Weekend Open Thread

120 Comments

1. How’s the sizing on this brand? I may pull the trigger for Christmas on this.

   1. I’m on the larger side/ cusp. I can wear an XL in many brands but not this one. I find in particular the arms run tight.

   2. I’d say it’s TTS – I’m a 16 and like my XL

2. I had an outpatient anaesthetic procedure last week. Despite guzzling water and walking to get the meds out of my system, I still feel like a crazy person. Today my husband made a minor mistake that interfered with my WFH, and I broke down sobbing that he was trying to sabotage my career. How long until this insanity wears off?

   1. I don’t think this is anesthesia from a week ago.

      1. Paperwork says it can take up to a month.

         1. Perhaps; I’ve never experienced this and this would concern me. I think it’s time to check in with the doctor.

            1. +1, I would call. I usually feel a little strange (groggy and like my brain isn’t operating at full capacity) for the balance of the day after outpatient anesthesia but normal the following day… a week is a long time!

   2. I think you should see a doctor. This isn’t a normal anesthesia side effect.

      1. +1 obviously everyone is different, but I have been under a bunch if times and never had an experience like this. Definitely worth a call to your doc

   3. It could be what you say, but you are probably getting sick of WFH, particularly with your hubby there all the time. I think we all need our space, and having a guy there 24/7 is to much, even for me, who wants a guy to be married to. Trust me, he does not want to sabotage your carreer, b/c you are earning money that he won’t have to as long as you work. I am skeptical of guys who are interested in us just b/c we are cash cows, and do not care for us but for our wallets and what we can do for them so they can be a house-frau, walking the dog to the dog parks and hanging there with pretty women whose husbands are out working earning money. I would not want that to be my husband b/c by the time I got home he would not be interested in having s-x with me, particularly if he is getting together with other house-fraus during the day, even if he is not emptying his pipes with them. FOOEY on that! I think we do have to trust our men, but not other women who look at him as a vehicle for easy s-x as long as they pull down their panties for him. FOOEY on those women!

   4. You need to call the relevant doctor or at least talk with your pharmacist. Just because it’s attested that anesthesia can cause this doesn’t mean it’s not a “call your doctor” issue if it happens; they need to know in case it means something to them or in case they can help!

   5. Did you take any pain killers? I have gotten very depressed from hydrocodone in the past, so maybe it could be that?

      1. No, not even Tylenol. They warned me it could cause constipation, and I already have GI issues, so I toughed it out without meds. Maybe that was the problem, I don’t know. But I’ll call and ask.

   6. I would ask your doctor but depression is a known anesthesia side effect. You’re not crazy.

      1. Thank you!

      2. +40

         I’ve been under 40 times and this can happen. still call

   7. Some of us are really sensitive to anesthesia. It takes me a long, long time to feel better. I’ve actually posted about it on here before and people told me I was nuts. But everyone’s body chemistry is different and I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone.

      1. +1

      2. + 1. I take a long time to clear anesthesia.

   8. I recently added a dog to the family and he had to go in for surgery. He was really weird and pukey after coming home and it lasted long enough that I called the emergency vet.

      I spent a half hour on hold and finally got to speak with someone (this in itself was reassuring because I knew I’d been triaged to the back of the line). The nurse said if a dog was sensitive to anesthesia it could take up to two weeks for them to be completely themselves.

      I’ve had dogs all my life and never had one take so long to fully come down as he did.

      Point being — there’s apparently a spectrum of how creatures react to anesthesia. Couldn’t hurt to call your doctor to check but I bet you’re just slow to come down.

      1. I no longer allow my vets to use ketamine in the anesthesia cocktail. My dog’s recovery is much faster and easier without it (and it caused seizures in an earlier dog). You might ask about it next time.

3. Looking for nice slippers for Husband (39) for christmas. Must have real soles. Recommendations? Are LLBean still the right choice, or are there better options out there?

