Know Better and Learn Faster

Warning: The following is a highly disjointed, unfocused, long post about some of the random happenings that have thus far composed my winter break.    


1. Tapping into my almost non-existant creativity, I fashioned two bowls out of my dad's old vinyl records. I actually got the idea from my roommate; when heated at about 200 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven for just a few minutes, the record becomes floppy enough to be molded into a bowl.  Simply stick the record inside the desired bowl and push down; the record will retain the shape of the bowl mold.  You must act fast, however, because the record will cool in about 10 seconds.  If you are unhappy with the result, just reheat the record and give it another attempt.  (Photos below!)


2. I appeased my inner homemaker by spending 4-5 hours baking with my sister... on merely one batch of cookies.  As you can probably tell by how ridiculously long it took us to bake said cookies, my inner homemaker is kind of a failure.  We decided to attempt Chocolate Raspberry Lintzer cookies, which are basically sugar cookie sandwiches with a filling of melted chocolate and raspberry jam.  Absolutely delicious, but very ambitious for someone like myself who relies on Betty Crocker boxed mixes.  (Photos below!)


3. I have discovered a new love for 2 musical groups: first are the Gipsy Kings, a Spanish flamenco group that my mom introduced me to.  Their music is all in Spanish, so I understand very few lyrics, but I literally could not refrain from giving my best flamenco attempt when I heard them.  Perhaps my baking endeavor took so long because we were simultaneously listening to the Gipsy Kings and dancing around the kitchen? 
The second group is called Jenny and Johnny (featuring Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley and Johnny LastName from... I don't know where).  I first saw them perform on Conan and wasn't super impressed, but after looking them up online I downloaded their entire album, titled I'm Having Fun Now.  My favorite tracks are Big Wave (think "Wipeout") and Switchblade.  


4. I dyed my hair again.  And no, I am not a blonde now.  I chose the color "Dark Natural Brown" thinking it would match my natural hair color (I dyed it dark auburn last year), but the result is much darker than I anticipated.  I kinda dig it though.


5. Watching movies has been a huge time occupier for me.  Since I've been home, I've watched 8 Crazy Nights (hilarious), Frosty the Snowman (classic), Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, (also classic), Easy A (average), Eat, Pray, Love (dreadfully boring), and Black Swan (ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING!)  I will save you my critique of the film, but I highly recommend you drop whatever you are doing at this exact moment and go see it.  It's that good. 


6. My mom, sister, and I went into DC today to visit Madame Tussaud's wax museum.  I visited the London location when I was 13, but my mom was curious to see what this counterpart had to offer.  Photos below!

Disneyland Vinyl

Record Bowls

Chocolate Raspberry Lintzers

Touristy in front of the White House

Malcom X Hipster Glasses! 

I was browsing through my camera photos in order to complete this post and found a final throwback that I think is fantastic: 

Mardi Gras 2010

      

Home is Wherever I'm with You

Well, looks like I'm already back home for winter break!  I can't believe how quickly my first semester has flown by... it's mind-boggling to think that 1/8 of my college career is already over.  And really quite sad.  Though the initial excitement of being home, raiding the fridge, and picking out the Christmas tree is currently overwhelming me, I'm aware that soon enough I'll be pining for college life and all that it entails.  

This morning, as a sort of 'farewell-for-now' breakfast, some friends and I ventured to a charming little diner down the highway called Five Forks Cafe.  It was absolutely delicious!  Pancakes, corn cakes, and omelettes galore-- props to my mans Mike in the kitchen.  Also, this cafe has a Facebook campaign in order to get Guy Fieri from Diners Drive-Ins and Dives (DDD) to feature them in an episode.  Pretty cool, I think, so I joined.  You should too, regardless of whether or not you've experienced the immense pleasure that their three-egg omelette with mushrooms, spinach, and cheddar will bring: DO IT!  

On a final note, Broken Bells performed on Conan last night!  The group is a collaboration between Danger Mouse (of Gnarls Barkley fame) and James Mercer (of The Shins).  Pretty cool that they're gaining some recognition on live television.  Though it broke my heart once I was informed that The Shins are on hiatus, at least Mercer is continuing to pump out great music. 

To view, click here!

Danger Mouse and James Mercer (Broken Bells)

Edit: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros performed on Conan tonight!  Man, Conan is getting some major props from me due to his recent musical acts.  The performance itself was a bit odd... they played a slowed-down version of 40 Day Dream.  The lead singer (Alex Ebert, also the lead singer of Ima Robot) was dancing on such shaky legs that I thought he might drop to the floor any minute in a seizing fit.  But regardless, I adore the song.  The performance was too recent for me to link a video, but I advise you to check it out!      

For to Set Our Spirits Free

Current obsessions:
Crystal Light lemonade to-go packets
Soy milk 
My brown, faux leather jacket from Target
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Yellow Bird Project tees-- Definitely on my Christmas list.  The Yellow Bird Project is a philanthropic organization based in Canada that sells tees and other miscellaneous items designed by indie bands.  Each band's t-shirt sales go to a charity of their choice.  Personally, I'm really feeling those designed by The National, Beach House, and Bloc Party.  The Shins' shirt is truly disappointing though... I would buy it otherwise!

Beach House

The National

In other news, The Roots will be performing at W&M for Charter Day!  I'm not very familiar with their music, but what I've heard I rike, I rike a rot.  I must say, I'm very pleased with the musical acts that have performed on campus thus far (woooooo Eric Hutchinson, Wild Nothing, and Thao with the Get Down Stay Down!)  And based on the precedent set, I'm sure this show won't disappoint either.

Bedridden

Not because I'm sick, or dying, or mentally ill, though I may suffer an overuse injury to the brain by the end of these next two weeks.  I'm bedridden because finals begin this week and I plan to be holed up in my room studying until the coming of the eschaton (ha ha Christian Origins humor-- yes, I've already begun studying).  Oh, the life of a college student. 


Coming off such a great weekend, though, I really can't complain.  It was my roommates birthday yesterday and we celebrated at midnight, complete with balloons, cheers, lemon poppyseed cake, and Christmas music.  Not to mention Christmas shopping with some hall mates in Colonial Williamsburg (further known as CW), Berrybody fro-yo, Secret Snowflake gift exchange, pink fuzzy slippers, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Grand Illumination.  Overall, it was quite the grand weekend indeed.


So now that I've bored you with the happenings of my amazing weekend, I should get back to studying.  What a TWAMP I am.  


Edit: The first definition of twamp...

Introductions

I've always been a bit awkward with introductions, and this case is no different.  So here goes:  I'm Gabbie DeCuir, a freshman at William and Mary.  I've been itching to start a blog for a while, so I figured what better time than the beginning of my college adventure?  To be honest, I'm not yet sure of the direction I want to take this blog.  Fashion? Music? A play-by-play of my daily happenings? (As if the interweb really cared enough to read about me snuggled up in bed eating chocolate cheerios).  Decidedly, this blog will resemble my life at the moment: a bit unfocused, but eager nonetheless.   

And with this, I leave you. 

  yummmmmmm, a mirror image of chocolate cheerios!