Coffee Break: Wandler Shoulder Bag
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Oooh. Wandler is a new brand to me, but I love the triple arch details here and the kind of archiectural, almost trapezoidal look to the bag. It's interesting how the shoulder strap works (you can see it better at Net-a-Porter's product page, which shows it's a long shoulder strap that doubles as a shorter shoulder strap — so not a crossbody the way it looks on the Nordstrom page).
As with yesterday's Suit of the Week, I love the almost vintage appeal to the bag — it looks like something Audrey Hepburn would have carried. The bag is $920 at Nordstrom, Net-a-Porter, and Farfetch.
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Sales of note for 2/7/25:
- Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
- Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
- Boden – 15% off new season styles
- Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
- J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
- Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- My workload is vastly exceeding my capability — what should I do?
- Why is there generational resentment regarding housing? (See also)
- What colors should I wear with a deep green sweater dress?
- How do you celebrate milestone birthdays?
- How do you account for one-time expenses in your monthly budget?
- If I'm just starting to feel sick from the flu, do I want Tamilfu?
- when to toss old clothes of a different size
- a list of political actions to take right now
- ways to increase your intelligence
- what to wear when getting sworn in as a judge (congrats, reader!)
- how to break into teaching as a second career
This is beautiful.
More pressingly, my back is killing me after working from a dining room chair this whole time and I think I finally need to do what everyone else did two months ago and step up my work from home situation. Unfortunately the chair Kat previously recommended here is sold out thru June 13. Anyone have a chair they like that is currently available?
Any other recommendations welcome. I’m in the market for a wireless mouse and keyboard. Not sure if I should just the Apple ones or look for something cheaper & hope for the best. Thanks!
Can you go into your office and take your chair from there? That’s what I did.
I did consider but I feel like this would be frowned upon.
Okay, here’s what you do. This works best if you have a larger car/minivan/SUV. If you take public transit you’ll have to be more creative.
You load up a bunch of boxes, files, etc on an office chair. They can be empty, that’s not the point. Tell anyone who sees you “oh, I’m just taking a few things out to my car!”
When you get to your car throw the chair in there too, drive off, and never tell anyone. You now have a desk chair.
Signed, I am sitting in a chair acquired this way right now (they were going to throw it away anyway).
Genius! Hats off to you.
Ha! Thank you. This made me smile.
A lot of people had to bring equipment home from the office in order to work from home, I don’t see why anyone would view a chair as different. And I assume nobody else is in your office or it’s sparsely populated these days, so a quick trip in to grab your chair and leave wouldn’t be much risk.
Our office told people they could go and take their chairs, monitors, etc. If you are comfortable broaching this with your boss, I’d just ask. Or tell them! Better to have you borrow your chair than expense a new one.
@pugsnbourbon … that’s fine if nobody cares where it went but there could be video/security in the office/parking garage to easily identify you as the person who took it (as well as the person who saw you with the boxes). It seems unusual to be giving someone here a tip on how to steal something when they’ve asked for a shopping recommendation.
I don’t think it’s stealing if you take your office chair home to do office business for the duration. I don’t think anybody’s saying to keep it permanently.
This isn’t a proposal to steal. My office just used a spreadsheet to record who took which chairs.
I was being half-facetious, as I usually am. I should have added an YMMV.
I bought this one in white (that color isn’t available on overstock anymore) & it’s really comfortable. Took about 30 minutes to put together.https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Abbyson-Samuel-Silver-Finish-Leather-Office-Chair/17629706/product.html?option=29301637
If it’s the Joss and Main one, I ordered it when it said it was sold out until the end of June but it came within a week. I was shocked.
Hmmm . … I may try this if I can cancel my order in the event it doesn’t come in a week.
I bought this one and was able to pick it up at my local store in 1 hr: https://www.staples.com/staples-marrett-mesh-and-fabric-task-chair-black-53249/product_24328573
I bought this one a few weeks ago and highly recommend: https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/brayden-studio-dewalt-ergonomic-mesh-task-chair-bray2874.html?logout=1589492902. It’s extremely adjustable, with great padding and back support, and super sturdy.
Oh, and I picked up this mouse and keyboard a month or so ago, and couldn’t be happier: https://www.logitech.com/en-roeu/product/k780-multi-device-wireless-keyboard?crid=27 & https://www.logitech.com/en-roeu/product/m720-triathlon?crid=7. Love that I can switch back and forth between different computers/tablet/phone very easily and they both work really well for me ergonomically.
