Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you to all who have and are serving.

How to be Smarter: If the person you are seeing doesn’t want people to know you are dating, for whatever reason, you shouldn’t be in a relationship with them.

How to be Prettier: My newest favorite trick for when you don’t have time to wash your hair: running a bit of baby powder through your roots, and then running a dryer sheet over your hair to combat fly-aways.

How to be (less) Awkward: If a friend and her significant other end their relationship, don’t speak poorly of her ex or badmouth their relationship–you never know where life could take them and if they could end up together again; and, if they do, she will always have your harsh words in the back of her mind.

How to be Smarter: I have a theory that everyone is a reader, just not everyone has found the type of books they like to read yet. Figuring out what you like to read is like channel surfing: try a fashion biography, try a relationship self-help, try a political commentary, try a historical fiction, try a magical realism. Flip through all the genres till you find a style that suits you.

How to be Prettier: Love them or hate them, everyone loves looking at Michelle Tanner grown up.

How to be (less) Awkward: If someone has a profanity-free blog, respect the style and audience they write to and leave only profanity-free comments.

How to be Smarter: If you are going to argue passionately for one side, whether it be about the health care debate or the decision to chose one college over another, you need to know to be as equally well informed about one choice as the other. Know the facts about both sides so you can make and effectively support your opinion or decision.

How to be Prettier: Finally, this dress is back in stock at Urban Outfitters. I’m going to wear it with my silver flats with rosebuds on them.

How to be (less) Awkward: If you pick someone up from the airport or train station, having a little bag of snacks and a bottled water for them to munch on during the ride home is the ideal way to welcome them–after a hug, of course.

How to be Smarter: Some types of clothing you cannot wear your whole life. I would suggest wearing the two-piece bathing suits, the miniskirts, the extremely fashion-forward styles now, today, before you miss your socially acceptable opportunity to wear them.

How to be Prettier: Love this green dress, with the waist embellishment and the slight-wrap dress quality.

How to be (less) Awkward: Stuff Other People’s Kids Ruined.

How to be Smarter: One of my favorite blogs, Oh She Glows, about healthy eating and living.

How to be Prettier: The way a nice vase of real flowers can make your whole apartment or office feel better can not be underestimated.

How to be (less) Awkward: When you can’t think of a compliment to give, use one of this adorable options.

How to be Smarter: I’ve never regretted taking an extra few minutes to read the fine print or the directions.

How to be Prettier: Think of navy as a nice alternative to black for the summer, especially in terms of accessories like work heels and evening clutches.

How to be (less) Awkward: What not to do when riding the subway.

How to be Smarter: Collect pens from your friends and families’ colleges and workplaces. Every time I reach for a writing utensil from my desk, I simile when I see the name of my best friend’s college or my dad’s company.

How to be Prettier: In time for the movie, this interactive site has Sex and the City-themed clothing.

How to be (less) Awkward: Everyone always likes the person who suggests a toast. At lunch with friends or on a one-on-one dinner date, be sure to lead the table in a toast to a happy, non-controversial topic.

How to be Smarter: Very interesting article about women and the economy, including an interactive calculator for figuring out what you should be saving.

How to be Prettier: Pale pastels, like light pinks and blues, work well as a twist on the classic neutral colors and are often as versatile in your wardrobe as black, white, and grays.

How to be (less) Awkward: Every old sock has an old shoe, and everybody has someone out there for them to fall in love with. Every person. It might take longer or shorter to find the other person than you had originally planned and the person might not look exactly like the wishlist you thought you wanted, but the correct someone for you is out there. I promise.

How to be Smarter: Spending all your days dreaming about being a lion tamer is a time-waster–unless you are spending all your nights learning about lions. Spending all your days dreaming of being a clown is a time-waster–unless you are spending all your nights making people laugh. Spending all your life wishing you were doing something else and not doing it, is always a time-waster.

How to be Prettier: The perfect  work desktop clock.

How to be (less) Awkward: Things to Be Happy About.

How to be Smarter: When first starting a blog, try not to tell anyone for 90 days. By waiting a bit, you build up a backlog of posts, and then when you do tell people, they will have a lot to read up on to get enthused about. You also don’t want to blast out to your network your new blog and then find it is hard to keep up. Exception: a travel blog, or a blog that will only be around for a specific time period (i.e. fashion week).

How to be Prettier: For graduation events, figuring out what shoes to wear is tricky. You have to take into account both the color of the gown you are wearing (don’t wear red shoes if your gown is maroon), and the color of the dress you are wearing underneath. For outdoor graduations on grass, I would advise against heels because of sinking into the grass, but if it is an auditorium, chose a nice pair of heels that aren’t too high and you can walk in comfortably. In either scenario, fancy flats will always be appropriate, and you can always change into heels for the lunch or dinner celebration after.

