90's Dreamboat Valentine

Buzzfeed is awesome. I try to check it pretty often because it lifts my spirits and provides perfect procrasination opportunities.

This quiz deserves attention.
Which 90's dreamboat is your perfect valentine?

I got Pacey and couldn't be more thrilled!

Of course we matched up because we are a perfect match. I was such a Joey back in the day.

Confession: I could identify all the mouths on the mouth question. So yeah, I pretty much picked Pacey myself. I feel no guilt.

What you should be watching: Mad Men

So many people in my life are missing the greatness that is Mad Men. My first question is always, "Have you seen Jon Hamm?"

I get the drawbacks. It looks dark and potentially boring. It's based in the 1960's. AMC makes their episodes so long. There have been so many episodes already. All completely understandable. But there are so many reasons for anyone to watch this show! So I've made a list of some of my favorite reasons to keep watching:

Cultural references. Who doesn't love a history lesson while they're watching television? I can honestly say I've learned more from Mad Men than I have from a history book about the 1960s. If I had been alive during this time period, I would watch it religiously for nostalgic purposes. You get so much insight into race and gender relations, economic classes, and the apparent sex lives of my grandparents which I like to assume they had no part of.

Betty Draper. I really don't want to spoil this character for you. She fleshes out The Feminine Mystique and it's so entertaining to watch. I have had such a love-hate relationship with her since the beginning because I seriously don't know what I want from her. I want her to fight against all the housewife stereotypes and have her own ideas and be her own person, because you know I'm all about girl power. But when she steps out of those roles I usually get super pissed and tweet mean things about her. Besides my own issues, she wears the best clothes and goes into the best rages on the show.

Kiernan Shipka. This child can act. Sally is growing up in such a weird time period, and Kiernan knocks it out of the park every week, in my opinion. Her facial expressions alone are a gold mine.

"The Suitcase". One of the best television episodes I've ever seen. I was so absorbed in the episode that I didn't realize I was crying until it was over. Don and Peggy's relationship is so complicated, yet easy, and it was executed perfectly. I think one reason it's so great is that the elements for its success aren't on paper. Don't get me wrong, the writing and dialogue are outstanding, but a lot of the beauty in this episode comes from the acting and directing. Somehow the characters say so much by saying so little, and it was a refreshing change from other shows that pack their punch with wordy dialogue. Some people may not agree, but I loved it.

Roger Sterling. "You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbuttoning your collar, because we deserve it. We drink because it's what men do." This pretty much sums him up. Roger exudes pure masculinity and does whatever he wants whenever he wants. He has no filter. I see how he gets all the women.

Dialogue. Mad Men has some of the best writing on television. The plot turns are often genius and surprising, but the attention paid to word choice and musicality cannot go unnoticed. To me, the beauty is in the directness. I've always thought of the 60s as a sort of awakening from repression, but my parents were born in this decade so what do I know really? But the dialogue cements my connections to the characters and the world of SCDP. Some examples of my favorites:

Don: "What you call 'love' was invented by guys like me. To sell Nylons."

Peggy: "You need three ingredients for a cocktail. Vodka and Mountain Dew is an emergency."

Peggy: "I have a boyfriend."
Joyce: "He doesn’t own your vagina."
Peggy: "No, but he’s renting it."


Pete Campbell. To sum up Pete Campbell in one word, he is the worst. He's that guy at your office or in your class that sucks up to get ahead and thinks he has everyone fooled. I never want him to leave SCDP, though, because I love to hate him. He's just a sad individual and a joy to watch every week.

Intense Smoking and Drinking. It's like watching a trainwreck. Not only do they drink with their clients, but they drink alone in their offices in the middle of the day. Can't figure out a pitch? Just get blackout and take a nap on the couch. Quick fix! Watching this go down and knowing that Americans base their purchases on the campaigns these frat boys come up with is entertainment at its finest.

"The Other Woman". Another episode with Don and Peggy that made me cry. I'm sensing a pattern. This episode really made me question the direction of the show and long to see the next episode. And Joan? Oh I can't even deal. I liked her fine, but she really grew on me in season 5. This episode just broke my heart for completely necesssary reasons. Understanding the characters' decisions makes it worse for me.

Jon Hamm/ Don Draper. I could have made a list with just this entry on it and it would be reason enough to watch the show. Don Draper is a clear cut example of an antihero. He makes the worst life decisions, but I still love him. When he does something terrible to other characters on the show, somehow I wind up mad at the victims instead of Don. How does that happen? Jon Hamm. Besides the fact that he's a human Ken doll, the man can act. I loved him on 30 Rock, I wish he would be on SNL every week, and yet he still makes me cry on this show. I've seen him in blackface for crying out loud, but when he makes that tortured face, it's over and he knows it. I can't help but love him. The last episode in season 5 left a cliffhanger that really questions the essence of his character, so I'm dying for April to get here. Plus I need to see his face again.