I love my Microsoft Surface keyboard! I also have an HP wireless mouse that I haven’t had any issues with.
I bought this one a few months pre-COVID, and it’s working really well for me: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/markus-office-chair-vissle-dark-gray-90289172/
Thanks all!
I’m super excited about my 1st ever CSA, even though it doesn’t start till June. I’d like to work on making other environmental lifestyle choices. Does anyone read any relevant blogs that aren’t shame & fear based preaching? TIA.
I’m starting my first CSA as well! No tips on blogs, but I like following the ultrarunner Emelie Forsberg on Instagram. She lives on a farm in Norway and has thoughtful posts about veganism, the environment, and living a simple life. I also follow a couple of other professional athletes that are into the environment and using their large platforms to raise awareness about various issues – that field is getting more and more “environmentally woke.”
I’m currently a pretty big fan of shelbizlee. She’s very smart and incorporates good choices everywhere she can. I found a lot of other bloggers looked good on the surface but were ultimately no better than your average consumer and just green washed everything.
I don’t read any blogs on this topic- but I’m a long-time CSA eater.
I would highly recommend getting involved and making friends with like-minded folks in your neighborhood and community (this might be a tad tricky in the current season). I was definitely surprised by how much knowledge my neighbors were able to pass along re: growing your own food and lessening waste. I’d plan on checking out local bike-shops, farmer’s markets, and other “granola” community spaces when it’s safe to do so. Taking a big step toward sustainable living is easier to make when you have friends who are walking the same path.
On a similar line, I purchased a share of a beef and picked it up from a small town processor a bit ago. Super thrilled to support local agriculture and am working on sourcing other local protein as well.
Shame and fear based preaching is such a good way to put it. It also turns me off reading.
I don’t read any blogs, but I follow “zerowastechica” on insta. Sadly, she stopped posting a while ago because of negative DMs I think? She mentioned being bullied off, but she left her page up for reference. All of her posts are non-judgmental and talked a lot about how her family wasn’t zero waste, but would give her items they knew she used. I loved her stories, so not sure if reading through old posts would be as helpful.
Tiny Canal Cottage (she also has an insta). I do not have a tiny house, or aspire to one, but I’ve gotten some good tips!
I think I’m getting plantar fasciitis. I’ve been doing a lot more jumping-based workouts, jogging, etc. than I would during normal times and my feet are starting to rebel. Do you all have shoes you recommend that have a lot of support for high impact workouts and are comfortable? I have medium-wide feet, mid-high arch, and very high instep. Don’t care much about looks.
I’ve always purchased separate, more supportive insoles for my athletic shoes. Mine are Superfeet brand. Helps a ton.
For plantar fasciitis, I find the insoles are more critical than the sneakers themselves. I have several pairs of sneakers from various brands’ “stability” lines. I’m pretty sure I’m using insoles from the brand Powerstep. I bought them on Amaz.on. I’ve also used Superfeet green insoles in the past but they no longer work for me.
Hoka One One: my husband, 2 sisters and a colleague all switched to this brand when experiencing plantars faciatis woes, and all have been very happy with the results. Both sisters are on their feet for long hours, too.
For your discussion: a professional would you rather :)
DH has worked for the minimum number of years to qualify for a federal government pension. If he retired today, he’d take home ~$5,500 per month for the rest of his life. He has mostly maxed out his earning potential on the fed scale, but if he sticks around longer, he can increase his pension to ~$8,000 per month through longevity. But if he leaves soon, before he gets too old for a second career, he could get a job in a lucrative – but unstable – industry. His annual salary would double and bonuses are generous…when times are good. When times are poor (like now), income can completely dry up.
Say the fed income holds steady around $150k and the industry job would be around $300k with $45k bonuses. Assume another ~10 years of working.
Which would you choose? Stability or income potential?
Stability.
I’d stay for the pension, but I am a pretty risk-averse. I would want to stay with the mother ship.
My family lives into its 90s. I am #TeamPension.
Spouse is from a family where the men have early heart attacks. How are the men in his family, longevity-wise?
I would stay for now and reconsider leaving when it’s actually a good economy with solid opportunities.
What does he want to do? That’s the big question. And does the industry job significantly affect work-life balance? I say that as a government worker — I could make 3-5x my salary in industry but it wouldn’t have the stability plus the flexibility for work-life balance, which is really important to me.
