BuzzSugar

Did You Ever Get Into the American Girl Series?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:00:37 PDT

I've already declared my love of the American Girl books, which I enjoyed mostly because they incorporated interesting historical stuff into stories about girls who - aside from the differences in time periods - were just girls like me and my friends. Now, even though I'm an adult with no kids, I'm excited to see the adorable Abigail Breslin play Kit Kittredge in the movie adaptation heading to theaters just in time for the 4th of July.

Not only did I love the books, but I was the ecstatic recipient of a Kirsten doll at one point. My friend's mother even sewed us pajamas that matched our dolls (the white nightgown for me and Kirsten, the red-and-white striped two-piece PJs for my friend and her Molly doll). At that time, there were only three girls to learn about: Kirsten, Molly and Samantha. Now there are tons! And customizable dolls, too. It's crazy to think how far the American Girls have come over the years.

Was the American Girl series a part of your childhood, too?

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First American Girl Feature Film: Kit Kittredge

BuzzSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:34:05 PST

I don't know about you, but before I was all about The Babysitters Club I couldn't get enough of the American Girl book series. Of course, these days there is all sorts of American Girl stuff to accompany the stories, and there are way more than just the basic five or six characters I grew up with.

With fond American Girl memories in mind, I recently watched the trailer for the first American Girl feature film: Kit Kittredge, with Abigail Breslin in the starring role. Kit Kittredge is a Depression-era American Girl with (what else?) a go-getter attitude and a fierce determination to become a great journalist. With a supporting cast that includes Joan Cusack, Stanley Tucci, Chris O'Donnell and Jane Krakowski, I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing this movie.

Kit Kittredge arrives in theaters July 2, so to check out the trailer,

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A History of Shacking Up in America

Annie Scudder — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:45:36 PDT

"He's using you for practice," Peggy Olson's Catholic mother warns this week on Mad Men. Mrs. Olson isn't too pleased that her working-girl daughter has decided to "live in sin," as the elder Olson describes it, with her boyfriend Abe. Modern American women with traditional parents may find the disapproval over moving in together familiar, but compared to the 1960s, society in general has become much more accepting of cohabitation.

In 1960, only 439,000 American couples lived together without a ring. After the sexual revolution of the '60s it only rose to 523,000 in 1970. Yet by 1980 the figure tripled to 1.5 million couples, according to the census. Today, 7.5 million unmarried American couples live together. Those very different figures give context as to why someone like Joan would call Peggy "brave," but also consider that before 1970, cohabitation was technically illegal. Today, Mississippi, Virginia, Florida, and Michigan still have laws on the books, but they're rarely enforced.

Despite her rebellious ways, we still see Peggy adopting some of the habits of a homemaker on Mad Men. Dressed in an apron, she makes a ham for Abe, his favorite. She even has a portrait of John F. Kennedy hanging in her home, just like her mom. But back then, couples who lived together weren't necessarily on their way to marriage. In the 1960s and '70s the minority of couples who "shacked up" saw it as a progressive statement against marriage and viewed living together an end in itself.

Today, it's often regarded as a step toward marriage; the higher divorce rate may explain the desire to test things out first. In 2002, the National Survey of Family Growth found that 65 percent of unmarried couples who lived together in fact got married within five years. So as cohabitation becomes mainstream in America, many of those couples still see a trip down the aisle as their path toward happily ever after. They'll just practice, often with each other, first.

Photo courtesy of AMC

Link Time - Why You and Your Guy Should Adopt a Puppy

Annie Scudder — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:40:31 PDT

7 reasons to adopt a puppy with your partner - YourTango
10 things to love about Spring - CollegeCandy
The 22 books every woman needs to read - TheFrisky
Tips for strengthening your relationship - Betty Confidential
Girls pose with their American Girl lookalikes - Huffington Post
Not your average wedding photos - theBERRY
Fifty Shades of Grey gets a movie deal - BuzzSugar
The top reasons Don Draper would make a terrible boyfriend - Em & Lo
Jennifer Lawrence is not too "big boned" to play Katniss Everdeen - The Jane Dough
Seven deadly sins of the 1960s - Good Men Project

10 Things You're Better Off Buying Used

Business Insider — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:15:40 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Business Insider story here on Savvy!

It's no secret consumers have less cash to burn these days than ever before, but there are plenty of ways to save that don't require diving headfirst into a sales bin.

For some products, there's just no point paying full-price when you can find the same quality in a second-hand or used product.

Pets

Dropping hundreds of dollars for a new pet seems almost criminal when you get down to the cold, hard facts. There are thousands of shelters in the U.S. and sadly, between 3 million and 4 million of the cuddly critters that wander into their doors each year are eventually euthanized, according to ASPCA. While you're likely to encounter more mutts than anything, those of you who won't settle for less than purebreds are in luck. About a quarter of all shelter animals are purebred.

