There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Zappos, CupcakesTakeTheCake…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there. And more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.

If you’re an online shopping junkie like me, you probably have tons of links stored in your favorites, saved to your desktop, or emailed to yourself of things you want to buy. Not the most organized shopping method; it gets so cluttered you’re left without that great sequins blazer you wanted because you couldn’t remember where you stored the link. And you do so much online perusing (it’s OK, we get bored during class, too) you can’t even track it down in your browsing history. R.I.P., sequins blazer.

Need a better plan of shopping attack?

Let me introduce you to the best thing that has ever happened to online shopping: Kaboodle. It is like your personal shopping assistant, keeping you organized and making sure you get the best deal on everything you’re searching for. Read More »

Bethenny Frankel bares her pregnant (?!) body for PETA.

And Rihanna takes it off for GQ.

OMG. Never drinking soda again.

Chris Brown says TTFN to Twitter.

What is the Kardashian obsession?

Sonia Kashuk’s got your face covered this holiday season.

I always find myself procrastinating so much during finals week that sometimes I have to procrastinate from my original procrastinating. You know it’s bad when you have to take a break from what you were doing to take a break from your studies. Needless to say, I accumulated a list of go-to games, puzzles and quizzes that would keep me preoccupied when times in the library get tough, and I’d like to share a few of those with you.

Your tired brain can thank me later.

The Impossible Quiz: Honestly, I still haven’t finished this quiz. If anyone out there can tell me how to beat question 15, I would die for that knowledge. This one will make you pull your hair out, but my dedication to the cause keeps me coming back for more. I think you’ll find yourself feeling similarly.

Seventeen.com Quizzes: This site has everything you’ve ever wanted to know about yourself. Literally. Do you want to know what your purse says about you? Seventeen knows. Is your boyfriend about to dump you? Ask Seventeen. I could spend an entire 48 hours taking these quizzes and finally decoding the mystery of life. Read More »

So if you’re like me, part of the fun of being a girl is getting all beautified and purtied up. I mean, beyond the fun that is playing with makeup, what’s the point of putting together a cute outfit if your skin looks dry, your hair looks flat and you smell like a thrift store?

Obviously, my all-time favorite one-stop-shop for all my beauty needs is Sephora. That place has it all… not to mention you can pop in there while you’re shopping and freshen up with their variety of samples. (Confession: sometimes I’ll make Sephora my last stop so I can use all their expensive makeup to get ready for the night!) The sad fact is, beauty products are muy expensive-o and can quickly add up.

Good thing Sephora has a nice stock of too-good-to-be-true goodies for under $20. Let the beautification begin! Read More »

Tis the season for reflection, and I am reflecting on my past year and groaning. There were highs, and there were lows, and there were things that should never happen again for the sake of my dignity and overall well-being. The 2009 version of me was a lesser version of the forthcoming 2010 edition; I just know it. 2010 will be the year of Brittany, 2.0!

So this New Year’s Eve, I am resolving to put an end to all of those things that kept me down and out. And, quite frankly, I think there are few things we should all resolve to leave in ’09. Let’s all make (and keep) these resolutions together:

Facebook:
FB, you are the bane of my existence. What girl in their right mind ever thought it was a good idea to habitually post status updates that were simply begging for attention? Or listing off her exact whereabouts 24/7 so those creepy Facebook surfers could follow her around? FB is just another avenue for people to have a public pity party, to incite revenge via pictures making out with strange dudes, to stalk exes and so on. Say it with me: this year, I resolve to take a step back from the computer and live life not on Facebook’s terms. Or on my ex boyfriend’s Newsfeed.

Men:
In 2010, we should all resolve to not let a guy dictate our mood. Yes, men have the ability to make us the happiest we’ve ever been, but they can also make us curl up in the fetal position and cry for one week straight. One bad breakup has the power to put me in a state of hibernation until family and friends recognize me as a full-fledged hermit with cookie dough in my hair, and I know I’m not the only one. This year, I refuse to let whatever is happening in my love life affect the rest of my life. Because if the world revolved around a single man, we’d all be in big trouble.

