New Girl: Thanksgiving Episodes Ranked

My favorite, wildly underrated TV show is New Girl. That's right I said favorite. I like it more than The Office, I like it more than Friends. I like New Girl the most out of all the things. If you have not seen it, go turn on Netflix right now and watch all seven seasons and then come back to me and let's talk about how funny it is and which roommate is your favorite. 

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I rewatched all their Thanksgiving episodes and I am here to rank them, from my least favorite to my most favorite. And if you have seen them all too, please - let's discuss. 

5.) Season 3 episode 10 Thanksgiving III

In this episode Nick convinces the gang to go camping. Coach has called out Nick for getting lost in his relationship with Jess so now Nick feels like he needs to prove how manly he still is. Nick doesn't pack any food (except for beer) for the group in an effort to make them all hunt and forage for their meals. Shenanigans ensue, Jess eats a dead fish and goes crazy and contracts Giardia. 

This is my least favorite Thanksgiving episode because it kind of like, "jumps the shark" a little for me once Jess eats the dead fish. She goes "crazy" and doesn't know who she is and starts running around in the dark thinking she's an animal and falls into a bear trap, and I just feel like if you eat a dead fish that's not the reaction you're going to have. Mostly, I would think you'd just be really really sick; not like, lose your mind and start saying crazy things? It just doesn't seem very realistic to me. 

4.) Season 6 episode 7 Last Thanksgiving 

There is nothing wrong with this episode except I just laughed the least amount of times watching it. This is the last Thanksgiving in the Loft. Schmidt's dad comes to Thanksgiving dinner and gets drunk because his girlfriend broke up with him. Jess tries to break up with Robbie but instead they end up an official couple, and Nick's new girlfriend Reagan bails on him and doesn't show up for the holiday. Not the worst Thanksgiving episode but also not the best.

3.) Season 1 episode 6 Thanksgiving

This is a really good episode, so it's kind of crazy this ended up in the middle of the pack for me. In this episode Jess convinces her roommates to have a Thanksgiving dinner and invites her crush Paul Genslinger. Shenanigans ensue, and the crew ends up eating their Thanksgiving dinner next door in Mrs. Beverly's apartment - who is supposed to be out of town but is actually dead and the group stumbles upon her dead body in the apartment. There are some really funny moments in this episode that had me laughing and I just really enjoyed watching Paul try and get to know Jess's roommates (it does not go well), and Schmidt freak out about a dirty kitchen. Other LOL-worthy moments include: 

-Jess has named the turkey Hank and the day has thus been dubbed Hanksgiving.

-When Nick mentions their plans to go buy a TV on Black Friday Winston pipes in, "Or as I like to call it, Friday." 

-Schmidt and Jess are attempting to fit the turkey in the oven and Jess yells out, "I can't get it in!" and Schmidt turns to his roommates to reply, "We've all been there am I right?" Schmidt owes money to the Douchebag Jar for this response.

2.) Season 4 episode 9 Thanksgiving IV

Here, Schmidt proposes the idea of "Bangsiving." The roommates draw names out of a hat and invite a surprise date for the person whose name they pick. Jess brings Pearl for Winston, who is a lunch lady and this creates a complex for Winston (is a lunch lady sexy?) Winston brings Pepper, a coworker from the police department who is JACKED which also gives Coach a complex (is a woman who is stronger than him sexy?) CeCe brings Lucy for Schmidt which is also a problem because apparently Nick also dated Lucy. Nick and Schmidt argue over the statute of limitations (1,000 showers) and it is eventually decided that the statute of limitations has expired. Schmidt brings a dude named Jeff for CeCe who ends up showing up way late and is promptly dismissed by CeCe. Coach invites Ryan - Jess's crush from school and she very aggressively comes onto him. I love the roommate meeting on the roof of the loft midway through the day because Bangsgiving is in peril as everyone seems to have a problem with the date that was selected for them. Coach does an impression of a British person having sex (Jess's date Ryan is British), that he assumes is "wildly polite" and I died laughing. I love this episode.

1.) Season 2 episode 8 Parents

In my favorite Thanksgiving episode, Jess's divorced parents come to town and she tries, as she has since she was a kid, to "Parent Trap" them - i.e. get them alone so they'll fall back in love and reconcile and they'll all be a family again. Schmidt's cousin, who also goes by Schmidt comes for Thanksgiving dinner and a contest ensues between the two of them (at the behest of Winston because he is bored) as there can only be one true Schmidt. I laughed so hard at the interactions between Nick, and Jess's mom and dad in this episode: Nick hits on Jess's mom as part of her Parent Trap plan, and argues with her dad over the plot of his Zombie novel - that it is literally the same plot as Twilight and Nick is unawares. But the contest of the One True Schmidt in this episode is enough to put it over the edge as my favorite New Girl Thanksgiving Episode. 

