It seems like just yesterday that I was anxiously twirling around in pink tights and a princess crown through some dirty frat house with my best friend Fiona dancing to “Everybody Dance Now,” eating chocolate mousse cake, and throwing my Steve Maddens at the boy who I didn’t know at the time would soon become my boyfriend, all in the name of my 20th birthday.

And now, a year has nearly passed, and I am about to turn the big 2-1. It is the day I can not only legally buy alcohol, but the day that all college students look forward to as their last passage into adulthood on campus (at least before senior year). It is the day that I can no longer get sent to student conduct council for underage drinking. The day I can walk up to the bar and order a mojito, legally. I no longer will have to worry about being carded when trying to order a drink somewhere. The day that I turn into a real adult – whatever that means – as decided by the world.

But really, how do I spend this occasion?

In my dream world, I would hire Girl Talk to do live mash-ups of Elton John, Britney Spears, and Guns N Roses while I dance alongside my best friends in dresses that aren’t just from H&M and Forever 21 in some sparkly New York City bar where we throw back pink cocktails in between cupcakes. But I don’t live in a dream world. In fact, I live in Roanoke, Virginia – which is as far from my dream world as I can get for my birthday, especially since there isn’t even a Forever21 of H&M for 60+ miles.

Although the reality of my 21st birthday may not sparkle in a New York City kinda way (however, my nails probably will in a cheap-nailpolish-glittery-concoction type of way), I am not going to let that stop me from having one of the best nights of my college experience. The question of how to do it, though – and not just do it, but do it well – plagues me. Read More »

I’m sure most of you have heard of the Stanley Kurbick classic cult film A Clockwork Orange, but I bet you didn’t know that the movie is actually based on a book of the same name! And that this book happens to be a million times better than the movie!

The movie follows the novel quite loyally, so if you’ve seen the film, don’t expect any surprises as far as plot goes in the book. But don’t worry; it’s not a waste of time to read if you’ve seen the movie! You don’t read A Clockwork Orange for the plot or even the story; you read it for the experience. Now, this requires a bit of explanation.

This book is written mostly in English, but a good majority of it is written in a slang that Burgess created called Nadsat. Derived from Russian, a lot of common English words are replaced with their Nadsat counterparts (ex. viddy = to watch, horrorshow = good, devotcha = girl). At first, this part of the book is confusing and many readers find themselves overwhelmed and give up. That’s understandable, as one literally needs a Nadsat dictionary (included in the back with most editions of the novel) to even make sense of the sentences. But that’s the fun of reading this book! It’s an experience.

As you progress further, you find yourself needing the dictionary less and less. You start to learn the language! This learning experience also echoes themes and events in the book, which I find make it even more interesting. Read More »

Oh Valentines (read: Singles Awareness) Day.  Isn’t it grand? Watching your friends get flowers, chocolates, presents and fancy dinners.  You don’t have to be bitter even if you are the only lonely girl on your hall this year. You can fully delight in the romance that your friends get to enjoy, (they deserve something special) and at the same time pamper someone who truly deserves it – YOU.

If all your friends have dates, or even if you just prefer to go it alone for V-Day here are some great ways to treat yourself like a goddess! Your Valentines Day can be filled with chocolates, champagne and flowers without any help from a man.

Lush Ma Bar Bubble Bar – $7.65 lush.com

Lush’s Bubble Bars are super fun and decadent. It’s just like a bubble bath, only you crumble it under running water and, as it dissolves, your tub fills with bubbles.  They are hand-made with all natural vegan ingredients! While they come in all sorts of fun scents and shapes, the Ma bar Bubble Bar is perfect for your V-Day celebration because it combines decadent chocolate and toffee flavors.  Who needs a heart shaped box of Russell Stovers when you can soak in this deliciousness all night? Read More »

Poor girl can’t catch a break.

CoverGirl has a new mascara comin’!

First Kelloggs, now Subway drops Phelps. Looks like I’ll be satisfying my munchies elsewhere!

Valentine’s Day outfit ideas.

25 Things About Barack Obama.

Who knew Heidi Klum could ever have a fashion miss?

Ideas for lookin’ better on this World Nude Day.

Isla Fisher lookin’ hot on the cover of Allure.

We love low rise thongs.

Why is Taylor Swift on CSI? The girl can barely sing, let alone act.

It’s February already?!  You know what that means…Valentine’s Day. Which for those lucky ladies who have a special someone in their lives, this is an amazing time to go on a cute date and do some naughties in the bedroom.

But for the single girls (like me) Valentine’s Day is another freaking reminder that, guess what? You’re still single. So in order to keep yourself from crying at the fact that you’ll be spending next weekend stuffing your face with all things chocolate, it is essential that you keep yourself laughing. And this week was full of things to make you laugh.

