Back in August I showed you how to do a little dorm decorating without screwing up your walls (you do want to get that deposit back, don’t you?) Well now that you’ve got one wall decorated, what are you going to do with the other three?

Enter Blik Graphics, the perfect dorm room/rented apartment/ my-parents-would-kill-me-if-I- wrecked-my-bedroom-walls solution. Blik makes cute, stylish decals that are easily removable and don’t damage your walls or pull off the paint. Most of their designs are meant for one-time use (i.e. once you pull them off you can’t use them again), but I recommend trying their Re-sticks, which, as the name suggests, can be used over and over again. That way, come June, when you’re ousted from your dorm room, your decals can come with you! I usually stick mine on wax paper to prevent them from getting messed up in transit.

You can find their whole selection of adorable and unique Re-sticks here, or you can check out the list of local stores.

They can be a bit pricey, but at least they’re cheaper than that $500 deposit you’ll never get back for putting nail holes in your dorm room wall!

My personal favorite is mulled cider, which is super easy to make and, when you need that extra kick, goes very nicely with a little bit of rum.

Here’s what you need to get started:

A small saucepan

Apple Cider (the dark brown cloudy kind, don’t use apple juice!)

Brown sugar

Allspice

Cloves

Cinnamon sticks

An orange

Cheescloth

Rum (optional)

You can find Allspice, cloves and cinnamon in the spice section of any grocery store—make sure to buy them whole, not ground or powder! Cheesecloth is a bit harder to find—if you’re stuck, just get yourself a small strainer that has very fine holes.

Fill the saucepan about ¾ full with cider, and heat on the stove—don’t quite boil it, but get it nice and hot. Add a little bit of brown sugar (a couple pinches will do, more if you are making a larger batch). Place about a quarter cup each of your whole spices on a piece of cheesecloth and tie the four corners together, making sure there’s no space for the spices to fall out (If you have a strainer instead, just throw the spices directly into the pot). Add a couple of very thin orange slices directly to the pot, give it a stir, and let the whole thing simmer on a low heat for about half an hour.

To serve, ladle out a few spoonfuls into a mug and add an orange slice. If you didn’t use cheesecloth, just place the small strainer over the mug and carefully pour the cider in. If you really want to warm it up (and, ahem, you’re over 21!), just pour in a little bit of dark rum and enjoy!

[Photo courtesy of the Food Network]

Yikes, that doesn’t look appetizing.

Let’s be honest: when I get home at the end of a long day of work and classes and studying, the last thing I want to do is whip up a fancy meal for myself. Sometimes, I just need something fast and simple. But after a few months of take-out and pizza and dining-hall food, I realized that I was sacrificing my waistline for the sake of convenience.

What’s a calorie-counting busy girl to do?

Embrace the frozen entrée. I know, I know. Frozen entrees make me think of my Mom and Weight Watchers and scary-looking meat products in soupy liquids. No thanks.

However, there are some delicious frozen meals out there if you know where to look. The best part? Every last calorie and carb and gram of fat and milligram of sodium is right on the box, so you know exactly what you’re getting. To top it all off, they provide us with something this entire country is severely lacking—portion control. You shouldn’t need a hamburger the size of your head just to feel satisfied—frozen meals are a great way to teach yourself what is considered normal (the measurement for a normal serving of protein is the size of your fist…not your head).

Since I’ve become somewhat of a connoisseur of the frozen meal, I thought I’d round up a few of my favorites, for your thawing pleasure:

1. Go classic. Frozen versions of comfort food are always a safe bet. I like Lean Cuisine, where a decent serving of mac and cheese will only set you back 290 calories, and the cheese ravioli, my personal fav, is 240 calories.

2. Go east. Frozen entrees that mimic Asian or Indian dishes are often full of spices, which do a good job of masking the fact that you’re eating just-thawed noodles. Smart Ones makes a Thai Chicken and Noodles that, if you are tired enough, tastes just like Pad Thai. One full serving is only 260 calories—did someone say dessert?

