In all our pre-Halloween excitement, we almost forgot that November 1 is also important: it’s the date daylight saving time ends. Fun fact: technically, “saving” isn’t supposed to be plural. I know—my mind is also blown.

Anyway, at 2 AM tomorrow, Americans will get an extra hour to spend however they want. While some sites have advice on the best things to do with that extra hour, we’re going to try something a little different. Here are CollegeCandy’s Ten Worst Ways to Spend Sixty Minutes on November 1:

1. Making out with the guy in a gorilla costume. You’ll still probably be celebrating Halloween at 2 AM on November 1, after all, and you don’t want to waste that precious extra time macking on some hairy beast. Or a guy in a gorilla costume.
2. Furiously Tide Pen-ing your white angel costume after some jackass spills Jack and Coke all over it.
3. Listening to your best friend and her boyfriend bicker about the hot dude dressed as Batman who’s been checking her out all night. Read More »

College. Sigh. It’s unlike any other time in your life. It has its own set of rules, its own unique circumstances. And it’s not always easy to navigate. Enter…me!

Every week I’ll be tackling your questions about college. From classes to keggers, I’ll do my best to respond and be your Pez dispenser of collegiate wisdom. Got questions? Hit me up in the comments or shoot me an email at melanie@collegecandy.com

I’m broke. Wah! What can I do?
Get. A. Job. Seriously, there’s no excuse for not working while you’re in classes. In fact, it looks great on a resume and will give you some extra cash in your pocket on the weekends. You don’t need a high power internship (although those are pretty nice), but do something to earn money. Babysitting is a great option if you want cold hard cash with none of those silly taxes. If you’re a shopaholic, work at your favorite clothing store to snag the discount. I did the J.Crew thing for a semester and got a fantastic discount and although most of my paycheck went to clothes it still alleviated some of my financial woes. Even if you just pick up five hours a week at a coffee house, it’s better than nothing. Make it rain!

My roomie snores. What should I do?
Buy earplugs. Or leave her a hint by picking some of those breathe-easy nose strips and putting them on her pillow.

I want to throw a rager, any tips for success?
If you’re going the theme party route, do something original. One of my favorite parties that me and my bestie/roomie of the moment threw was a Hollywood themed party. People came dressed as their favorite celebs and had a blast. Believe me, there’s nothing funnier than watching Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Mary Kate Olsen, Kurt Cobain and Heath Ledger all duking it out at the flip cup table. Hide your valuables, buy lots of Solo cups and cheap beer. The rest will be history, captured on Facebook. Read More »

This fall weather is quickly beginning to feel a lot like winter. Sweaters and tights are being traded in for winter fleeces and long-johns. You may think you’re good to go with your new crochet Uggs and long, puffy North Face jacket, but there’s a lot more out there this winter when it comes to accessories. Things that will not only make that walk to class a little more cozy and a little less frozen-snotsicles-dangling-over-your-upper-lip, but accessories that will make your life a whole lot easier.

And more fun.
And festive.
Basically, winter might be somewhat bearable this time around. Read More »

Considering today is Halloween (finally on a weekend!), I was in the mood for something supernatural this week. Of course, you first think of the blockbusters: Twilight, The Historian, maybe even a classic like Frankenstein. But, I decided to go with something a little less mainstream. Something darker and more of a true horror novel. So I rummaged through my bookshelf and found “The Night Watch” by Sergei Lukyanenko.

I bought “The Night Watch” a while ago, but had yet to pick it up. I remember very clearly seeing it at the bookstore and being intrigued by the critical acclaim on the front. “Harry Potter in Gorky Park” is what it said, which totally hooked me (Gorky Park is a famous amusement park in Moscow, Russia and I REALLY feel compelled by Russia for some odd reason….). Anyways, back to the book.

The story revolves around Anton. In Anton’s Moscow, there is a fight going on between Good and Evil that the humans don’t even see. Only the Others see, special beings who choose to fight for either the Light or the Dark. Anton, our protagonist, is of course of the Light and also a member of the Night Watch. He patrols the streets and subways of Moscow, protecting humans from the agents of the Night (vampires, supernatural beings, etc). I don’t know about you, but that totally reminds me of the opening fight scene in the subway platform from “Underworld,” which is SO badass. Okay, seriously, back to the book. Read More »

When it comes to beauty there are certain tools that every girl needs in her arsenal. But what are the must-haves and what are the spend-a-lot-of-money-on-stuff-you-don’t-needs?

I know a lot of girls are confused about what brushes to buy and what tools they should have lying around their bathroom counter so I wanted to give you all some insight on what I use regularly. I’m not telling you to go out and buy a $100.00 brush kit full of stuff you’ll never use. Instead, I’m going to explain what everything is and allow you to decide what you need for your daily beauty regime.

