Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 16

Yay! Today is Thursday which is actually my Friday. I always hate when people say that, but now that it's me that doesn't have to work tomorrow I'm suddenly more okay with it. Here's your Thursday Thoughts:

1. There's no better test of will power than driving home with a take out pizza in the car. I always have to put it in the backseat to ensure I make it home with a full pizza. One thing's for sure, if it was riding shot gun next to me it would be a goner. I've never claimed to have any will power whatsoever when it comes to food, especially za. 
   
2. Speaking of food, I'm going to the Texas State Fair this weekend and seriously cannot wait to try some of these 25 Deep Fried Foods. While I love a good margartia, a deep fried one just seems a little too weird. I think I'll stick to the deep fried Pop Tarts, Oreos, and cheesecake. I feel a stomach ache coming on.
3. I think Starbucks' #payitforward campaign is so fantastic. How great would it be to know that you put a smile on someone's face first thing in the morning when they pull up to the drive-thru and realize their latte is already paid for? AND bonus: you get a free tall coffee! The other morning my barista informed me the 7 cars in front of me had all paid for the person's drink in the car behind them. Of course I kept the trend going. It's nice to see that people are kind hearted and generous. Stop by your neighborhood Starbucks today or tomorrow, and you too can participate. Let's all #payitforward.
4. You guys. I have a serious problem. I cannot stop listening to "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. For real. Yesterday I listened to it on repeat for 45 minutes straight while I was doing cardio at the gym. Her songs are just so catchy. There isn't one I don't like. Don't even try to tell me you don't bust a move when you hear "Party in the USA" or get a sudden boost in confidence as soon as "The Climb" comes on. My personal fave though? "Two More Lonely People." Hands down. Best Miley song EVER. Check it out below :)
5. This list of 29 Underrated Things About Being in Your Late 20s is fantastic....except for the part about only liking regular Oreos. I personally think all the fun flavors are amazing. Although tried and true plain, Golden Oreos are far superior to all the rest. Oh, and I can't keep a plant alive for the life of me. My green thumb needs some work, but I have kept a cat alive for the last 11 years so there's that...
6. These 19 Cats Who Just Want to Look Sexy for Halloween definitely made me giggle. I'm pretty sure Evie would murder me if I tried to dress her up so looks like she will be going as #19 - a sexy nudist. Ow ow!

   

   Look at her showing off those sexy legs. She's an exhibitionist.

7. Time for a little TV talk. The Farewell to Finn episode of Glee is tonight. I feel a major sob fest coming on and an instant obsession with all of the songs in the episode. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I'll be on my way to the airport this evening when it airs so I guess I'll have to wait until Sunday to watch. Probably best I don't send myself into a depression right before the weekend.
8. On a happier note, who's ready for basketball season?! I know I am. Unfortunately, my friend Alex and I were two of the many people who did not get into Late Night in the Phog last Friday night, but how awesome is it that KU fans had to be turned away because too many people showed up for the team's first "practice"?? Jayhawks are pretty much the greatest fans ever. If you missed out on Late night like me, check out this Dream On video from Friday. Chills. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Balls

This past weekend I had the pleasure of doing a little baking for a baby shower hosted by Miss Ashley. I've made glitter cake pops for her on a few other occasions, but we switched it up this time and went with pumpkin cake balls. OMG. They were delish. I'll admit I may have sampled one of the "ugly" ones. :) Apparently Ashley's guests were requesting the recipe so hence this post.

Now here is where I have to make a confession. My first attempt at baking these treats was an utter disaster. I tried to make these fancy pumpkin cream cheese truffles from scratch, but I was left with a bowl of goop that could not be rolled into balls let alone coated in chocolate so back to Target I went.

Pressed for time and a bit depressed after the beating the KU football team took on Saturday morning, I was feeling lazy so I purchased Pillsbury Perfectly Pumpkin cake mix and a jar of cream cheese frosting. Wouldn't you know this is the one time people actually request my recipe. How embarrassing. But hey, at least they will be easy to recreate?!

Just follow the instructions on the box, and once baked crumble cake in a large bowl and mix with about 1/2-3/4 of the jar of frosting. Roll into balls and coat with vanilla almond bark. If you want to make them look fancier, sprinkle with crumbled graham crack crumbs. For more detailed, step by step instructions for making cake pops you can check out a previous post I did a few months ago right here (just omit the lollipop sticks). Happy baking friends!

