How to Celebrate the First Advent

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The first Advent is already this Sunday, November 27!

On years like this one, when Advent comes early, it always feels like we go straight from feasting on turkey and pecan pie to going full-on Christmas. I'm not complaining!

I've always celebrated Advent and loved it. It was an especially big deal to my mom, because she's German and the Germans do Adventszeit right. The thing that first comes to mind for me about Advent is the Adventskranz!

My mom always made ours herself, but you can buy them if you don't have much time or aren't so crafty. It's traditionally a wreath with four candles - one for each Sunday of Advent. One candle stands for hope, one for love, one for joy, and one for peace. You light one candle each Sunday and try to live that virtue even more that day!

By Jasmine

So tomorrow, the first Sunday of Advent, is all about honoring hope. People who celebrate (as I plan to again this year, after having the lowest key Christmas ever last year) will light a candle (traditionally purple, thought white, gold, and red are also common) - the Candle of Hope, also known as the Candle of Prophecy.

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5 Reasons Why I Liked The Secret Life of Pets

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'The Secret Life of Pets' is no 'Inside Out' or 'Frozen,' but it got a lot of flack from critics and I don't think that was at all warranted! I would say it's not that far under 'Finding Dory,' the other big animated release of the summer, in terms of quality and both my sister (11yo) and I enjoyed it!

Source: Giphy

If you were excited to watch the movie and now put off by the poor reviews, read on for five good reasons to give 'The Secret Life of Pets' a shot, after all!

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Independence Day Eats!

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It's Independence Day weekend!

...sorry, I couldn't resist the patriotic pickup line.

I'm celebrating the long weekend with a trip to Providence, Rhode Island. It's under two hours out of Boston and can be reached with just the red line and the commuter rail, so you can get there for $20 round trip. Not bad for a long weekend getaway!

I'll share photos of Providence later, but for now here are some great holiday-themed foods to bring to your Independence Day barbecue, potluck, or any other celebration that requires food. Enjoy the yummy red, white, and blue!

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Horizontal Running and Other Reasons To Get Excited for May 15

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The girls that brought us horizontal running, fat hearts, and pitch-slapping are back!

Universal Studios, Schick, and Skintimate are combining forces to bring the Barden Bellas back to the big screen for Pitch Perfect 2 in just over a week! 

Fat Amy is your hot date on May 15 and, unlike blind dates and setups, she's sure not to be boring!

If aca-awesome acapella, witty banter, and Fat Amy's antics aren't enough to sell you on Pitch Perfect 2, the fun plot should be. 

In this sequel, the Barden Bellas start off at the top of their game - but then the fall is faster and steeper than the ascent. After an exposure incident with Fat Amy and the President of the United States of America, the Barden Bellas are not only disgraced, but banned from performing! 

But these girls don't give up that easily.

Instead, they band together again to compete at a worldwide competition that no American team has ever won. The stakes are high and their odds are low, but that's exactly what will make it so fun to watch!

I'm definitely grabbing some girlfriends, a cute girls night outfit, and plenty of water to rehydrate from all the laughing that will happen - Friday night plans, done!

In the meantime, check out any Ahold retailer (including Stop & Shop, Giant, or Martin's) for Schick razors and Skintimate shaving gel to get your legs ready to rock, like I do!

If you buy any 2 Schick women's shave items (minimum $10 value) between now and May 23, you'll get a printout at check-out to redeem a code for a free movie ticket to see Pitch Perfect 2 in theaters!

You can dazzle and get pumped at the same time - beginning April 15, limited edition Pitch Perfect 2 packaging is available in stores nationwide for Schick Hydro Silk Razors, Skintimate Shave Gel, Schick Intuition®, Schick Quattro For Women® and Schick Xtreme3®!

Need some inspiration to Rock Your Legs? Check out this awesome music video!

What's a girls night without lots of photos for the memories, after all? With this beautiful spring weather, it would be a shame to be stuck wearing pants to hide that winter fur. 

