pleasing: Harry Styles wears Tender Bud and Sprouting from Pleasing’s second micro-collection, Shroom Bloom, on the June 2022 cover of Better Homes & Gardens. Find your Pleasing.
He has been thinking a lot recently about autonomy, ownership, privacy. About what he should be able to keep to himself, what he should be able to simply communicate through his music without follow-up questions or prying. Around the time of Fine Line, he faced scrutiny around his sexuality. People became incredulous that he wore dresses, waved Pride flags, and yet hadn’t clarified with precision, publicly to a journalist or on social media, the specifics of who he’d slept with, how he defined. This expectation is, to him, bizarre, “outdated.” “I’ve been really open with it with my friends, but that’s my personal experience; it’s mine,” he said. “The whole point of where we should be heading, which is toward accepting everybody and being more open, is that it doesn’t matter, and it’s about not having to label everything, not having to clarify what boxes you’re checking.”
Financial stress tends to hit the highest during the holiday season and many of us for some reason allows tend to spend more than we truly needed to in the first place. So here are a few tips to minimize the damages of this holiday season:
-Budget it: Write down household and personal expenses for November and December and for each month subtract the total amount if expenses from your monthly pay.
-Take inventory: Costs for the holiday festivities add up quickly so as you.re making plans for this year think about what you really enjoyed in the past and spend on that.
-Raid Your Piggy Bank: Most Americans have around $56 in loose coins hanging around the house. Make it a game by involving the whole family and turn over those couch to see if any change was left behind. You can also trade in some of your old mp3 or other electronics at Radioshack for cash or a gift card.
So there you have it, easy and simple ways to make the most out of these holidays without overspending on your budget.
I come from a large family and by the time I was 5, I was standing on a chair by the sink and helping with the dishes. At first, like all kids, I loved the splashing around part, but I came to dislike the scrubbing, especially since my brothers were never expected to lend a hand.
A few years went by and I added cooking to my tasks. I don’t remember that I ever minded this kitchen chore, I just followed Mother’s instructions as she called them out to me as she ironed.
Then when I was about 9, I was given this cookbook. I was delighted and couldn’t wait to get started on the recipes. Unfortunately, my experience of family meal preparation had made me a little more advanced in cookery than several of these recipes called for.
As examples: The Vanilla Pudding recipe calls for milk and a package of instant vanilla pudding.
The Hot Dog recipe called for a package of “frankfurters” and 8 coney buns.
But there were some more advanced recipes too. “Magic white-sauce suppers” contained instructions for making a white sauce from scratch and then discussed how to use it to make creamed eggs, potato boats and creamed ham or chicken.
A recipe for jelly muffins was included in the Breads and Sandwiches sections.
One of my grandsons went with me to the grocery yesterday morning (fully masked) to purchase grape jelly, which is the only jelly he and his brother would consider eating.
Last night I made goulash from the 1971 edition of Better Homes and Gardens Good Food on a Budget.
My gramma used to make us goulash, but I’d never made it for myself. Plus I spent the better part of the last 20 years being a vegetarian, so now I’m ready to revisit some comfort foods of my childhood.
This one was a winner. Both my kids loved it and have already fought over who gets the leftovers. This was easy, fairly cheap, and super comforting. I did make one kinda big change by using ground hamburger (and no added shortening) instead of cubed chuck, but this was how my gramma always made it. Otherwise I pretty much followed the recipe, but only simmered it for maybe 20-30 minutes once the sauce mixture was combined. There’s really no reason to let it go 1-2 hours. I will be making it again, 10 out of 10.