   He’s rocking his LLBean booties from ~2000 so it’s time for an upgrade.

   1. Haflinger

   2. My husband likes his Olukai slippers.

      1. my husbands shredded in a few weeks or 2 months. we normally like this brand

   3. My husband just purchased a second pair of LL Bean’s to keep full time at my parents house. He loves them. No comparison shopping on his end though; they were a gift from two years ago and he liked them and never looked at anything else.

      1. Another vote for LL Bean. My parents wear theirs constantly in the winter and they still last 4-5 years.

   4. Recommend LL Bean over Haflinger. Haflinger wasn’t very durable for the price.

   5. My husband and I love our Minnetonka slippers

   6. Uggs with the hard sole.

   7. I’ve been wearing the Birkenstock Boston clogs for a couple of years now as house slippers. I was out and about in a trendy area last weekend (Bay Area) and saw lots of men wearing them as shoes. I think they’re a Thing right now. I also saw a Tik Tok about them recently.

      Anyway, they’re aggressively ugly but comfortable as hell, and last forever. They mold to your foot, and once broken in, you never want to take them off.

      1. https://www.birkenstock.com/us/styles/boston/

         Here they are. I have the plain black as house slippers, and also have the beige shearling-lined. To be honest I like to wear wool socks (I knit them!) any time my feet are even slightly chilly, so I prefer the unlined. The men I saw out and about were wearing the unlined as well. For house slippers, though, I think the shearling lined might be the way to go.

   8. Former LL Bean slipper wearer, now I love my Glerup slippers. Glerups has both rubber and leather soles available.

   9. My husband really likes his Baffin slippers. They are kind of like a puffer coat for his feet.

   10. Have been wearing my L. L. Bean slippers for upwards of 10 years now and they’ve worn so well I’m actually irritated that I can’t in good conscience toss and replace them with a new pair.

   11. My husband loved his LL Bean slippers so much it was one of the few sets of shoes he replaced of his own volition before they fell apart.

       I also have the lined mocassin-style ones and they are the best slippers I’ve ever owned.

4. I was late to the dystopian and fantasy book thread this morning. For YA dystopian, I like the Razorland series from Ann Aguirre. The books are Enclave, Outpost, Horde and Vanguard. I also like the Throne of Glass fantasy series from Sarah J. Maas.

5. Low stakes Q: what is your favorite Chapstick-like product? Lip moisturizer in tube, not too slippery or sticky. TIA!

   1. Tree Hut Sugar Lips, which I found at Target. A little goes a long way, it comes in a large tube, it tastes nice, and it doesn’t end up making my lips drier.

      1. (By “large tube,” I just meant each tube has relatively a lot of product in it so you’re not constantly replacing it).

   2. Blistex in the green tube! Very lightly mint and it goes on nicely.

   3. Burt’s Bees

   4. Aquaphor hands down if you’re just looking for lip therapy and a barrier. For outside I like the Kiehl’s butter stick with spf (which is really hard to find in lip products.). I like both the tinted and the plain one.

   5. Burt’s Bees, but it has to be the cucumber mint formula.

      I used to prefer the Fresh Sugar products for the more substantial screw-on cap, because they’re less likely to come apart and destroy a purse liner, but the new formula is scratchier than the original, so I don’t like it as much.

6. RITTENHOUSE WAS ACQUITTED. Off to go bang my head on the desk…

   1. If you want to try to do something positive, research whether your state has stand your ground legislation, and if you do, try to get it changed.

   2. White privilege 101

   3. Watch the trial.

      1. What will that do? Make white supremacy go away?

         1. Generally, before I express regret that someone is not being convicted of a crime, I want to understand the evidence or lack thereof.

            1. What makes you think people weren’t following the trial?

      2. Already did, still think it’s a sh1tshow.

   4. Of course he was. Did anyone really expect anything else?

      1. Yes – because they lived in an echo chamber.

         I think he and his mother bear considerable moral fault. But I have done enough criminal work not to be at all surprised. (And in fact the jury probably had it right ).

