If you’re as addicted to caffeine as I am, you are probably broke (not to mention a real gem in the early morning hours). But, like any good junkie, you’re more than willing to flip the couch cushions in search of a few quarters, or sell your kidney to pay for a grande White Chocolate Mocha on your way to school.

I have to admit, I’m a huge Starbucks fan, and am usually fine with shelling out a few extra dollars to indulge in something tastier than Folgers. Still, I need a new winter wardrobe… so I’m weaning myself off of overpriced coffee drinks (that taste like dessert) and makin’ my coffee at home.

I know it’s a bold move, but after playing around a bit I have learned a few things: 1) Making your own coffee can save you billions, and 2) It is really, really easy. Here are a few tips:

1. Flavor it Up.

Whenever I make my own coffee, no matter how good the brand, or how carefully I measure the coffee-to-water ratio, it always seems to taste like dirt. My solution? Flavor, flavor, flavor. Syrup, syrup, Equal, syrup. Seriously, who just gets a latte from Starbucks? Everyone has their signature: the Pumpkin Latte, Caramel Macchiato, White Chocolate Mocha…what do they have in common? Manufactured taste. Instead of shelling out $4-$5 a day for Starbucks, buy a bottle of Torani Syrups. This brand is used in tons of coffee shops across the country, so you might not even taste the difference. Read More »

Amy Winehouse may be totally cracked out, but that doesn’t mean her brain isn’t working. The girl is innovative. When it comes to doing drugs, this woman will try anything. Like, I don’t know, mixing it with everyone’s favorite sugary treat: cotton candy.

Maybe it was born out of desperation (“I have to think of a way to get my coke fix without whipping a vial out of my nappy hair!”), or boredom (“Doing lines gets really old after a few years…”), but however she cooked up this idea doesn’t matter. Because she did.

Winehouse has recently purchased a cotton candy machine which she fills with her tasty coke/candy concoction.

Seriously, we can’t make this stuff up. We just wonder what tasty mixture she’ll think of next: Crack Fries? Ecstasy lollipops? Heroin hamburgers? Horse tranquilizer milkshakes?

Mmmm. Horse tranquilizer milkshakes….

[Photo courtesy of www.ninjadude.com]

Hi, my name is Lauren and I’m a cupcake-aholic.

My addiction has taken over my life. Sometimes, when I am driving home from anywhere, I suddenly find myself at the local bakery or grocery store, frosting all over my chin, and have no idea how I got there. There was even that one drunken night when I woke up with half a cupcake in my bed.

And I finished it.

I cannot walk past a cupcake shop without stopping in and trying a few, and I have been known to spend Saturday nights at home with a box of Dunkin Hines cupcake mix, my oven and a jar of icing.

I have been battling this addiction for years and it is tearing my life (and pants) apart. I am working to kick the habit, but I am not strong enough to do it cold turkey. I now consciously avoid streets that house any sort of mini cake delight and have in turn turned to the internet to feed (or not so much) my urges.

Yes, I am now a subscriber to cupcake porn. Read More »

I fancy myself quite a connoisseur of romance. I am a girl who has seen nearly every romantic comedy in existence, whose reading materials of choice consist of happily ever after type articles and books, and who is able to read a romantic undertone into nearly every song she hears. I suppose to say I am a romance connoisseur is an understatement; I am a love-junkie.

It can, and has been argued that the fine line between the real-life reality and expectation of romance, and the “fiction” type I hold on to seems to be a line I have blurred—possibly to an unrecognizable point. To put it simply, I think I might have a problem.

My name is Rory and I am addicted to romance. I am addicted to the idea of romance—the indestructible, all consuming passion for another person. I have fallen in love with every romantic gesture, declaration, and scene from every romantic comedy, I have swooned at every love song written, and I have melted with every romantic note or Hallmark card I’ve seen. I have used romantic comedies, sitcom relationships, happily ever after ending stories and love songs to develop my idea of love that is, well, completely and utterly unrealistic. Read More »

As the go-to sympathetic listener to Every.Single.Friend of mine, I hear my fair share of happy stories, sad tales and a generous amount of scandals. But by far the most conversations we have revolve around the complete a-holes that my girlfriends deliberately date. I seriously cannot fathom why my beautiful, smart and funny friends seek out men who are sure to treat them horribly — that is when they pay any attention at all. Here is my condensed list of guys to avoid, and here is to hoping you can spot them as easily as your girlfriends do when you date them.

1. The Hottest Frat God Alive (at least he thinks so).

HFGA can usually be found sipping Natty Lite with his bros in his designated spot at everyone’s favorite bar. He charms the ladies with his sparkling smile and 9-year-old, never washed favorite hat. He can (and usually does) hook up with whomever he feels like, making them the lucky lady for the night. This luck expires the morning after as his conquest climbs out of the sketchiest window at his fraternity house so none of his brothers (or her friends) will notice. Read More »

Alright, I have a confession. My name is Jen, and I’m a Mountain Dew addict. It’s my drug. It’s my euphoria. It’s my baby blanket of comfort and warmth and all-is-well-in-the-world. And right now, I’m sitting with a two-liter bottle cradled in my lap like a lime-green toddler.

