saturday night peep show

Behold, the candy coated marshmallow splendor that is the second annual Peep diorama contest. I guess there were over 800 entries (woah.), these are my top eight Peepscapes, in order from cute to cutest.

things i miss about high school: #7

The #7 thing I miss most about high school is...

Skipping French class. Admittedly, this was not the most honorable thing I did in high school, but hey, when you're 17 you don't really care about "honor". Most of what I cared about in high school revolved around sleeping (just wait for #1 on this list). I took French all four years, and even though it was always my least favorite class (because it was boring) I didn't actively start missing it until senior year, because by that point I had a major case of Senioritis.

Skipping French was fantastique pour beaucoup de raisons. First, it was 6th period so by not going I was able to go home and nap. Second, I somehow managed to have less "official absenses" than my twin sister even though she went WAY more than me (I skipped at least once a week...at least). Third, I got an A. Fourth, and most ironically, I now can speak French better than twin or K, who both cared (or at least pretended to care) about French class far more than I ever did.


toothpastefordinner.com

things i miss about high school: #8

The #8 thing I miss most about high school is...

Golf. I'm not sure how I even got interested in the sport, but joining the women's golf team was one of the best (and most fun!) decisions I made during high school. Luckily, our team was blessed with a laid-back fun-loving coach ("You can call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner") who truly valued the joy of the game over winning. That's not to say that he didn't push us to succeed--my skills surely improved over the course of the season--but he made sure that we didn't get so wrapped up in being the best that we didn't have fun.

Three of my best friends in high school were on the team and I have so many great memories of us goofing off during practice, teasing each other about guys, and eating victory French fries covered with salt and ketchup in the club house (even if we lost).

On one particularly memorable golf trip, we traveled to a difficult course probably about an hour or so away from school. Time is kind of fuzzy at this point, but I remember it being a semi-substantial car ride, no matter the specific length. Well, before any golf tournament a team needs its nourishment, right? Right. So we stopped by the supermarket and bought the biggest. package. of. cookie. dough. EVER. And the six of us proceeded to eat it during the car ride to the course. It was a sunny almost-summer day, and six hours later when the tournament was over, we crowded back into the van and were thrilled to see our giant cookie dough waiting for us. After six hours. In a blazing hot vehicle. Needless to say, the whole team had food poisoning the next day, but let me tell you, cookie dough never tasted so good.

things i miss about high school: #9

The #9 thing I miss most about high school is...

Art class. How could this even be considered a "class"? We never had a single graded assignment, and I have no recollection of role ever being called. Despite this, I went to class almost every day (shocking) and managed to produce some pretty legit pieces...that never counted for anything. The most difficult thing about first period art was deciding what kind of music we would listen to, it was usually a battle between DMB and Tupac. If only college art courses were like that.

things i miss about high school: #10

Since I'm graduating college in a few weeks, I started thinking about all the things I am going to miss about the past five years (yeah, I took my time, so what, I was a friggin' biology major until my junior year), which led me to memories of high school, which led me to a wonderful idea. I'm going to post the top ten things I miss most about high school, followed by a top ten list of things I will miss most about college. What about junior high and elementary school, you ask? 1. They don't matter 2. I don't remember anything about them.

The #10 thing I miss most about high school is...

driving to Quizno's at least 3 times a week after school to get a mesquite chicken with bacon sub sandwich with extra cheese. And who doesn't have fond memories of their crazy hamster-ish singing creature ads?





"We love the subs! 'Cuz they are good to us. The Quiznos subs. They are tasty, they are crunchy, they are warm because they toast them. They got a pepper bar!"

cookies & cream (aka oreo) cupcakes

There are few things in this world better than an Oreo cookie...except, maybe, making it into a CUPCAKE! This recipe combines the best of both worlds into a delicious, slightly crunchy, cupcake version of the original. They're probably not good for dunking, but they are surely best served with a giant glass of cold milk.

Oreo Cupcakes



Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (this is not in the recipe I used, but the cupcakes were a little on the dry side and if I make them again I will be adding sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 crushed Oreos (you can use a Cuisinart for this)

For the frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 cup butter, softened
pinch of salt
10 roughly chopped Oreos



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 18 baking cups in muffin pans (or use one regular muffin pan and one mini muffin pan).

