FitSugar

Share Your Food Photos on YumSugar

Susannah Chen — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:24:28 PDT

Have you cooked, eaten, or spotted something mouthwatering recently? If so, then don't let anything hold you back from sharing it with the rest of us: we want to feast with our eyes too. On a recent trip to Chicago, I hit up one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Big Star, for some south-of-the-border sustenance and wound up ordering their queso fundido, a platter of melted, pungent, cheesy goodness.

Are you ready to share? We've got a group called Savory Sights, where you can upload mouthwatering images of foods and drinks you've made, consumed, or simply salivated over. Start showing us your photos now. There are lots of ways to participate, so read on to learn more.

Meet Kirbie: BellaSugarTV Host and Volunteer

PopSugar — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:00 PDT

Get to know Kirbie, host and reporter for BellaSugarTV. This bighearted Texan knows beauty better than anyone, and she knows that it all starts from the inside. Kirbie aspires to inspire, taking risks to pursue her dreams and helping others do the same thing. Check out Kirbie's video to learn more about her own inspirations - and to get a few encouraging tips on the way.

Want to live out your dream? Enter our Stand Out & Win contest - you could win $5,000 to fuel your passion and a chance to star in your very own profile on PopSugarTV.

Be sure to check out our other editor profiles and get to know PopSugar Editors Nancy and Allie.

Hysteria Director Tanya Wexler Talks Vibrators, Faking It, and Duck Sex

Tara Block — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:15 PDT

Don't be shy . . . It's time to talk sex toys! And Hysteria director Tanya Wexler is writing us a prescription for pleasure. Tanya's film - what she calls "the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to" - is in limited release and stars Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Rupert Everett. When working on a romantic comedy that centers around the invention of the vibrator, you end up with some entertaining and embarrassing situations along the way, and lucky for us, Tanya spilled all the hilariously dirty details. From teaming up with the film's partner Jimmyjane for a drive-by vibrator drop-off to a certain female Oscar-winner to trying unsuccessfully to get ducks to shag on command, Tanya was bursting with great stories from working on this very unconventional film. And while Tanya isn't ashamed to discuss the sexy subject matter of her latest film with us, the mother of four and her partner of 21 years did have a tricky challenge telling her preteen kids what her movie was about. (She eventually gave them the script and let them figure it out themselves!) Check out our interview with the fun-loving director now, and we dare you not to have a girl crush on her by the end!

TrèsSugar: What were some of the challenges to getting a movie made about vibrators?
Tanya Wexler: Getting the script right was tricky because if you just make a movie about the invention of the vibrator, it's actually a really short movie: you go "bzz" and it's done. And we had a kind of light romantic comedy. I say I made the vibrator movie you can bring your mom to. But some people wanted it to be raunchy or some people wanted it to be more serious and about feminism. People project a lot onto this movie of what they want, because there isn't a lot out there about vibrators and women's pleasure, and we still don't really deal with that topic very well, or we're overly antsy around it. And as a result, people have a lot of ideas of what the movie could and should be, and you can't please everyone. [laughs]

TS: Ha, good one.
TW: It's nonstop!

TS: Do you find sex toys inherently funny or something to be seriously celebrated?
TW: Yes!

TS: Both?
TW: Yes! Yes. I think they make me laugh, and I think that the inner kind of Beavis and Butt-head in all of us goes "[laugh]." You know, that inner 13-year-old, like, "Hahaha vibrator . . . " and yet they're awesome and fun.

TS: What shocked you the most when researching the movie?
TW: That ducks are the rapists of the bird world, and you'll see when you see the movie, because there's a little bit of questionable duck behavior - or awesome duck behavior - in the movie. It's totally a sidebar, but you cannot make ducks shag on command. I'm just saying.

TS: What about the whole history of hysteria being a medical condition?
TW: When I first heard the idea, I was like, "What do you mean it was invented in Victorian times?" I knew about hysteria, but the idea that the treatment was manual [British accent] massage deparaxism - which is what they called it - and, of course, the denial. The most shocking thing is the denial, that they didn't think it was sexual.

TS: Do you think they were really in denial?
TW: No, I don't think that some people were. My college roommate was with her high school boyfriend for two years and she had never had an orgasm. I think there's all kinds of denial, especially with women's sexuality. So the fact that there are young women today who haven't had an orgasm, whether self-induced - which is insane - or with a partner, then why wouldn't we think back then that women wouldn't know what orgasms were?

They would get a massage, and the doctor's saying, "Without a penis, this isn't sex, because sex is about procreation," so what is this? The best physical therapy you've ever had. So once you don't think of it as something other than what the doctor's supposed to do to cure your uncontrollable crying or uncontrollable laughter or whatever, then it's just an awesome muscle spasm. If you don't think women have their own inherent sexuality, then you're not thinking about it like that.

Keep reading for Tanya's thoughts on Fifty Shades and more!

FitSugar Instagram Challenge: Show Us What's in Your Gym Bag

Michele Foley — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:49:57 PDT

We're loving all the fit-related photos we see on the daily via the FitSugar Instagram account; now we're challenging you to show us what's in your gym bag! Grab your iPhone or Android, snap the contents of all the cool fitness gear stashed in your bag, and upload the pic to Instagram. Make sure to caption your photo with the hashtag #FitSugar; we'll grab our favorite shots from the upcoming week and share them with you here on the site. If you can't wait to see what pics readers are submitting, just search #FitSugar via the Instagram app.

Make sure to follow FitSugar on Instagram (username: FitSugar) for daily fitness inspiration and tips and to see what our own editors are hiding in their gym bags!

Sugar Inc. Is Looking For 34 Awesome People!

