College Lifestyles and Small Kitchen College Holiday Cookie, Cupcake and Cocktail Contest!

Calling all aspiring chefs, nutritionist, dietitians, and foodies!  College Lifestyles is joining forces with Small Kitchen College and announcing our first annual holiday cookie, cupcake, and cocktail contest!

Holidays are the time of festivities, fun, family, and food – and we want to know your favorite cookie, cupcake and cocktail recipes.

Our College Lifestyles kitchen is busy preparing our own cookies, cupcakes, and cocktails using Zevia products, while the Small Kitchen College stadium is cooking up holiday goodies, and we want to know your best recipe tips and ideas which make your holidays yummy!

All recipes will be posted on our site and Facebook page; and the winners (in each category) will receive a copy of Eat Well and Be Fabulous.  Judges include Editor in Chief of College Lifestyles, Shelly Marie Redmond AND Small Kitchen College Founders Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress and Managing Editor Lily Bellow.

In addition to our judges, we will offer a Peoples Choice Award!  Recipes and pictures will be posted on our Facebook page to allow for your friends to vote.  Voting will go up on 12/18 and close on 12/31.

 Contest Guidelines:

1.  Recipes must have an accommodating picture.

2.  Send your recipe to info@collegelifestyles.org.  Use subject line – CL/SKC Recipe Contest.

3.   In the body of your email, include the following:

• Name
• School (alumnae are encourage to enter as well!)
• Recipe Title
• Recipe

4.  Do let us know if you have the following:

• Blog
• Twitter
• Tumblr

5.  Recipes/pictures are due 12/15.

Postings to Facebook will occur on 12/18.  Voting will close on 12/31.  Winners will be announced on 1/7/11.

Also, join our virtual cookie swap – post your recipe here!  http://collegelifestyles.org/2011/12/cl-virtual-cookie-swap-2/

We look forward to your recipes!

 Shelly and the College Lifestyles Team

 Pheobe, Cara, Lily and the Small Kitchen College Team

College Lifestyles Welcomes Our Newest Sponsor: Adam Block Design

Open up your closet.  How many collegiate, organization, and/or Greek t-shirts do you own?  Surely, you own at least one.  Whether you wear your shirts to class or to the gym; collegiate t-shirts are a big staple in our wardrobe and believe you should wear the best!

College Lifestyles is excited to announce our newest sponsor, Adam Block Design!  We love the fact Adam Block Design not only has fabulous shirts; but also believes in 3 practices when working with their consumers – originality, happiness, AND awesomeness!  Adam Block Design customizes all their orders (they can create a shirt from scratch or re-design a shirt in their gallery); believe in excellent customer service; and sends out ‘awesome’ products (each shirt is inspected before leaving the office).

While Adam Block Design has an incredible gallery of designs, the College Lifestyles interns chose their favorites (and tell us why) AND express why they love the line to help our readers design a shirt for their next event!

I like this one the best because I like how eye-catching the owl is.  It’s a goofy cartoon, but I like that it’s a shirt that tells us it’s cool to be smart. ~Monica M

Fall/Winter Fashion Twitter Party – 11/2 8pm CST #CLChat

College Lifestyles is excited to announce our Fall/Winter Fashion Twitter Party on 11/2 at 8pm CST/9pm EST!

This hour long twitter party will include everything about Fall/Winter fashion, including:

-The TOP Fall/Winter Fashion Trends

-Fall/Winter Color Choices!

-Holiday Dressing Tips!

In addition, we will all go over our own Halloween costumes!  Post your picture of your costume and be eligible to win one of our fabulous prizes from our sponsors:

1.  One Amika Swarovski® Ceramic Styler in Pink 

A versatile, professional styler brilliantly adorned with Swarovski® crystals. This powerful professional styler, featuring 100% ceramic plates, can be used to create straight, wavy, and curly styles. The high-quality materials and advanced technology make it gentle on the hair and incredibly easy to use. Ceramic radiates far-infrared heat, which preserves moisture in the hair shaft and protects the hair cuticle from damage. The results are silky, soft hair and faster and more effective styling without the damage of conventional heat styling tools.

