Maressa Brown

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I am a writer and occasional editor. My work has appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, First for WomenWoman's World, AOL, YourTango, and various other publications. Interests include holistic health and fitness, reading, pop culture, jewelry, summer, and cooking with lots of veggie and spices. I've lived in Chicago, Boston, London, L.A. and Manhattan and now reside in north NJ with my Jersey boy husband. In our free time, we frequent BYOB spots, buy overpriced produce (but it's so pretty!) at Whole Foods, and do bizarrely huge loads of laundry.


Sipping on:

Organic coffee with lots of almond milk and stevia

also find Maressa here:

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    A number of disturbing photos out of fast food restaurants have hit the web recently, and this latest one -- and the story attached to it -- is no less crazy. The pic was posted on Reddit by a user claiming to be an employee of the Five Guys burger joint chain and featured moldy lemons, along with a description that read, "My manager just forced me to serve these lemons so that we don't 'waste money.'" Whoa, right?

    Not only is that a really bold accusation, but if it's true, it's thoroughly worrisome -- not just to patrons of Five Guys, but to anyone who dines out at a restaurant that may be secretly attempting to cut corners in a dangerous way ... like by serving moldy foods, which can lead to serious health conditions.

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    Now that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's baby girl has made her big debut, there's only one major question weighing on everyone's mind: What will Kimye name their kiddo? The good news is that we have some major leads on the answer!

    Get all the details here:

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    She's gotta check into rehab, cuz apparently, he really is her disease. After several years now of what looked to us like toxic relationship highs and lows with ex Chris Brown, Rihanna is allegedly taking some time off from her Diamonds World Tour to check into a women's sex and love addiction program at Centers for Relationship and Sexual Recovery (CRSR) on Recovery Ranch, a Tennessee facility.

    A source tells U.K. magazine Grazia, "Rihanna is still desperately in love with Chris. It's like she's obsessed with him and, although he's told her it's over, she just can't get over him." So she ended up "talking it through with a psychotherapist," who recommended a "12-step program to get rid of her demons." Hence why she's reportedly off to CRSR, which is run like a standard substance abuse clinic.

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    As much effort as I put into getting "fit to wed," I've always thought this idea that a woman's wedding day is the peak of her beauty is ridiculous and so short-sighted. It kills me when I've heard women lament that they were so "skinny" on their wedding day and wish that they could be that size or that exact weight again. Really? Why can't we embrace that we age and give birth and our bodies continue to change, yet we're always gorgeous in new ways?

    At the same time, I totally understand how that gung-ho motivation for getting/staying fit can slip away after the Big Day. Getting married (all those people and all those photos for posterity -- agghh!) can turn the biggest couch potato into a total gym bunny. But that doesn't mean you can't continue to be fired up after the fact. Here, eight ways to stay on track after you've walked down the aisle ...

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    It doesn't have to be Father's Day to appreciate and celebrate the wise words our dads have passed along to us over the years. Or heck, the encouraging, wonderful wisdom other women's dads have passed on to their daughters. Take a recent open letter written by licensed clinical psychologist and daddy blogger Dr. Kelly Flanagan, which has gone fantastically viral for a brilliant reason. Not only is it a completely heartwarming plea from father to daughter, but it underlines a serious problem we have when it comes to love and relationships ... 

    In the letter, "A Daddy's Letter to His Little Girl (About Her Future Husband)," Dr. Flanagan explains that when he and his daughter's mom discovered that among the most popular searches in the world was "how to keep him interested," he was startled. He saw the countless articles about "how to be sexy and sexual, when to bring him a beer versus a sandwich, and the ways to make him feel smart and superior," and soon, he got angry.

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Are you actively teaching your kids to be smart about money?