I don’t know about you, but I’ve got the winter blues. Between my frozen fingers, my wet toes and the gray skies, I am not sure how much longer I am going to last. I want some sun, dammit! Not that it is coming any time soon; winter has only just begun. We have at least 3 more months of Uggs, gloves and snotcicles dripping down our faces.

How are we supposed to make it through? The CollegeCandy writers give us their best beat-the-winter-blues advice:

Sarah – East Carolina University: I bake cookies. And everything else that is loaded with sugar, or chocolate, or other deliciousness.

Kathryn S.: Booze, booze, booze, and watching holiday movies. While drunk. Read More »

[I used to think I knew everything…until I found myself stranded in the middle of adulthood with no map and no one to guide me when I got lost. I have learned a lot since then - from how to balance a checkbook to how to sew on a button - and will share my wisdom with you.

Every Monday I will be back to teach you how to do something useful, even if it also happens to be completely random. Because, hey, you never know when you just might need to know how to change a tire…or mix a perfect martini.]

Even though winter will not even START for another two weeks (I know… I’m crying on the inside), those of us who don’t live in Hawaii are already freezing each time we step outside. As the proud owner of a circulation disorder that sucks all the blood out of my digits and basically never lets me be warm, I’ve collected some good tips over the years for staying toasty (like eating soup). And as it’s not always possible to have Mom looking over your shoulder telling you to put on a jacket, I’m happy to step into that role for now.

Tip 1: Hats and Mittens

You probably already know this from elementary school, but the vast majority of body heat is lost through the head. If it’s cold where you live, get yourself a cute hat and wear it often. It can be difficult to avoid the pitfalls of hat hair, but fudges such as earmuffs or thick headbands that cover the ears can help with that. One good thing about hats is that they’re generally small—you can stick it into your purse or bag and just take it out when you start to get chilly. Read More »

I’m going to level with you, here—I go to Stanford. It’s not snowing out here. I get pretty cold at night and in the morning, but that’s because I’m from SoCal, which makes me a big baby in the weather department, I know that.

So although it’s relatively warm here during the winter, there are definitely some changes that occur with the change of the “seasons,” and, as with everything in life, they come with their pros and cons:

Pros:

1. Cute scarves.

2. Better tea (Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride from Celestial Seasonings, anyone?)

3. Pumpkin and cinnamon flavored everything. Yesss.

4. I have an excuse for my Scandinavian chronic paleness.

5. Christmas lights in the palm trees.

6. Christina Aguilera’s “My Kind of Christmas” from 2001. I bust this out every year and it NEVER gets old.

Read More »

Ah, fall. With its gorgeous colors, crisp air and back-to-school excitement, it’s undoubtedly my favorite season. The only problem with fall is that it leads into my least favorite season, winter. Being a New England gal, I’ve begrudgingly grown used to braving heavy snow and freezing temperatures, but there’s something else about winter that I’m not wild about.

It’s that, well, I get downright…mannish. Read More »

What a week! Between Heidi and Spencer’s “spontaneous wedding,” the surfacing of some scary pro-anorexia support groups on Facebook, and the arrival of yet another frigid winter, we couldn’t wait for the weekend to come. And by “weekend” we mean Thanksgiving, only the best holiday of all time.

Upon arriving at home to a comfy bed, clean shower, and lots of home cookin’, we immediately headed out to the bar to enjoy the Biggest Bar Night of the Year. We are using the term “enjoy” loosely, of course, because the evening was really just a night of awkward conversation and not enough alcohol. (Funny, that sounds a lot like Thanksgiving dinner when our bf met our parents.)

We loaded up on the carbs at Thanksgiving dinner to prepare for today’s Black Friday shopping spree, and besides a few broken nails and a black eye (on that bitch who tried to grab the last Flip Cam),  things turned out OK.  We came home with the perfect gift for our roommates, got some hot new jeans, and a really cute scarf to cover the hickey our BF left on the most obvious part of our neck.

Now it’s time to enjoy the rest of the weekend…and all the Thanksgiving leftovers.

I came to college up north because I insisted on going to a school with all four seasons. I chose Syracuse because I tend to do things in excess. Why have a few days of snow every school year when I can spend 8/9 months at Syracuse freezing and wearing the somehow-still-popular Ugg boot for the majority of the year?

Four years ago I ran outside as the first flakes fell from the sky. I spun around and around with my tongue out reveling in the snow not because it came naturally but because that’s what people always do in the movies. I stayed spinning until a bus pulled up in front of the dorm, almost ran me over, and my friend asked me to come inside and stop embarrassing myself. Even as the winter wore on I got delight out of hearing the crunching snow beneath my feet and writing my name over and over again on ever snowy surface.

But nothing good can ever last and now as the first snow falls, I’m sitting inside wrapped in fourteen layers chugging a large coffee. I made a list of everything in the kitchen and rationed it out so we can survive five months without having to go outside and to the supermarket once. I haven’t been this prepared with food since I won the Oregon Trail in fifth grade.

