If you’re lucky enough to be back home this month there’s probably something you want to see: your girls! Skyping, texting and phone calls were the closest you came to hanging out with some of your best friends. But now, the semester has breaked for summer vacay. Which means it’s time to hit the beach and get your tan on. But what are a bunch of awesome ladies like yourselves supposed to do once sun worship is no longer practical? Three words: girls night in. It’ll be just like your middle school sleepovers, but with way better stories.

After viewing some pretty intense Girls Night In baskets this past Big-Little season, I’ve got the inside scoop on all the major necessities. Read More »

MY GIRLS. They’ve been right by my side throughout all of the toughest times, the ugliest times, the funniest times. They’re like the staple pair of jeans I always wear when I want to be sexy and comfortable. They are my knights (knightettes-I made up a girl word for knights!) in shining armor. I have fun with them if I’m driving to the gas station for chasers listening to Bon Jovi. I have fun with them when we are hungover and watching Color Splash on HGTV. On a Wednesday. I have fun when fun isn’t planned and I’m not even in the mood for it. That’s what girlfriends are there for.

But, good lord–it’s been hard to hang out with my crazy little posse since I’ve graduated. That “girl time” has been diminished into my selfish cravings for “me time” and an ongoing desire to keep canceling plans to relax and watch the entire season of Modern Family alone. In one day. My failure to hang out with my girlfriends is an innocent mistake, but when me and my five college ladies planned a weekend (annual) getaway last weekend, I couldn’t help but get that little tingle of excitement in my veins to spend some time with people that make me feel fresh and fabulous. It’s real people; you can push time away from your clusterf*ck of a schedule, for your friends.

We had a wonderful weekend. We went to a casual wine tasting, explored an apple orchard, took half shots of tequila and played five hours of Scattergories amidst squealing our heads off with laughter. On top of having the best weekend ever, I learned a few things along the way. Read More »

[Sarabeth here with a new feature that, quite frankly, I'm stoked about. Each week I'll be bringing you an album that I feel is particularly awesome in the hopes of building iTunes libraries everywhere! It could be something new, old, hugely popular or fairly unknown, so keep checking back for our suggestions to awesome-ify your music collection.]

The non-stop Elf marathons last week made me realize just how much I love Zooey Deschanel movies. She’s just so…cute! She also happens to be multi-talented. Yup, some of you might not know that she’s also a very gifted singer and musician.  So in honor of her, I bring you: She & Him’s Volume 1. It’s a peppy album with a retro feel that makes me fall even harder for dear Zooey. As if that’s even possible.

About the Band:

She & Him, formed in 2006, consists of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Ward met Deschanel, and while he knew she had a good singing voice from seeing Elf, he was surprised to know that she had a catalog of songs she’d written and didn’t know what to do with. According to Deschanel, once she met Ward, everything just fell into place. Read More »

In the last year, it seems as though being single has been my specialty. While flings and hookups have come (pun intended) and gone, and dates have left me with some less than desirable memories, my current single status has remained loyally by my side. I’ve learned a lot in the past year and I’ve discovered that single girls around the world are all in the same fabulous pair of shoes.

So if you’re sick of sitting at a table for one, eating a meal portioned for two, I cordially invite you to join The Single Girl Society, where being single is more than status; it’s a lifestyle. Of course, with everything in life, the single girl lifestyle comes with rules and I’ve picked up quite a few along the way. So kick back, grab a drink and let the lessons I’ve learned serve as your very own roadmap to transitioning to and enduring the single life.

Lesson 4: Single girls don’t let other single girls drink and text.

This past weekend I did something I can never take back. After a record-breaking year-long drunk texting hiatus, I committed my first TUI (texting under the influence) with the help of my old friend SoCo. Liquid courage in one hand and phone in the other at a bar that I used to frequent with my ex, I texted him (typo-free, might I add). Groan. A year into my no-drunk-texting campaign and just like that, all of it gone over one slip-up.

We’ve all been there. It’s Friday night and you’re supposed to be having a girls’ night at the bar, riding the mechanical bull and dancing the night away, making your friends take a shot every time they mention their ex’s name.