Health:
This year, we will not insist our jeans fit us when our extra “baggage” spills over the top. Acceptance is the first step towards recovery from the unsightly muffin top and that deep red ring around our belly button that comes with it. Holding on to our delusions of still being a size 4, even after we binge-ate holiday food for over a month, is not healthy. Rather than walking around in ill-fitting clothes, let’s resolve to hit the gym instead.

Opportunity:
Let’s all resolve to embrace opportunities in all forms. Whether it’s a date with a guy you don’t know that well or simply trying something you’ve never done before (jeggings, anyone?), let’s make 2010 the year where nothing is off limits. I think I will take a page out of Yes Man’s book (OK, movie) and make myself more available to opportunity and adventure. Because, well, why not?

Alcohol:
Let’s spend 2010 not acting like a drunken Lindsay Lohan impersonator…. ever (again). Nobody likes that girl. That girl is always the one acting inappropriate in front of guys. She’s the one bitching out her friends for no good reason. She’s the one who comes home and eats the entire contents of the fridge… while she waits for her delivery. And unless you take pleasure in one-night stands, a beer gut, nip slips and vomit chunks in one’s hair, nothing good ever happens for this girl. I love my vodka, but I love my pride a whole lot more.

At least in 2010, I do.

So cute. So easy. So the perfect way to personalize that 10X10 cell.

I’m obsessed with taking pictures, absolutely obsessed. I have approximately 44 albums on Facebook and that’s after I consolidated and cut down about 300 pictures. I can’t help it.

The digital camera changed my life. I love taking pictures of everything and anything, and capturing every drunken moment of friends passed out over toilets or park benches, of every group pic in the sorority pose, and every picture of birthdays and holidays.

My room has always been covered with the pictures I’ve taken, a visual documentary of my life displayed around my room on a cork board and on the walls. But instead of tacking photos to the wall or searching for the perfect picture frames (which happen to be really pricey), here’s a creative, easy, and cheap way to make a hanging frame of your own.

Whether your room decor is classy or flashy, this custom DIY picture frame will be the perfect wall decor to decorate your life, display your photos, and showcase your memories with some style! It is also the perfect gift to give a friend for the holidays if you’re low on cash but got lots of love. Read More »

"I think you should leave."

Well, turns out I’m destined to be a spinster for the rest of my life. Might as well start stocking up on cat litter and toe socks now. This past weekend I was kicked off my own date. Sure I’ve had some awkward dates but this is a new low…even for me.

Everything was too good to be true. I met him a birthday party, we exchanged numbers, he actually texted me the next day to plan a date. It was going so well, so fast, that I got ahead of myself. I was halfway to the tattoo parlor, already to get his name permanently put over my heart, when I pulled myself together and decided to wait to see how the date actually went.

And thank god I waited. We met up this weekend at a fancy-schmancy bar which reeked of people with too much money and no idea what to do with it. I don’t see any other reason to spend $25 on a cocktail. Don’t these people know that you can feed a recent college grad for 3 weeks on that money? My date, let’s call him Morgan Goldman Stanley-Sachs, began the evening by mocking my career choice (blogging), my scarf (I was cold), and myself (he referred to me as being absolutely crazy).

By the time we finished our first round of drinks we were full-on fighting. Not the sexy-flirtatious kinda fighting. More like the 7th-grade-girl name-calling, mud-slinging, IM you from a fake screen name kinda fighting. Read More »

Wanna get your question answeridoed?! Email TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com for the answers to your unmentionables. And whatnot.

Dear Tuffy Luv,
I have been with my boyfriend for a couple weeks now. We are still getting to know each other and trying to take it slow. He is a 21 year old that has a steady job, his own place and a nice car; he’s definitely got it together. He’s planning on going back to school for his Master’s next fall. Here”s the problem: he is an ex gang member and I`m pretty sure he used to deal drugs as well.