If he doesn’t work for the government, is health insurance a major factor or do you carry it? If he were seriously injured/got sick, would the industry job provide benefits to carry through? I think you want to plan for the worst case scenario and go from there. What would happen if either his working ability or the industry was affected in a way that he could no longer work? What would the money go for – do you need it for kids’ colleges or for retirement, or would it just increase your standard of living?
If I were in your position, and the household expenses would be covered by his pension + other available income sources, I’d say go for retirement now unless he’s happy where he’s at.
I think I’d prefer the flexibility, variety, and extra income potential, but some folks might prefer the steady income and routine of staying a while longer.
For me personally, it would be completely dependent on the type of work. I wouldn’t leave a job I liked to go do something else just for more money, but if I really wanted to do the other job I wouldn’t stay just for the increased pension.
I agree that it matters what he wants to do.
If it’s purely a matter of money… the difference is pension is $30K per year. Assuming he lives for 20 years after that, the increase in pension is worth about $600K. If he took the other job, and times were mostly good, maybe he’d average $250K per year, or $100K more than he’s making now, and he’d make up the difference in pension in about 6 years. But the economy is probably going to be terrible for a while, so unless he’d be in demand anyways (like a former AUSA doing criminal defense), maybe it would take him 8 years or 10 years to earn an extra $600K in salary.
Obviously, this is very, very rough math. It doesn’t take into account the value of benefits, the time value of money, and plenty of other factors, like lifestyle creep. You and your husband probably have better information to calculate the actual risk of the new career. You may have reason to believe he won’t live for 20 years post retirement, or that he’ll live much longer. But, basically, if I were just considering the money, this is the type of math I’d be doing.
If it is 10 years working either way, and assuming Job 2 is interesting to me and I think I’d be good at it, I’d retire and do Job 2 for 10 years. But I’m a plaintiff’s lawyer that does all cases on contingency, so guessing I’m less risk averse than many others here.
So both my husband and I have had this debate and we both opted for public service. Having both an iron clad pension and health insurance was a motivation, but mostly we are both passionate about our jobs and only working 8 hour days.
How much does the extra income help or hurt? For example, if you have children in college, will financial aid change so much as to swamp out most of his extra earnings?
Does the new field really allow people to work another ten years, or would he be “too old” in five?
How stable is your income? I’m a big believer in the idea that a couple should look at their jobs together. For example, a man could have a stable job with great benefits while his wife launches her own law firm, but you wouldn’t want to launch two businesses at the same time, and you might not be getting the most out of your earning power if you *both* take lower-paid jobs for the stability.
Is there a work/ life balance part of this equation? He’s probably at or near the top which even in structured environments comes with perks. If he leaves–what will the expectation be…and is that how he and you want to live?
This is what I’m thinking. Decent salary with a government job that is often 9-5 with good benefits versus a private sector job with double the salary and more hours, higher expectations, etc. work like balance and benefits are huge!!
How stable do you think the federal pension system is, and how likely is it that the increased benefit he’s counting on will materialize? Honest question. Until 2008 I thought government employment was super stable. Then after the Great Recession many state governments stopped giving raises, and lately we’ve had multiple rounds of federal government shutdowns.
I sort of went the other way. After 20+ years in the private sector I moved to a Fed job a little over 3 years ago. Personally, I love the quality of life, especially working for WFH friendly agency (pre-COVID I was WFH 3x a week). I took a 20% cut in base pay and lost my bonus to make this move and have no regrets. I am looking forward to my pension and perhaps transitioning to an even less stressful job in a different locale to up my years of service while I glide into retirement. If your husband takes the private position, he will probably be asked to give up some (a lot?) of his life in return for the salary and bonus.
May I ask which agency this is? How difficult was it to transition over to government mid-career?
I’d retire and enjoy my freedom. 5500/month is 2x what I make now.
This is probably a long shot…but any fellow South Asian/similarly-toned WOC out there who can provide foundation reccs? My skin tone is similar to Priyanka Chopra’s for reference, with warm-ish (my guess anyway) undertones, and I have dry/normal skin.
I used to get away with Maybelline’s BB dream in Medium/Deep, which blended in seamlessly, but now would like something full coverage . I’ve dried many foundations from Bare Minerals to Physicians Formula Healthy Foundation to Maybelline Superstay, but everything is either too light, too yellow, or too deep. Now that we’re in quarantine and I can’t get matched, I’d love to know what others are using. Bonus points if it helps even out the usual discoloration that us South Asians tend to have around the mouth area. I’m getting too lazy for color correcting. TIA!
