With the Internet, texting, cell phones, and every other quick mode of communication, we speak to each other differently than how we used to.

What we’ve gained in convenience, we’ve lost in finesse and beauty. Instead of beautiful, handwritten letters, we send and receive quick and short emails filled with LOLs and emoticons. I can’t tell you the last time I actually wrote something down and the last letters I received were from Bank of America and a summons for jury duty. Lame.

So with graduation coming up (5 MORE DAYS… AHHHHH!), I wanted to find a cheap and chic way to send letters to my friends once we’ve all gone our separate ways. But custom stationary and envelopes can be expensive, so I created a way to get the custom envelope look without breaking the bank!

What You’ll Need:
4×6 or 5×7 envelopes, any color: These can be really cheap, basic envelopes. You can buy these in packs at stationary stores or most convenience stores!
A magazine or two: You’ll use magazine pages and fun advertisements for the outside of your envelope.
Glue stick
Scissors
Plain white labels – Optional. This will be where you’ll write the destination address. You can pick these up at any office supply store.

What You’ll Do:
1. Carefully take apart the envelope by opening it completely. Be very careful so you do not rip the envelope base. Just carefully pull apart the bottom flap of the envelope from the sides.

2. Pick a bright, fun magazine advertisement. Pick anything you want! Make sure to slowly rip out the magazine page.

3. Using your glue stick, cover the outside of your opened envelope with glue.

4. Glue the opened envelope onto the back side of the magazine advertisement or page you’ve chosen. Press down and smooth.

5. Now cut the glued magazine page to the envelope’s size, trimming away any extra magazine page. This will leave you with a covered opened envelope.

6. Reassemble your envelope with the glue stick. Fold in the side flaps. Fold up the bottom flap of the envelope and glue to the side flaps. Now you should have a glamorous magazine ad covered envelope!

7. Use a plain white label sticker to write the destination address and place it on the front of the envelope. Or you can use gel pens, a dark Sharpie, or any other color to write your address on your new envelope (depending on the color of your advertisement).

8. Write a letter, thank you card, or note and send them away in style in your new, one-of-a-kind envelopes. Your friends will love receiving letters from you!

Last night’s episode of The Hills was monumental. Huge. The early-20s-drama-rific equivalent to the falling of the Berlin Wall.

(Thanks to Holly’s constant pushing and manipulating) Heidi wrote LC a letter.

I know! Heidi can write?!

Well, sorta. The letter went a little something like this:

Dear Lauren,

Heidi Montag

I have so many questions, so let’s get to them. 1) When someone makes a blanket apology, does it count? 2) What exactly is Heidi including in this apology? That she left her BFF to date a total d-bag? That she turned into a plastic bimbo? That she subjected everyone to her horrible “music”? That she spread rumors about LC’s ladyparts to the entire world? 3) How many Heidi’s do you think there are sending LC apology letters that she has to sign her last name? 4) Did Heidi really write this letter, or was this whole thing crafted by Holly to get Spencer out of the picture and let everyone else live happily ever after?

Speaking of Holly – seriously, when did the girl get trendy? Does anyone else remember what she looked like when we met her, like, 3 episodes ago? And now she’s all doin’ her hair all fancy and wearing sparkly dresses…I don’t care if Heidi took her to get a makeover; no one makes a style turnaround that quickly.

But even though I think she secretly stashed a personal stylist in Speidi’s apartment, I am starting to sorta, well, love Holly Montag. The way she stood up to Spencer at the end of the episode after he got all “I’m gonna eff you up for talking about LC.” (Seriouly, I swear that dude is doing something bad to Heidi…she looked so scared of him.) I would like to think she may be the one to get rid of that turd, even though we all know good and well that he’s still around.

Oh yeah. And other things happened last night, too. Audrina went on a date with “the happiest drunk in the world.” He also looked like he showered (point), only had one name (point) and was really sweet to her (even if it was borderline pathetic, point), yet she couldn’t stop talking about Justin Bobby.

Snoozefest.

Thankfully, they will be spicing things up next week with a little skinny dipping action. Otherwise, I can totes do without Audrina and her weird bands and ridiculous body (that I could never have, even if I paid for it).

Sometimes I like to drink. A lot. And on those occasions I may or may not (okay, always) do stupid things. It is not me, you see; it is the alcohol. In fact, it is not until the morning after when I am chugging Gatorade and trying to get my bed to stop spinning that I even realize exactly what went down. And I feel bad – really, I do. So, I want to take this opportunity to apologize for it all.

To The Bartender: I am sorry that I hopped over the bar and drank beer directly from the tap. And attempted to spray my friends with Tonic Water. And knocked over that giant stack of glasses….

