Category Archive

Life

We launched as Offbeat Home in 2011, but it has become clear that the site is about much more. In 2013, we relaunched as Offbeat Home & Life, with an expanded focus on Relationships, Budget & Career, Travel, and Style. This is the category for the non-home/rest of life stuff!

We're letting ourselves get excited for Netflix's time-traveling Afro-Colombian witch show, Siempre Bruja

We’re cautiously excited for Netflix’s time-traveling Afro-Colombian witch show, Siempre Bruja

Netflix released a trailer for its upcoming drama, Siempre Bruja, which follows the story of Carmen, an Afro-Colombian slave and witch living in the colonial coastal settlement of Cartagena in 1646 who time travels to 2019 to avoid being burned at the stake as a witch. Netflix has had some hits and misses lately with representation, so I’m cautiously optimistic that they’ll handle the show featuring a darker skinned Afro-Colombian woman with care.

Individuation: stumbling toward emotional self-reliance

Maybe the most obvious way to talk about individuation is to say that, in the context of my marriage, if there was a bad feeling, I would look to my spouse to help me with it. Over the years, this mean that basically I held him at least partially responsible for my sense of well-being. Then, suddenly, my sense of well-being was very much my responsibility alone… and ultimately, it always was.

Microdosing pain: how to make things suck less, by sucking more

The truth of my anxiety is revealed: I invested all my time in building little walls all over the place to try to shelter myself from pain, but what I was actually doing was denying myself opportunities to learn and become more capable.

So what if I choose to expose myself to pain in small doses so that I can get better at managing it?

We nominate Hannah Gadsby to host an awards show

Hannah Gadsby should totally host an awards show

Have you seen comedian Hannah Gadsby’s standup special, Nanette, on Netflix yet? No? Hold that thought and give it a watch. I’ll wait. If you have seen it, you’ll know it’s GOOD. And Gadsby’s presenting gig at this week’s Emmy’s proved her cred yet again.

Here’s why this woman deserves to host an awards show…

things you can do to help get out the vote

6 things you can do to help encourage voting (especially with those young voters!)

It’s a tense time in the U.S. when key issues are being threatened. Women’s healthcare, marriage equality, the Affordable Care Act, gun laws, voting rights, and so much more are and will continue to be challenged. What do we need? Voters. When do we need them? Now.

Here are a few ways we can encourage voting in the midterms and make a habit of it after that…

We tested out press-on nails to see if they've gotten any better

We tested out press-on nails to see if they’ve gotten any better since the olde days

I recently saw an Instagram story where a non-beauty guru was telling us how easy it is for normal types like me to use press-on nails and have them last for more than a minute. This was news to me as the last time I wore DIY fake nails was for a wedding way back in 2004 when they lasted all of two hours, max. Surely they’ve gotten better since then, right? I decided to put them to the test.

coworker gifts for your office bestie, your work spouse, or your actually rad boss

Funny coworker gifts for your office bestie, your work spouse, or your actually rad boss

If you’re lucky, you find an ally at work: someone with whom you can commiserate and who makes the bad days better and the good days funnier. Your work bestie, your work spouse… you know the one. If you need to gift them something funny, here are a few ideas. From a “Didn’t kill anyone” award ribbon to surviving another meeting that could have been an email, these coworker gifts will make another day a good one. At least until tomorrow…

My work is going to an open office plan that I'll probably hate. How should I cope?

My work is going to an open office plan that I’ll probably hate. How should I cope?

My employer is seriously considering moving our staff from individual cubicles with five-foot high walls to an open office plan. I am a serious introvert, and this is unacceptable to me. I have panic attacks just thinking about it. If we end up in shared cubicles, though, what suggestions do people have (photos or links would be awesome!), that would create more privacy and comfort for me?