Vulture provided a schedule to get through all the episodes before the premiere on April 7. By all means go at your own pace, but this could be helpful.

Fair warning: It's starts out slowly. I've never heard anyone say any different. Stick with it! It wins awards for a reason. Plus, Jon Hamm is smokin if I haven't mentioned it.

Maybe throw some tears at it?

This week on The Bachelor, Sean and the remaining ladies jetted out to St. Croix for some beach time after their wintertime adventures in Montana. I was really excited for this episode because Sean is down to the tough decisions since there are only six girls left: Desiree, Lesley, Catherine, AshLee, Lindsay, and Tierrable Tierra.

AshLee got the first one on one date and Sean took her on a catamaran to an island for some alone time. He asked her flat out about Tierra and AshLee ended up telling him a few watered down details about Tierra's bad behavior. (I don't think AshLee knew Tierra had just been making fun of her to the cameras this morning for being a 32 year old cougar and not being married yet.) I go back and forth about Sean and AshLee. I can tell they really like each other a lot, but I wouldn't pick her. I know she's been through more than I could understand, and I genuinely feel for her, but she honestly seems like an airhead. Maybe it's just the editing but I can't imagine having a real conversation with her. For instance, she wanted to tell Sean she loved him so she stared at him awkwardly and then yelled "I LOVE SEAN!!!" as loud as she could to the deserted island. That's just so immature to me. I would never do that. But I also don't know that I could tell someone that on national television either, so props to her for being more open with her feelings than I am. Oh, she also revealed she got married as a junior in high school and I think I speak for most people when I say, who cares?

Tierrable Tierra's one on one was next and she and Sean shopped around a marketplace and danced in the streets with some kind of parade. Her outfit was almost as tierrable as she is. I am a firm believer that shorts need seams. Tierra was putting on the biggest show I've ever seen. Sign this girl to a pilot, now. She was running and dancing through the streets with Sean in tow. She was laughing, but not in an evil way, which confused me. Then at dinner, she cried and told Sean she could sense a distance between them and that she was falling in love with him. Clearly she wanted to guilt a rose out of him.

The next two dates were pretty boring. First was the group date with Lindsay, Desiree, and Catherine. They watched the sun come up on the eastern shore of the island and took a road trip to the western shore to watch the sun set. In between they did a lot of jungly and islandy things. Sean really has a connection with all of these girls, so it was mostly just awkward for everyone to share him. One major theme of this date was all the crying. Desiree cried because she loves her family so much and Catherine cried because of her relationship with her father (I felt so bad she was talking about it on camera because I wouldn't have been able to). The date was so fun and carefree and then the one-on-one times turned into therapy sessions. Props to Sean for comforting all of them. Props to them for being comforted by Sean. Biggest props of all goes to Lindsay for stepping out of the limo in a wedding dress and getting the first rose into the final four. This girl is a champ regardless of what happens next.

Lesley's one-on-one was a boring date, plain and simple. They wandered around a garden. I mean that's cool except that it's nothing compared to the other girls' dates. I've said Lesley is my favorite from the beginning, and I realized it's because she handles it how I would. I wouldn't be able to drone on and on about my feelings when I watch him date other girls in front of me. Expecially not in front of cameras! I get that's the nature of the game, but I couldn't form a real connection in that situation. At least I don't think I could. I knew by the end of the date she was going home just because she wasn't forcing it.

Then all the DRAMA broke out. Tierra owes AshLee an apology and she needs to give it at the WTA. I could rehash why I was borderline infuriated with every word out of her mouth, but there's no point. The girl is immature and loves drama, bottom line. I hope she watches the show and is ashamed of how she acted. Sean came in on the fight and ended up sending Tierra home from her cot in the living room, which I thought was fitting.

Sean's sister was there to help with his Tierra problems, and I was super excited to see her! I'm such a fan of her blog. I get how nerdy that sounds, but it's true. I read it all the time.

Then comes the rose ceremony and Lesley goes home. I'm really sad about it, but I understand.

Next week: Hometowns! Desiree's brother looks like a total jerk, so I'm pumped after all her talk about their close knit family.

Later.