         Someone on Twitter said the problem isn’t that he was acquitted. It is that what he did is not illegal.

         1. Yeah, those last two sentences.
            And… I mean – this is what we raise boys to do since forever – it’s blood and soil and honor and glory, and we don’t currently have an exciting foreign land to ship them all off to to get their rocks off and traumatize themselves blowing away non-Americans, so they play war hero at home.
            And it isn’t surprising that when a white boy is placed into a justice system that was designed to incarcerate black men, it spits him back out.

   5. Not surprised, the prosecution was the best defense. If a sportsball person threw a game like that, they’d be sanctioned.

   6. Honestly, the version of the event that my usual news sources (WaPo, NYT) told me was not at all accurate. The evidence was night and day different from the narrative I was fed.

      https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/the-medias-verdict-on-kyle-rittenhouse

      Even now, The Independent is reporting that Rittenhouse shot two BLM activists. I assume they’ll correct that but maybe not…?

      1. Bari Weiss is far from what I’d call a “reliable source”

         1. What in her piece is incorrect and what are your sources?

            1. I have so many issues with her reporting. But on this one, she linked to Jesse Singal, and he had really excellent analysis. Is it moral? No. Is it colorably legal?

            2. Jesse Singal considerably worse than Bari Weiss, and that’s saying something.

      2. + I completely agree with your analysis. From the initial coverage I thought he just started picking off protesters. I didn’t realize it was during a lot of chaos where his gun was grabbed, shots were fired by other marchers, he was followed and physically attacked and that one of the other participants was also armed with a gun. I think the Stand Your Ground laws need to be fixed though, you should have a duty to retreat in a public space and should have the affirmative duty to try lesser means of force. And don’t even get me started on the wisdom of arming the underage in the first place. A hunting license should be limited to places where you might actually hunt.

   7. What I learned from watching the actual trial was sooooo different from what I’ve read in the news the past year.

7. Y’all I need to get away. My family has been through it, extremely well beyond the scope of “normal” covid/pandemic related things. We have some big health issues within our nuclear family (nothing COVID would worsen whatsoever) that we’re grappling with and this shit is just hard. So hard. We have an unvaxxed 3.5 year old. Am I insane to book a place in Florida for January (earliest time current medical treatments would allow for travel) for us to all just recharge and reconnect for 5 days?

   I feel like the answer is, don’t risk it while kid isn’t vaxxed and cases are likely to rise after the holidays (esp in FL) but man. I’m so flipping sick of seeing everyone else travel for fun and recharge who hasn’t been through a fraction of what we all have. We’re a “live your life” but with masks, vaccines and boosters kind of family, don’t get me wrong. But we had otherwise ruled out gratuitous air travel to just be good people/citizens and to do our part to limit spread. I’m in the frigidly cold northeast and Jan/Feb last year nearly broke me. End rant, I suppose.

   1. I would go unless the health issues relate to the 3.5 year old. If you’re vaxxed and boosted, the risk to you is low (I’m assuming not knowing your health issue) and risk to healthy kids is low, too.

   2. I would look at the thread about FL from earlier this week – someone asked for recs for their parents who are pretty covid-cautious. I think Marco Island was mentioned a couple times.

      1. Also Naples. High vaxed area, Very easy to eat outside and avoid Covid gatherings.

   3. If you’re driving and then renting a house and ok with not going to restaurants/amusement parks/grocery stores with kid in tow, I don’t see the risk. And I’d say I’m in the tippy top percentile of cautious around here because of my own health issues.

      1. And I think you can fly abd eat outside

      2. +1, we spent several months in Naples in 2020 & early 2021 and – with plenty of negative tests thanks to being paranoid – had no issues dodging Covid.

         YMMV in different communities.