I know what you must be thinking. EVERYONE has their weaknesses. But mine’s a little out of control. Sure, some people cross the street for Starbucks instead of Dunkin’ Donuts. Sure, some people can’t make it through a bad day without a pint of the gooiest, most-fattening Ben and Jerry’s flavor (uh, did you know our favorite boys now make Cake Batter? Yeah, I know. Look out waist-line, plus-size ahoy).

But do they base their entire college existences around their indulgences? I think not. Read More »

I have an addiction. And it’s really expensive. I don’t know how to stop.

No, Lindsay Lohan, I’m not talking about cocaine. I’m talking about TV on DVD. There is nothing I love more than dropping into Best Buy and picking up two or three seasons of various shows. Some I may have seen, and some I have not, but like any good addict, I understand that one is never enough.

My first real DVD binge was on Grey’s Anatomy. Bored and home sick one day, I went to Blockbuster and ended up picking up the first disk of the first season. When the disk had finished I needed more. I had to know what happened, and immediately I grabbed my things and copped the first two seasons at WalMart.

I thought it would last, but in two days I was fresh out of Meredith and McDreamy. I didn’t really sleep in those two days, because I would just say to myself “one more episode, then bed.” But I was hooked and like Whitney to crack, I would run to the DVD player to put in a new disk.

I don’t indulge that often anymore. I have also figured out that quality comedy shows on DVD are better for the TV junkie. You cannot possibly watch five season of Family Guy without wanting to shoot yourself afterwards.

One or two episodes feels great, and then I’m satisfied. Other suggestions for those who cannot waste half their day watching the fourth season of Dawson’s Creek, The Daily Show, Chappelle’s Show, Robot Chicken, and South Park.

If you are a real junkie, take two weeks off from work and run out to buy The Sopranos, Lost, and Sex in the City. These three will keep you staring at your TV for a nice long time.

Here are my top five DVD seasons to own:

1. Family Guy, Season 3. We meet Herbert the creepy old man, and the show has quite become as scattered as it is now. Like some of the episodes actually have plots. Read More »

Dear Britney,

I hope this letter finds you well. Or at least wearing a pair of underwear. I am writing to you today on behalf of all of us 20-something women who spent our high school and college years dancing/working out to your music and thinking of your ridiculous abs as we lay on the gym floor willing ourselves to do one last crunch.

We are worried about you, Britney.

It was only a few years ago that you sat atop the world in a one piece leather jumpsuit. Then along came Kevin. You fell in love, you got married and decided to bow out of the spotlight for a bit. That’s fine. I could have used a few new songs on my workout playlist, but everyone is entitled to a little “me” time. But, somehow, “Britney” time turned into “Trailer Park” time and we saw what can now be considered the furthest fall for a celeb since Michael Jackson started touching little boys.

What happened behind the closed doors at camp Spears? How did you go from the hottest thing on the planet to this?

Britney, while you totally screwed the pooch at the VMA’s (a bra and panty set? Really?!) and, while we’re at it, at raising children, it really isn’t that hard for you to make a comeback. Maybe not as a mega pop star, but at least as someone not totally crazy/white trash and who has a shred of dignity. And who can keep her eyelashes in the correct place while doing a giant interview on NBC. Read More »

When I don’t have my cell phone on me throughout the day, I feel naked. Truly.

During college, if I ever forgot it back at my sorority house after heading out for the day, I would somehow find a way to sprint back and get it in between classes. I was so sure I would miss the call of a lifetime during that 9 am – 10:20 am time period.

Usually, I didn’t.

Well, this addiction causes me to have frequent instances where I can swear I hear it ringing, but when I would reach into my bag and take a look, it is totally silent.

No missed calls, no new text messages, no new picture messages. What is this weird thing that I was hearing?

Am I going crazy?

Nope, just suffering from a case of Ringxiety. And yes, it is a real thing, and there has now been a study done to back it up.

According to a recent news report, “A new study found that two thirds of the people surveyed reported hearing their phone ring or feeling it vibrate when it had not actually rung. The phenomenon has been termed ringxiety…The more frequently a person uses their phone, the more often they reported hearing a phantom ring, the study found. These participants (67% of the people surveyed) had higher monthly charges, used more minutes, sent more text messages, and showed higher levels of impulsivity.” Read More »

I think we’ve had this conversation before. But it’s worth having again, especially since Freshmen year is so crucial to the development of this addiction.

This messy, painful, powerful addiction.

The addiction to wearing pajamas to class.

Some of you had to get up as early as 5:30 AM to get to high school, and while wearing pj’s may have been a slight temptation, you never actually went and did it.

No, you pulled on some jeans, found a shirt somewhere, made sure your face wasn’t frightening, and then hopped into the car while the sun was still coming up.

But then college happens, and for some reason, everything changes. Almost no one has class earlier than 8:30 (a whole hour later than 12th grade), school is usually no more than a 10-15 minute walk from your bed, and breakfast is already made for you. It should be easier to resist the urge to wear those dancing dog pj’s your grandma got you to class…right?

Nope.

Just doing it once, just one taste of the sweet, sweet laziness that is literally throwing a jacket over pajamas is enough to turn some people in pajajay junkies for life (or at least the duration of the college career). Read More »