I will be the first to admit that it is hard for me to relax during finals, especially when everyone around me is freaking out. The weeks leading up to finals are basically the worst time of the year, especially during spring term. Summer is staring us all in the face, but we have mountains of projects, papers, reading, and random homework to do before we can throw on our favorite cut off shorts and sit by a lake for three months straight.

But girls, don’t let that get you down. There are lots of ways to relax when everyone you know is having a minor brain aneurysm.

1. Indulge.
I don’t know about you guys, but when articles tell me to “eat healthy snacks!” when I’m stressed, I just want to punch the writer in the face. You don’t know me. When I’m writing a 15-page history paper at 3am in the library, you know what I don’t want? A carrot stick. However, I will take an entire pizza and a chocolate milkshake, thanks. All I’m saying is: if eating a whole thing of Kraft mac’n’cheese and a plate of cookies is going to make you feel good for at least at hour, do it… just so you don’t strangle that girl next to you in the computer lab. (How to make your favorite unhealthy foods healthy)

2. Sweat it out.
You might be lacking on time to eat, time to sleep, and time to finish that project you’ve been procrastinating doing for two weeks…but make some time to sweat out your frustration. Go for a run, do some yoga, find a sweet kickboxing video and punch the air. Trust me, you’ll thank me when you remain calm when someone reminds you that your big paper is due in a week. (This will also burn of all those calories that you consume from indulging.)

Read More »

How to understand your GPA

5 stylish graduation outfits

Become a group project survivor

My awful freshman orientation experience

Student eats Ramen for 3 weeks and…

The truth about being a virgin in college

Energy boosting foods for final times

A guide to saving money in college

Investing your student loans

Learn about fratography

Put some bling on your graduation cap

It’s finally happening. Hard as you tried to push it off, you’re graduating. You are taking the big steps, literally, across the stage and into adulthood. To prepare for the big day, you chug a beer spend all morning primping, getting your hair perfectly curled, ironing your new dress, fixing your shoes. Then you cover it all up with that big, overpriced black gown. The gown that could easily fit two more people.

You look at yourself in disgust, then complain to your mom. “I look like a giant square!” you whine. So she soothes you in that sweet, motherly way. Well, unless it’s my mom then it’s an “Everyone does, get over it” kind of way.

True Story: No matter how bangin’ your bod or how figure-friendly your outfit, there’s nothing flattering about a graduation gown. But when you’re standing outside as your grandparents snap 1,637 pictures of you lookin’ round and squat in that rayon muumuu, you can at least take solace in the fact that you’re not wearing this:

Really, though, regardless of what you wear or how much you sweat under that gown, congratulations on this major accomplishment. No, really. We know what you’ve been up to for the past 4 years, so congrats on making it out alive…and ready to take on the real world. Yay, you!

Girls, finals are upon us. (And here are 10 ways I know it.) We’re all spending too much time in the library, a soul crushing activity when the weather outside is starting to look like it is actually spring and almost summer. Personally, all I want to do is lie outside in a bikini with an issue of Cosmo.

Speaking of bikinis… actually, you know what, are we ready to talk about bikinis? Personally, with all the homework I’ve been doing, a bikini is the last thing I want to think about, especially with all those late night snack binges to keep myself motivated. Let’s talk about healthy food instead; foods you can make quickly between writing term papers, cramming for that next exam, and stressing about everything you have to get done between now and then.

The recipe I’m featured today is probably one of the easiest ever. Soup is one of my favorite things to make because all you need is a small saucepan, a stove of some kind (or sometimes even just a microwave…more on that below), and your favorite ingredients, which can be pretty much anything. Soups are my solution the day after I eat too much – you know, those nights where you write a term paper in five hours and eat an entire pizza in 5 minutes. Soups, especially homemade soups, are light, healthy, and delicious.

Garbanzo beans are my favorite ingredient to use in soups. They are cheap source of protein, fiber, and iron. That’s why I picked a recipe with them today. With all the late night studying we’re doing lately, we need some extra nutrients. Read More »

You know those fancy hair trends that have you all, “OMG, I could never pull that off!”  Well, I have a secret.  You can pull that off.  And you can pull that off at home!  Shocking, I know.  This ombre hair trend has been sweeping the fashion and beauty blogosphere.  I mean, it’s everywhere!  Rachel Bilson, Drew Barrymore (before she went red), Alexa Chung, Whitney Port, the list is never-ending.  Being the oh-so-curious one that I am and having an “I need to cut my hair off” moment post-crisis, I decided to take on this hair challenge at home.

Normally, I’m not nervous changing my hair, but I’ve never used an at home highlighting kit on myself before so I definitely had my stylist on speed dial in case anything went awry.  My hair has naturally red undertones, so this could have turned a terrible copper.  Fortunately, I didn’t screw it up. (Go me! Woop woop!)  I’m hoping that if this worked for me, it will work for you!  The key is, as it should be with any at home coloring project, do a test strip!  I can’t stress that enough. Now let’s get down to business:

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. For April, Jill gave up restaurants. This month? Khalea is giving up....wait for it....FRIED FOOD. Can she do it? We shall see.....]