   4. You do not need to do your part to limit spread. Go to Florida and enjoy.

   5. I’m very Covid cautious. Rent a private house and eat outdoors. Airplanes aren’t that risky with universal masking. Florida has the lowest per capita Covid rates in the country currently, it’s not a hotspot at all. We’re taking our unvaxxed 4 year old to Florida next month (we’re driving, but we flew to see family over the summer and masking was great on planes).

      1. I meant to say “I’m very Covid cautious but I would go”

      2. Also fwiw airplane mask mandate is set to expire 1/18. It may be extended but I think there will be more resistance now that vaccines for 5+ are here. I certainly don’t think it’s immoral to travel after that date (assuming the adults are vaxxed) but to protect your kid you might try to go before that date. I wouldn’t personally fly with an unvaxxed kid if there was no mask mandate.

   6. I think you should go! We’re pretty COVID cautious and went to St. Petersburg last year for Christmas and it was totally fine! We rented an Air BNB and did takeout from restaurants.

8. Ugh. I totally don’t get the appeal of Barefoot Dreams. I bought one of their throws on final sale and it has the general consistency of a kitchen sponge. It’s also has a hideous pattern, like how oatmeal would look if it was made of plastic. I tried to wash it per the instructions on the web site and it absorbed so much water it has taken days to air dry. As soon as it dries I am donating it.

   1. Someone on here commented that the stuff a store like Nordstrom brings in for their sales is not the same stuff that they sell full price. I don’t know if that’s the issue, but generally I agree with you. I’m just fine with $35 throws from Marshall’s that I can wash and dry, and then downcycle to dog blankets when they get threadbare.

   2. The oatmeal/kitchen sponge comment is strangely exact! I have a cardigan I received as a gift, and while it’s soft, it feels almost greasy (and it’s not just this cardigan, a friend’s blanket also felt greasy to me). Not a fan, although I tend to heavily prefer natural fibers anyway.

   3. Also not a fan of that particular fabric. It’s a sensory overload thing or something. It feels gross and suffocating to me!

      1. I otally agree. I can wear my fleece Smartwool all day, but that BFD fabric gives me hot flashes and the sweats, while also being less warm and cozy.

   4. Agree. Not only are the arms insanely tight for my not-heavy but definitively muscular arms, your description of the fabric is spot-on.

   5. So glad I am not the only one who finds the “feel” off putting! I feel the same way about chenille…

      1. OP here, I am so glad I am not the only one!

   6. they’re also insanely ugly.

      1. Agreed—I have never understood why bloggers push these cardigans so hard year after year. I have seen them in stores and they just don’t look or feel nice at all.

9. Does anyone know of a bag similar to the motherchic tote on social threads (medium size)? I really wanted to get it but it is sold out.

   1. What’s the most important feature you like about it? The brown leather, the longer decorative strap, or the stripes on the bag itself?

      If it’s the strap – you could easily find a bag and a strap to mix-and-match.

      I kind of like this one and you could easily replace the strap.

      https://www.gilt.com/boutique/product/159556/142485040/?deeplink=false&utm_medium=affiliate&partner=ebay&utm_content=20648&creative=2-384698&utm_campaign=gilt&clickId=3769945155&utm_source=EEAN&subid=20648&dsi=DIR–0ed01423-14e3-4468-bb0a-0ba7d2684448

      1. This one has nothing in common with the first bag you mentioned, but I just like it so here ya go.

         https://www.nordstromrack.com/s/the-same-direction-canvas-computer-briefcase/5992232?origin=coordinating-5992232-0-4-ProductPage1_SIZE_B.ProductPage1_SIZE_B_FILTERING_NOT_ENABLED_1-recbot-also_viewed_graph_rack&recs_placement=ProductPage1_SIZE_B.ProductPage1_SIZE_B_FILTERING_NOT_ENABLED-1&recs_strategy=also_viewed_graph_rack&recs_source=recbot&recs_page_type=product&recs_seed=5976929&color=TEAL

