Pls visit the cake bar on tumblr for more diy food tutorials and recipes!


Pls visit the cake bar on tumblr for more diy food tutorials and recipes!


Pls visit the cake bar on tumblr for more diy food tutorials and recipes!


Pls visit the cake bar on tumblr for more diy food tutorials and recipes!


Pls visit the cake bar on tumblr for more diy food tutorials and recipes!


Pls visit the cake bar on tumblr for more diy food tutorials and recipes!

thecakebar:

How to Turn A Watermelon into a Keg

I’m ready for summer. This is happening this weekend.

-Tas

I have a question for followers: Any advice for postgrads (me) who are applying for internships & jobs but are (constantly) having zero luck?

**The never ending application process is exhausting and confidence killing!**

-Jen

I’m on a new schedule now—I work 2 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and then have regular hours on Fridays. It’s an interesting adjustment. I have a lot more time for myself, which—score!—works well for an only child who loves socializing as much as she loves being alone and who fluctuates between being an E and an I when taking Meyers Briggs tests.

Pros of the Swing Shift:

1. You can sleep in without an alarm if you want, which is great on rainy mornings when the shower outside deafens all the other city noise.

2. You can work out more (or just…start exercising) and sign up with a trainer at your gym and actually enter the weight room after a year of membership and get intimately acquainted with the overly complicated, ropey, steely equipment.

3. You can finally get a fancy green juice at the Caribbean juice place on your block that runs on island time and is never open in the very early morning or evening when you want it to be.

4. You can walk places more. Explore the city by day and see it in a new light. Go to museums! Parks! Take advantage of the A.M. specials you never could! Mani-pedi deals at your nail place that only happen before 1 p.m.! Glorious!

5. You can “cook” more. Quotations are necessary here because “cooking” for “some people” often means microwaving Trader Joe’s 3-minute brown rice and mixing it with frozen veggies. Or it just means you eat an entire block of artisan cheese (but dammit, that cheese sample was calling your name, enticing you, seducing you into purchase and consumption).

6. You’re mostly alone during your shift, so you can play whatever music you want and not have to use headphones or risk embarrassment that you want to play M83’s “Midnight City” 83 times in a row.

7. You can randomly do push-ups and no one will know that you struggle to do 10. But you will also find out what food particles are densely woven into the fibers of the office carpet, so… heave ho!

8. You will not drink as much during the week or make it rain all over a $30 dinner bill on a Tuesday night (because tacos are $30 in Manhattan). You now have a built-in excuse to get out of pesky (or not pesky) evening engagements. Which is awesome when you’re trying to avoid people who “helped you get places” and outright tell you that you “owe me a drink because I helped you get places.” Can’t! Work! Gotta make rent! It’s New York, you know!

9. You can wear whatever you want (within reason). I mean, I look nice (I feel) but gone are my leather-pants-and-heels days. It’s flats for me! 

10. You get to see beautiful sunsets out the office window (see above) and en route to the bathroom, you can pause and enjoy them and geek out.

11. Impromptu dance parties.

Cons of the Swing Shift:

1. Around 7:45 p.m., you notice that you are one of maybe four people left on Facebook. Everyone else is off socializing and getting catch-up drinks and traveling home from their jobs, and you’re left still posting Vulture articles and snarky quotes from TV shows and stalking middle school classmates and past and present crushes like you’re, well, in middle school all over again and writing ANY THOUGHT that comes to mind in your thread with your college friends which probably drives them as mad as you and then, one day, you randomly Facebook chat someone because you “notice he’s online” and realize you’ve somehow turned into #thatgirl (as if you weren’t already) who chats people. CHATS THEM. And that little bubble is popping up on his screen and he’s thinking, “Who the f*ck Facebook chats at 7:45 on a Wednesday night and asks, ‘What’s up?’” And it’s you, my friend, it’s you.

2. But after all, there’s just one con, right? And a million pros. So you’re not too upset.

-Malia

positivelypersistentteach:

Made my morning.

Life goal: be like this couple one day

-Tas

I know, I know. I’m already sick of all the mothers’ day wishes. BUT.
 I’m proud of these photo finds.

-Tas

All my desi homegirls, you get me?

This Trendy "Strong is the New Skinny" Thing (and what it could mean for the next generation of girls):

READ THIS LINK, READ THIS READ THIS. Please.

some key excerpts:

For the record: Teenage girls are so goddamn moody because they are always fucking hungry.I guarantee you that every teenage girl’s angst is amplified ~300% because  she is 1) miserable because she’s on a diet and hungry 2) miserable because she’s “on a diet” but just ate a cake and feels really guilty and is considering regurgitating it 3) miserable because she’s given up on dieting and resigned herself to being “fat”. And  why do we do this to ourselves?

