You know that really annoying friend of yours who feels the incessant need to point out that they were the first to know about a now really popular band? Every. single. time. it comes on the radio?

As annoying as they are, there is something exciting about the knowing of a new band, new clothing brand, great sale, awesome book or recipe, and sharing it with the ones you love. And by ones you love, I mean the ones you go back and forth with right here on the CollegeCandy message boards.

So here’s the deal: every week, we will feature 3 things that YOU think other CollegeCandy readers just have to know about. Anything at all. Nothing is off limits.

This week we’ve got a hot band (that you can officially tell your friends you’ve “been listening to since blah, blah, BLAH”), a great service that’s all about you, and another awesome site that will change your life. Get ready to brag to your friends, ladies, because you are in. the. know.

The Jakes.
I think we all need to send a big “Thanks, Alex!” for writing in to The Know and bringing these 5 pieces of double whammy eye/ear candy into our lives. One listen of their song Cough Syrup and I was hooked. And that says a lot from the girl who usually has to listen to a song 3 or 4 times to really like it. (And those songs are usually by bands like BSB and Destiny’s Child.) And with the first beat of  their jam, Texas Tea, I was already walking with more swagger in my step, more shasay in my bootay, as I walked down the street. True story. Read More »

So, only 2 days till Mother’s Day…

“Whaaaaat???”

Don’t worry — we have you covered. Here are a few gift ideas you can quickly whip together that your #1 Momma is bound to enjoy ( and 2/5 are FREE!).

1)    A Funny Video. Here’s a video you can easily (in 5 seconds) personalize and send to the lady you love so much. It’s sweet. It’s hilarious. It’s free.  It’s win-win.

2) A DIY card. If you love craft projects (who doesn’t?) skip the Hallmark card this year and make one yourself. If you have time, dry some small flowers (just stash any buds you can get your hands on in a book for a few hours) and glue ‘em on. Make it even sweeter by adding an acrostic poem. Okay, it’s cheesy, but I’m telling you, it always brings out the happiness tears.

Spell your mom’s name downward on a sheet of paper, and with each letter, start a sentence or pick an adjective that describes her. For example, for the name “Emily,” you would have lines starting with E, M, I, L and Y. (And no, “Embarassing,” “Makes me extremely annoyed,” or “Is a nag” are NOT allowed.)

3)    Food! Who doesn’t love customized chocolate covered strawbs? But order ‘em fast! (Luckily they do overnight delivery.)

4) Flowers. Cliché, but always appreciated, flowers are a great last-minute gift for mom. But if you want to add a bit of originality, skip roses and go for tulips or gerber daisies (my personal favorite and they last FOREVER, which means your mom will be reminded of you long after you skip town for the summer).

5) A Book. Get Mom started on her springtime reading with a new novel. Depending on her taste, I would recommend the following: Sophie’s Choice (depressing but worth it), Prodigal Summer (romantic and beautifully written) and Shopaholic Series (trashy but fabulous).

So it’s the season of love. Yay! Love! But now you’re down to the last minute and you don’t know what to get the special geek in your life. You know he’d love a new 42 inch Plasma, but your budget isn’t really there. That doesn’t mean he (or she) has to be stuck with the crappy card/teddy bear combo. There are plenty of great geek-friendly gifts out there that are cheap and special.

Here are a few ideas:

Handy?

If your Sig other is a tinker then a new Swiss army tool set could be just thing. I am constantly trying to find a screwdriver to take something apart. I imagine boys do it more often than me. This little beauty is small, it fits on your keychain and isn’t silly and bulky looking. Pair it with their favorite candy and your sweet smile for a great gift.

Retro Gamer?

Try some sw33t wall stickers! These decals will make any geek think of the hours they spent in front of a screen mashing buttons and killing enemes growing up. Plus they are really freaking sweet. Who hasn’t wanted to live in Mario land?

Something more Traditional?

Maybe you want something a little less unique and a little more mainstream. How about a wallet? It’s something they’ll use and yet still maintains that certain nerdy quality to it. Read More »

Walk through any mall and you will see one of two Valentine’s Day themes:

The cute and romantic: teddy bears, picture frames, jewelry

The sexy and passionate: lingerie, tantric sex books, fuzzy handcuffs

Valentine’s Day means many different things to many different people (to me, for example, it means a night to make big bucks babysitting), and every couple celebrates it differently. Some prefer holding hands over a candlelit dinner and returning home to snuggle and talk about love. Others prefer dripping hot candle wax on one another while getting frisky in the bathroom.

Which way do you prefer? Are you a naughty V-Day kinda girl, or more into the lovey dovey romantic shiz that you don’t get from your man the rest of the year?

You always were one to wait for the last minute. Like that paper that was still warm from the printer as you turned it in to your professor. Or that time you forgot underwear for Spring Break because you packed that morning. (Good thing people don’t wear much underwear on Spring Break….)

And now it’s the same story with those dreaded Christmas presents for mom, dad and brother Jimmy. Christmas dinner is, like, 5 minutes away and you have nothing to bring (except that bottle of Jack you snuck into your purse). It’s way to late to run to the mall and get something, and even the neighborhood CVS is empty of all those crappy gifts you wondered why they had in the first place.

What the hell are you going to do? We came up with some fabulous last-minute gift ideas that are sure to please…and could never be re-gifted.

1. Coupon Book: Grab some paper and markers and start writing. Your parents loved these things when you were a kid, and there is no way mom wouldn’t appreciate some help with the laundry now. Offer her one week of free laundry, a few days of taking out the garbage, some trips to the grocery store, and maybe even a month of not calling and asking for more money.

