I love any reason to celebrate, especially when it’s a good reason like Earth Day. I don’t know if it’s the first day of spring or the conscious effort of everyone around me trying to be a better earthling, but Earth Day just makes me happy.

So why aren’t we celebrating?? Get into the spirit! Be environmentally friendly. Throw a party hotter than global warming. Make your friends green with envy. Reduce your work load…. Okay, you get the idea. Now get out there and get ready to celebrate with these Earth Day ideas.

1. Skip the morning shower and go for the hippie-chic look instead.

2. Break out some candles, some home-made booze and throw an Amish theme party! Who conserves energy better than people who don’t believe in it?

3. Reward your favorite eco-hottie with a global-warming make out sesh.

4. Talk the local produce guy into giving you an Earth Day discount, then invite your friends over for an earth-friendly veggie fest. Read More »

Ahh, New Year’s Eve. A celebration of endings and new beginnings. The last party night of the year, which means it’s also the biggest party night of the year. And that’s exactly why I always get the urge to lock myself in my room and hide under my bed until January 1st arrives.

The anticipation and build-up for the evening mean it’s never as good as you expect it to be. And no matter how much planning you do and how much money you spend, New Year’s Eve always fails to be an extraordinary night. Just because it’s the last night of the calendar year, doesn’t mean it’s going to be any more fun than any of the others. Trust me.

Reason #1 I Hate New Year’s Eve: First of all, it’s essential that you plan ahead. If you don’t make your plans well in advance, you’re risking having nothing to do. Parties get booked up, your friends make other plans, and you’re stuck watching the ball drop with your parents. I don’t like planning ahead. What if I’m forced into deciding to attend a party and then something better comes along? What if, in November, I don’t know what I’m going to be in the mood to do in December?

Reason #2 I Hate New Year’s Eve: Then there’s the expense. If you want to go out, you’re going to have to spend money, and probably a lot of it. Take last year, for example. A group of my friends made plans to go to a bar. We dished out the $75 that would allow us access to an open bar, bought fancy dresses, and got all decked out for the night of our lives. When we arrived, the bar was absolutely disgusting, the food nasty, and the people incredibly sketchy. It turned out we were only allowed to drink well liquor (when we could get near the bar). It also turned out that we could have paid $10 at the door and been allowed to attend the same party and order our own drinks. As if I would drink $65 in Grey Goose. The bottom line is that bars can charge whatever they please on New Year’s Eve and people will pay it. People like me. Read More »

Q: What is New Year’s without getting hammered and downing a glass of champagne at midnight?

A: Awesome.

Yes, yes, I realize alcohol will be involved at most of your New Year’s Eve celebrations, and that’s cool with me, but it’s just not my scene. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to party, though! How do I enjoy myself without the booze, you might ask? With these tips, of course.

1. Be with other alcohol-free people.

Let’s face it—if your friends are a bunch of boozers, they’re probably going to want to hit the drink on New Year’s Eve, and you’re probably not going to have much fun without them. You could always stay sober while they knock them away, but I think it’s far easier and more fun to spend the night with a group of people who are more interested in enjoying each other’s company than getting totally smashed. If the people you’re with aren’t drinking, you probably won’t wish you were.

2. Do something really, really fun.

When was the last time you went bowling at a 24-hour lane or played billiards at a pool hall? Have you been to a theme park recently? What about indoor mini-golf? Plan an amazing night with your friends that is packed with so many fun activities that you won’t have the time (or the desire) to hit up the bars. Honestly, you’ll be having such a great time that you won’t even miss the alcohol. Read More »

Oh, Welcome Week. That celebration of the college lifestyle, once taken for granted and now fully appreciated after a loooooong summer at home. Apart from the slow torture that is moving into your new apartment/dorm room, the week before school starts is rife with opportunity to exercise your renewed (or newfound) freedom to be drunk whenever. you. please.

