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Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season on DVD

June 30, 2009 · by · 2 Comments
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Yep, it’s two DVD reviews today,  not because nothing else is going on but because I have once again been playing catch-up with everything I have going on online, and all of a sudden the very nice lady who sent me Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season is reminding me that it came out THREE WEEKS AGO.

raising the barSo, here’s the thing- I LOVE THIS SHOW. I watched a few episodes during the season, but when I got the box set, I watched 2 or 3 episodes every night until I went through the whole thing. And now I am totally hooked. I have Season Two on a series recording on the DVR and it just keeps getting better and better.

If you’re not familiar with the show, here’s what you need to know. “Raising the Bar” was created by Steven Bochco, the creator and episode writer of such award-winning shows as “Hill Street Blues”, “Doogie Howser, M.D.”, “L.A. Law”, and “NYPD Blue”.   Although it is an ensemble cast, the star of the show is Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who also starred in Bochco’s shows “Commander in Chief” and “NYPD Blue”. Gosselaar plays Jerry Kellerman, a passionate Public Defender who’s willingness to fight for his clients sometimes gets him in trouble.

Jerry’s boss is tough-but-fair Rosalind Whitman (Gloria Reuben, “E.R.”), he frequently goes up against Michelle Ernhardt (Melissa Sagemiller, Sleeper Cell) in court, a beautiful blonde who tolerates sleazy behavior from her boss Nick Balco (Currie Graham, Suddenly Susan). Both Jerry and Michelle regularly appear in the court of loose cannon Judge Trudy Kessler (Jane Kaczmarek, Malcolm in the Middle), who’s having an affair with her clerk, Charlie Sagansky (Jonathan Scarfe).

I also have to confess, one of the reasons I watch this show is the scenes with J.August Richards, who plays prosecuting attorney Marcus McGrath, and was, of course, Charles Gunn on “Angel”. I can’t help it, I think he’s hot :)

The cases presented in “Raising the Bar” are based on real cases handled by David Feige, who co-created the series. The DVD has a terrific featurette about Feige, and a chat with the cast about creating their characters and the show.

If you haven’t started watching “Raising the Bar” on TNT, I highly recommend you do so. Pick up Raising the Bar: The Complete First Season on Amazon.com, it’s 10 episodes so you can get through it in a week or two, tops, and then you can start catching up on Season Two.  Jane Kaczmarek is top notch, and although it took a while for Mark-Paul Gosselaar to grow on me, this has become one of my must-watch shows.

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Confessions of a Shopaholic Blu-Ray review

June 30, 2009 · by · 6 Comments
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ConfessionsofShopaholicBluray smThe movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic” is based on the book by the same name, by author Sophie Kinsella, but the movie changes the book’s plot considerably, while still maintaining the basic idea. Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”) plays Becky Bloomwood, a young, single gal who loves to shop. Walking into a store is like walking into a holy place for Becky, and if the clothes are on sale, even better.

Unfortunately, what she doesn’t like doing is opening her credit card bills and paying them. Her roommate Suze (Krysten Ritter of TV’s “Breaking Bad”) helps her out by not cashing her rent checks, but when bill collector Derek Smeath (character actor Robert Stanton) begins pursuing Rebecca with a vengeance, she realizes she’d better start paying her bills.

Her dream is to work for  fashion magazine Alette, but she takes a job at another magazine published by the same company, a magazine with the ironic name “Successful Saving”.  There she meets ultra-suave Luke Brandon (British actor Hugh Dancy), who offers her a job.  Becky? Writing about saving money? Hilarity definitely ensues. But if you are a fan of the books, keep in mind, this movie does not follow the plot of the book really at all.

The day of Becky’s job interview, she stops at a store first and finds a beautiful green scarf, which she decides is an “important scarf”. This scarf, she rationalizes, will be what sets her apart. She will be the Girl in the Green Scarf. That scarf will, in fact, play a very important role in the movie.

Other parts in the movie are played by Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Leslie Bibb, John Lithgow, Fred Armisen, Lynn Redgrave, and Kristin Scott Thomas.