Thursday Thoughts with Jen - Vol 15

Happy Thursday friends! I'll keep this brief today. Here are your Thursday Thoughts:

1. My allergies are out of control this year. I swear it has to be something in Kansas. I was fine allllll weekend, but Sunday night on the airplane when we were within 15 minutes of touching down in KC my nose started dripping like a faucet. What the heck?!
2. By now you know I have a serious obsession with food. I think I might love food more than I love people and this list of 31 GIFs Perfectly Express My Feelings About Food. Well, besides the part about ham. I don't like ham. Turkey > ham, any day. And cranberry sauce is not the best part of Thanksgiving. Clearly the turkey, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and pumpkin pie are infinitely better.
3. Yesterday I had a pumpkin pie crumb bar one of my friends made, and it's safe to say my yearly pumpkin obsession is in full swing...although I've only had one pumpkin spice latte so far this season. I'm disappointed with myself. I need to step up my game. My ever growing list of treats to bake includes pumpkin pie cupcakes, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin cookies, pumpkin crunch cake, and my favorite, oatmeal pumpkin creme pies. Baking party anyone?

   

   Yup I ate this right off a napkin because I'm classy like that. Hey, at least I used a plastic fork.

4. You know what else is my favorite? People with accents, especially Southern accents. I swoon over a good slow drawl. I may or may not have just watched 3 YouTube videos on Southern accents y'all. I'm basically a professional now. Hah. You better believe when if I have children they will be raised below the Mason Dixon line. Toddlers with accents have got to be the cutest things ever.
5. I have no idea what to be for Halloween. Last year I didn't dress up which was totally unacceptable. This year I must have a costume. Anyone have any ideas?! The Chicken Tindahs and I are thinking we need a group costume so any ideas for three are welcome...but nothing sleazy. I'm all about creative costumes that are not of the slutty variety. Slapping on a cleavage baring dress and some animal ears is NOT a costume.
   
6. Even though I have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, I always try to put USB cords in the WRONG way 100% of the time. It never fails. Every. Single. Time. So annoying.
7. Does anyone else despise Bruno Mars' "Gorilla" as much as me? I'm sorry, but lyrics like "you and me making love like gorillas" have no place in a ballad. I'm usually such a big Bruno fan, but I just can't get on board with this one. Moving on.
8. Things should be symmetrical. Closets should be organized by color. I'm the only one who knows the right way to clean. Check out this list of 22 Things Only People With OCD Will Understand.
9. I finally have a weekend in Kansas City so I think I should take the opportunity to try all of these desserts. Someone want to go with me so I don't feel quite so pathetic? :)

Young and Wild (When Freed) - Athens, Georgia

If you've been following my blog (or my Instagram) lately, you may have noticed I've been going on some fun weekend trips with C. My parents always encouraged my sisters and I to keep travel diaries on all of our vacations when we were growing up so we could remember the restaurants we ate at or the parks we visited etc. I thought it might be fun to do the same sort of thing on this here little blog. Funds for traveling can be limited as a 20-something, but I'm always on the lookout for exciting, new, inexpensive weekend getaways to break up my monotonous day to day life in the "real world". I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that I’m not the only 20-something that literally lives for these little mini-vacays so hopefully this series will prove to be helpful and somewhat informative. Rather than rehash my opinions (which are probably very one-sided and skewed towards activities for females) I thought it might be fun to bring C into the loop. Well, I've worked my girlish charm, and he has actually agreed to this endeavor so here is your first ever Young and Wild (When Freed) detailing our trip to Athens, Georgia for the UGA/LSU game.

C - Like Jenny says, most of us in the first few years after graduation are not able to take two week trips to Europe or Spring break in Cancun like we once could (I don’t know about you, but my parents laughed in my face when I asked them to pay for my desired trip to Mexico). In my opinion, the best way to get the most bang for your travel buck is to take a road trip to a college football game. I have my own college football web site, so of course I am partial to the sport, but there’s lots of great reasons to travel for football, even if you’re not a football fan. First off, there’s probably several college towns within an afternoon’s drive of where you live, so you don’t need to spring for airfare, and you can make a last minute decision to go. You can almost always meet up with friends who have a tailgate, just make sure you bring a side item or dessert, and don’t forget to bring your own beer or you might have to bum PBR’s from someone’s mustachioed cousin. Tickets to a couple select games will cost you hundreds, but most of the time you can help a scalper relieve inventory for less than $30. Money aside, tell me on what other vacation could you drink all day with friends, have access to a feast of finger foods, cookies, and chips and dip, then go cheer till you’re hoarse, before reliving college at some just-off-campus dive with cold beer and beautiful young people who are yet to get punched in the face by post grad life. You CAN’T. 

