I would call myself an off and on Taylor Swift fan, but most recently, VERY much on. From what can be gathered from her Instagram videos, it appears that she managed to get Mr. Dashboard Confessional himself Chris Carrabba, to sing a song for and with her best friend Abigail (lifelong best friend Abigail) at her 25th Birthday party. Also included in said singalong – Hayley Williams from Paramore (!?)
If you follow her, Taylor has posted pictures and videos, etc from other famous friends parties that she herself has organized, but this is just out of this world. How does she do these things, and HOW DOES SHE HAVE THE TIME to be this many people’s best friend?? She’s like the nicest, most wonderful cool-girl-in-school that everyone wants to be, and wants to be friends with. And yet, can’t manage to hate because SHE’S TOO COOL AND NICE.
On a completely other note… I couldn’t be more happy that she and Calvin Harris are supposedly dating… As a fellow tall girl, I’m so happy for her finding someone she too can LOOK UP to kiss, it’s a GREAT feeling.
It’s not a new concept to store food in these cylindrical, glass beauties. In fact, if my mommom saw this she’d slap me over the head because she (as with most older, wiser people) has used mason jars in her kitchen for a century, and has also been jarring gravy for the same amount of time, in a massive collection of her own masons.
But it must have hit me when I started working, cooking, and storing food for myself just how great these are, and how the uses for them are practically innumerable. No longer do I have to worry about whether or not my soup, smoothie, coffee, dressing, sauce or any other liquid I might carry somewhere has spilled all over the inside of my bag. No longer am I thinking about the BPA seeping into my food when I microwave it later. No longer am I thinking about how quickly I have to eat what’s in there before it goes bad.
Well that last one is a little presumptuous – food can still go bad. But when its sealed that tight IN GLASS?? It definitely lasts longer than any other kind of container you might be using.
Either way, the pack I bought at Target for $8.00 (!) have more than paid for themselves in the probably-a-year I’ve had them. Here are some of my favorite uses for maybe mankind’s greatest invention:
Overnight oats: the easiest = rolled oats, almond milk, blueberries, cinnamon, peanut butter… awesome and perfect breakfast! (pictured)
Storing my favorite homemade soups for easy grabbing when making lunch (work well freezing too!)
Mason Jar salads (pictured) also for easy grabbing when making lunch
Smoothies – I’ll make a few early in the week, label the ingredients, and take them with me for breakfasts, lunches etc. The fruit and contents doesn’t go bad or taste any different!
Paleo Diets have been the new big thing for a few years and may be singlehandedly keeping Pinterest in existence (can you look for any recipe on there without a Paleo one coming up? try it). Through an Instagram friend I came upon something that is the same, but different, called The Whole 30.
From what I can tell thus far (from reading the website, not the NYT BEST SELLER book) the main difference is in the details. For example, there are a number of specific chemical components (carageenan, MSG or sulfites) used in prepared foods that are to be avoided, but coffee and salt are allowed (not Paleo). The general idea of no refined sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, processed foods, etc are the same.
Much to my dismay, the Whole 30 does stress the avoidance of the Paleo-type cheats that have been widely used (See: pinterest). As the site says:
Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. Continuing to eat your old, unhealthy foods made with Whole30 ingredients is totally missing the point, and will tank your results faster than you can say “Paleo Pop-Tarts.” – See more at: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/#sthash.tqhCuUVy.dpuf
They have a point. But I’ve been doing this for about 2 weeks now consistently, and I just have to have something sweet after dinner, so I’ve been whipping up a banana-ice cream (with almond butter) and YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MIND ABOUT IT.
The idea I like about The Whole 30 is that it has an end time. It feels like a game to try to be getting to the finish line, instead of a diet, which feels more easily cheat-able with no end in site. And if I gain some knowledge and positive good habits along the way, SO BE IT!
So far I feel so great and less bloated without any dairy or grain. I also feel so much less crazy without any sugar. This isn’t new news, but I sure do feel the noticeable difference between having and not having sugar – when I don’t have any, I don’t crave it. But when I give in to those donuts in the office kitchen…. I want more the rest of the day. The addictive properties of sugar are no joke, and if you’ve never seen the segment on sugar from John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, please do so.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes I’ve been whippin up on the reg since doing The Whole 30
FRITATTA
I’ve been making frittatas for ever but for some reason they’ve gotten more tasty in doing this eating plan (and as I get better at making them).
They’re really easy, and can incorporate any vegetables you have. I usually use zucchini, tomato, peppers, kale, spinach… whatever I have around that can be roasted or sautéed. After preparing them, I beat 3 or 4 eggs (I WOULD throw in some parmesan cheese, but not on the Whole 30), and pour them over the veggies I’ve prepared in the same skillet.
