Before you cause lasting damage to your house and therefore decrease the property value, I have a suggestion. Take a gander at this list of things you might be able to eat when your cupboards have been neglected, when your fridge has become a wild wasteland devoid of nutrients, and when your walk-in pantry might as well be a room for a small child with a fondness for climbing bare cupboards in the dark. This is what I’m here for–I’m about to literally save your life.

The following ideas are based off of things you might usually have in stock, the things that are dusty in the back of the shelves, or hidden in drawers of your fridge. Basically, anything that’s left over when you’re in that desperate strait between grocery runs.

1. Poor man’s pizza.

Do you have anything tortilla-like at all? Okay, if so, grab that. Or use a stale English muffin or old bagel. Everyone has pasta sauce in a jar somewhere, so get that pasta sauce out and spread it on the flat circular disk-like food substance of your choice. If you can rustle up some cheese, sprinkle it on top. There might be a can of olives waiting to be opened and drained. Pop the thing in the toaster oven and whammo, you’ve got poor man’s pizza. Alternatively, fry the tortilla as if it is a quesadilla, and you have a rich man’s quesadilla. It’s all about the branding.

Items 2-4: Saltine Crackers.

These little bad boys have a myriad of uses. Here are things you can put on them. Peanut butter and jelly, to make mini sandwiches. Cheese slices. If you have enough, you can really get full with these. And also, butter. Put buttered crackers in the toaster oven and it’s almost like you have tiny pieces of crunchy toast.

5. Anything involving Nutella.

You can seriously put Nutella on any edible item and it will taste amazing. Do you have a jar of Nutella? Bring back the saltine crackers! Or celery. Or bread. Or tortillas. Or just eat it from the spoon. What? It’s totally got protein.

6. Pudding.

You might be able to find a spare pudding mix or cup in the back of your cupboards. It’s often forgotten in the name of more exciting desserts, but trusty pudding is here to save the day.

7. Cereal.

What’s that, you say? Oh, you don’t have milk? Cereal dry from the bag as a munchy snack is perfectly doable and also, depending on the brand, yummy. The best kind for this approach is obviously something sugary, but you can make do with a Cheerio-knock-off. My favorite is honey nut.

8. String Cheese Sandwich.

So you might not have regular cheese, but you can still make a grilled cheese sandwich. Assuming you have bread, get this out by your nearest grilling surface. Pull the string cheese into meltable sections (usually by thirds) and then lay them side-by-side on the bread. Melt that sucker.

9. Tomato Soup.

I love a good tomato soup, but it can be kind of boring to eat plain. Spruce it up by locating a bag of rice, and DIYing the crap out of it by combining the two to make tomato rice soup. Extra points if you can find some spices or herbs to add to it.

10. Pasta.

Maybe you don’t have pasta sauce, but I bet you’ve got at least one carton of noodles hiding out in your house. I would never suggest you eat pasta plain (the horror!) but you can garnish it with melted butter and garlic from a jar. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Images via Shutterstock

The post 10 Things to Eat When Your Cupboards Are Bare appeared first on HelloGiggles.

With the impending close of many of our favorite television shows until the fall lineup begins again (and some forever– JAM. What do I do now without the Halperts!?), it feels fitting that a survival strategy be put into place. We all suffer withdrawals from regularly scheduled programming, whether from Elementary and NCIS, Honey Boo Boo or The Voice, Doctor Who or Supernatural. Perhaps you’re one of the unfortunate few who have been resigned to the darkest corners of “permanent hiatus” status (I’m looking at you, Fringe, Firefly, and Dirty Jobs fans). However you plan to spend your summer, the hardest part is first weathering the brute force of this spring’s crushing season finales. The following are tips for coming out unscathed on the other side of that emotional hurricane:

1. Take a snack. You can’t properly nourish your soul without nourishing your body first. Your vessel knows what it wants. It knows what it needs. And what it needs is peanut butter and Nutella. Lots of it. Preferably on top of vanilla Häagen-Dazs. With your dietary needs met, your body will be able to process anything from a faked death to finding out that, actually, everyone was already dead. Thanks a lot, Damon Lindelof.