The Blu-Ray edition has two discs plus a digital copy.  The bonus features, which are also on the standard DVD, are Bloopers, Deleted scenes, and the music video “Stuck With Each Other” by Shontelle featuring Akon. Special Blu-Ray features include two more music videos and a Behind-the-scenes featurette about the wardrobe (designed by Sex and the City designer Patricia Field) and New York Fashion.

Thanks to Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, I have these exclusive Fun Facts to share with you about the making of this movie!

  • **The film shot inside of some of the most exclusive stores and boutiques in New York, including Barneys New York flagship store on Madison Avenue, Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue, Scoop and Catherine Malandrino in the Meat Packing District, Alessi (upscale housewares) in Soho, and Kleinfeld (elaborate bridal shop) in Chelsea.
  • **The film also shot inside some of the most historic buildings in the city, including legendary British architect Lord Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower (the only film to ever be allowed to shoot there) on 57th Street and 8th Avenue; 45 Rockefeller Center (the building that features the statue of Atlas holding up the world at its entrance); the Grand Salon inside of the 1931 Jumeirah Essex House hotel on Central Park South; inside and out of St. James Church (1884) on Madison Avenue between 71st and 72nd Streets; inside of the Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau styled Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Building (1908-12) on Chambers Street in the Wall Street district; utilizing the exterior of St. Anthony of Padua on Sullivan Street at the intersection of Greenwich Village, Tribeca and Soho, founded in 1866.
  • **In the film, costume designer Patricia Field selected clothing and accessories to adorn Isla Fisher’s Becky Bloomwood, including Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Zac Posen, Miu Miu, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Christian Dior, Todd Oldham, Gucci and Matthew Williamson, among others.
  • **Sophie Kinsella was on the “Confessions of a Shopaholic” set nearly every day as associate producer, consulting and watching her beloved creation of Rebecca Bloomwood come to life. Not so coincidentally considering the massive international sales of the “Shopaholic” novels, Kinsella was often approached by excited fans on New York, Connecticut and Miami locations as if she were more of a movie star than an author.

Rent or buy Confessions of a Shopaholic on Blu-Ray or DVD today. Tell me in a comment what you thought of the movie if you already saw it!

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Win a Poken for BlogHer from MomSpark

June 28, 2009 · by · Leave a Comment
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When I went to the Stouffer’s event in May, we met up the night before the event in the hotel bar for dinner and drinks and dessert and more drinks. And a couple of people at the table had these little…things that they tapped together and the things lit up and everybody went ooooooh.

Those things were called Poken, and they are the absolute cutest way to trade information with another person EVER. Business cards are great for sharing basic info like your email address and cell number, but Poken let you share all of this:

Twitter ID, Facebook Profile, MySpace URL, LinkedIn URL, Skype address, Gtalk address, Yahoo chat address, and MORE.

If you are going to BlogHer and want to win a Poken to take with you, head over to MomSpark and enter to win an adorable Geisha Poken by July 6th!

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I’m Getting That Feeling Again. Makes Me Itchy.

June 28, 2009 · by · 7 Comments
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Friends, it’s happening again. I’m getting that feeling. That feeling that attaches itself and won’t let go.  You know the one I mean. The one that says something just isn’t quite right. Something needs to be fixed, or changed, or added, or taken away.  It’s going to bug me and bug me until I figure out what “it” is.

One thing I’m not going to do is change my blog theme, I can promise you that. Adam at IZEA worked way too hard on it. I just feel like I need to do something different with this blog. Make it…better, somehow, or something.

Like I said, it’s a very itchy kind of feeling. Like the kind that starts right between your shoulder blades and you can’t quite reach it. Except in my head.

Weird, I know.

I used to have this awesome “100 Things About Me” page, my long-time readers might remember. I had to take it off during a redesign and I thought I saved it to My Documents, but now I can’t find it.  So now I have to write a new one only I don’t know what to say in it! Anything in particular you want to know?