2. Combine all the cupcake ingredients, except for the cookies, in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 3 minutes.





3. Stir in the crushed cookies.





4. Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes and cool on a wire rack.



5. To make the frosting, beat the powdered sugar, butter, and salt using an electric mixer. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle the coarsely chopped cookies on top.







Store unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen regular cupcakes OR one dozen regular cupcakes and 24 mini cupcakes.

i drink your milkshake part 2 and TPR's weekly cupcake

A few weeks ago I posted a hilarious video parody of There Will Be Blood from Saturday Night Live. The basic premise is that Daniel Plainview is the host of a Food Network show called "I Drink Your Milkshake" where he goes around drinking other people's milkshakes. I'm not sure which one came first, the parody or the website advertisement, but this is a screen shot taken from the Food Network's website shortly after I saw the SNL skit:



Oh, man, do I love it! Also, I made some tasty oreo cupcakes for Easter today (we celebrated a day late), the recipe and pictures will be posted tomorrow. I've decided that since 1. I love to bake and 2. I got three cupcake recipe books for Easter, I'm going to have a "The Pink Review's Weekly Cupcake" post so I can test out as many recipes as possible!

We'll see how long the idea lasts. Cupcaking can be time consuming.

happy easter!

How can anyone be expected to eat healthy food when eating bad looks so effing adorable? Once again, Bakerella continues to create the cutest, most creative cupcakes I've ever seen! (and I own a LOT of cupcake cookbooks). Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you had lots of chocolate bunnies and hard-boiled eggs!

the ultimate in candid photography

First, how scary is that old man? Trust me, it gets scarier.

As stated on their website, "MethodIzaz is a unique photography experience. Subjects are unaware of the exact moment they will be photographed and of the photographer's identity. Instead, the subject is photographed completely naturally, living life as normal. ... Using information provided earlier about their weekly routine, the photographer will arrive on the scene, and unseen, take shots of the subject." UHHHH.

In other words, you're paying top dollar for a camera-wiedling stalker. That's not creepy or anything. They have several samples of their "work" on their site. I'm using that term very loosely...I mean come on, following someone around for a true "in the moment" shot? I'm not convinced. Pretty much every shot on the site looks exactly the same: subject in a medium-close up walking down the street not looking at the camera. I'm not sure if that takes any kind of real photography talent.

I totally love that this crazy-haired guy paid tons of money for this picture.

surprisingly, i once was a poet

My name is a rainy day
sitting in front of a fire
drinking hot cocoa.
It's a big chocolate pie
with lots of sweet, creamy frosting.
My name is a pair of unworn
Converse shoes stuffed
under a bed.

Nicolle Matthews, 1996

those chicks, they're fulla crap

toothpastefordinner.com

old diary entries

I'm housesitting for my parents this weekend and decided to use the opportunity to go through my "childhood box"...y'know, the place your parents keep all the stuff you wrote and drew as a little kid. As soon as I opened the box I spotted "The Secret Garden Diary" (I was really into the book and movie when I was little). I flipped through the pages and there are only a few entries, but they are all priceless.

January 30, 1992
Today I am going to get a hamster. And Noelle is too.

July 2, 1992
Today my sister and me and Kali went to my grandma's house and we got to have popsicles and we got to swing.

Later in July, this is what the page looks like:

This is what I was trying to hide:

The boy that I like in my bible school would have to be Chris and I think he likes me too because we always sit by each other and we always play together and hold hands. I love Chris just for a boyfriend. I hope to see him next year.

The last entry, also in July
Today my best friend Lindsey sent Noelle and I a letter from Seattle, Washington. She went to Washington State a week ago. She is prodle [sic] going to come home this week or next week.

everyone needs to accessorize, right?

You can pretty much buy anything online these days. No matter how crazy you think your request is, there's no doubt that a quick Google search will reveal that not only does someone make what you want, but they have an entire website and fan club devoted to their product. Nonetheless, I was intrigued when Twin showed me these Kitty Wigs the other day. Well, maybe not so much intrigued as disturbed...but after perusing the site for a while, I kind of (totally) want one. Now I just need a cat!