Price: $160

Where to buy: Sephora & www.sephora.com

2)  Lap Dawg LapTop Stand from Lap Dawg.  LapDawg.com is an online retailer of ergonomic laptop stands that help you hold your laptops exactly the way you want. Featuring the X4 laptop stand which enables you to use your laptop lying flat on your back in bed. Multi-functional uses include breakfast tray, tv tray and laptop desks. Other models include the Pug laptop stand with built in silent usb fan and adjustable table tray. Makes a perfect gift for the laptop users in your life.    3.  A copy of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies features in-depth coverage of topics such as: creating effective online profiles and resumes to sell your strengths; maintaining your online reputation (and ensuring that employers who Google you like what they find) and understanding electronic etiquette; using the power of personal branding and building your brand online; avoiding common pitfalls, such as jumping into filling out a social media profile without a strategy; getting to know Twitter, the only real-time job board with literally thousands of jobs posted daily; using social media sites to uncover opportunities in the “hidden job market” ahead of the competition; and much more.

The Greek-Gear Girl Essentials

As a trendy sorority lady it is important to have the essential items that represent our sororities.  College Lifestyles is here to help you show off your Greek girl pride.

Click the pictures of the items to purchase from GreekGear.com

Lettered Sorority V-Neck T-Shirt: Most of us already have t-shirts with our letters embroidered in it.  What makes this shirt better though is its cut; a v-neck cut makes the shirt more feminine and form fitting.  Glam it up with a fun letter pattern!

Lettered Tote Bag: There are many styles to decide from, but getting a bag is a must!  Keep your books in your bag and you can show off your letters everyday as you walk to and from class.

Sorority necklace/rings/bracelets: Turning your letters into jewelry allows you to wear them all the time in a simple and classy way.  Your letters will always be with you!

Sorority Greek Hats: Baseball caps are a cute way to wear your letters.  A Greek baseball cap can make your look more sporty and casual along with fun and playful.

Greek Lettered Hoodie: Keep warm and cozy with your sorority letters!  A hoodie is a college essential in general, and the best way to wear it is with your letters.

Sorority Charm Key Chains:  These key chains display your sorority letters along with your colors and symbols.  They are cute, fun and practical!

These are few of the many products that are available to chic sorority ladies.  What is your favorite way to accessorize and wear your sorority letters?

Nicole is a CL intern who goes to Marist College.  She is a Communications major with a concentration in Journalism and PR.  Nicole is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Marist Ambassadors, and Communication Arts Society.  She enjoys running and hanging out with her sorority sisters and friends.

Revamp Your Room with Prints from CL Sponsor Room It Up

It may still be the first full month of school, but it’s never too late to add some color and class to an already decorated dorm or apartment. Room It Up has anything you want and everything you’re looking for to make good use of any extra floor space, closet space, and much more! You’re bound to see something you want from RIU after checking out this top five list.

For Your Bed

1. Confetti Dot Cozy Pillow

A comfy pillow is key to a great night’s sleep. This Room It Up pillow will wake up any bedding that’s missing a little something extra. Sink your head into this perfectly colorful piece, great for decorum, snuggling with and sweet dreaming!

2. Houndstooth Cozy Fleece Throw Blanket

Every CL reader should have at least one throw blanket before winter comes around. If you’re into classically chic black and white, go ahead and give it a fun print. Stay warm and make a stylish statement in this houndstooth fleece blanket!

3. Paisley Punch Lap Desk

It’s easy to fall asleep while doing homework on a bed, but not with this vibrant lap desk! The bold pattern will keep your tablet or laptop steady and your eyes from getting heavier during late night homework sessions. A bottle of water or a cup of coffee will also fit right into the built in cupholder.

For Your Desk

4. Fresh Bouquet Photo Album

Most students love to cover any wall space with posters and especially with pictures. At some point throughout the year (if not already), you’ll be let down at the lack of room left for tacking up photos. If your wall is filled to capacity with photos, you’ll need an album like this one for holding onto the rest of your memories.