So I guess the magic of snow has worn off. The first sign was probably when I put a hat on and everything remarked that I looked unmistakeably like a penis. The second sign is when my boots stopped working and I had to wrap plastic bags around my feet so the 3-foot ice puddle wouldn’t give me hypothermia. The third sign was when I made a snowman last year and someone ate the skittle eyes. Ever since then I just can’t look at snow the same way.

So here goes hibernation ’09. It should be a blast.

Some of us might still be seeing snow outside our dorm windows, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start getting ready for our spring break getaways. Planning now provides more time to find good deals and makes for less scheduling stress as the departure date draws nearer.

Here are some travel tips to keep in mind:

Students can get cheaper airfare and train tickets than older adults by using travel web sites aimed at youth. StudentUniverse is a fantastic resource that provides young people with heavily discounted plane tickets as long as riders are enrolled at least part time at a college. The European railway, Eurail, also offers student fares. A spring break tour of France and Italy is only $250.

If planning to leave the country for spring break, don’t forget about getting a passport. It takes four to six weeks to process the order, so make sure to plan ahead so you get your passport in time to start getting those fancy stamps. Passports cost $97 unless travelers procrastinate. Expedited orders can jump to nearly double that price.

Then there is always the question of where to stay when we get to the exotic locations. Many of us might pony up for nice, or at least decent, hotels. However, youth hostels can be a very economically friendly and fun option. Read More »

There is no nice way to put this: it is f*#king freezing outside. And even though I am trying my hardest not to give into my yearly bout with depression, leaving the house is getting harder and harder to do.

And when I do force myself to venture out into the cruel, cold world – say, to go to work – it takes me a good half hour to warm up when I finally get back home.

I have tried everything in the book to get warm: thick socks, long underwear, hot tea. But none of it works. If you too are suffering with no relief from the bitter cold that settled in this past week, you may also be looking for alternative ways to keep warm this long and dreary winter.

And, trust me on this one, there really is only one way to do it: with the help of booze. Warm booze, that is.

Nothing warms you from the inside out quite like a hot cup of spiked cider. Or some old fashioned hot buttered rum.

Pair them with some gingerbread cookies (you can buy em at the store!) and old episodes of Sex and the City and you have yourself the perfect winter afternoon with the girls.

I get warm just thinking about it!

The recipes could not be easier. So stock up on these ingredients, throw on some wool socks and get ready for a warm and cozy winter.

Spiked Hot Apple Cider:

6 to 8 oz apple cider or juice

1 oz dark rum (2 tablespoons)

Heat the cider until it boils. Pour into a cup, add rum. Garnish with sliced apple or a cinnamon stick. Sip, warm up and enjoy! Read More »

Days as a Freshman: 95

Mood: Stuffed

“So…” I clicked the old flashlight onto a brighter option and pulled my hat farther down onto my face. “How was Thanksgiving at your aunt’s?”

Even though I had secretly wished he had forgotten, Daniel B. had arrived at my house a few minutes after 7 on Thanksgiving night, a giant blue coat around his skinny frame and a round plate covered in tinfoil in his hands. I had prepared my parents and my two sets of aunts and uncles for his possible arrival, but as soon as I saw his twitching face behind our glass door, I knew all the preparation in the world couldn’t save this night from becoming extremely awkward.

After an hour of good-natured attempts at questions around our large wooden table, I had suggested Daniel B. and I take my old dog Spud out for a walk. My dad’s bushy white eyebrows went up at that suggestion, and I did my best to shoot him a “don’t get any stupid ideas” look.

Usually, you invite a guy to take a walk at night because you want to make things romantic. This invitation had nothing to do with romance, and everything to do with alleviating some of the unwieldy tension in the air.

Once we were outside, our boots crunching against a tiny layer of snow that had fallen on the quiet street, my body started to relax and I could breathe normally again. I mean, I loved my parents, but my mom and dad were both older, around 65, and often didn’t comprehend me as well as I wanted them to. I don’t think they understood that I had I invited Daniel B. over out of politeness. I think they actually thought I liked him. Read More »

The world is ending, I’m convinced. This weather is absolutely insane and I, for one, can no longer just wing-it and not check weather.com before getting dressed in the morning.

I’ve been finding myself being utterly unprepared for whatever temperature or different act of nature that seems to occur on a freaking DAILY BASIS.

So basically I went on the prowl for (cute) spring rain-gear that might make getting up early and getting dressed just a little more fun (but not really) and lo-and-behold I found everything I wanted at the beloved Target.

The Umbrella – You have two choices here. Option one, you can use a small, indiscrete umbrella that fits into your bag andshort, patent leather version you can pop out at a moments notice or option two, you can use something like this clear, bubble version.

If you choose the latter, you’re basically securing that your hair will not touch water at any point in time and if a typhoon suddenly occurs, you were the only prepared one.

Read More »