Thanksgiving Recap

Remember how two weeks ago I mentioned I wanted to decorate our living room like dis?

Well I mustered up every ounce of Martha Stewart I had in me (and trust me, that is verrrrry little) and created this!

(note: no, I did NOT add that picture of my sister and me. That is always hung there. That would just be conceited if I was asking people to "give thanks" for molly and I...even though we are fantastic children). 

I was pretty proud of my decor. 

Anyways, thanksgiving was a grand success. 

the tryptophan (turkey hangover) hit puppyloulou the hardest.

hope you all had a wonderous thanksgiving! 

xoxo

When you get us together, even pharmacology can be a funny subject.

My best friend Lolo is in dental hygiene school. (It's because she's gorgeous. All the pretty girls are hygienists).  No wonder I didn't get accepted...

I would never get in to the medical field. Both because I do not look the part and also because I can't even look at someone elses hangnail, let alone scrape stuff out of their teeth. GROSS. 

Well, Lolo and I are a big fan of making videos. Dancing videos, radio shows, lip syncing videos, you name it, we've done it. But until this week, we had never made a video about pharmacology.

Shocker, I know.  I mean, look at us. We look like sophisticated collegiates, don't we?

Yeeeaaah, most definitely. 

So when Lo told me she had to make a video for her pharmacology class, (for those of us who are not medical savvy...it means medicine guys)  I knew it would be a grand time as usual.

Long story short, this video about very serious prescription medications and their dental treatment implications turned into a video involving Miley Cyrus being depressed, "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" by Snoop Dogg and 2Pac, and a woman named Shonquine with a heart problem. 

Here's a clip to prove it to you.

Safe to say, I think we nailed it. 

My partner in crime, we dun' done it again. 

And today she is 22! 22 never looked so good. luv 2 luv 2 luv ya old lady.

lover boy

Last night, sister's boyfriend and I were making the horrendous trek back to school because we have the last week of the quarter this week and then finals next week. 

Anyways, on the way back, my favorite subject came up. This guy. Probably because I talk about him more than any other topic in life. I find a way to bring him up all the time. Does that make me creepy? #yes

This weekend marked 3 years and 4 months with my favorite hunk of burnin love. (yes, I do have each monthaversary in my phone. sue me). That's forty months. Forty dang good months. 

So, on this lonely Monday night, I decided to walk down memory lane. Here are some gems from the early days of Jojo and Sar-rah-rah...

I also have video footage of his karaoke sessions...but those I have been mandated not to share. But they're pretty fantastic. 

annnywayyss

A few weeks ago, jojo and sister's boyfriend matched at church. so obviously I documented it.

It's like they called each other to coordinate. Precious. 

This weekend, Jonjon played in an Alumni vs Varsity basketball game at our old school. 

Let's just say I very much enjoy watching his basketballing skills. 

In a drooling over the attractiveness kind of way. 

 I may or may not watch his highlight VHS tapes from back in the day. Just call me stalkermom.

Guys, my boyfriend is such a baller. Is there anything better? Nope.

love you my jojobear. thank you for allowing me to be obsessed with you. 

thankgivins eve

Tomorrow is the big turkey day, so in true McCary fashion, we will be shopping at the very last minute. We love the thrill of time running out and coming down to the wire.....not. We just are too busy to get ready any earlier. Sue us.

This break has been a bit stressful so far, with work almost every morning and then working on a psychology paper (thank you psychology professor who has taken pity on the fact that I didn't do so hot during the quarter and is letting me make up for it with a very long research paper). I complain that it is 6 pages single spaced, but in all honesty, it's my fault for not doing better throughout the quarter. Shame on me.

