Summer is upon us people!  As the school year quickly comes to an end, it is totally time to get ready for the beautifully long sunny days sans those annoying teachers telling you what to do, monitoring your bathroom breaks, and continually harping on you to do homework.  I have one word for you: FREEDOM!

I have a list of Must-Haves to make your summer perfection:

Number one, for those of us who have been sequestered to the frigid Midwest and may not be ready to grace the public with our ghostly skin, I suggest sunless tanner!  No, I am not talking about the early 90s goop that leaves your skin looking like you colored yourself with a highlighter and your hands like you played around in some orange dirt.  Instead try spray leg makeup.  It will leave your legs smooth and tinted to your natural color and covers up imperfections you may have. Sally Hansen Leg Spray will give your legs a mild sheen and the color of health to attract the sexy guy you’re ogling at from afar.

Now that you don’t need to hand out sunglasses in order to show your legs at the start of the summer, you can confidently wear my next must have for the summer: shorts!  This may seem like a duh, but there are millions of designs on the market now from wispy 60s inspired shorts to sailor suit versions to tickle your fancy.  They are no longer the drab plaid found on the golf course.  Any design is a good design, get creative and have fun with your color selection!  Just one word of caution: regardless if you are 100lbs or 400lbs, no one wants to see your butt cheek popping out the bottom of your shorts.  It’s just not cute.  And, everyone around you will be leaning over to their friend, covering up their mouth, and darting their eyes over to your butt to show their friend how disgraceful it is that someone let you leave the house like that.  Before you purchase those shorts, do a test: bend over and touch your toes, if the breeze is hitting you were your old school granny panties would be, pick a different pair…Check out Billabong, Express, and Old Navy for great diverse options for shorts.  Some new great designers to check out are Tory Burch and Volcom for some adorable must haves.

Next on my list is color!  Use color wherever you can.  Imagine the world is your canvas and paint your color beautiful.  Florals are still totally in, as are stripes.  Don’t be afraid to ditch the slutty and boring little black skirt and replace it with a flowy summer dress with dripping with different bursts of color.  A great way to keep color in your life is to wear it on your head, around your neck, and on your fingers.  Go get a few different colors of the cheap nail polish at the grocery store to play around with.  They’ll begin to chip after a couple days, but by that time you should be ready to test out a new fun color to go with your mood for the day.  Funky, fun, and daring are what stands out in a crowd so let your colors shine.

Finally, my most important summer must do: update your room.  You are turning over a new leaf in your life, and your living space should mimic this transition.  Also, for those of you leaving the coop come this fall, remind that younger sibling that they don’t get to move into your room while you are gone.  And, parents, “No, my room is not becoming the pseudo workout space you’ll pretend to use”.  Rearrange your furniture and update the look of your space.  Flip over your comforter and try out the bottom side.  Hang up pictures from the past year, and use our easy and affordable stick on frames!  They are removable and you can re-stick them wherever you like.  They work like a miracle.  Or, check out our wall art that has the same stickiness factor.  You can restyle your room with ease with the different options provided at Dorm Digs.  Check out our wall art for more options.

Hope you enjoyed these simple tricks and must-haves for the start of the summer.  Study hard and make the work you put in during the year pay off.  You are going to have a great summer when it is all over!

Halloween can be a blast at college. A combination of costumes, cocktails and craziness adds up to great time. The big question of what to wear for the big night can become part of the fun. It is always fun to go as a group costume. Planning is a key for this GROUP to succeed. Have a party to discuss some options.  Of course you need a ring leader to organize all the participants and to perform the final costume check.  Good Will is always a good place to get the basics of your costume and you are helping them with their cause.

Here are some suggestions for unique group costumes.

