Wear, Watch, Want #173: The Chaste, Plastic Mince Edition
Wear: Lightweight Linked Apple Watch Band
I got my Apple Watch in January, and I have bought at least ten watch bands for it. In my defense: I’m picky, and you can get watch bands for super cheap, in all kinds of styles. I thought I had found the perfect bands, even though they required regular cleaning. In fact, you can’t even buy those bands anymore. The company actually changed the design to not include all those little holes, probably because they got gross and also because those holes created weak spots and after awhile the band would rip. That’s what happened to mine. I was taking it off one night to charge and noticed it was ripped right down the side where one of the holes was. I put on one of my other, non-favorite bands and the next day I ordered this one. I have tried multiple link style bands, and they were either too heavy, had magnetic closure (it would end up sticking to my laptop or my fridge door handle, I finally had to realize magnetic was not for me), but I decided to try one more time with this band. It’s plastic (They say ‘resin’ in the listing. Sounds fancier, is still plastic.) so it’s super lightweight. The clasp and where it attaches to the watch face are metal, and not magnetic. It comes with the tools and instructions you need to take out links, and it’s incredibly easy to figure it out. And, the best feature, it can totally withstand a sweaty workout. I like it so much I’ve tried seeing what other colors they offer, but most of them are a little bit OTT for me (I have "‘tortoise stone flower’ which is a little more pinky than the listing photo, but is still lovely.)
Watch: Virgin River
Do you need a low-stakes, modest, cozy quasi-drama to entertain you during the cold, quarantined winter? Virgin River is the show for you. I describe it as “Chaste Hart of Dixie” (and it even features Tim Matheson playing virtually the exact same role he did IN Hart of Dixie). The show, which is based off a series of novels by Robyn Carr, centers on Melinda Monroe, a nurse practitioner who moves to the tiny NorCal town of Virgin River after the deaths of her husband and baby. Of course there’s a handsome man, played by Martin Henderson, who owns seemingly the only bar and restaurant in town, so she ends up there a lot. Academy Award Nominee Annette O’Toole plays the mayor and local busybody (and ex-wife of Town Doctor Tim Matheson) who lures Mel to Virgin River through the kind of manipulation that only happens in TV shows about small towns.
I love Alexandra Breckenridge, who plays Mel. She is most beloved to me for playing the stuck up girlfriend in She’s The Man and the sexy version of maid Frances Conroy in the first season of American Horror Story. As Mel, she is someone you will always root for, and she is a perfect angel woman in a way that, in another actor’s hands, could be cloying and obnoxious. I love, LOVE when someone asks if Mel is a doctor and she answers, "I’m a nurse practitioner” as though it is superior to being a doctor (it is).
Every episode ends with a ‘cliffhanger’ that is resolved in the first two minutes of the next episode, making Virgin River extremely easy to binge watch. The stakes are NOT high, even though there are drug dealers, affairs, PTSD, and in season two, an actual manslaughter.
Thankfully season 2 was filmed pre-covid, so it was able to be released on schedule, and Netflix has renewed Virgin River for a season 3. I will watch this show for 15 seasons, if Netflix has the SENSE to keep renewing it, (I’m still VERY upset about the cancellation of Teenage Bounty Hunters.)
Want: Mince Pies
I spent last week watching all the Bake Off holiday specials (at least the ones on Netflix) with my mom. As a side effect of that, I now want a mince pie. Please note, I did not say I want to make a mince pie, but after searching all over the Seattle area I may have to resort to that if I ever want to try one. There are some boxed ones (Will not buy these specific ones, that price… woof), but I don’t know if they are any good, and maybe, if my goal is to fall in love with mince pies like seemingly the entire UK, I will need to make them myself. (Speaking of Americans making mince pies, remember this??)