Instead, you’re looking around wondering if your ex will magically appear with a drink and a dance with your name on it. When you realize you probably won’t be running into your ex that night, you start to scroll over the old text messages from him. You begin reliving the feelings behind each message, the ones you spent all day sending to each other, giggling and running each text by your girlfriends before you sent it.

When the bar closes, you head out with your friends, laughing and stumbling into your cab and even though you had fun with your girls, you still miss your ex.  So you figure “What the hell, I already lost him, what else could I possibly have to lose?” and you text him. Read More »

Since most of us won't get near those nasty tubs in the communal bathroom, I've got a few better ideas for relaxation...

October is a busy month. Between midterms and registration, and finding the perfect Halloween costume, things can get pretty crazy there for a while. But it’s important to remember to take a step back from it all for a while. Relax. Enjoy the little things. Relieve some stress.

Here’s how…

10. Indulge in some junk food. This probably isn’t the best advice, since eating your feelings isn’t exactly healthy, but chocolate cures all. At least for a little while. So just indulge for a little bit. Something sweet, or something salty, or something sweet and salty (chocolate covered pretzels…mmm…). Just a little pick me up. Besides, isn’t dark chocolate good for you anyway?

9. Dance it out. Yes, I am totally ripping off Grey’s Anatomy here, but the “twisted sisters” know what they’re talking about.  Dancing is an excellent stress reliever and you don’t even have to have any rhythm whatsoever. (Trust me. I would know.) Just enjoy yourself. And relax.

Read More »

It’s August, which means it’s almost that time of year: back to school. But unlike when we were younger and dreaded the first day, going back to college is exciting, enough to provoke countdowns on Facebook statuses (“Only 236 hours more days until I’m back at school!”), and overall giddiness. You can’t wait to pack up your rooms and your closets and get right back into the college atmosphere – crazy bar nights and frat parties, Wine-Down Wednesdays and Tequila Tuesdays, dorm room gossip sesh’s with your roommates, attempting to wake up for class, and making even more memories with your friends.

However, amidst all that excitement, there’s one gray cloud looming: you’ll be leaving your best friends from home behind.

No matter how much fun we have with our school best friends, it always sucks to leave behind your home BFFs – the girls and guys you grew up with, who know all about the times you made a fool of yourself in 9^th grade homeroom, and whom you can still go out with and have a good time. It especially sucks after a summer spent with them, when you’ve gotten used to seeing them on a daily basis, and you know that when school starts things will be different. Because let’s be honest: despite all of our best intentions to stay in touch with our BFFs during the academic year, it’s usually pretty tough. Between the parties and the actual work, it’s easy to start speaking only once a week or learning about one another’s lives through Newsfeed.

For those of you who are bummed about leaving behind your best girlfriends, don’t worry – you still have a few more weeks of summertime fun left, which means plenty of time to stock up on some serious BFF bonding sessions. So here is a list of things you should make time to do with your girls before you’re all back in school, back in the grind, and back to intermittent IMs. Read More »

College. Sigh. It’s unlike any other time in your life. It has its own set of rules, its own unique circumstances. And it’s not always easy to navigate. Everyone needs a little guidance now and then (or always) so we’ve pulled together a variety of perspectives (the does-it-all girl, the party girl and Ms. Study Lounge) to weigh in on your life conundrums and give you the best advice we can.

Every week they’ll be tackling your questions about college. From classes to keggers to keggers before classes, they’ll do their best to respond and be your Pez dispenser of collegiate wisdom. Got questions? Unsure of a decision? Not sure about class scheduling? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics?

Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”!

Question:
I started going out with a guy right before I left for college. I really like him, but he goes to school in a different state and I feel like I’m missing out on a lot with my friends when I’m on the phone with him every night. He totally trusts me so it’s not like he’s annoying or anything, but this whole LDR thing is really taking up a lot of time. What do you guys think of long distance in college? Good idea or bad?