PopSugar — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:30:58 PDT

Sugar Inc. is thriving and growing every day, and we're seeking brilliant minds like yours to join us! We are looking for 34 talented and passionate people to join our 215-person commerce, original content, and global media company in our brand-new NYC office on Park Avenue, our giant new Los Angeles PopSugar Studios in Culver City, and our bustling headquarters in San Francisco.

Are you an Art Director ready to help make our brand even more stunning?
A beauty-obsessed editor ready to join our team as the BellaSugar Editor?
Or maybe you're an energetic Operations Engineer jazzed to help us scale our production platform?

Check out all our open positions on our Careers page, and drop us a line describing why you think you'd be the perfect fit for Sugar Inc.!

Meet Allie: PopSugar Editor and Media Guru

PopSugar — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:00:00 PDT

Allow us to introduce PopSugar Editor and media savant, Allie! In the second of our series of editor profiles, we get to know Allie's passions and inspirations - from gushing about celebrities and their cultural significance to satisfying her inner bookworm. She also shares tips on how to maintain a well-balanced media diet. Here's a hint: mix it up a little! Watch the video above to learn how Allie seizes the day.

What makes you stand out? Enter our Stand Out & Win contest - you could win $5,000 to fuel your passion and a chance to star in your very own profile on PopSugarTV.

If you haven't already, check out the profile of another PopSugar Editor, Nancy!

Pluots, Apriums, Plumcots, Apriplums: What's the Difference?

Sara Yoo — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:05:34 PDT

At farmers markets, vendors are just beginning to display normal-looking fruits with unusual names - pluots, plumcots, apriums, apriplums - that sound more like orbs of the astral variety than edible delights. So what are they anyway? Keep reading to find out.

Ice, Ice Baby: Creative and Healthy Ways to Use Your Ice Tray in the Kitchen

Michele Foley — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:06:43 PDT

Eating healthy is no easy feat - it usually requires a little more time in both planning and preparation. But did you know that a simple ice tray can make healthy living a breeze? From smarter snacking to a good-for-you breakfast, keep reading for creative and healthy ways to use your everyday ice tray.

Smoothies
A smoothie makes a healthy on-the-go breakfast, but sometimes life is so hectic, there isn't even time to turn the blender on. Save yourself a daily mess by freezing a batch of your favorite smoothie to use at a later date. When you're ready to enjoy, let cubes defrost in a cup overnight and grab it on your way out the next day. We're loving this recipe for make-ahead coconut green smoothie cups. You can also save time by freezing yogurt in ice trays and portioning those cubes into baggies with frozen fruit - just dump the contents into the blender whenever you're in the mood for a smoothie.

Homemade Healthy Treats
Skip sugary store-bought popsicles and ice-cream treats and make your own at home. When using fresh fruit, like in this recipe for homemade berry-banana popsicles, you don't even need to add sugar. Add a little protein (and good bacteria mix) by using Greek yogurt, like in our recipe for Summer berry and yogurt ice-tray pops.

See more creative and healthy ways to use ice trays after the break!

Meet Nancy: PopSugar Editor and Sandwich Connoisseur

PopSugar — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:00:00 PDT

In the first of our new series of editor profiles, we meet Nancy, executive editor of PopSugar Network. Nancy finds inspiration in the everyday, from the collective spirit of her editorial team to her nonstop sandwich savvy. Striving to live in the present, she's found a perfect balance between work and play - plus, she makes a mean Manhattan. Check out Nancy's video to learn more about what makes her stand out.

We want to hear about your passions too! Enter our Stand Out & Win contest - you could win $5,000 to fuel your passion and a chance to star in your very own profile on PopSugarTV.

OnSugar Blog: If the World Revolved Around Families . . .

OnSugar Blog — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:16:38 PDT

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and Jo Aaron is one of them. Here is one of the latest posts to her Mommy Brain blog.

While innocently looking for a restaurant suggestion online the other day, I stumbled across an anti-parent, anti-child blog entry that just annoyed me. It was an angry (and narrow-minded, in my opinion) piece about how awful it is when this particular person has to dine with families at his favorite restaurants. He/she literally suggested that families shouldn't be allowed to dine in restaurants at all, and most definitely not the ones that are any good.

Here are my guesses:

#1, this person is somewhere between 21-26.

#2, this person will have a completely different blog in about 5-10 years when he/she has kids of his/her own and realizes that going out for dinner is like parental heroin . . . you know, your fix is having someone else prepare and clean up your meal while all you have to do is watch the kids and make sure they don't drive the other patrons nuts. Because that's the easy part. Right.

So, while I get that I shouldn't be carting my kids off to the Pump Room for a 9PM Saturday night reservation, I don't think it's such a crime to have them enjoy a 5:30PM reservation at a local haunt regardless of how cool and trendy it is this week. Instead of digitally flicking this guy or gal off by replying to his/her post, instead I thought I'd make a list of all of the ways that the world would be a better place for those of us with kids . . . maybe this will drive it home:

If the world revolved around families, there would be no such thing as lines at the grocery store. Instead of spending 15 minutes telling our kids to stop touching everything in the checkout line, like candy, magazines, or batteries, we'd just breeze through the aisles, yell our credit card numbers out to the teller as we beelined to our cars. No fuss, no muss.
If the world revolved around families, there would be a Starbucks with dozens of drive-thru windows and on-duty baristas somewhere between my house and school.
If the world revolved around families, there would be TVs with DVD players and current Disney movies playing in every waiting room in the United States. This includes all airport terminals as well. And speaking of airports...
If the world revolved around families, there would be such a thing as teleportation like on Star Trek (yes, I'm a nerd), so that families would never, never, never, ever have to deal with air travel at all.
If the world revolved around families, no one with kids would ever have to go to the DMV, post office, or emergency room.

Keep reading for more of Jo Aaron's funny observations!