Boiling and delicious

Boiling and delicious

Written by: Taylor Duff | Staff Writer Bag O’ Crab is a seafood boil restaurant that opened a new location in Salem, Oregon right off the Market Street exit. This restaurant offers an array of boil bags that can be customized, including sides, wings and drinks.  I decided to go and try the restaurant for myself because of my proximity to their newest location. I decided to invite my mom and have a feast. We ordered a Combo 2 which included one pound of snow crab, ¾ pound of headless shrimp, two corn on the cobs, two potatoes and four sausage slices.  We decided to add two boiled eggs and our flavor of choice was original cajun. On the side, we ordered six lemon pepper wings, two sides of rice and a Cajun fish plate. We ordered a Cinnamon and Pear Moscow Mule and a Mojito Smash for drinks.  This was a lot of food, but everything came out fast and organized. The restaurant environment was clean and captivating because of the friendly robot that served the food. The tables all had white paper to prepare for the mess of the boil; we also got a bib, gloves and a wet nap, which was much needed. The staff seemed a little occupied as the restaurant was busy, but they got our items exactly as we ordered and checked us out with a friendly goodbye.   First, we got our drinks which were both very balanced and smooth and chock-full of flavor. Soon after, our bag and rice arrived, delivered by our friendly robot.  We poured our bag out and started...

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From construction workers to the suburbs

From construction workers to the suburbs

Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor In 1913, inventor William Stanley Jr. fused vacuum insulation technology with steel in a portable thermos, and the Stanley company was born. The original Stanley cups of the early 1900s were built specifically with the working class in mind. Through World War I and II, the cups were used to hold soup, coffee and even transport human organs. Between the variety of sizes and strength of the cups, Stanley has been a beloved brand for over a century. However, the company has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years. After the new year, Target released a collection of limited edition Valentine’s Day Stanleys, and hundreds of people lined up outside, even got physical with one another, hoping for a chance to get their hands on one… or maybe five.  A sea of Stanley fans were falling over each other in a frantic race to the stainless steel finish line. Some collectors were pleased with their pre-Valentine’s purchase, while others took advantage of the frenzy to resell the rare tumblers. On eBay, the Stanley cups are being resold individually for almost 300 dollars. So, when did Stanleys stop being a cup for blue-collar workers and become the favorite brand of suburban moms, teenagers and college students? The first fact is that Stanley is a sustainable and reputable brand. Their products are designed to be durable and hold a multitude of substances. The second contributing factor to Stanley’s popularity is the accessibility of the internet and its cycling trends. Other popular reusable water bottle brands such as Hydro Flask, Swell and Yeti have...

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Journaling: for funsies and data

Journaling: for funsies and data

Written by: Ruth Simonsen | Digital Media Manager As the New Year makes its grand arrival and the resolutions start to flood every social media platform, a popular choice continues to be journaling. Whether it’s for feelings, logging gym stats or to fulfill your emo poetry dreams, journaling provides a wonderful resource to many. Amity Deters, a fourth-year and star athlete on the Western track team, is one such person who finds solace in journaling. Deters first took up this hobby after seeing it on social media and deciding to curate it for herself.  “I was going through a lot of changes,” Deters said, “so I wanted to track how I was feeling about them in an unbiased, no-placebo way.”  Deters explained she did this through tracking habits, changes to her lifestyle and sleep schedule, as well as other small parts personalized to her life.  “I try to focus on topics that will help me, ones that will benefit me and not cause harm or hyper fixation,” Deters said after being asked how she went about choosing topics to track. Journaling is fantastic for keeping track of habits, both good and bad, as well as things like finances, water intake and sleep schedule. Unfortunately, remembering to log all of this information can become tiresome and tedious, leading to many people deciding to drop this hobby.  While Deters does not claim to be an expert, she gave tips on staying motivated to keep up with journal entries. “To be honest, sometimes I forget about it for a couple days,” Deters said. “The most important thing is that you’re not hard...

