DormDelicious

Want A Projector In Your Dorm? The BenQ Joybee GP1 Just Might Be Perfect

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:52:33 +0000

There are lots of reasons to get a projector for your dorm room. Obviously, it's cool to play movies, TV, and video games on a big screen. Believe me, the ladies will love watching Steel Magnolias and seeing Tom Skerritt's lovable face larger than life. Also, a projector is great for parties - we've projected movies, music videos, and other cool visuals on the wall with the sound off and it's always a hit.

When we received a request to review the Joybee GP1 Mini Projector, we jumped at the chance, as we spent both junior and senior year of college enjoying having a projector in our dorm, and then in our off campus house.

It all started junior year, when one of our roommates brought home a rented projector and screen over the weekend that he needed for a presentation. After spending nearly every hour that weekend watching movies in awe of the size and quality we never turned back. We immediately turned to eBay, but there are a number of problems with projectors that are within the college budget.

First, most of the worthwhile projectors you'll find in this price range are used so the lamp will have quite a few hours of use on it, and lamps are insanely expensive to replace. Second, the technology is old so the hardware is large, runs hot, won't have a lot of video connectivity options, and likely won't be very bright. We ended up with a decent projector, but it took a long time to warm up, and if you didn't have it positioned perfectly the image looked warped.

Luckily, the BenQ Joybee GP1 has come to the rescue! It's small, lightweight, extremely bright, comes loaded with input options, and solves a number of problems that plague lower cost projectors. Read on for our full review...

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How To Plan The Perfect College Party Or Event

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:13:18 +0000

Jay Rodrigues is the Founder and CEO of DormNoise

Some of the best memories in college come from the events and parties that make up your social calendar through the four or more years you spend on campus. Whether it be a fraternity party, charity fundraiser, or just the “rager” Party-Guy Steve throws in his dorm room every Thursday night, events are what keep you going between classes, projects and exams.

Of course, events of all shapes and sizes take planning, and even Party-Guy Steve will tell you that he has a list of things he keeps in mind. Even if you’re not the Social Chair of your sorority though, you can plan an event without overloading your already busy life. Once you decide to take on the party planning responsibility here are some good tips follow.

Make a Checklist/Timeline

It sounds simple, but laying out your timeline/checklist is an important first step to keep you on track. For small events and parties you can get away with a 4-6 week planning window. However, for big events, especially those that will require you to organize committee members, allow yourself at least 3-6 months.

Choose Your Venue/Date

There are a number of great places to host events right on campus – game room, function halls, the college pub, lounges, etc – but you’ll want to check the campus calendar when choosing a date to make sure you don’t have a lot of competing events happening at the same time as yours.

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Dorm Room Cooking Is Easier (And More Delicious) Than You Think

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:10:17 +0000

Max and Eli Sussman wrote Freshman In the Kitchen From Clueless Cook to Creative Chef in 2007 as they both finished up their college careers. Now, they've been nice enough to share with DormDelicious their reasons why it's actually not that hard to cook in your dorm, along with a delicious recipe for Potato Skins that requires nothing but a microwave (and the raw ingredients, obviously).

Their book is available at freshmaninthekitchen.com and bookstores nationwide.

The typical excuses for not cooking while living in the dorms are pretty lame. It's a whole lot of "I can touch both walls of my dorm room at the same time" or "I spent all my money on a shirt from Urban" or my personal favorite "I'm always rushing to class" excuse (seriously, nothing happens if you come late to class. There's no detention.)

Whatever your personal argument against cooking your own food may be, I'm here to convince you that you can cook in your dorm room and create awesome food cheaply. So here we go at dispelling some of the main dorm room excuses for not preparing your own food.

"I suck at cooking"

It's nearly impossible to burn down your dorm room using your microwave and I'd be willing to wager any amount of money you've used a microwave at least once in your life. The recipe below uses your microwave, so it should be within your comfort zone of cooking.

"My dorm room is way to small for me to cook in"

Don't let the size of your dorm room deter you from making food. The recipe below can be made entirely using the top of your microwave for your cooking zone. If that's covered with beer cans, use your desk, and if that's covered in books, use your coffee table. If that's covered, have your roommate get down on all fours and form a table. Come on, you're in college, you can figure this out.

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Lessons Learned From Reliving Freshman Year... As a Senior RA

admin — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:50:26 +0000

Senior year of college, I decided to be an RA. Yep, a dorm-rule-abiding-camp-counselor-wannabe-please-everyone-just-get-along resident assistant.

Not because I love summer camp or crafts. Because I don't. In fact, the closest I've been to camp is watching Wet Hot American Summer. But, I thought it would be a great way to save some money and perhaps offer a little guidance to 30 bright-eyed and bushy tailed freshman. After all, it wasn't long ago that I happened to be one.

As a freshman, and from my freshman perspective, I remember thinking I was pretty sweet. I knew where the cool parties were. I knew where to purchase peach schnapps. And I knew it tasted best when mixed with sprite and orange juice from the 5th floor vending machine. I knew every vespa-driving Dominos delivery man by name and would plead a convincing case for why they should give me a free cheesy bread at 3AM. After all, I was broke. I had brunch every Sunday at the cafeteria with my girlfriends to recount our weekend drama, or what we could remember of it. And I had a full wardrobe of Wet Seal "going out" tops. I had life pretty much figured out...

Fast-forward to senior year and I had a very different perspective. I still knew where the cool parties were, but I opted for cooler bars. And while I did frequent some house parties, there tended to be a lot more conversation and a lot less T-Pain. I not only knew where to purchase peach schnapps, but I also knew never to drink that crap. I no longer knew the Dominos delivery men and when I did get a whiff of cheesy bread, I was quickly reminded of 60 minute elliptical sessions. I was no longer broke, in fact, I was tending bar and making close to $300 per night. My classless sex-in-the-city brunches had been replaced by mimosas with my boyfriend. And my wardrobe now contained mostly casual chic pieces, an effort that Stacey London and Clinton Kelly would certainly applaud.