2. Have a “WTF” moment. Most of us try to maintain some semblance of adult behavior at all times, whether it means holding down the office while everyone else decides to take a long lunch at the new  Mexican place down the street, not cussing out your paper and pencil while filling in bubbles at the university testing center, or just sweating a little less when the dog down the street starts to chase you on your morning run. This is not one of those times. You’ve had a lot to deal with, girl. Damon totally does deserve Elena. Feel free to freak out when the person you never thought would _____ actually did _____. That jerk had it coming. What does everything MEAN now that they’ve kissed? Where did that bad guy get that ___?! Go on. Do your thing.

3. Panic. As with #3, it goes without saying that the only logical step after shock is to have a mini-meltdown. If you’re in need of some prompting, allow me to offer up a few head-starts:

“OH GOD. The Angels. What happened to the Angels?!? Castiel? Dean? SAMMY!!!” “Hyperventilate. Hyperventilate. That kiss! I KNEW those two belonged together. ‘Densi’ is totally canon now. I knew it!!! Densi. DENSI. Wait…. NOW WHAT?!” “Oh my god. But Nick is good enough for you, Jess! He loves you, can’t you SEE IT? He is the Turtle-Face to your Quirky-Cute! Whatdya mean I have to wait until the fall to ‘find out what happens’?!”

4. Cry. This step is optional. For people who have no functioning tear-ducts.

5. Blog angrily about your feelings. It’s time to head over to your local WordPress, Tumblr, or Blogger and vent. This stage is important as it allows anthropologists to study human behavior after one suffers the loss of a beloved character or the whiplash of a David Shore House M.D. finale. The findings of these studies will facilitate guaranteed future breakdowns, courtesy of your favorite television writers. Joss Whedon will kill off another one of your favorite characters. Posterity will continue forward as scheduled.

6. Begrudgingly move on to your favorite summer series. Fiona, Sam, and Michael Westen are all itching to take out a few bad guys over on the final season of USA’s Burn Notice, and there are plenty of would-be stars dusting off their Lycra and jazz-shoes in the wings of this season’s So You Think You Can Dance?. So take a moment to settle your nerves (after repeating steps 2-6 a few times) and grab a cold glass of whichever beverage suits your fancy. Choose a breezy evening and a light blanket. Be stoked that Arrested Development is finally back on Netflix and prepare yourself to blow up some watermelons with the crew of MythBusters..

Enjoy.

**Joss Whedon will kill your favorite character. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The post How To Survive a Season Finale appeared first on HelloGiggles.

First of all, when you’re at the grocery store, think about the ingredients you need and that you can re-use. Let’s start off with spices. Forget about taco, poultry and chili seasoning that comes in packets; they’re a total rip off, and you can make your own for a lot cheaper. Taco seasoning is just cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper, paprika, salt, granulated garlic and granulated onion. Chili seasoning is usually about the same consistency, depending on the recipe. Also, buy some Italian seasoning, because it’s awesome in pasta. All these are things you should keep around because they add flavor to otherwise dull meals. All poultry seasoning is just sage. Pro-tip: whenever you’re buying spices, try to get the store-brand. There isn’t really a major difference in quality, and you’ll be saving a lot of money. Trader Joe’s also has really nice spices for cheap.

Okay, let’s talk about food. It’s important to purchase food that is a) versatile and b) on sale, if possible. Try to buy food that you can use for lunch the next day, or even re-heat as leftovers for dinner. Try to keep your cabinets stocked with rice and other carbohydrates that act as fillers. Garlic is always handy, because it’s virtually in almost every single recipe. Usually you can get two bulbs for a dollar at the grocery store.

Here  are some super-budget friendly recipes that I’ve tried to tie in together in a few ways so that when you go grocery shopping, you don’t have to buy the entire store. Plus, they have been tried and tested by ME! So you know they’re good.