I’m also thinking very seriously about shutting down my food blog MomCooks and posting recipes here instead. I mean, it makes sense, this is a blog about parenting, and cooking is part of being a parent, right?  I’ve been going back and forth about it so nothing’s for sure yet, just something I’m contemplating.

Another itch in my head, you might say.

So yeah, that’s what’s going on with me.  I just want this blog to be the best it can be! 

These two yahoos love me no matter what my blog looks like :)

Ryan and Kaitlyn

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The things you find at the Mall. SHEESH.

June 27, 2009 · by · Leave a Comment
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I was glad I had my camera in my purse on our recent trip to the Mall.

First up, in the Children’s section at Schuler Books, we found these two books on a display shelf right along with the Newberry and Caldecott winners:

Bookstore Fail

Way to give kids nightmares, Schuler Books! Look at that illustration on the book on the left- holy crap!

Then we came across this row of hybrid shopping cart/ride in thingamabobbers, they cost five bucks to rent and although rather unwieldy, are probably a life saver for parents who have kids that won’t just walk quietly by their side. Fun, right?

Boobaloo 1

Wait, what? Did you catch what the brand name is?

Boobaloo 2

Heh heh heh they said boob.

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Wordless Wednesday-My little Princess

June 24, 2009 · by · 12 Comments
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Dresses by MyCuteDressups.com. Doll is Zoe by Karito Kids.

Kaitlyn and Zoe

Kaitlyn dressed up

Kaitlyn hugging Zoe

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Revolutionary Road on DVD and Blu-Ray

June 18, 2009 · by · 6 Comments
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Revolutionary RoadHave you seen Revolutionary Road? It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as a 1950′s married couple trying to find happiness in their suburban lives despite a deep longing for something more adventurous.  He works a soul-sucking job in sales for a business machines company, while she does typical housewife things and raises their two children.

It was terrific to see DiCaprio and Winslet together again, they haven’t lost any of their “Titanic” chemistry. But what makes this movie so hard to watch is how painfully realistic their fighting is.  Within the first few minutes of the movie they are arguing, and I was sitting there with my mouth open thinking “holy cow, Chris and I have had fights that sound just like that”.  They love each other so much, and yet they fight so much, at times in the film you are sure they won’t stay married.

And yet, when they unite over a common goal, the tension drains away, you start to see them come together as a couple, and then BAM. The end of the movie is so completey unexpected and shocking, and yet done in this devastatingly quiet way that you almost don’t even see coming.  I got to the end of the movie and couldn’t believe how it had ended after I had gone on this emotional journey with these two characters.

Bonus Features: All bonus features are in high definition

•    Film Commentary by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe
•    Lives of Quite Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road – Gives some good background on the film, its development, casting and production with interviews with the cast and crew.
•    Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe
•    Richard Yates: The Wages of Truth – An introspective on the life of the novelist, told by people that knew him, including family members and friends. This featurette helps in understanding the Yates’ troubled life.

Did I Like It? Yes, I definitely did. The costumes and set design are gorgeous, the supporting cast of Kathy Bates, Dylan Baker, Michael Shannon and Kathryn Hahn are outstanding, and you get this incredible convergence of social and marital commentary, self-absorption, delusion, and yet, overlying it all, tenderness.  I recommend it for fans of DiCaprio and/or Winslet especially.

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Photo Post- Kaitlyn’s Special Bedtime Moments

June 17, 2009 · by · 4 Comments
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This was going to be for Wordless Wednesday, but I felt like I needed to explain what’s going on in the photos.  Since I’m thinking a lot about what parents do to make bedtime special this week, I snapped some photos as Kaitlyn was headed to bed the other night. This is her basic bedtime routine:

Step 1. Sit in the La-Z Boy rocker with Daddy, looking at books,  while he brushes her hair-

brushing-hair

Step 2.  Give Daddy a bedtime smooch-

kiss-for-daddy

Step 3. Give her brothers their bedtime smooch, first Ryan-

smooch-for-ryan

Then a smooch for Nathan-

smooch-for-nathan

Step 4.  Get tucked into bed by Mommy, making sure to have all four special blankies, a book, and at least one stuffed toy. Give Mommy a smooch, say goodnight!

tucked-into-bed

Feel free to leave a link to your Wordless Wednesday post (or any other post you’d like me to read!) in a comment. And please enter my GoodNites Special Bedtime Moments giveaway if you want a chance to also win a $2500 Bedroom Makeover! It takes just a minute to enter at the GoodNites site and you’ll be getting a chance to also score a totebag stuffed with goodies worth $250.00 from me!