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Hello 2024, didn’t see you there

Written by:  Taylor Duff | Staff Writer Happy New Year! Welcome to 2024 and to all the possibilities this year will bring. With the new year here, many are just starting to pursue their 2024 goals. These goals range from becoming a better cook, committing to more cuddle time and even trying hydrotherapy. This list describes the top five things to add to resolutions for 2024 to improve ourselves and our lives.  Improve clutter — Everyone wants a space that is calm and collected as much as it is organized. After the holidays especially, decluttering your space feels extremely rewarding and gets the new year off to a fresh start. Take the much-needed time and go through old boxes, sorting items no longer used or organizing to be more efficient.  Pick up more hobbies — Each year individuals want to incorporate something new to try such as painting, pottery or dance classes. Picking up new skills improves mental health by reducing anxiety and expressing gratification.   Build a better budget — Americans have struggled with finances throughout history but possibly even more so in the past four years since the pandemic and inflation have taken a toll. Budgeting income helps ensure bills and finances are taken care of which allows security. It can be difficult to cut back on things sought after and sit down to make the proper list of funds but once done, the guessing is over.  Get rid of toxicity — This can be getting rid of alcohol, nicotine or even toxic relationships. As people, we accumulate habits that might not seem to be as harmful to...

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Waste increases dramatically after the holidays

Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer The holidays can induce many feelings of happiness through eating good food, giving gifts and seeing your family. Although, one thing the holidays are also notorious for, that is less joyous, is the fact that waste increases dramatically over the holiday seasons.  Waste and trash increases by at least 25% after the holiday season when individuals throw away about 81.5 pounds of clothes at the end of the year. Instead of chucking everything in the trash bin, Oregon has many donation sites that offer a better, more sustainable option than throwing away unwanted holiday gifts. Clothes/Furniture/Decor Goodwill — and other local thrift stores are always great options to give unused clothes and furniture — being that they are in decent condition of course. Donating to these types of stores allows them to continue to provide job opportunities and contribute back to the community.  Habitat For Humanity Restore — is another community knit organization that can pick up one’s donations, or one can drop them off anytime from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. — no appointment needed. They accept donations consisting of furniture, cabinets, exercise equipment, home goods and tools for a variety of jobs.  Food Oregon Food Bank — offers tremendously different options on how to donate food and money, volunteer and even set up one’s own food bank for communities near you. The goal of the Oregon Food Bank is to eliminate hunger one step at a time and to bring the community closer together to increase awareness of these organizations. Visit the Oregon Food Bank website to see the variety...

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Pursue one’s dreams and become a business owner

Pursue one’s dreams and become a business owner

Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer One of the greatest attractions Oregon has to offer is its large variety of unique, locally owned, creative businesses. These include businesses like food trucks, soap companies, haunted tours, bake shops, handmade items like clothes, jewelry and so much more. With a little bit of incentive and a lot of determination, one can turn their biggest passions into a career. Who wouldn’t want to be their own boss?  One of the benefits of starting one’s own business is having full creative freedom and connecting with the community through that creativity. In recent years, there have been increasing opportunities for those who have a passion for arts and handmade crafts.  Though one may not have their own store or permanent location to sell their products, there are numerous options to put oneself out there. Oregon has many seasonal/holiday markets, sporting events, local events and festivals that are open to local artists that allow them to get a chance to sell their wares.  Getting a business on its feet can be a daunting task and renting out a spot in these types of events may not be accessible to all; don’t worry, there are ways to get one’s business out there without worrying about the starting costs. For example, the Oregon State Fair offers various types of competitions that do not require an entry fee and can provide an opportunity to get one’s name out there. Competitions like these create an opportunity for the public to learn how businesses are made and how they work — it can even give one an opportunity to...

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Life lesson from Libby and Lucie

Life lesson from Libby and Lucie

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor Growing up, I always lent my mom out to my friends like a blockbuster movie. I remember saying something along the lines of “She can adopt you, she’s the best. She’ll cook you lots of good food and tell you what you need to hear.”  In my eyes, that was the recipe for a loving household. To this day, I think the cure to any tough situation is a home-cooked meal and a stern talk from the legend herself. Even though I roll my eyes and huff and puff about how she’s too hard on me, she gives her advice for a reason. Present day, my mom is subject to my constant barrage of calls and debriefs on disastrous situations — not once has she let me down.  So, in honor of putting my mom in the print edition of the Howl, I’m going to share some of the best advice I’ve received from her and some of my best advice as well. The premise: how to be a young adult in a world that makes young adulting nearly impossible.  Having a hard time adjusting to new circumstances, a hard job, a stressful workload or just people? Here’s what Lucie says to me: see it through, when one commits to something, it looks the best for that individual to see it through and do their best work. That way, coming out of a tough situation, they can still be confident in the fact that they did their best, did the right thing and overcame that challenge.  So in the many times I...