She’s beautiful! I’m about her shade in the summer – I’m of Mediterranean descent. I wear Neutrogena Healthy Skin in 60 – Neutral Beige during the summer, but I wouldn’t call it full coverage.
I recently saw an ad for Wander foundation and it looks amazing, but like you, I wasn’t sure what color to order. https://www.wanderbeauty.com/wanderlust-powder-foundation They have models showing what each color looks like on a real person when you click on the color. I seem to be in between models.
Wow, their before and afters feature some models who have pretty excellent skin to begin with.
OP here: Thanks for the recc! It looks like I’m in between Golden Tan and Rich Tan (although probably closer to the latter). It looks beautiful!
I’m mixed South Asian and lighter than you are, but also historically have a tough time color matching. I really like Blur Liquid Matte Foundation. I also buy two shades and blend them depending on how tan I am, and they mix together easily.
Bobbi Brown has some good shade matching tools, and the formulations are light and natural so I find them easy to blend.
I’m South Asian (Indian) and probably about Priyanka’s skin tone. I’ve found it harder to get a good match with drugstore foundations. I use Nars tinted moisturizer, which matches pretty well even though they don’t have a ton of shades; but that is not quite full coverage. Have you tried Chanel Vitalumiere or YSL (I forget which line)? I have those foundations and they are better coverage while also still a good color match. Finally, you might also want to check out Fenty. The color range is amazing esp for POC and it gets raves on my makeup board.
I am South Asian but a tad lighter than Priyanka Chopra. I also like Maybelline BB cream, but after I finished the tube I started using RMS Beauty Uncover up in shade 33 which is not as full coverage as you desire. It does give me a nice no-makeup smooth finish though, and the color is a tad light on me so I think 44 (the next darker shade) would be good on you. I like it because it is more skincare than makeup, and I don’t have a ton of patience for moisturizer + sunscreen + makeup, this is a makeup that is also quite moisturizing.
Hello there! I’m Indian, around the same complexion as Chopra, and I like Bobbie Brown powder foundation in Golden. Also, so glad that I’m not the only one with discoloration around the mouth. I thought it was something that I did when I was younger, like using the wrong product or something in that area.
OP Here: Thanks everyone!! I am Indian as well, so this is super helpful. I’ve recorded all of your suggestions! And Legally Brunette: haha, when I found it was more common than just me, I was soooo happy.
Thanks to whoever recommended the How Sweet Eats Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Vegetables recipe a week or so ago (in the context of her husband taking 90 minutes to prep it). So quick, easy and delicious and making us eat more vegetables.
Not the OP, but I also made that this week! It was good, but my husband and I both thought it needed a little some extra though, but couldn’t put our finger on what exactly…maybe a balsamic vinegar glaze? Mozzarella?
Lots and lots of strong parmesan works well and we’ve been using fresh rosemary as the herb. I think a balsamic glaze would be a great addition.
Husband has been feeling down lately as it becomes clear that social distancing is going to be a thing for a long time, and most of his hobbies are indoors with groups of people. So he’s looking for new individual/socially distanced hobbies, particularly outdoors things. He hates running. I ride horses, so I’m trying to get him to take riding lessons, but I don’t think he will (he says he’s not, but I think he’s a little scared of horses). We’re considering getting bikes. Other ideas?
Kayaking
We’ve loved bicycling more than we would have expected. We ride almost every day. (Leisurely, not competitively.) I LOVE my sixthreezero cruiser bike (I have the everyjourney) and my husband’s even jealous of it because it’s more fun to ride than his old mountain bike.
Fishing, kayaking, gardening, geocaching?
And meant to say that I hadn’t been on a bike since 5th grade before buying the bike last fall!
hiking, walking, road biking, mountain biking, geo caching, rock climbing or bouldering, boating, golf, tennis, landscaping, motor sports, fishing, photography
My husband and I enjoy hiking, biking, skiing (seasonally, obviously), rock climbing, and backpacking together. Would any of those appeal (likely excluding rock climbing for the time being)? I ride horses as well and my husband is somewhat interested in trying that, but I doubt he’ll try during COVID. I haven’t been back to the barn yet myself, although they’ve recently re-opened and I’ll consider going soon-ish depending on the measures being taken for safety.
