Why "The O.C." is The Greatest.

This weekend has been a stormy one in Asheville, so Jordan and I were forced to resort to frozen pizza and marathoning TV shows. 

...okay, well, the truth is that Jordan spent a lot of time in his woodshop and only watched two or three episodes with me. But that is because he's a productive, non-vegetable. 

So we watched a few episodes of season 2 of Fargo (which, by the way, is one of the greatest TV shows that has been in on modern history) before he retreated to table-making, leaving me in the rainy weather having just watched a bunch of people shoot each other. At which point I needed something a little lighter. 

I surfed around on Hulu a little bit before making a fabulous discovery: all four seasons of The O.C. are there. 

By the way, didn't it seem like there were more than four seasons?? I thought so, too. But it's true. Only four. 

So I went for it. And you guys. It's as good as I remember. 

Sure, it's no Fargo or Breaking Bad or Mad Men. But I'd argue that it's some of the best of what it is: a melodrama geared at teenagers that doesn't totally suck. 

Let's run it down. 

1. Seth Cohen.

As characters go, it doesn't get much better than Seth. Razor-sharp wit, sarcastic, self-deprecating, and adorable, Adam Brody's portrayal of this complete and unlikely teen heart-throb is pitch perfect. Who didn't have a crush on him?? He was the perfect antidote to all the melodrama on this show - and there was plenty of it - and really served as the audience's voice cutting through the nonsense. Also the perfect pair to Ryan, who was almost always brooding and brow-furrowed. Laugh out loud funny and generally the best. And the fact that Seth Cohen grew up to eventually marry Blair Waldorf? Well, that's just too good. 

2. The music. 

Music on this show was crucial. In fact, the creator was quoted at some point or another as saying that he wanted music to feature so prominently that it was a character in the series. Mission: accomplished. How many of us heard Death Cab for the first time on The O.C.? (Oh, everyone else knew about them? I was just behind? Cool.) You can't think about Trey getting shot without playing Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek over and over in your head. You can't think about Seth sailing away in the S1 finale without hearing Hallelujah. I remember getting on iTunes (okay, Kazaa, because I was a little 15-year-old thief) and searching every song on the soundtrack at the end of each season. It was beautifully crafted and made such an impact that the show and its soundtrack are almost inextricable. 

3. Sandy and Kirsten

Come. ONNNNNNNNN. It doesn't get any better than these two. It just doesn't. As with most great shows, it's the B-couples that are way better than the A-couples. Give me Jack and Karen any day over Will and Grace. Give me Chandler and Monica over Ross and Rachel. Give me Seth and Summer over Ryan and Marissa. But maybe, over anyone, give me SANDY AND KIRSTEN. An honest picture of the ups and downs of marriage, complete with romance, struggle, addiction, forgiveness, and triumph. Get outta here with that. Heart melting. I don't even mind that Peter Gallagher is so much shorter than I thought he was. 

4. The fabulous early-oughts fashion. 

Please don't miss the fact that on-trend Summer has bejeweled her belly button in that bikini photo. Priceless. 

Watching the costume on this show takes me immediately back to throwing watch parties at my house every week in high school. It really encapsulates the horrible choices we were all making: layering necklaces, unfortunate hats, wearing polo shirts on top of other polo shirts, tube dresses, etc. And let's not forget that poor Mischa Barton was doomed to thousands of pairs of flats since she already towers over Ben McKenzie (one of my biggest pet peeves of that show. I can barely take him carrying her out of the car fire seriously because she's SO MUCH TALLER THAN HE IS). It's like stepping in a time machine to watch this show, and I love every minute of it. 

There are about a hundred more reasons why this show is fantastic - its self-awareness, its refusal to treat its viewers like stupid teenagers - but I know I have some fellow fans out there. What do you love about it? 

Have You Seen Hot Ones?

Okay, so. 

When Jordan and I were in Santa Barbara in January, it was rainy one day so we needed to stay in for the afternoon. Like magic, a friend of ours texted us recommending a YouTube series called "Hot Ones." Initially, we were like, "Hmm, okay, maybe." We decided to give it a try. 

The first video he said to watch was the Hot Ones episode featuring Kevin Hart. So we started there, ended up both laughing hysterically, and watching about ten more. 

