Chances are you’ll be spending many days at the beach this summer. And chances are good that a day of sun time can often be topped off by a night of fun time out at the bars.  Heading out for some drinkies with the girls doesn’t mean you have to rush home to get ready; you can rock out the same outfit all day with a few quick fixes (and hey, tousled beach hair is damn sexy). Read More »

Ahh summer time. The heat is blistering, the Natty Lite is chilled and the pool beckons. For those of us not taking summer classes, these three months are a glorious break from homework, studying and fluorescent lighting. Yes, the whole summer yawns out blue skies and cut-offs until late August and it’s hard to imagine ever going back to school.

Except, I do imagine it. I catch myself worrying about non-existent assignments and responsibilities that won’t resume until September. But even more, I constantly find myself spacing out at work, reminiscing about all the good stuff that comes along with college. Mostly the whole not-bored-at-work-9-to-5 thing.

And I miss it!

Meal Plans: While I’m lucky enough not to be taking classes this summer, I do have to work — which means I’m stuck in a college town all summer long without the benefit of visiting home, and therefore the benefit of home cookin’. My freshman year, I ate dining hall food. My sophomore year, my sorority dues included a meal plan. This summer, with my sorority house closed and the dining halls freshmen-infested, I’m armed only with my apartment’s kitchen and whatever the hell I find when I Google “easy, cheap, healthy recipes” and pudding. Do I enjoy learning to cook? Absolutely. Would I prefer a cook to prepare my meals? Uh, hell yes. Plus, there’s no clean up if you’re not the one using all the dishes… Read More »

My god. The weeks are just flying by, aren’t they? We’re afraid to sleep, lest we wake up and it’s time to head back to school. Summer is our favorite time of year, even if it’s pretty disastrous for our hair and makeup. When else can you enjoy delicious frozen treats or have endless time to hop on a plane and take an awesome vacation?

Ok, so maybe vacations are out for most of us, but at least we still have cable TV!  And what’s wrong with a little staycation action? We can always just hit up a guy for some free food and – if things go well – maybe practice a new kind of birth control.  That is, assuming we don’t get our dating tips from listening to Taylor Swift or watching Disney movies.

Of course summer isn’t complete perfection, as we learned this week. But the good news is that it’s okay to cry when big changes happen in life, like graduating or attempting to cut some sweet bangs and ending up looking like one of my Barbie dolls from second grade (the year my dreams of being a hair stylist died).  Yes, even if dudes frown upon it and think it’s on of the many reasons we can’t be good leaders.

At least we have Heidi Montag to cheer us up!

Penn Badgley is hotter than I thought.

Kevin Bacon was robbed!

Jesus Luz speaks…and he’s really pretty!

Top cities for good (and bad) hair days.

Mother nature makes us laugh.

5 ways to stay productive this summer.

The only thing harder than saying goodbye to your roommate for the summer is packing up your dorm… and mopping all of the dried beer of the floor.  And scrubbing your desk where pizza sauce has been encrusted for months. And figuring out how to pack it all into your two-door.  Yeah, moving out sucks.  But moving IN with your parents again… well, let’s face it.  It rocks.

Here are my top ten faves about crashing with Mom and Dad for three months.  What are yours?

1.  You can live with your parents without looking like a deadbeat loser.

You have an excuse: You’re still in college and the dorms closed.  If you were 35 and working at the Venus Club and living with the ‘rents… you might belong on Jerry Springer.  But there’s nothing shameful about going back to your teenage years and living under their roof for one more summer.

2.  You’re a legal adult now.

Maybe your parents tried to force some strict rules on you in high school, and you vowed to move out asap.  But now, you’re an adult.  So even if they try to enforce a curfew, you at least have the “I’m a grown up” argument, which can be bolstered with “I just made Dean’s List,” or “In college, you aren’t keeping tabs on me and I made it home alive, didn’t I?” Plus, a lot of parents won’t even pick that fight, because they realize that you are an adult, you are a responsible collegiate, and they don’t want to know what happens on spring break. Read More »

Last night I did something that every college senior dreads: I said goodbye to my first friend to graduate. Although I was never super close friends with her, we lived in the dorm together freshman and sophomore years and kept in touch ever since. I don’t know what it is, but there really is something about seeing someone every morning in the bathroom at 8 a.m. with severe bedhead that bonds you.