1.Fajita-ranch chicken wraps 

What you need:

• 12 ounces of skinless boneless chicken breasts (usually you can find a package deal on sale at the grocery store)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or granulated)
• cooking spray
• 1 pepper, seeded and cut into this strips
• 2 tablespoons ranch dressing
• 2 tortillas
• salsa
• shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Basically you season the chicken with your spices, stir-fry the chicken and pepper, and then serve it on the tortillas.

Makes 4 servings. Estimated cost per plate: $2.05

Other meals you can make with these ingredients:

2. Chicken quesadillas

3. Stir fry chicken (with rice)

4. Chicken salad wrap (with lettuce and tomatoes)

5. Chicken burrito (with lettuce, rice and beans)

The post 10 Meals To Make When You’re Broke, Without Beelining To The Ramen Aisle appeared first on HelloGiggles.

Venue

What if instead of walking down the aisle, you slid? I have two words for you: Waterpark Wedding. Here’s how it would go down: the bride and groom would say their vows at the top of the park’s highest waterslide, and then jettison down to meet their guests at the bottom. Have you ever seen tuxedo swim shorts? This could happen. Rent out the waterpark for a day and let your guests go wild in the summer heat. You could even get really metaphorical about it and hire fire dancers as entertainment (fire, water, natch).

If there’s one reason to get married on a boat, reenacting this pose has GOT to be it. Photo via Shutterstock.

In keeping with the water-based idea, what about a houseboat wedding? Tie the knot (literally) and have everyone dress in a nautical theme. Party on the top deck as you sail around the lake or bay, have food inside, string twinkling lights in all the rails. If a waterpark isn’t your thing, but you still like the idea of an amusement park, think of a wedding held in your local dinky mini-golf-with-a-few-rides-thrown-in park. Ride the carnival rides, hold hands strolling the mini-golf course, and let your guests entertain themselves for hours on end.

Theme

Han Solo’s infamous response to Princess Leia’s confession. Bonus factoid: that line was an ad lib. Photo via Greenweddingshoes.com

Listen, anyone can put on a typical wedding. It takes true creativity to throw a themed wedding. Star Wars? You can dress up as Han Solo and Princess Leia, and walk down the aisle under a lightsaber salute. Pop an Ewok costume on your ring-bearer. A Great Depression themed wedding could also result in lots of great costume ideas. Everyone could dress just really dusty and raggedy. Renaissance fairs are just about as much fun as one can have–get a medieval theme going on with everyone in period pieces, corsets, and of course, men in tights. Eco-sustainable is also a great idea: everything is ecologically sustainable, recyclable, and biodegradable. Bonus points if you only serve your guests vegan food.

Was not kidding about the light-saber salute. People totally have done it, and you can too! Photo via RealPeoplePhotography.co

My favorite idea for a themed wedding is Willy Wonka. This would of course be crazy expensive, or at least crazy time-consuming if you went the DIY route, but think of the pictures. Everything would be edible creations of chocolate or fondant. Think of teacups that you can eat, centerpieces made of rock candy, and the party favor table festooned with brightly-colored candies of all varieties.

Activities

Wedding + polaroid camera + chalk board = polaroid guestbook. Next-level stuff here. Photo via WeddingsABeautiful.com

Take the traditional guestbook well-wishes to the next level with a scrapbook that collects guest’s best marriage memories, and their hopes for yours. Set up a ceramics table where your family and friends can paint and glaze pottery that will later be fired in a kiln, and then you can either accept them as presents for your new coupledom or send them out in the mail as thank-yous. Set out Polaroid cameras on tables so guests can capture their favorite moments, and leave it up to them if they keep the shots or leave them for you to have. Organize a silent auction where all proceeds go to a charity of the couple’s choice in lieu of wedding gifts. Have a table where guests can decorate postcards, and self-address them so you can use them as thank-you cards.

Deathstar Wedding Cake. Included because it HAD to be.
Photo via Rue the Day blog.

