Well... I have actually donated some Abercrombie stuff to Goodwill/Salvation Army. The homeless comment was ridiculous.

As for the sizing - most designer/boutique/brand sizes are much smaller than the mass-marketed basic brand stuff at Walmart, Target etc. Abercrombie's sizes aren't out of the norm on that one and they aren't outrageously small either. A&F has always been about selling a 'cool kids' brand though - from the store lighting/music/noxious-fragrance shopping experience to their advertising look and the models they use. Admittedly I used to wear a lot of it in my teens and early twenties. I still like some of their basics. They're nice clothes, well made (their vintagey sportswear/sweats in particular *are* amazing quality) and I like the fit.

The CEO is obviously a bit douchey, but it's probably the unspoken sentiment of a lot luxury brands, so it is what it is. A brand of clothing is just that - a brand. It's up to them to decide the styles, sizes, look. If you like it, buy it, if you don't, then don't. Same as bars with dress codes and velvet ropes. Yes, they'd probably make more money if they catered to every single demographic but the idea of 'exclusivity' is obviously making them a pretty penny. It's just a different business strategy.

If he offers to 'give up Lush', nothing stops him from dutifully deleting his current profile and creating another one without you knowing. If trust is an issue (and it obviously is here) then don't even think of getting too emotionally involved. Enjoy it for what it is (if you are enjoying it) and don't place expectations on it.

Ill go get some weed shall I? ;-)

Actually it was ecstasy that time...

Was it not weird the first time it was suggested? Or the first time you did it?

Maybe a little. I was pretty high though, the first time I did it.


As others have already said - it's about turning on the guy and feeling like a dirty girl. Not everything has to be reciprocal when it comes to sex, but I don't see why this shouldn't be.

I actually like the blue-check - it's clean and simple (and one of my fave shades of blue!). More importantly it also conveys a 'recommended read' to me without giving it the same level fanfare of a yellow ribbon. It shouldn't look on par with an EP award ribbon. It shouldn't be a medal or something too fancy that looks overtly similar to the EP, so for that reason I like the differential colour palette and simple design.

The red book icon is really cute but to be honest when it's up next to an EP ribbon it looks so similar it's hard to tell which one symbolizes the more important honour, especially to someone who is new to the site.

Just thought I'd throw my thoughts into the mix, as a person seeing them fresh. I wasn't involved in the original decision-making process but I was perfectly happy with the blue box when I saw it appear.

part of the issue here, is the personality. for some reason, people HATE Ms Jolie. they still blame her for 'breaking up America's perfect marriage of Brad and Jen'. I bet real money that, if Jennifer Aniston had come out and had the same thing done, people would be 100% behind her, but because it's Angie, it's a different reaction.

I totally agree and I just don't get it. I've always been Team Angelina. She does so much as far as Hollywood stars go with her UN humanitarian services, financial donations to various causes and disasters. She said once that she recognizes that she makes 'stupid amounts of money' for what she does and she's the first celeb to step up to the plate and dish out tens of millions of dollars for relief/charity causes and gets directly involved with her time and efforts. She raises her family quietly - tries to stay out of the general limelight. She is one of the few in Hollywood that will always get my total respect. If you look at this track record of what she's accomplished I don't understand how anyone can hate on her, other than just random jealousy.

So she broke up Brad and Jen. Big deal. That marriage was doomed way before Angelina showed up on the scene. If Jen hadn't been the uber-likeable golden girl from Friends, nobody would have cared either way.

Her mom died of cancer, but what was her mom's lifestyle? Did she smoke, have a bad diet?


Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, was an actress/model and seemed to lead a reasonably healthy lifestyle. She struggled with ovarian cancer for 8 yrs before she finally died at age 56. Angelina's grandmother died at 45. AND... she has the BRCA gene. That's a lot of things against her chances to remain cancer free for life. Sure she could have taken a 'wait and see' approach until she's actually got cancer cells growing within her and then go for rounds of chemo, hope to go into remission and continue to be hypervigilant if she manages to catch it early but the stressors that come with all that are very real.

There's also the chance of something going misdiagnosed - especially if she has dense fibrous breasts that make mammograms more difficult to read. At least this gives her some peace of mind and that can be worth a lot on its own - to not have to worry - to not have to contemplate the accuracy of mammograms or whether this year is "the year" that she'll need to have chemo and deal with a serious health battle. Sure, other health issues can arise in anyone - but, damn - 87% is a scary stat.

