Farewell 2012

Wow this is the second to last day of 2012 and it has been quite the year, one that has gone by all too quickly. It comes to an end via a great festive season, made even better by sharing it with family and working my way almost completely through my to do list as mentioned here. 2013 is already destined to be an interesting and amazing year as I say goodbye to my twenties at the beginning of February. Smack bang in the middle of the year I will be hitting up the Big Apple for the sixth time, my most visited city, with my big sister and I cannot wait to be her unofficial tour guide. Lastly, before I get to the end of 2013 I will have had to decide if Canada, well more so Vancouver, and I are done with our cohabitation. This means I might be writing to you from Australia or who knows where this time next year. Life is exciting that way I reckon, although uncertainty and decision making can be tough. However, I am totally getting ahead of myself because I haven't even kissed 2012 goodbye yet and welcomed 2013 with open arms. 2012 saw me change jobs and homes, both of which have made me happy and content. Funnily enough these were the two things I told myself that I needed to change in 2012, as I reflect upon what I wrote on the first day of this year. I got to explore new cities and see some important people in my life get married. Scattered in between all of this has been some fantastic adventures with wonderful friends in the city I have grown to adore so much over these three and a bit years. I am a lucky gal and I may not be good at keeping resolutions, but I am already thinking of what I can do in my life to make it even better. Thank you 2012 it has been a blast - full of tears, laughter and an array of emotions as the months and all they encompassed flew by. I hope you all usher in 2013 in your own special way and I look forward to continuing this creative journey.

Musical musings for December

It seems I have come full circle with my musical musings, which is really great to see as I enjoy talking about the new music that has leapt into my head and into my iTunes library each month. Surprisingly this month there are no Christmas tunes featured. However, on further thought I don't feel like my ears were ambushed by too many Christmas tunes this festive season, which is kind of nice. Music choices in December featured both new and old artists with a few purchases coming as a result of the songs covered on the TV shows Glee and Nashville. I also took quite a liking to one of the songs in the last Twilight movie. So in no particular order I was dancing on the inside to the following:

1. Just a Fool (with Blake Shelton) - Christina Aguilera
2. Little Things - One Direction
3. A Thousand Years, Pt. 2 (feat. Steve Kazee) - Christina Perri
4. I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
5. Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding
6. Ready or Not - Bridgit Mendler
7. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
8. Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars
9. When the Right One Comes Along - Striking Matches

I guess when you look at my music choices I am quite a mainstream music listener, but I still like to think there is some diversity to my purchases. The bottom line is that I like music and think life would be duller without it.

December's music can be found on these albums (images courtesy of iTunes)

Cookie exchange

This weekend was pretty great; actually it was really great! Before I talk about the greatness of my weekend, I did want to recognise how thankful I am for my life and the people in it because recent events in the world have reminded me of this. Friday night I went to the ice hockey for the Vancouver Giants' annual teddy bear toss. We didn't have to wait too long before we were tossing our teddy bears onto the ice and to top it all off they won the game. Yesterday was spent tidying up the apartment in preparation for the arrival of some important guests this coming week. Last night was reserved for a lovely housemate dinner at Al Porto in Gastown before heading off to watch an amazing performance of the Nutcracker at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. I have never been to the ballet before and I was in awe of the performers and the beauty of it all.

As for today, I spent most of it baking cookies for our Christmas cookie exchange at work tomorrow. I was a little bit ambitious because I knew I had Kambie to help me, therefore I decided on three types of cookies. The first one I whipped up was a batch of peppermint white chocolate chip cookies. I found it easy enough to use the end of the rolling pin wrapped in wax paper to crush the candy cane.

For recipe number two, I choose to make a cookie, which was one of my favourites growing up in Australia and incorporates the deliciousness of the cherry ripe bar, that of choc cherry rounds.

The recipe is so old that I had to get my mum to scan a copy of it and email it to me, as I couldn't find it online anywhere. It is actually from a 1992 issue of the Australian Woman's Day magazine.

I had to improvise with the choc melts and copha, using milk chocolate chips and vegetable shortening instead. I also used all-purpose flour, which I believe is the equivalent of plain flour. As you can see from the photo below, I didn't have a fluted cookie cutter so had to settle for round cookies.

