The best thing about it is that these are $250 cloth clutches just casually tossed in a basket like they're no big thing. Like, "You know, here's the cheap little clutches. We're practically giving these things away."

Thanks! He really has a chance at a good life with them, and we are all so hopeful.

Congrats to your sister. My brother-in-law and his wife are currently fostering with hope to adopt, and we are all watching this unfold. I really hope they get to keep the child (he is amazing and adorable) but they are in this wait and see "we don't know" holding pattern. The birth mom is a huge mess and routinely…

I wish it were a color! This is a magnificent gown in the shade of old bras. Boo.

"She went through a lot of undeserved shit and I'd like her to be happy."

Tipping is not done in Japan, and service is fine to excellent depending on where you are. Granted, the Japanese restaurant culture is very different than the States. There are a lot more tiny mom and pop diners that don't even really need waitstaff than there are huge restaurants with large numbers of front of house…

Not to nitpick, but she had to have been smoking (or otherwise ingesting) to test positive. A friend of mine works with a juvenile offender program in Travis County. Kids on the program have to be drug tested regularly and the "But I was just in a room with it I didn't smoke any I swear!" excuse was used ad nauseum in…

Don't get caught with it in a state without medical marijuana. We see this here in Texas all the time - person with medical mj card comes into Texas carrying, then when arrested is shocked just shocked they are being charged. Those cards don't mean anything in non-medical marijuana states. Just FYI. (This is just one…

So jealous over here! You are getting great suggestions. I would add to bring a warm jacket. Both times I have traveled to Europe in late May/early June I have ended up having to purchase a jacket. You would think I'd have learned the first time, but no.

That is so bad ass. Hopefully, her generation will move away from all this fucking obsession with weight. I have relatives who can diet talk for HOURS and that shit gets OLD.

Seconding Oil of Olay. I've used it since my teens, I'm in my 30's now, and I constantly get told how much younger I look. My paternal grandmother died in her late 80's with barely any wrinkles. When asked her secret, she always said, "Oil of Olay every morning and I stay out of the sun."

Therapy. And marrying someone who doesn't encourage the bullshit.

You are right on the nose. Do you have a good come-back? Because in the past when we've attempted to call her out she plays the innocent "god I was just asking a question!" routine.

Ha. She kind of is. And believe me, it took YEARS for me to get to this point. I used to have a lot of shame and embarrassment over not being able to keep up with the hipster Joneses, as it were. I don't give a shit anymore and I've stopped trying to make other people approve of me.

I know. It's so fucking classist. I'd love to live in central Austin, too, but I don't have family money propping up the purchase of any outrageously expensive and impractical real estate I might want to buy. Furthermore, I don't see the point in funneling all your income into purchasing in a specific area if you're…

I have a lot of people like the boyfriend in letter 3 in my life and it's really frustrating. One is my yoga obsessed sister who feels the need to judge every move I make when I am around her. The other is my 60-something year-old aunt who should freaking know better by now. I have finally come to the conclusion that…

You are not alone. And my husband just made fun of me for being both nerdy and gullible. :(

Cider is delicious but I can usually drink only one. Too sweet and sugary.

I think this is true for the Tom Haverford's of the world who really buy into the whole "aspirational branding" thing. There are more of those types than there are of the rest of us. The only aspirational material thing I want is a Michael Kors handbag and a lot of that is because I legitimately love the way they…

Preach! I'm a lefty in a deep red part of the state (I had to leave Austin because of my husband's career -sob-) and there are times when I day dream about picking up and leaving. My sister and her husband moved to Seattle and they LOVE IT there and it sounds so enticing - it's not hot, the schools are good, it's not…