10 things you will miss about college during the summer

Uncategorized

May 26, 2014

Let’s face it, there is a LOT of stuff you can do in college that just doesn’t happen in real life. Here are some examples of what we will miss most this summer:

1. Not being able to see your college friends every day. Sniff.
We live and breathe every minute with our college homies and adapting to spending time without them is one of the major downsides to summer.

2. Midday drinking
Now that you’re back home, it’s no longer possible to skip your 3 hour lab for a pint of Fosters in the student bar. Instead, the only alcohol you will consume during the day will be the Bailey’s cheesecake your Granny offers you during lunch.

3. Peaceful sleep-ins
Back in college, daily lie-ins were always a part of your morning routine. Sadly, you are now woken at 9am by your mother who sharply opens the curtains and lectures you on how “you should be outside enjoying the good weather while we have it!” Ugh.

4. Having an excuse not to work
Throughout the college year there’s always an assignment to be used as an excuse not to get a job. Now that you have three to four months sitting on your behind, you have no excuse to pass down a job offer from the local supermarket. For those of us who already had part-time work, prepare for a dramatic increase in ‘weekday’ work. Whoo.

5. Meeting new people
College offers brilliant opportunities to meet new and exciting people almost every day. At home however, you know everyone in your little town or village. A whole summer spent with the same people day everyday is bound to take its toll. Bring back the randomers!

6. Going out whatever night you feel like it
Whether you’re in Dublin or Cork, Limerick or Galway, any night can be a ‘going out’ night. To our misfortune, Monday Madness and three euro pints on a Thursday are unheard of concepts in our locals. Drinking on a weeknight at home offers a crowd of your father’s friends and a varied choice of Guinness or Heineken on tap. Monday Madness? We think not.

7. The classes you actually like
Although attending class wasn’t really your thing all semester, during the summer months we would happily sit in a class with the oddball lecturer who likes to reminisce about his weed smoking days on an escapade to Holland back in the 80’s. The entertaining stories kept your mind occupied.

8. The convenience of delivery food
In college, if you don’t feel like cooking, food was only a call away. Whether it’s Chinese or Indian, food is at your doorstep within the hour. However, if you live in the back arse of nowhere and you’re pretty sure that the sat-nav doesn’t even acknowledge where you live, scraping the bottom of the freezer for a microwave pizza is as good as it gets.

9. The Free Wi-Fi
Hey, not everywhere has free Wi-Fi, it’s a commodity in this world! Not the best connection at times but it still kept you constantly connected during those ‘morning after the night before’ scenarios when a tagged photo or two needed to be removed immediately.

10. Being able to live on a budget
In college it’s quite acceptable to live off literally zero cash. The summer months are an expensive time what with bikinis to be bought for sun holidays and interrailing tickets to be paid for. There’s grown -up style responsibilities on the horizon and it’s time to start saving. Sigh.

via our content partner CT

Are all of your friends gone on a J1? Here’s how to pass the time

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May 22, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Feeling totally FOMO right now? Us too! Here’s some ways you can make yourself feel better.

1. Heatwaves

We love hot weather for like, two days tops. They have it for THREE MONTHS! Can you imagine the horror?

2. The bog

Make all your American-side friends jealous with some good, old-fashioned footin-the-turf time. Grab the hang sandwiches and get buildin’ them castles!

3. Bonfires

We can build a bonfire and make smores on the beach too ya’know… They just don’t taste the same with the north wind blowing sand onto them. But still.

4. Knacker drinking

Snapchat all of your J1 friends photos of your fun epic knacker drinking and you are sure to instil serious jealousy and homesickness. Result.

5. Let’s go to the beach beach

So thanks lads, what a lovely message and what a lovely picture of a beach. Well we can do one better than that. Huntington Beach looks shite anyway, Salthill here we come. It’s awful cold in Salthill though. Maybe bring a hoodie just in case.

