Claire Hopple

It's a new year! But it's the same old story with you and your lover, er, I mean, your phone.

If you want to burn off your hair, possibly several limbs and maybe even your entire yard, then by all means, fire up that completely frozen bird. But if you’d rather play it safe, follow these simple tips:

Sure, happiness is too abstract a concept to measure perfectly, and it’s safe to say that a serious case of the Mondays can find you no matter what poorly drawn boundaries you’ve planted yourself within. Still, an environment can make a significant impact on your overall mood.

Though most associate this blessed occasion with Frank Costanza boisterously shouting “A Festivus for the rest of us!” and attempting to wrestle his own son to the ground, Festivus has an even richer history than you might imagine. The list of Festivus supporters is continually growing and the event’s practices are evolving at a rapid clip.

It’s not that you don’t love the people calling you (unless you’re solely receiving spam calls), it’s just that you’d rather be with them. You think that the phone can’t replace seeing their faces, experiencing their presence in all the dimensions currently available to humans. And sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) you just need time to recharge by yourself. Why does that feel so wrong sometimes?

In case you haven’t noticed, food elitism did not go out with the abolishment of the food pyramid. But before you call your broccoli a power-hungry classist, make sure you know your basic facts.

Just don’t do it. In fact, reading this is in direct opposition to the titular admonition above.

The year’s not over yet and already its bizarre occurrences and oddities are innumerable.

Good news: Festival season is upon us. Allow yourself to rock with the best of them by compiling your own crucial folk festival kit with these must-have items.

Hosting a dinner party on New Year’s Eve has never been easier or more accurate than with the following inspirational tablescape concepts