      2. Last one but you can also buy belt-style straps for purses and just switch them out – for example, here. (This is just one example, I bet a lot of Etsy stores would have cool and custom belt straps as well.

         https://www.markandgraham.com/products/monogrammed-build-your-bag-straps-twill/?catalogId=13&sku=3212064&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=MSN&cm_pla=Bags%20%3E%20Totes%20%2B%20Handbags&adlclid=9685624d206716ce0c9f03d7fecd2864&msclkid=9685624d206716ce0c9f03d7fecd2864

         1. Thank you – these are all great suggestions! I am so excited to look through them!

      3. I lied, one last one.

         This is a different color of leather but looks a lot like the ones in that post.

         https://www.nordstromrack.com/s/madewell-small-transport-leather-crossbody-tote/4949165?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FAll%20Results&color=201

10. I initially misread the post and thought there was a barefoot dreams skull print cardigan and was SO! EXCITED! Alas…

11. If anyone is still reading, I’m looking for some stretchy corduroy/velour/velvet straight leg pants that are just a step above pajamas, but not leggings. My vision is something cozy for home, but not so pajama-like I can’t wear them out. Preferably available in dark blue or navy rather than black. I saw some at Talbots but they’re ~ $100 and the budget won’t stretch that far right now.

    1. Stock the Talbots site for a sale. They had 30% off pants recently. Will be on again in the next couple of weeks.

    2. I hope someone has ideas because this sounds amazing and I would love this in petite sizes. I just tried the velvet pull on pant from Loft and sadly it did not work.

       1. I have some from Anthro that are probably 10 years old. They are the bomb!

    3. Lands end sport knit pants has a corduroy version now. I’ve never ordered them before but saw them in the last catalog.

       1. +1 to lands end. Also Costco and hue have corduroy leggings with pockets.

    4. The Talbot’s ones are gorgeous, but the stock is crap. No small sizes left.

       1. Check back, they usually add new colors for Spring.

12. Wondering about an acquaintance’s credentials… she frequently prefaces her legal opinions with “as a lawyer, I think…[insert legal opinion]” but holds an LLB, not an LLM. I’m not deeply familiar with UK law school credentials (or US, for that matter), but I’m curious: is this odd? Do UK bachelors degree grads usually refer to themselves as “lawyers”?

    1. https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/qxs2le/wibta_if_i_asked_my_friend_about_her_law/

       1. Ten points to you, amazing find.

    2. Yes, that’s how law school works there. It’s a four year degree with some specific training/testing requirements depending on solicitor/barrister track.

    3. I’m not familiar with the UK, but in the US a JD used to be an LLB so some older lawyers have an LLB. An LLM is a separate post-grad credential that some lawyers have but is not necessary to practice law.

    4. I wouldn’t assume that she’s not a lawyer. There’s no J.D. in the U.K after the undergraduate LLB degree. You get additional education and undergo assessments that are analogous to an American J.D. and bar exam, and then you also get practical training in a law office. To then further qualify as a barrister as well as solicitor, you complete a further period of training.

    5. You seem to deeply dislike your ‘friend’ posting this on not one but two internet forums. Clearly you don’t like your ‘friend’ much so how about you just leave her alone so she can spend time with people who actually like her?

    6. Are you hiring the friend or seeking her legal opinion as a client?

       Because otherwise, I’m pretty sure you should just ignore it and let it go (especially since she is, as mentioned, a lawyer).

       In the future, you can find outlines of the differences in American and UK legal terms on Wikipedia or a variety of other sources that I’ve found very useful over the years. But, I’d save actually asking someone about their legal degree unless it’s important to something you want to know. Like the time I wondered when the risk of loss transfers in a property exchange in the UK and I wondered who would have to pay the damages after James Bond destroyed Skyfall when the movie stated he had just sold it to someone else and had cleared it out.