Last, but not least, were gingerbread cookies because you really can't have a Christmas cookie exchange without them. I was quite excited to make these little men, as I had never done so before. I trolled through many recipes before deciding on this recipe. I have to say I found it easier to roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface rather than using wax paper. If the dough got too soft then I just put it back in the refrigerator to harden up a bit. I used the Wilton royal icing recipe for decorating and went for simplicity in this area copying what I had seen a friend do previously.

I can't wait to see what everyone else baked tomorrow and hopefully they will love what I made. If my sampling is an indication then I think it will be a success. Such a fantastic weekend with so much awesomeness still to come!

O Christmas Tree

One of the great things about living in Canada or probably any country that has Christmas during the middle of winter is the below:

That delightful specimen is our real Christmas tree, which was painstakingly picked out on Saturday off the lot, decorated the same day, but finished with lights this evening. Buying an apartment size Christmas tree and decorating it is definitely affordable on a budget with the proof being right in front of you. The decorations and lighting are courtesy of Michaels and Dollarama with the total bill being just shy of $60.00. Our finished Christmas tree is a petite cutie, which brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. 

Magazine subscriptions

A little while ago an email dropped into my inbox that compelled me to sign up for a few magazine subscriptions. I think I was won over by the pricing, the savings per issue and the Scene points, which equated to enough for a free movie. Although, I didn't need much arm twisting because I do love having magazines delivered to me on a monthly basis. Who doesn't love getting mail that isn't a bill at least once a month. I already bought LouLou every month as mentioned here so how could I resist saving money each issue through a subscription. The two other magazines that I added to the mix were that of Flare and Chatelaine. Flare is good at focusing on Canadian fashion and Chatelaine is more about cooking, health, living and style. I have now tried my hand at a few of the recipes in this magazine. Well seeing as the festive season for me is definitely in full swing, magazine subscriptions are a great gift idea for loved ones.

Festive lust-haves

A big part of the festive season for me is gift giving, which I no doubt would have mentioned last December. This is one of my favourite things of the season, but it also causes me a little bit of grief as I agonise over buying the perfect present for those near and dear to me. So far this time around I have managed to sort out some gifts before December 1st, which is great if you are using online shopping because shipping can take a bit of time. A few websites that I recommend are Chapters, Amazon and Book Depository, especially the book website as they offer free shipping worldwide. The notion of gift giving also makes me think of what things I would love to buy for myself if money was no object. It's not a big list, but I think there is definitely quality over quantity in it:

• Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Huge Hillier Hobo bag (image courtesy of Bloomingdales)

• Apple iPad (image courtesy of Apple)

• Canucks Jersey (image courtesy of Sportchek)

This might seem a little bit greedy, but they are really just lust-haves if I should be so lucky. The most important thing about the festive season is spending time with loved ones and really just soaking up the atmosphere. In saying this I do also like to contribute to the less fortunate in some way usually via a donation to a toy or food drive. The festive season is a reminder of how grateful I am to have a job, a roof over my head and the means to do things I really enjoy with the people I love.

Mac make-up

Before I make the whole of December about all things festive I wanted to mention a fun experience I had when I was back home last month. This experience was a part of the pre-wedding week festivities. Toward the beginning of that week, I had the pleasure of a make-up lesson at the MAC Cosmetics counter in Melbourne's Myer department store. It was definitely an eye opener (pardon the pun) for someone like myself, who is still to master the art of make-up application especially when it comes to the eye area. The make-up artist did a wonderful job applying the products and transferring my blank canvas of a face into what I thought was a great work of art. She also took the time to explain what she was doing and at the end of the lesson wrote down all the products she had used. I must admit that because of the great job she had done I spent more in the store than what I was planning too. I tried to recreate the look for my bestie's wedding, but fell quite a bit short. However, you know what they say 'practice makes perfect'. I think I will pick up a few more products that were used and hopefully one day master replicating what was done on my face. I don't usually like to showcase myself on here, but I wanted to show you what I was talking about and maybe it will inspire you to get more adventurous with your own make-up application.