All of that happened when he was fairly young, I wanna say maybe when he was 13 till he was about 16 or 17. He was very honest about his past and the way he explains it is that he had friends who did it and so he got caught up in it as well. He’s by no means proud of his past but he is definitely willing to talk about it if there`s questions. He has tattoos, most of which are not visible but he does have the three dots on both hands representing the gang he was in. The tattoos are very faded now, but if you pay close attention you can see them. I really like this guy and believe that people can change, especially when they have done something like that at such a young age. He basically moved away from all the gang activity and drugs to start over.

My only concern with this entire situation is that he may one day go back to all of that. Also, how will all of this affect him in the future? How will it affect our relationship? His past worries me because of what my family is going to think about him. How do I prepare them for him and his past? How do I go about this so that they dont freak out? I’m sure once they meet him they’ll think differently but until then they wanna know about him and this is something I can’t keep from them. What should I do?

Thanks,
Does the past really stay in the past

Dear Does the Past,

I gotta level with you. When I saw the phrase “ex gang member,” my heart sank.

This is dangerous territory, honey. Gangs are nothing to be messed with. So let’s look at this from a couple of angles:

(1) He may still be in a gang. From what Tuffy understands, it’s really, really, really hard to leave gangs once you’ve joined them, especially if you were involved in stuff that was illegal. You need to find out the truth here. Sit him down and have a real heart-to-heart. When did he last work for these people? What, exactly, was his involvement? Did he ever do anything violent? Did he ever go to jail?

From there, you need to decide if he seems like he’s still violent (if he ever was, chances are he still has the capacity for violence) and whether or not you believe that he’s really done with that gang lifestyle. You didn’t say what he’s doing for a job now, but you did imply he’s got money. Make sure it’s really coming from his day job.

You do NOT want to hook up with a guy in a gang. It’s very dangerous. Don’t get yourself into a situation you can’t get out of.

Or:

(2) He really has left that all behind him. Look, sometimes bad things happen to good people. Maybe his childhood was less than desirable and he got caught up in some shiz he now, as a good person and functioning adult, regrets. If this is the case, there’s no reason to be embarrassed of him. If he really has reformed, what does it matter what he did for three years of his teens? As long as he would never, ever, EVER go there again, there shouldn’t be a problem.

But! If it is number 2 and you still find yourself being ashamed, there’s no point in continuing the relationship. If you’re not okay with his past, you shouldn’t string him along hoping you’ll eventually get over it. At this early stage in the relationship, it’s all about your comfort level, baby.

Be careful, girl. I really hope he’s legit and cool now and that that’s all behind him. Just make sure you know for real before you start investing too much into a guy you may or may not be able to trust.

Hearts & Skulls,
Tuffy Luv

If we’ve learned anything from this whole Tiger Woods debacle, it’s that some women simply can’t resist the glory of sleeping with a celebrity. And who can really blame them? You put Chase Crawford in front of me and there’s no telling what I would do in order to get him undressed and into my bed. And if it takes heavy drugs and a blindfold, so be it.

In fact, I can say that for a lot of celebrities. A girl can dream, can’t she?

But the fantasy doesn’t extend to all of Hollywood. There are a few celebs that I would rather not have anywhere in or around my lady parts. For example: Read More »

Wait, what subject is this again?

You have four finals in three days – a Blue Book, two exams and a paper. You sit in your last class of the week. As your professor outlines the format of the test, you outline everything you need to do between now and Winter Break. The list is overwhelming (note cards, laundry, annotations, packing, review sessions, research…); you fidget in your seat, anxious to get out of that lecture hall and into the library for the next 4 days.

When the class finally ends, you pack your things and walk home. You promise yourself you’ll only grab a snack and some books and head right back to the library. You make a mental plan of attack; you’ll focus half of the night on that paper,  then jump into all those Psych terms you need to memorize, then skim that book you were supposed to read 2 months ago that you know is going to be on the test.

You find a table in the corner of the library, away from anyone and anything that might distract you, and unpack your bag. Then you organize your books, highlighters and pens on the table. Then you check your email, respond to some friend requests and put up an away message. Then you realize you’ve just wasted 30 minutes and begin to panic.

“Ok. Time to write.” Read More »