Just when I had thought society had told it’s last ‘women in the kitchen’ joke, the children’s toy “My Cleaning Trolley” labeled “Girls Only” was released.

At first I was offended at the sight of the pink cart filled with cleaning supplies that seemed to advocate an outdated ideal of a woman’s place in the household, but then I began to look on the bright side. Imagine having this cleaning trolley, complete with 11 pieces of cleaning glory, available for use in your dorm room. It’s small, compact and pink. I’m loving it. Read More »

I learned more my first week at college than I did in my entire life. And I don’t mean academically. I mean socially, financially, emotionally and drunk-ly. Some things took longer to figure out than others (that I should visit the ATM before I get to the bar, to avoid extra fees and my tendency to tipsily make it rain) and other things took mere minutes (don’t eat dining hall hot dogs).

But there are 5 things that every freshman should figure out their very first week on campus. Consider this College Life 101: Intro To The Best 4 Years of Your Life.

The go-to hangover breakfast spot: For those mornings when a Gatorade and toast just won’t do the trick, you need to find the most happening breakfast place near campus. This is not only important for the mornings when you need to take things to-go (back to your bed where you can lie in the dark while watching Daisy of Love marathons), but also for the social aspect of morning-after breakfast. Because everyone knows, after the party it’s the after party…and after that and the hotel lobby… it’s IHOP.

So, on those mornings when your inner monologue sounds like “Hahalalala definitely still drunk and my hair and makeup still look great!” you’ll know where you and your girls can go to re-cap last night’s madness while chowing on carby goodness and watching people walk in wearing their clothes from the night before. Read More »

[College kids are notorious for being poor. And why shouldn’t we be? We take out student loans to pay for private universities, can barely balance a part-time job with our full-time courseload, and the only “balance” we’re familiar with refers to the number of points left on our dining hall cards. Oh, did I mention many of us tend to splurge every extra penny on PBR’s at the campus bar?

If you disagree with everything I just said, you probably don’t need this column. But if you’re nodding along because you’re officially an adult and still don’t know how to manage your money, then you might want to pay attention every week, because I’m going to (try to) get you through this, and make you a successful saver and a wise spender.]

Everytime you whip out the plastic at the grocery store, liquor store, or gas station, the cashier asks automatically, “Credit or Debit?” It’s a simple enough question, though to many, it may be redundant. I mean, who cares what type of card it is as long as it buys you a pack of smokes, a 30-pack, or a week’s worth of Ramen Noodles?

There are a lot of pros and cons to using both credit cards and debit cards, and many people adamantly side with one form of plastic or another, much like people adamantly side with either Obama or McCain. Personally, I’m a debit kind of girl. My brother, on the other hand, swears by credit. What gives?

A debit card is like your plastic checkbook. You might not need cash in your hand, but you need to have the funds in your bank account to make a purchase. A credit card, however, lets you splurge now and pay later– even in small monthly increments. In this case, the credit card may SEEM like it has its advantages, because you can pay for your spring break trip now, and spend the next three months waiting tables to pay for it. Read More »

Okay. Mother’s Day is almost here. And if you’re anything like me, you’re freaking out just the tiniest bit because A) you kinda forgot about this holiday until you saw a commercial last night B) your money supply is so low that you no longer get receipts from the ATM because it makes you too sad, and C) you’ve already maxed out every bath and body store within a 100 mile radius of your house, and your mom will disown you if you get her another bottle of bubble bath.

So what’s a poor girl to do?

Make some bitchin’ strawberry shortcake.

I have found that no matter what, strawberry shortcake hits the spot — especially with moms. It’s light, it’s fruity, it’s sweet, and with this recipe, it’s so simple you could whip it up while studying for that last final.

INGREDIENTS

2 quarts (32 ounces) fresh strawberries

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 12-ounce tube Pillsbury Golden Homestyle Buttermilk biscuits

1 7-ounce can whipped cream Read More »

As if it wasn’t hard enough to weed out all the sketchies at the bar already, we now have something else to be suspicious of. His phone number.Well, not the actual number, but what he writes it on.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the creator of these Custom Fake Receipts must be some, graduated college in nine years Van-Wilder-type frat boy living off Daddy’s money ‘til he struck it rich thanks to the desperate-for-female-attention market he once was so proudly a part of. (You know those guys that will do absolutely anything to get in your pants?)

These counterfeit ATM slips have an agonizingly pathetic purpose. The gameplan? Mr. I-Used-Four-Bottles-of-Gel-to-Get-My-Hair-Like-This actually succeeds in buying some innocent girl enough drinks to get her nice and sloppy, and just when her beer goggles have set in just right, (he looks more like James Marsden than James Gandolfini all of a sudden) he whips out one of these slips. Read More »