I love winter, but I am definitely also celebrating the return of spring. NYC is so beautiful in the spring! Since I'm (temporarily) leaving the city in a few weeks to spend a month in Boston and the next month in Germany, I'm trying to soak up as much of NYC as I can before I go. I'm going to miss my city!

What are your favorite Friday night activities?

Who is your favorite Bella?

Do you sing?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Schick® & St. Ives® . The opinions and text are all mine.

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What Being Single On Valentine's Day Is Like

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Last Valentine's Day was my first (and only, thus far) time celebrating the holiday in a relationship and before that Valentine's Day was a family/commercial holiday, but pretty divorced from its romantic mainstream version for me.

Now that I know what it 'should' be like, however, I can enjoy the plight of the single girl on Valentine's Day.

You have those other single girl friends who expect you to empathize about their V Day loneliness.

Girl, can you go sob over there in the corner? I'm trying to read my book kthnx. 

The most exciting thing about your evening is when your Seamless order arrives #singleladyspecial

I've sustained a serious injury running to answer the door, it's seriously dangerous to get too excited. 

That was for the mail, not Seamless, but still.

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Snark: Five Texts I Abhor

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Most of the time, we enjoy texts from people whom we like.

Most of the time.

But there are some texts that, regardless of who they're from, send me straight into grumpy cat land.

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Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

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I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas, regardless of where you are and with whom you are!

The holiday season is my favorite time of year and Christmas is, hands-down, my favorite day of the year.

I love running downstairs to dump out my Christmas stocking and stake out the tree.

I love being the first one up and basking in the quiet beauty of Christmas morning.

I love gathering around the tree to open presents together.



I love the look on my family's faces as they open a gift that they're particularly excited about.

I love the special feeling of opening something that someone who loves me got just for me.

I love the warmth of good cheer spreading through me.

I love all the smells and tastes of Christmas.

I love watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas and dancing around the house with my little sister, yodeling off-key Christmas carols at the top of our lungs.

I love wearing a special Christmas outfit and feeling like the luckiest girl in tthe world.

I love that on Christmas, we can all be the luckiest girl in the world.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Photos by Nina Tellier. Find more of her work here!

What are you doing today?

What are your favorite Christmas activities?

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Top Seven Holiday Movies!

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Can anyone else not believe that tomorrow is already Christmas Eve?? After it taking forever to become the holiday season (I started wishing for Christmas back in August) December has absolutely flown by! I kind of want it to slow down, just a bit, so that I can enjoy the season before it ends!

In that spirit, here are a lucky seven of my favorite Christmas movies to get into the holiday spirit! They are in no particular order, with the exception of How the Grinch Stole Christmas holding the title of Best Movie Ever.

1. Holiday in Handcuffs

C'mon, it's Melissa Joan Hart! Now that she isn't a teenage witch anymore, she's just made for sappy holiday romantic comedies!

Low as the production and plot quality may be on these quickly churned out holiday rom-coms, their my guilty pleasure. Some people like reality TV, I like sappy Christmas movies. We all have a vice!

I love all of her character's quirkiness and definitely appreciated the seriously bad hair days they threw in there for curly girl amusement.

...though, personally, I didn't see any of the appeal in the romantic hero. Why does she want to end up with him, again? He's a bit of a prick, I'll take cat lady any day thankyouverymuch.

2. Home Alone 2

Home Alone was great, too, but the second is better - especially if you're a New Yorker!

Poor Kevin, though, his family sucks. How can they keep forgetting that he exists? When you can't keep track of all of your children anymore, it's time to consider not having any more...

3. Fred Claus

Rotten Tomatoes hates it, but Rotten Tomatoes and I don't necessarily agree on movie ratings. Let's be real, Rotten Tomatoes gave The Notebook a 5.7. That patooey deserved a -3.

Fred Claus may not be the next great movie for generations to enjoy, but Vince Vaughn is a funny guy and doesn't disappoint here. Also, the sets are beautiful!

4. Arthur Christmas

The animators did a beautiful job with the artwork!

The story and the family dynamics are also just so endearing. And who doesn't love a movie that features so many funny British accents?

5. The Santa Clause

I'm not actually that huge a fan of this movie as a whole anymore, but I love how they created the North Pole.