6. Out on the town

Find a massive ceili session and make them drool for a Bulmers and ice. Take that!

7. Mass misery

They won’t have gotten confession for three months. Can you imagine?

8. Festival fun

Kanye. Jay-Z. Nuff’ said!

via our content creator CT

What you NEEED to do in Thailand this summer

Lifestyle

May 21, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Thailand is an extremely popular place for Irish 20-somethings to let loose and go crazy! Apart from the plane tickets, obviously, it makes for a pretty cheap long holiday.

It is famed for its Full Moon parties, elephant riding and tubing but there is so much more that the country has to offer that you would be mad not to pop these on your itinerary.

Night market
Take a night off from the partying scene and spend the evening wandering around the night markets. You pick up some pretty awesome clothes and taste foods you would never have tasted before.

Get a tuk-tuk
You have probably heard of these as a means of transport in Thailand. While they may have a cute sounding name, they are far from cute reaching up to 60mph… eek! An experience you can’t miss.

Long tail boat
Apart from the fact that the long tail boat taxis are the best way to get to some of Thailand’s most secluded beaches, they are pretty spectacular.

Get a massage
A Thai massage is a must when you are visiting the country. They are extremely cheap so why not treat yourself to one every day!

Try this simple and delicious paella recipe

May 21, 2014

by Amber Saunders

The sun may have gone, but fear not, you can imagine that you’re in sunny Spain with this delicious paella recipe.

What you’ll need:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 leek or onion, sliced
1 tomato
110g pack chorizo sausage, chopped
1-2 chicken fillets
1 tsp. turmeric
300g long grain rice
1l hot fish or chicken stock
200g frozen peas
400g frozen seafood mix, defrosted

What you’ll need to do:

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, then soften the leek for five minutes without browning.
Add the chopped chicken fillet pieces, ensure that they are cooked thoroughly without browning on the outside.
Add the chorizo and fry until it releases its oils. Stir in the turmeric and rice until coated by the oils, then pour in the stock.
Bring the ingredients to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Tip in the chopped tomato, peas and cook for five minutes, then stir in the seafood to heat through for a final one-two minutes cooking or until rice is cooked.
Check for seasoning and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Tip: The best thing about paella is that any ingredients can really work with this dish. So, if you’re not a fan of chicken, you can swap it for your favourite meat, fish or veg instead.

Mixed summer berries pudding

May 19, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Summer pudding is much easier to make than you think, and the perfect fruity dessert for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

What you’ll need:

750g mixed summer fruit
185g caster sugar
1 medium white bread loaf, slightly stale
2 tbsp blackcurrent cordial

What you’ll need to do:

Place the fruit in a pan, pour the sugar over the fruit and stir gently to mix together.
Place the pan over a moderate heat and bring gently up to the boil.
Cut the bread into thin slices and remove the crusts.
Simmer the juices for about 2-3 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir in the blackcurrant cordial.
Cut a round out of one slice of bread to fit the bottom of your bowl, then cut the remaining slices into triangular wedges.
Dip one side of the bread circle into the juices in the pan containing the fruit, then place the circle in the bottom of the pudding basin, juice-side down. Do the same with the bread triangles.
Spoon all of the fruit and its juices into the pudding basin. Cover the top of the fruit with more wedges of bread.
Find a saucer that fits neatly inside the bowl. Place it on top to cover the upper layer of bread, then weigh the saucer down with weights – bags of rice, tins of baked beans, or whatever comes to hand. Let it cool, then place in the fridge overnight.
The next day, remove the weights and the saucer. Run a thin blade around the edges, then invert the basin onto a shallow serving plate, before turning the pudding out. Voila!

Sangria recipes that will make your mouth water

May 15, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Grey clouds bringing you down? What better way to prepare for the summer ahead, than with some of these delicious sangria recipes.

Classic Sangria
You can’t beat this classic, all you need is a bottle of red, two tbsps. of sugar and of course, chopped fruit of your choice.