I'm a complete dog person, but I can definitely see the appeal of cats to people like Twin, who is unquestionably devoted to her two kittens (she bought me a ticket to Kansas City for the sole purpose of transporting one of them, the other kitten she took first class). Personally, I'll probably never own a cat, but they're pretty legit animals most of the time, and definitely easier to take care of than a dog. There is an undeserved stigma with being a woman and owning a cat, but if you really take the time to break it down, cats are the bomb.

Cats are awesome because:
1. lol cats
2. they don't need your attention every waking moment
3. litter boxes
4. they know how to clean themselves
5. they always want to take a nap
6. lol cats
7. they'll pretty much let you put whatever you want on them (check out the book Stuff on my Cat)
8. purring is pretty cool
9. they're mysterious and they look killer in a Bashful Blond Kitty Wig
10. "meow"

when it's time to party, we have a tea party

Here's a transcript from a conversation I had with my boyfriend last night. He thought I was trying to have a heart to heart with him. Silly boys.

Me: So did you talk to your parents about your post-graduation plans while you were home over spring break?
BF: Yeah, my dad and I went for a walk and we talked about it for a few minutes. He wants me to go to business school, but I think that's mostly because he went to business school...(he attempts to continue the conversation about his future, I interrupt)
Me: Oh, I was talking about my tea party, can you come or what?



We keepz it real, by "real" we mean rich.

And of course, a tea partay wouldn't be complete without a prepsta guide outlining the steps to throwing a successful WASP get together. My favorite advice? "Invitations: They should be on thick, white cardstock, in cursive and something should probably be embossed. Embossed paper looks tight." Also, "Decor: Keep it real when it comes to decor. Nautical is always a good way to go: ships-wheel chandeliers and port and starboard lamps. Preppies like to feel like they're yachting at all times. If you have your Tea Partay on the beach, remember to have a big bonfire. You want to keep your peeps warm at night in case they don't want to untie and put on the sweaters draped across their shoulders." So true.

dreaming of cabo san lucas

Going to Mexico for spring break was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Since it was just me, K, and Mom there was no hardcore binge drinking or crazy Girls Gone Wild antics...just the beach, a good read, and a few margaritas. Perfection.







Oh, also, two months until graduation. Not that I'm counting or anything.

little things that make me happy!!

A few weeks ago one of my "Places to eat in Stockton" Yelp lists was featured on their home page, I saved a picture of the screen image but forgot to post it.



Then, just now, I logged in to write some more reviews and I see this:



EEEK! Not only am I fresh, I've been featured by Yelp!! Silly, I know, but in my personal bubble of self-importance, it's totally awesome. Too bad internet popularity doesn't transfer into reality. But who needs "reality", anyway?

stupidest fashion idea ever

Twin, the ultimate on-line shopper, shared this link with me today for a "Paint-Your-Own-Baguette" Fendi purse, aka the worst way to spend 1,300 dollars in the history of spending 1,300 dollars.

I honestly cannot even imagine the meeting where this crack-pot idea was conceived. Color your own purse with markers? Um, no thanks. I'm not in kindergarten and I also do not feel like spending over a grand to ruin a purse. I can't imagine that those markers are very permanent, either. I love that eluxury makes sure to stipulate that it is "only returnable in original condition." In other words, "we don't want your ugly purse back once you draw all over it and realize you hate it." Who in their right mind would approve this concept? It's definitely not fierce.

in an alternate universe

If my hair was redder, Tater Tot was uglier, and I was a model for Macy's, this would be me:



In this universe, however, I've been wearing pajamas since I got home from Mexico Friday night. Mmmm, lazy weekend, how I love thee.

all dogs go to heaven

In memory of Scooby, 1995-2008.

