I know I’ve told this story before, but my abusive ex refused to let me take birth control. I was on the pill until he found them in my purse.

I went to the Student Health Center—they were completely unhelpful, choosing to lecture me about the importance of safe sex (recommending condoms) instead of actually listening to my problem.

Then I went to Planned Parenthood. The Nurse Practitioner took one look at my fading bruises and stopped the exam. She called in the doctor. The doctor came in and simply asked me: “Are you ready to leave him?” When I denied that I was being abused, she didn’t argue with me. She just asked me what I needed. I said I need a birth control method that my boyfriend couldn’t detect. She recommended a few options and we decided on Depo.

When I told her that my boyfriend read my emails and listened to my phone messages and was known to follow me, she suggested to do the Depo injections at off hours when the clinic was normally closed. She made a note in my chart and instructed the front desk never to leave messages for me—instead, she programmed her personal cell phone number into my phone under the name “Nora”. She told me she would call me to schedule my appointments; she wouldn’t leave a message, but I should call her back when I was able to.

And that was it. No judgment. No lecture. She walked me to the door and told me to call her day or night if I needed anything. That she lived 5 blocks from campus and would come get me. That I wasn’t alone. That she just wanted me to be safe.

I never called her to come to my rescue. But I have no doubt that she would have come if I had called. She kept me on Depo for a year, giving me those monthly injections in secret, helping me prevent a desperately unwanted pregnancy.

I cannot thank Planned Parenthood enough for the work they do.

Buckle up, Sweets fans, 'cuz I'm about to show you the best gingerbread house creations in all of the interwebz - and you're going to want all of them.

(By Goodies By Anna)

Sugar glass windows, candy cane porch pillars, and teeny-tiny chocolate sunflower seed flowers. These are the things dream homes are made of, my friends.

Or maybe you're more of an urban high-rise type?

(Baker unknown)

FACT: Baby deer make the best doormen.

Or how about a spin on the open seas?

(Baker unknown)

In my mind, of course, the seas are made up of hot cocoa. MMMMM.

I've seen a couple of cookie vignettes before, but this one just blows me away:

(By Jeziba)

Look at that picture-perfect piping! And I love - LOVE - the tea light cut-out in the middle. Makes for such a gorgeous display.

Of course I had to include the gingerbread bakery, now, didn't I?

(Also by Goodies By Anna)

Check out the goodies in the windows! And the roof cresting on top is STUNNING. I assume it's made with royal icing, but to get it all installed without cracking? That's gotta be insanely hard.

Ok, time for a geeky side trip:

(By Debbie Ruff)

... to Hobbiton! (It's all about that round green door, am I right? Although I'm also loving the snow-covered trees.)

And for you Breaking Bad fans:

(By Sugarplum Cake Shop)

Ha! So many great details here, but my favorite has to be those yellow suits. Or the snowman in the DEA cap. Or the orange stripes on the RV.

And speaking of orange...

(By Paradox Pastry)

I am completely enamored with these colors - and that swirly chimney "smoke."

This gingerbread cottage looks straight out of Disney's Fantasyland:

(By Mary E. Found here)

Love.

See, now, I want to live in that cottage, but I want this one on my desk so I can stare at it all day:

(By Sassy Beautimus)

... right after I finish eating the roof.

And my very VERY favorite of hers:

(Also by Sassy Beautimus)

The girly squees are strong with this one.

Seriously, pastel rainbows and gingerbread brown are a match made in heaven.

And finally, the perfect traditional gingerbread house, with a heaping side of cozy goodness:

(Baker unknown. Anyone know?)

COZY GOODNESS, YOU GUYS.

So, who else is off to buy a gingerbread house kit now? :)

Want more? Then check out my previous gingerbread Sweets for 2009, 2010, and 2011!

Also, check out our Sunday Sweets Directory to see which bakers in your area have been featured here on Sweets!

United States

Germany

Chad

Equador

What does a week of groceries look like for you? Do you buy a lot of fruits, maybe some vegetables? Or, do you go for the frozen pizza and cookies? Peter Menzel photographed one week of groceries for families around the world. Traveling to places like Mexico, France, Chad, Mongolia, and more, he highlights the differences between the type and amount of food that is bought each week.  Some of the disparity is staggering, especially when comparing volume of food and nutritional value on a week to week basis.

Being from the US, I was not surprised at the amount of processed food I saw. In this photograph, there are very few fruits and vegetables. Compared with places like Turkey and India, whose diets are comprised of mostly fresh foods, it was kind of disgusting. Just think about how many preservatives and chemicals there are! Something that’s pretty consistent from country to country is the purchase of liquids each week. Sodas (especially Coca-Cola), juices, bottled water are all things that showed up in nearly every picture. The family in Germany includes several bottles of wine and beer, which doesn’t amount to that much over the week, but together seems significant.

Of course, this is just a snapshot of one family and not necessarily indicative of how an entire country eats. We don’t know the finer details of the subjects, like the city they live in or their socioeconomic status. But, it does point to some trends and cultural habits that exist. It also gives us a snapshot to how other people unlike us live, which is always a good thing to be aware of.

Mexico

Australia

France

Poland

Kuwait

Mongolia

India

Turkey

The post Peter Menzel Photographs What A Weeks Worth Of Groceries Looks Like Around The World appeared first on Beautiful/Decay Artist & Design.

It still feels about a thousand degrees down here in Florida, but apparently it's "Fall." You can tell because everything in the stores has suddenly turned into pumpkin-ized versions of themselves. Candles, coffee, beer, M&Ms, lip gloss... it's a marketing exec's Cinderella Story, only with longer Limited Time Offers.

Cakes are not immune to the Fall'ing trend, of course, but they're not pumpkin-flavored, they're pumpkin... er... shaped?

Well, let's just call them pumpkin "inspired."

Or possibly pumpkin "poop."

Maybe it's the pumpkin beer talking, but I find this cake particularly moving.
And a little blurry.

Hey, bakers, maybe if you just put a couple of little ones together...

Boops.
Never mind.

Just go back to that half-a-wheel thing:

I want to believe that thing on top is a flower - I do, I DO.

Hey look, it's the famous "It's Not Magma" Volcanoes of the Tomato Eggplant Isles!

(Oh, please, like YOU can resist blowing a good snot joke.)

The good news about all these pumpkin cake invaders, though, is that they're Portents of Things To Come. Spooky things. Halloweeny things. Things that look oddly like the melted face of the Kool-Aid guy:

"OH YEEEAH!!"

And I, for one, can't wait.

But I think maybe this guy can:

Thanks to Jenna H., Frances J., Ashley S., Jessica S., Currey M., Lana W., & Kim U. for the gourd clean fun.