Happy Valentine's Day!

Let's talk fun things!

One of the things I have been doing to brighten this winter is watching Friday Night Lights (the show about a high school football team, in a small town in Texas, and the happenings and goings on of all the people within the city)... ten years late. I remember this show (along with Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) getting so much hype when it was on. I was always curious but never jumped in to fully commit myself to watching it. I guess I just didn't want to add another show to my already overflowing TV regime. Better late than never I suppose because I adore it. The acting is so fantastic, I feel like I'm watching a real life documentary most of the time. Listen guys, I am in love with Kyle Chandler. He could act an entire episode just by making facial expressions and not uttering a single word and I would be riveted. He's so good. SO GOOD. He's so grumpy and serious and dedicated as coach Eric Taylor, that when he smiles you know something great is happening. His whole face lights up! Those who know me know how much I hate football but this show makes me so anxious when the games are played. Seriously, my heart actually beats faster and I get all nervous, hoping they'll win. It's so stupid but I love it. I just finished the first season and I can't wait to watch more. Also? Jeff likes it too. Don't let him fool you. He always ends up watching the episodes with me and asking questions. I love it.

The UP network has started showing reruns of Ed. Remember that show? It aired from 2000-2004 and starred Tom Cavanaugh as Ed Stevens, Julie Bowen as his crush, Carol Vessey, Michael Ian Black as Ed's co-worker Phil Stubbs and a plethora of other big name actors nowadays. It's such a fun show and I really love Tom Cavanugh and it makes me want to move to Stuckeyville. They are showing an episode every day at 4pm. Needless to say, our DVR is crammed with episodes but it's the only way to watch this series right now, so we are slowly but surely working our way through.

Speaking of working my way through... My Doctor Who journey has officially been put on hold until further notice. I just wasn't quick enough with trying to catch up and Netflix stole it away from me like a Dalek extracting information from a human's mind. This makes me sad but I am hopeful that if enough people bitch about this (and I know EVERYONE is mad about it), maybe they'll change their minds and bring it back.

Have you all seen the Fuller House trailer? It looks super fun. I hate Kimmy Gibbler but any cast who is willing to go back to their roots and relive the roles that made them famous in the first place gets huge, major, major props in my book. So much respect for people like that. It starts February 26th, on Netflix.


Continuing with more Netflix news... The Gilmore Girls revival is currently taping. I am not exaggerating when I say that I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS TO COME OUT!! Going back to what I was saying before about actors reprising the roles that made them famous? This is the perfect example. Pretty much every single actor that starred on the show in one way or another is coming back to be in the revival. I freaking love that. I'm holding out hope that Sebastian Bach will pop in to portray Gil from Hep Alien once more. Come on, if they are bringing April back (blech), they can bring Gil back.

A couple new shows that we have been watching are... The Shanarra Chronicles, based on the book series by Terry Brooks that airs Tuesdays at 10pm on MTV and The Magicians, based on the book of the same name by Lev Grossman on the SyFy channel, Mondays at 9pm. Both of these series fulfill our magic/adventure cravings, with the former leaning more toward Dungeons and Dragons/Lord of The Rings mythology and the latter being more similar to Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia, with a twisted, adult, raunchy edge thrown in. I think I am currently enjoying The Magicians more than the Shanarra Chronicles right now but both series are pretty new and I'm interested enough to see where they go.

Do any of you ever watch Dinner at Tiffani's on the Cooking channel? It stars Tiffani Thiessen and she's on Wednesdays at 8pm. She has simple recipes (which I am all about) but mostly I watch to see who her guests for dinner will be. Last year she had her White Collar husband, Tim DeKay on, her 90210 co-star, Jason Priestley and none other than Jesse Spano herself, Elizabeth Berkley. Well, this season she is having Mark Paul Gosselaar on and I am so excited (ha, no pun intended), I can't stand it!! If you love food and pop culture like I do, you should check it out.

Jeff and I watched Kingsman:The Secret Service with Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson. What a great movie. Full of all the fun spy stuff that I love, humor and I got to look at Colin Firth for 2 hours. You can't go wrong with that.

How great was The Force Awakens, you guys?? I know it's been out for a few months now but I haven't had a chance to voice how much I loved it. I am so proud of JJ Abrams for doing such a spectacular job with it. The acting was phenomenal and Harrison Ford was wonderful and I think Charley has a bit of a crush on Daisy Ridley. What a kick ass lady she turned out to be, eh?? I can't wait to see what the franchise has in store.

