[It doesn’t matter what school you go to, what state it is in, how big it is, whether it is public or private, all girls or coed…there are experiences that all college students share. No matter how crazy you think your personal situation is, it is not just you.

So, let’s bring it all out in the open. Right here. Because you are not alone - we’ve all been there before.]

You woke up early to work out before class. After an hour on the elliptical and thirty minutes in the weight room (20 of which were spent staring at the dudes at the bench press), you head home to get ready for your day. You shower, throw on a pair of jeans, and grab a yogurt and some fruit on the way out the door.

For lunch you eat a salad (with the dressing on the side), and an huge glass of water.

Your afternoon snack is a Ziploc baggie filled with Kashi and, if you really need it, a Grande coffee with 2 pumps of Sugar Free Vanilla from Starbucks.

For dinner you have a veggie burger and a baked potato. You treat yourself to a can of Diet Coke. You feel full and satisfied; all this healthy eating and living isn’t really as hard as you were expecting it to be!

While you are downing the last of your D.C. your roommate runs into the room and invites you to the bar.
“Come onnnnnn. Pleaaaase? I don’t wanna go aloooooone. I promise it will be fun. I’ll buy you drinksssss!” Read More »

Happy Black Friday! Are you out soaking up the sales and bitchy soccer moms Christmas Spirit at the mall? Or are you home attempting to digest the 6 pounds of food you ate last night? Maybe you are spending the day with family and friends.

Whatever you are doing, welcome to holiday season! Sure, you may not be able to shop, shop, shop like you usually do this time of year (thank you, Wall Street!), but that doesn’t make it any less glorious! There’s the music! And the movies! And the general good mood of everyone around you. We, like everyone else, loooove this time of year…and we don’t even celebrate Christmas!

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? We asked our writers and here is what they had to say: Read More »

I’m sure we’ve all felt the effects of the current economic crisis; I know I have. Between my commute to work, the standard bills, and the want to have a normal life, my bank account is rarely flourishing with funds. More like, depleting drastically. People are losing jobs, industries are crumbling, and, lord knows, if you have any money in stock - well, let’s hope you have something extra stashed away beneath your mattress.

All that being said, life must go on, right?

So, how do we tighten the belt without living like a hermit? Here are some tips:

Budget: Set your spending limits on a weekly basis. And stick. to. it. Review your receipts at night to make sure you are staying on track, and be honest about what you are spending. This will keep your bank account in the green.

Save on Gas: Carpool with your friends or co-workers. If you need to do some errands, combine them all into one day, and make a route that will hit each stop, in one circle…versus going back and forth in all different directions.

If you live in a city, eliminate your cab usage. I know it is so much easier to hail a cab on those late, drunken evenings, but if you take some public transportation you’ll spend $2.00 versus $15. Or, trying hoofing it; you will burn those drinks away and have some extra wiggle room for a late night snack. Read More »

My bartending style tends to run less towards the carefully measured, tried-and-true recipes and more towards the “What’s in my fridge right now?” trial-and-error method. I rarely use actual measures, because what is “good” depends on how many people are drinking, how liquored up they want to be, and how well they hold all that liquor. That being said, I have a few favorite drinks that do really well in cold weather.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate:
This ain’t your grandma’s hot cocoa. (Or maybe it is…) I like to add a few drops (or shots) of Peppermint Schnapps to hot chocolate for an immediate warm-up. Make the cocoa with milk if you like it creamier.

Cinnamon Vanilla Cream:
One day my love of Starbuck’s and alcohol collided, and this drink was born. I just poured some Cinnamon Schnapps into my Vanilla Crème, and - voilà - an innocuous looking brew. Yes, I did keep it all in the Starbucks container. You can make your own Vanilla crème by warming up milk, adding a drop or two of vanilla extract, sugar to taste, and topping it off with whipped cream.

