Saturday Coffee Break

It’s Chili January!  Time for a nice hot cup of joe and a Saturday chat.

1. As you have probably noticed by now, Chili January is in full swing and you are invited!  It’s all about warm tasty chili recipes and complementary sides all month long.  So check in regularly for new recipes.  Oh!  And, send me your favorite chili recipe ever and maybe I will even feature it next year….

2. My Christmas decorations are still up and honestly, it’s getting a little ridiculous.  I absolutely must de-decorate soon, because it’s becoming silly and at a certain point things will start getting downright annoying, but my motivation to do such things is lost somewhere.  I need a deadline!  I always do better with deadlines (Real deadlines, mind you, not just made up deadlines in my head.  Those are utterly useless)!

3. I have a confession to make.  Over the past couple years I have become completely smitten with British/Scottish TV shows.  In fact, I’m pretty much addicted and hardly even care about US television anymore.  I have nearly watched every British offering available on Netflix and I fear I may soon go into withdrawal!  Is it the accent, you say?  Well, undoubtedly… but it’s so much more.  Rather than bore you with the details of my British TV lust, I will just mention a few of my favorite shows that are absolutely worth watching:

• Sherlock –  Benedict Cumberbatch is perfection as Sherlock and I may have a bit of a crush – the mass of dark curls that he wears so well, the upturned collar, the sharp analytical mind always searching for the next juicy puzzle.  And Martin Freeman is great as Dr. John Watson, the loyal friend with a good heart and crooked smile, suffering through the daily exasperation of being Sherlock’s trusted sidekick.  The best Sherlock Holmes adaptation I have ever seen.
• Broadchurch – Oh, this is a good one!  So good, I’ve watched it twice.  Actually, I will probably watch it again when the 3rd season comes out.  It’s about the aftermath of the murder of a young boy in a small town in England.  While it is definitely a whodunit that will leave you guessing until the end, the real treasure of this show is the characters and how they react to the events that follow.  The emotions are spot-on and the acting is superb.  Interestingly, the director kept the identity of the murderer a secret from the actors until one of the last shows of the season to keep the actors’ reactions as authentic as possible.  While it’s not the most lighthearted or uplifting show, it is somehow still heartwarming.  Really amazing show.
• Doc Martin – True to my medicine loving heart, Doc Martin is a curmudgeonly surgeon from London with a sudden new phobia of blood, which forces him to become a general practitioner in a tiny coastal town.  In true British style, every character in town has a quirky personality, and Doc Martin gets himself into numerous troublesome situations.  A funny, quirky, warm-hearted show.
• The IT Crowd – You’ll have to search the dredges of Netflix for this one, but it’s there and it’s worth the search!  This show is a real British specialty and if you watch it you’ll know what I mean.  It’s a bit weird at times, but hilarious and totally entertaining.  Of course, having a computer nerd hubby that works in IT makes this show that much funnier.

Okay, enough of British TV shows for now, but I will undoubtedly share more of my favorites some other time and you will eventually realize the full extent of my obsession….

4. I heart snowflakes!

5. I made these Sticky Date Cinnamon Rolls for New Year’s Day breakfast this year and they were out-of-this-world good!  I’m a little obsessed with dates and all the caramelly goodness….

6. Today, for the first time in years, I will be tuning in to a football game, on purpose!  My hometown NDSU Bison are heading to Texas to try for their 5th consecutive National Championship! North Dakota State has won four straight National Championships from 2011-2014, a feat that has never been accomplished prior in FCS/I-AA history.  And today, they are trying to make even more history.

GO BISON!!

Until next time….