Shopping, like any other sport, requires technique, skill and good eye for talent. Okay, so maybe shopping isn’t exactly an Olympic sport (yet), but being smart about the way you go about it can make you feel like you’ve certainly won some kind of contest (and saved some big bucks!). Even the very best shoppers know that you must be quick, agile and sharp as a tack in order to find the best deals.

Here are some great ways to hop on those deals just in time to enhance that great summer wardrobe you’ve got (or will have soon thanks to some of these ideas!) Stretch, put on those shopping-flats and stick in the pump-up CD in the car – you’ve got a big day ahead of you. On your mark, get set…

Research
Spending a little extra time and doing some research on where you’re shopping and what you’re shopping for is better than spending a little extra money. Make sure you know what you’re supposed to be looking for. I’m not saying you have to sit down, read the Sunday paper and clip coupons religiously like your Aunt Carol, but be smart about it. For example, I have a separate email account I specifically set up for all of those “final sale!” emails I recieve at 4:28 am every morning. When it comes time to do some post-breakup, post-exam or even just post-lunch shopping, I know who’s got sales, when and where. Read More »

Looking back on my time in college, there are a lot of things I wish people would have told me. Things that would have really impacted my life both then and in the future.

- I wish I would have known that all the guys I had crushes on would get fat and bald in five years.
- I wish I knew how scary and overwhelming my first year out of college would be.
- I really wish someone would have told me how bad I looked in shirts that showed my belly.

Had I known these things, who knows how my life would have turned out? I know I wouldn’t have spent so much time pining over dumb boys, crying myself to sleep for a year, or hiding my Senior Year photo album (because we had real, tangible photo albums back in 2005) under a pile of old clothes right now.

And that is why I would like to share a few things with you. I am your future (a fabulous, successful, happy, sexy, awesome, etc. girl) and I know what is to come. Allow me to guide you in your choices – based on all I have seen in my 5 years (gasp!) since graduating – to ensure you make the right choices and don’t end up with the same regrets I have. Read More »

[We originally ran this post at the end of 2008. Unfortunately it still rings true in 2010 so we're bringing it back for round 2. Share your own resolution gripes in the comments section below!]

I don’t make resolutions for the new year. Not only do I know I will not keep them, but I also know that anything important enough to give up on December 31st should probably be given up on any other day. I tried to give up cake once – what a disaster. Just knowing the 31st was coming and that I would soon be without my beloved buttercream sent me on a downward spiral that resulted with me, a fork and a missing Costco sheet cake.

The only thing I hate more than making New Years resolutions are the people that do. They are annoying, act all “holier than thou,” and make the first few weeks of every new year miserable for me.

The Gym Goers: Seriously, people, get off of my elliptical. I shouldn’t have to wait to get on my machine (that I have been using 5 days a week for the entirety of 2008 and 2009) just because you finally decided you’ve had enough with your muffin top. And, for those of you who don’t know because this is your first time at the gym, you are supposed to be sweating on that thing, not standing on it and texting your friends about the girl standing behind you giving you the stink eye. Read More »

Every girl will go through a time in her life when she has to choose: eat dinner or buy a new little piece of fabulous.  We have all been (or are, or will be) so broke that the basic necessities of human life are juggled on a constantly shrinking stage of available funds.  I like to refer to it as my “starving artist” period, through which all writers, photographers, and other creative people must progress.  My parents like to refer to it as “get a job NOW.”

What is a girl supposed to do?  Let me share a relatively recent discovery of mine: you don’t necessarily need money to have a nice meal out.

I moved to New York City for an internship this month and subsequently have no money.  The first weekend I was here just happened to be my birthday (funny how that worked out), so I was obligated to spend lots of moolah…on myself.  Now I have even less money.  This is a HUGE PROBLEM in a city where every block is full of deliciousness and fun.

My solution?  First dates.

It’s not hard to find a guy to take you out on a first date.  First dates are easy – no pressure, no expectations, and all you have to do is chat pleasantly and eat delicious food (or see a cool movie, or whatever).  If you don’t want to take it beyond the first date, then you don’t have to. If you do, then more power to ya, sister (more free food ).

Either way, you both had a nice time and you got to try a new restaurant for free. Win/win.

Obviously, I realize it’s not very nice to use guys just for a free meal.  But hey, the way I see it, they’re getting the pleasure of my company and conversation and I’m not completely ruling out the possibility of a second date or even a relationship (one not entirely based on free food, that is). And I’ll pay it back eventually. You know, when I have a job and I’m making money and not dancing around my sublet when I find a dollar in a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in awhile…

In the meantime, though, that Korean restaurant down the street is looking de-LISH and I think that dishy Korean guy would be the perfect person to buy me dinner.