For Your Closet

5. Studio Dot Slippers

Who needs those plain, old fuzzy slippers? Stand out in your hall or walk around your apartment in these multi-colored slip-ons. The shiny pink bow makes these slippers look like the total opposite of your average house slippers!

How have you CLassy College Lifestyles readers continued to spruce up your dorm or apartment? We’d love to hear from you! Also, if you’re having a tough time decorating, read CL interview with Season 6 HGTV Design Star contestant Kellie Clements for dorm and apartment decor tips.

Tiana Blue is an intern for College Lifestyles™ and is a print journalism major at Penn State. This sophomore is an avid blogger that loves to write, draw, roam the streets of Manhattan, and channel her inner chef by watching Food Network re-runs.

Turn Twitter into a Real-Time Job Board: A Word from Joshua Waldman

The following post is from our friend and sponsor, Joshua Waldman.  Joshua is the author of the new book, Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies.

Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies features in-depth coverage of topics such as: creating effective online profiles and resumes to sell your strengths; maintaining your online reputation (and ensuring that employers who Google you like what they find) and understanding electronic etiquette; using the power of personal branding and building your brand online; avoiding common pitfalls, such as jumping into filling out a social media profile without a strategy; getting to know Twitter, the only real-time job board with literally thousands of jobs posted daily; using social media sites to uncover opportunities in the “hidden job market” ahead of the competition.

The Following Is an Excerpt from the Book Job Searching With Social Media For Dummies:

Twitter is more than just a way to find out about the latest celebrity breakup; it can also be a great tool for finding job openings in your area. Simply follow these steps:

1. Visit www.search.twitter.com.
2. Click on the Advanced Search link below the search box.
3. Enter “Hiring” or “Jobs” in the first field in the Words section.
4. Enter your zip code in the Places section and choose your radius in miles.
5. You can further refine your search by adding industry keywords in the search form.
6. Click on the Search button at the bottom of the page.
7. Click on the Feed for This Query link in the right column to add this feed to your RSS reader.

If you don’t have an RSS reader, you can go to www.feedmyinbox.com, create an account, and simply add the RSS feed link to receive e-mail updates instead.

Watch the book trailer at Job Searching With Social Media For Dummies.

Beauty Product Wish List for E.L.F., CL’s Newest Classy Sponsor

College Lifestyles is proud to announce that Eyes Lips Face, a wildly popular cosmetics store and website offering bargain makeup (abbreviated as E.L.F.), is our newest sponsor! To introduce E.L.F. to the CL family, I’ve taken a tour of everything they have to offer–from lip stains, to bath gels, to teen/co-ed makeup sets and primers–to come up with a wish list. Here’s my list of must-haves:

1. Essential Professional 9 Pc. Brush Set – $15.00

I always walk through beauty aisles in cosmetics stores admiring the exotic bristles on brushes, but not admiring the steep prices. Luckily E.L.F.’s got it covered! This $15.00 set (what a steal!) comes equipped with all of the brushes any woman could ever need for their brows, eyes, and cheeks. I also love that a travel case comes with this purchase, ’cause sometimes us ladies need a brush or two on the go.

2. Essential Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil in Grassy Green – $1.00

I’m an eyeliner and blush kind of lady that’s not particularly adventurous with their makeup, so this E.L.F. eyeliner pencil with a complementary sharpener cap would fit right in with my steadily growing eyeliner collection. I like pencils when I don’t want a perfectly polished look (similar to how model and actress Jessica White’s bottom lids look in this photo from fashionbombdaily.com). My eye color is a very dark brown, so I look to shades similar to this “grassy green” one to add more vibrancy to my almond-shaped eyes. After clicking the link above, be sure to watch the featured video to get a glimpse of how shimmery this eyeliner is!

