These sweet crystals, made from sugar cookie dough and topped with royal icing, are the ultimate rock collection—beautiful, colorful, and totally delicious. As a professional cookie decorator, dreaming up unique designs with a hint of realism is my favorite part of the baking process. These edible gems also embody the whimsy of natural shape and pattern, so don’t be intimidated—the process embraces imperfection, making them the perfect project for a first-time cookie decorator. Give them as gifts, add playfulness to any party platter, or use them...

When I remember my mother, I remember Galentine’s Day – colorful fizzy cocktails and baskets of butterfingers, old rom-coms and upbeat pop music, commiserating about failed relationships and revealing our latest romantic endeavors.  Galentine’s Day, which began as a fictional holiday in an episode of the TV sitcom Parks and Recreation, is now widely recognized as a day to celebrate platonic love and female friendship.  Before my mom died in 2019, we celebrated it together every year. The first time we celebrated was after my parents...

This is the Tweet that started it all:    every noom ad is like “we’re NOT a diet. we’re an eating disorder :)” — big red (@spalinabean) January 25, 2022   Last week, Noom, a fitness and weight loss app that caters to over 45 million people worldwide, came under fire on Twitter for its false advertising as a weight loss app that is apparently “above diet culture.” Since its founding in 2008, Noom has distinctly differentiated itself from other weight loss apps by claiming to create “behavioral changes” in users’...

A few years ago, I had just started grad school and found myself in need of a workout routine. The pandemic had recently shut down my university, and along with my fellow graduate students, I was tasked with learning to both teach and study entirely online. I was staring at a computer screen for twelve hours out of the day – the rest of the time was spent consuming any and all coverage of the pandemic, searching for good news. Meanwhile, my body was shouldering...

Breaking up is always hard to do. But divorce—with its negotiations and financial pitfalls—is a whole other level. Here, N.Y.C.-based divorce lawyer Jacqueline Newman provides a crash course in setting yourself up for post-marital success, from navigating common legal issues to finding the right attorney for you. By Jacqueline Newman As crazy as this may sound, I love being a divorce attorney (which is good, because I have been doing it for over 20 years). People often ask, “Isn’t it depressing, seeing marriages fall apart all the...

Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, founder of the 'A-Sham' food festival Breaking Bread, Beth Elise Hawk’s directorial debut, is a stunning documentary on Israeli and Arab chefs working together for a food festival that gives us a rare portrait of friendship and togetherness in the Middle East. The hour and a half long film, which was selected to premiere at over 65 film festivals, is out in theaters on February 4, 2022.  Israel has been a hotbed of war and violence for decades. Since the British declared it a “Jewish...

Lunar New Year, celebrated by many East Asian countries, is an occasion honoring a fresh start based on the moon cycle. Here, an expert walks us through her rituals and traditions—from haircuts to dumplings—along with ways everyone can help ring in the holiday with a powerful roar. By Jennifer Chen   Lunar New Year is a special holiday that I look forward to every year. And I love sharing what my traditions mean with non-Asian folks to both demystify this amazing annual festival and help them understand what...

Whether you want a clear head at your holiday fête or are making resolutions for a dry January, there are plenty of reasons to skip the tippling this season. But really, you don’t need to justify not drinking to anyone. Thankfully, the growing interest in booze-free imbibing means there’s a new crop of spiritless spirits delivering complex flavors and inspired mixers for sipping and celebrating while still promising hangover-free mornings. Here’s the lowdown on a few women-owned favorites. – STEPHANIE GANZ GHIA ($33 for 528ml, drinkghia.com) Aperol-lovers will...

For many of us, especially in marginalized communities, functioning in a state of chronic stress feels like the norm. Fortunately, there’s a powerful, calming tool within our bodies, one that we often take for granted: breath. Breathwork—an active meditation practice—refers to intentional, deep-breathing techniques that deactivate the body’s fight-or-flight response to stress while stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with the body’s calm “rest-and-digest” response. According to Jasmine Marie, an Atlanta-based breathwork practitioner and the founder and CEO of black girls breathing—an organization that...

  Aaaaaaaannnndd in the blink of an eye, 2021 is over. Thank god. Last year was a bit of a rollercoaster, to say the least. If your resolution from this past year never came to fruition, you're not to blame. Still, when considering potential methods of self-improvement to tackle in 2022, it’s crucial to be kind to yourself. A New Year’s resolution is supposed to be a goal that can be worked towards throughout the incoming year for the sake of putting yourself on a more...