Strawberry Sangria
Perfect for the strawberry lovers out there. This recipe requires two cups of strawberries, a bottle of sparkling rose, brandy and some sparkling water to give it some extra kick.

Slushie Sangria
For a perfect a slushie you will need a lot of ice, white wine, orange juice, lime juice, honey and frozen peaches. Place all of these ingredients in a blender for a yummy slushie result.

Apple Cider Sangria
This reminds us of cooled down version of mulled wine. This sangria recipe requires a bottle of red wine, two tsps. of vodka, chopped apples, 250ml of apple cider/juice and half a tsp. of cinnamon to give it a nice tropical effect.

Pineapple Mojito Sangria
To make this tropical treat you will need one pineapple, pineapple juice, a bottle of white wine, two tbsps. of sugar and 2 tsps. of rum for extra flavour.

9 signs college term is almost over and summer is coming

Uncategorized

May 14, 2014

by Amber Saunders

1. You’re seriously considering dropping out and doing something- ANYTHING- that breaks the mundane routine of trudging into lectures in the lashing rain that feels more like a fully clothed shower than ‘light drizzle’ as predicted by RTE.

2. After weeks and weeks of having nothing to do, just idly strolling around campus and chatting with friends, you suddenly have the week of doom where EVERYTHING in your various modules are due the SAME WEEK.

3. Remember all those assignments you were told all those weeks ago? Back in… week 2? You know… the ones that wouldn’t take that long and you had plenty of time to start them so you didn’t? Yeah… turns out you completely misjudged the level of work that’s required and oh, look at that. It’s due tomorrow. Happy days.

4. The sun appears, and with it a heat that would rival that of an African desert, coming out of its once seemingly eternal hibernation, reminding us all that there’s meaning to life. Cue lobster faced ladies and scorched farmer tans.

5. Just when you’re panicking about all the work you’ve yet to do, all it takes is one glance at your newsfeed and the gloomy pictures of highlighted notes and stacks of textbooks and this sudden serenity settles over you that at least you aren’t doing the Leaving Cert again. College is way easier.

6. Instead of studying the inverted pyramid or Brecht’s Theatre, you’re planning all these fantastic things to do during the summer. Things like bike riding in Dingle, camping out in Spiddal, breathing in the fresh air at the Cliffs of Moher, volunteering for the local newspaper, strolling down a Parisian boulevard, running for president… things you’ve absolutely no intention of keeping.

7. You don’t even care what’s in the fridge in your student accommodation. Long gone are your healthy eating days. You’ll probably just order a takeaway anyways. Sure, you’ll start your bikini diet once the exams are finished, right? Well…

8. You promised yourself that Easter would be THE time, YOUR time, to get all your work done so that you’d breathe easy during your last week of continual assessments. But somehow, and you’re not sure how, you ended up munching through three tonnes of chocolate and a barrel of vodka and weren’t really fit to do anything except lounge around on the couch until the sugar coma ended. Which was, coincidentally, on the bus down to college.

9. Summer is so close you can almost smell the stench of factor fifty suncream, so who really cares if you miss the odd assessment?

via our content partner CT

Exciting names added to the Electric Picnic 2014 line-up!

Uncategorized

May 13, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Some new names have been added to the line-up for September’s Electric Picnic festival.

The festival made the announcement at 12pm this afternoon on their Facebook page.

New names include: Blondie, Sinead O’Connor, Mogwai, Neneh Cherry, The Horrors and Duke Dumont.

Ooh, we can’t wait to see Debbie Harry do her thing on stage – excitement!

Who are you most looking forward to seeing this year?

Summer veggie pasta dish

May 12, 2014

by Amber Saunders

What better way to prepare for the summer than with this delicious and simple pasta dish. Not only is this pasta dish great for vegetarians, but it is also easy to make and can be a great summer lunchtime treat.