The beauty of this situation is that it does allow you to do Patron shots at 2 pm; the drawback is that it creates the perfect opportunity for you to employ some…self control. While the former is deff a fun and adventurous route (see your tagged Facebook pics for evidence), it’s not always the smartest way to kick off your fall semester. After all, there is something to be said for NOT getting knackered your first week back at school–here’s why…

5. You’ll Look Like a Freshman

Characterized by lack of regional fashion knowledge, deer-in-headlights look and–of course–INCREDIBLY inebriated state of being. Obviously, this is not what you want to look like while you’re out on the town. Even if this is your very first week in college (Congrats & welcome!), the frosh look is still one you’ll want to avoid. Instead, keep it classy, limit yourself to a few drinks (or none at all if you wish) and enjoy the amazing feeling of being a sophisticated, very adult-like lady. Read More »

Have you cracked out the hot dogs yet? The chips? The sparklers that you fully intend to try and burn your friends with? Well, us too. July 4th — even if you do nothing but stare at a grill for three hours or eat coleslaw with your fingers while watching fireworks on TV — is a day that just yells celebration. It’s summer. It’s a long weekend. Watermelon is in abundance…what isn’t there to love?

Well, apparently, one of your editors has found something not to love. The very thing many of us equate with the 4th…

Read More »

Any excuse to celebrate with tequila is my kind of celebration! I know that’s not the idea behind Cinco De Mayo, but hey — humor me.

Try these fun drinks, and remember kids DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Ride a bike instead.

!POMEGRANATE MARGARITA!

Ingredients:

Lime wedge, plus more for garnish

Salt

Ice

4 ounces white tequila

2 ounces Triple Sec

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1 lime, juiced (optional)

Club soda

WHAT TO DO:

Pour salt onto a plate or shallow dish. With a lime wedge rub along the rim of a glass and dip glasses upside down to salt the rim. Fill glasses with ice.

In a cocktail shaker with ice place the tequila, triple sec, pomegranate juice, and lime juice. Pour into the salt-rimmed glasses and top off with club soda. Garnish with a lime wedge, if desired. Read More »

New Year’s Eve. One of the biggest party holidays on the calendar. A time to wear something sparkly, drink pink champagne and not feel like a lame idiot, and count down the last remaining seconds in a year that was hardly what you imagined it was going to be this time 365 days ago.

If, like me, you live in a large city, you’ve been hearing about New Year’s Eve for almost as long as you’ve been hearing about Christmas. Giant parties in giant clubs, complete with open bars, fancy food, and “hot people!” have been pushing themselves into your email inbox and popping up in conversation; urging you to fork over $100-300 for a place on the guest list.

Even if you don’t happen to reside in a metropolitan area, you’ve undoubtedly heard about a house party here and there, polling your friends to find out where and how they’ll be saying goodbye to 2007.

The point I’m trying to make is—everyone always seems to have something to do on New Year’s. Some house to crash, some club with a bouncer who can get them in, some party of a friend of a friend’s, a First Night celebration out in the frigid cold…staying home just never seems to be an option.

But what if it is—at least for you? What if you don’t have any plans this year? What if the plans you do have don’t sound as appetizing as they usually do? What if spending a night sloshing in high-heels and trying to grab someone before midnight isn’t your idea of a good time? Read More »

I spent twenty five minutes in the greeting card aisle of CVS last night. I literally picked up and restocked every single card in the entire store before leaving in a frustrated huff with a card that was far from appropriate for the situation at hand.

It is not that the folks over at CVS don’t have a wide enough selection of cards – they have like 10,000! – it is just that there are some occasions that just don’t quite fit into the limited card categories that exist. Sometimes people may want to buy a card for something a little more specific than a generic birthday/thanks/anniversary/holiday/sympathy/etc/ card.

You know; like when you want to thank your guy for respecting you. Or a good friend for being there when you need her most. Or for a situation when you just can’t seem to find the right words. Read More »

Being the giant fan of summer that I am, Labor Day is always a little sad.

Even though it won’t get chilly for another few weeks, the mere promise of shorter days, schoolwork, and winter hats constantly ruining perfectly styled hair is enough to make me a little depressed…at least until fall fashions go on sale.

For many of us, Labor Day is a last hurrah; our last 24 hours to wear white pants (which perhaps some of us shouldn’t be wearing in the first place?), last day to barbeque without standing by the grill in a jacket, and last 3-day weekend for a while.

It’s also a party, whether we’re partying with friends or throwing our own personal celebration that consists of doing absolutely nothing—and enjoying the hell out of it.

In honor of Goodbye-To-Bathing-Suits weekend, I’ve found the perfect cocktail to commemorate a summer gone by. Read More »