Lucky for the 30 freshman that came under my wing, I could bestow upon them three years of college wisdom. Here are some tips I gave them:

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Silk Flowers in Your College Dorm Room - for Lasting Self Expression

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:50:52 +0000

Make your new dorm room feel like home with silk flowers and plants

Silk flowers aren't what they used to be. Your grandmother's not-so-realistic arrangements - forget it! Your mother's Victorian-era proper blooms - no way! This is a new day, a new journey. And now you can find realistic silk flowers that are as young, modern, and versatile as you are.

Other than you, your college dorm room will be one of the first things that your fellow students notice. It will make a first impression of its own. A dorm room says a lot about its occupant(s): Techie or Trekkie; wild or mild; perfectionist or incurable slob. With that in mind, you will naturally want your college dorm room to be an extension of you - a way to express yourself.

College dorm rooms are never fashionable, to say the least. But the good news is: Stark white walls and cookie-cutter design make them literal empty palettes, just waiting for your personal touch to be added.

Silk flowers can do more than complement your décor. They can serve as subliminal personal expressions of your own unique qualities. Are you quiet and polite like a pink rose? Or are you spicy and bold, like an orange tiger lily? Or, maybe you're a free spirit, like an assortment of wild flowers.

Natural-looking silk flowers do more than brighten an otherwise bland room. They speak to the nature of the occupant in a subtle, but unmistakable way.

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Partying Off Campus? Know The Rules

admin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:06:03 +0000

LAist just wrote up a post about Loyola Marymount University students being required to complete an orientation before being able to live off campus, which covers city ordinances and what police officer's have a right to do when they respond to a noise complaint.

This week at a forum for students to ask police and city attorneys questions, the LAPD gave the low-down on how responding officers are allowed to deal with parties "When responding to any party, officers have the discretion to do any of the following: warn and disperse the crowd, cite the responsible party giver for Disturbing the Peace and/or noise violations, file a Disturbing the Peace report with no arrest or citation given or physically arrest and then book the individual at Pacific Division."

Whether you get an orientation like LMU's or not, the lesson is that you should know your rights. Living off campus comes with a number of responsibilities and the local police are often far less forgiving than campus police. Their priority is the safety and happiness of the community they serve and they're not usually very forgiving of college students that spend only a few months in an area then leave. But there are some easy steps to take to make sure you don't ever have to deal with them.

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Luxurious Living On A Budget

admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:05:11 +0000

Megan blogs for Charade and writes about living a fabulous lifestyle on a student budget. We've invited her to DormDelicious to share a couple tips on what she knows best - living luxuriously without much cash.

Having your room reflect the luxurious lifestyle you want is a great idea. Altering your living space can have a profound effect on your state of mind; mood and level of productivity, so for students not long away from the nest it can be a very useful activity.

Striving for luxurious living on your student budget can mean quite a bit of time, effort and creativity. Get motivated by your desire for a more glorious existence. Don’t think of it as a chore to work for a beautiful room, instead think of it as a treat to yourself.

Make the most of what you’ve got

More than likely your bed is the focal point of the room, yes? It probably takes up the most space and therefore will be the most eye-catching. If this is the case then you want to make the most of this specific area. Add colour with a large throw or assorted cushions, and always aim to have the bed made up if you want the rest of the room to benefit. If you feel you have something that stands out more than the bed, like a big set of shelves or a large wardrobe then focus on keeping these areas looking great. Remember that if your focal point looks great it can draw attention away from faltering areas like an overflowing wash basket (hey, nobody’s perfect!)

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Looking For Books This Semester? Check Out CampusBooks!

askinner — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:33:46 +0000

The semester's just starting, which means it's the dreaded time where you spend the money you got over the holidays and most of your kid's college fund (or your beer money) on textbooks. Well, no more! Check out CampusBooks, a service that helps you find cheaper college textbooks.

We spoke with Jeff from CampusBooks last month and we're excited about what they're offering. We just wish we had discovered them sooner! Here's what CampusBooks is all about, in their own words:

CampusBooks.com is a leading comparison shopping website for textbooks. We search over two dozen bookstores in a matter of moments to find you the lowest prices on textbooks. We find the traditional New and Used books, as well as Rental textbooks and eBooks. Let CampusBooks do the leg work while you pocket the savings. And best of all our service is absolutely free.

You can even use the site to sell your textbooks, which is awesome since our bookstore usually only offers about 75 cents when we want to sell our books back at the end of the semester, and then they just end up sitting on our shelf collecting dust. Now you can save some dough and even make some back with CampusBooks. Delicious!

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Welcome To 2009! Dorm Room Light Show!

andrew — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:01:18 +0000

Well, it is a little late, but Happy New Year! It's been a fairly hectic time in our personal lives post-New-Year, so we apologize for being offline. We promise we'll be back soon with new posts and contests and overall deliciousness.

Until then, enjoy this video, in which some students that we can only imagine are majoring in Computer Science or Engineering, put on a light show using the lights in their dorm.

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Happy Holidays from DormDelicious

admin — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:59:44 +0000

Good evening! We're just checking in to wish everyone a happy holiday season...

Happy Holiday Season!!

For those that celebrate, we hope you had a great Christmas day today. We have been, and will continue to be, celebrating through the New Year (it's our birthday on the 30th also... presents are accepted!) so there may not be many updates between now and then.

But don't forget about us - we'll be back strong in '09 with exciting giveaways, guest posts, new site features, and of course, good old fashioned advice on dorm decorating. Until then, stay delicious and be safe!

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