I think the difference is in those cultures, it's, well, cultural to bring money so you don't need to ask. Coming from a cross-cultural couple, it would have been equally rude to ask a non-American Aunt to buy a KitchenAid because its her gift, she can bring whatever the hell she wants to; it's the act of instructing…

The way I see it is you either need help physically setting up your household because living together doesn't somehow magically give you thousands of extra dollars to buy good towels, or you've already passed that stage in your life and don't really need the help and so shouldn't specifically ask for something. If a…

I kind of find the celebs who insist they don't diet or exercise may be kind of eating-disordery, like how my friends in high school and college who were bulimic or on a diet coke "diet" would go on and on about how FULL they were and HOW MUCH they ate last night, etc in an attempt to throw us off their trail. When I…

Meh, I dunno. My husband and I just finished grad school so we want to wait a couple years while we save up for a down-payment, but I have a bunch of middle-class friends (who live in expensive california metro areas) who are doing fine with their new babies. You just can't spend your money on booze and bullshit…

Thank you. I do not live a vegan or vegetarian "lifestyle" (barf) but the majority of my meals are non-meat, and a solid portion of those are non-animal-product for various reasons. I don't need to deal with the morality-olympics by declaring myself an official something.

"there are tons of adults who have a massive income and are happy to give money to support artists without expecting to get their freak on."

I understand all that - but stores like Old Navy have zero "cool cache". (I know, I shop there!) Why would such greedy capitalist entities like the Gap company just leave all that money on the table? If they're so worried about their "cool cache", why not start up a whole new brand to bring in the bucks? I am very…

That's what I'm saying - why *aren't* regular stores like Old Navy heavily promoting plus sizes? They're already sort of the people's clothing store, I can't imagine they would get some sort of brand damage from selling their clothes in larger sizes!

There must be a "bottom line" reason why these stores don't carry plus sizes. I mean, the brands listed above are not high fashion, they're all about maximizing profit. Old navy used to carry plus sizes in store; if that was a move that made them more money, I can't imagine them stopping just because they are…

I know, right? That doesn't include women who aspire to be doctors, lawyers, professors, elected officials, founders of their own company, etc - all "high-powered" jobs that don't fall into this category.

My husband and I straight up could not afford to have a baby in our 20s, when we were both grad students. As in, could not pay rent and childcare at the same time, even if we stopped eating. It's not like we were busy getting promoted to CEO or something - we're still trying to get the career going, yo!

awww this made me smile :) Your parents sound awesome.

My mom had me at 26, and she strongly encourages me to wait until I am 35. She felt she sacrificed a lot of career and personal freedoms that you can only have when you're young, and thinks parenting my brother, whom she had at 34, was much easier as she was a bit older and more patient. To each their own! The…

Never been pregnant, but a lot of my friends are/have been, and the level of public shaming for a coffee or a beer is ridiculous. Especially in the second and third trimesters, when you are more "obviously" pregs, in moderation these things are a non-issue as far as I understand.

There is so much reporting bias in the culture of women's fertility; we hear a lot about infertility struggles, but no one's going to write an article or blog about how they had no problem getting pregnant for the first time at 38. I agree that it's sometimes used as a weapon against ambitious women; I cannot tell you…

That's totally your right to value whatever you think is valuable. I honestly just have never understood the strong aversion people have towards others who have different values. I share your values - we choose to spend our money on travel vs things, again experiences over material items - but I give zero effs if my…

I didn't have an engagement ring, it was a non-issue. I got zero dirty looks, I think that's weird you would even think that would be a consequence. It's not like some rebellious counter-culture move, at least where I live and in my social circle (california liberal).

One could argue that after 200 of those $200 dinners all you'll have is the memory of some expensive bowel movements, but the owner of a ring will have an heirloom they can wear for the rest of their lives and pass on to relatives. I would chose to do neither with our hard-earned money, but I can totally understand…

That was the only sort-of bad thing about ours too: we had a "disappointing" engagement story. We think it's awesome though!

I like "mutual engagements" :) My husband and I have a similar story - I think it's super romantic - at least more so than trying to satisfy that creepy six-point checklist some other commenters have posted! Is he supposed to like drug his girlfriend and paint her nails or something?! Or maybe give her a forget-me-now?