       That I emailed one of my UK lawyer friends about.

13. Does anyone have any recommendations for Vegas? Not a gambler or a concert person but I like restaurants, spas, shopping…

    (Any recs for kids things in Vegas?)

    1. Covid has really impacted the Vegas experience. I would look for recent reviews online.

       1. I’m sorry but Vegas is not for children.

          1. A friend went to Vegas every year as a kid and says she has very fond memories, but having been there as an adult half a dozen times and having young kids now myself, I’m not really sure what there is for kids. Particularly if you’re focused on “restaurants, spas, shopping.” Kids would enjoy the buffets, I guess, but for me the restaurant scene in Vegas is all about fine dining. Walk through all the casinos and check out the decor/attractions takes like a day, tops. If I were bringing kids to Vegas I would get out of the city and do nature areas like Red Rocks, Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, maybe even Death Valley or Grand Canyon, but that sounds somewhat incompatible with OP’s interest in spas and shopping.

             1. Vegas sort of rebranded. They had a period where they were trying to be family friendly bring-the-kids atmosphere (maybe in the 1990s?) then decided to go back to the rat-pack adult playground theme. My kids like Circus Circus ok, but they’d rather be anywhere other than Vegas.

          2. And yet oddly thousands and thousands of children live there. And many more visit for reasons ranging from visiting family to attending weddings.

             OP didn’t ask whether to take her kids to Vegas. She asked for suggestions for activities. So how about trusting her to know her life and children better than you do? ( What do we call mansplaining when women do it?)

             To OP Hoover Dam is my go to and the Pinball Hall of Fame if it’s open. Some of the Cirque shows are child appropriate. And a Golden Knights game is a blast if anyone is even a tiny bit into sports. Check hotel reviews carefully if staying on the Strip. The last time I was there was pre COVID but I definitely noticed the end where the MGM is was noticeably more seedy.

    2. For kids things, the Red Rocks Canyon Visiting Center is pretty great. They have resident turtles. It’s short enough to keep things interesting, but you can also go for a nearby hike.

       You didn’t say how old the kids are, but probably the best escape room experience (out of many) we’ve had across the country was at Lost Games. They do an amazing job, we came back several years in a row to find new room additions. I would not recommend for kids under 7, it’s so well done the kids might get scared.

    3. Op here – I actually read years ago that Vegas was a top family vacation spot, like up there with Disney. But maybe that was 20 years ago, or maybe they meant for older kids/extended families?

       1. I have traveled a lot and don’t think Vegas has much to offer for kids compared to other US cities. It was (and maybe still is) a fairly popular family vacation destination for families in Southern California, because it’s so close. But if you’re flying anyway you can find something much better suited to kids.

       2. There was a time when Vegas tried to market itself as a family vacation destination. That only lasted a few years and then it was back to “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas“. Having said that, I have visited many times with my kid and we had a great time. The caveat here being that if you take your children it really has to be a family vacation, which does not leave a lot of room for the more adult activities that Vegas offers unless you are traveling with more than one adult and can switch off parent responsibilities. Remember that you are absolutely not allowed to have children on the casino floor except to walk through (no lingering).

          And regarding food – while many people now think of Vegas for fine dining establishments, there are a lot of child friendly options. Yelp is your friend here! If you can swing dinner at the Bellagio overlooking the fountains during the light show, it is a lot of fun. But make reservations because those slots fill up fast.

       3. Yes, that was like 20+ years ago — there used to be more theme parks, etc. for families (there was a large one at the MGM Grand that has now been replaced by several pools and a spa). I think the Circus Circus is still there and still has a theme park but that would maybe be fun for one day and then you’d be pretty much out of things to do, other than use the pool at the hotel. Wouldn’t bring kids today unless you’re planning to do outdoorsy activities like Red Rock Canyon mentioned above. – source, grew up in Vegas in the 1990s

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