So there you have it. Have you watched yet? How about now? Are you done yet? Let's discuss! 

The Thursday Five Vol. 2

An Inspiration

These incredible home libraries that I'm really trying to figure out how to recreate once I get into my new house.

Source

A Recommendation

If you want some feel-good, heartwarming, adorable programming please watch Pick of the Litter on Netflix. You will follow a litter of puppies as they learn to become guide dogs for the blind. Some make it. Some do not. All are good doggos.

A Book

Ok I don't know if any of you follow or have seen the Babylon Bee. They are a christian satire website that pokes fun at church culture and politics and personally, I find them hilarious. Even more hilarious, they released a coffee table book - The Sacred Texts of the Babylon Bee and I just can't with them 😂. 

A Song

The Thanksgiving Song by Ben Rector 

And the coziest, most clever lyric video you've ever seen to go along with it.

A Moment of Happiness

Eating ice cream and watching the premier of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with my dear friend Brianna, late on a Monday night.

Currently: November

Currently:

Eating: Veggie Straws

I realize these are not even remotely new to most people but I tried them for the first time last week and they are delicious.

Watching: The Queen's Gambit

You would't think a series about chess would be interesting but on the contrary - it is. 

Also, all I kept picturing in my head as I watched this was Ron Weasley on a life-size Wizard's Chess board yelling "Knight to H3!"

Learning: Trello. 

I stumbled upon this YouTube video recently about how this online creator plans her content using Trello. I took advantage of the free templates she was offering and have been playing around with it for a couple weeks now. By no means do I have a treasure trove of online content to plan and maintain for business purposes but nontheless, I've so far found it useful for blog content, reading plans, and other personal stuff to start getting myself organized.

Debating: What to wear for Christmas photos this weekend. 

I don't know about anyone else but shopping stopped being fun in my thirties. Where do I shop anymore? Am I too old to be cheap? Am I too old to be trendy? What is trendy for 30-somethings anyway? The harsh reality is, as it turns out you are not in fact, forever 21. 

Loving: My Taylor Swift cardigan. 

Ok, the folklore album came out in July and I managed to get all the way to November until I finally gave in and bought this. That's roughly four months of resisting this purchase as it called my name and beckoned my debit card. Be proud of me. 

Laughing: At this meme

What are your current favorites?!

The Thursday Five Vol. 1

I saw this idea from Through Clouded Glass, where she shares things from five categories that stand out to her each week. I loved this idea and wanted to replicate it here at T is for Townsend. I've started with the five categories below but please let the record show: I may change my mind. Because I love this idea so much I just really can't make up my mind. So in the wise words of The Black Eyed Peas, let's get it started!

An Inspiration

In the spirit of celebrating Veteran's Day this week, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." -Ronald Reagan

This was a moving tribute posted by Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal and current Congressman, to his Instagram account. 

A Recommendation

Toasted Almond Caramel coffee from Target

I know that most people are in full on Christmas mode right now and that is all well and good but my book of rules says we drink fall flavored coffee until Thanksgiving. I don't make the rules I just make them.

A Book

I just finished How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry and it was the perfect pallet cleanser after all those spooky October reads last month. Cozy and warm and lovely and adorable. 

A Song (or album or playlist or artist. Anything musical, really)

Chase Me Down by Chris Tomlin featuring Raelynn

I am here to say for the record: Raelynn is wildly underrated and one of my favorite female country artists (country sass for miles, y'all!). So I was so excited to see her team up with Chris Tomlin for some Jesus music. You will not be disappointed. 

A Moment of Happiness

My husband Nate and I are having a house built right now and we drive down there just about every weekend to see how it's going. Mostly because we're impatient and just can't help ourselves. Seeing the progress and daydreaming about my new house takes me to my happy place.

The Good, the Bad, and the Books I Read: October

Piggy backing slightly off of my last post, wherein I detailed some of the thrilling and truly groundbreaking plans I have for this blog (that is sarcasm, my blog plans are neither thrilling nor groundbreaking they are in fact very basic, run-of-the-mill blog plans), one of those said plans is book-ish content. 

I was an avid reader as a kid growing up, but then I turned into a teenager and had better things to do (obvi, AmIRight?). I then turned into an adult and re-discovered my love for books. Even more recently, I have found the book-ish community on Instagram and YouTube to be one of my favorite places and I want to bring a little bit of that book-ish energy to my blog. Really, I just want to talk about books and I think my friends and family might be getting sick of my rambling-on about them. 

