TresSugar

Have You Gone the Distance Via Bus?

SavvySugar — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:54 PDT

While definitely not the most luxurious method of transportation, traveling longer distances via bus is very wallet-friendly. There are increased bonuses to choosing this form with more and more Greyhound buses offering free Wi-Fi or even tourist discounts at your destination with MegaBus.

Added in to this are perks not found with air travel, like fewer checked baggage charges and the ability to (legally) make an emergency call if necessary. It's as quick or quicker than driving yourself - for those routes with just a few stops - but without the behind-the-wheel responsibility and more time to sleep or chat. I've had a perfectly pleasant experience riding between NYC and DC via a Chinatown bus during my college years, but am I the only one?

They're Officially Everywhere

GiggleSugar — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:30:00 PDT

Literal minded people disturb me.

Source

5 Solutions to Beginner Bike Commuting Problems

Leta Shy — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:41:55 PDT

That fact that it's National Bike Month and the warmer Spring days may mean you have cycling on the brain. Whether you're participating in your city's Bike to Work program or you're starting a commuting routine, here are some solutions to your newbie concerns.

I don't know my route: Finding a bike-friendly route is especially crucial if you're a cycling newbie, so before your actual commute, find out how the cyclists in your area do it, plan or map your route and test-ride it when the roads are not so busy. Keep in mind, the best (and safest) cycling route is not always the same way you get there when driving or on the bus. Read more about how to plan and prepare for your bike commute here.
I don't know what gear I need: Commuting by bike demands that attention is paid to what you're wearing and carrying. Stretchy, comfortable office attire is key, for example, and you're gonna have to ditch that purse for an all-weather cycling bag or backpack (or at least buy a basket to dump your stuff into). There's more; find out exactly which five essentials you need if you're bike commuting here.

See more tips on bike commuting after the break!

May Must Reads

Laura Marie Given — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:22:13 PDT

Along with May flowers, Mother's Day, and graduation season comes a brand-new batch of must-read books. From laugh-out-loud memoirs to poignant, suspenseful novels, we've picked out some of the most promising reads to get you through the rest of this busy Spring season. Whether you're sitting on the bus or lying on the beach, these stories are sure to inspire and entertain.

Source: Instagram User nuriadebofarull

Pretty But Functional Bento Boxes For Grown-Ups

Sara Yoo — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:40:59 PDT

Packing your lunch in a bento box is an efficient way to create a wholesome meal in a compact package. But if froggy faces and cute bunnies are a bit too kawaii for your office environment, we've rounded up 10 pretty yet grown-up containers that get your lunch from here to there without looking like you're headed for the school bus.

Your TMI Bus Stories

Tara Block — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:50:40 PDT

Yesterday on a very quiet bus to work a girl was talking to her mom on her cell. The topic of conversation? How her dad has been cheating on her mom for three years, resulting in a very awkward bus ride for the rest of us. I asked you for your TMI bus stories, and you delivered with some crazy public-transit tales! Read them below, and if you have one to add feel free to share it in comments!

"The funniest is when people pay their bills and loudly announce their CC# on a bus full of people! Really?! I guess they are confident and trusting of everyone on the bus! Guess they never heard of identity theft?! The topper is when they also announce their 3 from the back of the card! Some people just don't think." - Devia
"I heard a woman on the train telling a coworker about how she was borderline stalking her ex . . . creepy!" - Mandy
"A girl was talking loudly with her friend about who knows what but I do remember her saying 'does her mom know I had an abortion?' . . . not in a concerned way, she was talking as if people get abortions on a regular basis, and she was fairly young too" - Sarah
"One time a guy on my silent, packed bus started loudly reading out his credit card number, including security code. Everyone on the bus started cracking up, and one girl shouted out (jokingly, I hope) 'I'm writing this down.' I've also heard a woman discussing her AND her boyfriend's diarrhea with her doctor and a guy confront his friend about a rumor he'd cheated on his girlfriend. Trust me, when you commute on crowded buses, you often can't NOT overhear someone else's loud convo." - Mary

Source: Flickr User Jesse Kruger

Adding Art to Our Bare Walls

OnSugar — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:00:00 PDT

Here's a post from OnSugar blog Yoo Rang?.

For the first year we lived in our house, we had absolutely nothing hanging on the walls. I'm not much of a home decorator. It took an observation from marketman to make me realize that our walls were bare. Nude. Au naturale. I thought this could be my opportunity to get back into painting, so I proceeded to drop about $300 on art supplies - oil paints, an easel, solvents, canvases, palettes, brushes, and other assorted tools - which have since gone unused. I should have realized that I haven't touched paints since high school and that the mental hurdle of putting brush to canvas might be too great.