How to be (less) Awkward: At parties, get in the habit of slipping your pinkie under the bottom of the bottle or cup to prevent accidently dropping it.

How to be Smarter: Think about all the things you need to trust about someone you are in a relationship with. You need to trust he will be there if you have a bad day; you need to trust he will keep your secrets; you need to trust he will treat you with respect, both during the relationship and after. Those are all big things. If you don’t trust him with the tiny little things–working late on a co-ed group project in the library–how will you trust him with the big things?

How to be Prettier: I had a Big Buddha bag I received as a gift that I absolutely loved, but it got lost in a move. I am really considering another one, and this one has caught me eye. The pale pink color is a neutral enough for work, but the design is interesting enough to be not boring.

How to be (less) Awkward: If you are sitting when you meet someone for the first time, stand up to shake their hand hello. A little way to show you appreciate meeting them.

How to be Smarter: Only use your bed as a place to sleep. If you use it as a place to watch TV, play on the computer, or do homework, when it is actually time to go to sleep your body will be confused whether to be alert or asleep.

How to be Prettier: Pretty people make others feel pretty. If you are cruising facebook pictures and someone looks extra nice, send them a quick message saying how great they look. If you are home for the weekend and your mom looks refreshed and happy, tell her. If you are at school and a classmate’s hair was just cut, compliment them.

How to be (less) Awkward: I spent a long time this morning combing through this site, which bills itself as “an archive of strange and wonderful products.”

How to be Smarter: Some extremely interesting facts about fast food.

How to be Prettier: Gorgeous shell mirror at an amazing price point.

How to be (less) Awkward: If you sense your relationship is on the rocks, do not buy tickets for you two to a sporting event/concert that is more than a month away. Or, if you do buy tickets, keep them in your possession so if things fall apart you can sell them for your money back or invite someone else to go.

How to be Smarter:  The word “queue” is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed. (Source with other interesting facts).

How to be Prettier: A new release from Ray-Ban, these are so happy, so cheery, so summer.

How to be (less) Awkward: If you are in a sorority, whenever you travel through airports, always wear your letters–if you do this, sisters from around the country will usually come say hi!

How to be Smarter: 10 Foods that Boost Memory: Blueberries, Apples, Spinach, Onions, Broccoli, Red Beets, Grapes, Cherries, Eggplant, and Rosemary (Source).

How to be Prettier: After you apply lipstick or lip gloss, take your index finger and put it in your mouth, then pull it out quickly. The excess lipstick will come off on your finger rather than on your teeth.

How to be (less) Awkward: If you lose your cell phone while you’re home alone with no one to call it while you are looking for it, use this site.

 How to be Smarter: My favorite method to pay down debt or to save up for something is snowflaking–I just didn’t know the formal name of it until now. Snowflaking means applying small unexpected amounts of cash (from selling something on eBay to finding $20 in your couch) to your debt or to your saving pile, rather than putting it in your wallet–thus slowly accumulating money without feeling an impact on your daily lifestyle (Source).

How to be Prettier: If you have naturally frizzy hair and are consider dying it, remember that darker colors can mask frizzy hair by giving it a healthier, smoother look. (Source with other tips about hair dying).

How to be (less) Awkward: If you get invited to an event on Facebook and you cannot attend, do not be the first to respond. If you are the first to RSVP and you say “not attending,” then all future people getting the invite will see that the first person who responded said no, which can be embarrassing for the event host. If you can’t attend an event you got invited to on facebook, RSVP no after others have already RSVP’d yes.

How to be Smarter: If you like the idea of having a book club with your girlfriends, but no one has time to read a whole novel, chose one longer-ish article that everyone can read in under an hour and then discuss over some snacks.

How to be Prettier: I am loving cutout dresses right now. Urban Outfitters has a lot of nice options, including my favorite, this one.

How to be (less) Awkward: If you are going to have a facebook photo of you holding a small child, be sure to clarify in the caption whether the baby is yours, a niece/nephew, or a friend’s to avoid confusion.

How to be Smarter: Helpful website that lists free culture/educational-related events on the internet.

How to be Prettier: Full disclosure: this is the piggy bank I have sitting on my shelf next to my bed. And everytime I look at it or drop money in it, I get a little kick out of it.

How to be (less) Awkward: Think about how many times a day you look at your phone–as silly as it sounds, just changing the font on your phone can really make sending the same old texts and putting the same old To-Do’s into your calendar seem fresher.