Before the days of Four Loko prohibition, staying up all night to write a 19-page term paper on Harry Potter symbolism, and Sunday morning hangovers, there were days of innocence and Gap outfits and toy commercials that made you drool all over your yourself. You eagerly memorized all the toys you HAD TO HAVE to make it on the playground and you created long, illegible lists that you handed off to your parents/Santa to buy you.

So in honor of the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of gifts lights, we present to you the top 9 toys that you wanted and needed and craved as an elementary school kid. Read More »

[I want it, I need it, I can't live without it. Or that. Or that over there. Or that cute top that girl's wearing.... There are so many things on store shelves and racks right now that we want to take home and hang in our closets. Things that are so cute, everyone should know about them. But there's so much to sift through, how can you find the best of the best? No worries; we've scoured stores, online stores, and stores again (it's a tough job but someone's got to do it) and we'll share our finds with you here.  As far as actually getting them goes....well, you're on your own with that one.]

September marks that fine time of year when I finally feel it’s socially acceptable to implement all the fashion trends I learned during fall Fashion Week without soaking them in August sweat stains. I watched the shows, I made mental notes, and I’m ready to sacrifice a heat stroke and a paycheck if the cool of Autumn decides to be fashionably late this year.

While it may still be too hot to handle my fall wish list, it’s not too soon to track down my most desired fall must have: the camel coat.

Classic, chic, warm enough to carry you through winter when you’ve blown your budget on your fall coat – you just can’t go wrong with this pick. The delicious caramel and honey tones work with every skin tone and hair color, and call it a trend if you must, but a neutral color like camel never goes out of style. Read More »

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or the year long holiday of “I want it, I want it, give it to me,” I’m pretty sure you’ve got a long list of things you’re wanting right now. For me, it’s a pair of bike shoes (in hopes having them will motivate me to go to the gym), a Kindle and a Flip Cam. Oh, and a boyfriend, but I’m not sure I trust my mom to find one for me. And I’m pretty sure shoving my future husband in a closet wrapped in paper for four days is not the best thing for his well-being.

Anyway, as much as we all know we should be giving back this season, with all the goodness that’s out there it’s impossible not to want. The problem is, what do I want most? I know I can’t get it all (no matter how much they love me, I know my parents won’t be getting me a BMW this year) so I gotta choose the top dogs for my holiday list.

But which do I choose? What are you jonesing for most this season?

There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Zappos, CupcakesTakeTheCake…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there. And more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.

If you’re an online shopping junkie like me, you probably have tons of links stored in your favorites, saved to your desktop, or emailed to yourself of things you want to buy. Not the most organized shopping method; it gets so cluttered you’re left without that great sequins blazer you wanted because you couldn’t remember where you stored the link. And you do so much online perusing (it’s OK, we get bored during class, too) you can’t even track it down in your browsing history. R.I.P., sequins blazer.

Need a better plan of shopping attack?

Let me introduce you to the best thing that has ever happened to online shopping: Kaboodle. It is like your personal shopping assistant, keeping you organized and making sure you get the best deal on everything you’re searching for. Read More »

This season is painful. It is all about wishing, and drooling, and then crying, over all the to-die-for goodies that are dangled in front of us, so close yet locked behind glass windows and glossy magazine pages.

And while every season I find handfuls of new accessories or fashion trends to add to my most coveted list, all of the browsing, surfing, and window shopping has me returning to my long-term must haves, the things that have been on my list forever, but have never had funds appropriated to their cause.

What’s at the top of this list, you ask?

The two-finger ring, personalized of course. Read More »

…or Hanukkah.
…or Kwanzaa.
…or Festivus.
…or just because.

Yes, it’s holiday season, which means it’s time to print out that list of wants you’ve been keeping all year and hand it over to mama so she can make all your dreams come true. We all know this time of year should be all about the giving, but we can admit that getting feels really freaking awesome, too. And with all the giving you’ll be doing, you deserve to get some great stuff in return!

