haul it away (as I did with my parents’ and father-in-law’s stuff); we found somebody who would take the stuff, sell it in her store, and donate the proceeds to charity. I’m calling it a big win. But… I wish we’d been able to have an estate sale.
So here’s my PSA: Do not put your stuff, or your loved ones’ stuff, in a storage unit if you can possibly help it. My late ex had a lot of interesting belongings and I think it would have made a good estate sale. But… once the stuff was boxed up and removed from the house, that was no longer a possibility. Also, the stuff is out of sight, out of mind, and meanwhile you’re paying a couple of hundred bucks a month for the privilege of not dealing with it. So, my advice is have the estate sale as soon as the person in question leaves their home, whether it’s to go to assisted living, or to go to the cemetery, or whatever.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. ;)
And here’s my advice – if you’re tasked with cleaning out someone’s house, don’t obsess over what’s recyclable or what *could* be cleaned/donated. Make some basic effort, yes (and follow the law for hazardous waste), but instead of taking the time to verify that a 20-year-old old extension cord still works and meets modern safety standards, just…throw it away. Thank me later.
Oh, and if you like easily saving money, go to Yelp and pick the best-reviewed local junk haulers. Dial their number instead of 800-Got-Junk and enjoy paying 15-20% of the price for the same excellent service.
I agree with you! DH has spent way too much time, effort, and energy cleaning out his dad’s storage units. Yes, plural. Plus 2 garages. What a waste, in every way.
My grandpa had an estate sale before he went into assisted living. While the day itself was hard, in the long run it was one million times simpler. When he eventually passed, we only had to deal with the stuff in his small apartment, not an entire household.