Oh air travel, how I despise thee. All flight delays/massive airport navigation/stinky seatmates aside though, I am actually very (very) excited to be flying into DC tomorrow. I’ve never been, and I’m so pumped to explore our nation’s great capital. Plus, I’m staying at a sweet hotel in Virginia, so I get to add another notch to my “States I’ve actually been in” list. Yeah, I’m a nerd.

The part I’m least excited about (besides having to turn off my CrackBerry until the flight attendants tell me I can turn it back on) is leaving David behind. Alas, he doesn’t get to accompany me on my awesome trip (it’s for business) and all week I’ve been getting ready to leave him all on his own for 5 whole days.

As he’ been so lovingly, gently reminding me all week, he is in fact a full grown man capable of taking care of himself. He did it for 20 years before he met me, and according to him he’s still got the hang of that. While I do realize that he’ll be fine while I’m gone, after living with him and taking care of our home (and his dirty laundry…) I can’t help but think (OK, hope) he’ll feel just a teeny bit lost whilst I’m gone.

After all, this will help him come to the realization that I’m totally indispensable, which has been my master plan all along. But, I don’t want to leave him high and dry, so I did fully stock our freezer full of a weekend’s worth of man-food (aka microwaveable and artery clogging). And I am leaving him a “HoneyDew” list, both because I freaking love the name of it and because it’s got all kinds of unpleasant things I’d rather not deal with on it. Hopefully, I’ll come home to a clean home with new air conditioner filters, a newly installed printer and no more laundry to do. Read More »

So Monday was David’s 23^rd birthday (!). I finally found the perfect gift and decided to get him this sweet watch he saw while I was perusing a magazine last month. I also picked up a really cool video game for him-but it turns out he already had it. Yea, massive gift fail on that one, but he was excited about the watch and already exchanged the game for one he doesn’t already own (note to self: check the DVD/ game drawer before buying David any form of entertainment in the future).

I decorated the kitchen and dining room with these adorable flag banners cut out of different patterned scrapbooking paper. I wrote some of my favorite things about him on another sheet of scrapbooking paper to turn into his place mat. Then I turned on Sports Center, got a Bud Light ready for when he walked through the door, threw on some lingerie and started grillin’ up some surf-n-turf.

I was so nervous for him to get home, I don’t know why, but my hands were literally shaking when I heard the door open. He was so surprised and happy, it was the cutest thing. All I wanted to do was make him happy, but seeing how much he genuinely appreciated everything just melted my heart. And it reminded me how lucky I am.

When people ask me what it’s like having been in a long-term relationship throughout my entire college career, my answers usually vary. Sometimes I’m defending my choice to those who think I’m insane for not – ahem – taking advantage of all the hot, young guys surrounding a college gal. Sometimes I’m playing down David’s sheer awesomeness to jealous friends. Most of the time I talk about how amazing it is to have someone who constantly offers me love and support (who’s not, ya know, my Mom and Dad). But too often I forget about the flip side of the equation. Read More »

You are only a few hours away from a three day holiday weekend, ladies! Can I get a “what what”?! Memorial Day Weekend is the official kick-off to summer, which means only one thing: it’s time to get a bikini wax the inevitable family BBQ.

Truth: You love hot dogs off the grill.
Truth: Your family is ridiculous and you’d much rather spend the time with people who don’t make inappropriate jokes about hot dogs. Or at least people who make funny inappropriate jokes about hot dogs. And are under the age of 65.
Solution: CollegeCandy’s Memorial Day Family BBQ Drinking Game

Because Great Uncle Bert’s war stories (a war which he was not in) are easier to listen to when you’ve got Bud Light coursing through your veins. The best part? You can play alone and, being that you leave the BBQ with a killer buzz, you always end up the winner.

What you will need:
A case of domestic beer (we’re celebrating America, aren’t we?)
Various other alcoholic beverages
Your drinking hat Read More »

So, who else has a mean hot wing hangover this morning? Seriously, my heartburn is out of control and I didn’t even pound Budweisers last night. In fact, I was so busy licking BBQ sauce off my finders, I couldn’t tell you who threw (kicked? passed?) the winning touchdown. I can, however, tell you the best recipe for some wings. And the best/funniest/awesomest commercials from the Super Bowl.

But before we get to that, I have one question:

What was with all the pantsless commercials? Ugh, I definitely saw more than my fair share of saggy whiteys hanging off the back of old, hairy men. And it was not pretty.

Missed the game? Summary: The Saints (ya know, that team that Kim Kardashian’s BF plays for) beat the Colts (ya know, that team that Kendra Wilkinson’s hubby plays for), and here are the top 10 best commercials of 2010′s Super Bowl: Read More »

"She's gonna get fat."

As college students, we are constantly inundated with new knowledge. It can be useful, thought-provoking, or crammed into our head on a Starbucks-fueled binge several hours before an exam. However, very rarely do we question the validity of all this new knowledge (unless you take philosophy classes, then you’ll question away).