Golf.
Thanks, everyone! I don’t know why golf didn’t occur to me (probably because I hate golf), but that seems like an easy option (that, bonus, would take lots of time so he can’t complain about me spending a ton of time riding:-))
Horses are a reasonable thing to be scared of! I loved horses until I actually took riding lessons and then I was like, “Oh! These are very smart creatures who will decide many things for themselves and the first thing they’ve decided is that I have no business attempting to tell them what to do.” Fortunately, they were all also very nice creatures and did not attempt to injure or maim me, but I was like, “I will just admire you from afar from now on.”
But enough about me. For your hubs, how about golf? Tai chi? Taking care of plants? Woodworking? Photography? Geocaching?
What are some of his indoor hobbies?
Hahaha, I also loved horses until I actually started riding them. The camp ponies I rode for three summers were mean, dumb creatures. I was stomped on, thrown, and ignored. I grew up to be a dog person instead of a horse person.
Have you ever stopped to think that maybe your camp had horrible counselors/riding instructors, and it wasn’t the ponies’ fault?
This is exactly my experience with riding lessons.
I wouldn’t suggest anything that requires lessons, such as golf or tennis. That will be too frustrating while lessons are unsafe.
Kayaking and paddleboarding are super fun. You do need to learn a little technique, but you could probably get a good start on YouTube.
If you have been considering getting a dog, do it now. My dog forces me to get outside daily, and walking is actually fun with a dog.
Windsurfing, small watercraft?
Do you have any outdoor space? Our entire family incl kids have really gotten into archery! It’s a great stress reliever and you can just zip off a couple Shots in between zooms :-)
I just purchased a kite. TBD whether I can get it to fly or not. (I flew kites as a kid — it can’t be that hard, right?) I was inspired by a guy I’ve seen at the local park a couple of times while out on my walks. He has FANCY kites with multiple strings and such. So there’s definite hobby potential, I think.
This made me smile – my dad LOVES kites. On beach vacations he gets up extremely early, walks for three miles, and then sets up his kit and just chills most of the day. He’s a big, gruff dude but dang he loves flying a kite.
I ordered the Johnny Was masks that someone posted here last week. I will report back one I get in the in a few weeks! Hoping for some awesome fabrics!
Mine have been shipped! I will report, too.
Me too! Mine just shipped today.
Same!
Thanks! (I’m the OP asker.) I appreciate it.
Hello everyone. This is probably a long shot, but does anyone know how to find a Maltese breeder? I have spent countless hours searching forums, websites, and databases, and I’m struggling to find anything that seems reliable or legitimate in my area (Virginia). It’s not like there’s ZocDoc for breeders! Would be very grateful for any advice on how to go about this.
AKC marketplace. If you google American kennel club Maltese you’ll get to the site. Pick “puppies” and then filter by VA to find a breeder. You’ll notice that hardly any have pups available right now because reputable breeders have waiting lists. Get on one. https://marketplace.akc.org/puppies/maltese?breed=160&location=Virginia&page=1
Also you sure? They’re fiesty and hard to train!
The AKC website lists breeders when you go to the breed’s page.
I’m guessing she wants someone who goes far above and beyond the AKC’s standards.
Why?
Because being listed on the AKC page is definitely not a guarantee of good breeding practices. I’ve been doing a search for a different breed and it seems like AKC is filled with back yard and hobby breeders. For OP, I’d recommend looking at a regional breed association’s webpage for either a directory of breeders or a potential referral source. You really want to be looking for people who understand and are working towards bettering the breed, not just people who “looooove the breed and treat their pets like family.” Is that better than a pet store or puppy mill or people who have a dog who “accidentally” got pregnant? Of course. But you can do better.
You can look up champion(ish) breeders in your drivable area and find contact info usually, and try emailing them for leads. These are usually people who care about the dogs (vs puppy mills) and they tend to have leads on puppies by virtue of their business.Btw – not strictly talking about the biggest champions, just random dog shows and people are very accessible in that whole world.
Might be too late, but you might also look for Maltese rescues – even if you definitely want a puppy, they tend to be a good resource for who is a good vs. bad breeder. We were set on a Golden Retriever and we actually got the breeder’s contact information from a Golden Retriever rescue.
Stretch your calves and achilles tendons a lot, don’t walk barefoot around your house, and use one of those foot contraptions at night.
wow! that bag is looking so awesome. Thanks for sharing