Cook on low until the egg is solid and cooked, and you can flip it.
I’ve eaten this for breakfast, lunches, dinners… I usually make a big one and cut it in pieces for different meals!
Next recipe for the Whole 30 coming up later this week! Thanks for reading!
*Just an FYI, there are some spoilers if you have not watched all the way through!*
From the get-go, I’d done nothing but talk shit about the show “The Affair.” Before it was even on, I just couldn’t say enough about how sick I am of the romanticizing and glorification of something that is so morally wrong. I am not as prude as this sounds, but was brought up in Catholic school and I just don’t think infidelity should be this glamorized. From Scandal, to nearly every other drama on TV, sex sells and it seems like AFFAIRS really sell. So for the entire premise of a show to be focused on the *very exciting and romantic* betrayal and ruining of a marriage, I just couldn’t have been more disgusted.
Then I found out Joshua Jackson was in it. And I quite literally can’t resist Pacey Witter, affair or not. So, since it was coming on after Homeland anyway, I decided to give it a shot.
I have to admit I was very intrigued, even though I didn’t like what I knew what would happen (hello, it’s in the name). Each episode plays out the same event – in the story, and in their relationship – but the first half from Noah Solloway, the male’s perspective, then the second 25 minutes from Allison Lockhart, the female’s perspective. This is something I’d never seen before in a TV show, and I loved the concept, so I hung on. The writing was just too cool – how they made the stories overlap, how their clothes changed, how what they said and who did what changed based on who’s point of view we were seeing. There were also True Detective-type interviews happening with each main character – they are recounting the events of the story as they remember them to a detective, so this implied there was some sort of criminal storyline that we don’t know about, in play as well.
One other thing to mention is the theme song/intro is IN-CREDIBLE. Just, fucking, awesome. It’s a new original song written and performed by Fiona Apple specifically for the show, called “Container,” and I wish to God it was longer than a minute! It starts out a cappella, and then a drum beat comes in… It’s haunting, and beautiful and just totally perfect for the show. Take a listen here
I felt dirty, guilty; like I was the one having the affair, or something.
Much later, “The Affair”won two Golden Globes. I didn’t really understand why, (other than it’s salacious nature, and because it’s a new show), but a friend told me she caught the season finale without watching the others and it was VERY entertaining. I decided to give it another go, and I’m glad I did… sort of.
The first season, at only 10 episodes long, definitely packs a lot of nail biting drama. After the episode I quit on, several other interesting characters and plot points came into play that somewhat made me feel okay about the dirtiness of the adultery – drug dealing, a murder case, Noah’s crazy teenage daughter, Allison’s crazy mother, small town family feuds, a lost child, and in general the deep roots of the character’s personalities and motives (which are perfectly executed by the actors). Plus, more Joshua Jackson (albeit a sad, angry Joshua Jackson).
The last two episodes especially were so entertaining I found myself yelling at the TV. It’s really rare that a show (or film) is satisfyingly, totally put together and feeling complete, in terms of continuity, storylines, character motives, all really coming together, and it’s even rarer when you’re seeing it from two points of view the entire time. But as well written, well directed, and well produced the show is, there’s a few plot holes I am so disappointed about and can’t ignore, so I’d like to put this out there and maybe some other fans can enlighten me:
What exactly happened around episode 6 or 7, where Noah goes from realizing pursuing anything else with Allison is “completely crazy,” he goes back to having sex with his wife (a fantastic Maura Tierney), he goes through marital therapy with her, and seems to be completely regretful of his actions and confident in his marriage – to telling Allison he loves her?? Part of me thought this was something that only happened in her POV, but then later it’s said in his too. This seemed like sort of a 180 that just didn’t add up. Noah was believable in his attempts at apologizing and searching for forgiveness for an episode or two. But suddenly he’s thrown into a situation where he sees Allison again, and that is a time that the L-word is realized? I can’t wrap my mind around this. There wasn’t a lead up where he was thinking about her, or having issues with his wife regularly, or anything. Even if the idea is “he’s around her again, he sees her again after some time, and they can’t deny their love for each other” their actions before saying these words did not really indicate their sudden profession of love. Maybe it’s a move to keep the audience on their toes, but I found it frustrating and just did not at all add up.
