Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or the year long holiday of “I want it, I want it, give it to me,” I’m pretty sure you’ve got a long list of things you’re wanting right now. For me, it’s a pair of bike shoes (in hopes having them will motivate me to go to the gym), a Kindle and a Flip Cam. Oh, and a boyfriend, but I’m not sure I trust my mom to find one for me. And I’m pretty sure shoving my future husband in a closet wrapped in paper for four days is not the best thing for his well-being.
Anyway, as much as we all know we should be giving back this season, with all the goodness that’s out there it’s impossible not to want. The problem is, what do I want most? I know I can’t get it all (no matter how much they love me, I know my parents won’t be getting me a BMW this year) so I gotta choose the top dogs for my holiday list.
But which do I choose? What are you jonesing for most this season?
We all have that super-environmentally conscious person in our life, lovingly (most of the time) referred to as the Tree Hugger. While they’re always giving back to Mother Earth by reminding you to recycle, to take shorter showers or turn off the lights, they are not so easy to give to. It seems like there are many ways to offend your favorite tree hugger during the holidays, be it by using non-recyclable gift wrap, too much packaging, or buying them a gift that somehow depletes the ozone layer.
But they still deserve something this holiday, right?
Let me take the guess-work out of buying for the environmentalist in your life, with a few eco-friendly gifts that even Captain Planet could love.
But first, a few tips:
Tip #1: Look for products with sustainable materials and processes. Items made from recycled materials (there are tons of these on Etsy!) are very environmentally friendly, as well as unique! Tip #2: Consider where the product was made. Items made in your area require less fuel to reach store shelves, and therefore have a smaller impact. It’s also good to know whether an item is fair trade. Tip #3: Redefine what constitutes a gift and give to a charity in your recipient’s name. Use Charity Navigator to make a donation to an environmental organization your tree hugger supports. Tip #4: Think about how you’re wrapping the gift. Gift bags can be reused, or you can reuse newspaper for a free way to wrap your present.
After a particularly excruciating weekend, I’ve come to realize a few things. First of all, Patron doesn’t sit well with an entire bottle of white wine. Secondly, if you go to an NHL hockey game on a Sunday, do not expect anything to get done that evening. Finally, and most relevantly, I need some serious guidelines when I go out.
Hence, this week I’m providing a survival kit for New Year’s Eve, the blurriest and biggest party night of the year. Here are 10 things everyone must have to ensure the biggest, baddest, awesomest, most memorable (with the help of that digital camera, of course) night.
10. Tacky 2010 glasses
I was mourning the end of these bad boys at the end of the year, but someone figured out how to make them for 2010. Score.
9. Champagne
This one is a given. Please upgrade your champagne choice from “the cheapest thing in the store.” Bad champagne = bad, bad hangover. I speak from experience. Trust. Read More »
Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, right now. Everyone’s got something to share..
Biodegradable Trash Bags:
Did you know that those white plastic bags currently housing beer cans and so-dirty-and-covered-in-dust-bunnies-that-they-can’t-be-salvaged beer pong balls take a thousand years to biodegrade, if ever? Didn’t think so. Lord knows I’m not thinking about how long my trash bag will hang out with Mother Earth when I’m throwing up in it on a hungover Sunday morning.
Well now you can puke with a green conscience. Green Genius has come up with a line of garbage bags that are edible by microbes. The (green) geniuses realized that combining plastic with an additive that bonds organic nutrients to the plastic’s molecular structure miraculously turns the evil material into sugars, fatty acids, and amino acids while it sits in the landfill.
Every week I count backwards from ten. I know, I’m kind of a big deal. Usually these countdowns have a theme like which phrases really grind my gears (“grind my gears” should be mentioned) or how I’m I heart not drinking (which is a hard list to replicate cuz I’m really loving beer right now), but this week I’m leaning to my geekier side.
This week, I’m counting down the ten craziest technologies. Whether they’re crazy in the “what the f&!# way” or crazy in the “I need that NOW” way, I’m listing them all, from social media to iPhone apps. Gen-Y has access to the wackiest and most innovative technology right now and here’s my “Weekly Ten” take on all of it:
9. Last.Fm
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’re a music junkie like me you MUST get last.fm. You can download an app for your computer that scrobbles (crazy jargon!) whatever you’re playing and can show the world what you’re listening to. I love seeing what my friends are jamming out to. Last.Fm also creates a personal radio station for you that kicks Pandora’s butt by a mile. Love it.
8. Skype
Phone calls, video chat and texting. All in one and it’s international. You can even place calls thru Skype via the wifi on your iPhone. It’s a little buggy, but still pretty cool to call your friends abroad. FOR FREE. Read More »
If you’re an addicted iPhone user like myself, you might like to keep up on all the hot goss on new apps. No? Just me? Super dorky? Fine. But even if you don’t own an iPhone, you should still check out this new app that Pepsi has launched for their energy drink, Amp.
This “Before You Score” app is geared towards guys who are interested in picking up chicks. And suck at it. The app breaks women down into 24 different types, including: the sorority girl, the rebound, the punk etc… “Before You Score” dispenses pickup lines, hot spots to take your type of girl (example: local Vegan restaurants for the tree hugger) and even a translator for Greek letters on the sorority girl. And if you somehow “score with Amp” there’s a quick way to brag about it through email, Facebook and Twitter.
