Thanksgiving Practice

One of the weird traditions that my family has is a "Practice Thanksgiving Dinner" where we have a mini-Thanksgiving meal complete with turkey breast, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and all!  So, when I heard that my apartment complex would be putting on a FREE Thanksgiving Dinner at the front office, I was stoked!  Leo and I decided it would be best to get there early before the crowd; man, were we right.  A bunch of people missed out on apple and pumpkin pie, but we didn't (:

Taken with my cell phone.

This picture does not do that food justice.  Note: Gravy on everything; I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm kind of bummed that I won't be going home this year, but our break starts on the exact same day as Thanksgiving, it's a really short break and a long drive.  They know I love 'em and miss 'em!  Instead I'll be getting a few friends together for a Boston Market feast!

If you are ever in the Davis area and you're looking for the best burger in the world, I suggest you hit up Sam's Mediterranean Cuisine.  People always look at me funny when I say that.  Their kebob, shawarmas and falafel are good too, don't get me wrong.  But their burgers are golden; glistening in the sun.  ESPECIALLY if you substitute tahini sauce for mayo.  They also sell super tasty baklava!

Typical order: Cheeseburger w/Tahini Sauce, Fries, Drink and Baklava!

I always end up bringing half of it home, though..

Random Music Notes! 

I heard both of these songs in the same day and it was just kind of neat, I guess:

Where is my Mind-The Pixies

20Dollar-MIA

The other day I took all of my CD's out of my car so I could put my music on my computer, but of course, I forgot to put them all back.  So I've been stuck finding radio stations which I haven't had to do in literally over 5 years.  I realize I have no idea what songs are really trendy so I never get tired of songs that are "over-played."  I digress.  Anyway, that one Sugar Ray song, Fly, came on and it reminded me of riding in my older sister's car when I was seven-ish. I like this song so much and I would always sing and dance to it. I remember my sister would giggle and nudge her friend to watch her dorky little sister in the back seat.  It's funny how songs can trigger such fun memories.  If any of you have songs like that, please share! I love stories.

Well, I ought to get back to studyin' er somethin'.

Hope your Saturday is swell (:

Ain't Nothin' but a Monday

I feel like a new person pretty much every week.  Something always seems to happen during the week or over the weekend that alters my mindset.  This means that my personality and habits are constantly changing!

I've been listening to a lot of hip-hop, rap and r&b for the past few weeks and I think I'm ready for a change.  Don't get me wrong, I love the music, but my mind needs to be stimulated with something that has less of a clean beat right now.  I'm not sure who all reads this, but if you have any musical suggestions (or if you want to make me a mix cd!), I'm always open for listening!  I listen to all types of music, but I don't know much about specific 'genres.' If I like it, I like it; could care less if it's considered bluegrass or metal.  Here are a few of my favorite songs:

Ugly Duckling-"Journey to Anywhere"
Brazilian Girls-"Good Time"
Nujabes-"Aruarian Dance"
Explosions in the Sky-"First Breath After Coma"


SO! This weekend was pretty busy. I had a group photography project that was due today. We focused on staging shots and using strobe lighting. My group decided to take photos of "extreme stereotypes of college students."

You know how when you "forget" to do a ton of reading.. and the midterm is tomorrow..  and you spend your night feverishly studying instead of being a normal human.. and you feel like you're eating your book? Yeah.

How about when you procrastinate that final essay.. and it's due at 11:59PM tonight via e-mail.. suddenly you're swamped with lecture and book notes and chaotically scribbling an outline?

Maybe you didn't study as much as those other kids?

I didn't take this one, but I edited it! 

I'm actually pretty sad because I had downloaded a 30-day trial of Adobe Photoshop CS5 and it just recently expired. I figured I'd just buy it when that happened, but not with it's $999.99 price-tag! S'pose I'll be looking for an older/cheaper version! If that doesn't work out, I can always use the computer lab on campus.


I also went to SF this weekend! My photography professor had us meet outside of the Museum of Modern Art and we did a gallery walk around San Francisco. I asked him if I could bring one of my art-major friends, Akriti, even though she isn't in the class and he said "Of course!" I was a little upset that we didn't actually go into the MoMA because I heard that their Exposed show is really great, but I had a ton of fun walking around the smaller galleries. It's nice to get out of Davis every once in a while and remember that urban life is not too far away. Unfortunately, I only took a few city-shots in the car. The galleries didn't like us taking pictures and I didn't think to take pictures with my friend!

One thing that I wish I went to while I was in SF is the Hellz Bellz SF Sample Sale! Designer Lanie Alabanza-Barcena is actually a San Diego native, like me, so I try to support her and her edgy style. The only sad thing is that her stuff is pretty expensive, but if I had gone to the Sample Sale in SF I would have gotten 50%-75% off!

Well, I'm off to continue studying for my psychology midterm!