In case you’ve been locked in a soundproof, internet, cell phone, and calendar-free room for the past week, let me be the first to remind you that there’s a holiday happening this Saturday. A wonderful holiday full of tricks, sweets, and more grown-up treats. A holiday that lets every girl unleash her inner sex kitten, vixen, or Beyonce—provided she’s old enough. A holiday that makes it okay to wear anything, even glow in the dark pants. (Um… unless you’re a dude who wants to wear leggings. That’s never okay.)

But Halloween’s not all candy and luminescent trousers. You’ve got to be careful that you know how to get rid of full-face makeup before you make a move on that chubby but hilarious cutie in the SuperJew costume. You’ve also got to remember to watch the volume after taking him home. And try to manage your expectations about the encounter—this isn’t a movie, after all.

It’s also important to make sure you don’t accidentally raise the dead. Of course, if you do have any encounters with a zombie, it’ll be easy enough to find another final resting place for him—just stop into your local Walmart .

Either way, you’ll definitely have a ton of sweet pictures to add to your Facebook on November 1. And if your overindulgence on Saturday gives you a little bit of extra cushion for the pushin’, you can always call your friendly neighborhood plastic surgeon and get that flab turned into something fabulous.

Transformations: they’re not just for Halloween anymore.

You may have noticed this month that we at CC are huge fans of Halloween. But as much as we love spooky costumes and scary movies, there are some things that are so mind-numbingly frightening that they chill us to our very souls. Things that are sure to strike fear into the heart of anyone who has one.

Click through if you dare… Read More »

See ya later, Single Status!

It’s weird how it happens. One day you’re screaming “THIS IS MY SONG!” every time “Single Ladies” comes on at the bar, and the next…well, you’re doing the same thing, but it’s not actually true. After just over two years of being the most single person on the planet, I actually took the dive. It happened really unexpectedly with a cute acquaintance I have known for years. We started talking a little more, and things took off out of nowhere.

I used to want to jack people in the face when they said, “When you stop looking for a boyfriend, you’ll get one.” And even though that is exactly what happened, that’s still really annoying advice. I think I hate it largely because it takes the situation out of your hands; as if you have to be in some sort of cosmic state of perfect personal balance just to get a damn date. I think a better way to phrase the advice is this:

Beating yourself up over not having a boyfriend or becoming depressed that “there’s no one out there” isn’t going to make your perfect mate appear out of thin are. There are times when 5 guys ask you out in a week, and there are times when your only male interaction for months is with your Environmental Science professor (hopefully not the wrong kind of interaction…). You can control your love life, but only to a certain extent. You don’t completely control who you meet, when you meet them, or (even as much as we try) how they feel about you. Read More »

Pretty sure hot dogs are scarier than a zombie.

Elementary school sure has changed since we were kids. Today, recess is getting shorter, cafeterias are getting healthier, and Halloween is getting much, much less fun.

Around the country, teachers and parents are crusading to make sure that kids celebrating Halloween aren’t dressing up in scary costumes in school. As Tom Hernandez of Plainfield, Illinois says in the article, “Some people thought Halloween was a Satanic ritual. Well, let’s not say Satanic — let’s say they were not comfortable with what it represents.”

As a result, students in Plainfield “are being encouraged to dress up as historical characters or delicious food items rather than vampires or zombies.” Because what little kid wouldn’t love dressing up as stalk of asparagus or Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, instead of as a zombie or a bloodsucking fiend?

It’s absolutely ridiculous that scary Halloween costumes have gone the way of snap bracelets and Pogs. The adults behind this silly campaign are probably all the type of buzzkills who hand out toothbrushes and shiny red apples when trick-or-treaters ring their doorbells. Read More »

The jacket that started it all.

About 3 years ago, I was visiting my Grandma in… wait for it… Florida. Perusing her closet for vintage finds (clothes that are too young for her, clothes that don’t fit her, or clothes I think I can make look ‘cool’ all the while loving that I will be able to say “it was my grandma’s!”) is a standard for every trip down to the land where dinner is eaten somewhere in the 4 o’clock hour.

Over the years I’ve found some GREAT things in there. Amazing costume jewelery, crocheted ponchos (when they were at their peak) and the coolest belts. But this time, this time I stopped dead in my tracks. Behind her housecoats and orthopedic shoes, shining in all their amazing glory: 2 sequined, shoulder padded, totally rad blazers. And I was in L-O-V-E.

Keep in mind, this was long before sequins made their way back to the shelves, but I loved the extravagant elegance of it all. I loved putting it on and feeling like I should be back on stage doing my time steps and shuffling off to Buffalo. So I took them with me and finally got the confidence to wear them last year.

This season (as we pointed out yesterday) sequins are everywhere and if you haven’t gotten in on the trend yet, try it on for size. It’s intimidating on the hanger – maybe even ugly – but once you bathe yourself in the glitz that you used to only use for art projects in 2nd grade, you will never want to go back!

Of course, you gotta do it right or else you may end up looking like Cher circa 1988. The key to wearing sequin pieces is keeping everything else SIMPLE. Really simple. Super duper simple. Get it? Got it? Good. Read More »