                                

It's so magical!

6. Elf

Elf has it all - singing, reunions, family drama, embarrassing family members, fun Elf costumes, and a Macy's style Santaland!

I have always enjoyed Elf, but for some reason moving to NYC made me like it all the more.

7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I saved the best for last! Watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Christmas Eve, as the last Christmas movie to herald in Christmas day, is one of my favorite holiday traditions. The cinematography is stunning, the story beautiful, the friendships heartwarming, and the glitter glittery!

It has everything you could want in a Christmas movie, including some awesome songs! I love the one that they all sing around the town tree at the end.

And the little kid version of the Grinch is just too cute.

He's admittedly less adorable in stills, but the animate young Grinch is so cooingly precious!

What is your favorite holiday movie?

What kind of holiday movie do you like the best?

What do you still need to do before Christmas?

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Community Building with BAND

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I'm a recent graduate, a blogger, a petite model, an actress, an author, a ghostwriter, and a freelance writer - that's a lot of hats to wear! And with each thing I do comes a big group of related people.

So, here's my dirty secret - I suck at names. Like:

Me: "Hi! I'm Danai!"

Her: "Hi I'm Lucy!"

>two more polite sentence exchanges<

Me: Oh darn, what's her name again? Suzy?

Having a way of keeping track of all the people I know, and keeping track of how I know them, can really help avoid some awkward situations. Especially during the very social holiday season!

More than just helping you organize people in your memory, BAND helps you organize groups - whether it's your Greek organization, childhood Girl Scout troop, work friends, roommates, etc. - for information sharing.

Because everyone needs to see that selfie. #duckface

When I first heard of it, I didn't really get why I would want to use the app when I could just facebook message the people. After trying it out, though I realized that there are several benefits to this (free) app for communication.

First, if you post to an active Facebook group your post is likely to disappear in the feed within minutes. With BAND, you're sure that everyone gets your photo or message or poll or whatever it is, not just those who are on when you're on.

Second, you don't have to go through and add each individual everytime you want to send a message to the group, like you do in email, or worry about messages bouncing back. Full inboxes are the bane of my existence. BAND makes that a problem of the past!

Third, it's a one stop organizer for life. You can share group calendars, polls, messages, files, albums, and general thoughts on a BAND board. I like not having to juggle a million apps, so I think consolidating everything you need for group management in one place is great.

I have made a BAND for my blogger community this far (feel free to join me!) but am definitely going to use it for other groups. The convenience it provides is reason enough to download the free app and join the over 35 million users already using BAND to streamline their social networks!

Do you use BAND?

How many primary social networks do you have?

What's your best way to stay organized socially?

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How to Throw The Perfect End of Summer Party

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It's been a great summer and we still have a month left of summer as we head into August. I'm already looking forward to fall with the crisp, cool fall weather, apple picking, Halloween parties, and gradual approach of Christmas. But before we can welcome fall, we must bid a great adieu to summer.

How?

END OF SUMMER PARTY!

Enjoy the last weekend evenings of summer with friends, but without the stress of throwing a big to-do. A summer evening party should be fun and relaxed from prep to party to clean up!

Here's how to throw a summer sundown shindig completely stress-free!

- Invite a manageable number of people.

You might have 869 Facebook friends, but that doesn't mean that you need to invite all of them to the same Friday night get-together. An ideal party size for a tress-free get-together is between five and ten. If you think about it, you don't really get anything out of inviting more than ten people - do you really socialize thoroughly with all of your guests when you have a 50+ guest party?

Huge crowds are great for wild parties now and then, but no one really wants to host those. If you do host one of those, you should be prepared for a lot of prep and even more clean up work.

Instead, invite a small group of friends for a warm, comfortable, enjoyable party on a summer night. We still have a month of summer left, so you can throw multiple easy get-togethers rather than inviting them all at once.

- Keep the menu simple.

I'm as guilty as the next girl of an inner Chef Remy that looks at a block of cheese and has visions of something fabulous.

I know, I know - it's tempting to go crazy and try to put together an impressive spread for party.