That’s where College Candy comes in. We’re not going to debate whether or not the Theory of Relativity actually exists (a disappointment, I know, but I’m a communications major and stopped taking science classes after Baby Bio fresh year). However, we are here to thoroughly investigate the most widespread college knowledge (no, not rhyming): the myth.

Alright guys, I’m gonna level with you: I’m a big fan of the brewskies. I like Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale, Sweetwater 420, the occasional stein of Newcastle, and the slightly more frequent funnel full of Bud Light. I particularly like that I can drink copious amounts of beer without the consequences that would come from drinking the same amount of vodka, water & lime. Most of all, I like that beer lends itself easily to day-drinking.

What I don’t like about beer (besides how much it makes me want to sing drinking songs) is that it makes me fat.

It’s not even the eventual, slowly-creeping-towards-your-thighs fat. It’s like an immediate, “I’m so carbonated and delicious and I’m going to make you so full you can’t suck in anymore” variety of fat. So it’s no wonder that beer contributes majorly to the Freshman 15, right? Ehh, yes and no. Read More »

If you’re anything like me, the passing of Tax Day really just means I can focus on other, more important matters. You know, like deciding what to splurge on when I get my refund check. And yes, I totally consider Blue Moon over Bud Light a “splurge.”

So this week’s playlist goes out to our BFF, money, which tops my list of Things I Hate But Can’t Do Without (right underneath Ryan Seacrest’s Top 40).

So until the refund checks come in the mail, you’ll probably still be sitting around listening to this mix while sipping a Bud Light and smoking an American Spirit. But that’s okay – your time will come.

We’re makin’ it rain right here.

It’s finally feeling like spring outside. So this week I traded in my knee-high snowboots for flip flops,  my sweaters for tank tops, and my Bud Light drafts for margaritas with cute little plastic umbrellas.

When it hits 50 in March in Northeast Ohio, we pull out all the stops.

So, in celebration of springtime, I created a playlist of some good, old fashioned rock n’ roll favorites that you can put on while you’re lazily sipping (…or quickly bonging) your favorite beverage…outside. Without a jacket. Or Uggs.

Listen here.

Although the thought of trying to gain weight makes me more than a little nervous, I can accept that there are lucky ladies out there who naturally resemble sticks.

So I’m going to put aside my jealousy and tell you the secret to packing on the pounds. If you’re looking to lose ten pounds, do the opposite. It’s as simple as that.

Case Study:

One very thin New Yorker (5’8, 105 lbs) was tired of looking like a model and vowed to bulk up. When her buddy told her that he lost 10 pounds after giving up his two-beer-a-day habit, she started drinking two beers a day.

“Unlike Ensure, beer is tolerable to me, has loads of carbs and is low in sugar,” she says. “I’ve been swigging everything from monk-made ales to fruity lambics.” She raves about the quick results. Keep her words in mind you beer pong lovers. If you notice your pants are a little tight, maybe it’s time to cut out the sauce.

According to Sharon Akabas, a nutritionist at Columbia University Medical Center, a consistent daily increase of 300-500 calories should be enough to help someone put on ten pounds in 6 months. With 12 oz of beer ranging from about 110 calories (Bud Light) to 210 calories (Anchor Porter), it’s easy to see why drinking can help you gain weight. If each game of beer pong requires about…let’s say 4 beers. That’s about 440 calories if you’re using Keystone Light. Read More »

Most of us drag ourselves to the gym every other day or so not because we like it, but because we’re determined to keep extra pounds away and stay healthy.

Hell, I don’t wake up in the early morning, walk four avenues, and make myself sweaty on the elliptical because it’s fun—I do it because I have to.

Which is why I was super pissed (I mean, honestly, pissed) to read an article that was originally published in New York Magazine.

Why am I so mad? Because the article insinuated working out does nothing but make us hungry.

Without denying that 30 minutes a day on the Stairmaster is good for our health, journalist Gary Taubes recently explained that “most studies on the link between swimming laps and losing weight demonstrate little beyond one widely accepted fact: “exercising makes us hungry.”” Even more annoying, Taubes points out “exercise may even lead to a weight gain.”

According to Taubes, Jean Mayer, a nutritionist and “physiological chemist”, invented the “myth” of exercise being directly related to weight loss.

Taubes claims Mayer’s facts were “often contradictory”, but somehow his words caught fire with the American public and have stayed with us ever since. Read More »

I’m kind of a beer snob. I refuse to drink Coors Light, Miller Lite, and especially Bud Light. It tastes like water that something awful has been dropped in. I know, I know—how did I ever manage to get through college, right? I mean, I drink it during Beer Pong. But I don’t like it.

I do like to experiment with new beers, though. I really, really adore blueberry beer on a warm day (it’s totally refreshing, you should try it), pumpkin beer in the fall, Brooklyn Lager anytime.

While theres not a whole lot of things that go better together than pizza and beer, can you imagine drinking a pizza flavored beer? Sounds gross. But someone’s drinking it.

A husband and wife from Illinois decided to try a homemade brew after growing too many tomatoes in their garden. They mixed together the tomatoes, basil, oregano and some garlic into a puree, and added it as is into their own blended wheat—and voila! Mama Mia Pizza Beer. Read More »