3. Vanilla Coconut Hand Cream – $4.00

Having smooth hands that leave a scented trace is something that all classy CL readers should live by. At just four bucks, this vanilla coconut hand cream sounds like it smells good. Do your hands a favor and protect them with one of E.L.F.’s non-greasy, moisturizing hand lotions, all of which are packed with aloe and shea butter.

4. Essential Nail Polish Sets in Red – $3.00

Everyone loves a lady who wears red, whether that’s with her clothing or on her nails. This triple-threat-trio of red nail polishes is just what I’m looking for. If you’re not partial to red polish, E.L.F. has four other sets of colors available for you to try, ranging from the French Manicure set in pink or nude to the dark purple’s and navy polishes in the  Jewel Tone Trio

5. Essential Nail Polish Remover Pads – $1.00

Who needs a bottle of messy nail polish remover when you could use fuss-free remover pads? Since I love red nail polish shades, removing the polish is always a time-consuming hassle. But with these fresh, citrus scented remover pads, taking off the polish would result in a lot less headaches, literally! Priced at $1.00 each for a pack of 18, this handy product rounds off my list of essentials and must haves from Eyes Lips Face!

Tiana Blue is an intern for College Lifestyles™ and is a print journalism major at Penn State. This sophomore is an avid blogger that loves to write, draw, roam the streets of Manhattan, and channel her inner chef by watching Food Network re-runs.

September at CL – Upcoming Events and Giveaways!

Is it September already?!  Where did summer go?

September spells our favorite time here at College Lifestyles – Back to School!  We hope you were able to use the great suggestions from our Campus Countdown for a smooth transition back to school.

We have some fantastic happenings at College Lifestyles for September!

Bid Day Shirt Contest (Facebook Photo)

Do you love your bid day shirt? Send us a picture of your bid day shirt, preferably front and back, to info@collegelifestyles.org.  Please be sure to include in your message your chapter and university.  Voting will begin on 9/15 and end on 9/30.  The chapter with the winning bid day shirt will receive 20 copies of ‘Eat Well and Be Fabulous’ by Shelly Marie Redmond!  (this incredible book gives suggestions for how sorority women can stay healthy!)

Dorm Decoration Contest (Facebook Photo)

Do your friends comment on how well your dorm is decorated?  Want to show off your work? Send us your design work to info@collegelifestyles.org.  Include your name, university, and design style.  Voting will begin on 9/15 and end on 9/30.  The winning individual will receive a lap top stand from Lap Dawg.

The College Lifestyles Channel

College Lifestyles is excited to announce the launch ‘The College Lifestyles Channel’ on YouTube on 9/25.  Join us every Sunday while we bring you the best on everything College Lifestyles!

Happy September!

From One CL Girl to Another: 5 Storage Must-Haves for Your Dorm!

When moving into your dorm, you’ll be bringing everything you use every day in your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room.  The only difference between your home and your home away from home is that instead of having several separate rooms, you’ll have one 12×12’ room to store everything from your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room.  Here are 5 must have storage units (hand-picked by yours truly!) to help keep you organized, fabulous, and prepared for anything!

Bath Caddy – Whether your bathroom is community style (sharing a bathroom with all girls on your floor) or suite style (one bathroom shared by two dorm rooms), it’s nice to have all of your cosmetics and toiletries in one place for those early mornings when you have to get ready in a flash!  I picked this Neatnix Square Stuff Bucket from DormSmart because it has a ton of storage, a durable handle, and it can also be used as a desk organizer!

9-Cube Organizer – Shelving units are always a good idea, but it’s difficult to know which ones to buy, especially if you don’t know how much space you’re going to have.  These 9-cube organizers from Target are fantastic because they offer optimal storage, come in different colors, and you can buy fabric drawers in different colors for even more storage.  I bought this organizer in black with pink drawers and put it in my closet.

Double-Hang Closet Organizer – In my personal dorm experience, my closet at home was easily twice the size of my dorm closet.  This Double-Hang Closet Organizer, also from Target, is AMAZING because it literally doubles your closet space by providing an extra clothing rack.  It’s also very easy to assemble and only weighs 2 pounds!

