Hey APW!
Maddie here! It’s Rosh Hashanah as I’m writing this (though not as you’re reading this. Well it is the second day to get technical, well, never mind), which means I have the pleasure of taking over Happy Hour while Meg observes the holiday with her family. As for me, this week went by super fast, and I look forward to spending my weekend (well, Sunday. Hey APW wedding tomorrow!) catching up on Pretty Little Liars and Project Runway (which is wicked dramatic this season, right?) with a glass of wine. I hope you get to do a little of the same yourselves.
But for now, it’s your open thread. So hop on it!
Cheers,
Maddie
Highlights of APW This Week
Motherhood has taught Meg that life is short, so you may as well make it good for yourself and look cute doing it.
Some amazing readers helped us get pumped for National Donate Your Hair Day which is this Saturday! If you’re taking part by filming your donation, don’t forget to upload your video to Twitter and Vine tagging @Pantene and @PracticalWed, using the hashtag #BeautifulLengths!
This post about how a marriage can benefit from both parties thinking the other’s job is more difficult totally blew my mind and made me excited for our one-day plan of having Michael stay at home with our kids.
Rachel examines the teamification of women and why it’s total bullshit.
We don’t talk often enough about the ways to honor our moms at our weddings. But this Ask Team Practical is chock full of good ideas.
Around The Web
The Toast had a great conversation about Twenties, a new show written by Lena Waithe which is hilarious but has yet to find a network, and why we need to see our own reflections in popular culture.
The New York Times talks situational name users (those who take their partners’ last names but still use their birth names professionally).
There have been a lot of “Blurred Lines” parodies floating around, but this sex-positive take by Seattle boylesque group Mod Carousel is easily the best I’ve seen yet. (Associate Editor Emily ended up Googling boylesque as a result, and found an article in the NYT that had the greatest two sentences ever: “Audiences go crazy for glittered nipples,” he told them. “The hipsters can’t handle it.”)
Elisabeth submitted this article from Salon about a woman who felt ready to be married but not quite ready to take on the four-letter word. (Wife, that is.) Rachel countered with an article later in the week promising that the word “wife” won’t bite. (Our staff emails are the bestest.)
From Lucy: on the nerd circuit, XOJane gets down to the controversy about the Penny Arcade Expo by explaining what Dickwolves are and how it plays into rape culture while Elizabeth Sampart urges everyone to quit going to PAX already. The controversy, as well as Penny Arcade’s eventual apology, bring up lots of the issues surrounding feminism and gaming culture.
A post on The Billfold this week asked people what they spent on the last wedding gift they gave, and some of the comments are so sweet they very nearly make up for last week’s Times article about people who are still angry about the wedding gifts they never received. Like this one: “My friend’s little brother gives everyone an ice cream scoop as a wedding present, regardless of whether or not it’s on their registry. His line of thinking is that people are usually happy and celebrating when they eat ice cream, and he wants to be a part of these happy moments and milestones.” BRILLIANT. File away for your next registry shopping occasion.
