Welcome home for Thanksgiving! Where the lines at the bar are ridiculous, the drinks can’t come fast enough, and while you think it’s dejavu you’ve got going on – you actually ARE having the same 3 minute conversation with blasts from your not-so-distant past over and over and over.

And over.

It’s a funny concept this “home for Thanksgiving bar night” we’ve got going. It’s the biggest bar night of the year, but every year brings about the same conversation that leaves me wanting to bang my head into a wall. But even though I don’t, I somehow wake up feeling like I did.

It goes a little something like this: Read More »

I’m going to be honest: I’m not dying for Thanksgiving break like the rest of my freshman companions. Everyone around me seems to miss home, miss their parents, and miss their beds so much that they can’t wait to get on a plane.

It seems like everyone’s FB status is something about “ONE MORE WEEK!”– even people who are totally thriving and happy college freshmen.

I, however, am completely happy at school. I love my life here and my friends and I don’t really have any homesickness pangs. Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited to see my high school friends, my family, and – AHEM – Pumpkin Pie, but I just don’t feel so uber excited to go home like everyone else.

But since I am going home, I guess there are a few things I can’t wait to leave behind in the dorms for a week….

1. Shower Sandals. I seriously DESPISE wearing sandals in the shower– even though I have really cute pink Havaianas, the whole concept of needing shoes to shield yourself from germs (when you’re trying to get clean in the first place) really bugs me. Oh, and I will not miss the girl on my hall who must lose half her hair every time she showers — the showers/floors look like a salon post-haircut, pre-sweep. Nasty with a capital N. Private shower, here I come.

2. Not needing a key to get in my room. Simple. I have a ghetto key, not a sliding ID card like many of my friends. I’ll be able to walk into my room with stuff in my hands/not have to drop everything to open my door/look like a lunatic when I have to scramble through to depths of my Mary Poppins-esque Hobo bag to find my keys whenever I need to get something from my bed. Read More »

Thanksgiving is probably one of my favorite holidays. The food, the family, the festivities…the food.

Normally, I go home to visit my family for Thanksgiving. But they are all the way in California and I’m in New York. With the economy in the dumps and hardly any money in my pocket, going home for a couple days wasn’t worth the trip.

So this year, I’m spending Thanksgiving on my own. My brother will be visiting me from Boston (he’s also too broke to fly home) and we will be having a lovely low key Thanksgiving meal together.

There are just a couple problems…1) I’m broke, remember? 2) how the eff do you prepare a Thanksgiving meal?!?!

Well, I did some research and here’s what I found on how to make a d’lish Turkey Day meal without throwing away too much money:

1) Campbell’s Kitchen — so we already know Campbell’s soups are ‘M’m M’m Good’ but they are also M’m M’m cheap. If you check out their website, it’s full of great Thanksgiving recipes that definitely won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Like green bean casserole, and creamy mashed potatoes! *yum*

2) DIY — you may THINK that buying already made pies and desserts and other T-day goodies is cheaper, but doing it yourself may actually save you a couple bucks. Sure it’s a little more work, but hey, it’ll be fun! Here are some savory pumpkin pie recipes to get you started.

3) Get your turkey from the supermarket — there are a ton of grocery stores that have ready-to-make, and sometimes ready-to-eat birds available. Some stores, like this one, have the entire meal, fixings and all, ready for pick up. And it’s not as pricey as you think!

Enjoy!

With Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, ‘tis the season for awesome TV, beautiful foliage, great hair days and—of course—seasonal gourds.

What better way is there to celebrate than with a delicious, Grandma-worthy pumpkin pie? This one looks, tastes and smells like the real thing and you’ll get it done (and impress your friends and family) in 5 steps:

You Will Need:

1 frozen 9″ pie crust

1 can of Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filler!)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs

1 and a half teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. of ginger

3/4 tsp. of nutmeg Read More »

Sure, the weather is getting cooler, but there’s still plenty of time before you have to layer down jackets over sweatshirts over sweaters over thermals, and cover every other inch of your body in knit hats, gloves, and scarves. The air is crisp and has that cool, fall smell, but this will soon give way to biting cold, snot that freezes in your nostrils, and seeing your own breath.

