Dear readers, I come to you now because I, like most girlfriends I’m sure, need to vent.

While I love my boyfriend Matt to death, there comes a time (OK, many times) when he drive me insane. Sometimes all of the little annoying habits he has make either want to barf or slap him upside the head. I’m sure some of you will think “That’s terrible! I would never be grossed out by or want to hurt my boyfriend!” But I’d put money down on the table right now that most of you feel my pain and are sitting there right now thinking, “OMG, sometimes my boyfriend annoys the crap out of me.”

For instance, let’s just take the fact that men, by nature, are gross. Matt is no exception (obviously). While yes, it’s appreciated that he showers regularly and brushes his teeth, it still grosses me out to no end when he wakes up in the morning and immediately starts hacking and coughing up God knows what. I know that people have to take care of some phlegm in the morning on occasion, but this is every. single. morning. And it’s not one cough either – it’s several loud and, from the sound of it, very productive hacks. Trust me, it’s not what you want to hear at 6 a.m. when you’re trying desperately to get a few more precious minutes of sleep.

Then there’s the failed attempts at humor. While Matt has a great sense of wit and is usually really dang funny, he’s got one flaw in the comedy department: accents and impersonations. That really wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that he tries to do them just about every time we’re with people. As a former theater major, bad accents get to me. I did a year of Irish dialect training, so when he tries his hand at an Irish brogue, it’s not only totally unfunny, but it has the same effect on me that nails on the chalkboard have one the rest of society. And our friends have noticed as well. Read More »

By now you’re probably passed all of your fascination with college being new and exciting.  You’re also probably tired of the same old dorm posters.  Instead of just plastering your walls over with stereotypical college imagery, why don’t you make your dorm as unique as you are?

Have no fear my decorating minions, get your hot glue guns ready and lets get crafty!

Let’s Make… Picture frames! Posters are so…mainstream. Everyone has them. Why not hang your own pictures in personalized frames?

 This is an easy craft. You can find ready-made frames for cheap at any dollar store, walmart, or craft store. All you need to do is decorate with fabric, sequins, or little plastic accents…things you can again find at walmart or a craft store. Just apply them with your hot glue gun…and there you have it!

Let’s Make… Beaded curtains!  This project will take a little more time to finish, but it allows your mind to go to a zen-like place while you do it.

You will need: Beads! Fishing line and a tension curtain rod.

First measure your door frame and decide how thick you want your curtain to be. Thicker curtains call for more beads. Cut your fishing line to fit, and then start stringing your beads (this part takes awhile).

Once you’re done stringing all your beads,  apply them to the rod and hang. Put a dab of hot glue over the part where the beads are tied over the rod to keep the steady. There you have it! Read More »

[To ask Tuffs a question, shoot her an e- at tuffy@collegecandy.com, you dig?]

Dear Tuffy Luv,

By reading your entries on CC, I saw that you studied abroad! I’m a few weeks away from the end of my semester abroad (London, to be exact). I have had a blast spending the last few months travelling around Europe, being surrounded by cute british accents, fabulous shopping and all wonderful things European.

I’m really excited to go back home and reunite with friends, family, etc, but I’ve heard a lot about “reverse culture shock” and that sometimes it can be a mess going home after being away for so long. Any advice on what to do when I get home? Would it be easier to jump right into home life again, maybe take a few days of solitude to sort my life out again? Ugh, how bittersweet to be leaving.

Love,

a fellow study abroad-er

Dear Study Abroad-er,

Definitely give yourself a few days off.

It’s so freaking hard to readjust to your old life after getting back from a great adventure. You figure you’ll just be like, hey, I’m home, cool! But for some reason, your body is like, where’s the food I’ve been eating for the last five months? Where are the superintense new friends? Read More »

I’m going to preface this by saying I truly wish I was making it up.

I set myself up on a blind date with a beautiful, foreign, twenty-something man last weekend after meeting him at a bar. And by meeting, I mean, chatting for two seconds while waiting for friends, leaving, then going back into the bar to pull a stunt I had abandoned since freshman year of college. I was a few drinks into my evening, and he had been amiable during our little chat before…

“I’m really sorry, I never do this–” (blatant lie… it’s just been awhile) “–but I’d really like to see you again. Could I get your number?”

Why, yes, he said, I could. High five, self! Confidence, boosted.

We ultimately decided to meet for drinks the following weekend. Why did it have to be that weekend? Oh, because of course he was MOVING TO EUROPE the following week. The night I met him had been his going away party.

Naturally, the first date I’ve been on in months would have no potential to go anywhere. But he was hot, and I thoroughly enjoyed that accent. This was a pressure-free situation, and he showed up in a suit. Screw Europe. Europe had nothing on my evening out with this guy.

Things were great… and then came a random man who approached and started chatting Date up, gesturing to me and asking, “That your girlfriend?”

Awkward. Read More »