MOFY

I know I'm late to the game on this one, but Modern Family is my new favorite show! I started watching last Fall because I heard such great things about it. I'm glad I did. I find myself laughing out loud at multiple points each episode.  

Modern Family is the perfect depiction of what a family of today may look like. The father remarries a gorgeous, younger single mom, the father's son is gay who adopts a little asian girl with his partner, the daughter is married to an awkwardly hilarious guy and they have three children. The oldest daughter is attractive without a brain, the middle child brainiac, and the corky, innocent, only son. It's a bit interesting when your son and your father's new wife's son are the same age. That also makes you and the new wife's son step-siblings! Lol. 

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Families now-a-days are made up of all shapes, religions, races, genders, dynamics, etc. Modern Family shows the day-to-day lives of a normal, family of the 2000s. Mike's favorite is Phil Dunphy, the awkwardly hilarious dad. The dynamic between characters make for hysterically funny scenes and episodes about simple and relatable things that a family may go through.

We're a bit behind, but Modern Family just aired their season five finale. The finale featured Cameron and Mitchell's (the gay couple) wedding. I can't wait to see it! And did you know that Cam is actually straight in real life? Blew my mind! He plays a wonderful gay man. I read that his co-star and partner on the show (who is gay in real life) said that Cam is "gay for pay." I died.

So, if you are looking for something to watch on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until season six starts on ABC, tune into USA Network for Modern Family marathons and prepare to laugh...a lot.

Chicago PD

Sergeant Hank Voight is in charge of taking down Chicago's most violent criminals, with the help of his hand picked District 21 squad on NBC's Chicago PD. District 21 is made up of uniformed cops and the intelligence unit, who take on organized crime, murder, war with drugs, etc. I started watching last Fall and I am hooked. It does help that it takes place in Chicago, so we both identify with the city and suburbs. Crime shows are my thing and I love how intense Voight and his squad are. 

Voight doesn't always play but the rules, but you know what his cause is... the well-being of his squad and the innocent people of Chicago. If there is one thing he values most, its loyalty. 

"Don't **** With My City!"

NBC has intertwined the already successful, Chicago Fire, with Chicago PD for some awesome television. These two professions work together all the time, so its only fitting to make things even more interesting by pairing these shows together. Sophia Bush plays Detective Erin Lindsay. I'm so glad she found a role like this to further her career because she is fabulous and adds the strong female element to Voight's squad.

This show pushes boundaries and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Everyone has a past that is slowly creeping to the surface as the series goes on, even Sergeant Voight. With the season one finale tonight, I can't wait to see what the squad runs into because the entire season had plenty of excitement. 

You know where you will find me tonight...Watching the season finales for Law & Order: SVU and Chicago PD on NBC! However, this is going to get a little tricky with the Chicago Blackhawks Game 2. May need to bring our other tv into the living room for dual tv action. Lol. We will see! 

Summer Reading List

With summer upon us, I put together a list of books that I plan to read. Hopefully one of these books will grab your attention so you can add it to your list too. 

Best Kept Secrets by: Sandra Brown

My mom put together an Easter basket, this book was tucked in there for me. I've never heard of it before, but its about a district attorney (so, perfect for me) who investigates a 25-year-old murder... of her mother. Having died when the main character was only an infant, she solely relies on the evidence and has to really dig into the lives of the residence of the small Texas town, where the murder occurred. We will see how this one plays out. I'm only on chapter 2.

Stiff by: Mary Roach

I keep seeing people with this book and I'm very intrigued. You all know me and crime shows/books. This one may keep me busy for a short while.

Giving In (#2 of The Surrender Trilogy) by: Maya Banks

The Surrender Trilogy is one of the most recent Maya Banks trilogies. After the Breathless Trilogy, I wanted more. I read the first installment, Letting Go, so its only right that I read the rest of the series. I love how Banks uses the same characters through each book, but uses different main characters in each. You get to know the "extras" in the other books by changing them into main characters. Giving In just came out on May 6, 2014, so I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. This one will be great for sitting by the pool. The third installment, Taking It All, is set to release on August 5, 2014.

Identity by: Scott Turow

Forensics of fingerprinting and DNA, Turow had me there. Another crime book, but he presents a totally different and interesting way of uncovering the truth. Two twin brothers lead very different lives. One is a politician and the other a criminal. Cass confessed to murdering his girlfriend and went to prison, but was released 25 years after pleading guilty. An ex-FBI agent and private investigator decide to open up the case and re-investigate the murder.

I Am That Girl by: Alexis Jones (Foreword Sophia Bush)

I love Sophia Bush and everything she stands for, so naturally I want to read anything that she is involved in. This is a kind of a "self-help" book, which I usually hate, but I'm turning a new leaf and trying to be opened minded to new and different things. I've been told that its more like talking to a girlfriend that inspires you to be the best you can be. Many celebrities have made their opinion known that this book is not just a book, but a call to action. I'm all about inspiration to create change for the better, so we will see how this one effects me.

The Casual Vacancy by: JK Rowling 

And here I thought J.K. Rowling was going to retire after the whole Potter thing. Wrong. This is her first release after the Harry Potter series and I'm excited to see what else she can write.
From the reviews, it may be a bit difficult for me to get through, but its worth a try!

#GIRLBOSS by: Sophia Amoruso

 We all know I love fashion. Nastgal is an online clothing shop that I frequent. From hitchhiker to CEO of the $100 million Nastygal, Amoruso overcame so much to get to where she is now. I'm very interested to read about her journey to success.

Lets see how many of these I can get to this summer. I'm sure I will find a book that intrigues me at the moment, that will be added to the list.
Happy reading!

Locks of Love

About four years ago, I decided that I wanted to let my hair grow out to donate it to Locks of Love. I've always wanted to do it and the day finally came on Saturday. Locks of Love requires that you have 10 inches (the longest layer) of non-color treated hair. I managed to grow my hair out to 17 inches. 

I pushed through the awkward length stages, snarls/knots resembling bird's nests, and countless encounters of getting it caught in zippers, doors, and even my food in front of me. Lol. So Saturday was a GREAT day! With all the wining aside, I'm very glad that I worked through the urges to chop it all off. #longhairproblems 

I went to a salon that I got my hair trimmed at about a year ago called Lather Hair Salon in Raleigh, NC. Madison did an excellent job and listened to everything I had to say. She made this experience even better than I imagined.

Before

After

I went with a longer bob cut and sombré color. I did not like the ombré trend whatsoever, but when people started doing sombré I really liked it. It's a more subtle version of ombré. And since I haven't been able to color my hair for the past four years (and haven't for the past seven), I wanted to try something new, that I haven't tried before. I was inspired by Julianne Hough and Courtney Kerr on this cut and color. What do you think?

I would suggest to anyone with long hair to donate. There are only a few tangible, selfless gifts that you can give someone in need and this is one of them.

Bucket List: Do something for someone who I know will never be able to pay me back.