J - Obviously, my favorite part of a football game isn’t the game itself. It’s the tailgating beforehand, and let me tell you, the tailgating at UGA was INSANE. I’ve always been a Big 12 girl, and a KU girl at that; clearly football is not the main focus at Kansas (27 days until the first basketball game, but who’s counting?). Going to an SEC football game was eye opening. There were people everywhere. Tents lined the streets, and no inch of grass was left uncovered. I have a few 20-something friends who attempt to tailgate before games in Kansas, but they were put to shame by the people I met this past weekend. Southern hospitality truly does exist. Everyone was incredibly friendly and really made us feel welcome. Plus, I could listen to someone with a Southern accent chit-chat all day. I’m obsessed. I think I need to raise my children in the South just so they can have those adorable drawls. 

C - (Uh oh, she’s talking about children already)

J - But, enough about the people and my future offspring. We need to talk about the most important component of a tailgate - the food. Like C said, never show up to a tailgate empty-handed. Leave the beer to the boys, and whip up some corn dip or cookies and you’re in!

After several beers, I had the most amazing hot dog smothered in pimento cheese (nevermind the fact the cheese had been sitting out in the heat for several hours). OMG, you guys. It was to die for. I’m pretty sure I could have ate seven. Luckily, I restricted myself to just one, which was quite the feat after all the beer I’d consumed.

C - Jenny and I had brought 14 Coors Light pounders to the tailgate, and I still had two left as we walked to the stadium. I was able to finish one, but the other I left in the middle of the sidewalk, unopened. Hopefully some youngster got his dirty mitts on it and snuck a few sips before Dad noticed. 

J - I had one in my purse too, so we actually had 3 left. Don’t make us sound like alcoholics! 

C - I must have been drunk, because I happily paid $300 for our seats in the lower level end zone. It was worth it for what turned out to be the best game of this young season. The Georgia Bulldogs were ranked #9 coming in, and the LSU Tigers were #6 and undefeated. One of these teams had to lose and would realistically be eliminated from championship contention. The teams traded blows, each one taking a lead and looking as if it wouldn’t be relinquished. Sanford Stadium isn’t known for being loud, but on this day it was near-deafening. The Bulldogs scored late to go up 44-41, but left almost two minutes on the clock, and we all KNEW that 120 seconds was enough time for LSU to take back the lead. The Tigers had been eating up yards all day, but their final drive ended with an incomplete pass, followed immediately by a bellow from the 80,000+ Bulldogs fanatics.

J - What I heard there was blah blah blah - football - blah blah blah - more football - blah blah blah. Enough with the snooze worthy stats. I’ll tell you about the atmosphere. At some point you must attend a game in a huge stadium. Walking into that gigantic sea of red was astonishing. While I wasn’t a fan of all the barking (Bulldog fans do a lot of fist pumping and hoo-hoo-hooing. If you watch C’s video you can hear some of it at the 3:10 mark), it’s clear these people love their team. Plus you can buy an $8 Diet Coke with unlimited refills. Sold. That’s enough to keep me happy for 3+ hours.

C - After the game no one was in a hurry to leave the stadium, as it was just magnetic. Bulldogs chants were thundering the concourses. We had decided earlier to head downtown and toast to the victory, and the walk that way lead us through the heart of campus. It was a long walk, but the temperature was perfect, and we had a stop to make anyway.

J - It was such a long walk. Even after wearing flats all day, my feet were killing me. Girls, as much as you may want to wear wedges, if you’re spending an entire day at the game I highly advise going with sandals, flats, or boots without a heel. You’ll thank me I promise...and so will your boyfriend when he doesn’t have to hear you complain and carry you around the rest of the night.

C - Jenny isn’t as light as she looks. Like I was saying, as is tradition following any big win, the Chapel Bell was bonging from the fans who had lined up to play Quasimodo. We got in line and pulled that rope with all our might when it was our turn.

Downtown was packed, every restaurant had a 90 minute wait for a table, and most college bars had lines. We were able to squeeze into one place, and I ordered us a round of Yuenglings. Three bones each; I really miss the drink prices from college. As with any good college town, Athens has a downtown area loaded with local eats and drinks, cool boutique stores, and hotels. Of course, these hotels had been booked months prior, so we were staying outside of town, which meant I had to sober up before hitting the road. Another great thing about college towns is that there’s myriad late night food options, so after some nachos and a panini, as well as quarts of Coke Zero, we were ready to get outta town. 

J - Yea. Moral of the story - make sure to reserve a hotel room months in advance for any big game. That drive back to Atlanta was horrible. There was still traffic even at 10:00 p.m. and poor C. I couldn’t stay awake for the life of me. I’m pretty sure I was speaking gibberish at one point as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Thankfully he was much more coherent than this grandma and we rolled into ATL shortly after midnight. It was a long day, but so worth it. If you want a fun-filled, relatively inexpensive day (depending on tickets) I would highly suggest attending college football Saturday, and then sleeping for 17 hours afterward.