Textbooks

Textbooks can cost upwards of $200 for some science courses and for a pre-medical student with a full class schedule that could mean dropping up to a grand on reading material - per semester. For that, we compiled the ultimate guide to scoring deals on textbooks. Not only can you snap up used books at a fraction of the retail value but you can rent them as well.

Read on for more items you can buy used.

Octavia Spencer Calls Her Oscar Win "Fan-Effing-Tastic"

Becky Kirsch — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:11:07 PST

Octavia Spencer completed her award season sweep with the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in The Help. After giving a very teary speech on stage, Spencer dried her eyes and cracked jokes back in the press room. She talked about how humbled she is by her win, her deep love and respect for her cast mates, and why you can't take yourself too seriously in showbiz.

On the tone of the film: We wanted to make the movie that Kathryn Stockett had envisioned when she wrote the book. I don't think there's anything lighthearted abut the civil rights movement, but if you can have a laugh every other 10 minutes while you watch the struggle, then I have no problem with it.

On her upcoming plans: Tonight I am going to find my cast mates and I'm actually going to have a quarter of a glass of champagne and hang out. I think we all start projects within the next couple of days, but I'm just gonna live in this moment because lord knows it's never gonna happen again.

On what the cast meant to her: It's very rare that you have the type of ensemble that we had. You don't get all the Academy Award nominees and winners coming together to do a project. And then you have the collaboration of Academy Award nominees behind the scenes. We just left our egos at the door and worked together as one beautiful unit. It was an award-winning cast. So to be a part of that, and to just sort of dissolve into the world that we were representing is something that we're supposed to do as actors, but it was rare that we did it without judgment of each other.

On her love affair with The Help: The word I want to use, I can't. I want to say fan-effing-tastic. But we'll leave the "effing" out. Fantastic. It is humbling, the love affair I have with The Help. I'm a benefactor of all of the riches that the real life Minnys, Aibileens, Cosntantines, Skeeters, that they basically reaped. And so I am very humbled because I get to stand here and accept this award and I haven't really done anything.

On what she was feeling at the moment she won and advice: Really and truly I was just trying not to fall down. This is one of those evenings in my life that I'll never forget. I hope it's the hallmark for more aspiring actresses of color, and by color I don't just mean African American. I hope that in some way I can be some sort of beacon of hope. Especially because I am not the typical Hollywood beauty.

On her advice for aspiring actresses: Get a great designer because you don't know if you're gonna be on TV or not. I think that you have to believe in yourself, and you have to work very hard. You can't think that you're the best thing that sliced bread, because there are going to be Viola Davises, Jessica Chastains, Emma Stones, who are the best things since sliced bread. Take it seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously.

On her dream role: I don't have one role that I want to play. I guess I want to be a producer. I want be an activist. I want to be proactive in bringing about work for men, women, boys, girls, that are good at what they do and deserve a shot at it. I want to have a presence behind the scenes and in front of the camera. I want to be a jack of all trades and hopefully decent at one of them.

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 23:59:00 PST

7:00 Oscars Red Carpet (live)
8:30 84th Academy Awards (live)
12:05 Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards (new, with guests Billy Crystal, Oprah Winfrey, and Coldplay)
8:00 The Amazing Race (new)
9:00 The Mentalist (repeat)
10:00 CSI: Miami (repeat)

8:00 The Simpsons (repeat)
8:30 Napoleon Dynamite (repeat)
9:00 Family Guy (repeat)
9:30 American Dad! (repeat)

8:00 Celebrity Apprentice (repeat)
9:00 Celebrity Apprentice (new)

Anna Kendrick and Bryan Cranston to Get Jobs Together

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:40:57 PST

Find out about the movie Anna Kendrick and Bryan Cranston are in talks for - NextMovie
100 of Chuck Bass's best quotes on Gossip Girl - BuddyTV
Check out some photos from American Reunion - Rotten Tomatoes
See which book Selena Gomez is going to adapt and star in - Moviefone
Take a peek at Billie Joe Armstrong's appearance on Nurse Jackie - The Hollywood Reporter
Hear what Kiefer Sutherland has to say about the 24 movie - HuffPostTV
Here's the hot young actor headed to True Blood - Zap2It
Get the details on Ben Stiller's new HBO series - /Film
A brief history of cross-dressing in movies - TrèsSugar

Announcing the Winners of the 2012 People's Choice Awards!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:52:17 PST

The people have spoken! The People's Choice Awards have all been handed out after fans voted for their favorites in categories for movies, TV, and music. It was no surprise that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was a big winner since it was the last chance for the wizarding series, and vampires from both the big and small screens also got their chance to come onstage. The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev won for favorite TV drama actress, and though Robert Pattinson may have lost favorite movie actor, he accepted the award for Water for Elephants for favorite drama.

See who else won in the full list of the winners after the jump.

Sugar Shout Out: Plant-Based Meals For Your Week Ahead

Kimberly Timlick — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:55:58 PST