Some of these funnies we can attribute to celebs. Take Michael Phelps, for example. Maybe it’s just me, but there is something funny about our little golden boy getting caught smokin’ da reefer. Also, Chirstian Bale’s freak out is absolutely hysterical. And weathermen may not be anything but local celebrities, but they have the funniest bloopers. Even though we may only be celebs in our own world, we sure are funny!

And if that reminder that we have another 6 fabulous weeks of winter makes you a little more depressed, remember there are worse things. Like looking like this, and thinking it looks good. Picture her wearing this shirt…THAT would be funny!

On a more serious note, February is also National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. So ladies, take care of yourself and love yourself. Educate yourselves about eating disorders so that you can learn how to help those around you.

Happy February!

(We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E. [Guys We Wanna Eff]. Award season is upon us, and while the whole world is buzzing about his film, Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel should be winning an Oscar for Best Effability in a Leading Role!)

Every year, there seems to be one film that captures the hearts and imaginations of the public, and this year everyone is talking about Slumdog Millionaire. Based on the true story of a young man from the poorest neighborhoods of Mumbai who wins the top prize in the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” Slumdog has already won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and is up for the Academy Award in just over two weeks.  And crucial to the movie’s success is the romantic main character, Jamal Malik, played by newcomer Dev Patel.

Just who is this new Hollywood hunk, and is it okay that I wanted to eff him silly when I saw him shirtless in the movie’s first scenes?

Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve got the scoop. Dev was born in England in 1990 (he’s legal!) and had his first big break on the British comedy, Skins. On his Skins cast member blog, Dev thrills us with this titillating update, “Since we last spoke, I have become a sex machine who will bring to you a sensory experience that will blow your feminine mind and titillate your crazy hot body. I am now a sexual master who has complete knowledge of the three positions of love making.” If that’s not an invitation to eff, then you can take down all my Slumdog posters and burn them (actually, just in case, please don’t. I can’t fall asleep at night without a glance at Dev on my ceiling). Read More »

So, today is World Nude Day. Yeah, we wish we knew too; this sweater is really itchy, and we are pretty sure our professor would cancel all Friday classes if we’d shown up in our birthday suits. Apparently this “holiday” was started in New Zealand to celebrate the body in its natural state and we applaud that. Everyone should love their body and want to show it off to the world!

At the same time, though, there are plenty people in this world who we’d rather not celebrate with. And we think it’s pretty obvious why. Call us haters if you will, but would you want to bump into a nude Dick Cheney, or have to compare your body to a nude Beyonce? Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Read More »

Everyone tells me on a daily basis that they can’t believe I don’t watch Gossip Girl. I would loooove the dramz, I would loooove the cute boys, and, most importantly, I would L-O-V-E the fashion.

I know I would love every minute of this hour long fashion show, but just like I know that sitting in front of Ghiradelli week after week without getting any ice cream would only lead to me to going nuts on their jumbo ice cream sundae one day (and gaining 10 lbs), I know for certain that I would soon give into these adorable and oh-so unaffordable GG styles leaving my college gal budget (which is already lacking any luster) in the negatives. I would literally become the girl who lived in her shoes (Christian Louboutin shoes, but shoes nonetheless).

So while I don’t watch the show, I do know that Taylor Momsen’s look is cute, and easy to achieve without breaking the bank. And – bonus-  you can take this look from day to night, and winter to spring!

XOXO, Celebirty Chic on The Cheap. Read More »

What is it about alcohol that makes you want, no, need to eat a meal for a family of four when you get home from the bar? Things you’ve never craved before and suddenly you can’t get enough.

Jill and Lauren discuss this…the morning after a particularly long night. Please excuse their hot mess-ness.

[To see the last installment of CC TV, click here.]

When we decided to devote a week on CollegeCandy to eating disorder awareness, we wanted to get some facts and statistics from the experts. We reached out to the people who study and know these diseases best, and in doing so, met Stacey, a survivor who is using her rough past to help others. We immediately fell in love with both this woman and her message and wanted to introduce her to you.

Here is Stacey’s story:

Don’t get me wrong, I love guys (I mean I LOVE guys), but what if the story had been different?  What if Adam had emerged from Eve’s rib instead of vice-versa?  Would we be living in an entirely different world?  Would a woman’s success be gauged monetarily and a man’s physically?  Would aggressiveness be seen as a feminine quality and submissiveness as masculine?  Would women eat whatever they wanted while men counted every one tenth of a calorie?  I have no idea, but I asked this five years ago when starting EvesRib.com, a company that promotes positive body image and self-esteem in girls and women through fashion, while donating a portion of our proceeds to the National Eating Disorders Association.  However, this was not the only thing that led to The Creation of Eve’s Rib.

I used to miss school because I was too ugly, miss parties because I was too fat, and miss life because I was too [insert any and all negative adjectives here.]  It was assumed that I would grow out of this after high school, but things only got worse.   While having a blast on the outside—seriously, an All-American, collegiate blast—I perfected the art of self-hatred on the inside, and no one was the wiser; sometimes not even myself. Read More »