 Featured image via Shutterstock

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In the recent years, individuals have taken to blogging to depict their story, and leave their internet footprint. Having a successful blog can be both scary and therapeutic. In a format like this, the person who’s afraid to address a crowd can suddenly open up to the world.

Being so candid can be even more awkward when you’re going through a life change, like a divorce. Recently, a large number of female bloggers have opened up about their separations from their life partners.

One of the most famous bloggers who revealed the heartache is Heather B. Armstrong, owner of dooce.com. Heather started blogging soon after moving to Los Angeles in 2001, and she was eventually fired from her job as a web designer over some blog entries that might have accidentally mentioned some co-workers. Whoops. The blog chronicles the rise and fall since – unemployment, meeting her husband, having two children and a brief stint in a psych ward for depression. It’s been a crazy handful of years since Dooce was created.

Her husband, Jon, also blogged – in late November of last year, he wrote the following (somewhat vague) piece of poetry, called Clarity.

Clarity

Slowly, ever slowly, I feel it coming on.

It has been a long time coming. And by long I mean at least a decade, probably more.

Affirmation: I define myself. No one else.

That December, their divorce was announced.

In December, Heather contributed the following to Dooce.

It is with sadness that Jon and I are announcing that we have decided to end our 10-year marriage. We remain very good friends and are both committed to the safety and well-being of our two girls. He is the father of my children and I will always love and respect him as such. We wish each other nothing but happiness and success.

It must be weird to announce your divorce in a way that sounds more like a press release. If anything ever happened between me and my husband, I’d probably be crying to my family for a solid year 40 years, surrounded by ice cream containers and wine bottles. But this is what happens when you put so much of yourself out there. Your profession will suffer by keeping it all in and pretending everything is fine, yet you also don’t want to be an example of a woman who can’t function, or grows extremely bitter, when a massive life change happens. If something bad were to happen, would I want to document my life as a changing single woman, or would I want to overly emote my negative feelings for people to hear? Regardless, you have to be honest with your readers. Because a successful blog’s readers are like extended family.

Blogger Maggie Mason over at mightygirl.com discussed her divorce with her husband Bryan in a different way.

While being open, she wrote about how shocked she was over the support of her readers. As she put it:

Divorce has affected so many of us, it’s a cultural raw spot. It can be easy to confuse the pain of someone touching an open wound with the pain of someone inflicting a fresh one. I expected some hurt, and even rage, to pepper the support here. In fact, I thought it was inevitable. So I braced myself before I hit post, and walked away for a few hours. The kindness I returned to was humbling.

When she originally announced the tough news in February of 2011, a reader named Kate stated that “You’ve given us so much, please let us know what we can give you.”

In a later post, after the paperwork was filled out, Maggie used her readers to get advice and insight on when things would fall back into place. It’s a respectful move that shows she truly appreciates the love and support, and is strong enough to admit that while she’s the writer, she doesn’t necessarily have all the research done yet.

The infamous MckMama, popular among parenting sites, faced a different reaction after a few inconsistencies and questionable parenting techniques (numerous tweets and pictures of her nearly dying son, followed by a vacation with her husband afterward). While openly discussing issues with domestic violence between her and her husband, she signed up for a Focus on the Family gathering with him that offers photo opportunities.

So, things were a little bit twisted based on inconsistencies and red flags within her blog.

Granted, I feel for her. Domestic violence is a serious issue, and if the divorce was caused based on unhealthy behavior, I’m happy she was able to leave the situation. Unfortunately, after being called out for all of the above, as well as plagiarism, her blog is currently shut down (yet her Twitter account remains).

“She blogged last night about being heartbroken. Then it was all ‘check out these great shoe deals’ then ‘my husband left his family’,” a forum member on TheNest said about the situation. “She is grating.”

Another commented that “She used to have a pretty big name in the mommy blogging world.  She was very well known and lied to a lot of people.”

Melissa Summers from Suburban Bliss has been blogging since 2003, and her mom-related blogs gave her some coverage in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit News and Free Press. But based on her pending divorce, she’s passworded the blog and privatized her Twitter. In fact, it seems like talking on the Internet has been making the process even more complicated.