2012 Festive Season

It is finally December and now I can start to embrace the fun of the festive season, which is one of my favourite times of the year. This festive season could possibly be the best one yet in Vancouver not only because I have family coming to visit for a week over Christmas, but also because of the stuff already booked in (not all of which are festive-related):

1. Watching the final installment of the Twilight films
2. Work Christmas parties involving bowling, ugly sweaters and karaoke
3. An advance screening of The Hobbit
4. Attending the ballet to see The Nutcracker with my lovely housemate
5. Baking for a work cookie exchange
6. Being dazzled by the wonders of Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna

Upon reflection, the above is a pretty awesome list and yet it is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the festive season. Looking at last year's list as mentioned here, I didn't actually tick off everything, but hopefully I can make up for that this year. In 2012 I am inspired to do the following:

1. Attend the Vancouver Christmas Market outside of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
2. Go for an ice skate at the outdoor ice rink below Robson Square
3. Walk through the Bright Nights in Stanley Park
4. Check out Illuminations at Heritage Christmas at Burnaby Village Museum (a place I have wanted to go to for ages)
5. Trek up to Grouse Mountain especially for a sleigh ride and maybe even a day of skiing
6. Spend a day on one of the local mountains skiing or snowboarding

A collage featuring some of my 2011 festive season happy snaps, from both near and far

Having family here, my brother and his girlfriend, hopefully means I will cross off everything on my list and have fun along the way doing so.

Musical musings for November

November has been a jam-packed month for me, both here and afar. There have been three weddings, although I could only attend two, which definitely helps to make it a big month. Now I am super excited for the festive season, which in my opinion still comes way too early on this side of the pond. November 1st is just too soon to break out the carols and eggnog etc. So before I say goodbye to this month and hello to December, I wanted to indulge in what has become a fun consistency on this blog. I think my musical musings for November are quite diverse although many artists already appear in my iTunes library. I was influenced by what I heard on the radio when I was back home in Australia earlier this month. I must say it was really cute to hear my seven year old nephew sing along to the radio and actually know the words. Hopefully when he gets older he will be able to carry a tune better than his aunty. The tunes that provided the backdrop for some of my November were:

1. It's Time - Imagine Dragons
2. Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself) - Ne-Yo
3. Battle Scars - Lupe Fiasco & Guy Sebastian
4. Feel So Close - Calvin Harris
5. Daylight - Maroon 5
6. Don't You Worry Child (feat. John Martin) - Swedish House Mafia
7. I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift
8. As Long As You Love Me (feat. Big Sean) - Justin Bieber
9. Die Young - Ke$ha

I kind of surprised myself with how much I am really loving Taylor Swift's music at the moment. However, the best bit about my song choices for November is that I get to see one of the artists in concert relatively soon. I couldn't resist quickly snapping up a pair of tickets recently to Maroon 5's concert in March. I can't wait to see them live and am hoping it will be the first of many concerts I attend in the near future.

November's music can be found on these albums (images courtesy of iTunes)

Missing in action

Gosh I seriously cannot believe that I haven't written on here in close to a month, which is a fact I am a little bit disappointed by. I have definitely been occupied especially having been in Australia for a few weeks, but I miss that I haven't been as committed to this creative outlet as much as I used to be. Not to worry because here I am with a renewed sense of determination to give more of my time and energy to one of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time. I'm not going to try to cram a whole month's worth of activities in this post. If I did then this would resemble the manic way I am trying my best to catch up on the ridiculous amount of television shows I have fallen behind on. I did however want to mention my fall 2012 list as a nice way to lead into talk about my wishes for this festive season, which is something to follow in an upcoming post. There were only six items on my list and I can confidentially tick off three of them - number two, four and five. In case you were wondering I dressed up as a bee for Halloween (sorry no photo proof) and I definitely scared myself silly at PNE's Fright Nights, although the credit here should be reserved for the attractions, both alive and not so much. The second and last thing I have to fill you briefly in on was my lovely two weeks back in Australia. I may still be slightly sleep deprived, but I had a wonderful time. The first week I was knee deep in wedding stuff as my best friend married the love of her life at the delightful Allanvale Homestead. I was humbled to be a part of this experience as her maid of honour. I am sure she won't mind me showing off a photo of her yummy lolly bar/gift table, which I helped set-up and also her gorgeous hair on the day. Being in the wedding meant I don't yet have photos of the actual day, I don't even know if I scrubbed up well enough...lol.

The second week was spent with my family and it was a really nice low-key time hanging out and just enjoying each other's company. I particularly loved being with my niece and nephew, who are too cute for words and I am not just being bias. I got back to Vancouver on Sunday and the weekend definitely couldn't come soon enough so I can have a couple of much needed sleep ins as part of what should be a nice Saturday and Sunday. It's good to be back in the Couve even if the rain and I are not the best of friends.