But I caution you to please, please, please consider saving the kitchen experiments and culinary wizardry for another time, preferably one where you don't have guests and it's A-Okay if you collapse into a bawling mess of flour on your kitchen flour.

Guess what the difference between a funny fail and Failure with a capital 'F' and silent tears is?

Guests.

Trust me, no one will complain about a nicely arranged platter of fruits, cheeses, nuts, crackers, and cookies. No one is going to say 'HEY! These aren't homemade, you delinquent domestic!'

And if they do, don't invite them to your next party.

- Don't forget liquid libations.

I'm not much of a drinker, but that doesn't mean that I should forget about my guests who do enjoy a drink or two.

I'm not suggesting that you take it upon yourself to get everyone absolutely wasted (please don't, especially if it's a rooftop party or if your friends will require the use of their livers in the future). However, some bottles of beer and a bottle of a wine or two are an appreciated touch that will help get the party started faster and put everyone a little more at ease, especially if they don't all know each other.

I suggest a nice rose for the season! It's the wine of summer and you can get a decent bottle for under $20.

- Choose an outdoor setting. 

You and your guests will automatically feel more at ease than if you're all bumping elbows on your couch. Also, cleanup is way easier when you're sitting on the grass or a NYC rooftop than over carpeting.

Especially with the aforementioned rose. Are your friends as klutzy as mine (and me)?

What are your top summer party tips?

What's your favorite summer adult beverage (or other)?

What's your summer song of 2014?

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Gifts for Grads: A Gift Guide and A Contest!

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Graduation season is a super exciting time of year, especially for graduates and those who love them!

Hopefully more exciting than that...

While graduates are generally just happy to be graduating, it's pretty common for loved ones to give graduates gifts to celebrate their achievement - graduating still really is a huge achievement, even when more Americans than ever are doing it! It still takes a lot of persistence, hard work, and ambition to make it through twelve years (+preschool) of education, followed by a voluntary, and often most academically trying, four years of higher education.

As with anything else that involves gift giving, like Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine's Day, it can be tricky to come up with a gift that is both thoughtful and useful. Clothes for a graduates new post-grad life, iTunes gift cards,  and money are some always appreciated great go-tos, but if you want to think outside of the box, it might be worth taking a look at unconventional gift sources, like eBay!

eBay not only has a great gift guide for grads, but they're also running a cool sweepstakes from now through June 15, 2014! Create your own gift wish list collections for a chance to win $500!


I made some example collections myself - take a look and feel welcome to include anything that catches your fancy in your own collection! This week's sweepstakes them is father's day gifts, so feel welcome to make those collections, too, in addition to a grad collection!

Gift wish lists are really awesome - no need to get stuck with the sort of lame gifts, like photo albums and underwear, that no one actually wants.

But most of all, have a wonderful graduation!

How did you celebrate your graduation?

What occasions do you give gifts for?

What are your most and least favorite gifts to receive?

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How to Fight Dirty and Outsmart Your Repulsive Roommate

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Been there. Done that.

Deal with a messy (or downright disgusting) roommate smarter. It's not necessarily about how hard you work, it's about how smart you do - like studying smarter with SmartBook, the better alternative to eBooks!

Do you have any really terrible roommate stories?

How do you set up cleaning schedules with roommates?

What's the most important thing you look for in a roommate?

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Recipe Review: Best Ever Rugelach

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Note that the title of this recipe is not my invention and I am in no way promising that these will be the best Rugelach cookies ever. I don't even really know what Rugelach is, but cross-cultural appreciation, amiright?

I wrote that in a very Tom Haverford voice, guys.

Thank God I'm not a man.

Kidding! I would not be a sketchy Parks & Recreation character.

Anyway, Rugelach is a Jewish cookie that is often baked for celebrations - just don't ask me which ones or I'll be out of my depth again. Maybe Hanukkah? But I only say that because that's my answer to all questions Jewish (and apparently it's not even a big religious celebration, so bah humbug). 

Back to the recipe - I'm not a Rugelach connoisseur, so I can't say if they're the best Rugelach ever or even if they're decent Rugelach. I can only judge the recipe on its merits for producing a tasty cookie. 