Hope your Monday was marvelous (:

Art and Other Stuff that Matters

I made soooo much food last night.  I'm going to be eating Chicken Parmesan for lunch and dinner for the next few days, so it'll be a while before I do any food-related posts. Althoooough, I did buy this AMAZING curry-spiced sweet potato salad from the Nugget.  I had no idea curry and sweet potatoes would be such a magical combination.

I love movies and television; there, I said it.
I just realized that I've been on a Quentin Tarantino binge ever since school started.  Between my roommate and I, we own Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Volumes 1&2 and Inglourious Basterds on DVD and watch them all on a regular basis.  We recently discovered another Tarantino movie, Jackie Brown, on Netflix.  Definitely one of my new favorites!  I don't know if other people know this or not, but I just found out that there will be a KILL BILL VOLUME 3 COMING OUT IN 2014!!!  Oh, Tarantino, how I'd love to jump in your brain and swim in your thoughts.

I figured I'd take this time to share some of my art!  My favorite mediums are ceramics, video and photography.  I'll probably post some pictures of my ceramic creations at another time; I haven't been documenting my art so I still have to take some pictures.
This quarter I'm taking two art classes: Painting and Digital Photography.
Painting is a new subject to me and I'm still trying to figure it all out; maybe I'll post pictures as my work improves.
I've only taken one previous photo class, but I think it's really great.  I especially love the photoshop world because it lets me bend reality.  Our first few projects in the class were portraits so I shot my roommate and one of my friends.  We also had to take a couple self portraits, one of which had incorporate two different images.

My Roommate..

..and best friend..

Leo

My friend..

Ali

Reppin' the San Dizzle.  Bandera de Cuba. And a fun drawing.

I think this one is my profile pic?

It's definitely starting to get chilly here and I'm going to have to make some warmer outfits.  When I left my apartment the sun was shining and kept me warm, but as day went on cloud-coverage made me kind of wish I had just worn sweats.  Nonetheless, I think being cold was worth wearing this outfit (:

I think my favorite thing about this outfit is that the whole thing only cost me around $15!
I got the jacket and the skirt at a Salvation Army in San Diego; both half price.  The jacket was $2.50 and the skirt was $3!
I mentioned the shoes in a previous post and I got them for $5 at the SPCA Thrift Store here in Davis.
The shirt is just a plain white tank; I probably got it from target for $5 or something.
And the socks were a high school graduation gift from a friend (:

Well, I'm off to finish up that self portrait painting..
I hope your Tuesday goes swimmingly!

WeekendFull

Goodness, I've been busy this weekend.

Friday I had my internship in art classrooms at Davis Senior High where I work with Nikki from Little Bits of NikkNak.

Nikki!

I'm so glad I met her, she's such a rad person.  She always wears the cutest outfits and does the cutest things!  She's the main person who got me interested in blogging because she is always talking about the great people she meets and things she finds.  It's great to finally know someone who started where I am and is currently where I want to be in the not-too-distant future; a high school art teacher.  I have so much to learn!  Nikki also has this great giveaway going on at her blog, I have no idea who reads my blog, but if you do you should check it out!

After work, we went to the SPCA Thrift Store where I got a MUCH needed new belt, two pairs of adorable shoes and a granny dress that I plan on doing some alterations on (when I get the time).

$3!

$5!

I also made a stop to UC Davis' Meat Lab.

Every Thursday and Friday from 1-5:30..

..they sell fresh meat, cheese and eggs..

..and frozen meats for 15% off.

They have SUPER fresh meat and by "SUPER fresh" I mean that they slaughter the animals right there.  I know, it sounds pretty gruesome, but I'm just glad that I can get such high quality meat at such a great price!  I bought 1.5 pounds of cheese/garlic seasoned chicken breast and 2 pounds of pre-seasoned carne asada; all for under $12.

Tonight for dinner I decided to try and make something new: Chicken Parmesan!

yummmm..

First I pre-heated my oven to 350.  I used the cheesy/garlic-y chicken breast that I bought from the Meat Lab and pounded it to about 1/2 an inch thickness.  I then dipped the raw chicken in egg and seasoned breadcrumbs and browned each side of the chicken in oil on medium-high heat for about 3-5 minutes per side.  I removed the chicken from the stove and placed them on a baking pan where I COVERED them with a layer of mozzarella cheese, spaghetti sauce, and another of mozzarella cheese.  I let these sit in the oven for about half an hour.

While the chicken was baking I made a cucumber/tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette.  Super easy to make; just coarsely chop a big cucumber and about 4 tomatoes, mix in a bowl, and pour vinaigrette to taste.  I actually enjoy this salad more the day after I make it because the cucumber and tomatoes get a chance to marinate in the balsamic vinaigrette for even more flavor.  Whenever my family gets together someone makes this simple salad and it always disappears!

I also made a college version of cheesy-garlic bread.  My roommate left for the weekend and I noticed that his hotdog buns were beginning to get stale.  I took a few of them and separated the two buns.  I made a mixture of margarine and minced garlic and coated the top of each piece.  I put these in the oven (still at 350) for 2-3 minutes, covered them with mozzarella cheese, and put them back in the oven till the cheese melted and the edges of the bread were crispy.