How could there possibly be two interpretations of the events of the last episode? This involves a gun, a lot of yelling, and some very angry Solloways and Lockharts. It just seems to me that when there is a gun in play and it’s pointed at you, you aren’t forgetting what exactly played out in this scene, but somehow Noah and Allison’s memory of these events are very
In general, much of Allison’s side seems to be slightly more in “love” in “The Affair” than Noah is. Noah seems very much in lust, and then in guilt. Yet suddenly in the last two episodes, Noah is the first to tell his wife he is “in love” with someone else, and makes the moves to leave and be with her (this might actually just harken back to my first point).
Chemistry – I didn’t feel it beyond the intimate scenes. It seemed like they had chemistry when it came to sex and being physical, etc. but that’s not hard to do – everyone looks sexy and connected when they’re having sex. In the scenes where they are just spending time together or talking, or Noah is trying to make Allison feel better about something… I just didn’t see it. I didn’t buy that they had this crazy, deep connection, or “love” that would absolutely have to lead to them ruining their marriage and lives.
This is more of a general criticism, but why does Noah’s wife Helen have to be so pathetic and want to take him back? I don’t understand why her character needed to be this weak, I feel like the season could have ended the same way had she stayed mad at him, instead of foolishly forgiving his transgressions
What did anyone else think?? Did I completely miss something or did you have the questions? Let me know!
Whether you’re an avid NPR listener or not, you have to have heard about Serial in the past several weeks. If you really haven’t, read this.
The podcast is a break off of the very popular This American Life, which as the title suggests, is a radio show that chronicles different stories from American subjects within different topics. There are hundreds of incredibly compelling episodes of TAL, and Serial has been very much the same.
Sarah Koenig
The first “season” of Serial has been about a murder trial. In Baltimore in 1999, a 17 year old kid named Adnan was sent to jail for life for the murder of his ex girlfriend Hae Min Lee. His family, who’s been fighting for 15 years that he was wrongfully accused and the victim of an inadequate lawyer and a botched trial, contacted a reporter from This American Life to see if there was anything she could do in terms of looking into his case. Journalist Sarah Koenig did that, and then some.
Over the course of the last year, and subsequently the last 10 weeks in podcast form, she’s taken apart every bit of this story and trial, putting everyone and everything under the microscope it wasn’t under in the early 2000’s. The drama, lies, and prejudice in this case runs deep, and even as Sarah talks to the friends and people involved there’s one thing remains clear – can anyone really know what happened on one normal high school day 15 years ago?
One thing that’s happened, which it seems like neither Sarah nor Adnan’s family expected, is the podcast has completely exploded. Likely a result of word-of-mouth (and possibly from just me specifically, because I have told every single person I know to listen to it), Serial hit 5 million downloads and broke podcast records before Sarah and her team could turn their heads, and for better or worse has one of the most intense Reddit threads known to man.
So if you’re a Serial listener at this point you might know what I’m talking about. And if you’re not, START. It’s free!
Theres a few interesting things about Serial that I wanted to discuss, but I will indicate any spoilers just in case.
Serial makes me feel like I’m consuming media in the 1930’s – every Thursday I’m glued to the radio (read: my iPhone) listening to an audio story. I feel like I’m living in the days before TV, where all you had were audio recordings and music to move a story, and Serial does it brilliantly. Well written and suspenseful, you feel like you’re watching an episode of 20-20 but only in your ears. It’s without a doubt the coolest media I’ve consumed this year, and so original for this day and age.
Serial makes everyone think they’re a detective – whether you’re taking the whole thing way too seriously (i.e. conducting your own investigations, making your own podcast about the podcast) or not (just having regular debates with your friends) Serial makes you feel like you’re a detective. Time will tell whether it amounts to anything other than frustration for the family members of the people involved in the case (including the murder victim), but I can’t say it hasn’t made for some interesting conversation in the last few weeks. Which leads me to..
Serial has made me realize how awful and insane our legal system is – **possible spoilers** there have been so many phone interviews with Adnan from jail, where he talks about how as a 17 year old kid, he assumed that the legal system of America had everything under control, and he thought even his being convicted would “work itself out.” Unfortunately in his case, this was not true, and I can’t help but think about the millions of other cases like this, and the hundreds of people in jail for truly being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As someone who doesn’t watch a lot of Law and Order or Cold Case or cop/legal dramas, I haven’t seen anything like this to the point where I’m desensitized to it, and my mind is blown at the (alleged) incompetence and the deviousness of the cops, detectives, lawyers, and courts involved in the case.
Finally, if you are a Serial fan and you’re not reading Rabia’s blog, START. Rabia is the family friend of Adnan who brought the case to Sarah last year, and she’s blogging about each episode and then some. She is obviously not unbiased the way the podcast tries to be, but she shares some supplemental information and documents from the case, as well as her own (oftentimes hilarious) commentary. I linked it above as well, but here it is again.
