friday favorites #35: week of september 7, 2017

Fun (?) fact: This post has been in the works for about three months. I just never quite seem to get it finished on Friday, so then the next time I come to it, I swap out old favorites and add new ones. But today I've done it—I've actually finished a Friday Favorites! (As my sister would demand: "CLAP FOR ME!")
This time around, I'm linking up with A Little Bit of Everything and Carolina Charm.

1. The Newsroom

I've been a fan of Aaron Sorkin since before I even knew who he was—Sports Night, which was created and written by Sorkin, aired when I was in high school, and I loved it. When The West Wing started airing (while Sports Night was still on the air, but on a different network), I thought it sounded boring, so I gave it a pass. Had I known it was also a Sorkin show, I probably would've tried it out, but I paid zero attention to showrunners at that time, so I didn't know Sorkin was behind Sports Night.

A couple years ago, I finally decided to watch The West Wing ... and then I ended up watching the entire series run in a few months. (The West Wing even ended up in a Friday Favorites a while back.)

I remember hearing about Sorkin's The Newsroom when it aired, but it was on HBO, so watching wasn't even a consideration then. It's been on Amazon Prime for a while now, but I was hesitant because it carries a TV-MA rating. (Personally, I don't want the explicit sex and/or violence that can come with a TV-MA rating, but the swearing doesn't usually bother me.) Looking for something different to watch on Labor Day, I finally gave it a go.

I'm completely addicted.

First of all, the TV-MA rating comes solely from language (the fairly liberal use of the f-word). Other than that, it is something that could've been shown on broadcast TV. The first season aired in 2012, but it was set in 2010, so they're constantly dealing with real events, and they often use clips from FOX News, CNN, etc. I completely buy Jeff Daniels as moderate Republican anchor Will McAvoy, and I really enjoy all of the characters. There's no loathsome character (the worst so far is Chris Messina's Reese, but he's not that bad), just people who I want to see succeed. And it doesn't hurt that there are three relationships to, well, ship :-) Plus, it's funny. I wouldn't call the show a comedy, but I laugh out loud at least once per episode.

I've watched all of the first season in just a few days, and I'm already 1/3 of the way through season two. And there are only three season, so by this time next week, I'll probably be finished with the whole thing. (It's just 25 episodes, so don't judge too much.)

Anyway, if you enjoyed The West Wing and you don't mind a little language, check out The Newsroom. It's just wonderful.

Watch on Amazon Prime.

2. The Cubs' Twitter account

Whoever runs this account is brilliant. Case in point:

They also have gifs for every.single.thing.ever. For someone who's not a fan (me one year ago), it's probably not quite so entertaining, but following Cubs Twitter is one of my favorite aspects of each game.

Also. I recently subscribed to a service that will let me listen to the radio broadcast of each game. It's $3/month, so I really just need to pay $6 to get me through the season (once we hit the playoffs, which I sincerely hope the Cubs are part of, I'll be able to watch all the games). TOTALLY worth it!

3. Nadamoo

Chocolate Nadamoo and gluten-free lemon scones for my birthday.
Only one of these things was worth the calories!

A little more than a month ago, an ad for Nadamoo popped into my Instagram feed. I'd never heard of it before, but it's turned out to be the best dairy-free "ice cream" I've ever tasted! Huge shout out to Blendy here, as she found it for me in an Omaha Hy-Vee. Here's hoping it comes to Grand Island soon!

4. Arie as The Bachelor

The producers of The Bachelor actually did the unexpected when they named the next Bachelor yesterday—they picked Arie Luyendyk Jr. As far as I know, Arie's last appearance on a franchise show was when he showed up during Sean Lowe's season to give him kissing tips ... Arie was known as the "kissing bandit" on Emily Maynard's season of The Bachelorette.

The reaction to Arie's casting has been mixed—mainly it's either "WHO???" or "I LOVE ARIE!!!" I fall into the second camp 😉.

Arie apparently has quite the reputation as a womanizer, and not for one second do I believe he's going to find a woman to spend the rest of his life with on The Bachelor. But I welcome the opportunity to have Arie on my TV once a week!

Here's why I love Arie ...

Exhibit A


Exhibit B

5. Tell Me Three Things

Tell Me Three Things is pretty much the YA version of You've Got Mail. And I loved it. Keep in mind that there's some adult content (language, talk of sex), but I definitely recommend it for adults. So fun! (See my review.)

What have you been enjoying recently? Do you have feelings about Arie as the Bachelor?