Every Thanksgiving break my suitcase is overflowing with too many shoes and too many outfit options. “Why do I think I need ten sweaters for a five-day break?” I ask myself as I break a sweat lugging my suitcase to the car (then again as I throw the contents of my bag around my childhood room wishing I had actually planned out an outfit rather than just throwing in shirts and dresses I liked and thought I might wear. UGH.).

No longer, girlies.

This year I am packing smart and I’m here to help you do the same. Below, four outfit ideas (Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Dinner, Black Wednesday and Black Friday) that allow you to mix and match as little clothing as possible to get you through the glorious holiday weekend. Not only will this revolutionize the packing process, but will keep you from being “that girl who filled up the trunk so no one else’s stuff would fit” for the drive home and leave you plenty extra space for all the loot you’ll bring back with you on Sunday. Read More »

It’s finally here, Thanksgiving.  The only American holiday that goes hand and hand with elastic waistband pants. Just a few months ago your parents dropped you off at school with advice like “study hard” and “don’t drink anything out of a trashcan.” Since then, you’ve basked in the glory of freedom and the scent of stale beer and your first walk of shame.

However, you’re still excited to travel home and relax.  Quite frankly, studying and your hoppin’ college social life has wrung you out like a dishcloth and you’re ready for some R&R, hot gravy, and a serious post-feast nap.  It turns out though, freedom has sent everything your mother taught you completely backwards, and you’ve endured some weird habits in college.  Let’s just keep one thing straight, like your orange zubaz don’t quite ‘go’ with your blazer, some college behavior doesn’t transfer well into cute, family time.

Let us examine the do’s and don’ts of being home for a lengthy weekend: Read More »

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, you’re probably busy scheduling in every second of your break – a reunion with your high school pals, obligatory family time, and Black Friday madness – without giving much thought to what you’re going to pack.

Why should you plan out your packing now?

Because unless you are driving home alone, chances are you have limited packing room. (Do you really want to spend even more money for your overweight suitcase at the airport?) Packing smart helps you to maximize bag room, in order to a) bring home more laundry, b) return to campus with more leftovers and c) return to campus with an entirely new wardrobe.

Are we on the same page now? Here is a guide to items you should pack:

Clothing : Assemble clean outfit options for the first few days before you go home so you’re not scrambling to wash something (or forced to steal something from mom’s closet) before you head out with your high school buds on Thanksgiving eve. I’d take options for Thanksgiving eve, the Thanksgiving eat-a-thon, and Black Friday. By the weekend, you’ll either have a whole new batch of clothing (thanks to mom) or you can re-work what you’ve already got for what will most likely be major couch time.

In order to truly save space, pack smart. I recommend versatile items like leggings and long cardigans to:

1) Maximize eating capacity – the stretchier the clothes, the better.
2) Maximize space - not only are leggings small in a suitcase, but they can be worn dressy or casual, so you can pack fewer items, mix and match the pieces, and get more wear out of all of them.
3) Maximize your Black Friday shopping time – Layering leggings, a tank and a sweater means you can avoid those brutal lines for the dressing room and try everything on right there in the middle of the store!

Read More »

The following is a guest post by our (nerdy yet totally helpful) friends at Hack College. Check ‘em out for all your techy needs. They’re like the nerdy boyfriend you never had but always needed.

When the hell did November get here? That is what I want to know. Seriously, just yesterday I was telling y’all how to prepare your brains for August and get back into the school mode. And now it’s November. How did that happen and how can I make it stop?

Well, okay, so I can’t stop the furious, oncoming train that is November. I also can’t stop December, with all of its final papers and exams and projects, from hurtling right after it. You might be thinking, “Don’t be silly. December is an entire month away! I have a whole other month before I have to start worrying about things like that. I’m not gonna worry about that ’til after Thanksgiving.”

That is where you are wrong. Let me break this down for you. Including this week, there are two more weeks until Thanksgiving. Exams start a week and a half after Thanksgiving break. Can you study for all of your exams, write multiple 15-page papers, and put together various end-of-the-semester projects in a week in a half?

Answer: no.

The solution to this post-Thanksgiving crunch is to use these two weeks that we are given to start planning ahead for finals season. I know, it may seem excessive. But if you put off preparation for your end -of-the-year work until right before or even after Thanksgiving break, you will have wished you used that two week grace period to do some of that work. Trying to organize the next month of your academic life is daunting to say the least. But with a few tips, you should at least create yourself a nice cushion of accomplished work to allow you to not completely lose your mind in the post-Thanksgiving crunch. Read More »

Being back under your parents’ roof for Thanksgiving comes with a cornucopia of blessings, such as mom doing your laundry, shopping sprees and overeating until you actually consider braving the Black Friday crowds just to purchase a pair of jeans with an elastic waistband. However, being back under mom and dad’s watchful eye can be treacherous, as well.

