Since school is right around the corner, I thought I’d give a list of some of my favorite inspirational and informative books for school. Whether they help you in deciding your major or cooking up a mean dinner, these books are a college student’s best friends (next to the microwave, Vitamin Water and Jersey Shore).

1. What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles
We’ve all taken those online quizzes about your future career, but have you ever really done a personality assessment to see what career is going to suit you best? “Parachute” has been around for years and is considered one of the foremost books on the subject. It’s not a short read, but it will get you to really evaluate every part of what makes you, you! By breaking down your strengths and weaknesses, you will find out not only what job will make you happy, but also what field you will find success in. My parents bought this for me after high school and I chucked it to the back of my bookshelf. However, after my first year of university, I dug it out and read through. I feel like it really assured me that I had switched into the right program for me.

2. How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman
This book is a life-saver for anyone who needs to cook their own meals. I consider myself fairly capable in the kitchen, but this book helped me expand my skills and taught me the basics. There are chapters on how to cook simple things like meat and pasta, which are then followed with recipes where you can test your new knowledge. I find that once you have a basic understanding of how to cook your food (like thawing your chicken breast, cooking it in a pan with oil, etc), you can combine them to create all sorts of great meals!

3. The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho
This classic novel teaches the important lesson that, essentially, you must do what you love. It’s a short book with a powerful lesson. I think that for college students, this book can have a huge impact. It made me think about my purpose on Earth (known as your Personal Legend in the book) and totally influenced my career choice and goals. As a student, I think it’s so easy to get lost with all the pressure and distractions in life. Re-reading books like this (or The Little Prince – another great one!) every once in a while help to keep your goals in sight and your head on straight.

4. This Year I Will…, by MJ Ryan
Once you’ve decided your major and picked your classes, you’ve got to set yourself some goals! I know I sound like a broken record, but seriously! Writing your goals down for the year – whether they be academic, professional, personal, etc. – is a wonderful strategy. This book is great for helping you to not only set realistic goals (I’m going to do my best as opposed to I’m going to get the highest grade in the course), but create a plan to fulfill them through the school year. It’s designed to help you set and keep New Year’s resolutions, but there is no reason why you can’t apply it any time of the year!

5. A Great Agenda
My final book is not really a book in the “novel” sense, but it’s still crucial and probably the most important one on this list. If you’ve never used an agenda or day planner before, let this be the year! Go to your local bookstore and find a really pretty one (or, if you’re more tech savvy, use an online program!) and fill it with everything! I try to color-code mine (I know, I know – nerd alert) by class and then also for school and extra-curriculars. Seriously, once you get into the routine, you will thank me.

[The following post was written by the lovely ladies at CollegeFashion.net. Have you checked 'em out yet?]

With summer coming to an end and fall semester quickly approaching, most of us have just a few weeks left to try one of the hottest summer trend: crop tops! With scorching August temperatures still going strong, now is the perfect time to show a little extra skin.

I know many of you think crop tops are hard to wear, but I’m here to prove you wrong: They can be versatile AND flattering when styled correctly. Read on for my tips for wearing crop tops, as well as some sample outfits to get your inspiration going!

Tips for Wearing Crop Tops:

Pick a length. Crop tops come in a variety of shapes and lengths, and depending on how daring you are, you can pick a top that shows only a sliver of your stomach or one that bares your belly. Daring? Try a top that hits above your belly button (as seen above). More conservative? Opt for something that grazes the top of your jeans. When picking the length of your top, you should also consider what you’ll be wearing it with, and where you’re going!

Pick and choose the rest of your look wisely. Crop tops are cute, but they can either look amazing or awful, depending on the outfit you wear them with. Each piece you pair with your top will evoke a different look. A higher waisted bottom paired with a crop top, for example, will limit the amount of skin you’re showing and can actually look sophisticated and fashion-forward. Read More »

10 mouth-watering study break snacks

yeah right LiLo

So it’s bad that I’m attracted to my guy friend, right?

Rest easy knowing that J. Bieber is pimple free

D.I.Y jeans

Emma Watson in a cute dress…with long hair again?

It’s Friday and I’m (typical behavior) hunched over at my kitchen counter, chugging coffee and coming up for air when I try to tell my mom to stop vacuuming the family room because I can’t hear my T.Swift playlist over the deep vacuum whine.  Is this real life? Well kids, it’s very, very real and my (proud) current version of adulthood. Admitting the obvious or not, I am who I am no matter how hard I try and change it.

But enough about me. Let’s talk about this week!

* I have a new idea. I think I may drink my way to success. Who’s with me?

* Between sipping coffee and fiercely typing on my laptop, I think I might have reserved enough energy to watch the infamous dysfunctional episode of this week’s Jersey Shore. I’m dying to know, has Sammi Sweetheart called for a WWIII with Ron Ron yet?

* Besides my riveting lifestyle, everyone else is going back to college!  It’s time for you to live it up, drink it down and please remember: appreciate all and everything college has to offer.

* Speaking of college and appreciating everything, I plead to alter my previous statement.  Ok, appreciate everything besides these dining hall food traps.

* Looking for a back-to-school pick-me-up (i.e. some quality bookmark material)? Check out  these websites every college kid should consider visiting. Read More »

Sigh. It’s been yet another lame sauce week in H-wood. Seriously, where are the scandals? Since LiLo got sent away, the whole town’s been laying low. (Maybe they have no one to party with anymore?) There have been no major cheating scandals (thank god!). Jon Gosselin hasn’t done anything dumb. Hell, even Mel Gibson’s crazy has quieted itself for a few weeks.