3. Go healthy. Just about everyone is cashing in on frozen meals, even the health nuts at Kashi (makers of all things bran and dried fruit). They have a decent selection and, unlike their highly caloric granola, you get both nutrition AND low calories. Try the Pesto Pasta, 290 calories.

It’s best to avoid frozen entrees that also include a side and a dessert. Why? Well, for starters, if you’ve ever had your apple crumble bubble over into your honey mustard chicken, you know what I’m talking about. Plus, they add a lot of extra calories. You’re better off getting yourself some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and sticking to a one-dish entrée.

Happy microwaving, ladies!

A newly-decorated dorm wall–for cheap!

Alright girls, it’s now officially Back To School Season. Does the thought of dorm décor make you sweat worse than the Summer heat? Do the prices in the PB Teen catalog make you woozy? Fear not, because Sarah is here to make it all better. I went to boarding school, so I’ve got double the dorm years under my belt—that means I’ve got double the tips, tricks and shortcuts to transform your dorm from cinderblock cell to palatial pad (without spending your Summer savings). So put away the lava lamps and movie posters, and let Sarah be your guide.

We all know that those PB Teen and Teen Vogue “dorm makeovers” are a sham. Why? Well, for starters no college student can afford a $200 duvet cover or a $50 pillow. We’re lucky if we can afford to eat lunch. And second—I don’t know what college these kids are going to, but at my lovely institution there is no way in hell we could ever paint the walls, swap out the furniture or even put nails in the wall (have you ever tried to hammer nails into cinder block? Not. Fun.)

So my roommates and I made due with that gummy blue tack stuff, that god-awful industrial dorm furniture, and a little inspiration. Our first dorm project starts now, in the middle of the Summer. Later on, when you move in and get settled, you’ll need a roll of ribbon, a package of wooden clothespins, and some adhesive hooks. All of these things are super-cheap, and can be found at Target or any big box store.

Right now, you just need to start collecting. You might already have a shoebox somewhere filled with postcards, notes, photos, pretty business cards, etc. If not, it’s time to start gathering! Your friend sends you a postcard of a flamingo while on vacation in Florida? Put it in a box. Spot a dish of colorful business cards at a restaurant? Stash one in your wallet. Ticket stub from a Summer festival? Into the box. Start collecting little bits and pieces for the next few months, and by Fall you’ll have a box-full.

Now all you need is an ugly blank dorm wall. Attach two adhesive hooks to the wall about 2 or 3 feet apart from each other. Cut a length of ribbon that’s a couple inches longer than the space between your hooks, and tie each end to a hook. Make sure the ribbon is pulled tight, to avoid sagging in the middle. Then just pin a clothespin to both the ribbon and a piece from your box. Keep adding clothespins until you’ve run out of ribbon. Simple!

Now you have an instant way to display all the things you’ve collected, without having to tape each individual piece to the wall—and you can change your display as the year progresses, since swapping things in and out is so simple. Throw up pictures of your new friends. Display those lovely grades from first semester. And easily get rid of evidence of the ex without having to deal with all that blue tack; just pull that once-cute photo down and replace it with something (or somene) cuter. And the bonus? The total cost for this project is probably less than $10.

Happy collecting!

We all have one: the friend who blows you off, who drops you like a hot potato as soon as she meets a cute boy, who just needs to borrow $5 and seriously she’ll pay you back like, tomorrow. If this girl was your boyfriend, you would dump her a**–but can you really dump a friend?

I met Rebecca in the Spring of our senior year, in an English class, and it was like we had known each other forever. In only a few short months, I felt like I had a new best friend, someone I could rely on and who always understood me. I could totally be myself around her; my sometimes-goofy, sometimes-awkward sometimes-downright-weird self.

In short, it was friend love (Flove?).

