As someone raised in the South by poor rural farm women, I can’t remember a single situation where I wasn’t warned in advance not to embarrass the heck out of my elders by being an unkempt, ill-mannered garbage child. Every Christmas growing up, my mother forced us...
Having to crash with in-laws (or anyone else) over the holidays can put just about anyone on edge. Besides them being at least some kind of crazy, the nagging feeling that you could be overstaying your welcome, draining their fridge or just plain getting in the way...
It’s the holidays, a season for food, parades and sitting on the couch with your pants unbuttoned as you take an early evening nap before you head out to the store and buy a bajillion Christmas gifts. All in all, it’s a pretty magical time — unless...
Lounge season has begun: The days are shorter, the weather is cooler, the upcoming holidays provide a steady supply of sustenance. Therefore, I deem this time of year the ultimate time for lounging on the couch in a comfortable robe, pouring eggnog mixed with Halloween candy into...
Mistook your monthly magazine for a pack of One Wipe Charlies and flushed it down the toilet? No worries, here’s the online version! In this edition: The Christmas Elf’s Guide to Easy Gift-Giving The Festive Guide to Dropping Hints (Without Looking Greedy) How to Buy For the...
Why do dudes suck so much at buying Christmas presents? Santa Claus is a man, and he’s amazing at the gift game. The fact is, women are left to handle the vast majority of Christmas shopping alone, and it’s flagrantly unfair. Some men simply assume they’ll do...
As your relationship flourishes, so should your penchant for giving exceptional gifts. Unfortunately, though, some of us are just plain terrible at choosing suitable presents, no matter how much thought and effort we put into them. For anyone who falls into this category and needs help picking...
Every year it’s the same thing: You know you’ve got to get a gift for those difficult people on your Christmas list, but — despite the fact you’ve known them forever — you have no idea what to get. Generally, after weeks of trying to forget about...
The time has finally come: This Christmas will be the first I’ll be spending with my partner’s family, and not only her close family — every last aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandma, grandpa and that one weird lady who’s somehow lumped into the bunch, too. Which has...
There has never been so much meat available as there is today. We’re so far beyond our local hunting ground days that not only can you buy your familiar beef and pork at the supermarket, you can even bid on exotic meats like Spanish octopus or green iguana on Facebook. One day all...
Question: Would you pay more to send your kid to preschool or to college? Don’t laugh! Preschool — the land of finger painting, naptime and jelly sandwiches with the crust cut off — really can be more expensive than college. Nationally, it runs from $6,000 to $19,000...
Moving across town sucks — no matter how sweet your new digs are, packing up your belongings, cramming them in a clunky truck and potentially tumbling down a flight of stairs while lugging your couch is a huge pain, sometimes literally. Moving to a new state, however, is a...