This isn’t dorm life anymore. You can’t order Dominos at 2 a.m. and feed it to your late-night booty call in bed. That wasn’t OK in high school, and, believe me, it still won’t be appreciated by your parentals now. You may be a big, bad college student, but there are still some house rules that you must abide by.

That being said, here are some guidelines for navigating life at home for the Thanksgiving season:

Do enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with your entire extended family and celebrate with a glass of wine.

Don’t crush cans at the dinner table like you’re at a frat party. Because when asked what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving, you’re great-aunt Susie won’t be laughing when you say “the morning after pill.”

Do have a few friends over for a Thanksgiving Eve pregame. There is nothing that my mom loves more than having my friends over to recap our lives over wine and snacks before she drives us to our night’s destination.

Don’t invite your entire Facebook friends list and set up a beer pong tournament on the kitchen table. Getting the family dog trashed may seem like a cool idea now, but the moment your parent’s feel it’s safe to come out of hiding in their bedroom, you’ll be getting an earful.

Do go out with friends and relive your high school glory days at a good ol’ fashioned house party.

Don’t attempt to use your fake I.D. at the local bar. There’s simply no good explanation a group of kids from various different states spanning the continental U.S. have gathered together to spend Thanksgiving in a small town in Jersey. It’s just not believable.

Do continue the search for a mate. High school boys do a lot of growing up in college; you never know what old crush or summer fling will need rekindling.

Don’t get drunk and sneak them into the basement. Experience has taught me that being awoken to breakfast-in-bed by mommy can turn quite ugly when a naked boy joins the party.

Do use protection.

Don’t ask your dad for it. He may agree, but it will most likely be a shotgun he brings out, not a condom.

You’ve been warned.

You may be packed, but are you ready?

Congratulations, freshwomen; you’re almost done with your first semester of college! Finals are coming faster than you can say “blue book,” but before you get there, you have one last big hurdle: going home for Thanksgiving. If you haven’t been home yet during the semester, odds are, you’re excited to see your friends and, though you’d hate to admit it, your family. Keep in mind, though, that your glorious homecoming might not be as bright and shiny as you imagined.

Remember to keep breathing.

The moment you step in your house and drop your bags onto your trundle bed, you’ll grab your parents’ car keys and meet up with your high school friends. These meetings are going to be your refuge from what’s happening at home, but they are also going show you how much you and your friends have changed in those few months at school. When you come together (at your old favorite restaurant/in someone’s basement) you will immediately compete one another with your “craziest college story EVER” and share new life experiences (“Wait. You did…it!?”). It may seem like everyone has changed, but things will fall right back into place when you reminisce about old times by your lockers and talk about all those weirdos who never left your hometown.

There will of course be uncomfortable run-ins with the people you were dying to get away from after graduation, the people you didn’t like that much to begin with and exes. These potentially awkward situations don’t have to be so bad if you remember to wear makeup be nice. It’s entirely possible your time apart has made things better. And if it hasn’t, well, just remember your breathing. And pretend you’re on the phone with someone and don’t see them as you scurry off in the opposite direction.

If you’re a town mouse who’s learned to make her way in the big city over the last few months, your town may feel small when you get back home. (Especially when you realize the only food that comes in the form of delivery is pizza…and only until 9pm.) The time between move-in day and Thanksgiving has flown by, and you’ve grown in leaps and bounds. Your new-found sense of freedom, your worldliness, and your social habits may not go over well. Mom and Dad are expecting to pick up their baby from the airport, not a young woman equally familiar with Marx and Long Islands. Let them let you go in their own time. They will keep telling you what to do and when to be home. They will keep talking to you like you are their baby. Just keep breathing, deeply. It will take some time for them to loosen up.

But that’s really the least of your problems. Your parents–nay, every adult family member–will want to know what your plans are. Do you have a major? What do you think you want to do after graduation? If you don’t know yet, tell them, “I think about being a [blank] major, but I’m still exploring my options.” Most are quick to back peddle and say, “Well, I guess you still have time.” Be prepared to answer the same questions about your major, your friends, your roommates, and your dating habits many, many times. This is perhaps one of the toughest parts of Thanksgiving. Try to talk to groups of family members at once to cut down on the number of times you have to explain things but do not, under any circumstances, show that you’re annoyed. Take a bite of mashed potatoes, swallow, and smile.

Somewhere between all of this you will have to fit in some reading/studying for your Monday classes. Just don’t bring the books out in front of the family; unless, of course, you want to answer 25 more questions on what you’re learning and how you’re doing in that class.

Eventually, with a full belly and a massive headache, you’ll it to Sunday. Pack up your leftovers (don’t forget the stuff in the freezer!), the things you forgot in August (like your high school yearbook), and hug your family and friends tight (promising to “be a lot better” about those weekly phone calls). Take a deep breath and head back to the sanctuary that is your college life.

