watches Parenthood

After my favorite HBO series (Sex in the City and Sopranos) went off the air, I didn't really follow any shows on TV. I netflixed a lot and caught some Food Network or HGTV randomly. I watch some of the usual reality shows like America's Next Top Model and Top Chef but I never got into Lost, Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy or any of those series that is so wildly popular. While flipping through the channels one night we stopped on Parenthood and have been dvr'ing it ever since.

I'm probably late to the game but I love this show. It's about four siblings and their relationships with each other, their children and their parents. They are so many characters, plots, subplots, twists and turns - it's so entertaining. More than that, the characters and families are real. They act out many big issues families deal with; divorce, autism, single motherhood, multi-cultural dating but also delve into smaller ones like children lying and wanting to have "cool" parent friends.



From the NBC website:

"Parenthood" is a one-hour drama inspired by the box-office hit of the same name. This re-imagined and updated Universal Media Studios/Imagine Television production introduces audiences to the very large, very colorful and imperfect Braverman family. Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham, "Gilmore Girls"), a financially strapped single mother, is packing up her Fresno apartment and uprooting her two inconvenienced kids, Amber (Mae Whitman, "In Treatment") and Drew (Miles Heizer, "ER"), to make a big move back home to Berkeley to be closer to her family. On the home front, Sarah is greeted by her larger-than-life, headstrong father, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson, "Family Stone," "Coach"), and pillar-of-strength mother, Camille (Bonnie Bedelia, "Heart Like a Wheel"), who are privately dealing with their own marital issues. Meanwhile, Sarah's sister and complete antithesis, Julia (Erika Christensen, "Traffic") is a successful corporate attorney trying to juggle work and motherhood, alongside her stay-at-home husband, Joel (Sam Jaeger, "Eli Stone.") Commitment-phobe Crosby (Dax Shepard, "Baby Mama"), Sarah’s younger brother, must suddenly contend with accepting adult responsibility when an old flame Jasmine (Joy Bryant "Antwone Fisher") shows up unexpectedly and he must re-evaluate his priorities. However, it's Adam (Peter Krause, "Six Feet Under"), the oldest Braverman sibling, who must relinquish his preconceived expectations about what constitutes a "normal" family when he, his wife Kristina (Monica Potter, "Trust Me") and teenage daughter, Haddie (Sarah Ramos, "American Dreams"), learn that their eccentric son and Haddie’s little brother, Max (Max Burkholder, "Brother and Sisters"), is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

I hope this show sticks around.....

Watch an episode here.




What TV show do you love?


Until tomorrow,

is loving garage sale season!

Truth be told I haven't been to a garage sale in a while. I grew up on them, my parents were always big on "green" living and thrift so it was a given we'd spend a free Saturday morning driving around checking out other people's discards. However, my husband doesn't like the unpredictability of them - which I get; a lot of times you spend the time but can't find a thing worth buying. Instead we usually spend our free weekends having brunch, going to the playground, relaxing around the house, etc

This morning Sophia woke me up at 6:45 am as usual, so I took the opportunity to be an early bird at a 40 family yard sale. Sophia and I were among the first people there and got first dibs on some fun items.

Some of my finds:

• Foo Fighters Greatest Hits cd- $1 and Kings of Leon cd - $1 (I bought both cds for Danny - he wasn't too impressed - what a tough cookie)
• Shopaholic books - $1 each - Have you ever read these? They are laugh out loud funny. Ten times better than the movie (sorry Isla).
• I also picked up some kids clothes $1 each - some new with tags. In my opinion you can never have too many kid's clothes.

But my hands down favorite find of the day was:

Teatro Olivia - $4

How cute is this paper doll kit,
complete with stage, backdrops and costumes to perform 3 operas?

I think it's official I'm back in the garage sale game........





What did you do this weekend?



Until tomorrow,

was close to predicting the winner!

America's Next Top Model - Cycle 14

I picked Raina as my choice to win this season of America's Next Top Model - Cycle 14 back in this March 11 post. Turns out I was almost right, she was the runner up and bowed out gracefully to Krista last night. I've been watching this show for many seasons already but this was one of my favorite finales. The Anna Sui fashion show was fun and playful with a slight 60's British rock band feel. Both girls looked beautiful. What a tough choice....

Here's the runner up Raina in her cover girl ad:

Here's the winner Krista in her cover girl ad:

Watch any good TV lately?


Until tomorrow,

is loving her new shades!

I went to Macy's to return a disastrous self tanner (more on that in a future post). One thing led to another and I am now the happy owner of these Gucci sunglasses.....
\


What have you bought lately?


Until tomorrow,

was reminded that life is fragile

I'm going to keep it light today.

We've been planning my daughter's baptism for some time and life has thrown a major wrench into our plans....Our godfather's father will be removed from life support after rapidly deteriorating from what was meant to be a quick hospital stay. We've chosen instead for our thoughts and prayers to go towards their family. We'll reschedule later in the summer.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart,
and you shall see that in truth
you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
~Kahlil Gibran

had a beautiful Mother's Day!

All in all I had the perfect Mother's Day...

It started on Saturday evening when I opened up some of my Mother's Day gifts. I got silver earrings with red stones (kind of a southwestern feel to them), a picture frame, a sushi kit from Crate and Barrel and a photo album from Pottery Barn. Danny got me a pair of Banana Republic sunglasses which unfortunately are a little tight and a gorgeous Gucci purse which I've already moved into.

On Sunday morning, I got the girls dressed to go out for Mother's Day (Olivia kept saying it was her birthday).





We got into the car, made a pit stop at Starbucks and then spontaneously changed our plans because of the freakishly cold weather. Instead of driving 2 hours away to Philly, we spent a relaxing day close to home. The four of us (Husby, Olivia, Sophia and I) tried an Indian restaurant I've driven by before in the past that always looked interesting, Dabbawalla in Summit, New Jersey. I learned some pretty interesting cultural facts about the Indian lunch system, read all about it here. We had the Mother's Day buffet, it was delicious. I love Indian food especially anything with Paneer (a kind of cottage cheese cube substituted for meat in various dishes). Some of you may be wondering what do the girls eat when we go to "exotic" restaurants and to be honest they eat what we eat. Olivia had an Indian kids meal with chickpea fritters and also shared a little of our naan (similar to pita bread), puri (puffed pita bread), rice and various fruits and vegetables. Sophia had little nibbles of everything - we are still waiting for those teeth....

Later in the day, we went to a park and Danny and Olivia flew a kite, it was so cute. I stayed with Sophia who was taking a little nap and caught up on the latest Marie Claire magazine with Sarah Jessica Parker (don't you just love her?!?!).

Afterwards we went to Red Mango for frozen yogurt ( a recent obsession of mine). Later on we came home and I snuck in a little nap, that almost never happens.

In the evening, we put the girls to bed and had the perfect ending to a memorable day. Danny cooked Carne Frita which was yummy and we ate it while we watched the movie Leap Year while drinking a glass of Moscato. I thought the movie was fun, I really don't get critics sometimes.....




How did your day turn out?





Until tomorrow,

wishes you a Happy Mother's Day!

You are the trip I did not take;
You are the pearls I cannot buy;
You are my blue Italian lake;
You are my piece of foreign sky.

(“To My Child,” quoted in Charles L. Wallis, ed., The Treasure Chest [1965], 54)