What you’ll need:

375g pasta
110g asparagus
120g frozen corn
120g frozen peas
1 tbsp butter
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped yellow or green pepper (optional)
120g feta cheese

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon zest
3 tbsp lemon juice

What you’ll need to do:

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, chop the asparagus into large pieces.
Once the asparagus is cut, you can start to make the dressing by combining the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, dijon mustard, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a tightly resealable jar. Shake until well combined.
Once the pasta is cooked you add in the asparagus. After one minute, add in the frozen corn, peas, chopped tomato and peppers with the butter.
When everything is cooked through, drain and rinse with cool water until cool, then stir in your dressing and then add salt, pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Stir in the feta cheese and once cooled, leave in the fridge for storage.

Super simple frozen margaritas recipe

May 2, 2014

by Amber Saunders

The rain may have returned, but here is a delicious and simple margarita cocktail recipe to remind us that summer is only around the corner.

What you’ll need:

88ml tequila
28g sugar
2 medium limes
Pinch of salt

What you’ll need to do:

Wipe the rim of your glasses with a damp paper towel.
Gently dip the rim of your glasses in salt and give it a slight twist.
Combine ingredients in an ice-filled shaker; shake briefly.
Strain the margarita mixture into your ice-filled, salt-rimmed glasses. Garnish with a slice of lime or two.

Top 5 sunscreens to suit all skin types this summer

May 1, 2014

by Amber Saunders

Protecting your skin from the sun is vital and there is definitely something about the smell of sunscreen that instantly reminds us of summer.

The Clarins UV plus HP Sunscreen SPF40
This sunscreen is perfect for normal to dry skin tones. It won’t leave a greasy residue and is lightweight enough to wear all day.

Clinique Super City Block Oil-Free Daily Face Protector SPF40
This face protector is great if you have oily skin and are prone to a few spots. It helps to protect against the sun and works as a make-up primer.

LaRoche-Posay Anthelios SPF30
This one won’t block your pores so you can rest-assured you won’t suffer any sunscreen related breakouts.

L’ Oreal Paris Sublime Sun Sheer Protect Sunscreen SPF50+
This one contains antioxidant oils to gently moisturise your skin. It’s light and leaves a nice sun kissed shimmer.

Garnier Ambre Solaire Golden Protect Protective Oil SPF20
This is great for tanned skin as the sunscreen will help protect your tan leaving your skin bronzed and golden. It comes in a spray formula and contains shea butter for smooth skin.

Get the right summer shades for your face shape

Uncategorized

Apr 25, 2014

by Amber Saunders

The sun is finally out, and the perfect pair of summer shades is a must!

You can rock any style of sunnies (aviator, oversize, wayfarer, cat-eye) so long as you pick a pair with the right ones for your face shape.

Heart Shaped Face

A heart-shaped face, like Hayden Panettiere’s, is characterised by a wide forehead, narrower jaw line, high cheekbones, and a narrow chin.

Sunnies that will suit you: Go for cat-eye shaped sunglasses – they’ll accentuate your face shape the best. You also want shades that add width to the lower part of your face, so bigger styles work well but avoid anything that sits high and wide.

Square Shaped Face

A square-shaped face, like Lea Michele’s, is usually proportional in length and width. It’s characterised by a defined jaw, square chin and a broad forehead.
Sunnies that will suit you: Try oversized round glasses—they’ll highlight your best features.

A Round Shaped Face

A round face. like Kirsten Dunst’s, has an equal width and length and is characterised by soft curves with few angles.
Sunnies that will suit you: Those with rounder faces should go for angular frames, which help add definition. Look for more horizontal styles to sharpen the face and add extra length with upswept frames.

Oval shaped faces

An oval-shaped face, like Zoe Saldana’s, is the easiest one to find shades for. It’s characterised by balanced proportions, a narrow forehead and jaw line, a chin that is slightly narrower than the forehead and typically high cheekbones.
Sunnies that will suit you: Any style, lucky you!