Orange is the New Black

I've been hearing and reading a ton of great buzz about Orange is the New Black, a new Netflix series.  "Netflix series," of course, meaning that it's tailor-made for binge-watching in an air-conditioned paradise during the upcoming sweltering weekend.  The show is about a Brooklyn woman with an artisanal soap business (i.e., the most yuppified yuppie who ever yupped) who ends up with a fifteen-month sentence in federal prison for some long-past indiscretions involving her ex's drug dealing.  Everything I've read indicates it's awesome -- lots of comparisons to Mad Men and Breaking Bad. 

Once I finish Friday Night Lights (just a few years too late, though Tami Taylor's hair is forever), I might have to move on to this.  Are you watching anything good these days?

(Top image via The Atlantic; bottom image via Entertainment Weekly.)

Set your DVR!

Mad Men returns on April 7!  With a two hour premiere, no less.  Enjoy these photos of ridiculously good-looking people cavorting at what is surely a fabulous cocktail party.

And just because I love prognosticating on what the season will hold based purely on promotional photos, don't these speak volumes about the women in Don's life?

Betty: OVER IT (but obviously not really, because who could ever really be over Hamm, so a little stone-cold posing can't hurt, can it?). 

Sally: Turning more and more into Betty Junior with every passing minute.

Megan: "Heeeey."

Peggy: "I'm coming for you and all your business, Draper.  And if you think your side-eye scares me, you've got another thing coming." 

What do you think will be this year's Zou Bisou Bisou?  And DOES THIS MEAN THAT FAT BETTY IS GONE?

PS: Mad Men Withdrawal, and one of my favorite Mad Men scenes.  Finally, Kiernan Shipka is adorable.  That is all.

(Photos via AMC.)

Brrrrrrr.

It is downright freezing and unpleasant outside.  If you too are a Burrito of Sadness, a few things to help you cope:

The Mindy Project.  It is laugh-so-hard-you-wake-up-your-sleeping-dog hilarious.  (And you can watch it burrito-ed into your couch.  Mindy would approve.)

I've been using Vitamin E oil to moisturize my face (I read about this trick here).  It is heavy, and I don't know that I'll keep it up once I have my heater dialed down and there is a drop of moisture in the air, but for now, it feels fantastic.  For the rest of your parched winter skin, Kiehl's Creme de Corps is a splurge, but so very worth it. 

And if all else fails, drink.  These Winter Sun cocktails are citrusy (fights scurvy!) and a great pick-me-up for when you feel like winter is never, ever, ever ending (warning: your kitchen might end up looking like this).

(Top illustration by Jillian Fleck, via The Daily Muse; Mindy Project image via Vulture; skin photo by Yulia Gorbachenko; Winter Sun cocktail images by Two Tarts via Cup of Jo.)

Anything Could Happen

Given Lena Dunham's sweep of the Golden Globes, I appear to be in the decided minority when I say that I didn't love Girls.  I wanted to think it was fantastic, but I just didn't -- I didn't hate the show, but I couldn't figure out what everyone else saw that I didn't.  It bothered me to the point where I watched the first season over again to see what I was missing.  And then, it hit me: I cannot stand creepy boyfriend (?) Adam.  He just repulses me and I found the way Hannah followed him even worse.  Once I put that aside, I liked it a lot more, and the second season trailer looked a lot more interesting.

It got stuck in my head, too -- thankfully, not because of creepy Adam, but because of the catchy song in the second half, Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding.  Do yourself a favor and listen to the rest of her album, Halcyon (available on Spotify) -- it's great.

How I Met Your Mother

Thanks to the wonder that is Netflix, I have been on an absolute tear through How I Met Your Mother in the last couple of weeks.  I've never watched it before, but the promises that were made to me about how people "my age" would think it's hilarious have proven correct.  (And it's funny to see Jason Segel in action before he was the kind of movie star that he is now).  Even though it bears almost no resemblance to Sex and the City, watching these guys hang out at "their bar" is eerily similar to watching the girls at "their diner," and has a way of making you wish fervently that you had that much time on your hands to hang out with your friends. 

It's been a while since I've watched a half hour sitcom, and without commercials, the episodes are just over twenty minutes.  Perfect for dish-washing or laundry-folding distraction.

Are you watching anything funny these days?