Now that Oprah’s off the air (well, not really– she just decided to start her own TV network instead), I’m starting to wonder who will take her place as an overwhelming wealthy woman who uses her resources and media presence for good. Sure, no one will ever replace Ms. Winfrey, but I sure hope she’s not the last woman to inspire and help the world to the extent that Oprah did. Even if they don’t land their own talk show, there’s a handful of well-known women who I know I’d have no problem sitting across from and telling my life story to. Read More »

Plaid is one of thing that never goes out of style, but I’m sure many ladies who had to wear a plaid skirt pre-university gag at the thought of wearing plaid again. While it’s true that it’s pretty difficult to ditch the school girl appearance with a pleated plaid skirt, there are many other ways to wear plaid.

As plaid never really goes out of style, it’s one of those things that everyone (and their purse-sized dog) has in their closet. If you haven’t jumped onto the plaid bandwagon, or only have your school skirt in your closet,  it’s easy to find plaid on the cheap. As everyone owns plaid, if you’re sick of your current pieces, try swapping with a same-size friend.

As much as I love plaid, there are some challenges with it. First, there’s Catholic school girl stereotype. Second, the farm girl image. And third, the punk-rock princess with safety pins in her skirt. If you play carefully with plaid then it’s pretty easy to avoid these not-so nice plaid stereotypes.

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This week’s WTF is brought to you on behalf of Jours Après Lunes, a French lingerie design house that has just launched a couple new lines- one for tweens (!!) and one for girls in the 3-36 month age range (!!!).

While the toddler line is pretty tame, the tween collection leaves little to the imagination. From sexed up hair and long string pearls to creepily playful poses and too much makeup (one little girl even has a fake tattoo on her back), this isn’t your standard Hanes underwear. Read More »

Just as The Bachelor Pad pulls me in every week, “the big game” seems to have the same effect on guys. Literally, “the big game” could be anything. Football is understandable (it’s an American staple, right?), soccer is acceptable, tennis is a little more on the lackluster side and ice hockey? Now that’s pushing it. But here’s the thing, regardless of what sport it is, guys seem to find a way to make it this big grand watch-party event. So what’s a girl to do while her sports-fanatic boyfriend invites all of his friends over to sit back and enjoy his rather ridiculous and completely unnecessary 60-inch flat screen? Why, observe of course! This is male bonding at its finest and I’m not about to miss out on this one. Oh, and post up next to the food counter, duh.

The best part about dating a dude who is super into sports is sitting back and watching him and his “bros” as that “big game” comes on TV. The before, during and after boggle my mind. Dear Guys of America, what do too much Budlight, a bunch of dudes in one room, a televised sporting match and jalapeno poppers equal at the end of the night? Well, let’s just take a minute to find out. Read More »

I am in the most amazing, secure and satisfying relationship I have ever been in but there is just one so-called “problem”; after nearly a year and a half, neither of us have said, “I love you.”

Now I know what this probably sounds like to some, or possibly even most, of you. (Believe me, I see it in the facial expressions of concerned friends and hear it in the tone of their strongly worded reactions.) There is obviously a clear issue here, right? Well, actually, I’m not so sure.

Now, to be honest, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that part of me (the part that sometimes, uncontrollably slips into this cliché, fairytale, chick flick inspired way of thinking that all love stories have basically 1 of 3 plots) at times wishes one of us would just find the courage to come out and say it already. I mean, it’s been long enough! And the pressure from friends and family who act like this is the biggest thing in the world to be concerned about, only adds fuel to this flame.

However, my usual, more sane, more rational and level-headed reaction to all of this is, “Who really cares?” Is actually saying that phrase really as significant or necessary as everyone our age makes it out to be? I mean, isn’t it true that actions should speak louder than words?

We are currently in a world where nearly every word in the “relationship dictionary” is rapidly being redefined. Take the word, meaning and supposed “sacredness” of marriage, for instance. It’s being entirely altered by things like the exceptionally high divorce rate (and the never ending publicity about celebrity divorces and adultery in the press). Or what about the many different names have we come up with in the last decade to define the new, modern, complicated relationships that keep arising: open relationship, no strings attached, friends with benefits, just hooking up… the list continues. Who even knows what the proper meaning and context of monogamy and love is these days. Read More »

Back in the good old days, returning to school meant one thing: new school supplies! Colorful binders, cool erasers and general shenanigans made going back to elementary school that much more exciting. Lisa Frank,  how I’ve missed you. Now, if only I could justify purchasing gel pens and bright colored notecards for college…

initiating the gallery...

What do you miss most from elementary school shopping?

Losing your virginity ain’t no big thang

The most surprising studious celebrities

Men fall in love first?!

Tricks for decorating your dorm

Why you should go to H&M immediately

Does animal print scream man magnet?

The greatest literary orphans

Is Dexter’s divorce threatening the show?

Anne Hathaway thinks Snooki is her twin…?!

Freshman year, there was a group of about ten of us who were super close. We ate together, we did our homework together, we partied together and pulled pranks on each other. Long story short, we were practically inseparable. That is, until the dormcest began, and it was intense. Very intense. I mean, my senior freshman dorm bar-crawl t-shirts literally had a web of who hooked up with who. Hello, gross.

Dormcest, especially floorcest, was quite the epidemic my freshman year. For the first month, I just didn’t get it. It was like making out with your closest friend. Didn’t anyone feel awkward? Weren’t they weirded out by it? Wasn’t it bizarre to be (essentially) sharing a room with the person you’re hooking up with? Maybe I was naive, but I voted yes.

Well, I thought that at least until I fell into the same trap. The boy who lived next door to me (thanks for the CoEd floors UD!), and I had quite a tumultuous relationship. At first, I thought he was annoying. A stereotypically D1 football player, with a fast car, loud music and constant stream of people coming in and out of his room to hang out. He was soo not my type. That is, until he was. I’ll spare you the details, but we started hooking up fairly regularly. We spent so much time together, we were practically married. We’d go to the dining hall together, run errands at Target together or even just study together. It just worked. But the tricky part about dormcest was, we weren’t dating.

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Number one guilty pleasure? ABC Family shows. There’s nothing like spending an entire day watching a Pretty Little Liars marathon (when you’re supposed to be doing something else, the laundry will do itself, right?). And now the super cute Tyler Blackburn from PLL is a singer, which officially makes him one threat away from being a triple threat. His song, Save Me, is the first single from the new web series WENDY — an updated look at the classic Peter Pan tale, Except in this version, modern-day Wendy is choosing between the love of her life and the man of her dreams. You know, that common problem when you love two amazing guys. Except in the college context, the love of your life is the guy down the hall who hooks up with you when he’s too lazy to go out and the man of your dreams is your TA who makes you sit a desk’s length away when he goes over your paper with you.

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Imagine going through your life as a heterosexual female. You’ve crushed on men, you’ve been attracted to men, you’ve dated men and had relationships with men…there’s was never a question: you dug dudes. End of story.

But then say one day you meet someone who is just so generous toward you. Someone who seems to care so greatly about you, who you care about in return. And that someone is a woman.

What do you do? Does that make you bisexual? A lesbian? Huh!? Well, read as one woman discusses her journey into — and out of — lesbianism. Read More »