I was leaving for grad school in the Fall (in another country), so we resolved to spend as much time together as possible that Summer. Now, I’m known among my friends as being a leeeeetle bit on the anal side when it comes to making plans, keeping them, and being early. I’m always early, at least by 10 minutes, to just about everything. If I make a plan with you, I will be there, rain or shine. Rebecca, on the other hand, always seemed to be in the midst of a calamity. The subway was delayed, or she accidentally fell asleep, or there was some kind of crisis, so she was going to be late. I spent a lot of time waiting for her to show up. Sometimes she’d never show up at all, calling later to apologize, and I always just acted like it was fine.

While I worked in a soul-killing temp job to earn money, she focused on her writing, occasionally doing odd jobs with unreliable paychecks. As a result, I often picked up the tab when we went out. She always meant to pay me back, but never did. At one point she had racked up about $100 in money she insisted that she owed me, so she decided to take me out on the town, dinner and drinks. Then the bank was closed, she couldn’t get her paycheck cashed…it was a calamity, as usual. I paid for everything that night, for both of us.

When my Dad came to help me pack up my U-haul at the end of the Summer, Rebecca promised she’d come around to say goodbye one last time before I left the country. I waited for her to call until my Dad insisted we couldn’t wait any longer—we’d get stuck in traffic out of the city, and it was over an hour past when she said she’d come. I tried calling but her phone was off. She sent me an instant message later, something about her phone dying, but I ignored it. We didn’t speak for months.

Like a pleading ex-boyfriend, I eventually took her back. She visited me at grad school, and we had an amazing time…my faith in our friendship was renewed! In August of the following year, I came back to the city. She was in Chicago with her new boyfriend, but she promised she’d be back in time to see me before I left. Surprise surprise, there was a storm in Chicago she told me, huge delays she said, and instead of staying at the airport to wait for a flight, she booked a new flight for the following week, when I was already back at school, and spent the weekend with her man.

I stopped returning her calls. I felt so stupid and petty, but a few months later I had a pretty zen realization:

Sometimes, friendships just don’t work out.

Seriously girls: we are here to support each other. We don’t need to be dicked around by our girlfriends…we get plenty of that from the men in our life. If a friend has an annoying habit that bothers you (lateness, tendency to “forget” that she owes you money), the first thing you should do is talk to her about it. She may not realize it upsets you, even though you put on your very best “I’m MAD” face when she shows up late. We are not mind readers, ladies. Annoying habits are, well, annoying, but they shouldn’t be a deal breaker; no one is perfect!

If she treats you really bad though, and talking doesn’t help..then she doesn’t just have an annoying habit, she’s a toxic friend. It may be a tough process, but you’ve got to cut her out. You’d never tolerate it from a boyfriend, so don’t tolerate it at all!

Photo courtesy of www.fashionista.com

Jackets already? No thanks.

(Photo courtesy of Urban Outfitters)

It’s hot today in New York. Really. Hot. Even in the air conditioning, I am sweating (ew). Last week, in preparation for some 4th of July swimming, I set off on a mission to find myself a swimsuit. I was looking for a kind of cute, retro one-piece, so I headed to my old standby: Urban Outfitters. When I entered the store, however, I was in shock. Everywhere I looked there were sweaters, long-sleeve plaid shirts and…is that a coat with a wool collar?!

WTF Urban Outfitters?! It’s JULY. I decided to try another store down the street, but was struck with the same thing. Again and again as I made my way down Broadway, I saw Fall clothing up in every window. Yesterday the latest issue of Lucky magazine arrived in my mailbox, chock full of…you guessed it…Fall fashions. I leafed through it while sitting on my bed half-naked trying to cool down in front of my fan. The pages and pages of models in tights and sweaters were not helping.

Look, I know that designers release collections early, I know that Fall fashion week actually showcases Spring looks, etc, etc. But really, chain stores, hast thou forgotten the lowly average customer? We still want to go shopping for swimsuits and sundresses in July! We won’t need sweaters until late September! The thought of trying on a long sleeved ANYTHING when I’m dripping with sweat and nursing a sunburn is enough to make me break down. So please, chain stores, I beg of you. Keep the Summer stuff around for a few more weeks. This is New York, not Antarctica.