Ta-da! Social media for the player, or, you know, douche bag. Nice work, Pepsi. Read More »
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.
Pumkin Pie Hershey Kisses
By now, you probably know my over-the-top love for Pumpkin Spice from Starbucks. In fact, one of the only things I like about fall is pumpkin flavored things, so imagine my sheer delight when CollegeCandy’s equally pumpkin-obsessed editor sent me the image of these pumpkin pie Hershey kisses. We then proceeded to go back and forth on G-chat for ten minutes obsessing over them. It went a little something like this:
Me: O. M. G.!!!
CC Editor: I KNOW, I’M DYING JUST LOOKING AT THEM
ME: OMG. I mean, I just peed my pants a little, I hope my boss doesn’t notice.
CC Editor: OMGEE. Must. Try. These. Yesterday.
And so it went, and even though neither of us has tried them yet, we knew that you all just had to know. And now you do. And now I can go buy some. Saweet.
All Nighter Hair Powder
Fact is, I’m lazy. And since my Jewish genes blessed me with Jew fro curls that take foreva-eva to wear straight, I don’t like to wash my hair unless absolutely necessary. Problem: the bangs always look greasy before the rest of my hair needs to be washed. Yeah, we’ve all heard of tossing a little baby powder up in there, but it’s no fan favorite, unless, of course, you are playing the part of crazy grandma in your 8th grade play, or want to smell like a baby’s bottom all day. Well, now there’s an answer. And its not just ANY answer – it’s a Rachel Zoe answer, which means it’s good.
Our favorite fashion troll says she’s addicted to All Nighter Hair Powder/Dry Shampoo. It can fit in your purse AND it comes in multiple shades so the powder soaks up the grease while blending in with your hair. Amazing for those mornings when you’re tired and lazy, or those emergency situations when your hair is stuck to your head but you are running late from cute boy’s apartment to not so cute Bio lecture…
Ping iPhone Application
I don’t have an iPhone or a Blackberry but this prospect still excited me. Everyone I know that has a Blackberry says the ONLY reason why they have it over an iPhone is for those 3 letters we all hear wayyy too much: BBM. While to me BBM is just that annoying thing that keeps my friends from paying attention to me when we are together, to Blackberry users it is more important than breathing. Or cupcakes. Yes I said it – more important than cupcakes. It’s addicting and people don’t want to part with it. They don’t call it the Crackberry for nothing.
But now, our friends at apple have developed a nearly-free iPhone app that serves the same purpose! Ping is just like our beloved BBM with a hint of instant messenger combined. And the best part? It doesn’t discriminate against iPhone users only – those with an iPod Touch can take part in the F-U-N that is totally not paying attention in your English lit class. And it’s $0.99. I mentioned that, right? Less than a buck!
Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, right now. Well, not right now, but soon. Like, every Thursday.
Imagine that you move into your new dorm room only to find that your internet connection isn’t working. Do you feel a little frustrated, mildly anxious, or totally panicked?
If you chose Option C, you might just be an internet addict. Don’t laugh—a growing number of doctors believe that internet addiction is a serious problem, one that’s on par with established dependencies like alcoholism and compulsive shopping. There’s even a brand-new internet rehab center in Fall City, Washington called reSTART that aims to cure netheads of their wicked ways in just 45 days by reconnecting them to “the real world.” Ironically, the treatment center is located less than 20 minutes away from Microsoft’s corporate headquarters in Redmond.
So far, reSTART has treated a grand total of one patient: 19-year-old Ben Alexander, who says that he used to spend up to 17 hours playing World of Warcraft before he checked in. Ben’s paying a whopping $14,500 for the privilege of participating in rehab activities like “Discovery Quest” and “Weekly Shopping/Planning” (seriously, look at reSTART’s sample daily schedule). That’s more than the price of tuition for PA residents at Penn State’s flagship campus. Read More »
[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site.We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like the gyno-gender debate!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]
It’s textbook time again - the moment when you look down your syllabus and groan at the hundreds of dollars that could have gone to things like food (or that fantasy fall wardrobe) that you will instead be laying down for an eight-pound anatomy book. Sigh. Well, don’t get your panties in a bunch just yet; suddenly, there may be other options. Between some schools giving out Kindles for free <incoherent jealous muttering> and a few textbook companies making their wares available for download on smart phones, this year we could do away with the piles of heavy, bound books…
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or the year long holiday of “I want it, I want it, give it to me,” I’m pretty sure you’ve got a long list of things you’re wanting right now. For me, it’s a pair of bike shoes (in hopes having them will motivate me to go to the gym), a Kindle and a Flip Cam. Oh, and a boyfriend, but I’m not sure I trust my mom to find one for me. And I’m pretty sure shoving my future husband in a closet wrapped in paper for four days is not the best thing for his well-being.
We all have that super-environmentally conscious person in our life, lovingly (most of the time) referred to as the Tree Hugger. While they’re always giving back to Mother Earth by reminding you to recycle, to take shorter showers or turn off the lights, they are not so easy to give to. It seems like there are many ways to offend your favorite tree hugger during the holidays, be it by using non-recyclable gift wrap, too much packaging, or buying them a gift that somehow depletes the ozone layer.
Every week I count backwards from ten. I know, I’m kind of a big deal. Usually these countdowns have a theme like 
Reality Shows We Miss
Comedy is So In This Season
New Round of Shops at Target!
Unscripted With MIB 3
Most Controversial Comedies