So, if you are not into books that's totally cool you can ignore these posts - it won't hurt my feelings (jk yes it will a little please still read my blog and tell me you love me pls and thx). But if you ARE into books - let's talk about them!

Books I read in October

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Synopsis: Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

The Good: 

• The atmosphere - Ellingham Academy was putting off some serious Hogwarts vibes and I am here for it. A boarding school set atop a secluded mountain in Vermont - old, filled with hidden passageways and sprawling tunnels? Fall leaves printed on each of the chapter pages in the actual book? Yes please!
• Dual timelines - this book did a great job of incorporating the old story and timeline, with the new. It kept things interesting and helped with pacing. We love a good dual timeline. 
• Our main character, Stevie - relatable and smart. 

The Bad:

• This is the first book of four in a series (Book #4 coming out Summer 2021!) and really just felt like a set-up book. The book ended on a HUGE cliffhanger and ZERO of my questions were answered. Which is fine I suppose, since I'll keep reading the next book because now I feel like I need to know what happens. This book on its own however, can't stand by itself. I felt a little cheated when I finished this - like I read it hoping for some sort of a resolution or revelation and got none.

Overall rating: 3/5 stars

October Brain Dump

Yellow! Did anyone else's parents ever answer the phone like that when you were a kid? "Yeh-low?!" Or when they would hang up they'd be like "mmm buh-bye." Like not just "buh-bye" but there'd be the "mmm" in front of it? No? Just my parents?

Anyway - I digress. I was trying to say hello and start this blog post but then I wrote it as "yellow" cause that's how I was saying it in my head and down the rabbit hole I went. So I think this is going to be just a little bit of a brain dump/housekeeping kind of a post because of a few reasons:

1.) I am in a writing mood

2.) I got a new computer and wanted to play on it so typey type type away I go

3.) I am procrastinating finishing a vampire book I'm reading because I'm pretty sure something bad is about to happen and I dunno if I'm ready for it. That and plus it's night time now which means I REALLY can't read it right? Silly me was like oooooh October! Halloween! Spooky season! You should try and read some spooky books! Who exactly did I think I was? Brave? So blogging it is for tonight. 

Let's talk about that actually - blogging. You will probably notice that this blog, is a rickety, old, very old blog. Sometimes images don't load, some content is missing from the tabs on my home page, sometimes instead of the actual header image you'll instead get a little Photobucket image (lol remember Photobucket?), and things of that nature. That is because this blog is old and I have made zero effort to update it. Oops. 

At first, that was because for a few years I was rarely posting on here and didn't really feel the need to update it. But lately, I've really been thinking a lot about writing and blogging and craving what it used to be. Craving to have a little space online where I can ramble on about things I love and talk about them with other people who also love those same things and just be dumb and silly and creative whenever I want to be. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm making plans for this blog. So far, they are:

1.) Posting at least once per week, ultimately I'd like to have two blog posts per week. Too ambitious? We'll find out.

2.) Move this blog over to Wordpress and redesign. The time suck on this one is that I want allllll my posts I've ever written to come with me to the new platform. Which means me, manually copy and pasting over all the hundreds of blog posts I've written over the last nine years. You can guess why that would be taking me FOR.EH.VERRR (in my best Sandlot voice). So in the meanwhile, thank you for your patience in dealing with this rickety old blog. 

3.) Lol I thought I had more plans which is why I started a numbered list but I guess these two are the gist of it 😆. 

So the hope in talking about this is not only to let you, reader, know what I'm working on and have planned, but also to hold myself accountable. I am fairly good at planning things but executing said things is where I typically fail. But fail here I shall not! I can't and I shan't! 

In other news - the high today in Arizona was 67 degrees and I shit you not I thought I was going to freeze. Sidenote - I used to think "I shit you not" was a crude and vulgar and unnecessary turn of phrase but now I think it's kind of funny. It's funny right?

Also, I need you all to know that in the event we might pull up to a 4-way stop sign at the same time, I AM THAT PERSON that will accidentally start going at the same time as you and then we'll both be like "You go. No you go! Ooop you go! No ok you go!" for literally the next hour. I am the absolute worst at this I don't know why and I don't know how to fix it. I am truly sorry.

Other things:
1.) Did y'all watch Emily in Paris on Netflix? I did and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it and I don't know why this was such a controversial show. Is it because it was cheesy?? I love cheese.

2.) Did ya'll listen to Kelsea Ballerini's Ballerini album? It's the acoustic version of Kelsea that came out in March and WE STAN.

3.) Did ya'll see that Mina Lima, graphic designers of all eight Harry Potter movies released an illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? IT.IS.STUNNING.