Musical musings for October

I am quite the busy bee this week because I head home on Friday until November 18th for my best friend's wedding. The irony of saying I am a busy bee is that a bee is exactly what I am for Halloween this week too. So I find myself with four sleeps left until I get on a big jet plane and only three of them being in the month of October. However, the date posting for this will suggest otherwise, which is just a sign that I should have already gone to bed. This does, in a round about way, bring me to the topic at hand that of this month's musical musings. I must say I love the 'complete my album' feature on iTunes as it allowed Carrie Underwood to dominate my October playlist with the remainder of her Blown Away album purchased at such a small cost. As you will see below, the music that featured for me this month consists of mainly country in combination with young talented men...interpret this however you choose:

1. Wish You Were Here (feat. Becky G) - Cody Simpson
2. I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
3. 22 - Taylor Swift
4. Begin Again - Taylor Swift
5. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
6. This Kiss - Carly Rae Jepsen
7. Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson
8. Beauty and a Beat (feat. Nicki Minaj) - Justin Bieber
9. Live While We're Young - One Direction
10. Somebody's Heartbreak - Hunter Hayes
11. Wanted - Hunter Hayes
12. Two Black Cadillacs - Carrie Underwood
13. See You Again - Carrie Underwood
14. Forever Changed - Carrie Underwood
15. Nobody Ever Told You - Carrie Underwood
16. Thank God for Hometowns - Carrie Underwood
17. Good in Goodbye - Carrie Underwood
18. Leave Love Alone - Carrie Underwood
19. Cupid's Got a Shotgun - Carrie Underwood
20. Who Are You - Carrie Underwood

I know I have probably said this before, but music really is good for the soul, even at 12:34 am while writing this. Enjoy the music selections and don't judge, just embrace.

October's music can be found on these albums (images courtesy of iTunes)

Quick hockey fix

It may be news to some of you, but the NHL is currently experiencing a lockout much to the dismay of myself and many, many other ice hockey fans. I have in the past professed my support/love of the Vancouver Canucks in posts here and here just to find a few. So you can only imagine how ecstatic I was last Wednesday night when I was one of five thousand lucky ticket holders, who got to witness a few of the boys take to the ice against the UBC Thunderbirds as part of a charity match organised by Kevin Bieska. 

It was such a great atmosphere, a fun game and I loved being there. I definitely appreciated the smaller venue and the ticket price.

This was only made better by the appearance of Michael Buble, who graciously matched the ticket sales donation. 

Now I just hope the lockout will end as soon as possible, not only because I miss the game, but also so that I can take my brother and his girlfriend to a game when they come to visit at Christmas time.

Shopping in San Francisco

A trip stateside must involve some quality shopping time and the trek to San Francisco didn't disappoint in this area. Although I did recently read about someone comparing shopping and dieting in that you shouldn't go too long not doing it as you might binge from deprivation. I think this is very true, which is why I was grateful that I was able to stick to my budget. I hit up the usual suspects - H&M, American Eagle, Forever 21 and Hollister, picking up a few items in the process. My pretty purchases included a striped top from H&M and a striped tube scarf from American Eagle.

I procured a knitted navy sweater from Hollister, which I hope will help to keep me warm during the coming months. 

However, the majority of my shopping budget was spent at Forever 21 on two skirts, two tops, animal print leggings and a bright knitted sweater because I am not quite ready to say goodbye to brighter colours.

The icing on the cake with my shopping has to be that I remembered the address of the Jurlique store. This is my absolute favourite skin care range as mentioned here. Made even better by the fact that it is from my hometown. I picked up a tube of rose hand cream to get me by until I go home next month for a visit. Apparently I wasn't done with shopping because before the week was out back in Vancouver I had bought a pair of black riding-style boots from Spring. 

As you can see I have begun to acquire some of what I had previously determined as fall must-haves. May the shopping continue, within reason of course.