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Online dating safety tips

Online dating safety tips

Written by: Taylor Duff | Freelancer In today’s modern world, finding love is more than difficult as everyone can, in a millisecond, reject a profile they see while scrolling the many dating apps. By chance, scrolling through these apps, one might find someone who intrigues them. This person is perfect. They are funny and their values align with yours. The future looks bright! Now there reaches a point when a suitor is acquired and both participants feel things are going well enough to meet. When it comes to online dating, there are a few crucial things to keep in mind.  Creating a profile — When creating a dating profile it is best to avoid using photos or videos of oneself in places that can be traced or reveal personal information. Displaying interest — When it comes to displaying one’s interests and facts about oneself, keep it clear and subtle. Be clear about what one expects from the app; this helps others determine the difference between a real and fake account.  Discretion — Be discreet: use only a first name or nickname on one’s profile, and refrain from displaying anything like a phone number or any other personal identification.  Scams — Be aware of scammers. The internet can be a dangerous place and that includes dating apps. People might ask for money, personal favors or more personal information than what one should be willing to give. If this occurs, it’s best to unmatch and block the user.  Getting to know someone — If one is matched with someone they like, talk to them as much as possible and get to...

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Whole bean coffee makes you whole

Whole bean coffee makes you whole

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor Listen while you read: Tom’s Diner by AnnenMayKantereit, Giant Rooks Go sit in a coffee shop. Any college student — or college newspaper reader — with a busy schedule would ask what the value is in going to a coffee shop and sitting down without doing something productive. However, the plague in our society is our incessant need to be on the go — accomplishing herculean feats in every nanosecond of the day.  In reality, sometimes the more productive thing to do is to sit in silence. Our world is full of sensory information, such as smells, tastes and sights. The environment we place ourselves in dictates the contents of our informational input.  An employee can’t truly experience an island resort if they are simply drinking a margarita at nine in the morning from the confines of their office cubicle. They have to feel the ocean air, hear the birds and THEN drink a margarita. We must find places where we can feel at peace in the bustle and action of our everyday lives. Ergo, the coffee shop. What about cafes brings people so much joy? They were created for joy. Community, conversation, comfortability — cafes. Every local sit-in coffee shop has some sort of theme and most likely some sort of artwork lining the walls, plants in every corner as well as comfortable seating and lots of windows. They were designed for people to sit down and enjoy what suits their tastes.  Now, it may be in the innate marketing nature of these cafes that they would want to be the ideal...

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Cheap and easy food recipes

Cheap and easy food recipes

Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer Living in a dorm room on campus has tremendous benefits like meeting new people, having access to resources for school and finding opportunities for new experiences. One thing that does not come easy is finding cheap and dorm-accessible foods that don’t require a kitchen.  Here are three delicious dorm room food recipes that are $15 or less and are sure to satisfy one’s hunger without leaving the comfort of one’s room: FINGER LICKER SANDWICH:  Start to finish: 15 minutes ½ cup banana, sliced 2 tablespoons of nutella  2 slices of cinnamon bread  2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup cream cheese, softened  Let the cream cheese sit in a small bowl for 8-10 minutes to allow it to soften then add sugar – and mix until smooth. Add nutella to one side of the cinnamon bread and the sweet cream cheese on the second slice. Cut the banana into smaller slices then lay them on top on the nutella side, close and enjoy.  Recipe from Socheesy.guru APPLE CINNAMON OVERNIGHT OATS: Start to finish: Overnight or 8-12 hours ½ chopped apple, or whatever fruit one prefers ½ cup old-fashioned oats 1 tablespoon raisins  ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon  1 cup 2% milk, or whatever milk one prefers  Chopped nuts — optional  Chop up an apple, or fruit of choice, into small pieces then combine all ingredients in a container or mason jar. Another option is to layer; put half of  the oats, fruit, ground cinnamon, raisins and then ½ cup of milk in one layer– repeat again for the last layer. Keep cold overnight and enjoy...

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