Obviously she's not suggesting women rush out to get this done just because there's breast cancer in the family. But hey - it's her choice to have it done. Christina Applegate did the same thing a few yrs ago but with less media fanfare than this. It's obviously a personal choice, just as any elective surgery is - whether it's for cosmetic of preventative health reasons. In Angie's case she's watched the agony of seeing family members die and doesn't want to put her own family through the same thing.

I'm surprised people have issues with it. It's not like this is a bill to force all women with BRCA or familial histories to do this - she made the choice and then shared it with the public. No big deal. I doubt women will be storming their surgeons' office to get the same thing done on a whim. We're not children - we can take responsibility for our lifestyles and choices, and yes, even those options that we maybe can't afford, without indulging victimized tantrum-throwing lapses of logic because of it.

I applaud her decision, I know it couldn't be easy to do something like that, but it makes a lot of sense. I have to say though, while it's the right decision for her, we shouldn't draw the conclusion that it's right for everyone. I mean, she's really wealthy, and therefore is thoroughly unconcerned with insurance coverage or the cost of treatment. But what about those of us who are? Besides the fact that I'm sure such a preventative procedure wouldn't be covered by most insurance policies, I wonder if getting tested for that gene might cause an insurance company to jack up the premium (or deny coverage altogether) if and when they find out you're positive for it.

Testing for the BRCA genes is extremely expensive right now because one company holds the patent on it - which is ridiculous. I get that they wanna make their due cash, but it's a potentially life-saving test that should be made available to more than just the uber rich. I believe it's currently in Supreme Court to have this changed. That would bring the testing costs way down and could become an option for insurance coverage.


Edit - this makes you appreciate when Banting sold the formula for insulin for $1 instead of cashing in on it by selling to one high bidder pharma company who could have then had a monopoly on it's production. He wanted it to be available to everyone who needed it. I wish philosophies like this were more of the norm when it comes to science and medicine.

I think she made a courageous decision. An 87% chance is extremely high and that gene mutation is very rare - even among familial high risk groups. I heard she's also planning to have her ovaries removed as well as a preventative precaution. Losing her mother when she was only in her '50's was really traumatic for her and I can totally understand her decision to be proactive in a case like this.

Might be a bit different for prostate cancer since it affects one's sex life etc. But Angie's obviously done with having her kids. And breasts and ovaries aren't going to make a difference to her quality of life. Why should she take that chance of something getting missed along the way when chances are abnormally high that she's going to develop this and then require chemo and other difficult treatments. Why have it playing in the back of your mind constantly? Taking your risk from 87% down to less than 5% makes all kinds of sense to me. I'd probably do the same.

I'm a big Angelina fan and her decision really just makes me even more impressed with her inner strength and life outlook.

It's up to you - nobody here is going to be able to tell you yes or no.

If he's doing it, I agree it's only fair if you get the same privileges.

I was friends with a couple that did this (although neither traveled as much as you're describing) - it was basically the no-tell policy for out-of-town fun. It started out well but blew up about a year later and they split. Inevitably she ended up having feelings for one of her fuck-buddies.

Every couple and every situation is different though. If you're in an open relationship (re him having his fun), then I don't see any legit argument about why you shouldn't get to do the same. If that's the question - then yeah, I think it's fair.

The rest of the matter on whether it will ultimately hurt the marriage or not is just rolling the dice. It's impossible to predict.

Pink bubblegum rolls on my tongue as I walk along the black asphalt that’s still steaming from the warm August rain. I can feel it wet along the edges of my toes as they push forward in my white stiletto sandals, the leather damp and just beginning to stretch. The moisture is everywhere and the humidity is high. It’s under my skin. The back of my neck is hot under the weight of my long...

Added 02 Jan 2013 | Category Hardcore | Votes 118 | Avg Score 4.99 | Views 25,629 | 81 Comments

“I thought we’d shake things up a little.” Megan watched her boyfriend produce the unassuming white letter-length envelope and lay it on the black laminate bar, nudging it her way. She watched his face for a telltale sign but his only response was to grin back at her and wink. “What is this?” she asked coyly, a slow smile spreading across her face. It had been five years to the date...

