California has always been my dream place to live with its warm weather, hot surfer dudes and that laid back, livin’ the life attitude.  But as of today, my view on the seemingly perfect Cali location has truly changed.  Thanks to the really messed up California Supreme Court Prop 8 decision banning same sex marriages, I started to realize the darkness that lies behind all that sunshine.

There are, in fact, a lot of effed up things about the place that isn’t quite as laid back as I once presumed:

1. You can never escape those dangerous earthquakes that occur a little too often. I don’t know about you, but I like my ground to remain stable, thankyouverymuch. Another thing I like: living without the fear of wildfires burning me to a crisp as I sleep.

2. I can barely watch The Real Housewives of the OC without cringing, and cant imagine having to see these women (and the millions of others just like them in Cali) in real life.  I might freak out, melt down, and have to get Botox to regain any sense of normalcy.

3. Seeing famous people every day might be cool, but knowing that some of the world’s most obnoxious and utterly ridiculous celebrities call that state home kind of turns me off.  I might just gag if I have to see Heidi or Spencer one more time on TV or in a magazine. Seeing them in person? Well, I think I’ll stay on the opposite side of the country.

4. California traffic is known to be ridiculous, and coming from the fast paced New York City lifestyle, I’m not sure that would quite work for me.

5. Most importantly, I’d probably miss my Ugg boots, my mittens, my scarf and ear muffs (oh, and states where gay couples can be married).  And who can turn down a good snowball fight?  Looks like I’ll be spraying on the tan and staying on the East Coast for a while.

Vintage/vintage-inspired fashion is a great way to add a fun flair to the every day. Why wear a simple cotton dress when you can easily bring a unique retro look into the mix? I’m all about playing with fashion, so this week’s Day-to-Night Styler is taking a trip down memory lane. I found a darling 50′s style dress that can smoothly transition from day to night and look totally bangin’ wherever you decide to wear it.

Start with a cute, 50′s-inspired halter dress. This particular style is from Forever 21, but I also found some super cute dresses in this cut (but with fun prints, like leopard) at H&M. The halter cut and the cinched waist do wonders to give a gal that hourglass figure.

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Breaking news!  Brooke Shields didn’t lose her virginity until she was 22!

Big deal, right?  Well, clearly with the absurd amount of publicity surrounding her most recent interview with Health magazine, where this alleged shocking secret was revealed, it is obvious that to many, this is a big deal.  But why?  If people spent half the time obsessing about literally anything of the slightest bit more importance, our world would have a lot less to worry about.

Having sex for the first time has evolved into one of society’s biggest concerns and issues of controversy.  With movies like American Pie, teens have been brainwashed into believing that they’re some freak misfits if they haven’t sealed the deal before graduating high school.  All that the media has done is distorted the truth.  Just because nowadays some teens are having sex before they freakin’ finish puberty, doesn’t mean that, 1.  Everyone is doing that and 2. There is a right or appropriate age to do so.  In fact, as a college student, I have met many people, older and younger than me that have held on to their virginity for whatever reason, and it honestly has not changed my opinion about them at all, nor should it!

What kind of society do we live in where waiting until you are in your 20’s to lose your virginity is a bad, a weird, or an abnormal age to do so?

Call me crazy, but I used to think that losing your virginity was a somewhat private and personal matter.  Everyone is different and comfortable with sex in his or her own way and should be able to decide if and when they are ready without being judged, questioned, or, in Brooke Shields’ case, considered the latest juiciest gossip.  Virgin or not, does it really define who you are as a person?

As a society, we really need to just let go of the whole virginity thing, because at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if 40-Year-Old Virgin was remade into 20-Year-Old Virgin (starring Jonah Hill, of course).

[Ever see something you want but don’t have the money to buy? Ever get sick of studying/watching TV and have the urge to get crafty and make things on your own? We know! Us too! We just don’t know where to start, which is why we got some of CollegeCandy’s craftiest writers to share their favorite DIY projects with everyone. These things are easy, fun and a great way to save some serious cashola.]

For all you organized chicas like me out there, you understand the importance of a bulletin board. You can put up papers and important notes before they get lost in the shuffle on your desk. You can hang your keys on them. Heck, you can plaster them with pictures and have a make-shift frame!

The problem is, bulletin boards are either ugly or look like something out of a 3rd grade classroom. You don’t want that stuff hanging in your perfectly decorated dorm room!

Solution: the wine cork bulletin board. It’s chic, it’s cute, and it’s easy to make with all those wine corks you college girls most definitely have lying around. If not, pop a few bottles and get crafty! Whoever said being a wino wasn’t productive?

Ingredients:
A backed frame/a piece of wood cut to the desired size and shape
Enough corks (lying on their side) to fit in this frame
Carpenter’s glue
Push pins
Perhaps another glass of wine to keep with the theme….. Read More »

I’ve grown up a lot in the past week. How could I not with all the positive encouragement from the commenters last week? I got up off the couch, got a pants suit, and got a job with benefits. Well I got off the couch… and that’s a start.