• Traffic Cones – Cause a road block with your group!
• Box of Crayons- Color the town red!
• M & M’s – Be the treat for the night!
• 12 Pack of your Favorite Beverage – Remember the pack has to stay together!
• Deal or No Deal TV Show –   Find your favorite Howie Mandel and go as the glam girls on the show! You can fill your briefcase with all sorts of surprises!
• Tetris -If you have a group of people and no ideas for Halloween costumes, this is one of the easiest last-minute costumes you can come up with. Plus it has a great nostalgia factor.

Remember have fun, but be safe!

Note taking in classes can be a key aspect for being successful at college. Taking notes helps you to  remember days later the material from class. It helps to reinforce the information from the text and professor. If you have something written down on paper, you can always refer to the material later. There is no magic to taking good notes, just common sense. It’s simply a matter of being thorough and accurate.

There are several techniques you can utilize to help with your note taking. Below are some suggestions.

The 2-6 Method

The 2-6 refers to the way you divide the space on your notepaper. Make two columns, using the red line on the left of the page as your border. Then, when you take notes in class, use the 6 column for the notes and the smaller 2 column on the left as a highlighting system. Write main headings and important points on the left, including material you think you will be tested on. When you’re finished, you should have a comprehensive page of information that you can quickly scan for important points. Studying is 99% perspiration; if you give it a real, concentrated effort over the course of a semester you will see an improvement. Your academic success is entirely up to you.

George Mason University

Split Page Method

Class lectures and your textbook–they’re the primary sources of course content and you need to learn both. So combine them with the split page method of taking notes. Just divide your notebook page in half lengthwise. Draw a line down the middle of the page. Take class notes on one side of the page and outline the text on the other side. When you study you’ll have both. Class notes and text together, integrated. Some students find it helpful to add a third column for questions they need to ask the professor.

Sherry Reynolds

Group Method

Are you tired of struggling to keep up with a lecture while copying page after page of notes in class? My advice? Don’t take the notes — at least not every day. Instead, form a group with some of your classmates and take turns taking good class notes. When it’s not your day to be the note-taker, really concentrate on what is being said in class. You might want to jot down a few particularly important points, but mostly try to participate in class. Ask questions when you can’t understand the point your teacher is trying to get across, and score points by answering questions your teacher asks. After class you can either photocopy the notes from your classmate, or better yet, copy them over by hand while reviewing in your mind what happened in class.

Fred Weening

Hope this was helpful  information for taking notes. Not  everyone learns in the same matter, so find what works best for you, and go for it!

Good luck and Happy Note Taking!!

Ok, you’re all settled into your new home away from home, you have been going to class for a few weeks and now the tests and papers are starting to show up on the calendar. You’ve felt like you have had tons of time with class only 3 -4 hours a day. You’re wondering, where did all the time go and how will I survive.   The combination of unstructured time and larger projects proves disastrous for the first-year students who don’t keep a calendar and schedule their work.   Don’t panic; use the calendar to your advantage. Post your schedule on a monthly calendar, that way you can look ahead to see what is coming down the path. You will quickly be able to see which weeks will be heavier with studies, which weeks you can afford to kick back and relax. By putting your calendar on a dry erase, a college essential you can quickly adjust your calendar for your changing schedule. Planning your time with the knowledge of the monthly milestones will add up to years of success in college.

As you are deciding on how to decorate your new dorm room don’t forget to bring some life to your new home by adding some color with wall art. Everyone wants to make a personal statement and outfit their room in a way that reflects their own personality. After you have selected your bedding you can add a splash of color to those bare white walls with peel and stick wall décor. Wall art in the form of peel and stick can go a long way in a short and simple way. It easily brings that wanted flair and unique touch to your new home. At the end of the year the peel and stick art is easy to remove leaving the walls undamaged walls. It’s that simple.

It may be on your thoughts right now – just how to make your tiny dorm room feel more homey and inviting? By adding a few unique dorm accessories to your dorm room you can easily transform your space into the place to hang with your friends.