Because we want to be thin and beautiful.

… The time when I was my skinniest and most photographically beautiful (i.e. I looked magazine-cover-skinny) was also the time when I was at my weakest, in all senses of the word. I was constantly asking the guys downstairs to opens jars for me, and if they weren’t home, well then I was shit out of luck (and pasta sauce). Trying to carry my own suitcases while traveling between Seattle and Montreal was (pathetically) a nightmare. Even carrying pitchers of beer at the bar I was working at was a struggle for my skeletal arms. I was sleeping 12 hours a day and constantly tired. I’m sure that my brain wasn’t functioning all too well either.

Now I wonder how my life would have been different if people had encouraged girls (me) to be strong instead of skinny.

I think back to high school, when I put myself on a 1200 daily calorie limit, even though I was running 3-5 miles daily.  I attended a reputably rigorous high school with a 5 AP course load, woke up at 6:30 am, went to school, did extracurriculars, worked part-time, and often went to bed at 2-3am. I was counting calories, denying myself food, guilt-ing myself when I did eat, and even though I was never more that 120 lbs., I never stopped pinching my “fat” every time I looked in a mirror. I was hungry, angry, tired, and depressed all the time. And I was a teenager. Let’s not forget that part.  Teenagers are hellions.

…My goal has changed from “be a size zero” to do a motherfucking pull up.  I have gained far more self-esteem from being able to pick up heavy shit that I ever have from being able to zip up a skin-tight designer dress.  I became a more capable, energetic, independent, and mentally focused person once my focus shifted from what my body  looks like to what my body can do

But it’s just tragic - no sarcasm here- really really tragic how a large majority of young girls in America spend their time obsessing over their weight, devoting time, energy, emotions, and effort into being skinny.

It’s tragic because you have to the think of all of the potential that is lost when a whole generation of girls care more about fitting into minuscule pants instead of… oh I don’t know… running for student council, pursing a passion, studying, volunteering, playing sports, working, furthering woman’s rights… the list could go on and on. My main point is, girls waste so much time on being skinny – because we are taught that is is important if we want to be successful- when we could be devoting their efforts to becoming so much more powerful than simply skinny.

Dear Society: Please assist me in convincing young girls that “strong is the new skinny”.

Encourage them to eat. Don’t let them diet. Discourage the idolization of anorexic and bulimic celebrities. Make them exercise instead. Teach them that “exercise” means running, jumping, sweating, grunting, working hard, and kicking ass- it doesn’t mean flapping their arms around in some trendy, overpriced Trogalaties course, or running on the elliptical until they pass out. Help them realize their own strength. All of these things will help girls realize their full potential, both physically and mentally. It will help girls become self-confident, capable, and literally and figuratively strong. A girl who is encouraged to be strong instead of skinny will have higher self-esteem, respect, ambitions, and worth. She will never be a victim. She will be healthy. She will be a leader. She will be confident. She will be kick-ass.

-Tas

genderbitch:

masksarehot:

gaobibaituo:

awesome-everyday:

shorterexcerpts:

thecallus:

theatlantic:

The Cheapest Generation: Why Aren’t Millennials Buying Cars or Houses?

What if Millennials’ aversion to car-buying isn’t a temporary side effect of the recession, but part of a permanent generational shift in tastes and spending habits? It’s a question that applies not only to cars, but to several other traditional categories of big spending—most notably, housing. And its answer has large implications for the future shape of the economy—and for the speed of recovery.

Read more. [Image: Kagan McLeod]

It’s safe to say that a decent number of Tumblr users are a part of the Millennial generation. So, tell us: Do you own a car or house? If not, why?

IT’S BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO DISPOSABLE INCOME YOU THUNDERING IDIOTS. Fucking preference has nothing to do with it. 50% of college graduates have no job! They all have the most student loan debt ever! What are you asking this question for?!

Also: housing is a good bit more expensive now.

My parents got a 15-year mortgage on a new house in the mid-70s. The house was $32,000. Average home price in that area now? $190,000.

So, home prices went up. Food prices went up. Health care prices went WAY UP. Rent prices went up. Higher education went up so damn high that some of us forgo that all together. Energy prices went up. Car prices went up.

Prices of prices went up.

We also pay cell phone bills, internet bills, data plans, text plans, online subscriptions, cable/satellite tv, netflix, DVR subscriptions — bills that didn’t even exist 30-40 years ago. We also use computers and smartphones and microwaves and other consumer electronics that didn’t exist 20-50 years ago.