He lived a life filled with lots of food, lots of snuggling, and lots of tail wags. He became a fixture in our household and even though he was a small wiener dog, the house feels a lot emptier without him in it. I miss his whining to get up on the couch (he was too fat and stubby to make the jump himself), the sound of his paws running across the slate floor (usually in fear of the self-filling water bowl that made loud noises), and his way of sleeping that made him look like a beached whale (we affectionately called him our "pot bellied pig"). Scooby was my best friend all throughout my childhood. I wore a Scooby Doo t-shirt to my first day of sixth grade, I wrote a short story about him and his wife (my grandma's female dachshund Sophie) and recited it wearing a Scooby costume my mom made, my elementary school plaque is a portrait of Scooby, my sixth grade mask was designed to look like him (the long nose was particularly challenging), and during my IB art class he was the subject of many of my paintings, including the one above. He was one of the happiest dogs I have ever met, his tail never stopped wagging. He had an adoring family, two best friends Tater Tot and Lily, and a wonderful wife and the mother of his puppies, Sophie, who he was buried next to after a small ceremony at my grandma's ranch.


Santa Scooby!


One of the few times he actually let me dress him up.


Surveying the area as I prepare for battle with Tina Bonita the Goat.


Attempting to side swipe the goat.


Deciding to stay behind and watch instead.


Valentine's Day 2008.


Taking part in his favorite activity: napping.


Meeting Kern for the first time.


Scooby longingly gazing at Tater Tot and his girlfriend from inside the house.


Guarding his precious bones.


Scooby, loving the camera.


Second favorite thing to do: eat.

if you like pina coladas

...then be jealous of me & K for jet-setting off to the fabulous Cabo San Lucas tomorrow AM. I've never gone on a traditional "spring break" trip during college (Salem, Oregon doesn't quite cut it, now does it?), so this should be a really fun and crazy adventure. I don't know if K & I will be getting that crazy, but I hear the whole Cabo scene is OOC during the Easter season, so we'll be experiencing the craziness second-hand at least.

The career faire was okay. I made my Facebook and Myspace private, which annoys me, but I figured I should take at least a few internet precautions while job hunting. My blogging won't be affected at all, because I make sure to not write about anything super inappropriate because it ALWAYS comes back to bite you in the ass. Trust me. Anyway, my suit was hot and I looked fabulous, too bad "hot" and "fabulous" aren't the #1 qualities employers look for. I did, however, scope out a potentially amazing opportunity. I'm going to keep mum on it until I find out more because a. I don't know if it's going to pan out and I hate being all, "Oh I'm going to do this thing and it's amazing!" and then...nothing and b. BF has a psycho EX (don't they all?) and I wouldn't put it past her to do something completely crazy, like, oh, I don't know, using University letterhead to forge an official document and send it to potential employers saying I cheated or something.

I'll be out of the country until next weekend, have an awesome spring break all you undergrads!! For those of you out in the "real world", I'm sorry.

like they don't have 500 bucks to spare

I was accepted into another conference this year which is super exciting. Although NCUR in Maryland is turning out to be super stressful since this Scorsese paper has been HAUNTING MY DREAMS and progressing very slowly, this conference is going to be a breeze since I had to turn in a completed paper back in January. Phew. I would NOT want to be working on two research papers right now, one is way more than enough. Also, this conference is specifically for literature so I'm sure there are going to be a lot of interesting (to me) presentations. Oh, and it's in Utah. Which is, y'know, Utah.

Here's a little blurb from my paper, titled Fictional Femininity: The Construction of Gender through Creativity in Faulkner's Sanctuary and The Wild Palms:

Focusing on two of the strongest female presences in his body of work, Temple Drake and Charlotte Rittenmeyer, William Faulkner’s Sanctuary and The Wild Palms act collectively to call into question the binary division of gender present in the Old South. In Sanctuary, Temple Drake—portrayed as the Southern Belle who falls from grace by the end of the text—performs her femininity in the way she dresses, acts, and eventually talks as she retells her horrific tale of the events at Old Frenchmen place. Correspondingly, in The Wild Palms, Charlotte Rittenmeyer—depicted as a self-concerned creative force—shifts from embracing her femininity to rejecting it and refusing to perform as Woman. These female characters, while substantially different in personality and behavior, act as a cohesive unit in which Faulkner is able to explore patriarchal society’s construction of gender roles and functions. Faulkner establishes that not only is femininity socially constructed, but also that the concept of gender as a whole is completely fictional, entirely made up by society. Through his descriptive language of Temple and Charlotte’s appearance, performance in family dynamics, and abilities in the field of creation and art, Faulkner is able to dislodge the normative notion of femininity in the Old South and replace it with his own, albeit blurred, vision of the female body.

