If Carrie Bradshaw was literally going to be the lady who lived in her shoes, then I will be the lady who lived in her handbags. I guess the upside is that handbags are a lot roomier and more cushion-y than those 12 million pairs of Manolos Carrie rocked on a season to season basis.

Fact is, I love handbags. And I don’t discriminate against clutches or cross body bags or cute totes, either.

Anything that holds all of my crap also holds the key to my heart. And what’s more, this season there are so many options! Fringed brown shoulder bags, adorable chain strap clutches… I mean, for seriousness, how does one decide without Suze Orman knocking on her door saying, “hellooo, you’ve got a problem, girlfriend.”

Well, thankfully, you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank for that banging new bag (now there’s a tongue twister – take that, Sally and your sea-shells at the shore). Here are a few of my budget bags that are must-snags. Target and Lulus are not messing around this season, that’s for sure. And while blacks, browns and beautiful cognacs are still wardrobe staples, colors are becoming the new neutral. From jewel tones to gray to a soft red, don’t be afraid to add a splash of color to your normally uniform black ensemble.

And, best part, you can rock that bag knowing you’ve done both me and Suze Orman proud. Sure, Carrie has her Manolos but you have your Tarjay, and that extra money in your wallet is much more fab.

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If you’re a Sex And The City fan (and who isn’t!?), you probably recognize this famous look from the opening credits of the show when SJP is flouncing around New York, splashes in a puddle, and sees herself on the side of a bus. Carrie’s three-tiered cream-colored tutu dress was such an iconic fashion statement that it even made a cameo in the SATC movie.

Naturally, we had to wait a few years for this sweet design to hit mainstream markets, but with the appropriately titled “Bradshaw Dress” from Lulus.com, the wait is finally over. The Bradshaw dress features a ribbed charcoal racerback top, two inch wide elastic waistband, and a two-tiered white skirt.

Tank dresses have been big this season as they are both comfortable and perfect for summer weather, but I think the tutu on this dress, as Elle Woods would say, gives it a little something extra. At the price of only $32, this dress is completely irresistible.

So whether you’re playing ballerina or Bradshaw, head over to Lulus.com and order this dress! I’m waiting for UPS to deliver mine as you read this.

“It’s about living the life you want to live, not the life others push onto you. It’s about being the person you want to be, not the person other people want you to be, and it’s about enjoying the time you have.” Where did these wise words of wisdom come from? None other than the infamous Tucker Max.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this rather controversial creature, Tucker Max is the author of the book “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” a series of unfortunately true stories about Tucker Max’s “adventures” of how he likes to “disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead.” Wow, seems like the type of guy you are just dying to bring home to your parents, huh?

As if reading about the crude, offensive, vomit-inducing stories isn’t enough, you can soon experience a visual effect. Yes, that is correct. Tucker Max’s movie based on his best-selling novel will open in theaters this fall. I think it’s safe to say that this movie can’t possibly reenact the majority of Tucker’s experiences, because even an NC-17 rating wouldn’t cut it. But you never know these days. Read More »

For those of us in long distance relationships, or those of us are not near our significant others during this long winter break, it can be hard to keep in touch sexually when we can’t physically get it on. My guy and I are over 700 miles apart and recently found a fun and kinky way to keep ourselves occupied.

And it involves a cellular.

Yes, the topic is taboo and everyone feels all weird about it, but phone sex is a great way to stay close in a relationship even when you’re miles apart.

While some may be too shy to start talking dirty over the phone lines, I have a few tips to keep in mind when trying out phone sex.

First off, relax!! (Editor’s Note: A glass of wine may help…) Phone sex is something to have fun with, not get all worried about. If you’re nervous, just try thinking of what would happen if your partner was actually there. Take a deep breath and ask something general such as, “What would you do to me if you were here?” This might be easier to say then just asking “Wanna have phone sex?” because you end up taking the pressure off of yourself to start the convo, making him answer first instead. Read More »

I don’t know about you, but the only time I like to see a bow is when it’s wrapped around a box. Preferably a small box. That is blue. With a white bow. And nice diamonds inside.

Unfortunately for me, bows seems to be everywhere this season. On shoes, on headbands, on sweaters, on jackets…on everything but gifts for me. It is like the bow has become the Carrie Bradshaw flower of 4 years ago, but not nearly as cute.

I have a feeling this look was inspired by the one and only Blair Waldorf; her looks are constantly adorned with perfectly tied bows. But for those of us who just don’t happen to have the Blair Waldorf looks or budget, bows tend to look a little…well, cheesy.

I mean, no one over the age of 3 should have a bow on their headband. And a chic suede booty should not have a messily tied bow on the side of it; that just takes away from the fierceness.

WTF is up with all these bows!? What do you think?

Bows: Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

[Photo courtesy of ivillage.com]

Unlike most women, I don’t watch Sex and the City. I don’t have HBO, and I just never got around to watching it. And unlike most men, my boyfriend looooves SATC. Seriously.