Hot (Spiked) Apple Cider:
First, you need to find some alcoholic apple cider. It’s probably somewhere between the beer and wine sections. Two bottles is a good amount to start with. On the stove, get it simmering with two cinnamon sticks, a tablespoon of cloves, a little bit of sugar and some nutmeg. What really makes it piping hot though, is the addition of either rum or apple brandy. Be generous, ladies - the apple cider has lost most of its alcoholic content in the heating process. Read More »

Meredith Viera embarrassed our cute Matt Lauer on national television.

Herbs aren’t always healthy, but we all knew that.

Disney has produced yet another child-craving-the-porn-star limelight.

Why do pretty women get everything? Even the writing jobs?

There are no more stores to enjoy, not even the electronics kind.

Try on this belt for size.

Hollywood is hogging all the babies, well just Angelina and Madonna.

Starbucks may be smarter than we thought.

Usher can turn me on any day.

Happy Election Day, everyone! I have been waiting for this day for four freaking years, so I can’t wait to head to the polls and get my vote on. If you aren’t quite as stoked as I am, and think you have better things to do than sit around in a long ass line and submit a ballot (full of things you don’t understand), think again.

There are lots of great reasons to vote. Here are just a few of the biggest and baddest:

1. Exercise your right: There are people in this world who don’t have the right to vote. We do, and that is something we should not take for granted. We are so fortunate to be able to have a say in who leads us, what laws get passed and the future of our country. Being that we are college students, this election effects us the most as we will be the people getting jobs, making changes and moving this country forward. We must not sit back and let other people decide our future!

2. Free donuts: Wear your “I Voted” sticker into a neighborhood Krispy Kreme and get a special election themed donut free!

3. Free coffee: Take that free donut and head to the Bucks where you can get a free tall coffee just for casting your vote. The perfect (free) breakfast.

4. Free ice cream: Go vote early so you can get some free Ben and Jerry’s from 5-8.

5. Free sex toys: Those who vote deserve a little pleasure, so head to Babeland to pick up your free Silver Bullet mini vibrator. This thing totally puts the OH! in Obama.

Seriously, if you don’t care about the future of this country (what is wrong with you!?), then at least vote for the free food. I mean, free Starbucks?! That’s gotta be worth something.

And, damn, she looks good.

Election day is tomorrow, but the voting has already begun.

Simon Cowell gets dumped.

No matter who wins tomorrow, fashion will make its way to the White House

Did Lil Wayne die? WTF?

Need some help with time management?

Top 10 classic sneakers that never go out of style.

Yay! Free Starbucks for voters!

Organic makeup must-haves.

Cindy Crawford is kinda old, but still looks better than me.

Campus theft is on the rise. Protect yourself!

If you’re as addicted to caffeine as I am, you are probably broke (not to mention a real gem in the early morning hours). But, like any good junkie, you’re more than willing to flip the couch cushions in search of a few quarters, or sell your kidney to pay for a grande White Chocolate Mocha on your way to school.

I have to admit, I’m a huge Starbucks fan, and am usually fine with shelling out a few extra dollars to indulge in something tastier than Folgers. Still, I need a new winter wardrobe… so I’m weaning myself off of overpriced coffee drinks (that taste like dessert) and makin’ my coffee at home.

I know it’s a bold move, but after playing around a bit I have learned a few things: 1) Making your own coffee can save you billions, and 2) It is really, really easy. Here are a few tips:

1. Flavor it Up.
Whenever I make my own coffee, no matter how good the brand, or how carefully I measure the coffee-to-water ratio, it always seems to taste like dirt. My solution? Flavor, flavor, flavor. Syrup, syrup, Equal, syrup. Seriously, who just gets a latte from Starbucks? Everyone has their signature: the Pumpkin Latte, Caramel Macchiato, White Chocolate Mocha…what do they have in common? Manufactured taste. Instead of shelling out $4-$5 a day for Starbucks, buy a bottle of Torani Syrups. This brand is used in tons of coffee shops across the country, so you might not even taste the difference. Read More »