Jughead Is Undeniably the Best Character On Riverdale

Life Lessons From "The O.C."

1. A homemade breakfast can cure anything that ails you — and is pretty much guaranteed to make you more popular in any situation

A major tension in the first few episodes is the conflict between Sandy and Kirsten Cohen about whether or not Ryan should be allowed to stay in that beautiful pool house on a more permanent basis. True to form, Sandy the “Crusader for Justice” wants to give the kid from Chino a shot, while Kirsten thinks he’d be better off in foster care. While Ryan’s homemade breakfast doesn’t mark the final conclusion to this conflict, it definitely eases tensions between him and Kirsten. It just goes to show — there are few things that perfectly scrambled eggs can’t fix!

2. Hiding from a problem is typically not the best solution

As any group of high schoolers — or, at least, any group of high schoolers with easy access to empty mansions — would do, Seth and Marissa decide that the best way to avoid having Ryan sent to foster care is to hide him in one of Kirsten and Caleb’s model homes. Great idea, right? Wrong! I’ll spare you the dramatic details of the fight, the fire, and the awkward revelations about the history between Marissa’s dad and Kirsten, but suffice to say that hiding from potential consequences is rarely the answer...even if you are planning to do it in a mansion.

3. Share your dreams with the people you love

While Seth is open with Ryan early in the season about his dream to sail alone to Tahiti, it’s unclear whether or not he’s been as clear with his parents about it. This comes back to bite him in the you-know-where later in the season (and into The O.C. season 2), when he decides to flee Newport in pursuit of his lone journey. Don’t you think it would’ve been handy for people to know his dreams so they could support him in a more meaningful way?

4. Be open about your exes

Oh, where do I begin with this one? There are countless instances in this series where untold secrets about a previous relationship rear their ugly head at very inopportune times for the people involved, but let’s call Ryan, Marissa, and Theresa Exhibit A. If Ryan had been honest with new flame Marissa about his romantic past in Chino from the get-go, he would have avoided an extremely uncomfortable Thanksgiving encounter...and who knows what else? If you’ve had a tendency to be cagey about your exes with a current bae, watching Ryan’s example should make you want to be more honest.

5. People are rarely as intimidating as you think they are

For years, Seth was so enamored with Summer that all he could do was pine for her and secretly bestow her name on his boat, but when they finally met and start flirting, he learns that he’s not the only student at The Harbor School who sleeps with a toy horse next to their bed. (Princess Sparkle and Captain Oats are still so meant to be.) Think of how much less time our boy Cohen would have spent feeling sorry for himself if he’d thought for even one second that Summer was potentially his own kind of dork.

6. It’s important to know when to bring in an expert

Marissa got in way over her head in The O.C. when she tried to tackle Oliver’s health issues on her own, and while she probably needed a real grown up, even adults can learn from the cautionary tale that played out in the penthouse of that fancy hotel. It’s important to learn what you can handle and what’s above your pay grade. There’s no shame in admitting that you can’t get through something on your own. Rather, there’s only shame in knowing that a problem exists and that you didn’t seek the help that’s really needed.

7. Making a choice is almost always necessary, even if it seems like you can have it all

Teenagers everywhere swooned at the thought of being in Seth’s shoes (Chuck Taylors, obviously) and having twoseemingly perfect suitors vying for their attention. Remember those awesome Chrismukkah gifts Seth got from both Summer and Anna? Well, it seemed too good to be true at the time…and it was, because in the end, Seth had to make a choice, and his inability to do so in the first place really damaged his credibility.

8. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time

Sandy and Kirsten spend a lot of time in The O.C. season 1 trying to put their faith in Caleb, even though he continually proved he couldn't be trusted. While it’s nice to give people the benefit of the doubt, this dysfunctional family dynamic should serve as a reminder to all of us that people’s actions speak a whole lot louder than their words.

9. It takes a lot longer to rebuild trust than it does to destroy it

Ryan is basically the poster child for trust issues, and every time he’s let down by one of his friends (ahem, Marissa), we get a front row seat to the inevitably long process of the aforementioned disappointing friend trying to win him back. Life would be much easier — and TV much less interesting, I guess — if we didn’t tamper with people’s trust in the first place.

10. Appreciate family members and all of their quirks

No relationship better demonstrates this truth in The O.C. than that between the Cohen family and The Nana. By the time Sandy’s mother has arrived in Newport, we’ve already been treated to tons of family folklore about how intimidating and, well, mean she is. So when we find out later in the episode (spoiler alert!) that she actually has cancer, it’s like a punch to the gut for us too. This particular emotional roller coaster should serve as a lesson to us all that it’s important to appreciate the good, the bad, and the ugly in our family members because our time with them isn’t guaranteed.

The cheesiest of cheesy, one stop drop slow cooker mac and cheese.

Ingredients for Paleo Christmas Cookies

For the cookies:

• 1/2 cup grass-fed salted butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons raw honey
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:

• 6 tablespoons coconut butter or coconut manna
• 1/4 cup cacao butter
• 1-2 tablespoons honey
• Plant-based food coloring
• Vegetable-dyed sprinkles, for topping*

How to Make Paleo Christmas Cookies

1. Add the softened butter and honey to a large mixing bowl. Cream the mixture together using a handheld mixer until it is smooth. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract and whisk until they are well combined. Pour in the almond flour, coconut flour, and baking soda, and continue mixing until the batter has come together smoothly.
2. Separate the dough into two, and place each one on top of a piece of plastic wrap. Roll each dough into a ball, then flatten to a thick disk, cover completely with the plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to firm up for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove one of the dough discs from the refrigerator, unwrap the plastic and place the dough on top of a piece of parchment paper, then top it with another piece of parchment paper. Use a roller to flatten out the dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch thick. Work quickly with your favorite Christmas cookie cutters, and use a thin spatula to lift the cut cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake the cookies in the oven for 10 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, then place on a wire rack for further cooling. Gather the leftover scraps back into a ball in the plastic wrap or parchment paper and place it back in the refrigerator, while working with the other piece of dough. Do this in batches to keep the dough from getting too warm and so you don’t overcrowd the baking sheet.
5. While the batches of cookies are baking, use a small saucepan to lightly melt the coconut butter and cacao butter together over low heat on the stovetop. Remove the pan from the heat when the ingredients have just melted together. Stir in the desired amount of honey, then set aside to cool and thicken up slightly. If you are using food coloring, add in the desired amount into the frosting mixture (1-2 teaspoons of green or red should do the trick). If you plan on only using white frosting, only use a small amount of honey, as it can make the frosting an off-white or light brown color.
6. After the cookies have completely cooled, decorate them with the frosting and sprinkles as desired. If you don’t have any professional piping tools, an easy fix is to place the frosting in a plastic sandwich bag and remove all the air when sealing the top. Cut a tiny tip off one corner of the plastic bag, then gently squeeze and pipe over the cookies. Use one plastic bag or piping bag for each color of frosting. Top with corresponding sprinkles and enjoy!