By all other accounts, he’s your average college male: he’s got ESPN.com as his homepage, he wears the same three t-shirts on a rotating basis, and drools over Jessica Biel. But when the movie came out this past spring, he begged me to come with him to watch it in theaters. I remember waiting on line outside the box office with hundreds of other women and a few other couples, when one of the men came up to my guy and nodded his head in my direction. “She dragged you, too, huh?” My boyfriend smiled proudly and said, “Nope! She’s never seen the show- I love Sex and the City!” The poor stranger gave me a sorry look that clearly said, honey, your man is hitting for the other team. I hadn’t really thought about it before then, but since the SATC incident, I’ve always kind of wondered…could my man be gay? Read More »

Even though we at CC love a good sexy series, the mother of all sexy series, Sex and the City, is not the sort of show we’d want our 12-year-old sister watching. I mean, sipping a Cosmo and watching Samantha bed guy after guy is fun, but we’re in our 20’s; we understand that sort of thing is a fantasy (well, most of us do). We get the idea that SATC is a fun escape, but in no way represents real single women living in real New York City.

But our 12-year-old sister might not understand that materialistic banter and wildly frequent sex is the making of entertainment. Our 12-year-old sister might think those are really things to aspire to. And we wouldn’t want that.

So why, may I ask, has HarperCollins asked Candace Bushnell to pen a new seires of Young Adult novels? Are The Carrie Diaries, reportedly about Carrie’s high school years, just an attempt to get a new, younger audience into SATC? Are tweens really ready for couture and an obsession with relationships that boarders on psychotic? I mean, maybe Bushnell will break the mold and write about something other than New York City, designer labels, and women chasing after men…but forgive us if we have our doubts on that one.

What do you think? If The Carrie Diaires come out, would you want the little girls you love to read it?

I mean, Instant Messenger has been around forever. Remember those days in high school, when you would tell your parents “you just don’t understand!” and then stomp up to your room and begin to IM 20 friends at once, bitching about how your parents just didn’t understand?

Or how about Freshman year in college when you somehow managed to get your crush’s AIM name, and then proceeded to sit over the keyboard for hours, sweating about if IMing him and “just saying hi” would somehow make you a creepy stalker?

If you’re in my generation, you grew up with AIM, just like you grew up with boy bands and obesity. Growing up with AIM means that we’re all too familiar with the “Away Message”, a strange societal habit of TMI. Even though Away Messages tend to vacillate, there are a few that pop up time and time again. Below, we’ve captured the top 5 familiar few. Read More »

There are famous scenes from movies depicting it. There are Facebook bumper stickers dedicated to it. There are songs that shout the praises of it. There are how to articles and, hell, it even has search results on Wikipedia. Yet for the entirety of my life, the closest I’d come to Sex on the Beach was double fisting them on Friday nights. This had to change.

With the advent of summer upon us, I decided it was high time I was no longer a sex on the beach virgin. I grabbed my manfriend (chuckle chuckle, Carrie Bradshaw) and headed to the shore.

It was a perfect night for just being at the beach, let alone hooking up. Full moon, light breeze and crashing waves. Very romance novel. So boyfriend and I wandered along the beach until we found a secluded(ish) spot.

When we got there, however, I found that I could have done with some good advice before embarking on this adventure. So for all you beach bunny virgins out there contemplating some sea-side action, here is what I wish my experienced girlfriends had told me:

Bring a Flashlight: Luckily for us, the moon was enormous and lit our way pretty well. I happen to be completely blind in the smallest amount of darkness, though, and was petrified of stepping on baby sea turtles. If it’s even semi-cloudy out, a small light should help you navigate. Read More »

In 1993, Lisa Simpson assessed the female role models of her time, and came up with a grim prognosis.

“Millions of girls will grow up thinking that this is the right way to act,” she said, “that they can never be more than vacuous ninnies whose only goal is to look pretty, land a rich husband, and spend all day on the phone with their equally vacuous friends talking about how damn terrific it is to look pretty and have a rich husband.”

In 1998, “Sex & the City” aired for the first time, and Lisa Simpson’s fears came to life.

“Sex & the City” was (does anyone not know this?) a TV series that followed the lives of four women as they navigated the perilously sexful world of life in New York City. These women were meant to stand in for their entire gender, in spite of the fact that they were uniformly white, straight, and rich enough that they could have afforded to feed third-world villages with the money that they spent on shoes. They spent their (apparently endless) free time engaging in all life’s most vital pursuits: boys, gossip, clothes, and parties.

In spite of its patently unrealistic set-up, its exaggerated characters and neatly ridiculous plotting, many viewers were convinced that “Sex & the City” was a masterpiece of realism. People moved to New York because of the show. If they lived here, they tried to live like its characters; if they didn’t live here, they imagined our lives on its terms. These people, mostly women, who Gawker aptly christened Scary Sadshaws, elevated “Sex & the City” out of its proper place in the universe – light entertainment, with sex and terrifying costumes – and treated it as a lifestyle guide. Read More »