2. Mix CD: You obvi brought your laptop home (there is no way you are sharing the family computer for a whole freaking month), so hop on there and make some CDs for everyone. Does dad love classic rock? Pull together his favorite jams onto a CD. He will love it (especially since most dads can’t figure out how to do that stuff on their own). Read More »

A while back, a friend called me and broke some news to me that has changed my life completely.

Cassie: Girrrrrrrrrlllllll, don’t hate me, but I gotta tell you about a website.

Me: Why would I hate you for telling me about a website? Is it porn?

Cassie: It’s craft porn.

Me: Craft porn?! What’s the url?

Cassie: www.etsy.com You’ll never get off of it. You’re gonna be hooked. But you’re gonna love it.

Two months later, I still can’t get off of etsy.com. It’s kind of like ebay, but there’s way cooler sh*t and no lame bidding. Artists and craft-sters from around the world put their hand-crafted items on etsy with a price. If you like something, you buy it.

Yes, it sounds like the same-old shopping website, but it is so much cooler. The stuff on there is home-made and all kinds of awesome.

From tote bags made from seat belts to mushroom shaped salt and pepper shakers, etsy is seriously everything a craft-lover could ever dream of. It’s like going to Arts & Craft fairs from around the world without getting off your lazy ass.

It is the perfect one-stop-online-shop for all of your gifting needs: everything is unique, lots of the stuff is super cheap (those mushroom shaped salt and pepper shakers were on there for 5 bucks!), and you get to discover new talent from around the world.

If you love the idea of personal and crafty gifts, but you’re too lazy or talentless to make your own, definitely scope out etsy. You are going to love me it!

Finals week drained me of a lot – my last pint of Cherry Garcia, my final cup of Folger’s, my sanity – plus the extra cash I had stashed in my wallet all semester. Cash that was supposed to help buy gifts for well, everybody, on my holiday gift list.

But it’s the holidays and sometimes magical things happen. So I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU! to the Holiday gods for sending this little gem my way: SwapStyle.com. It reminds me of my junior high days when my BFFs would bring over extra clothes for me to model and “borrow.” We all knew that “borrowing,” however, actually meant my friend would never see her A&F tee again. And she was cool with it, because she only brought it over because it made her look fat.

Yeah, so it’s just like that only on a much larger scale. Thanks to the information superhighway you can “borrow” clothes from women from all over the globe! That means you’re not limited to extra large, ratty Mickey Mouse T’s and super-flare Mudd Jeans from your somewhat-frumpy best friend’s wardrobe. Instead you can “borrow” Coach bags, Forever 21 dresses and MAC eyeshadows.

Plus, clothes-swapping is super environmentally friendly (you are reusing other people’s things instead of wasting new materials!) and the site is easy to use. Did I mention it’ s free to sign up?

Check it out here.

Remember the days that you could glue pasta onto a piece of paper and call it a Christmas present for Mom and Dad? Those days are long gone, and choosing gifts for parents has become harder than ever. Not only do they always tell you, “I don’t really need anything,” when you want some answers, but you’re a student, and by Christmas that generally means you’re broke.

And, um, you only have a week left! Let us help:

Tips before you buy

-If you can make something your parents will appreciate, go for it. If you’re an art student, consider making a one-of-a-kind piece for your parents; it’s cheap and shows you are putting your education to good use.

-Before you go shopping, set a budget. Decide how much you want to spend on each parent and stick to it. Chances are your budget isn’t going to be very high, so if you want to splurge a bit, consider combining resources with your siblings. Not only will you have more money to work with, but your parents will appreciate that you are mature enough to cooperate.

-If your parents are together, consider buying one gift for both them. It can be something they can enjoy together, and you can either save money or get a more meaningful gift. Read More »

[Post courtesy of out friends at StyleBakery.com. For more awesome fashion, style and beauty news, check them out!]

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you beauty gift ideas galore! Each week, you’ll discover gifts of a certain category. Up this week are the most fabulous fragrance gifts money can buy. You’ll not only want to give these to others … you’ll so want to gift yourself a bit too.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Refillable Purse Spray Set

The sweet and sexy fragrance — infused with notes of honeysuckle, jasmine, amber, caramel and vanilla — takes on a new twist in a set of three purse sprays and a refillable atomizer. You’ll be good to go for months — and best of all, the atomizer will look beautiful when you pull it out of your clutch!

$50 at sephora.com

Clean Rollerball Fragrance Set

Shower Fresh. Ultimate. Warm Cotton. One smells better than the next in this set of three rollerball fragrances — though our fave is definitely Warm Cotton, which smells exactly like fresh laundry.

$48 at cleanperfume.com

Read More »

So the economy blows. Which is pretty perfect timing considering that one time of the year we’re expected to come to our loved ones bearing gifts is approaching. Great. So now we’re all expected to somehow make less money and still spend the same amount of money on Xmas gifts that we spent last year. How the eff do we make this work?

DIY crafts, kids.

If you need some inspiration, I highly suggest scoping out Etsy.com, but, regardless of Etsy, there are nifty gifts you can make yourself for friends and family. You can do it cheaply. You can do it easily. And lets face it, a handmade gift is always more appreciated than that bottle of body spray everyone knows you just got for free because you spent more than $50 at Bath & Body.

Heat it into a bracelet.

From vinyl records to spoons, heating every day objects to a point of flexibility for the purposes of making a bracelet is easy and always makes for a nice gift.

Heat your oven to 200 degrees for the vinyl record bracelet. Set the whole record on a cookie sheet and keep it in the oven until the record begins to bubble. Remove it from the oven and cut the record into strips while still hot. Place the strips back into the oven for a few minutes and then remove. When you remove the strips, wrap them around something that symbolizes your wrist, but is not your wrist. Think jars, paper towel tubes, anything other than your own flesh. Read More »