GPA Girl:
LDRs suck no matter how you slice it or where you’re at in life. If you really love someone, it’s awful to be far away from him or her. However, it’s sometimes worth it, especially if there’s an end in sight. I suspect this question is not really about long distance in college but about your relationship in particular. What I’m reading in between the lines is that you’re not head over heels for this guy and you kind of feel as if he’s limiting your options, whether those options be hanging with your friends or smooching other dudes. Is that true? Be honest with yourself. If so, I’d cut your losses and move on. If that’s not the case, you’ll know it and the idea of breaking up with this guy will seem ludicrous to you. Trust me–I’m in an LDR right now, and the guy I’m with is so amazing that I wouldn’t blink at dating him long-distance for years if I had to because it’s more than worth it just to have him in my life. Which situation is your relationship? You make the call. Read More »

Last Friday night, I decided to have a girl’s night because, let’s face it, living in a one bedroom apartment with a guy can take a toll on one’s femininity. It was so much fun, and it was a great ending to a really crappy week. But after living with my boyfriend I noticed that even girls night has changed.

First of all, sometimes I feel boring and old. All of my friends are sitting there, sipping on beers sharing stories about their latest crushes, their crazy hook ups from last weekend, or the hot guy who bought them a drink at the bar. And me? I’m sitting there thinking, “The most exciting thing to happen to me this week was that Matt found five dollars and bought me a Dr. Pepper with it.” I feel like the mom of the group! It’s lame being the one who talks about the same guy all the time when all your friends are talking about the flavor of the month (or week, in some girls’ cases). Sometimes I feel like my friends think I’m no fun anymore, and while I know I shouldn’t care about what other people think of me as long as I’m happy, deep down it bothers me. Read More »

A very good friend of mine recently had her heart torn into pieces by her ex-bf. Now, in my humble opinion there are two foolproof ways to try and get over this. The first option is to hook up with Jude Law. The second is to have a good old fashion ladies’ night. Since the first option is pretty implausible (though apparently possible if you nanny his children), a few of us decided that a night of female only fun was definitely in order.

I guess maybe I should have been more specific when I said, “Don’t invite any guys. It’s going to be only girls. Just women. People with vaginas. Thanks.” The first friend pulled the, “I hope you don’t mind but I invited this foreign exchange student I just met. He needs more friends!” The second sprung the the, “My boyfriend is in the area so he’s going to meet us” (By ‘meet us’ she meant come hang out for 15 minutes before they both left). The friend we planned the failed extravaganza for…you guessed it, ended up calling her ex to pick her up.

And, I’ll admit, I’m the pot calling the kettle boy-crazy… I spent a large quantity of the night in a corner texting my latest love interest. Read More »

Most people know how much it sucks to break up with a boyfriend. Whether he treated you horribly or the relationship has just run its course, telling your boyfriend adios is not easy. And is usually followed by tears, vodka, long trips to the gym, or some combination of all three.

The only thing harder than a romantic breakup is breaking up with a friend.

How do you tell someone that is your ultimate best friend and gal pal that well, you’re just not that into her anymore?

Breaking things off with a BFF is definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Bottom line, this best friend just wasn’t really a friend anymore. She’d been flaking out on me, was way too caught up in trivial drama, and was never there when I truly needed her. She would only talk about herself and seemed completely uninterested in any details about my life. She seemed to be oblivious to her behavior and our deteriorating friendship, and I couldn’t remember the last time we’d had a genuine conversation.

Once I came to terms with the issues, I knew that our friendship was going to have to end. And then I noticed how eerily similar the end of a platonic relationship is to that of a romantic one.

The Fighting: We started to fight and bicker about the most insignificant details. Our opinions seemed to be on opposite sides of the spectrum, even though we used to finish each other’s sentences and always be on the same page.

The Little Things I Never Noticed Started to Piss. Me. Off: How did I not realize how petty and ignorant she was before? Did she always talk this much gossip about our friends? If she says the phrase,”I’ve never felt this way before!” about another guy, I will scream.

The Talk: I decided to sit down and have the talk with her. You know, about “us,” how it’s just not working and how I really felt. The talk went well, she promised she’d change and apologized for being a bia. Read More »