And with that you’ve made it through your first Thanksgiving. It may have been tough at times (like when your parents made you come home on Saturday night by 11), but just indulge in that leftover stuffing and know that this was only a test run for the real race: Winter Break.

"So....Emmy....where's your boyfriend?"

Like nearly every other college student on the face of the planet, Thanksgiving Break is something that I am eagerly anticipating. The dorms are always busy and fun, but everyone appreciates a little break now and then. There’s nothing quite like going home, eating my dad’s brownies, watching movies with my sister, and taking my dog along on runs.

I do love the holiday of Thanksgiving as well. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pie, and my little cousins dressed up as pilgrims, all my extended family gathered into my Grandma’s kitchen to say grace. I am blessed with a crazy bizarre extended family, the best kind to have in my opinion, and they are always the highlight of my holidays.

But as much as I love them all to death, sometimes their questions can be a bit too much. While I appreciate their interest in my life, I don’t feel the need to explain the details of the break up with my long term boyfriend to my uncle while waiting in line for cranberry sauce. Similarly, having my conservative aunt question me about boys that I might marry while she calmly serves out pumpkin pie just takes away my appetite!

Now, I understand that my aunt grew up in a very different culture than I do. Yet it truly does make my stomach full of turkey turn to hear this woman I am related to tell me that the most important thing for me to do in college is to meet the man I am going to marry. I love my aunt, but this idea of success disgusts me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I definitely picture marriage eventually in my life plan. And I have nothing against people in long term relationships. Up until recently, I was one of them myself! Read More »

As college students, we are constantly inundated with new knowledge. It can be useful, thought-provoking, or crammed into our head on a Starbucks-fueled binge several hours before an exam. However, very rarely do we question the validity of all this new knowledge (unless you take philosophy classes, then you’ll question away).

That’s where College Candy comes in. We’re not going to debate whether or not the Theory of Relativity actually exists (a disappointment, I know, but I’m a communications major and stopped taking science classes after Baby Bio fresh year). However, we are here to thoroughly investigate the most widespread college knowledge (no, not rhyming): the myth.

Ah, the Freshman 15. This popular legend has spawned books on prevention, magazine articles in every Back-to-School issue of any teen magazine, and whispered reminders to your BFF as she’s eyeing that 3^rd helping of French toast in the dining hall.

But does this phenomenon really exist? We’ve all gone home for Thanksgiving Break and seen that one friend who unfortunately succumbed to the Freshman 15; but what about your ex who still looks exactly the same (dammit!)? And the girl who got seriously in- shape? (I know paying for my own food was the best diet I ever went on). The Freshman 15 can’t be this metabolic death sentence we’re all doomed to once we start our higher education, right?

Right. A recent study demonstrated that over a period of 7 months, a group of 125 freshmen gained an average of 2.7 lbs.—not 15. Even more good news? Only half the students surveyed gained weight at all; 1/3^rd maintained their starting weight and 15% lost weight. Read More »

[This week has been great for most of us. With Thanksgiving 2008 in the books, most of us are still home, cozy, and enjoying spending time with friends and family. But even though I'm thankful for my loved ones and my health, there are still a few things I'm not about to praise. A few things that have gotten under my skin and fired me up. The following is this week's Pissed List, so if you've got to vent, too, just holla atcha girl!]

1. The Mumbai Massacre

It was not even a month ago that the United States elected Barack Obama as our 44th President, inspiring support and celebration for our fair country all over the globe. But the latest string of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India have served as a cold reminder of the state of the world today. As our nation prepares to move into a new era of change, it is sickening to see a renewed display of hatred and violence in other parts of the globe. News reports have not yet confirmed who is responsible for the continuing siege on the financial capital of India, and some are noting that as-yet-unheard-of terrorist cells are taking responsibility for the attacks. Regardless of who is responsible, reading reports of the climbing death toll is absolutely despicable.

2. The Stampede Death Of The Wal-Mart Worker on Black Friday

Uncalled for, people. Jdimytai Damour, 34, was literally trampled to death by a raging mob who physically broke down the doors to a Long Island, NY Wal-Mart at 5 am on Black Friday. He was not a Wal-Mart employee but a temp hired by an employment agency specifically to help with the holiday rush. My guess is that he would have much rather been sound asleep at home with his family than awaiting the rush of greedy bargain-hunters that morning. Unlike the careless, selfish crowd who ultimately caused his demise, it was not Mr. Damour’s choice to be at that Wal-Mart so early on the day after Thanksgiving. I hope those shoppers are happy with their mp3 players, because while they may have saved a little extra cash on their purchases, they didn’t save Jdimytai. For shame. 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 »