Take advantage of the cool fall nights– they are more fun (and can be more romantic) than you think!

Have a bonfire

Summer bonfires make you sweat. Fall bonfires keep you warm without overheating. It’s the perfect time to gather your friends, cozy up around some flames, and reminisce about the “good old days”– like the time you got so drunk you passed out in your dorm stairwell (which may have been last weekend). If you’re still in the creepy Halloween mood, you can pull a “Summer Camp” and recite urban legends under the moon, or you can pass around a couple of forties and see where the story-telling gets you. Bonfires are a great way to set the mood in a group setting, so if you’ve been feeling shy around someone special, it’s the perfect opportunity to initiate something.

Go on a Hayride

Nothing screams “Autumn” like sitting on a bale of hay and being taken around a farm on a horse-drawn wagon. After being cooped up in stuffy lecture halls all day, a hayride is literally a breath of fresh air. If you’re feeling stressed from school, go on a clear night, sit back, relax, and be one with nature… and the twenty other people crammed into the cart! Besides, sharing a bale of hay on a cool night with a guy is a great excuse to snuggle up. Got energy to burn? Try a corn maze instead! Read More »

The leaves are changing color, Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner, and the frozen drinks of summer are slowly being replaced by hard apple cider.

But this doesn’t need to be the case! One of the creamiest, tastiest variations of the frozen mudslide is perfect for holiday parties…or simply to satisfy a simultaneous craving for booze and pumpkin pie.

You need:

*1 can of pumpkin pie filling

*vodka

*Bailey’s Irish Cream

*milk

*ice

*whipped cream

*cinnamon

*a blender

It’s so easy, yet you’re sure to impress all of your friends by introducing them to this festive autumn libation. Simply fill the blender with ice and pour in 2 oz each of vodka and Bailey’s. Add a heaping scoop of pumpkin pie filling, and fill the rest of the blender with milk. Blend it up and serve in a hurricane glass, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cinnamon. It’s smooth, creamy, and tastes just like Thanksgiving dessert.

Delicious!

I’m not a good baker, but since I’ve been home for a few days (perks of surgery!), my mom’s giant kitchen has got me thinking that all my past transgressions weren’t really true and I’m actually a fabulous cook. So the other day when I got a craving for pumpkin pie, I decided I would totally make one.

Then of course I looked in the pantry and saw we had nothing in terms of pie crust ingredients. Could I make a crust-less pumpkin pie? I asked myself. Yes you can, the Internet answered, and in fact many people prefer crust-less pies because there’s way less carbs.

Part of the reason I’m not the best baker is because I don’t measure things real well and if I don’t have the right ingredients I substitute. This recipe is no different. I didn’t measure things perfectly and I made random substitutions. But guess what? It freaking tasted like pumpkin pie. Without the crust. Nice.

What You Need: Read More »

The stuffing is gone. The pumpkin pie has been demolished. Which can only mean one thing: the season of giving thanks and showing appreciation is officially over. It is time for gifts, deals and a whole lot of shopping.

I don’t know about you, but this whole “Christmas season is for giving” bullshit is getting a little out of control. Christmas isn’t for giving. It is for getting: good deals, good presents, and the respect and awe of all the people you are giving gifts to. In fact, this morning on the radio I listened as shoppers regaled their Black Friday horror stories. People were camping out overnight at stores, women were getting in fights, and people were even stealing things from each other’s carts!

Where is the Christmas spirit, damn it?

How is it possible to transition so quickly from a holiday that focuses on being grateful for all the things we have in our lives to dropping elbows for a copy of Hairspray on DVD? How can people go from being all about the family to skipping out on Thanksgiving dinner early to get a good spot in line at Best Buy?

Buying things for people is not the way to show your love and appreciation! Read More »