Carrie Saum

I didn’t realize I was a polarizing person until my late 20s. I was raised in a tradition where being liked was extremely important — pivotal, even.

I LOVE brunch. I love brunch more than I love most humans/animals/home renovation shows. It will come as no surprise when I tell you that I revere brunch like many people revere Lady Gaga and The Big Lebowski and Christmas. Brunch is a Big Deal for me — I take it seriously.

The shame was overwhelming. Why was my body broken? What had I done to my baby? I began to spiral into self-loathing. Gestational diabetes felt like a failure.

The great thing is you can use basically any regular substitutions and this will still taste amazing. I literally eat this with a spoon, and because it’s egg-free, I feel no shame. Okay, I don’t feel any shame when I bust into a tub of regular cookie dough, either. I’m just trying to do my fair share to keep you from getting salmonella.

Every now and then, I produce something in my kitchen that actually blows my own mind. Heaven in your mouth - white chocolate cranberry cookie fudge!

I understood in no uncertain terms because of purity culture that having sex outside of marriage was the worst thing I could do as a young woman.

You don’t have to do it all in order to have a fun or memorable holiday season. Just do the things that bring you life and make your soul sparkle a little.

Friends. I have discovered something magical.

Last year, Ashton Kutcher tweeted about the Teal Pumpkin Project for Halloween. The food allergy community lost its damn mind in the best way.

This is the season where we Pumpkin Spice ALL the things. Pumpkin spice lattes? Check. Pumpkin spice chocolate? Check. Muffins, cake, cookies, scones, sodas, and Cheerios? CHECK. If scientists could figure out how to pumpkin spice newborn babies and puppies, I'm sure they would because we are crazy about All Things Pumpkin Spice.