If I look out my living room window I can see American Apparel. When I peruse my favorite websites, I am bombarded with the girls only partially dressed in American Apparel clothes. When I need a white tank top because I spilled salsa on mine, I head to the nearest American Apparel.

In other words, I know American Apparel.

Their stores are chock full of ridiculous things I would never wear, but they also happen to carry some seriously awesome essentials. You may have to pick through the sparkly unitards to find em, but they are most definitely worth the work. Don’t know what to look for? That’s why I am here.

I give you: The Best Things (EVER) at American Apparel. Read More »

Apple released a brand new iPod on Tuesday and while the rest of the nation was captivated by all the pretty colors and the new gizmo’s shake-to-shuffle feature, I was a little busy geeking out about the other announcement: iTunes 8.

Unlike previous incarnations, iTunes 8 is shaking up the application for the first time in years, this time with the introduction of a better visualizer, a new way to peruse your library and a handy little feature called Genius. Read More »

Yes, it’s true, I don’t have an mp3 player. This is not really by choice, I must admit—my iPod broke a couple months ago and the so-called “Geniuses” at my local Apple store told me that the cost of fixing it would be (shockingly) the same as buying a new one. It really bothers me that Apple’s products (and most gadgets these days) are basically designed to break after about a year, thus forcing you to buy a new one, so I simply refused. I went iPod-less.

I love reading, so I figured my morning commutes would be fine. Think of all the books I could get through! I might finally plow through that stack of New Yorkers under my bed! As for walking around, I’d be better off—less likely to get hit by a bus while crossing the street and not paying attention, less likely to get targeted for mugging, less likely to run into a glass door (yes, this has actually happened to me).

Who am I kidding? Read More »

I don’t know how many times I’ve griped about the girls down the hall who pump heinous music at the most inconvenient times of the day, but we’ve all had a go of annoying neighbor syndrome.

So much so in fact, that one particularly skeeved neighbor decided to start a website about it.

Rottenneighbor.com is a site that blacklists bad music-blasters, stilletto-wearing tap dancers, drunken hall-pukers, and don’t-give-a-damn landlords.

It’s actually kind of genius, if you think about it. When hunting for a new place, you get to see the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom, but you’ll never get see through walls.

How do you really know what you’re getting yourself into?

RottenNeighbor makes sure you won’t drop big bucks on a dream apartment that turns quickly into a nightmare via your first run-in with the crazies next door.

You can also check out the super situation, which is ideal to someone like me, who spent a summer in the city getting completely ignored about my faulty stove and the flying cockroaches. Read More »

Going to the beach is a process. Sand and sun, snacks and toys…there’s a lot to carry and a lot to deal with.

I won’t lie, it has deterred me from even venturing to the shore sometimes, but no worries my friends. Our problems have been solved.

Our friends at toweldown.com have created what is possibly the single most useful beach accessory this side of sunscreen.

What is a Toweldown towel, you ask? Well, it’s a lot of things. It’s a backpack, purse and towel all-in-one. The best feature? The pouch on top that you can fill with sand to make a pillow. Genius! With plently of colors and designs to choose from you will definitely find one to match your new bikini. And with the affordable price, you better snag some for a few friends.

A Toweldown towel is one of those novel inventions that your friends will ask you about, and although it may take a few explanations (and probably a demonstration or two) it’ll be a must-have in no time. Read More »