Cure for a Mopey Monday

My Monday has been fantastic, but I know that's not the case for everyone. The fact that I have a chance to post this before 8pm should show how productive I've been for the past two days. Only a handful of people know how much trouble I've been having with my screenplay, but I think I'm finally getting somewhere. For better or for worse. Say what you will about the creative process, but there is no way to force it into a box. Direction and ideas don't just flow out when I'm looking for them. They make you wait. Or at least where I'm concerned.

I'm going to embrace this progress until Thursday when I will be pulled back down to reality by my professor. That's grad school for you.

Until then, what's better for a Monday than some John K faces?

How cute is he? 

Whoops...

Sometimes I write blog posts and forget to actually publish them. This is why you just got a post about The Bachelor from a week ago. My apologies.

First I wanted to share a recipe. I cook every single day and have found some great ones, but I always forget to share them.

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and made it my own. First of all, I cut down the ingredients to only make one portion size because I only make food for myself. I also left out the cheese and mayonnaise and used the recipe for "Cream of Anything Soup" the author includes at the bottom of the first recipe. I added spinach to the recipe, as well. It was delicious. I love finding recipes on Pinterest, but I rarely make them exactly like the recipe says. I'm an experimenter. Actually, I'm cheap and I like to use what I have on hand when I get the opportunity.

I also made some stuffed peppers the other night, which are pretty self explanatory and can be made with any ingredients. They were really good, so I'm recommending you check out some Pinterest recipes.

I finished the Virgin Diet and now I'm gluten and dairy free! The gluten part is pretty minor. I just feel better and feel like I have more energy now. When I get my hands on dairy, though, I know it pretty quickly. A few days ago the Starbucks guy called out my drink order but handed me the wrong drink (an obvious talent). I knew it was wrong as soon as I tasted it, and he righted the wrong, but that tiny sip of milk was enough to tie my stomach in knots. I feel so much better since I've been off dairy. I don't even miss cheese. How weird is that?

Y'all know I bake all the time, so that has been my biggest problem. I've been staying away from sugar as much as I can Whole Foods saved the day with their dairy-free chocolate chips, gluten free baking products, and sugar substitutes so I don't have to miss the baking! It's kind of pricey though so I have to use my brain and not my stomach for such purchases.

I just found some GF DF chocolate cake recipes, so get ready to see those soon enough.


It's Complicated is coming on tonight, so that's where I'll be if you need me. I can't pass up John and Alec together. Add Meryl and it's really the perfect storm.

FAVORITE PART!!

Is ABC reading this?

The Bachelor stepped its game up on the reals this week with two episodes that didn't make me go right to Twitter for entertainment.

At first I was super pissed about the Tuesday episode because not only did the episode take over my Tuesday night which I reserve for other shows, but it also started an hour later. Watching the last rose ceremony was more like listening to the last rose ceremony because I couldn't keep my old eyes open. 

Let's start on Monday's episode. Sean and Lindsay's date must have been a borefest because we only got to hear her make the speech she had clearly been practicing for awhile. Who refers to their childhood as adolescence? Better yet, who uses the word twice in one sentence? No one that would be caught dead in a wedding dress on the Bachelor, I can tell you that. 

The group date looked like fun to me. I think competitions bring out everyone's natural personalities instead of the one they put on camera and in front of Sean. Lesley cemented her spot as my favorite when she said, "Weak people piss me off. Losing pisses me off." Story of my life, girl.

The craziest part of the whole episode was Tierra, as usual. I thought she was just doing it for attention, but I think she's legitimately crazy. She took one of the blue team's shirts and snuck on over to the group date she wasn't invited on. Outside of The Bachelor this would be considered insane, so I think we should unpack that. You can't just go showing up on your non-exclusive boyfriend's other dates. Like you can't do that. Why didn't he feel that way? Also, Sean gives Daniella a rose because she's acting like a baby instead of Desiree who drank goat's milk straight from the utter! I would NOT stand for that.

Then at the 2 on 1, the girl that was clearly going home before the date even started (just looked up her name-- Jackie) had to spend extra time around Tierra when she should have just gone home willingly. Who knows when Tierra will snap? Jackie was brave to sit and talk to Sean about Tierra so openly when we all know the one thing that girl does better than cry on cue is creep around where she isn't wanted. Sean sends Jackie home (surprise) and Tierra acts like she won the lottery. All Tierra had to do was talk about something other than the other girls.

At the cocktail party, the girls are all talking about Tierra and all her drama, essentially creating more drama. Robyn and Lesley go up and confront her, Mean Girls style, even though they're claiming they are the nice ones in this scenario. Weird. I'm fully confident that Tierra will mess up her chances on her own, so there's no need to make more drama. Oh yes there is. This is The Bachelor.

