A scorching late-August or early September day slowly fades into a balmy summer night, and the smell of grill residue lingers in the air. Your bathing suit is infinitely damp from spontaneous cannonballs in the pool and your stomach begins to growl after a full day of sun-soaked bliss. Grass clippings from the latest mow stick to your bare feet as you wander toward the picnic table in search of a snack. Dad just threw the burgers and hotdogs on the barbeque, you can hear them hissing against the hot metal grates. Your eyes dart past the cooler of ice …

It finally dawned on us why our dining hall doesn’t serve pastries like they do in the patisseries of Paris. If it did, we would likely fail our classes just to stay back another year to indulge in the desserts. There must be a correlation between deliciousness of cafeteria food and graduation rate.

But don’t get us wrong - the Ratty does make mean Rice Krispies treats, and their bananas aren’t too shabby either. If you want to impress the special someone you happen to be sharing the dining table with, then this dessert is the perfect way to …

As I quickly realized while studying abroad in Denmark, farmer’s markets are not a universal concept. In the harsh Scandinavian climate, little besides root vegetables and apples are in season from November to April. As much as I love beets and apples, after three months of them, I’m about ready for some spinach or strawberries. But they are still a long way off in Denmark, so I have to settle for the imported versions, found at the grocery store, not at a farmer’s market.

Luckily, on my spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to France, which is …

In December, when I was still studying abroad in France, my best friend Emilie (who is French) came to visit me at the end of my program. We went to Marmande, France, where her grandparents live. The last thing I thought we would be filling our days with was a double date. Initially, I was excited when Emilie told me about the idea. But then I realized that I was going on a date with two young French men who spoke very little English, and since I have the French speaking skills of a five year old, I had …

Since the summer offers warmer weather, more daylight, and more expendable free time, it really should be considered the official dating season. It’s the perfect time to try some fun outdoor date ideas! And if you were reading this on Cosmo‘s or Seventeen‘s website, the following dates would be cute/sexy and “special.” However, you’re reading this blog as written by a quirky weird girl, with only quirky weird dating stories from the quirky weird scene. Here are a few inspired ideas as described by a select sampling of Los Angeles locals.

1) “My boyfriend took me to this …