Where’s the juice? I haven’t got a clue.

Freshly Squeezed

1. Heidi Montag’s plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan, was killed this week in a terrible car crash off of Pacific Coast Highway. His Jeep ran off the side of the road on Monday afternoon. His dog was in the car as well, but survived. Sources are reporting that he was either texting or Tweeting just before his car went off the road. So sad. Our thoughts are with the Dr. Ryan’s friends and family.

2. Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie finally tied the knot! You can get all the deets and pictures in OK! Magazine (who was invited to the event), but here’s a condensed version: the Duffster chipped her tooth in the morning and her planner snuck her out to see a dentist! What a crazy way to start the day! They compiled their vows from reading other couples’ online but they had their own unique ones. They are currently honeymooning in Cabo. Congrats! Read More »

As much as I love being single (and I promise I do. I mean not THAT much has changed since last week), I do have to acknowledge that there are a few aspects of being single that suck. Do they outweigh the greatness that comes with having a bed all to yourself or not shaving for weeks at a time? Maybe not, but there are loads of little things that make the single girl’s life less than perfect.

1. Unreachables.
Whether it’s sunscreen for a day at the beach, aloe after a sunscreen-less day at the beach, or just lotion for those scaly days of winter, no boyfriend = no way to reach your back. And that equals sleeping on your stomach for a week as you wait anxiously for that crispy skin to peel.

2. Moving.
It’s a lot harder to find someone to help with the heavy lifting when there’s no guaranteed nookie in it for him.

3. Sick Days.
See #2, but replace “heavy lifting” with “bring me a bowl of soup.” Read More »

When did Facebook turn into my verbally-abusive ex-boyfriend?

He’s full of empty promises and is always “I really care about your privacy and I’m not going to show the whole world that photo of you doing naked Olympics.” Then he turns around the next day and broadcasts everything to the world with a “seriously, you’ll end up liking the fact that everyone, including your mother, knows exactly what you did this weekend. And if you don’t, then go back to that dirty heathen of a boyfriend, Myspace, and see if I care.”

And now he’s done it again. He’s introduced a Foursquare for Facebook, called Facebook Places, that takes everyone’s favorite stalker application to the next level. Not only will your friends, frenemy’s, second cousins, and co-workers be able to check into locations, but they’ll also be able to check you into locations. Apparently they’re claiming that it’s just like tagging someone in a photo because it has a detag option. Except tagging an ugly photo of me on Facebook in not equivalent to telling the Facebook community that I’m in the third stall at the Olive Garden on Grove street.

Change your privacy settings today or prepare to see your entire life ruined. Think I’m exaggerating? Just look at my Wikipedia-approved reasoning:

1. No More Lying – So you wanted to get out of your friend’s birthday dinner (because she always insists on wearing a tiara and “kiss me, it’s my birthday sash”) and made up a story about having to cram for a hugeeee test the next day. Instead you go out with some other friends to happy hour where they tag you as being at the bar. Add some photo proof to that tag and you’re about to be defriended…in real life. And that’s the least of your issues. How about the fact that you got out of your boyfriend’s great aunt’s funeral by telling a small white lie that you were really, really sick — only to be location-tagged as being at the school’s biggest tailgate party ever.

2. No More Privacy – Facebook stalking is a totally healthy part of life, real life stalking is a total calling card to spend some time in prison. The two are about to overlap pretty quickly when your stalker starts literally following you from class (because your lab partner tagged you) to the library (because your freshman your roommate spotted you across the stacks and tagged you) to Starbucks (because somehow the barista and you are Facebook friends and she’s trying real hard to be web-savvy). Read More »

I hate to admit it but fall is almost here. Major tear.

But while I’m not excited for midterms, wool coats, shivering on my walk to class and being too cold to drink iced coffee, I am excited for boots (and really excited for Pumpkin Spice Lattes). I know, its not easy to think about knee-high boots when you’ve got sweat building up in the crook of your arm (just me?), but right now- while you’re still in summer mode – is really the best time to stock up on boots for the season:

1) Because you can find good deals.
2) You can find whatever you want in your size.
3) You’re so sick of dirty flip flop feet, you just want something soft and buttery covering up those toes.

Those three reasons were good enough for me to go on an Internet shopping spree from my bed last night. And I found some major gems.

This season, embellished boots and more masculine lace-up boots are totally in my closet. Doesn’t seem like you? Wrong. You can wear these little guys with anything. Pair them with leggings and a long button down for the day, or pair with a flirty feminine look for a nice juxtaposition of girly and boyish. Read More »

As you all might have heard (via our many drunken texts from the land of Sin), CollegeCandy was invited on a trip to Las Vegas last week courtesy of the fine people of Planet Hollywood and Harrah’s resorts. We always knew we had to hit up the Vegas strip, so we accepted. And then did cartwheels around the office.

“WOOOO! VEGASSSSS.”

After we finished chest bumping, we made a list of all the things we wanted to do and, despite our inability to find someone to marry (the men of askmen.com rejected our advances), we definitely lived it up for the 4 days we were there. And now, after the 7 days of it took us to recover from one MASSIVE hangover, we are back to share with you the 10 things we learned on our trip to The Happiest Place on Earth. Read More »