A lot of my friends can’t believe that the day after Halloween all of the pumpkins and skeletons have instantly transformed into turkey posters and Christmas balls. But I absolutely love it.

There is nothing better than walking through the streets (or the sidewalk in front of your dorm) bundled up in a cashmere scarf past Christmas lights twinkling on railings and storefronts. After spotting wreaths hanging from lampposts in my ‘hood I spent my weekend sipping hot cocoa, flipping through the holiday edition of my favorite mags and watching Thanksgiving inspired recipes on the Food Network. It was my very own glorious holiday bubble.

And then, like that, it burst.

I opened my computer to find an email from my friend trying to figure out our plans for New Years Eve. Which is nearly 7 weeks away. SEVEN! New Years?! You mean the celebration that is on December 31st?! Is she for real?

First of all, there are two very important holidays between now and NYE. Neither of which I have planned, and both that I love more than any other. Why rush the most glorious time of year? When New Years Day rolls around you are only left with nothing but a massive hangover and memories of a holiday season passed. New Year’s marks the end of the holidays and sends you packing up your suitcase and heading back to school for a new semester of essays and homework and stress. The decorations vanish, the cheer disintegrates and you’re left with nothing but dread for the next holiday: Valentine’s Day. Read More »

A trip to the campus bookstore is an exercise in self-assurance. When you spot an intriguing book that you cannot wait to read cover to cover, you may or may not have the cajones to bring it up to the counter. Why, you ask? Hmm, maybe because its entitled The Going Down Guide: Tongue Tips and Oral Techniques for Men and Women!

Sure, it may be full of exclusive tips that you are dying to learn and try out on your man, but can you really muster the moxie to pay for it along with a bottle of water and box of pens?

“What if the cashier thinks I have an oral-fixation that I need to feed in between classes by learning how to properly fellate a fellow?” The embarrassment would be akin to buying the economy-size box of tampons at the grocery store while still in your PMS PJs.

But, now I wonder: what other hidden treasures can I find in the bookstore that I’m too scared to plunk down the cash for in public?

Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love, and Lose at Both
What it’s about: So, do you think that by hooking up you’re being sexually empowered and going after what you want for a change? Not so, says Laura Sessions Stepp. She “follows three groups of young women over the course of an academic year to discover what hooking up is all about. She attends class with them, parties with them, and listens to them talk about their sexual encounters – coming away with some enlightening and disturbing insights into sexuality.”

What it tells the cashier: I am sorta slutty and I want to know the repercussions.

Read More »

How’s your Easter turning out? Did you celebrate with some mimosas this morning? Or perhaps you’re planning on a little red wine with dinner? I know there aren’t too many drinking opportunities on Easter, but that shouldn’t stop you. After all that’s what holidays are made for… er, well, kind of.

Maybe Easter doesn’t mean kegs, and shots and bar crawls to you, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate with a well deserved buzz. Get creative, people!

Anyway, I started thinking about holidays and how sometimes they just seem to be made for partying. I’m not talking about the holidays that are all about family (although a little peppermint Schnapps in my hot chocolate sure seems to make Christmas a little merrier at my house). No, I’m talking about the holidays that seem to be created around the drink. The ones that aren’t worth celebrating without something frosty and soothing. The ones where I don’t know what I’m celebrating, but I definitely am happy to celebrate. These are the drinking holidays, and I have listed the top 5 for you below. Read More »

[Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus. Join the Overheard revolution!

Leave your own overheard convos in the comments.]

1st girl: “I had a really nice, lovely, normal New Years’ kiss. No drama.”

2nd girl: “Yeah. Well, I ended up getting a kiss from my rabbit. He’s man enough for me.”

1st girl:”Cute!”

3rd girl: “I sat by myself and read Wikipedia while the ball dropped. Then my cat threw up.”

“Hey! Do that voice again! It’s like we’ve got two dads. The best Christmas party ever!”

“Bacteria turkey. That’s the grossest thing you can say. The way the words line up in your mouth. The subtle alliteration. It’s like, I want to vomit, but it’d be the most fascinating vomit ever. Think about it.”

“You know, there were plenty of other parties we could have gone to tonight.”

“I don’t think my sexuality is even a question any more. The only physical contact I have with other people is carrying drunk girls home from parties. I think my orientation is ‘transportation equipment.”

“Secretary? Yeah, can’t watch that with the folks. I don’t know what’s worse; the way my dad gets flustered and has to leave the room, or the way my mom starts taking notes.”

“Is this mulled cider? That means it’s cut with E, right?” Read More »

Anyone else still hung over from New Years? (Try a little yoga!) If you’re lucky, you’re probably still cuddled up on the couch with leftover pizza. But if you are in the unfortunate bunch that has to pull yourself out of bed and function in the land of the living, here are the beauty steps you need to look a little less “morning after all-you-can-drink,” and a little more “I’m lookin’ damn good in 2009.”

Ole Henriksen Blue Blackberry Enzyme Mask – sephora.com $32

So your whole body is dehydrated (hence that pounding headache) but while you are rehydrating with vitamin water don’t forget to replenish your skin too! This mask has loads of antioxidants from blueberries and blackberries. Bonus feature – this mask is gentle enough to use under the eyes, where you need it most!