So with two pages left to go on that, today will mostly be spent typing. But I am hoping to jam it out quick and be able to decorate a little bit for tomorrow. We hardly ever have Thanksgiving at our house and although it isn't going to be super formal, I am thinkin some fireplace decor might be precious.  Pinterest, as usual, makes me feel like I can magically turn into Martha Stewart herself. So as of right now, I am inspired to try and do a little spin off of these little beauties:

stay tuned to see if 

a. I actually make one. 

b. they look ridiculous or not. 

c. Fact: It will look ridiculous because I am the least crafty individual on the planet. 

x o x o

rainy days call for oreo cheesecake truffles

 For those of us in San Diego, it looked like this yesterday.

Wet and somewhat dreary. And when it's cold out, I get the desire to bake. 

Now, I am fully aware that I pretty much suck at cooking. Nothing is explosive or on fire or vomit-worthy, things just never seem to turn out right. But there are two things I can make without fail every time. One of them is one pot pasta, and the other is Oreo cheesecake truffles. 

Mainly because there are only three ingredients. If you screw these up, you literally are the worst chef on earth. 

So, if you want to stop drooling over your computer and actually have these babies in your tummy, I decided to post a little tutorial so that you can try em out! Honestly, this is the most useless tutorial. You could make these with your eyes closed. 

Before you begin, turn your iPhone, iPad, or other musical playing device to Kenny G Christmas on Pandora.

This is a requirement. His sweet sound will make the truffles taste better. 

Step One: 

Purchase a pack of oreos, an 8 oz block of cream cheese, and a bag of chocolate chips. 

No seriously, that's it. 

Step Two:

Put the Oreos into a blender or food processor, about 10 or 15 at a time (the pack should have 40 in it). I only do 10 or 15 oreos per blending session so that they all can get touched by the blades and can puree beautifully. I have found with too many Oreos in the blender that some turn to powder and some are still chunky. 

Step Three:

Using the "pulse" setting on your blender, pulse until the oreos have turned into a soft powder. You want the dust as fine as possible without any big chunks (no one wants their cheesecake to have a big crunchy piece in it).

Apologies for my picture quality, clearly the camera thought my sleeve should be in focus, rather than the crumbs. Silly Canon. 

Step Four: 

After each blending session of Oreos, transfer the completed "dust" into a big bowl.

Step Five: 

Blend all the Oreo dust together with the cream cheese in a big bowl. I find it is easiest to use a power mixer of some sort, but a big spoon also works. Make sure to blend it a ton and super evenly. You want it to look like tar basically.

Step Six: 

You now want to start forming the truffles. I used to use my hands to just roll little cherry-sized balls, but yesterday I had the genius revelation to use this:

Ice cream scoop! It makes this step a BREEZE and your hands don't get oily and gross. 

Place the truffles onto wax paper. I put mine into tupperware containers so that they are easy to store when they are finished (these must remain refridgerated at all times). 

Step Seven:

When your truffles are formed and in their containers, place them in the freezer for ten minutes so that they will hold their shape when being decorated. 

Step Eight: 

Open a bag of chocolate chips into a bowl and add a teaspoon or two of cooking oil to thin it out. 

 

Microwave for about a minute or until melted, stirring occasionally.

Step Nine:

Once your truffles are done freezing (they do not need to be rock solid, just cold enough to hold their form) you can either roll them in the chocolate, or do my new little nifty technique. I find that when I try and cover them in chocolate, they look a lot less appetizing and it is extremely difficult to get them out of the bowl without covering your hands in chocolate. I spoon most of the chocolate into a zip-loc bag and cut the slightest little bit off of the corner. This way, I can drizzle the chocolate all over them without having to cover them completely. 

Exhibit A: Which would you rather? Yeah, I know the answer. 

Final Step: 

Place them back in the freezer to set the chocolate for a few minutes. 

And there you go! I know it was ten steps, but I could have written those instructions in one tiny paragraph. 

They are the most simple dessert in the whole world, yet taste JUST like an Oreo cheesecake! Do yo'self a favor and treat yo'self to these babies. You won't be sorry.

x o x o, 

Betty Crocker

11 whole days off.