San Francisco

Everything about our long weekend in San Francisco was great and I can definitely see why people rate it amongst their favourite US cities. The travel to and from this lovely destination was seamless and the weather was glorious. We tried to jam in as many touristy things as possible in the two days we were there, but I must confess that the Golden Gate Bridge eluded us. This is all the more reason for a return visit. The Saturday was spent walking around taking in the sights and sounds of the Ferry Building and many of the piers including the famous Pier 39, just to start the adventure. I must say I fell a little bit in love with the local residents of this particular pier; the bountiful sea lions seemed to have not a care in the world. We wandered along Fisherman's Wharf up to Ghirardelli Square, where a purchase of delicious chocolate squares was indeed made. From here we battled up the rather impressive incline to get to crooked Lombard Street with an obligatory walk up and down it. The rest of the day was spent making our way back to the main shopping area for a few solid hours of shopping with a late dinner consisting of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. It was a long day starting around 4am, but definitely worth it. Day two started off with a cable car ride to within walking distance of where we needed to go to get the ferry to Alcatraz. I really enjoyed my time wandering around the famous penitentiary and its surrounds; it was quite the informative and eye-opening experience. After this we did try to edge closer to the Golden Gate Bridge, but the distance didn't really seem to be getting any shorter. We also tried to find Mrs. Doubtfire's house to no avail. We ended the day with more shopping and a late dinner. Monday morning came around all too quickly and was spent writing postcards in Union Square as well as going on one last walk.

San Francisco is a must see US city, I can't wait to go back one day. I wasn't disappointed at all and I know you won't be either.

Quick catch up

I can't wait to tell you all about the fantastic long weekend I just had in San Francisco. However, before I do, I felt there were a few things I wanted to throw into one post as a quick catch up. Life has been pretty busy of late and the TV show episodes to watch are fast piling up. The Carrie Underwood concert last week was great. She put on a really cool show, sang her heart out and looked absolutely stunning in her various outfits.

I baked another birthday cake with Kambie for a work colleague. The cake consisted of one chocolate and one vanilla layer sandwiched together and frosted with raspberry buttercream frosting. I used frozen raspberries for the frosting and found I didn't quite need as much sugar as the recipe called for so use your judgment here. I also got to use my new Wilton cake leveler to slice off the top of the chocolate cake to make it flat. This was because I had chosen to put the whole cake batter into one pan to bake, which meant I baked it for over an hour, checking it at ten minute intervals once I had reached the original bake time in the recipe. The cake was definitely a success and I can't wait for this Sunday, as I need to bake up a storm for the bake sale fundraiser we are having at work on Monday. I am sure I will be in my element, fingers crossed everything turns out. I plan on whipping up a few old creations, one with an ingredient substitution, and trying out a new recipe.

The last thing I wanted to tell you all about is that I have been trying my hand at yoga these past few weeks. Semperviva, a local yoga studio with 4 locations, has an offer for new customers - $30 plus tax for 30 days of unlimited yoga. I wasn't the instigator on this fitness quest, but I am glad I went along. It has been tough and I'm not that great at it, but at least I haven't hurt myself, which is always a positive. I must confess I haven't gone every day since I started, sometimes due to other plans and sometimes due to laziness, but it has felt really good when I have gone and especially when I have managed to conquer a new pose. I am not quite sure if I will keep at it after the 30 days, but I know I definitely need to do some sort of physical activity. I must not allow myself to turn into a bear and hibernate. Anyway check back here soon as I will be providing that San Francisco update before the week is out with photos too.

Baking becomes a breeze

Having a gorgeous KitchenAid at my disposable has made baking on a whim an absolute breeze. Well as long as I have the required ingredients on hand then I am able to quickly turn my baking wish into a reality. Since her first use whipping up a batch of cupcakes, as documented in this post, Kambie has been used twice including making scones using a recipe I found here. I used a coffee mug to make the scones round, as this was my preference over a wedge shape. As soon as they were fresh out of the oven I had to sample one of them with a lashing of margarine and a dollop of homemade raspberry jam, which I told you all about back in July.

I wouldn't have minded if the scones had risen a bit more, but practice will make perfect and they did taste delicious. I should know seeing as I ate five of them. For our third adventure together, Kambie and I whipped up a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies or, as the chosen recipe calls them, outrageous chocolate chip cookies. A friend had requested the key ingredients be combined as part of a cookie creation. He used to be my best guinea pig until he went all healthy on me. However, I had promised to make a big cookie for him after his wedding and so here is me following through on this promise, maybe slightly later than planned.

As I mentioned, baking on a whim is now a breeze and the cookies turned out perfectly. I baked the smaller ones for fifteen minutes and the large one for twenty-two minutes, but I recommend keeping an eye on them to ensure none are overcooked.

I had to perform some quality control on the cookies and can confidently say they meet the mark. Nice job Kambie!