We need medications and doctors and contact lenses and tampons and maxi pads and other things that cost money just to be alive and keep us healthy.

Most of us can’t afford to:

1. Get married and have a “Traditional” big wedding
2. Buy a house
3. Buy a new car
4. PLAN to have children
5. Take two, consecutive weeks of vacation.

Jobs that paid 50k in the late 1990s now pay between 30-35. Interest rates that favor consumers have gone down.

So I say, no. We are not choosing not to buy homes. We’re not choosing to take the bus in cities where there’s no good public transit. WE ARE NOT CHOOSING TO LIVE WHAT SOCIETY DEEMS AS AN UNDESIRABLE LIFESTYLE.

Don’t even get me started on the fact that these two people in the picture are young white hipsters. Young black and brown folks have been forgoing homeownership and buying new cars for decades, this shit isn’t new, pal. You’re just acting like this shit is new because it’s hitting white folks.

anyway, my point is: We are fucking broke.

 fuck all these articles written by assholes who actually know nothing about our generation

FUCK THEM

FUCK
THEM

I’m either Gen X or Millennial, depending which dates you use, and so I’m old enough to have been living on my own as a lot of this started spinning out of control. It was like watching a trainwreck. The current state of all of this is ridiculous. I was going to go on a long rant about Boomers refusing to age gracefully, the impact of 9/11, the double-edged sword that is globalization, and our current loan culture and confusion of “needs vs. wants” that has been bred into us by clever marketing, but I’m too angry, and it was getting too long.

So I’ll just say this: the system is seriously out of whack, and we’re in this strange place where we’re both trapped in bubbles and depressions at the same.

I keep waiting for market corrections that just don’t seem to be happening.

And also, I’ll just throw up Crack Shack or Vancouver Mansion for reference. And if you visit it, bear in mind that this is in a city where the AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME is $46K. FORTY-SIX THOUSAND A YEAR. Oh, yeah, the system isn’t broken at all…damn those cheap fucking Millennials & Gen-X-ers!

Is every dipshit who writes these articles a rich sheltered moron? Cuz if I had fucking money I would buy those things.

I DON’T HAVE FUCKING MONEY.

Pretty sure I posted the orginial article way back when.
Reblogging for the commentary.
If you didn’t read the original article:here.

-Tas

Some of these are bogus and I totally don’t agree. But the site is called “elitedaily” so what can you do sometimes. In fact, it’s mostly terrible.

The link.
The simplified list. (Edited for people who want a normal life and don’t want to be jerks):

20. Working for money, not for building your dreams

19. Thinking that this is the right time to fall in love

18. Trying to act like the man rather than learning how to become one

17. Making friends instead of earning trust

16. Not caring because you only live once — that is for fools

15. Making all your wants, needs

14. Forgetting that family comes first

13. Blaming anyone else but yourself for anything in life

12. Getting comfortable like you actually deserve down time

11. Sticking with jobs that didn’t teach you anything

10. Following the crowd instead of forging against it

9. Failing to energize those around you

8. Think you need to stop learning and growing

7. Thinking that anyone will ever pay you back

6. Spending your money on women who aren’t escorts
                     …..like, WHAT?!

5. Holding on to friends that waste your time and add no value to your life

4. Forgetting about the piggy bank and spending every dollar you have

3. Mistaking safe sex for anything besides anal

2. Dating unstable women (HELLO, AND MEN) with mommy and daddy issues

1. Forgetting that karma is a huge b*tch

-Tas

motherjones:

kateoplis:

“Here are some broad descriptions about the generation known as Millennials: They’re narcissistic. They’re lazy. They’re coddled. They’re even a bit delusional.

Those aren’t just unfounded negative stereotypes about 80 million Americans born roughly between 1980 and 2000. They’re backed up by a decade of sociological research. The National Institutes of Health found that for people in their 20s, Narcissistic Personality Disorder is three times as high than the generation that’s 65 or older. In 1992, 80 percent of people under 23 wanted to one day have a job with greater responsibility; ten years later, 60 percent did. Millennials received so many participation trophies growing up that 40 percent of them think they should be promoted every two years – regardless of performance. They’re so hopeful about the future you might think they hadn’t heard of something called the Great Recession.”

The Me Generation

Well, they’re right about the “save us all” part, anyway.

It’s graduation speech season!

I’ve posted links and quotes to this speech before, but here’s a well-made video of David Foster Wallace’s 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College.

Enjoy!

“…And the so-called real world will not discourage you from operating on your default settings, because the so-called real world of men and money and power hums merrily along in a pool of fear and anger and frustration and craving and worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation. This kind of freedom has much to recommend it. But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about in the great outside world of wanting and achieving … The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.”