As soon as the clock strikes 4:50 tomorrow afternoon, I am gettin the heck out of Riverside and am going home for 11 days. Thank goodness for the wonderful time of year that is Thanksgiving break. 

Unfortunately, I will have to return on December 2nd to "deadweek" (the final week of the quarter) and then finals. So this break will definitely consist of some work. But seriously, doing homework from home is so much better than doing it from a dorm room. At home I can snuggle a puppy with an underbite whilst I study. She keeps an eye on me to make sure I am focusing. 

Does school have that? uhhh, nope. School is just a concrete prison holding room until I can go home again.

*our actual dorm room. there's me laying down.

 Anyways, a week from Thursday, as most of you know (or are counting down to like me), is the most delicious day on the calendar. Mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and flaky Pillsbury rolls, smothered in butter, plate after plate. I am drooling just thinking about it.  

*me, again. 

If you know my family, you know our Thanksgiving will look a little less like this:

and a little more like this:

*there is me, confused with my lollipop, because I do not understand the rules of football at all. 

Because half of the people in attendance will be managing their fantasy football scores (myself included...4th place baybay!). 

We will be thankful and happy, nonetheless, because we will be together. Eating off of tv trays and screaming at the screen because fat men are running from eachother. What a splendid day it shall be.

x o x o

as of late

I saw this on an adorable blog and just had to steal it.

as of late I am:

making: progress on finishing fall quarter! two more weeks and then finals halleluuuu

cooking: girl shoot, I don't cook. and when I do, it sucks. 

drinking: peach pizazz jamba-ju

reading: ...blogs?

wanting: Hunter Rain Boots

looking: forward to Thanksgiving

playing: ciara, body party (excuse me while I release my inner exotic dancer).

wasting: time. lots of time.

wishing: that it was June 16, 2014 and I was done with school FOREVER. 

enjoying: Kenny G Christmas music every night.

waiting: for it to be 5 so I can go home! I LOVE wednesdays.

liking: the fact that my birthday is four months from friday and graduation is eight months from friday. holla!

wondering: what I will be doing a year from now

loving:  renovating jonathan's house and planning the renovation of my room

hoping: to see snow once this winter

needing: a shower. haha.

smelling: roomies pumpkin cupcake candle

wearing: yoga leggings, as usual. gotta make people think I work out. it's all about deception, people. 

noticing: how much I have a burning desire for travel and adventure currently.

thinking: how much I could get done if I put half the time I spend on pinterest into actual schoolwork.

feeling: anxious to see my little Lolita tonight.

xo

Time for a grown up bedroom.

I've been dreaming/working towards making my room a little more Z Gallerie and a little less Pottery Barn teen. 

Someday soon I will post pictures of my room...it's in an awkward middle phase right now. We will call those the "before" pictures, in the hopes that "after" pictures will soon follow.  

The walls are a weird creamy-almost greenish color from when I had a sort of moroccan-floral thing goin on (courtesy of Pottery Barn Teen). It then remained on the walls for my beach theme...which looked terrible. That's gotta go. I would love either a light creamy white or a light gray.

My bookcases are just a hodge podge mess of knick knacks and yearbooks and stuff I really don't need.  Plus a lot of beachy things which just isn't really my thing anymore. It all seems very "themed" and young...and I am still young, but want a room thats 21 years old, not 16. 

My dresser is the only thing that is going in the direction that I want to see my whole room end up. I recently got an amazing 3-drawyer white dresser and a big framed mirror. Plus I have been collecting jewelry stands and I found a silver mermaid statue. She's topless, so sometimes I think she seduces Jonathan. Nevertheless, she's fabulous so she gets to stay...I just keep an eye on her.

Here are a couple bits of inspiration that I am envisioning for my bedroom:

As you can tell, my main focuses are white, black, and metallics. I want everything very clean, basic,  and modern with little hints of vintage quirkiness.

*and if someone wants to get me one of those amazing faux taxidermied animal heads from here I would absolutely pee my pants in utter joy.

stay tuned, xo.