“Melissa Summers is a writer living just outside Detroit with two underage people she is not allowed to mention due to court order (that’s a whole other story),” her about.me page states.

The post Stay Together For The Blog: Coping When Your Favorite Blogger Gets Divorced appeared first on HelloGiggles.

The next thing that is going to happen is that you will probably end up moving back home. After a few weeks or a month, you figure you’ll have to get your hands a little bit dirty, because you need the money to get out of the small town you are from and you haven’t exactly had a lot of luck with finding a “real” job. You will find out what it’s like to wait tables for ten hours straight with no breaks. You’ll take a lousy job as the receptionist for Haircuts 4 Less. You might witness your friends finding jobs right away, because life’s a cruel bitch, and some of these friends will move to New York or LA to pursue their dreams. They might make it, they might not. Don’t worry about it, because now is the time to focus on YOU. You’ll live off your tips and be super surprised at how minuscule your pay checks are after all those grueling hours.

You will slowly learn how to do adult-like things by imitation. You will find complex recipes on Pinterest and totally botch them. You’ll purchase grown-up clothes at Forever 21 only to find a gaping hole in your armpit at the end of the day. You will send out dozens of emotionally void resumes and cover letters to companies that you feel you are a perfect fit for and not hear back from them. Not even a “no thank you”. You will leave interviews feeling productively wrecked. You will try to play house with that cute guy you’ve been seeing off and on, but then realize he’s going nowhere in life and there’s no f**king way he’s going to drag you down with him. You’ll let your dishes pile up. You will consider it a great accomplishment when you actually check your mail and clean out your overflowing inbox. College grads, you will question your bachelor’s degree and its worth.

This horrible self-doubt will not last forever, I promise. Because you are unstoppable. You have the energy of a hundred suns (especially after that third cup of coffee) and you are convinced you will prevail against all odds: the crappy economy, your dwindling graduation money, the worried look your parents have on their face at all times. So you apply to grad school. You re-vamp your resume and become a job applying machine. You land an interview within the week and you nail it. You get the job and you take it, even though it only pays you ten dollars an hour.  But you can work with that because you know this is only the beginning. You’ll earn that raise within a year and you will undoubtedly move up within the company. And if you don’t, then you’ll find a new job. Because now you have more experience, more ink to put on that resume. What your degree has taught you is invaluable. It has taught you that you are able to juggle six classes, a radio show, friendships, a massive hangover, and still get straight A’s. It has taught you how to network. How to write that perfect e-mail. How to succeed in a difficult subject you are only taking because you need it to graduate. It has taught you how to pick friends and enemies. It has encouraged you to grow a backbone. Your college degree has taught you to persevere and you have done just that over these last few months. Bravo.

So what I’m saying here, is that life after college isn’t easy. You’re going to feel guilty, you will wonder whether you’re doing it right, whether you’re living up to your fullest potential and whether you’ll ever make it. You will start to think about whether you’ll ever get married, be able to afford a house and have kids. You’ll have these hyper-grown-up thoughts and freak out about them at least once a week.

The post A Commencement Speech; Or, What Happens In The College Afterlife appeared first on HelloGiggles.

This month on Learning Times, I go to Tutu’s and learn how to make a Gin Bramble. It’s not so hard and it tastes like summer!

The post Learning Times with Mary Beth: How to Make a Proper Cocktail appeared first on HelloGiggles.

Here are five things that you, as a fellow receptionist, can do to enjoy your day (while still being productive), and five things you can do for your receptionist if you’d like to help him or her celebrate.

1. Dress to Impress. Sure, you might be interacting with most people behind a phone line, but looking like a sassy professional will boost your self-esteem. I’m not suggesting wearing a prom dress to work, but find clothes that make you feel confident. Everyone has one piece of clothing that makes them feel special, professional, and in charge.