-Tas

npr:

Here are three common dishes served at home whose looks can be improved with a bit of design attention. These two-step tips are from food stylist Lisa Cherkasky. 

— Serve a better-looking plate - The Washington Post

Do you do this? — tanya b.

Ah PGL. That time of life where hosting dinner parties involves more than breaking out the wings, dip and beer. Here’s some cool tips on how to plate your food so your friends/s.o. you’re trying to impress think you’re a master artiste!

Essentials from the article:

1. Instead of arranging things side by side on the plate, lean one against the other to build height and interest.
2. Use a large white plate and don’t overfill it; white space makes food look better.
3. Pick out nice pieces of meat and vegetables and arrange them, rather than spooning a big helping onto the plate. 
4.  A small mound of mashed potatoes creates a good platform.
5. Green adds interest.
6. Spoon sauce around sparingly.
7. One simply grilled piece of meat, one side dish.
8. By placing meat on top of the vegetables, you build height and add interest. 
9. Garnish with fresh herbs (good for color and aroma)

Bon Apetit!

-Tas

I have a serious PGL question for y’all.

In this technological Internet world wherein we can communicate with people who have long left our lives and who we would otherwise never talk to, there is the person who reaches out in an unwanted way.

So, I live in Turkey.

I have an Armenian Facebook friend who was in a study abroad program with me almost four years ago. We’re just FB friends.

If you didn’t know, Turkey and Armenia have some really shitty relations. Turkey has done some pretty brutal stuff (as in geno-freaking-cide) to Armenians in the past and won’t own up to it. 

Now, how do I respond to a comment like that? 

Facebook now has this feature where, when you delete a comment, you can send a message to the person with the deleted comment attached and give them feedback as to why you chose to remove it. I think it’s a fabulous feature.

Below is how I responded. I’m curious, though. What would you have done and how do you feel about people posting unprovoked and ugly truths on your wall? Things that people definitely should know of and think about, but in a more constructive way. It’s one thing to make that your status, but is it acceptable to make a statement on someone else’s? I’m just not sure.

It says: 

Hey T, 

I deleted your comment, and I wanted to explain why—please don’t think I did it because I disagree with what you were saying or don’t think you have the right to talk about important issues like the Armenian genocide openly.
I deleted your comment because 
1. It was very incendiary. Your tone and absolute disdain for all Turks, many of whom are only now slowly beginning to realize the atrocities they let occur in the past and present, is not something I can leave up on my wall, especially when it was unprovoked and uncalled for. There are proper forums to express these kind of emotions, and if you want to talk about history and present relations in a constructive manner, then maybe you can aim for a discussion on my personal Facebook page. 
2. I was honestly looking for something to do tomorrow. If I’d left your comment there and then proceeded to ignore it and make plans around it, I would have been belittling the point you were trying to make by acting as if it were unimportant or irrelevant, which it is ABSOLUTELY not. This is a very important issue here, and though I can’t pretend to feel the way you feel about it, I do believe it’s necessary for the Turkish nation to face what has happened and is happening in this country.

I know those aren’t rock-solid reasons to delete your comment, and I recognize that it was the easy way out for me, but I want the minimal amount of political interaction I have on my facebook to be constructive and illuminating, not volatile.

Tas

(for the record, he apologized)

I have so many things I’ve been avoiding writing about, but somehow this has spurred me to post.

I was doing laundry and finally went to wash the second duvet cover on my comforter, (why there are two, I don’t know). And this photo is of what I discovered was hiding under there.

I literally gasped out loud and did a little happy dance. How, at 24, I can still love this series so much that I feel the need to share this experience with all of my friends, family and followers really does say something: Harry Potter, you are magic.

-Tas

(Now my comforter can really live up to its name.)

The Colbert Nation web team (I’m calling us Little Women right now) got to visit the Colbert Report studio last week. It was awesome!! We took turns in Stephen’s chair behind that infamous desk… so surreal. I got chills.

-Malia

fotojournalismus:

Masked policemen take cover behind shields during clashes at a May Day demonstration in Istanbul on May 1, 2013.

[Credit : Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images]

My morning today!

-Tas

What It Really Takes To Survive In New York City In Your 20s :

We break down the astronomical costs.

money money money & New York.

-Tas

Going to shamelessly plug… I realized the Twitter account @TinaAndAmy wasn’t taken and was floored. When they hosted the Globes, no one seriously jumped on that boat?? THEY SHOULD DO EVERYTHING, PEOPLE. So I created the account. Please follow if you want some T & A quotes/updates/funny photos! Dream team, y’all.

-Malia