Exciting, right? Well, it would be, HOWEVER my lame 40k a year school is saying they can't provide me any funding because they've already funded me to go to one conference! Oh, excuse me, I was unaware that students were limited to the amount of academic achievements the University would support them to complete. MY BAD. I'm trying to get SOME kind of funding from my school, I know they can't just throw money at every student that wants it, but I also know that they funded a student to got o AUSTRIA for a friggin' conference, which cost a lot more for one trip than it will for my combined two trips.

murad gift with purchase

Okay, this was too amazing to not share. I've already called my mom and sister to give them the scoop, so now I'm letting you in on the secret!

Murad (the most amazing skin care line ever) is having a gift with purchase right now to promote their new line of acne treatment concealers. I have not used the product yet, so I can't vouch for its abilities, but I've been using Murad products for 7 years and I've never experienced one I didn't absolutely adore. If you spend over $75 (easy when buying lots of skin care products) you get FREE SHIPPING and a "Perfect Pomegranate Trio" travel set including: Firming Bronzer SPF 15, T-Zone Pore Refining Gel, and Waterproof Sunblock SPF 30. Just enter "conceal08" at checkout and you're good to go! I can't wait to try out the firming bronzer, oh, and the concealer!

storm before the calm

The week before spring break is always insane. Every college student in the country is focused on only one thing: the beach. Every professor in the country thinks we should be focused on only one thing: school. Just a slight conflict of interest.

I've been working on my Scorsese paper for the past few days but I still don't have much more to show for it. I can, however, tell you all kinds of useless Mad Marty facts like that one of his ex-wives (he has 4) is the daughter of Ingmar Bergman (famous director) and that his first acclaimed film Mean Streets was shot in 24 days. Tonight I should be able to finish typing up my notes from the 12 books I'm using to pull this epic of a research project together. Then I'm turning in a second draft to my advisor on Thursday (hopefully).

Okay, just so this post isn't 100% boring, here's a vintage shot of Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Harvey Keitel on the set of Mean Streets (Scorsese's mother's kitchen):



And if you ever need to know ANYTHING about Scorsese, I'm your girl. I've read so many articles and chapters about him that I know enough to write a book. Seriously.

giant bag of costco cereal: breakfast of champions

It doesn't matter how many boxes of the crunchy, sweet stuff I have in my cupboard, every time I go grocery shopping I'm tempted to buy more cereal. It is my one absolute food weakness, and while I'm able to admit that I have a problem (that's the first step!), I haven't been able to curb my cereal craving in the slightest. I think part of my obsession is that there are so many cereals out there, so many new tastes, shapes, and textures to try, that I feel like I need to give them all an equal chance to be my breakfast. This would probably be a reasonable approach to the most important meal of the day if 1. I ate cereal for breakfast on a regular basis and 2. I did not shop at Costco.

I have to admit, I sometimes (read: always) get up late, forcing myself to nab a granola bar or piece of fruit as I hurriedly grab my backpack and rush to class. Sadly, a bowl of cereal is not a very portable food, so my collection of boxes sits in the pantry waiting for their time to shine, which is usually only on weekend mornings. Cereal lasts for quite a while if you keep it stored properly, but I'm running out of room. No sooner did I finish a giant bag of Oat Bran purchased last semester than I snagged up a new box of Puffins at Trader Joe's. Every time I take two steps forward in my effort to actually consume what I buy, I take another three back...down the cereal isle to grab some Chex before I checkout.

"but it's sew not over"

I totally love puns and play on words, so of course I love the ad campaign for the Project Runway Season Finale, because it is filled with puns, including, but not limited to: "Hair today, gone tomorrow" (referencing Chris's human hair designs, puke), "It's sew not over", and "A last stitch effort". They totally "make it work," as Tim Gunn would say.

I'm super psyched to see everyone's crazy designs and to hear Christian say "fierce" another 52 times during the finale show. I am curious, though, why is Victoria Beckham guest judging? Just because you wear clothes and like shopping does not mean you know anything about style (refer to hideous orange dress). I guess she IS famous. But I mean, really? Get a new hair cut. They should have totally asked B Spears instead, now that would have made for an interesting episode. Does Victoria Beckham even talk? She seems so wax figure-y to me.