But slowly but surely, we have made a few changes. Thanks to his grandmother, we now have a lovely still life in the downstairs hallway (she is quite the artist), and we spent half of a Sunday framing a bunch of photos to create our own photo mosaic in the TV room. And despite our ugly sectional couch in the living room, we managed to spruce up the space with an obi we bought in Tokyo last year . . . and - oh yeah - the piano that marketman's parents generously provided as our housewarming present!

I think our crowning achievement is the "vintage" canvas bus roll we created with all of the places at which he and I (or he or I) have lived. I had to cut out a few of his early years (New Haven, Cambridge, Seoul, Daejeon) because there just wasn't enough space. So we stuck to the more significant locales for us as a twosome, and I found a cool font called Roadway that gave it that old bus station look while he used his knowledge of layers and effects to give it an aged feel before having it printed and stretched by Canvaspop.

Keep reading to see another shot of the artwork.

J Lo's Twins Are Going on Tour! 10 More Celebrity Kids at Work With Mom and Dad

Lisa Horten — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:42:16 PDT

Megastar mom Jennifer Lopez recently announced that her 4-year-old twins, Max and Emme, will be joining her on this Summer's Mega 2012 Tour. "I don't know how that's all going to work. This is my first time. I'm going to see. They'll get on the bus with me and it'll be a learning experience for [all] of us," Lopez said.

If Max and Emme need a little inspiration for joining mom on her glamorous career path this Summer, they need look no further than these celebrity kiddos who hit the runway, movie set, stage, and field with their famous moms and dads.

Source: Getty

8 Frugal Summer Vacation Ideas

Wise Bread — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:15:37 PDT

If you're thinking of forgoing your usual Summer travel plans due to high prices, you should consider these frugal trip ideas from Wise Bread.

The sky is brighter, the air is warming up, and the layers of clothes are getting peeled off. That can only mean one thing - summer is near.

One of the things that I love most about going on vacation is the chance to break out of my everyday routine, eat crappy foods guilt-free, and stay up blissfully late watching as much trashy reality TV as I please. Setting aside daily responsibilities, trying new things, being in a different space, and having carefree fun is refreshing. But while it’d be nice to go to Fiji or another distant tropical paradise, that just isn't reality for a lot of us.

So what do you do when money is tight, you don’t want to get further into debt, and you really need a vacation? You still take a vacation, but just a frugal one. One that your budget will love. Here are eight frugal summer vacation ideas to get you going.

1. The All-American, Almighty Road-Trip Vacation

About 10 years ago, my husband was able to travel through 30 different states in the span of a month and a half with a friend in a $400 1982 Chevy Sprint. It’s an experience he’ll never forget, and while gas prices do get high in the summer, the road trip is still one of the cheapest options for frugal vacations. Grab a map, pack a large cooler, stop at grocery stores along the way, sing cheesy songs, tell stories you’ve never told before, watch the sun rise and set, and make yourself some memories. (This can be combined with the “I Had No Idea There Were Over 400 National Parks” vacation below, if you’re feeling adventurous.)

2. The Infamous Staycation Vacation

Set a time frame. If you can only get two to three days off from work (or less), that’s OK! This is how you do it - turn off the phones, put an auto reply on your email, turn off the computer (and really keep it off), don’t check your usual social media feeds, and really allow yourself a break from everyday life and the technology that comes along with it. Then go to the grocery store and get sundae supplies: ice cream, candy toppings, hot fudge, caramel, and whipped cream, and why not throw in some cherries too? You are on vacation after all! Rent those guilty-pleasure movies you’ve been wanting to see, and settle in for a movie marathon. Those books and magazines that have been stacking up? This is the time to read them! Those museum exhibits you’ve been dying to see but just don’t have the time for? Go check ‘em out! Hanging with friends on a patio on a random Tuesday night? Go for it! The point is to have fun, indulge in some pleasures you normally don’t get to, and get out of your normal routine.

Read on for more ideas.

The One Reason to Buy an iPad Mini

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:15:50 PDT

Just a month after the debut of the latest iPad, the Apple-product rumor mill is moving again, this time with speculation that an iPad Mini will hit store shelves later this year. With a reported cost of $300, an iPad Mini would place Apple front and center of the more affordable and smaller tablet market, which includes the Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Do we need an iPad Mini, though? One of the iPad's greatest differentiators in the tablet scene is its size; a user can feel comfortable browsing the web, editing photos, or watching new releases on the nearly 10-inch screen. With rumors of Apple looking to compete in the world of smaller tablets, the sole reason we could see to add yet another gadget to our tech family is: it'd make a perfect ereader. Using the full-size iPad to read a book while curled up in bed or squished on a crowded bus isn't always an easy one-handed task. However, an iPad Mini might offer reason enough to finally streamline our ereader and tablet into one product.

Do you agree? For what reasons would you purchase and use an iPad Mini?

Source: Flickr User inUse Consulting