2. Take A Break From The Phones – Even Your Personal Phone – During Your Lunch Break. If you have an hour, or a half hour break, use it to go outside and take a breath of fresh air. Focus on yourself and the environment, and take a break from communication. Are there any parks nearby? Take a book, your e-reader, or your favorite magazine and just unwind. After all, it’s May – one of the most beautiful months of the year!

3. Get Creative When The Office Gets Slow. Every office has a few hours where things seem to slow down. Instead of surfing the internet, think about sketching a picture, writing some poetry, or just jotting down a funny anecdote or two that you overheard a coworker say. (I’ve drawn cartoons of my coworkers, which they at least pretend to enjoy.)

4. In The Words of Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle, Treat Yo Self. Sure, we all get a birthday. But we don’t all get a day that celebrates our profession. Use today as an excuse to reward yourself for a job well done. In order to avoid suffering Post-Receptionists-Day-Buyers-Remorse, think of something you’d like in the $20-$50 dollar range – maybe a handcrafted necklace on Etsy, or even a bouquet of flowers (yes, it’s fine to buy yourself flowers!) to be repurposed into home décor.

5. Compile A List of the Best Receptionist (And – Fine, Administrative Assistants. I’ll Include Them Too, Even Though They Already Had Their Day) Movies, and Plan A Mini-Marathon With Friends.

As almost every office has a Receptionist, there’s almost always a Receptionist in every movie that deals with the workplace. My favorites include Nina, from Office Space (“Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking. Just a moment!”) and Emily Blunt, as Miss Piggy’s Receptionist in The Muppets.

And here’s five things that you, the staff, could do to celebrate your particularly amazing receptionist:

6. Buy Them Coffee. Seriously. Remember that “staying optimistic at all times” thing I mentioned? That wouldn’t happen without coffee. For the record, I take mine black with three (or more) Splenda.

To be honest, coffee is such a nice gesture if you know your receptionist drinks it. If not, splurging for a soda at the machines is also a quick way to say you appreciate their presence in the work place.

7. If Things Are Busy, and Your Office Allows It, Pick Up A Phone Line to Lighten The Load. Receptionists can get nervous if multiple lines are ringing and they’re tied up. If other staff members are allowed to answer the phone, take a call if you can. (It sounds minor, but it’s often very much appreciated.)

8. Offer To Buy Lunch. If you’re making a trip to Panera Bread, let your receptionist know that his or her meal is on you. (I chose Panera Bread solely because I’m kind of craving soup in a bread bowl right now. Also, every sandwich they have there.) You don’t necessarily need to take her out to lunch – especially if you aren’t very close friends or work associates – but the offer will make her feel completely appreciated.

9. Crack A Joke, Or Make Conversation. I, personally, value work friends in the office. Not only do they make the day go by faster, but they make you look forward to work. I’m a huge fan of office pools (despite losing miserably with my basketball bracket this year) and minor pranks (I’m prank-called often.) If you never really got to know your receptionist, take some time to see what they’re like. In slower offices, they might be completely bored, and could appreciate the company.

If you’re already on great terms, acknowledge the day. It may not seem like much, but just a “Happy Receptionist’s Day!” will remind her that her job makes a difference.

And Finally,

10. Buy Them More Coffee.  Seriously.

(Ahem.)

10. Office-Wide Cards Are Never Lame. At a past job I had, cards were always circulated when someone was ill. It was a great show of support, but I always thought it’d be great if cards were also circulated when something great happened. For some, this might be a heck of a lot of cards. But unless birthdays are a big deal at the office, or your receptionist is expecting a child, this might be the only card they’ll get. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t smile over the fact that a Hallmark greeting was circulated throughout the entire office just for them. And to be honest, I don’t want to know anyone who wouldn’t smile over such a thoughtful action. (I mean, who hates people rallying together for their happiness?!)

So, friends – Show your receptionist some love today. Their job is much harder than it looks. And fellow receptionists, take a deep breath – it’s your day!

Featured image via Shutterstock

The post It’s National Receptionists Day! appeared first on HelloGiggles.