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Special Bedtime Moments Giveaway, Pt. 2

June 16, 2009 · by · 8 Comments
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I’m going to try this again, because I know yesterday’s giveaway post was way too long and I think I made the directions for how to enter way more complicated than they really are. A recap:

I’ve partnered with Edelman and Kimberly-Clark to promote the GoodNites Speical Bedtime Moments Contest. GoodNites wants to know what makes bedtime special at your house, whether it’s a routine, a song you sing, a story you always tell, whatever helps your child(ren) get to sleep at night. If you have a special bedtime routine, story, moment and/or tip, GoodNites wants to hear from you.

It will just take a moment to register at the GoodNites site and fill in the entry information, including your own 200 Words Or Less Story about your “Special Bedtime Moments”. Your entry could be selected and featured as a weekly “Bedtime Moment of the Week,” and you will be entered for a chance to win a Grand Prize bedroom makeover for your child, an inviting space to share more lasting memories together. You can enter once per day until August 14, 2009.

EXAMPLE: This is my entry in the contest-”My three year old daughter’s favorite bedtime moment is sitting in the rocker having her Daddy brush her hair. It’s soothing to her and helps her unwind before going to sleep”. I titled it “Special Moment with Daddy”. See? Easy Peasy, just takes a minute. And it could win you a $2500 Bedroom makeover!!

To promote the contest, Edelman/Kimberly-Clark are giving one Table for Five reader a fantastic prize pack with items that will help make bedtime more special.  The prize is a $100 gift certificate to Pajamagram.com for some cozy bedtime pjs, a $50 gift certificate to Borders.com for some new bedtime stories, a cuddly blanket, a journal for recording your child’s favorite bedtime routines, and a totebag to hold it all, a $250 value!

AND, I’m competing against 9 other bloggers to see who can drive the most traffic to the GoodNites contest. Let’s show them how awesome Table for Five readers are!!  If I get the most entries, I win $1000 in bedtime books, most of which I’ll donate to the Delta Township Public Library.

HERE’S HOW TO ENTER: Visit the GoodNites Special Bedtime Moments Contest site and enter the contest.  You’ll create a user account for the site so that you can go back, log in, and enter the contest again without having to type in your name and address info more than once.

**When you get to the screen where you type in your 200 Words or Less Entry, select and COPY your entry FIRST before clicking “continue”.  Come back to this post and PASTE your entry text into the comment box. THAT is your entry in MY giveaway! Comments left on yesterday’s post or this post will be counted.**

**You MUST leave one comment with the 200 words or less contest entry text pasted in for your entry to count and before you can earn bonus entries.**

You can also earn bonus entries by tweeting or blogging about the giveaway, or linking to the giveaway on your Facebook status, submitting the URL to Digg or Reddit or Kirtsy, subscribing to my feed, or linking to Table for Five on your blogroll or links page.  Leave a separate comment for each!

Enter by July 6th at 11:59 PM EST. Open to U.S. only.

Please enter!! Even if your kids are grown up, you can still enter by telling what you did to help them unwind for bed when they were little.  Don’t need $150 in gift certificates, a journal, a blanket, or a tote bag? Donate them to a women’s shelter or a new Mom if you win! Thanks and good luck!!

Disclaimer: I received compensation for promoting the contest and hosting this giveaway.

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GoodNites “Special Bedtime Moments” Contest And Giveaway

June 15, 2009 · by ·
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This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to the winner, comment #7 from Tiaras and Tantrums!