So while we all tried to make it through the night without going hysterical, I started to think about how absolutely crazy it is that in just a year, ALL my friends and I will be splitting up. Last night was just the first of many goodbyes…and that is terrifying.

But, then, the rational side of me kicked in and I remembered that I have a whole year left before I have to actually deal with that prospect, so I should actually relish in the fact that this time, I’m only saying goodbye for the summer. I will survive in my five bedroom house alone for four months. I think.

So I made a playlist that is perfect for listening to while you and your girls spend one last Saturday afternoon getting sh*tfaced before saying goodbye (and good riddance!) to the last school year (and hopefully not each other). Oh, and since this weekend is a holiday, I thought I’d be nice and include some extra songs so that the mix can double nicely as a Memorial Day BBQ playlist, too.

And if you really are graduating and saying goodbye for real, I just feel bad for you. Good luck, may the force be with you, yada, yada, yada.

Celebrate the wonderful fact that you’re still in college here!

You finished your last exam early and, after waiting for someone else to turn theirs in first (you don’t want to be first!), ran down the steps of that lecture hall, slammed that baby on the desk and skipped your way to freedom.  As you walk home you notice how great the air smells, how bright the sun is and how beautiful your campus is. School is out and you are feelin’ groovy.

After regaling your roommates with tales from your 90 minute essay exam (“I totally rocked that shiz!”), you head to your room to start the end-of-the-year cleaning session. You grab a garbage bag, sit down at your desk and start sifting through the piles of papers, books and notebooks that litter your desk.

In the back of your mind, you know that some of those notebooks will come in handy for next year’s classes. In the front of your mind, though, you know you will never look at them ever again. So, in a celebratory fashion, you toss one binder after another into the Hefty. Read More »

Life isn’t black and white. As much as we wish we simply loved or hated things, there is often that whole annoying gray area in the middle. Like how we love our BFF, but we just don’t know if we love him like THAT. Or how we love trashy TV, but we’re pretty sure it’s ruining our lives. Damn you, gray area; you make decision-making that much more complicated!]

Ahhh, summer. The sweet, glorious days of summer. Days spent lounging by the pool, building sandcastles at the beach, or lying in bed all day watching old episodes of The OC on Soap Net. School’s finally out, and since the last long vacation you had was winter break (Spring Break doesn’t count – you came back more worn out than when you left), you’re ready for some of mom’s home cooking and not getting up from your bed. Ever.

But – whaaa? – some students choose to stay in school for the summer? I am dumbfounded. Befuddled. Mystified. Who are these creatures? I guess there are some advantages to spending your summer in the classroom, such as getting ahead in your credits, but I just can’t imagine sacrificing SUMMER is worth it.

So summer school? I’m torn. Read More »

Even if you’re still finishing up finals, there’s no harm in daydreaming about the 4 fabulous months to come. So put down that Econ 101 textbook, grab a towel, and layer on the sunscreen.

Summer’s almost here, and it’s time to celebrate!

To help pump you up, we’ve put together a list of the 35 greatest things about summer. Here are our top picks: Read More »

The car has been packed, your roommates have been hugged and you’re only a short car ride away from a summer at home. Your parents try and talk strike up conversation on the way (“So, honey, how did that last exam go?”), but you just want to sit in the backseat and flip through your pictures from the last week in silence.

Too bad looking at the camera makes you want to barf. So you shut your eyes and lay your head on the clothes piled up next to you and go to sleep.

Soon you are back in your childhood bedroom. It’s weird climbing back into that twin (non extra long) bed and staring at pictures of your high school friends you haven’t talked to in months adorning the walls. It’s weird not having to use a key to unlock the bathroom down the hall. Hell, it’s weird to pee alone. Being home is just weird.

All you want to do it lay down and relax – the last week of studying and partying has taken its toll on you – but the moment you do, you hear an all-too-familiar call. Read More »