[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Foodily, Cramster and DropBox) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Does this situation sound familiar to you? Your BFF asks you if want to go out to dinner with her, and you’re about to tell her yes, when you decide to check your bank statement quickly online before you answer — and discover you don’t have anywhere close to enough for a night out. You tell her thanks, but you have to skip it this time… then immediately start scanning job listings on Craigslist and rifling though your closet for things you can sell on Ebay to get some extra cash.

Even if you think you’re pretty careful with your spending, it’s easy to spend a lot more on infrequent and/or small purchases like that daily coffee, shopping the day you get your paycheck, or nights at the bar (even $1 pints can add up). If you don’t count every purchase and check your bank account on a regular basis, you’ll just end up in situations like the one described above over and over.

Mint makes keeping track of your finances easy, so you don’t find yourself selling back books you still need just so you can buy dinner. Mint pulls together all your financial information, including checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and loans, and organizes it for you all in one place. You can easily check your balance and so much more in just a few clicks.

Mint also helps you categorize your purchases so you can see where your money is going. You can also set up a budget to save money and track your progress. Mint shows you how much you can save if you cut back in certain spending categories. Mint even provides you with personalized recommendations for saving money and teaches you to spend smarter!

Your money and personal information is also safe with Mint — the website has high-level security to protect your information, and allows you to set up alerts for a low account balance, remind you to pay bills, and notify you of suspicious activity.

Mint also offers an app for smartphones so you can access it anywhere, and best of all, Mint is completely free to use! I’m going to start using Mint to help me curb frivolous spending and save for a vacation at the end of the year! How will you use it?

Want some more awesome sites (that won’t cost you a single dolla bill)? Check out the other sites that are on Laura’s web radar!

While everyone loves a good brownie, a brownie can be made exponentially better by adding peppermint (or peanut butter, caramel, marshmallow… the list goes on).

Mint chocolate brownies are the perfect treat as the weather gets colder, but really, they’re perfect for any time at all. Is there ever a bad time for a brownie?

The Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter

8 oz. of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (chocolate chips will work too)

1 cup sugar

3/4 t salt

3 large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

25 small peppermint patties (my fave are York!)

Getting to Brownie Bliss:

Line an 8 inch square baking pan with aluminum foil with butter on it. This will make the brownies much easier to get out of the pan (the easier it is to get the brownies out of the pan, the sooner you can stuff your face).

Put the chopped chocolate or chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Gently stir until the chocolate is melted and then remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt.

Now whisk in the eggs, cocoa powder, and flour until the mixture is nice and smooth. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan.

Unwrap all your peppermint patties and arrange them over the layer of batter. Now pour the remaining batter into the pan, bake for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees, and consume!

Sound like too much work? You can also make the mint chocolate brownies using a boxed brownie mix. Simply make the batter following the box’s directions, pour 1/3 of it into a pan, layer your peppermint patties, and pour the rest of the batter over. So technically, the brownies didn’t come from a box because you added your own special touch to them.

Now that I’ve had these, I want to make brownies with all sorts of candy bars inside. Snickers? Heath bar? This could get dangerous.

Then, boy, have I got the dessert for you.

Seriously. It’s called Mint Chip Pie and the only downside (the ONLY downside) is how retardedly addictive it is.

So take ten minutes and make this delicious summer dessert. It’s about 5 servings, so invite some friends over…or don’t and have lots of leftovers. Your choice. I won’t tell.

And now, without further ado, I give you:

Mint Chip Pie

Go out and buy:

-1 crust (preferably chocolate graham cracker crust), 9 inches

-6 cups of mint chip ice cream

-1 ounce of dark chocolate

Here’s how you make it:

-Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for a couple of minutes to soften it.

-In the meantime, melt the chocolate in the microwave and stir it until it’s nice and creamy.

-Now that the ice cream is soft, empty it into the crust and smooth it down so it’s evenly distributed.

-Drip the chocolate on the top of the ice cream, preferably abstractly (let’s not be Suzy Homemaker, yes?).

-Stick the whole thing in the freezer for at least 8 hours.

-Hooray! You have mint chip pie! Let it sit in room temperature for 15 minutes before you serve it, and then enjoyyyyy!

[Image courtesy of www.bettycrocker.com]

Me either. But I’ve heard stories.

If I really want an Andes chocolate mint, all I need to do is drive to the nearest grocery store and shell out $2, as opposed to $200, and eat as many as I want (which usually translates to too much).

Or, I make this sweet little shot.

Say goodbye to the hot months with this refreshing blast of minty chocolate goodness.

Because like those expensive hotels and pieces of candy, summer never lasts long enough.

Mint on Your Pillow:

1/2 oz green creme de menthe

3/4 oz chocolate liqueur

1 splash milk

Shake everything together and strain into a shot glass. Make sure to drink quickly and cold. Warm milk is gross.

…and you know what else is gross? Being so drunk you throw up in your hair.

Picture this – you’re sitting in class, the hot guy (with whom you are mildly obsessed with) sits down next to you and you finally have your chance to actually speak to this hot creature…what could go wrong, right? Well this is usually about the time my arch nemesis would come along – BAD BREATH.

Fear not, I’ve found a few revolutionary products that will help any college girl out in this type of jam with three simple steps to achieve breath that’s perfection.

1- ) Let’s start with your teeth and mouth. Supersmile Quikee ($16.) – This no rinse, on-the-go oral care was developed to be used whenever it simply isn’t convenient to brush or rinse (like in the middle of Italian Lit. 132). It’s clinically proven to both remove surface stains on teeth and to leave teeth at least one shade whiter after the initial use.

In addition to being travel friendly and perfect for any school bag, just a drop of Supersmile Quikee, smoothed over your teeth and around your mouth with the tip of your tongue, provides the perfect tooth whitening, breath freshening experience.

2- ) Now on to your lips. C.O. Bigelow is the gold standard for lip moisturization while freshening breath. I’m a HUGE fan of Mentha Lip Tint ($7.50). This mint-infused lip gloss imparts a sheer hint of pale pink color and glossy high shine with a refreshing, cooling sensation.

Your lips will stay moist and protected while the peppermint oil gives breath long-lasting freshness. Also, if you’re not a lip gloss/color kinda girl, C.O. Bigelow also has a Mentha Lip Balm Stick ($7.50, bathandbodyworks.com).

This emollient shea butter stick lip balm is infused with a cool blast of peppermint oil, ideal for multi-taskers who want to freshen breath while keeping lips moisturized – perfect for both you and your boy, who obviously wants the cool, fresh breath without the lip glossy shine.

3- ) While not so revolutionary, people tend to forget that bad breath is often caused by dehydration. Drink lots of water and you’ll find that your breath will stay fresh longer. FIJI water is an excellent choice for your hydration needs with its composition consisting of a high concentration of silica, an essential mineral that can help strengthen hair, skin, nails and bones.

Calling all girlie girls! I found a sale at Pinkstore.com.

If you can’t already tell by the name of this online shop, it is the home for soft, frilly, and lovely designer duds. With spring shopping on my mind, I thought it was great to find fall items on sale that can take me through the rest of the semester and summer.

The Pinkstore.com is filled with femme items by designers like Marc by Marc Jacobs, Theory and Mint. Only down side is sizes are limited. Act fast.