Clinique All About Eyes – clinique.com $28.50

New year’s was a blast but now your eyes look like you are a reject from the Thriller video. Clinque helps you out with this fantastic eye gel. Not only does it depuff but also gets circulation going which means it brings a little light to those dark circles. Read More »

Happy New Year, everyone! Whether you love New Year’s Eve or you totally hate it, the coming of a new year is exciting! New beginnings, clean slate, yada yada yada…

The last week of 2008 was quite busy for us. We ended the year with a bang (literally), before we rang in 2009 in style.

Just like the last week of any year, we spent the past 7 days reflecting on 2008. The best fashion, the biggest things that happened, and all the things that we learned. We also started looking forward to 2009: we made resolutions (that we will most likely break in 2 weeks), and considered other options that we just know aren’t going to happen.

Maybe we should have just set some more…er… realistic goals for the year.

Like cozying up on the couch with some warm cocktails and episodes of Bromance and The City on the DVR. Or, of course, a little CC TV.

(We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E. [Guys We Wanna Eff]. With all the news retrospectives airing to close out 2008, we thought it was about time to pay homage to our favorite journalist, the infinitely effable Anderson Cooper. )

Let me make no mistake: Anderson Cooper is a stone cold F-O-X. They should change the call letters of his station from CNN to E-F-F, because when I tune in, all I see are Anderson’s steely blue eyes telling me he wants to jump my bones.

But Anderson isn’t just a journalistic automaton–the guy’s got substance. After graduating from Yale, he didn’t have a job and simply decided to fly himself to far-flung locales like Burma and Somalia to cover wars as a freelance journalist, which he wrote about in his book. He gained recognition for his hard-hitting news coverage, landing him a spot as a CNN reporter and anchor of the program Anderson Cooper 360. Known for his grit and endurance for reporting across the globe, Anderson also starred in the documentary Planet in Peril, about the most critical environmental issues facing the earth today.

But all work and no play would make Anderson a very dull boy. He is well-known for being down-to-earth and plugged in to today’s popular culture. He’s a BIG fan of Real Housewives of Atlanta, (as he’s professed on many talk shows), and has a Facebook and a Twitter. He made a big splash a few weeks ago (literally!) when he challenged Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps to a mini-swimming race. Anderson may have lost the race, but ladies won the chance to see our favorite journo jock shirtless on national television. Most recently, he co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve special with Kathy Griffin (whose wild remarks have been the talk of bloggerati since yesterday), where he professed his resolution to blog more in 2009. Will I be hanging on his every effable word? Yes, yes I will.

Don’t worry, I’ve read all the gossip. I could care less if he loves men, women, or panda bears–I’d like to dispatch Mr. Cooper to my bed to experience some of his hard-hitting coverage. “Anderson Cooper’s Effability” is the only breaking story on my news feed.

Hello, 2009!

We didn’t start the year off in the best way (laying on the couch, chugging water and eating breakfast sandwiches while watching USC dominate on the field), but now we’re ready! And not hungover! And we couldn’t be more excited to get 2009 going. We have huge plans and goals and lists of things to do.

In the spirit of the new year, we decided to sit down and list our resolutions for 2009. We probably won’t keep ‘em, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

John – UConn: I think the only New Year’s resolution I know I can keep is to diligently turn 21. Pounds can leave, come back and leave again, and friends are the same way, but drinking age is forever.

Leah – Ryerson University: Stop dating, getting involved with, and/or having sex with douchebags. 2009 will be a douchebag free year!

Elise – UCLA: No Diet Coke!!!!

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: To keep running for fitness health, and wellbeing – not weight loss.

Carly – Grinnell: To get at least one step closer (whatever that might be) to becoming a pastry chef.

Elizabeth – UA Hunstville: To find the easiest, most slacker way possible to make tons of money.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Get out and flirt with boys more. What? I like to make resolutions I can keep. Read More »

[I like to think of myself as a pretty easy going gal, and try not to sweat the small stuff. But sometimes (ok, maybe slightly more often) the general cluelessness, carelessness and overall stupididty of some things and or/people really gets to me. I find that venting is the most efficient way to rid myself of the stress that idiots, wrong meal orders, lack of cell phone ettiquette and cheese flavored products (that don’t even contain any freaking cheese!) induce.

So, in an attempt to avoid an ulcer or an unfortuante road rage incident, I vent to you, dear reader. Please feel free to join in and comment about anything–really, anything–that pissed. you. off. this week. Let it all hang out. I feel you.]

Unenthusiastic recipients: We’ve all been there: you spend hours– quite possibly even days–searching for the perfect gift for a special someone. You lovingly wrap it in unique and pretty paper before signing your name on the gift tag, anticipating that perfect moment when their face lights up with joy and gratitude, as they are thoroughly impressed by your gift buying skills. So imagine my frustration after saving my hard earned (and hard-not-to-spend-at-happy-hour) wages to buy my baby bro an iPod, only to watch him open it Christmas morning and proclaim “Cool. Thanks.” Ok now, I understand the whole males not expressing as much emotion concept; I understand that he’s a 16-year-old and slightly pissed off is his default setting, but come on, man! I think I deserved at least a Thank You hug. Read More »

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