Since I’ve been working my ass off and totally neglecting my every shopping desire to save some serious cash this year, there are about a billion things I want for the holidays. Like this dress from Alloy (wouldn’t it be adorbs for NYE??), or any of Ashley Watson’s brilliant recycled leather handbags, or even a lame gift card to iTunes! (I’m so cheap I’ve been listening to Miley on YouTube all year…) Yeah, I want it all. And I know I’m not the only one…

This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share their #1 wish this year. Perhaps this will inspire any friends/boyfriends out there still looking for gifts for the special people in your life. Or maybe the writers can just send this along to their parents as a little nudge in the right direction.

Now you tell us – what’s #1 on your list? Read More »

[I want it, I need it, I can’t live without it. There are so many things on store shelves and racks right now that we want to take home and hang in our closets. Things that are so cute, everyone should know about them. We’ll share ‘em with you here (because we’re that nice), but as far as actually getting them goes….well, you’re on your own with that one.]

Sometimes, a belt is all you need to transform a blah outfit into an effortlessly cool one. They can help to define your waist, give shape to a baggy dress, make the layered look appear more chic, and make an outfit look completely different.

This particular belt from Urban Outfitters is a steal at $24 and looks cute over dresses, tunics, or the big flannel shirts that are in right now.

The wide, stretchy-style is especially waist and figure flattering, and as an added bonus, the gold-tone latch buckle is surprisingly reminisce of the Gucci horse bit for a fraction of the price! I can’t wait to get to Urban to pick one up; my wardrobe needs this.

[I want it, I need it, I can’t live without it. There are so many things on store shelves and racks right now that we want to take home and hang in our closets. Things that are so cute, everyone should know about them. We’ll share ‘em with you here (because we’re that nice), but as far as actually getting them goes….well, you’re on your own with that one.]

There’s something oddly bad-ass about wearing a headband that you actually wear on your head. It’s an oddly sexy combination of rock star style and hippy chic. Often seen on the likes of Nicole Richie and Mischa Barton, I LOVE how they look, but have yet to actually wear or buy one.

However, my most sincere desire to try the look started when I saw the Coach Penelope Flower Lariat on Selena Gomez in the December issue of Seventeen.

The lariat features seven different types of cut-out-leather flowers in shades of red, pink, and purple with metallic stitching and retails for $198. It’s also almost impossible to find online and sold out at many Coach retail stores. Sigh. Ban.Do and Stacey Lapidus have some VERY cute (and very pricy!) alternatives, featuring crystal, feathers, and braided details. Read More »

[I want it, I need it, I can't live without it. There are so many things on store shelves and racks right now that we want to take home and hang in our closets. Things that are so cute, everyone should know about them. We'll share 'em with you here (because we're that nice), but as far as actually getting them goes....well, you're on your own with that one.]

With Spring around the corner, it’s almost time to shove those bulky jackets and sweaters back into that Tupperware box under your bed where they belong. All that new extra room in your closet also means it’s time to stock up on some new essentials. When the time is right, opt for my current go-to source of warmth: the cardigan. It is comfortable, versatile and cozy for those cooler nights, yet does not make you look like a bum, which your old high school and college sweatshirts tend to do. Read More »

Dear Whomever it is That Brings the Presents,

We’ve been good this year. No, really. Stop laughing! The sporadic nights of binge drinking/copying those Stats problems/”borrowing” a few rolls of toilet paper from the university bathrooms are nothing worthy of lumps of coal, right? I mean, we went to class, we worked really hard and we got ourselves one step closer to being real adults! That must mean something.

Like, I don’t know, that our holiday wish lists might be fulfilled this year? That we won’t have to suffer through more socks from Grandma, and more educational DVDs from the aunts and uncles? That we won’t have to fight the tears as everyone else gets Mario Kart for the Wii and we are stuck with a pair of ugly light wash jeans?

We don’t want much and we laid it all out below. You know, so there are no mistakes. (Oh, and some of us are celebrating Hanukkah, which starts Sunday night, so you may want to get on the shopping ASAP. Don’t worry, though; you have 8 days to get it right.) Thanksmuchbye!

Love,

The CollegeCandy Writers

P.S. We left you some cookies and milk. Hope you like Cakesters! Read More »