Added 14 Jun 2012 | Category Taboo | Votes 156 | Avg Score 4.96 | Views 21,694 | 82 Comments

Aidan Black stared at the online text that flashed up onto the screen. ‘I luv ur stories!’ He yawned, and took another sip of his Jack Daniels. He quickly typed a reply and then leaned back in his chair. ‘What do you like about them?’ He smiled at the long pause. All these fans are the same, he thought to himself. Innocent young girls that dream of being treated like dirty sluts...

Added 28 Oct 2011 | Category Reluctance | Votes 146 | Avg Score 5 | Views 40,869 | 96 Comments

Damon: I’ll bet you’ll get up to some trouble in Cabo.  I smirked at the text that flashed up on our chat-log from the computer screen. He was always teasing me. Ashleigh: No trouble. At least not the good kind of trouble. I’m going with my boyfriend don’t forget. There was a pause, and while I anticipated his next words, I took a sip of the vodka soda I was prone to drinking...

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I took a long sip of my dirty martini and leaned into the bar, staring resentfully down towards the end of it. My boyfriend of three years, Ryan, was still engaged in conversation, feeding his ego with clever banter. I noticed the familiar animated expressions, grand gestures, and overly enthused laughter that captivated the small crowd of people he was talking to. I sighed heavily, and...

Added 08 Jan 2011 | Category Hardcore | Votes 116 | Avg Score 4.98 | Views 41,048 | 66 Comments

“Have you ever had any… kinky fantasies?” I asked my boyfriend one day. We were lying in bed together one Sunday morning, still breathing hard from our last orgasms. The rain was coming down outside, and it was a perfect day to spend wrestling in the sheets, and enjoying the inherent laziness of the day.  Marc, my boyfriend of the past three years, rose up on one elbow. “Well, that...

Added 30 Apr 2010 | Category Taboo | Votes 144 | Avg Score 4.98 | Views 43,203 | 79 Comments

“I’m Kylie, and I’m a sex addict.” I tried not to cry. It would have made things exponentially more embarrassing than just standing in front of the room telling a group of strangers that I was basically a sexual deviant. I bit down on my lower lip instead, producing just enough sharp discomfort to keep the girly tears back. I couldn’t believe I had really committed to this. Of course, I...

Added 11 Jan 2011 | Category Group Sex | Votes 91 | Avg Score 4.99 | Views 43,134 | 57 Comments

“I’m Brooklyn, and… whatever… I guess I’m a sex addict.” I glared at the group of pathetic faces in the circle surrounding me. This is so fucking lame. Why did I sign up for this? It was bad enough that I’d had to endure public humiliation when the scandal broke, but being away from the city in this touchy feely rehab centre set my nerves more on edge than they did to soothe them, which...

Added 16 Jan 2011 | Category Anal | Votes 72 | Avg Score 4.98 | Views 31,008 | 43 Comments

“I’m Stacey, and I’m a sex addict.” I knew I wasn’t the only person in the room that was in denial over that statement even as it left my mouth. ‘Admit that you need help and recovery will come quicker and last longer’. I had to hold back my initial laughter as I’d read the mission statement that had been emblazoned on the front of our orientation binders at The Belleview Retreat for...

Added 05 Mar 2011 | Category Hardcore | Votes 102 | Avg Score 4.91 | Views 23,746 | 62 Comments

“Hi, I’m Rachel, and yeah… I guess you can call me a sex addict,” I giggled as I looked at the expectant faces surrounding me. I thought about that statement for a minute. Of course, I’d never called myself a sex addict out loud, but the idea of it sounded almost kind of sexy. Of course I knew I was supposed to be all serious standing there in the classroom at The Belleview Retreat for...

Added 01 Apr 2011 | Category Taboo | Votes 74 | Avg Score 4.87 | Views 14,881 | 47 Comments

All’s fair in love and lust. These eight short stories tell the tale of the modern girl’s desire to take a trip down the sexual rabbit hole at any cost. Reluctance, illicit trysts, revenge sex, alpha rogues, good girls gone bad, anal, rough sex and explicitly dirty encounters are just...

Told from the perspective of three different people in a sexually charged triangle, The Bitches in the Basement is an intensely explicit exploration of temptation, expectation and infidelity.Set against the status seeking backdrop of New York City, the three-storey brownstone on the Upper East Side...