Wall décor is sometimes overlooked in the dorm room. Why not use functional art work to add that homey touch – like some of this great wall art from Dorm Digs. Butch and Harold have also created unique peel and stick frames that are perfect for your dorm walls. These are just a few suggestions, but with a couple items from Dorm Digs it’s easy to bring the walls of your dorm room to life.

Closet accessories are made to solve storage problems. Dorm Digs has some storage and organization essentials that can go a long way in that tiny dorm room space of yours. After you evaluate your space, then choose over the door shoe racks, belt and scarf holders, under bed storage units and collapsible bins to help organize your space and accessories. After all, a girl can’t have too many accessories.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started in transforming your dorm room into a space you’ll love. For more dorm room accessories visit Dorm Digs.

Most people think of college as days filled with fun and anticipation. Meeting new people, forging new friendships and starting a new stage of your life can be an exciting time. While all of this is exhilarating, it also can be overwhelming. Heading off to school, the independence that comes with leaving home, and the stress of classes can sometimes cause anxiety and depression. These and other mental health issues are prevalent on campuses across the country and it’s a very serious problem. Schools and other organizations recognize this and are working hard to help students cope with the many issues that arise throughout the college year.

As a resource we wanted to introduce Active Minds, which is an organization working hard to utilize the student voice and change the conversation about mental health on college campuses. By developing and supporting chapters of a student-run mental health awareness, education, and advocacy group on campuses, the organization works to increase students’ awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and mental illness, encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed, and serve as liaison between students and the mental health community.

Through campus-wide events and national programs, Active Minds aims to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and create a comfortable environment for an open conversation about mental health issues on campuses throughout North America. If you are interested in learning more you can visit their Active Mind’s site.

Although this is a serious topic, we at Dorm Digs felt strongly this important topic needs awareness, and we wanted to share with you this amazing organization that is helping students cope with the many stressful issues on campus.

Roker and Today Show’s Elizabeth Mayhew walk you through the dorm room essentials for that first time college student.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

When you are sending your student off to college there are many details to finalize before you hit the road with a packed trailer. Here are some important and sometimes overlooked items you should add to your departure list that are student and dorm essential.

1. Keep all college correspondence in one folder. Some of the info might be time sensitive and it is easier if it is right at your fingertips.
2. Get all dorm room info if possible, a floor plan of the room and what’s all included. Be sure to check the closet space, shelving and additional storage space.
3. When the school calendar arrives copy the vacation and break dates.
4. If you are planning to rent a van, trailer of semi to transport your child to school, make the arrangements immediately. Back to school is one of the busiest seasons.
5. Make appointments for physicals and dental, especially if needed over breaks. Get copies of prescriptions, immunization records, and glasses and contact lens prescriptions and also doctor’s phone numbers
6. Get the phone numbers for clinics and student health for your child’s school and leave a copy of those numbers at home.
7. Have insurance cards in your students’ wallets and a copy in their room.
8. Make two photocopies of everything in your wallet and your important papers. Keep one copy at home and one at school.
9. Study available student banking packages for college students. How is the money deposited and withdrawn?
10. Find out the move in date. Will they accept packages before the move in date? Where are the packages kept and how can they be retrieved?
11. What is the computer situation? Are they direct hoop-ups? Do they need an Ethernet card? How accessible are the printers on campus?

There are a million things to do and remember when your child is off to college for the first time. I hope this list helps to get you started on this big transition for you and your child who will soon be living in the dorms. This college list is not comprehensive, but it’s a great place to start!

Your new dorm room will be a completely blank canvas to add your own personal touch of style and design. The walls will be painfully white to begin, but with a little help from Dorm Digs it’s easy to transform your dorm room into a colorful fun place to hang with your friends.

The following posts will cover the three main categories of dorm room design: wall decor, dorm room accessories and storage & organization. The Dorm Dig’s website is organized around these three main categories, and if you simply focus on these areas it’s easy to transform that new dorm room of yours into an amazing space to hang.