2. Because you’ve always wondered: what WOULD happen if the earth was ravaged by global warming? Wall-E is the last robot on planet earth, hundreds of years after humans have abandoned it. Due to our race’s excess (the landscape is dominated by the corporation “Buy n’ Large”), the environment has been ruined. The earth is covered in garbage, and there are no living beings left besides cockroaches. Kinda makes you think about all the stuff we throw away.

3. Because who knew a robot could be so damn cute? Whether he’s protecting his girl-crush, Eve, from the rain or using a garbage can lid as a hat to dance along to a “Hello Dolly” video tape, I found myself wanting to hug the little guy. Yeah, I said it.

4. Because Eve, the shiny new robot sent to earth to find signs of life, is a great female role model. She’s tough (her arm doubles as some kind of super-powered ray gun) but sweet, and smart as hell. Watch her kick a** and fall for the lovable Wall-E, all while saving them, and the planet, from destruction.

5. Because…anything is better than “The Love Guru”.

Michael Pollan’s first book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, explored the realities of the food production systems that dictate what and how we eat. His newest book, In Defense of Food, is the practical application of that knowledge, a kind of diet book for whole food-ists.

Pollan’s manifesto is so simple it seems silly: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants”. What could he mean by “eat food”? Isn’t that what we do every day? Pollan argues that most of what we eat these days is not food, but more like an engineered “food-ish” product that would be unrecognizable to our grandmothers or great-grandmothers.

He sees the rise of “nutritionism” as the death of food—nutritionism is the term he has coined for our increased focus on the molecular breakdowns of our food, rather than on the foods themselves. It’s easy to see nutritionism in action every day—we are constantly being told to eat less carbs or more fiber. There are good fats and bad fats. One day we’re supposed to eat more vitamin C, the next day it’s omega-3’s. The one thing that’s missing from these recommendations? Actual food!

Our bread is no longer just bread, it has to be vitamin-fortified or low-carb. Our yogurt is no longer just milk and bacteria, but now comes pumped full of unpronounceable chemicals to keep it fresh for longer. We have CHEESE IN A CAN.

If we stopped focusing on the chemical compounds we’re supposed to eat, Pollan argues, and just start eating real food, all of those vitamins and minerals and fats and fiber will just come naturally. Eating this way, of course, is more expensive, which can be frustrating for a girl on a budget. But then I think about how much money I waste every month on, say, beauty magazines, or my fancy cable package…wouldn’t some of that money serve me better if I put it towards buying fresh local veggies instead of my usual bendy celery and chemical coated apples? Should you really be eating a food product that’s been designed for shelf life rather than quality?

For many, the lifestyle Pollan proposes—buying organically and locally, cooking as much as possible, avoiding foods with more than 5 ingredients—seems daunting, near impossible at times. But he breaks things down into smaller goals that seems manageable—you may not be able to afford grass-fed local organic beef, but you might think twice before eating that Twinkie…

Giving up convenience foods is tough for me because I’m always busy, but I’m taking my first step towards eating real food: my friend and I just joined a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture organization, which means for the low low price of $15/week ($7.50/week split between us), we’ll get a box of fresh vegetables from a local farm each week.

If you’re interested in changing the way you think about food, or simply curious about what’s inside “Go-gurt”, then “In Defense of Food” is a must-read.

Back in February I reported that the new Spike Jonze/Dave Eggers film adaptation of everyone’s favorite children’s book Where the Wild Things Are was in a bit of trouble for being TOO scary for the young’uns.

According to New York Magazine (via Playlist), the film is still not doing well. Hot on the heels of Speed Racer’s big box-office upset, Playlist is reporting that Jon Vitti (of Alvin and the Chipmuncks screenwriting fame…Yikes!) has been hired to help out, and that the production is “deeply troubled”.

