North America

Have you heard about the new nature documentary North America? I don't have cable so I hadn't heard a thing about it until my friend Kate introduced me to it last weekend (and we stayed up into the wee hours of the morning watching the first three episodes). It's similar to shows like Planet Earth but focuses on, as the title would suggest, just North America. The landscapes are gorgeous, but the footage they capture of the animals is insane.





From giant jellyfish to chipmunks fights to a one-eyed bobcat (yes, really), nature is totally mind blowing.

The Discovery Channel did not pay me to say any of this, but they should have for as much as I've been talking about this show lately.

1950s London

I love a good movie or show set in another time period, don't you? It's like watching history come alive. Netflix knows this about me, that's why I have several "taste preference rows" (or whatever they're called) based on period films. (One is even called "Sentimental Romantic 20th Century Period Pieces" ...yikes, embarrassing.) So when I heard about Call the Midwife, set in 1950s London, I pretty much inhaled it.



Based off the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, who was a midwife in 1950s London, the show follows new midwife Jenny as she learn the ropes from her new friends and a few nuns. I wasn't initially drawn in by the idea of a show about midwives, but it ended up being really fascinating. And of course there's love interests, eccentric characters, and everything else you'd want from a great British period drama. The first season is available to watch on Netflix, and the second season just started on PBS! It's a good holdover until Downton is back.

Photo via the BBC.

The Valentine Channel

"Hey Girl, did you know I have my own channel for Valentine's Day?"

This is pretty brilliant: Time Warner Cable is offering an entire channel of Ryan Gosling for Valentine's Day. Throughout February eight of his movies available are On Demand, so you can make sure you get your February fill of the meme-worthy star whether you have a valentine or not. It's definitely cheesy to watch The Notebook on Valentine's Day... right?

Image via here

The Big Game

There's a big game this weekend that millions of Americans will gather around television sets across the country to enjoy as one nation: The Puppy Bowl. Ok, so yes, there is another big game happening, but let's talk about one that we can all enjoy, not just those of us who like football.

If you're not familiar with the highlight of a dog lover's year, let me explain. The Puppy Bowl runs at the same time as The Super Bowl every year and features a bunch of adorable puppies frolicking on a miniature football field. That's it! Four hours of puppies. It's pretty much the greatest. Let's take a look at some standouts in this year's starting line up:











All the dogs in this year's Puppy Bowl are shelter dogs available for adoption, which I love. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the Super Bowl party I'm going to won't be showing the Puppy Bowl, so I'll just have to catch the highlights on Monday. And when I do, this puppy voice will definitely be happening.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Top photo via here for Animal Planet, all other photos from Animal Planet

A Little Bit of Knope

Just a little bit of hilarity for your Wednesday morning. I've been inhaling season two of Parks and Recreation on Netflix lately, it's so funny. I may have laughed out loud at this part around 1:30 a.m. this morning, hopefully I didn't wake up my roommates!

PS: Watch the same thing here, on a loop. Then die laughing.

Pep Talk

No Weekend in Pictures today, I was apparently having a very hard time focusing my camera this weekend. So, instead of blurry pictures, how about a pep talk from Coach Taylor to get through the rest of Monday?


PS, if you didn't watch Friday Night Lights when it was on the air, you should probably remedy that soon. The whole series is available to watch instantly on Netflix. I promise, it's not just about football.