Over-the-Door Organizer – One place that most people overlook when thinking about storage space is behind their doors.  Over-the-door-organizers are HUGE space savers.  Most are advertised as shoe racks, but I use them for other things like lotions, perfumes, and even some school supplies.  Check out this one from The Container Store (currently on sale!)

Storage Trunk – Trunks are the ultimate dorm necessity.  They can be used for storage, take the place of a suitcase when moving in, and they can be used for a coffee table/footrest to pair with your futon!  It may seem a little pricey, but when you think about the many different uses for storage trunks, it’s obvious that you will be getting the most for your money.  Check out the different trunks that DormSmart has to offer and you’ll be sure to find one that fits your needs!

Taking the time to organize your dorm room before school starts will make your transition from your home to your home-away-from-home a smooth one.  As always, have fun, be smart, and stay fabulous!

Alli is a Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics junior at Michigan State University.  When she isn’t spending time with friends and family or on the sidelines of an MSU football game, she can always be found playing with her dogs!

Last minute cheap student getaways before fall term (or Labor Day weekend getaway) from HostelBookers.com.

The following is an article from our friends at HostelBookers.com!

The US is a wonderfully diverse country. Whether you want a beach holiday, a city break or even a gastronomic adventure you can find it all in America. So you’ve got plenty of choice when it comes to where to spend the last days of your summer (or Labor Day weekend getaway). We understand you are on a budget, so here are a few ideas for a few cheap days away. HostelBookers.com has accommodation in all these US destinations, including hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and apartments.

New York City for flashpackers.

New York is a city for all budgets. The parks, museums, window shopping and endless monuments can entertain you for free. Or, there’s the Green Flea Markets, the Central Park Zoo and the menagerie of restaurants if you fancy flashing the cash. Soak up the buzz of Times Square and get your photo taken next to the famous screens and adverts. Then pop into the biggest Toys r Us in the world and check out the pic n mix!

San Francisco for a girly holiday.

Head to the biggest and oldest Chinatown in America and you’ll be able to pick up some bargain silk scarves and uniquely designed clothes in the market. Order some Chinese to takeaway and eat up in the Yerba Buena Gardens surrounded by open space and waterfalls. Burn off that special fried rice with a stroll across the Golden Gate Bridge before indulging in a yummy banana-cream tart or flaky croissant at the Tartine Bakery in the Mission District.

Miami for beach lovers.

Bikini bods love it at South Beach. Whether you’re lazing on the beach, hitting the shops or dancing in the clubs it’s the standard uniform. Anyone into surfing or rollerblading can join the super-tanned in the sea and skating down Ocean Drive. Miami officials have recently invested in a brilliant public cycle scheme, so make sure you rent one of the bikes for the best way to see the city. In Miami you’re also close to the Florida Keys – perfect for a scenic drive with the music turned up loud.

Chicago for foodies

Who needs the Michelin-star restaurants when there’s the Margherita at Bella Bacinos Pizzeria, the Peking duck at Sun-Wah in Uptown and California rolls at Toro Sushi? You can walk it off in one of Chicago’s famous free parks – Grant Park on the lakefront or around the public art exhibition at Millennium Park. Of course there are loads of museums in Chicago, including the Hancock Observatory and the Shedd Aquarium, but prices can be steep. It can be a lot cheaper to invest in a CityPass which will give you unlimited access for a set fee.

Washington for bargain hunters.

Washington is a great last-minute city to visit when you’re short on money – there’s so much to do for free! The 19 museums and attractions that make up the Smithsonian don’t charge an entry fee and together they feature more than 137 million objects, from stamps to spacecraft and dinosaur skeletons to tribal art. Or, even better, you can prebook a tour around President Obama’s home, the White House. When you’re finished make sure you take a trip around the Presidents Park to see the gray squirrels, bald eagles, and red-tailed hawks.

We’d like to thank our friends at HostelBookers.com for the above information.

Next Page »