The premise of Hot Ones: host, relative nobody Sean Evans, interviews various celebrities while each of them eats ten hot wings covered in increasingly hot and spicy sauces. So they'll both eat the wing, then Sean asks a question, and the guest has to answer the question as best they can while also trying to stay alive from the searing sauce dripping down their throats. 

The first few are always okay, but once they get to wing #6, things get dicey. Each hot sauce's ranking on the Scoville Scale is listed on the screen so you have an idea of exactly how hot these sauces are. 

It is extremely entertaining and you should watch it right now. I've linked my favorite episodes below. They're full of profanity, of course, so just be warned. 

Ladies and gents, I give you: Hot Ones. 

S-Town is Here!

Sound the alarm!! All seven episode of S-Town, the new true crime podcast from the creators of Serial, dropped today. 

This series is set in good ol' Alabama - here's how it's described on the website: 

"S-Town is a new podcast from Serial and This American Life, hosted by Brian Reed, about a man named John who despises his Alabama town and decides to do something about it. He asks Brian to investigate the son of a wealthy family who’s allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder. But then someone else ends up dead, and the search for the truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden treasure, and an unearthing of the mysteries of one man’s life.

Brian, a longtime This American Life producer, started reporting this story more than three years ago, when he got an email from John with the subject line “John B McLemore lives in Shittown Alabama.”" 

Available for instant download here. I absolutely can't wait. 

The Myth of Perfection.

This has been ping-ponging around in my head and heart lately. 

Jordan and I are working on redecorating our house. This has meant countless hours on Pinterest, looking at lifestyle blogs, shopping discounts and scrolling through West Elm, Ikea, Pottery Barn, etc. 

Getting sucked in is so easy. 

When our parents were growing up, they had to go buy a magazine if they wanted to get decorating tips from professionals. All we have to do is open Instagram. And, while there's a certain convenience and accessibility to that, it also means we're constantly bombarded with perfection. Everyone's perfect smiles, perfect dog, perfectly decorated houses, perfectly sleeping babies in perfectly styled nurseries. You've probably heard it put this way many times before, but social media tricks us into believing that everyone's highlight reel is also actually their life. 

Let me just get real here for a minute. 

My Instagram is a carefully curated collection of moments I'd like to share. It's a highlight reel, as they say. It's my favorite moments, my most aesthetically pleasing moments, Tom Hanks' cutest moments, Jordan's funniest moments. That's not to say it's not real - it is, but it leaves out 3/4 of the story of our lives. And, even though these moments are actually happening, how many times have I taken more than one picture to get that "perfect," Instagram-worthy shot? LOTS OF TIMES. 

The rest of the story is the cereal for dinner, the little arguments, the perpetually clogged shower drain, the dog peeing in the house because we left him alone too long. It's me forgetting appointments, saying the wrong thing, completing tasks last-minute, eating half a bag of Goldfish, watching too much Netflix. And I'm not saying this in a Jennifer Lawrence-y, relatable, adorable, Brad Paisley song, inscribed-on-an-ironic-tank-top-at-Target kind of way. I'm talkin' about the not cute moments, people. My real, real life. 

The Internet is a tricky, mean girl. She'll show you what you should look like, how your house should be decorated, and then give you one, long up-and-down stare before flashing you a tight-lipped, condescending smile and turning away. She's a fake friend. 

So as I'm thinking about our home, decorating it, and "keeping up," I'm remembering a few things: I am not perfect. I love the people in my life regardless of their "perfection," and that must mean that the people in my life love me whether or not my house/hair/clothes look like they've been professionally handled. It's hard to believe, but it must be true. That whole "unconditional" thing is real! The reason why it's exhausting to achieve the Social Media Standard of Perfection is that it's not actually a real thing. It's like running after a hologram. And it's way more fun to use social media as a fun highlight catalog, but also live with the knowledge that it's exactly that: best moments. It's not everyday moments. Otherwise we'd have already come up with some hellacious 24-hour live video stream. (Whenever that happens, count me out.) 

By the way - if you feel overwhelmed by comparison and falling short, take a break from social media/blogs for a few days. It's amazing how great your life starts to feel once you stop stacking it up against other people's. Comparison is the thief of joy.

In that spirit, here is a photo that is about 1,000% less than perfect. Because I have to believe you love me anyway. 

I was eating an ice cream sandwich the other night and Jordan said, "Don't move. Stay right there." Then he took this picture. Here it is, totally unedited, chins and all.

Happy Friday!