4.) My friend Brianna started an Etsy shop and you should check it out HERE, and my friend Kayla started an Etsy shop you should check that out HERE. 

So if you've made it this far, as always - you da bomb. Thanks for reading and thanks for your patience as I get my blog legs back under me! 

It's OK to Talk About Fun Things on the Internet

This blog post is brought to you by this Pinterest inspiration:

I can confirm that I have gotten up, cleared my desk, tied my hair, and I am just starting. This is me just starting.

I've been wanting to come back to this blog for a while now but various things have been holding me back at different points between the time of May - my last post, and now. I even wrote an entire summer recap and just never hit publish. There were the usual roadblocks - things like: nobody blogs anymore anyway who cares, nobody reads my posts anyway who cares (except mom - hi mom!), I'd rather read a book, I have no post ideas, blah blah. But then there were other things like, an ongoing worldwide pandemic, societal unrest, riots, political campaigns, and things of the like. Anywhere I looked on social media, it was these things. Which is understandable - many people want to talk about what's going on in the world and advocate for their causes and things they feel passionately about. I understand that. 

The internet has just never been the place for me to do that, personally. 

So I didn't know if, given the times, I could pop into this rickety old blog and say hi and talk about how I started watching Gossip Girl for the first time, or Taylor Swift's new album, while everyone else on the internet was discussing their perceived injustices of the world. Will that make me look insensitive? I wasn't sure.

But the the other night I was cruising the Twitterverse and someone I follow tweeted out this article titled, "The Era of Influencer's Being Apolitical Online is over." I clicked it, read it, and have been thinking about it ever since. And I decided this is what I'm gonna write a blog post about.

The article argues that the era of online influencers remaining apolitical and keeping politics and current issues out of the realm of their content, is no longer acceptable. 

That, "Influencers who continue to post their usual content without acknowledging the realities of this country face the risk of appearing so laughably out of touch that it renders anything else they have to say irrelevant." 

It continues, 

"As we get closer and closer to Nov. 3, an influencer who remains silent about one of the most consequential US elections in history may risk alienating and angering their followers in such a deep way that it would be impossible to recover from."

So like I said, I have been thinking about this article ever since I read it. Some people may subscribe to this line of thinking and that's cool, but I decided that I do not. In fact, I wholeheartedly reject this line of thinking. I reject it for a few reasons.

Firstly, as a content consumer - the people I subscribe to and follow, they don't owe me their political views. They don't owe me anything. There is now somehow a sense of entitlement on our part, to the political views of our favorite athletes, actresses, and celebrities. Many people demanding they speak up and speak out. Why? This bothers me because I don't think the demand is genuine. I don't think most people are genuinely interested in what point of view their favorite Youtuber or celebrity may have - I think they're interested in making sure they hold the "correct" point of view. That they vote for the "correct" candidate. Imagine if after all these years of folks demanding Taylor Swift speak out and take a political stance, that she endorsed a Republican candidate for office? 

Secondly, the more and more politics invades our previously shared spaces, the less we have in common with each other. Sports, music, television shows, our workplaces, Goya foods, Nike...hell, the National Anthem itself - all of these things and more, no matter how big or small, have become politicized. What can we share in anymore, as Americans? What can bring us together? By requiring everyone to speak out politically and "take a side"...means everyone has now taken a side and we are by very definition - divided. Is that what we want?

And lastly, if we're constantly requiring influencers, celebrities, and athletes to comment on and speak about the latest crises of the day, then we're only ever consuming the latest crises of the day. An entire days worth of our social media feeds just politics, fear, crisis, more politics, more hysteria...day after day after day. Is that good for us? Surely not. 

Now, I am not in fact an apolitical person. I have very strong opinions about politics and the current issues of the day and I certainly have those conversations offline. But this blog, in the nine years I've had it, has never been a place for those discussions. 

I understand the immense value that the internet gives us as a tool to organize, spread awareness, create community and engage in dialogue for the causes we're passionate about, and oftentimes I have participated in some of them. I respect those who do use their platforms for these things. 

But I also think it's ok to spend time participating in the things we love, the things that we enjoy and make us happy. Take a break from the hysteria. The fear and anxiety that is in the news and your social media feeds day in and day out. I don't think it makes anyone "laughably out of touch" to want to talk about fun things on the internet. That's what I want to do. I want to get on the internet and find people who want to talk about books and Real Housewives and Harry Potter and laugh at funny dog memes and theorize about Taylor Swift lyrics. And if not, at the very least maybe find people who don't mind reading my writing about all these things. 😉

So anyway, if you made it this far - you are a champ and I thank you and I hope you want to stick around and talk about fun things because that's the plan. And I think that's ok.