I used Sandy's Best Ever Rugelach Recipe (and perhaps I put the cookies too close to each other on the tray? So much spillage).

I stayed really true to the recipe this time, largely because I was so unfamiliar with the desired result, and the only adjustments that I made were to use chopped walnuts instead of chopped pecans (I didn't have any of the latter) and to not include the optional raisins.

I thought the cookies were flavorful enough without the raisins, so they really weren't missed.

This recipe is a little time-consuming, so it's not a good last-minute choice. You have to make the filling, make the dough, roll out the dough, put the filling on the dough, roll up the dough, make the glaze, brush the cookies with the glaze...and somewhere in there, chill the dough (pre-first roll-out, actually). 

The dough can also get really sticky if it's out of the fridge for too long (hence why chilling before rolling out is necessary) so this is a pretty messy recipe.

Following the directions exactly, the cookies puff up nicely but the filling sort of oozes out, making a huge mess on the baking sheet. Make sure to pre-grease or you might as well throw that baking tray in the bin!

The resulting cookies were okay, but not amazing. I've baked better in my sleep.

Okay, maybe not in my sleep, but you get the point. Lots of effort, not an amazing result - if you need to make Rugelach for some reason, I wouldn't suggest not to use this recipe. On the other hand, I also wouldn't recommend it. Your call!

What is Rugelach supposed to be like?

Do you like making pastries or cookies better? These seem more pastry-ish.

What should I try next?

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Worst Christmas Presents

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It's the thought that counts, right? I guess so, but I am inclined to believe that there's a connection between quality of gift (not necessarily thought) and the price put into it.

While any gift at all is a gesture of goodwill and a nice thing to give/receive, there are some gifts that you might really want to rethink. Or they'll be regifted (or regifted to the store where you bought them).

Underwear or socks.

Both can be a good gift if there's something special about them - like they're sparkly or super adorable or they're striped colorful knee-highs for a friend who loves wacky socks. But no one wants to find something as utilitarian as a pack of Hanes plain granny panties under the tree.

I will make that face. No joke.

I wouldn't even want something that utilitarian ever, never mind on as fun a day as Christmas.

A star.

This one is even worse than the charitable donation gift (I know, I know - it's a nice thing to do, blah, blah, blah. I'm all for being charitable in general, but donating to an organization and calling that a gift to someone else seems like a real cop out to me. Some people might like it, but...really?).

Unlike the charitable donation gift, a star or a mile on the moon don't even do good for someone else. and they're lame gifts that are essentially non-gifts. If I wanted to name a star after myself, I could do it myself without the questionable paperwork from whatever scam.com website prints those certificates.

The battery-powered thing without batteries.

Here, the gift itself isn't the problem. It's the lack of thought! If you're gifting a camera, a battery-powered toy, or anything else that won't function without batteries, make sure that you include at least enough batteries to power the thing through the obligatory Christmas morning test run.

Otherwise it ends up getting shoved into a drawer until someone finally remembers to pick up batters well into the New Year. Around our house, you can usually count on that not being before mid-March!

Gimmicky Sky Mall gifts.

Gimmicky gifts can be good for a laugh when you open them, but just about no one actually wants that stuff.

Thank goodness for the internet, where you can laugh about this stuff without actually being the sucker stuck with the gift or the awful gifter stuck with the reputation for gifting that stuff.

Any sort of underhanded compliment-type gift.

Basically, don't give anyone something that suggests there's a fault you would like to work on.

Example: if your roommate isn't very good about cleaning, you can't give her a Swiffer or a broom for Christmas.

Well, you could. But that's a gift that could leave more hostile giver-recipient relations than no gift at all.

What's the worst gift you've ever received?

Have you ever given a truly awful gift?

What percentage of your holiday shopping do you have left to do?

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Holiday Mistakes NOT To Make

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Holidays are great and the Christmas is season is my ABSOLUTEHANDSDOWNFAVORITE time of the year. But holidays, with all the increased social activity, can also provide prime opportunity to social suicide. 

