Orphan Black
I'm hooked on this series! There's 5 seasons that aired from 2013-2017. When Sarah witnesses the suicide of a woman who looks just like her, she assumes the deceased's identity, her boyfriend and her bank account. Soon, she finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy. It's filmed in Toronto. Every season is a completely new story line and plot twist. 
Homeland  - Season 7 is airing right now on Sundays on Showtime, but I'm a season behind since I have to watch it on Netflix. It's a fantastic gripping drama, so much so that Claire Danes has won both Golden Globes and Emmys twice for her performance on the show which is highly deserved! Every episode is full of twists and surprises that it keeps me on the edge of my seat in suspense. I can't recommend it enough, you'll love it!

Here's the synopsis:
Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes) is a CIA operations officer on probation after carrying out an unauthorized operation in Iraq. As a result, she has been reassigned to the Counter terrorism center. While in Iraq, she was warned that an American prisoner had been turned by Al-Qaeda. When Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Sergeant, is rescued after being held hostage since 2003, she suspects that he is the turned American prisoner. Brody is received home as a war hero, so Carrie goes to any lengths possible, ignoring protocol, to catch him out. And that's just season 1, each season is in a new location with new cast members added and subtracted.


Big Little Lies
Based on a book set in Australia, the book follows the stories of 5 moms whose kids all attend kindergarten together. I read the book first and kept the characters apart by remembering who played them in the HBO miniseries: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz. The book begins by alluding to a murder that takes place at the end of the book, but you have to finish the book to find out who! The book has humor, mom rivalry, and vivid characters. The TV show takes place in tiny Monterey, CA and doesn't have as much detail as the book so I recommend reading the book first. Despite originally being billed as a miniseries, HBO renewed the series for a second season which will air next year. 



Will & Grace
Will & Grace has returned to the air after a 11 year hiatus! Best friends Will and Grace are roommates while both looking for Mr. Right. They have the most entertaining sidekicks - cocktail swirling Karen and her flamboyant boy toy Jack. This Emmy winning show is one of the funniest sitcoms on TV.  You can catch it Thursdays at 9pm on NBC or you can watch it for free online. It had eight seasons in the past, now on it's new run it's just been renewed for a third season! So you might want to catch up on all the old seasons for a good laugh.




Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy, aka SAMCRO, is a motorcycle club that operates both illegal and legal businesses in the small town of Charming, CA. They combine gun-running and a garage, plus involvement in porn films. Clay, the president, likes it old school and violent; while Jax, his stepson and the club's VP, has thoughts about changing the way things are, based on his dead father's journal. Their conflict has effects on both the club and their personal relationships. Starring Charlie Hunnam and Kathy Sagal, you have 7 seasons to watch! It's one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. 

After watching the Golden Globes and Oscars you probably have a long list of movies you need to see. Here's a round up of 28 new films that you can find on netflix now. Did you know netflix is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year?

Even though the weather is still really cold, spring is on the way as evident by the blooming magnolia and cherry blossom trees. Spring is the perfect time to really clean out your closet. This has been something I've been wanting to do for a long time but absolutely dreading it. But I have so many clothes I need to toss that I don't wear anymore. One of my new years resolutions was to have a tranquil home. My goal for my home is to be light and airy and not overflowing. I want to be able to find what I'm looking for and have my home always be company ready. I think this will help me live a calmer life. I'm relying on the lessons I learned in Marie Kondo's books on decluttering.

Rule #1 for Kondo is to not waste money on organizational solutions. The most important principle of the book is that you must purge before your organize. She frowns on the idea of buying organizing bins because that only encourages you to store more unnecessary things. So I pulled out the storage bags I had under my bed and emptied out the clothes that I have been storing but haven't worn in years and have no plans to wear again!

Then I attacked my bathroom cabinet and dumped out the storage bins that have a tons of makeup samples and half used products that I will never use again. I filled a whole grocery bag with that stuff! Next up I emptied the junk drawer in my kitchen, that was such an easy, doable task. And then I tackled my entryway with my collection of free tote bags. You know they all seem so useful, but I don't need 50, right? Then I cleared off the kitchen counters of paper clutter. With the easy stuff out of the way, I felt a bit accomplished and ready to do the hard work in the closet.

Reduce the Amount of Clothes You Own
Kondo says to not  keep something just because it might become useful and to be confident in your decision to throw things out. Kondo recommends you do a "joy check" on your clothes, put them on and ask yourself will you really wear them again. If no, thank the clothes for the wonderful memories they gave you. My next steps was to discard old coats, my high school prom dress, and college sorority gowns.  I got rid of all of my birthday dresses because those were one time occasion dresses no matter how sentimental.  I got rid of  most of my cheap necklaces. Then I took every shirt out, tried it on, and decided what to toss.

I've had some luck selling clothes on Tradesy but decided it was just easier to bag everything to donate. I requested a donation bag from Thredup which is an online consignment store. They send you a huge plastic bag that you can fill with clothes. It has a pre-paid printed FedEx label on it.
They will either sell it on their site, taking the photos for you or donate it to the charity of your choice. It's super easy and simple!

My activewear collection has gotten a little out of control and spilling out of my drawer. I seem to tire of things quickly and always buying more yet never getting rid of anything. That's one of the most popular things ThredUp sells so I threw a bunch in my donation bag.

Previously I tossed all my old electronics. What I haven't tossed yet: old purses, books, cds, free t-shirts, "painting clothes", and old costumes. I'll save that for my next clean out session. I found how easy  it can be to tackle one small task in the name of a better home. As everything I accomplished here I did on a Sunday afternoon. I've set up a system to help me not end up with an overflowing closet again. I've cut back on my clothes spending and set a policy of tossing one article of clothing for every new one I buy. I still use the stylebook app religiously to see what is in my closet. It tracks what dates I've worn what clothing so I know what hasn't been worn in awhile.

At the end of the day you have to realize that you don’t need all of this stuff. It won’t make you happier. And your home should not make you feel overwhelmed or stressed.

With all the rainy weekends we had last month I found a lot of indoor activities to keep me busy. You might have seen on the news that the Obama's official portraits were unveiled and now on display at the Portrait Gallery.  On the second floor of the museum is the "America's Presidents" exhibition which just reopened last fall with portrait paintings of all the Presidents. The line was so long to see Obama's portrait they had to move his portrait to the third floor. The line is to have your picture taken with his portrait, but if you don't want that, you can do a quick walk by picture like I did. The guards don't allow you to stop! lol There's a separate line for Michelle's portrait on the first level.