Robyn goes home. No one is surprised. There was absolutely no chemistry there.

On Tuesday's episode, they're still in the Great White North or somewhere with a lot of snow. Sean takes Catherine on a 1 on 1 to frolic on a glacier. I know post-production made it look all sweet and cute, but I know their noses were running like faucets and they were shivering. No one plays in snow for that long. They have great chemistry, in my opinion, and I really like her for the most part. I'm saying final four at least.

On the group date, Sean pressures the girls into jumping into freezing water. Apparently people do this "Polar Bear Plunge" on purpose on the reg, but I would have to agree with Selma that it's a terrible idea. I would have a cold by the end of the night. Tierra had to use another opportunity to be crazy and pretended to have some kind of hypothermia that is magically cured by nomming on a hamburger in your robe. She seemed perfectly fine after that. But really, that's twice that we know of the girl has needed a doctor during the month she has been there. Let's compare that to the other girls. I hope you're watching this closely, Sean, and you might want to upgrade your insurance to be able to cover all her nonsense. I could type out everything I was screaming at the television, but the bottom line is Sean needs to be smart enough to see past all this drama. If not, he deserves what he gets.

Sarah gave me the heartbreak of my week. I knew she wasn't going to last, but her speech about never being good enough and never being the right choice just broke me. A lot of things on this show are fake, but everything she said was just raw honesty and I wanted to give her the ice cream I was eating. She deserved it more than I did.

Daniella left. Not shocking, although she seemed shocked. Selma was gone too since she wouldn't jump in the water. 

Tune in next week for the inevitable Tierrable drama that's bound to unfold.

Confession Time.

I'm finally going to admit to a fetish I've had for awhile now, but is bubbling to the surface with force as of late.

I'm not usually attracted to older men. By older, I mean over the age of like 40. I don't see the Sean Connery appeal. Sorry Harrison Ford. I've never really had a thing for Clooney the way other people do. Even Daniel Craig does nothing for me.

I nod and smile when people bring up their old man crushes, but there's nothing I can say because I just don't see it. This is mainly because my old man crush is an... unusual one.

Here you probably think I'm going to say it's my grandpa or something weird because I'm from Alabama, but I'm sorry to disappoint you.

It's Bradley Whitford.

I don't understand it. I don't try to. I just sit and stare at his fluffy hair and try to contain my love while sardonic cynicism drips from his mouth. It's like I'm under a spell.

I've spent my last few weeks living in the Bartlet White House and continued this right into my old stand-by, Studio 60.

I tell you all of this, because I've realized I should just be proud of it. Maybe he's no underwear model. He's no James Bond. He's older than my parents. But his timing is impeccable.

I'm also telling you all of this so I can share this gem: http://fuckyeahbradleywhitford.tumblr.com/

I swear I didn't make it, but I fully support it.

"If you want to run, I understand, but you'd better get a good head start 'cause I'm coming for you..."

Bored.

Most people know I've been watching the Bachelor franchise since Alex was stupid enough to pass up Trista in season 1. Most people also know that it takes some sort of act of God for me to stop watching a television show once I start. I'm a loyal fan to the point of insanity. I'm still laughing at The Office, for crying out loud.

But this season of the Bachelor is reallyyyy pushing my limits.

I could sit here and tell you what I think about all the women in the house, but they're all terrible. I've already mentioned the few I like, but the rest are just there to annoy me. I usually love watching, snarking, and then going on Possessionista's website to see where they get their clothes. The clothes aren't even good this season.

Leslie got to go on a "shopping spree" to Rodeo Drive. Anyone remember Jackie Gordon's shopping spree? Now that was big time. Leslie got to buy one dress from Badgley Mischka, and it looked just like one I tried on back when I was shopping for prom in 2007. It just wasn't entertaining, and she was annoying. Not to mention, the girl was on an episode of Happy Endings recently which is a shining example of not being there for the right reasons. She was super awkward and way too attached to Sean already.

Tierra is just overdoing it for me. Girls from other seasons did the "bad guy" routine so much better. Courtney Robertson? Vienna? Michelle Money? So much more entertaining.

This is one of my only feminine guilty pleasures. Why can't I just have it the way I want it? Are there no normal contestants left? Did the well dry up with Emily Maynard?

Lifetime gets Rob Lowe, then ABC drops the ball.

I thought I was going to have it all and that the girly girl down deep inside of me might worm her way towards the top. Sorry parents, looks like you're stuck with me.