I’ve lived in the South for a good portion of my life, which means that everything is deep fried – vegetables, candy, cookies and my absolute favorite – chicken. If it doesn’t have a crispy, golden brown finish then I usually stay away from it. From the bacon and hash browns I have in the morning to the French fries I eat with my dinner, I can honestly say that I don’t have the healthiest diet at all. And when my physician told me that I’m at risk for diabetes, it was obvious that something had to change. African Americans are the leading race plagued with diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol. The lack of exercise and greasy, indulgent soul food has to be a factor. I don’t want to be a statistic – I have too many dreams for my future…and too many clothes to buy.

So I decided it was time to make a change. A big one. A one-month one.
For the entire month of May, I’m giving up fried foods. I won’t be eating any of it. At all. Not one fried thing.

I think that cutting fried foods out of my diet will begin a slew of healthy habits. I already workout (Flirty Girl Fitness works wonders), but I still indulge in the occasional Chick-fil-A sandwich or a Bloomin’ Onion. Talk about counter productivity! I’m hoping that cutting out fatty fried foods will cut major calories from my diet and leave me with more energy to exercise. It’s quite a healthy change, and just the change I need  for myself, my family and Strappy, the Dolce and Gabbana number I want to fit into one day. Why not start now? Read More »

A roundup of fabulous spring platforms

How to wear eyeliner under your eyes

Get Kate Middleton’s nail color

Would you wear scalloped shorts?

Turns out feather earrings are the latest trend

10 summer sandals under $10

Get the Louboutin look for less!

A cool trick to stop your skin from peeling

Check out some awesome summer makeup

The cutest summer bag (with a charity incentive)

How to look fabulous at a wedding

The scent that will have everyone talking

Many people have an underlying suspicion that they are oops babies. But I had more than an underlying suspicion when I did some quick math and realized my sister was 19 years older than me AND we both had different fathers AND my parents weren’t married.

Don’t worry. I’m not the only one who did this math. So did a lot of other kids in my elementary school. Insert childhood teasing here.

The good news is that my mom never let on that I was an oops baby. Instead she called me her happy little surprise — a much better name than my little mistake.

My mom was 40 when she had me and my dad was still in his 30′s. After being a work-a-holic jetsetter while raising my older sister, she decided to take a different approach with me. She opted to stay-at-home and have a daycare so she could spend as much time as possible with me. Instead of being a mistake, I was like her do-over, her chance to fix anything she did wrong while raising my sister.

I had a normal childhood for the most part. Of course the occasional snobby brat would make fun of me because my parents weren’t married and because I was clearly a mistake. But my parents never made me feel unwanted or unloved.

Read More »

Emma Forrest’s “Your Voice in My Head” was just released on Tuesday. This book is a memoir and, as Emma perfectly put it, a duet. Emma has struggled with mental illness since her teens, but isn’t diagnosed until she winds up on Dr. R’s doorstep after a failed suicide attempt. She credits Dr. R with her recovery, but when he suddenly passes away from cancer, she realizes how little she knows about this man who saved her life.

Emma sets out to write a biography of Dr. R, but along the way she weaves in her story and discovers herself. She takes the reader through her life as a teenage journalist in Britain, her struggle with mental illness and recovery through Dr. R in New York and, of course, relationships along the way, including falling in love with one of the world’s biggest movie stars (who she calls her Gypsy Husband). All make for not only an interesting and engaging read, but one that really pulls at the heartstrings.

There aren’t enough positive words in the English language to describe this book. Staggering, beautiful, a true work of art. Every time I picked Your Voice in My Head up, I felt like I was catching up with up with an old friend. When she told about funny things, I laughed. And I cried when I shared in her sorrows. The candidness with which Emma wrote the memoir really makes it so wonderful and easy to get attached to. It’s not often that I’m genuinely sad when I finish a book, but I was when I had to put Your Voice in My Head on my bookshelf.

Everyone should read this book. I think college-age girls (or people of any age, really) will gain tremendous insight and perspective into the important things in life. Emma is wise beyond her years and so strong, and I think we can all learn some from this exemplary woman!

I was lucky enough to interview the lovely Brit about the book and her interesting life. Check it out! Read More »

Between finishing final projects, studying for finals, and attempting to have a life, have you really looked at a calendar lately?! If you haven’t you might be surprised to know that Mother’s Day is TOMORROW. 

If you still need to pick up something special for the moms in your life but don’t want to settle for a gift card, you’re in luck: CollegeFashion’s got 12 faboosh and approved gift ideas for Mother’s Day! And yes, these are all things you can run out and grab right now so yo mama doesn’t realize you waited until the last second to thank her for all the wonderful things she does.

Click here to check out all of CollegeFashion’s awesome gift ideas!