There were rumors that Jonze had been fired from the project after Warner Brothers scheduled re-shoots and ordered rewrites of several scenes. However, Jonze is reportedly still part of the project, despite not having final say on the end result.

The film was originally slated to be released in May of 2008 (umm…right now!), but was then pushed to October of 2008, and now has been pushed all the way back to October 2009. Warner Brothers is apparently still worried about the film being too scary for kids and too confusing, so the rewrites and re-shoots are aimed at making the story more “clear”.

What could possibly be unclear about Where the Wild Things Are? Sounds like the studio is trying to make the quirky and sometimes troubling story more palatable, at the expense of Jonze’s vision. Over at the MTV Movies Blog they’re reporting that Forrest Whitaker (the voice of the Wild Thing ‘Ira’) wants the studio to leave the film as is, saying that Max’s mother “ends up having a boyfriend that becomes like a monster to him…people have to build trust with the people their parent starts to date…These are real issues that the character deals with, and I hope that [the filmmakers] continue to explore them, because kids need to see that; they need to see that other kids are dealing with it.”

Some people are telling Jonze to leak his original cut, before the Warner Brothers intervention, but most think that’s unlikely to happen.

What do you think the final cut will be when the film is (hopefully) released in 2009? Will it be Jonze’s portrait of a disturbed young boy, or a lighter interpretation of the classic kids tale? Which would you prefer to see?

And then? Bam. Fired. Jobless. Let go only 2 months into my very first full-time salary-and-benefits job out of college.

What I didn’t realize about being fired is that it feels exactly like a breakup.

I went home and curled up under my duvet in the middle of the afternoon, and all I could do is replay the breakup in my head. Instead of “I think we should see other people” it was “We are going to have to terminate you, effective immediately”. I could picture my boss’s face in my head, and it brought me to tears each time. Just like a breakup, I couldn’t eat or sleep or think about anything else. In vain I tried to distract myself by downloading and watching episodes of Gossip Girl.

A few days later, when I finally dragged myself out of bed, I came to realize that I probably wouldn’t see most of my ex-coworkers again, kind of like how you never get to see your ex-boyfriend’s cool friends after the breakup. Too awkward. But I loved my co-workers! I can’t believe I don’t get to hang out with any more! And of course I wouldn’t be able to hang out in the neighborhood where my old office was, for fear of running into my ex-boss, or just being overwhelmed with negative memories. This thought affected me so much I almost broke down in tears again just thinking about how I wouldn’t be able to go to the local DELI again. The deli! I was clearly losing it.

Of course, the feeling that I’d never find another job again was pervasive, just like I felt during my last breakup–I’ll NEVER find another boyfriend again, NEVER! “Who will ever hire me now?” I thought. “Clearly I am a horrible employee, and I might as well just resign myself to a life of poverty”.

Now, of course, I’m doing better, looking for new jobs and spending some time with my closest ex-coworkers, far far away from the office. But sometimes I look at the coat in my closet–an ex-coworker gave it to me–or someone I haven’t seen in a while asks me how the job is going, and it all comes flooding back again. My old company advertises on the subway too, so just a simple trip by train can send me into a major re-lapse.

The good news? Just like a breakup, you’ll eventually move on. You won’t think about it so much, and when you do, it won’t feel as awful. You WILL find a new job, and soon your new job will fill your life with new memories and friendships and local delis. Don’t be afraid to treat being fired just like you’d treat being dumped. Get your friends to come over with wine and ice cream and movies.

Burn a memento (I burned my old business cards–outside, of course, so as to not set my apartment on fire) as therapy, and if you do have to go back to the old neighborhood or see some ex-coworkers, make sure to look really happy and put-together. Don’t let them know how much of a mess you are! Make a list of all the ways your job kind of sucked–all the stuff you pushed to the side when you were in the honeymoon phase (yeah, the pay was actually really sh*t!).

Eventually you’ll forget all about that job. You were way better than it anyway.