To My Best Friend: I am sorry that I bit your hand when you tried to take my falafel away from me. Yes, I know I said we would share. I am also sorry that I stole your shoe…and drank a beer out of it. And that I peed in your garbage can. Oh, wait. That was your sock drawer? My bad.

To My Friends: I am sorry that I called your girlfriend “Gorilla”…to her face (but I am more sorry that you are dating such a mess). Sorry that I brought that random dude back to the apartment and accidentally took him to your room. I will wash your sheets…and rug. Oh, and your teddy bear.

To The Cab Driver: I am sorry that I didn’t open the window far enough when I was attempting to puke and, therefore, got a lot on the inside of the door. I am also sorry that I only had $2 and 36 cents in pennies to pay you. And I appreciate you letting me give you my Bed Bath and Beyond gift card to cover the rest.

To The Random Person at Dominos: I am sorry that I ate half of your cheesy bread before you came to pick it up. It just looked so lonely on the counter.

To The Dude I Work With: I am sorry that I made out with you at Happy Hour and made you think that I was interested and then laughed at you (and told everyone about it) when you asked if you could come home with me. That was really insensitive.

To My Grandma: I am sorry that my friends and I thought it would be funny to drunk dial you at 3 am to tell you that I just hooked up in a bathroom. I just hope you don’t know what that means.

To The Guy That Lives Below Me: I am sorry that I was in the mood to tap dance when I got home from the bar at 5am. I am also sorry for that loud thump at around 7am; my bed was rocking and I rolled right off.

To That Dude I Met: I am sorry that things didn’t work quite that well. It is really hard to aim/stay focused with 6 vodka/Red Bulls in my system. I am also sorry that I stole that pair of boxers; I couldn’t find my skivvies in the morning and needed something under my dress. P.S. Let me know if you find those…

To That Dude I Met’s Girlfriend: He didn’t tell me about you until the next morning. And that underwear you may find somewhere in his room are mine. Sorry ’bout those.

To My Liver: I am so, so, so sorry.

I hope that this covers everyone… past, present and future.

Anyone wanna hit up happy hour tonight? Let me know!

–Laur

[Photo not courtesy of my private collection, but rather metro.co.uk]

I hope this letter finds you well. Or at least wearing a pair of underwear. I am writing to you today on behalf of all of us 20-something women who spent our high school and college years dancing/working out to your music and thinking of your ridiculous abs as we lay on the gym floor willing ourselves to do one last crunch.

We are worried about you, Britney.

It was only a few years ago that you sat atop the world in a one piece leather jumpsuit. Then along came Kevin. You fell in love, you got married and decided to bow out of the spotlight for a bit. That’s fine. I could have used a few new songs on my workout playlist, but everyone is entitled to a little “me” time. But, somehow, “Britney” time turned into “Trailer Park” time and we saw what can now be considered the furthest fall for a celeb since Michael Jackson started touching little boys.

What happened behind the closed doors at camp Spears? How did you go from the hottest thing on the planet to this?

Britney, while you totally screwed the pooch at the VMA’s (a bra and panty set? Really?!) and, while we’re at it, at raising children, it really isn’t that hard for you to make a comeback. Maybe not as a mega pop star, but at least as someone not totally crazy/white trash and who has a shred of dignity. And who can keep her eyelashes in the correct place while doing a giant interview on NBC.

Here are a few tips:

1. Accept Your Body….for what it is. Not what it once was. We all want to look like this, but some of us look like you…I mean, this. Cover up, honey. It is much sexier.

2. Lay Off The Booze: Partying with Paris is fun, but it is not for moms. You don’t see Gwen Stefani out getting wasted and hugging toilet bowls, do you? No. You also don’t see people talking shit about her all over the media. See the connection? No? Maybe we should talk about this one on one.

3. Wear Underwear: Not sure when this went out of fashion, but I swear I have seen your va jay jay more often (and up close) than I my own lately. Everyone knows you have one; you don’t need to show it off.

4. Step Away from the Calf Boots: I don’t know where this obsession came from, but boots that cut you off at the fattest part of your legs is not flattering. Especially when paired with a see through top that barely covers your ass.

5. Stop Performing: Just take some time to be a mom. I am not saying you can’t ever perform again, I am merely saying that until you remember what parts of the song you are supposed to lip sync to, you should probably just take a little break. Take some time to be a mom. Get back in shape. Figure out what your children’s names are. Anything! Just, please, stay away from the bedazzled bra and panty combo.

It really isn’t that hard, Brit. And the possibilities are endless. You could have another top record, you could earn the respect of millions, and – hopefully – you can make people stop talking about how great K-Fed is in all of this. (Seriously, how low have you sunk when a man that makes zero dollars and created Po Po Zao is seen as the better parent?) Just work with us, woman! Bring us back to the Britney glory days. And make this bitch stop crying.

Sincerely,

Lauren