I especially liked what she had to say about episode 7, which some of the online commentary, as well as my own friends, called boring or a filler episode. Instead of discussing new information about the criminal proceedings and drama of the story, the episode followed a real lawyer for The Innocence Project as they began to work on Adnan’s case and pour over papers and documents to form their own professional analysis. I found this incredibly interesting, eye opening, and downright necessary, and felt like it was so callous that anyone would be annoyed for the lack of entertainment value. For obvious reasons, Rabia felt the same.
If you’re listening to Serial, let me know! What do you think? How will it all end? What are your theories?
Here are my first round of Christmas nails, went a little simpler for early in the season. Super easy to do with a SALLY HANSEN Longwear metallic dark red, and a white thin brush!
I love Fall and everything that comes with it. Pumpkin this, pumpkin that, literally just pour pumpkin spice sauce on everything I eat and I’ll be happy.
I especially love CARVING pumpkins, and with that, using everything in it for something delicious. First let’s talk about pumpkin seeds.
My favorite recipe is what I like to call PUMPKIN PIE PUMPKIN SEEDS. Here’s how it goes:
1 TBS Maple Syrup per cup of seeds
a few drizzles of olive oil
1 TSP Pumpkin Pie spice per cup of seeds
1 TSP Cinnamon Sugar per cup of seeds
a few pinches of sea salt
You want to wash off the seeds, try to remove all loose pumpkin from them. Rinse in a colander like so.
Then let them dry overnight. This will allow the ingredients to stick to them better. Lay out on a baking sheet on a piece of wax paper, and cover with a paper towel.
Once they’re dry the next day, you can pour them all in to a bowl, and add all of the above ingredients. If you want to add a little more of the spices to your taste, feel free! Mix around so each seed is well covered. Preheat the oven to 360.
Spread these out on a baking sheet again, making sure they’re well spread out. Let them bake for about 15 minutes, and at that point check if they look golden or toasty. Flip a few of them over, you want to try to get them toasty on both sides. Once they are you can take them out and let them cool!
Up until recently, I considered myself a semi-feminist. Not to the point of bra burning per say, but more than the average girl-you-might-meet-at-a-party that doesn’t start telling you why Katy Perry on College Game Day was degrading and embarrassing to women. My boyfriend can attest to this, as he’s listened to many-a-rant about the bias in media, politics, or film when it comes to women, or my ramblings about the general behavior/lack of intelligence when it comes to some men vs. some women. If you asked him, he’d probably tell you I was a feminist.
First example is of course, the “Catcalling” video, which if you haven’t seen it, here it is:
My issue with this is simple. This was a video taken over the course of TEN HOURS, and cut down to 2 minutes. I feel almost certain, that any woman or man of any gender or race for that matter walking around a city, alone, for TEN HOURS, would probably have at least a few interactions or attempted interactions whether they like it or not. Is that wrong? Are the people who are trying to sell her something as she passes their store doing something offensive to her? Is someone who says “Hi, how are you!” really trying to get in her pants? Because referring to all 100 (again, not in 2 minutes but over TEN HOURS) attempted interactions as “catcalls” seems just plain untrue.
Now the person who followed her for 5 minutes is pretty absurd, I will say that, and that would make even the strongest of women uncomfortable. That is a legitimately creepy situation. But as a woman who lives in a city, who walks around a lot, and who sometimes has been told to “smile” or “Hi, how are you” or “you look beautiful,” IT’S REALLY NOT THE CRISIS SITUATION THAT THIS VIDEO PORTRAYS. Has a legitimate “catcall” ever led to a robbery, a rape, or even a sexual assault? Should all women be walking around in fear of catcalls? I feel as though living in a city you build a thick skin, and these are the types of things that happen sometimes. Maybe it’s not right, maybe it’s not just, but as I said, I would bet that a man would have interactions not all that different from some of these in terms of strangers trying to talk to you. Being friendly, or forward, or a salesman on a city street is not a crime nor should it be (though I wish some salesmen on the streets could be arrested for being so annoying).
I would like to see this same video if it were a woman walking through the suburbs. She probably would not have even 10 interactions, let alone “100 catcalls” and that’s just a sheer example of the difference in terms of just population and location. The same way she has the right to walk around alone looking pissed off, the people around her have the right to talk to whoever they want. And above all, the media conversations and backlash for this have been so absurdly extreme from some groups, it’s like they’re the ONLY voices that matter. I bet there are some women who appreciate catcalls, or getting attention in public like this. Does that make them bad people? Should we explain to all men that only certain women like that, and you have to find those women and catcall ONLY them?