Especially when you combine high spirits with spiked eggnog and then throw your boss/dean/professor/research advisor into the mix. 

Here are some (all too common) holiday bloopers to avoid. Just say no to embarrassment and practice safe merrymaking!

DON'T serve red wine if you have a new white carpet/couch and invited your klutzy friends.

We all know who those are. I'm one of them (but I'm 20 and don't underage-drink, so it's more like don't serve me grape juice). 

DON'T regift carelessly.

Make sure you remember who your gift was from if you're regifting, so that you don't regift it to the same person or to their best friend/sister/boyfriend/mother. AWKWARD.

Also, try to make sure that you're regifting something because you think the recipient will actually be pleased by the gift, not just because you weren't and want to get rid of it. You don't want it to be regifted year after year after year - it will probably find its way back to you if it is!

DON'T give all your guests food poisoning by improperly thawing a bird and serving it still half frozen.

The bigger the bird, the longer it takes to cook through. Not that I know much about cooking meat, as a vegetarian, but I know enough to know that un- or under-cooked poultry is a big no-no-no-no-NO.

DON'T wait until the last minute to do your Christmas shopping.

Christmas shopping should be fun! I think it's the most fun sort of shopping, period. But last minute Christmas shopping isn't fun for anyone, so don't do it! 

Start early and enjoy the Christmas cheer longer. 

DON'T throw your fashion sense out the window, just because there's red and green involved.

I'm sorry, but no. If you love Christmas sweaters, go for it. By all means, you do you. 

But do know that we're all judging. Hard.

DON'T forget to have fun!

It's Christmas, after all! There's no time for scrooges and grouches!

What are your Christmas plans?

Do you have any funny holiday disaster stories to share?

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Don't forget to spend lots of time with your family and friends, wish everyone you love a happy Thanksgiving, eat lots of yummy food (PECAN. PIE.) and be thankful for all of the blessings you have!

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Thanksgiving Table Settings!

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Since I've heard this odd question several times over the past few days: guys, Thanksgiving is November 28. Less than a week away!

Okay, admittedly the people asking when Thanksgiving is were all international students. What can I say?

Welcome to 'murica, pull up a seat, and go for the drumstick (do Tofurkeys have drumsticks?).

Anyway, those who are hosting Thanksgiving dinner are probably already planning for the big day. I know that I'm looking forward to the school break! Even if it's primarily to catch up on school work and sleep.

The food is, of course, a big part of of Thanksgiving dinner. But there are a lot of other things to prepare, as well!

Appalled Snow White or not, there are some other things to think about than just the food (though the food is important, too). Like table settings. They help turn a good dinner into a great feast by letting the eye eat with!

Here are a few that caught my eye!


This traditional, hunt-themed table setting is perfect for those who like to hunt down the biggest turkey in the grocery store, roast it over a backyard fire pit, beat on their chests a bit, and maybe hunt down another beast after dinner with a mob of angry villagers.

Er...maybe redact that last bit. I guess I'm in a Disney mood today.

Anyway, to keep the hunt from verging over into pure Neanderthal, pretty candle holders and nice utensils and glassware keep the dinner classy. This look is as well suited for a large feast as a small gathering!

If you're more one for simplicity, don't "use antlers in all [your] decorating," or just want to have some space on the table for the actual food, a simple table setting can work just as well. A good wooden table is pretty much essential here, as it's a more natural look. A few pumpkins, squashes, or gourds are great touches, as are harvest-colored napkins and a foliage-based centerpiece. 

Make one yourself with some pretty long grasses and a bit of twine, if you're either artistically inclined or up for a fun holiday challenge. If you can, corral some kids into helping you. Once you let it slip that they were involved, everyone will confuse the kids' adorableness with the appearance of the centerpiece, making it look a thousand times better.

Or you can go for the happy medium.  

The metallic accents even start hinting at Christmas - YAY. 

But I know there's only so long that one can talk about table settings, so I'll let you go and look for food. 

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Which decorating style do you like best?

What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner?

Do you prefer hosting the dinner or attending someone else's dinner?

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