Definitely a successful dinner tonight.  I've been so busy/lazy that I haven't had time to cook or go grocery shopping.  I'm finally getting back in the swing of things and doing the things I love to do.  Now that I'm eating better, maybe I'll start a work-out routine too?

Eh, one thing at a time..

As for homework, my photography professor has us all making a list of 50 potential final project ideas.  At first I thought it was so stupid to make us think of so many different topics, but I realized that I would come up with great ideas just because I had been sitting there thinking for such a long time.  I guess professors occasionally know what they're talking about.

Well, I'm off to go work on a self portrait painting!

I hope y'all have a great Monday (:

An Early Morning

I have been pretty good at keeping up on my schoolwork this quarter, but one class always gets neglected more than the others.  

I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm neglecting my digital photography class this fall, but maybe I've been a tad unlucky.  I had ordered my photo paper a week in advanced, but it somehow got stuck in the mail and I couldn't print my photos on time.  I got my paper over the weekend and showed up to campus at 8AM today to print my photos.  Matthias, the professor, got on my case for bringing the assignment late, but I don't know what else he wants from me.  He's a fun guy, I had him for dark room photography my first year at UCD.  He's a pretty big hippy and focuses mostly on the artsy aspect of photography.  This gets a bit frustrating when you're trying to use Photoshop and you have no idea what techniques or tools to use.

Luckily we got out early today and I was able to take a trip to my favorite grocery store in Davis: 

The Nugget!

They have a pretty huge selection of fresh cooked foods in their deli which are perfect for foodie college kids.  I stocked up on some tasty things that I just have to heat up and enjoy so that I don't have to keep foraging for berries or spending all my cash.  

I always find myself starving after my photography class and today I was craving sushi.

Yummm.

The sushi at The Nugget is made fresh daily by authentic sushi chefs.  They are very friendly and will make whatever roll you want if you ask.  I normally get some kind of rainbow roll (or whatever has the most raw fish on it), but I didn't see any so I picked up something called a tempura roll.

Tempura Roll and Pepperoni Pizza

The roll looked pretty tasty because I love avocado, I'm quite a fan of tempura shrimp and I thoroughly enjoy eel sauce on my sushi.

Yeahhh, that pizza looks a bit out of place, I know.  But Little Cesar's is literally right next-door to The Nugget and their $5 pizza deal is just too good to pass up.  I figured if I picked one up I would be set for dinner.  I also picked up a 2-liter of Dr. Pepper because that always comes in handy.

Oops, I have psych lecture in exactly one minute. I guess I should put pants on, get in my car, drive to campus and get to class..

Breaking the Silence

Alright, so I decided to finally get a blog because I know several people who blog on a daily basis and they all say it's a great thing to do.

I've had journals and other mediums of thought-writing, but I never really got into them and definitely did not update them on a regular basis.  I know that if I'm serious about this, I'm going to have to write about things I enjoy: Food and Art.

Today I had my Intro to Education class and Beginning painting.

EDU100 was pretty heated today.  We had our first midterm last week and people are complaining about their results.  One girl was upset about how we were tested on a presentation from a counselor at the School of Education.  She kept saying that she doesn't want to be a teacher, so she did not pay attention to the counselor as she explained process of getting a teaching credential.

Why you comin' to class if you ain't gonna pay attention?  And if you ain't paying attention, why are you even talking?  It's an EDUCATION course, you're supposed to learn about EDUCATION.  I can list SO much information from previous exams that does not directly impact my life, but I still studied it.  Prof. definitely said that anything in the course was fair game for the midterm.  All I know is that if I didn't study, I would not be raising my hand and pointing it out to everyone.

ART007 was interesting.  I was half an hour late because I couldn't find parking, but it worked out okay because I saw a buddy on campus and we made plans for later.  Today's focus was nude figure.  So I spent about two hours staring at naked old guys.  I've decided to make mine into a kind of pompous portrait.  My nude guy is going to be sitting in a red-velvet sofa next to a fire place and a bear skin rug.  What a baller.

As for food, I've been acting like a college kid lately.  I've been too busy to put together a meal plan and go grocery shopping for this week which means I've been eating out a lot.  Today I went to a local and personal favorite: Taqueria Guadalajara, also known as Guad's.

Guad's North Davis

Adobada Super Burrito with Black Beans

One of my favorite things to get at Guad's is their Super Burrito which is just a regular burrito (meat, beans and rice), but with sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo as well.  They have a pretty large selection of meats and beans, my personal favorite is their adobada or marinated steak with black beans.  Guad's also has a free&unlimited chip&salsa bar which I am always happy to take advantage of.  Their chips and salsa always taste super fresh (probably because they make everything there).  They also have bomb horchata which is what I washed delicious Mexican food down with.  If you're unfamiliar, horchata is a sweet and creamy beverage that I like to describe as 'liquid churro' because it's pretty sugary and cinnamony.

I think I've spent enough time on here for now, I should probably get to doing some work for school tomorrow.

Hope y'all had a great Tuesday.