Jeff and I recently watched a movie called All's Faire in Love, starring Christina Ricci. It came out in 2009, and I think Jeff bought it during one of the many FYE closings on clearance. Our January was pretty crappy so we wanted something to laugh at. It's super silly and takes place during a Renaissance Festival. !! They shot a good portion of the movie at the Michigan RenFest, to be exact and I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO COOL! We didn't know that going in, but we recognized a lot of the signs and stands while we were watching it. I googled it and low and behold, we really were watching our beloved RenFest on the screen. How much fun is that? Anyway, it's a goofy little movie but it sure made me smile. Huzzah!


I watched Top Gun for the first time ever a few weeks ago. I enjoyed Tom Cruise's smile and the relationship between him and Goose. Let's be serious though, it's basically just an advertisement for white t-shirts and aviators, with Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" thrown in as background music. Am I right??

Sidenote: Remember that VH1 show, Bands Reunited back in 2004?? It was only one season, but Jeff and I loved it. They should bring that back and do one with Barenaked Ladies. Oooh, or Guns n Roses!

I've given up on a few shows this year. I don't know what the deal is. Either I am losing my patience with the shows I once loved moving too slowly or they just aren't as good as they used to be. Either way, I have little time and not enough DVR space for mediocre TV these days. Here are a few series I have recently broken up with:

Castle: This one hurt. I love Nathan Fillion so much. SO MUCH. But I can't handle the "will they? won't they? yes they will! no they won't... just kidding, yes they will!" storyline anymore. I've had it. Get together and stay together or break up and stay apart. No more yo yo'ing. It's not interesting. It's annoying and the crime stories themselves aren't enough to hold my attention. Now, if they brought back Michael Mosley as the 3XK killer, I'd be all about it.

Once Upon a Time: Ack. I'm going to get yelled at for this one. But before anyone does yell at me, know this... my time apart from OUAT was more of a break so to speak and less of a full on break up. That's right, WE WERE ON A BREAK. I hated the Dark Swan storyline. I felt like all the characters were whispering all the time and I didn't like seeing King Arthur as a bad guy and I hated Emma's hair, but now that they are passed that nonsense, I am thinking of jumping back into it when it returns in March. I miss my Hook. So here's hoping they make things a little more fun and a little less blah this time around.

Reign: The show is somewhat based on real life events so I always knew that Francis wasn't going to be around forever, I just didn't realize how sad I would be once he was really gone. The combination of missing his character and hating Queen Elizabeth intensely made Jeff and I give up on it. They turned Elizabeth into a whiny (ugh, sooooo whiny), crying, lovesick Queen instead of the confident, strong ruler she should have been. I can't take it anymore and I have serious doubts that the show will get anywhere near a renewal for a season 4.

Shadowhunters: I read the first book, City of Bones and did not like it at all. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to that series but I just didn't care for it. I was curious about the TV show and Jeff seemed interested in it, so we checked it out. The first episode was pretty okay but the second one was like nails on a chalkboard. I just don't like the storyline. I think it's dumb. That's really all it amounts to.

Books?

I loved Rainbow Rowell's latest, Carry On, based on the characters with whom Cath was obsessed with in Fangirl. It made me sad that there wasn't a sequel to continue with after I finished it. I loved being in the world of mages if only temporarily and I adored Simon and Baz's relationship. That woman could write and entire book on a role of paper towel and it's pretty much a guarantee that I will be obsessed with it. I love her.

Speaking of love, After You by the lovely JoJo Moyes was excellent. I was so happy to be with Lou again and see what she's been up to, (Sidebar--- I know I sound like a crazy person talking about these characters like they are my bff's but cut me some slack. They ARE my bff's and I love them.) If you liked Me Before You, do yourself a favor and read the sequel. It will make you happy. Also, check out the trailer for the movie because it looks absolutely exquisite (heart emoji, heart emoji)

I read Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll and really enjoyed it. The story kept me riveted and I loved the way she wove the flashback stories into the present day occurrences. It was so seamless. Writing like that inspires me. I'm sick of stories being compared to Gone Girl or trying to be the next Gone Girl. This book was one of the ones that was compared to it but really, the only similarity between the two is that the main female character is basically an emotional mess. It's kind of disturbing at times but definitely intriguing. Check it out if you are looking for something to read.

I saw this commercial the other day:

Guys, if you are having that much trouble cutting your nails, just kindly ask someone else to cut them for you, okay? My goodness.

Charley wants you all to know that the series finale of Gravity Falls is on Monday at 7pm on DisneyXD. He's super bummed that it's ending but secretly, it warms my pop culture loving heart that he cares so much about a TV show.

Enjoy your Valentine's/Galentine's Days! Read some books, eat some cookies, smell some flowers or sit in your jammies all day doing nothing!

The Walking Dead comes back tomorrow, so we will be hanging with Rick Grimes and some zombies. Nothing says love like murderous brain eating walkers!