This past week I went to a BBQ at one of my few (I’m talking 1.5) remaining high school friend’s houses. I don’t know why the adults there think that the best side dish to ribs is asking me about my future. I had cole slaw hanging out of my mouth half the time as I explained that, yes, I was doing an internship; no, it was not paid in any amount that can support me; no, there are no health benefits; no, they are not hiring at the end of the summer; yes, that’s definitely potato salad hanging in my hair (the most asked question of the day).

I’m about ready to start making flashcards with my plans to hand out to people rather than spend four hours attempting to justify why I thought it was a good idea to get an internship instead of a job after graduation. Apparently some people don’t keep up with the news and are unaware that most of the class of ’09 did not graduate with job offers.

I’m pretty sure I  sound angry. But I’m pretty sure that anger is one of the stages in the grieving process. Last week was denial and I think next week is hunger…but I’m no doctor, so I can’t verify that.

But I am starting to slowly move on. And, like I said before, I’m practically a functioning adult now. I’ve taken a liking to cottage cheese and I think that habit places me around 75 years old. I guess it’s one new grown-up habit a week from now on. Who knows what I’ll pick up this week. Maybe learning how to file taxes? Or perhaps how to shop at Chico’s?

It’s all up in the air for right now.

You got a question? Tuffy’s got an answer! To have your question featured (and answered!) in the Tuffster’s weekly column, email her at TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com!

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m a high school junior who’s been having a bit of a problem. I sit in class with 5 guys in my chemistry class who constantly tease me. I’m the only girl on the left side of the room. Sometimes I don’t say anything, and they just start making fun of me. I get the fact that high school boys are immature, and that girls tend to be more mature at the age of 16.  Sometimes I try to defend myself, but no one can hear it over the 5 guys that are laughing in my face. All of my friends tell me they like me, but I don’t trust their judgment. Are they really making fun of me, or are they just doing it to grab my attention? Do I seem like someone vulnerable to them as a person to make fun of? How do I make them see me in a different light?

Thanks, Tuffy!

-Private Prep Girl

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We are constantly being told to have confidence, to be optimistic, and that if we believe in ourselves, we can do it!  Well, these eye rolling confidence booster clichés are apparently unnecessary, as a recent study proves that 95% of the world’s population is naturally optimistic.

Hmm..now on the surface this everything-is gonna-be-all right mentality may seem like a positive thing, but where do we draw the line between confidence and cockiness? Between optimism and blind ignorance?

I’m totally a glass-is-half-full sorta girl, but I often wonder if all of that positivity is setting me up for major failure down the road. Is this optimism just setting us up for disaster and disappointment?  For goals that will never be reached and outcomes that are totally impossible?

Is it possible to be optimistic and realistic? What do you think?

So you’re finally settled back into home life for the summer. You’ve spent the last week catching up on sleep, home cooking and quality snuggle time with the dog and now it’s time to get out of the house. You rifle through the duffle bags you have yet to unpack, throw on some clothes and head out to visit your old high school haunts. Namely, the mall.

You park the car, grab a coffee from the first (of many) Starbucks in the suburban shopping center and begin wandering through the stores. You are contemplating a dress at Forever 21 when you hear someone calling your name. You turn around and realize it is an old high school “friend,” one of the many that you stopped talking to as soon as you threw your stuff on that twin extra long bed and began your life in college.

She wasn’t a good friend, but rather the kind of friend that you only had because you had homeroom together. The kind of friend that sort of drifted as soon as you got to college and realized that there were much better, cooler and more fun people in this world… and you didn’t have to talk to her anymore now that you didn’t have class together. The kind of friend that you only remember because she shows up in your Newsfeed every now and again. Read More »

Katy Perry doesn’t do one night stands.

Obama has chosen his Supreme Court nominee.

Beyonce is super fierce.

Exercise doesn’t help your metabolism.

Is the media being unfair to Kate Gosselin?

10 things you didn’t know about orgasms.

Anyone else forget that it was Monday yesterday? I spent my day BBQing with friends (or eating whatever they BBQed while I sat on the couch watching tv) only to come home, turn on my TV and realize I was halfway through The Hills. I was devastated (“SPENCER IS SUPPOSED TO APOLOGIZE TONIGHT!!”), but then I realized that MTV was showing the episode 12 more times over the course of the evening.

When I finally did get to watch it, though, I was a little disappointed. I’ve said this before, but I know this show isn’t really real. I think anyone with half a brain and access to Us Weekly would know that. But I hate when MTV is careless with their editing, making it completely impossible for viewers to suspend their common sense and believe that this all might be real.

Case in point: Heidi gets engaged one night and asks Steph (presumably the next day) to invite Lauren. At the same time, Audrina and Lo have already received actual invitations. One might say, “Well, Lauren, that could have been shot months later.” Well, other people, I call bullsh*t, because then they pan back to Heidi and Lauren both talking to Steph about losing her job like it was only yesterday. I don’t know much about weddings (beyond the fact that I probably won’t have one until I’m 40), but I do know that it takes months to plan one and invitations do not just come out the next day.

But whatever. That’s not the point of this post. Read More »