Once again, I don’t support catcalling and I certainly don’t support the man who followed her around for 5 minutes. However, it seems like the whole procedure of this video is misleading, and really isn’t proving anything in terms of social issues. Rather, the fact that “if you walk around the most populated city in America for 10 hours, people on the street will try to talk to you.”
And now, for a hilarious and spot on parody of this video from Funny or Die:
My second feminist issue this week is the backlash from this Victoria’s Secret ad that reads ” The Perfect ‘Body'”
The reason I mostly am annoyed by the “feminist” backlash about this is because it’s based on a misunderstanding. Apparently a group of young girls and whoever else, have made a petition wanting Victoria’s Secret to apologize for the ad where they are portraying lingerie models as having perfect bodies. I will admit that the first time I saw this ad, I thought “Well that’s a bit much.. a little presumptuous.. a little unnecessary… they’ll probably get in SOME hot water for this..” and I was correct. And good for a group of young women who don’t want these “values” placed on their young minds, they are smarter than most girls their age. HOWEVER…
The ad is a play on words, because they are advertising (remember, this is an AD not a researched article about bodies) the “Body by Victoria” collection of lingerie. Hence, the quotations around Body. Now, I know how it looks, but technically, that is what’s happening. And if the issue everyone has is with these women who have bodies like this existing in general, why not take issue with the whole catalog? Or any lingerie ad? The whole thing seems rather misguided, and once again every-crazy-feminist-ever shows up on comment sections, message boards, 24-hours news channels talking about all the injustice.
And now for the hilarious and spot on parody of this.
To me, it just feels like we’ve lost sight of what are really feminist issues, or what are really assaults to womankind. I can think of about 10 other insulting-to-women videos/tv shows/movies/ads that are more of a legitimate issue than both of these. It seems like every week there’s another ridiculous “anti-women” thing popping up that is propelled into “news” by networks looking for something to fill airtime, and as a result, blowing it out of proportion. The more stories like these blown out of proportion “in the name of women!”, and the more overly aggressive people we have bitching about these things in public spheres, the more we as women feed the stigma we want to fight. Why can’t every “feminist” be like Emma Watson, who instead of arguing over a lingerie ad or faux catcalling, chooses her moment to address that equal rights should be a concern for everyone? Focusing less on the current faults, and more on future progress? I feel like getting that message across might lead to less of the other. And there will probably always be sexualization of the female body (and there has been for EONS) because there will also always be women who want and enjoy a career that perpetuates that too.
Hate what I’m saying and think I’m a complete idiot? Agree that these were a little blown out of proportion? Let me know! Thanks for reading!
30 Rock and The Mindy Project are two of my favorite shows, partly because of my fandom for Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling and all they do, and partly because they are genuinely hilarious and well-written shows. One lucky woman who’s been able to be involved with both of these shows, who may or may not be my life spirit animal, is Tracey Wigfield.
Tracey was a member of the writing staff on 30 Rock and now The Mindy Project, a feat she chronicles in her new interview in Cosmopolitan. As much as I hate Cosmo, lately, they have really been publishing some on-point and interesting features for young women, and this is no exception. I’ve been following (see: stalking via social media) Tracey since before she won that Emmy for the finale of 30 Rock, but when she did my reaction was akin to probably her mother’s. Her career path, sense of humor, and just general COOLNESS, in a sort-of male dominated profession makes me feel like anything is possible, and I hope one day I can have the kind of success she’s had.
However, one major take away from this article for me was the fact that she was in the commercial for the Glitterator. Now, if you’re of my age (which I THINK is a Millennial?) you have to remember this toy. As she describes it, it’s a machine that you put various items covered in glue into, and the Glitterator blows glitter on it, INSTANTLY transforming your super boring barrette into a beautiful, sticky, sparkly work of art. I owned one, and boy do I look back fondly on hours of Glitterating everything I could find, my clear initiation into a life of sparkly fabulousness. Unfortunately, I still remember the commercial and the jingle so clearly it’s like I was Glitterating this morning – “Glitterator with us, GLITTERATOR! Glitter it a little bit, glitter it a lot… Glitter it cool, Glitter it hot!”
Hope you’re ready for this Jelly
Now that I know this information, where my professional hero and favorite childhood toy come together, I’m not sure my life will ever come anymore full circle than this.
Anyway, despite the opening theme that truly kept me hanging on, by the fourth episode of the show, I was over it. 
Very good, and tasty snack for Fall!
Wit & Chocolate 
