u/miniFrosya

l've recently got a bag from KS (burgundy suede with flower strap), and I was surprised by the style change in the brand. Some styles are interesting, but it's clear that the brand is still having an identity crisis.

Certain bags I saw looked very “safe” and sort of appealing to “quiet luxury” trend which isn’t exactly what people associate with Kate Spade as a brand. Luckily, the bag world has been transitioning away from old-money cosplay, so quiet luxury is no longer the hype. However, I’m not sure anyone is ready for full blown whimsy of KS. It’s cute when Dior does lily pads bags and frog charms, but Kate Spade doesn’t hold the same reputation and what is considered whimsy for Dior would probably be labeled as hideous for KS.

KS is still stuck at the rock bottom where Coach was before its revival. I’m sure people thought back then that Coach is done for. But Kate Spade brand identity seems to be harder to revive.

In my opinion, one thing to start with would be ditching that plaque logo 💀(sorry, KS, you aren’t Prada) and maybe establishing “spade” as a more prominent brand logo (similar to how horse bit is a symbol for Gucci)

Let’s discuss!

HCM is pretty common in senior cats (and I’ve read that cats do go under anesthesia with HCM when necessary) but my senior cat (13yo) got also diagnosed with 3rd degree AV block on top of HCM, and I can barely find anything on that.

Abdominal ultrasound found a tumor which requires anesthesia to even biopsy/classify it (via CT scan). And given her heart condition, I’m still debating if it’s worth the risk to put her under especially as it may be that the tumor is inoperable due to its location (but we don’t know for certain)

A lot of internet sources say that anesthesia is ok only in life or death situation, citing cancer as one of them, but the cat is doing fairly fine (besides her heart condition diagnosis), and it doesn’t appear like the tumor metastasized (based on X-rays)

Any thoughts on whether if it’s worth putting my kitty under anesthesia for the cancer tumor diagnosis and possibly removal ?

My cat’s proBNP is 545.

I’m pretty sure this series, especially HOFAS, sets the world record for how many times the word “pure” appears. Pure Hunt, pure male, pure predator, pure this, pure that. Please make it stop 😭

I’m looking for a reality check because I’m wondering if my expectations for a book club are different from what they should be.

My close friends and I have been reading Throne of Glass and now Crescent City. I enjoy analyzing books especially character motivations, plot decisions, writing choices, pacing etc. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, but I enjoy discussing different interpretations especially characters’ growth or downfall or dumb stuff they do.

The problem is that whenever I criticize a character (e.g. most recently in CC2, >!I was complaining about how hypocritically Cormack got treated in Crescent City by MCs and how Bryce became essentially an alphahole herself!<) or plot point, instead of discussing my opinion, I often get responses like: “stop reading”, “if you hate the main character, why are you reading the book”, “you’re just a hater”, or good ol’ “you’re wrong”.

For context, I don’t only criticize the books. I’ve also talked about things I love (I love the plot twists and the word building in both TOG and CC despite ironically disliking MC couples) and sharing my theories on future plot twists, but it feels like the negative opinions are the only ones people remember. Also, we are close friends, so we don’t sugarcoat how we talk. However, the issue is that when I talk negatively about the characters, my friends talk negatively about me sharing my opinions lol.

Personally, I don’t think disliking a main character means you can’t enjoy a series. I can love the worldbuilding, side characters, or overarching plot while still thinking the protagonist is poorly written.

How should I handle this? Am I approaching book club discussions the wrong way: too serious or too direct? Or is this just a mismatch in discussion styles and I should hold off on my critique? Or should I just drop out of the book club?

I would love to have an outside perspective especially if you had experience with Romantasy book clubs or just discussing with friends. Because I’ve started to feel dismissed by my book friends and like I can’t voice my takes on the books unless I sugarcoat it in something positive and good vibes.

My senior cat is driving me insane with peeing everywhere. She just peed twice on a brand new rug that she loves laying on! What do I do? Should I try diapers?

She has arthritis which is being managed by Solensia and gabapentin although her walking is still affected by it. She has IBD (she used to get diarrhea and would throw up) but it’s been managed by food for a long while but she does get constipated now. She has 2 low-entry litter boxes lined with pee pads in easily accessible locations.

We did move about a month ago but she’s no longer visibly stressed, and I thought we figured it out either way the litter boxes (she’s been using them somewhat consistently).

The vet ran blood and urine tests on her but it didn’t show anything in terms of bladder or kidney issues. The only thing that stood out on blood test was cardiac marker (potentially indicating mild HCM) but nothing else that would otherwise point to why she’s doing what she’s doing.

I’m going crazy with her. Every morning and evening I literally have to inspect my entire apartment for pee spots, and now she lowkey ruined the new rug because it’s obviously difficult to get the pee and it’s smell out of it.

I like Coach as a brand a lot - they have great leather quality bags at a fairly reasonable price point and pleasing designs. That being said, it seems like with constant drops and overall hype, you can see people accumulating extensive collections of bags like when people collected Stanley cups or Labubus.

How many of those bags will end up at a goodwill in a couple of years? With the amount of bags they currently produce, what are the chances Coach will burn out soon and will become “new in” at TJMaxx and Marshalls? All of it feels a bit environmentally wasteful at times.

Hello! I’m trying to find a vet clinic to take my cat to that won’t be trying to suggest extensive treatments without any meaningful grounds for them.

I’ve tried Nob Hill Cat Clinic where I got suggested $3.2-$6.7K worth of treatments on an overall healthy, albeit senior, cat that has been regularly monitored by another vet (in a town I moved from). She has normal teeth but with minor gum inflammation instead of suggesting dental cleaning routine at home first, they quoted $2k-$3k dental and extractions (all her teeth looked totally normal and the vet didn’t tell me anything about needing extractions but it got revealed in the estimates). Previous vet never mentioned anything about extractions, and I have no doubts in their competency, so all these treatment suggestions are highly sus.

Generally, I have no issues doing whatever the vet say at whatever costs (I have pet insurance), but this exam and the recommended treatments were way too outlandish. I don’t want to be second guessing my choice of treating or not treating my cat and possibly putting her through multiple anesthesias for multiple questionable treatments. Therefore, I’m hoping to find a vet that would be more conservative but reasonable in their treatment plans.