Creating Special Bedtime Moments

goodnites_sbmblogger_200px_jpgAh, bedtime. It can be a struggle sometimes, but mostly it’s a chance for parents and children to share treasured family moments together. Whether you follow the same exact routine every night or not, it’s important to give kids a chance to wind down their busy little bodies and drift off to sleep feeling secure and loved.

Unfortunately, bed-wetting problems can make that more difficult. Our oldest son had a medical condition that required us to get him up at least once and sometimes twice a night, every night, for YEARS, until our pediatrician found the right medication for him. We had him wear nighttime training pants for as long as we could, but once he grew out of the biggest size available at the time, there was nothing we could do but take turns staying up until midnight every night to wake him up. It disrupted his sleep and ours and was a source of stress for us all.

Parents today have a much easier choice for that situation- GoodNites Underpants, Sleep Pants and Sleep Boxers give even big kids the security to know that they won’t wake up wet and cold. GoodNites take the pressure off of worrying about bedwetting, so your child can enjoy bedtime moments and look forward to being tucked in and kissed goodnight. For more information and advice on bedwetting as well as making bedtime special, visit GoodNites.com.

bedtime-moments-contest

Visit www.SpecialBedtimeMoments.com through August 14, 2009, to share a tip, story or routine for a chance to win one of two Grand Prize bedroom makeovers worth $2500.00 !! Just imagine how amazing your child’s bedroom would look, how magical and special you could make every bedtime moment with $2500 worth of improvements! Best of all, you can enter MORE THAN ONCE, you just need to use a different email address for each entry.

To encourage you to enter the GoodNites contest, I have a very special prize pack to give away courtesy of GoodNites.  Just look at everything you can win!

goodnitesbedtimekits_sm
o   $100 gift certificate to PajamaGram.com

o   $50 gift certificate to Borders

o   Blanket

o   Bedtime journal for recording special bedtime moments

o   Overnight tote bag to hold all items mentioned above

Retail value $250.00 !!

In addition, if I get the most readers to enter the contest, I win $1000 in bedtime books, most of which I’ll donate to our township library!

HOW TO ENTER: You will be entering two giveaways, one sponsored by GoodNites Special Bedtime Moments, and one sponsored by me. Here’s what to do:

  1. Go to the Special Bedtime Moments Contest page and share your Special Bedtime Moment. Give your entry a title, and then in 200 words or less, describe your bedtime moment, whether it’s a routine, a story you tell, a song you sing, whatever it may be.  But DON’T CLICK CONTINUE YET!
  2. COPY the text of your entry first!!!!!  Then come back here and PASTE YOUR TEXT into a comment on this post. That is your ENTRY in MY giveaway!
  3. You can enter the GoodNites contest once per day as long as you use a different email address. Which means you can also enter my giveaway ONCE PER DAY, as long as you use a different email address.

I know this is more work than is usually required for a blog giveaway, but I hope you’ll think it’s worth taking a few minutes to enter. Not only could you win a $2500 bedroom makeover, but you could also win my awesome prize AND help me get $1000 in bedtime books donated to my public library!

ENTRY RULES: Enter by July 6th at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be chosen at random and emailed for their name, mailing address and daytime phone. Open to U.S. entrants only.

EXTRA ENTRIES: I’ll give you one extra entry for each of the following that you do or have done. Leave a separate comment for each:

  • Follow me on Twitter, the link is in the upper right-hand corner. Tweet this: RT @Table4Five Enter to win a GoodNites $2500 Bedroom Makeover & a gift card/blanket/totebag prize pack from me! http://bit.ly/AB7Ir
  • Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post, leave your URL in the comment
  • Submit this post to Digg, Reddit or Kirtsy. You can stumble it too, but I’ve read that StumbleUpon is penalizing users that stumble contests.
  • Not a blogger? No problem! Post the link to this giveaway on your Facebook page or on any forums you belong to, leave the link in your comment. OR, email it to five people and CC me table4five@gmail.com

Disclaimer: I have partnered with GoodNites(r)  for this series of posts; I am being compensated for writing about my family’s bedtime routine and for promoting this contest, not for endorsing a product.

Thanks for entering and good luck everybody!

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