'Round here.

Inspired by Clair's lovely post (do you read her blog? You should) here's a quick list of things that have been going on in my life lately:

Exercising: A lot. I've really gotten back into the swing of things and I must say, it feels great. Recently it's been a combo of kickboxing (so much sweat!) and long beach walks.

Enjoying: Watching my lemon tree grow. If all goes well, I should have actual lemons soon. This is very exciting to me, not in the least because I'm normally a black thumb.

Reading: Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan. Not loving, exactly, but enjoying.

Craving: A trip—somewhere, anywhere! Have been feeling a little stir-crazy recently. Thankfully, I've got San Diego in August to look forward to, and I'm hoping there's opportunity for a mini-vacay in July somewhere, too.

Watching: Mad Men, mostly. And I think we're going to start Arrested Development, which I've never seen, this weekend, since ACS randomly has all the seasons on DVD but has never watched them, either. I know next to nothing about the show, but it's good, right?

Eating: This herb-roasted salmon from Ina Garten is delicious and easy (so delicious I accidentally ate half a pound of it the other day, in fact, instead of the quarter-pound I thought I was scarfing down. Oops). Definitely make it. I paired it with a super-simple arugula salad and it was the perfect post-work meal.

Feeling: Happy that summer is (basically) here. More beach walks, barbecues, swimming, sundresses, dips in the ocean and friend time, please.

What's been going on with you lately? How were your long weekends?

Photo: My own, from one of the aforementioned walks on Siesta Key Beach. 

Max Greenfield for Mr. Porter.

If you know me, you know that my favorite show—well, favorite non-serious show—on TV is definitely, without a doubt New Girl. I've long loved Zooey Deschanel (and I can relate to her character Jess's personality quirks a leetle too closely sometimes), but Max Greenfield's Schmidt is amazing, and I really don't think the show would work without him. So I was excited to come across these images on Mr. Porter. I mean, who doesn't want to look at the occasional picture of a cute, funny boy, you know?

Homeland.

Do you guys watch the show Homeland? You probably all do and I'm totally late to the party, but my boss lent me her copy of season one and I had to blog about it because I watched the entire thing this weekend. Claire Danes plays Carrie Mathison, a bipolar CIA agent who's trying to prove that Damian Lewis' character, Marine sergeant Nick Brody, was corrupted during his time as a prisoner of war and is now working for an Al Queda cell that's plotting an attack on the U.S. Danes and Lewis are both great; so is Mandy Patinkin, who plays Carrie's mentor and is such a sympathetic character that I kept wanting to reach through my TV and give him a hug. If you don't watch and you're into this sort of show, you should totally get your hands on the DVDs.

What shows have you been loving lately?

P.S. If you're watching Homeland at 2 a.m., you know, hypothetically speaking, you might have some odd dreams about being a CIA agent yourself afterward. I'm just saying.