friday favorites #25: week of june 10, 2016

1. Lois & Clark

I started rewatching Lois & Clark while I was yearbooking.

Long yearbooking night ahead, and I'm going old school with my entertainment. I was SOOOOO in love with Lois & Clark (and #deancain). Watching the pilot now. Look, it's the original Jimmy and the soon-to-disappear Cat Grant! #yearbookadvisor #90snostalgia

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on May 24, 2016 at 8:34pm PDT

I got completely hooked ... to the point that one night, after watching about four episodes, I dreamed I was planning my wedding to Dean Cain. It is seriously the celebrity crush that never dies!

I'm currently in season three, and I'm loving it! Also, watching Lois & Clark just brings to light how much the TV landscape has changed in the last 20 years. For example, Lois & Clark don't sleep together until after their wedding; in fact, Clark is a virgin when they marry. When was the last time a TV couple saved sex for marriage? I can't think of any examples. (I'm sure they're out there--so let me know in the comments if you think of one!)

2. NBA Finals
I'm absolutely 100% pulling for the Golden State Warriors. I couldn't care less about the NBA during the regular season, but I always enjoy watching the playoffs, and I just love the Warriors!

Game 3 wasn't much fun to watch (you Cavs fans probably disagree with me), but hopefully it gave the Warriors the push they need to wrap this thing up in two more games.

3. Reading for the INSPY Awards

I can't really talk about these books yet, but I'm immersed in the five selections I'm reading as a judge for the contemporary romance/romantic suspense category of the INSPYs. When I do INSPY reading, I try to block off a chunk of time when I can read one whole book, so I can just immerse myself in the author's world. (It helps that I'm a very fast reader!) You can see the short listed books in all of the categories here. I've read many of them, and I can't wait to find out which books win!

4. Gardening
I know, I know--this was a favorite last time. But I'm SO enjoying my plants!

Please ignore the grass that so obviously needs to be mowed and the weeds that need to be pulled!

I even had my first cilantro a few days ago!

This week, I decided to branch out in my gardening, and I purchased some hostas (and a couple other plants)! They came in the mail today, so I know what I'll be doing this weekend!

Here's hoping I can be more like my father than my mother when it comes to keeping plants alive! (My track record isn't so good.)

5. Anchor in the Storm by Sarah Sundin

Sarah Sundin is one of my top three authors. I absolutely devour everything she writes, and her latest book, Anchor in the Storm, released last month. It is fantastic. Set during World War II, it follows a young pharmacist who uncovers a drug ring that seems to be centered around the pharmacy she works at. Plus, there's great romance. Here's part of what I said in my review:

Anchor in the Storm is a book that will captivate you from beginning to end while transporting you into the fascinating world of Boston during World War II. I loved every second I spent reading it, and I almost wish I could start it all over again!

Go here to see the rest of my review.

As usual, I'm linking up with Erika, Christina, and Karli. What are some things you've been enjoying this week?

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march madness?

I would not call myself a basketball fan. Perhaps this is a result of my upbringing, as I come from a state that lives and breathes football. Born in Kansas but raised in Nebraska, I'm a diehard Husker fan ... until March Madness rolls around. Then it's KU all the way! (And I'll readily admit that I cheer for KU because the Husker men's basketball program is ... rather pathetic. I just looked it up--the last time the Huskers made it to the NCAA tournament was 1998. And they've only been six times in their entire history ... but they did win the NIT once!)

There's just something special about March Madness. I don't watch basketball at all until the tournament begins, but then I can't get enough of it! I was bit by the MM bug in 1995, when I watched the UCLA Bruins win the National Championship. The fact that I still remember (a) the names Ed O'Bannon and Tyus Edney and (b) that the TV coverage of the event began with a montage of tournament moments set to "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from the Lion King is perhaps pathetic, but it shows how much that game impacted me. (I couldn't tell you the name of any current collegiate basketball player.)

I fill out a bracket each year, but there's no science behind it. I have two guides that I follow (I wouldn't call them rules because I have broken them, but they're pretty constant): 1. Kansas will win it all. 2. Schools with cool-sounding names will survive the first round. Now, I'm no idiot--I know that most years Kansas won't win it all. But I'd sure like Kansas to win ... and if I pick them every year, then I'll be right in the years--like 2008--that they do pull it off. I also know that Gonzaga and Xavier probably won't go very far--though they have pulled off upsets in the past, and Xavier often makes it to the 2nd round--but I just love the names! For the other picks, I usually go with the higher-rated one in the first round, and after that it's kind of a crapshoot. Yes, I'm a girl about my picks.

This year, I've filled out four brackets, thanks to Facebook. I'll go with my family pool bracket as the official one, at least until the others start doing better :-) My final four pics are Duke, North Carolina, Kansas State, and Kansas, with Duke and Kansas in the final and (duh!) Kansas winning.

Who wins your bracket this year?

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