Musical musings for September

With only one full day left of September, I bring you this month's musical musings. This month saw my iTunes library grow by a cool dozen catchy tunes. Carrie Underwood, whose concert I am going to this coming Thursday dominated the purchases with four songs. Listening to her music gets me more and more excited for the concert. The only other multiple song artist was Carly Rae Jepsen, who contributed two. The return of Glee, a few weeks ago, meant that it wouldn't be long before another of their cover songs would be snapped up and of course it wasn't long at all. The rest of the list is made up of a nice combination of old favourites and emerging artists, who have made it into the charts:

1. Inside Your Heaven - Carrie Underwood
2. Mean - Taylor Swift
3. Good Time - Carly Rae Jepsen & Owl City
4. One More Night - Maroon 5
5. Strangers (feat. Pusha T) - My Name Is Kay
6. How We Do (Party) - Rita Ora
7. Chasing Pavements (Glee Cast Version) - Glee Cast
8. Curiosity - Carly Rae Jepsen
9. Summer Paradise (feat. K'naan) - Simple Plan
10. Wasted - Carrie Underwood
11. Get Out Of This Town - Carrie Underwood
12. Do You Think About Me - Carrie Underwood

September's music can be found on these albums (images courtesy of iTunes)

Seasonal inspiration

It is probably time for me to start putting away my summer attire and begin to dream of my fall must-haves. The colder, wetter weather will mean lots of layering and protection from the rain. With this in mind, I would love a pair of riding boots as well as a pair of either loafer-style shoes or lace up oxfords/booties. I was quite envious of my friend's recently acquired lace up booties, from Paris nonetheless. However, I will probably have to settle for one or some of the below, images courtesy of Spring:

To cope with the chill of outside and warmth of inside I plan on layering up dresses, tank tops, tops and sweaters with jeans, leggings or pants. Therefore, I definitely need to add more tank tops and sweaters including long, oversized ones to my wardrobe. Forever 21, as their website showcases, has a large colour selection of tank tops and I would love one of each if that were possible.

Not to be outdone in the fashion stakes, American Eagle's sweaters, images acquired from their website, seem to be just what I am after.

Lastly, I would love a warm winter jacket, one that is a bit more outdoorsier in style rather than polished like a coat. Where better to look than The North Face, where I spied these two beauties on their website:

I know it is quite the list of must-haves, but I am hoping to purchase some of them when I am in San Francisco for the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.

The simple pleasure of TV show watching

I feel like the change in season to fall means a lot of things so I wanted to talk about them all while it still felt relevant, hence the multiple posts on one night. I may not be a stereotypical couch potato, but I do have a bunch of TV shows that I love to watch, whether it be at their original viewing time, as a rerun or online. The end of September usually means the beginning of the return of many of the TV shows I have come to love. It also provides the opportunity for me to become attached to new viewing pleasures, although I really don't think I have time for more. Since when have I let a little thing like time stop me. This fall I will be spending time shedding tears of laughter and sorrow as I dive into the storylines of the following shows:

• Gossip Girl (CW Network) - the final season
• Glee (FOX Network)
• Modern Family (ABC Network)
• The Vampire Diaries (CW Network)
• Grey's Anatomy (ABC Network)
• Supernatural (CW Network)

Some TV shows that impressed me with season one and left me eagerly awaiting their return were:

• Hart of Dixie (CW Network)
• Revenge (ABC Network)
• Homeland (Showtime Network)
• Once Upon A Time (ABC Network)

The only reality-type show I watch is NBC's The Voice and really just for the bromance (for lack of a better word) between Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. It doesn't hurt that they are both quite easy on the eyes. Seeing as all of this is clearly not enough, I am still going at my own pace to get caught up on the US version of The Office. Now, I have added How I Met Your Mother to the list of shows to get up to date on. I am glad I did because this is such a funny show with a great cast and it is quite addictive to whiz through episode after episode in one sitting. In case you were wondering, yes there are new TV shows that have caught my eye and seem worth a look:

• Revolution (NBC Network)
• Last Resort (ABC Network)
• Emily Owens MD (CW Network)
• Nashville (ABC Network)

Gosh, on reflection, this is quite the list, but I guess that is what happens when there are so many TV shows on offer these days. Maybe one or a few of these will make it onto your viewing list if they aren't there already.

Nashville TV show poster (image courtesy of IMDb)