Downton Abbey Sighting!

Downton Abbey may be a fictional show but it was filmed at a real English Castle, Highclere Castle.  This lovely estate has been the backdrop for quite a few British films and also hosts special events and even overnight guest!

I happened to recognize the lovely estate while watching a film with my girls last night.  So if you have missed seeing Downton Abbey check out the movie Back to the Secret Garden on Netflix.  Made in 2000 this (made for TV) children's film is based on the classic The Secret Garden but takes place in the 1940s when Mary and Colin are adults and there are new children living at Misselthwaite Manor (orphans).  The secret garden still needs help and love and fortunately there is a new character (Lizzie) to save the day.

There are no familiar actors from the Downton Abbey show but there is a "Lady Mary" that owns the estate, so that's close!

It was a cute, clean and sweet film.  My girls enjoyed it (the 9yo more than the 5 yo), especially my oldest who had just finished reading the novel (again).  They were able to learn a few British words and phrases.  And we had opportunities to talk about what makes a good friend (just wait, there is a jealous mean girl in the story).

So make a cup of tea, get some biscuits and gather your kids on the couch for a movie this weekend!

The Real Downton Abbey

As I've written in the past I am a fan of the series Downton Abbey.  I consider myself a true fan because I stuck with the show even after they insisted on killing off two major characters. ;)

If you are a fan too then about now you are anxious for the next season to start.  They are about to premier Season 5 in the UK, which means we'll have to wait until January 2015 for it to make it across the pond to us.  Unless of course you find the UK shows online, which is what I do! (premiers Sept 21st btw).

I have a quick PBS movie to help you bide the time until the next season begins.  It's a behind the scenes documentary about Downton Abbey, which in real life is known as Highclere Castle.  It's a real Castle with a real earl and countess living inside.  

They show the castle, discuss it's history and also talk quite a bit about the Downton Abbey series and other commercial endeavors that help pay for the rather large Castle costs.  Let's just say all the staff and building upkeep do not come cheap!

It's a lovely little movie and can be found on Netflix or youtube.

Anyone else craving a spot of tea after all this Downton talk?

Franny's Feet - My 2 year old's favorite show

"Where will my feet take me today"

If that sounds familiar to you then you must have discovered the cute children's show Franny's Feet already.  We stumbled upon this little treasure of a show last month while my 2 year old was home with the flu.  

It is a animated show about a 5 year old girl named Franny who helps her Grandfather at his shoe repair store.  She goes on adventures after putting on customer's shoes and ends up anywhere from the North Pole to the beach.  She is helpful, friendly and has a loving relationship with her Grandfather.  

After a little research I discovered that this was a Canadian/American show made between 2004-2010.  There were 4 seasons with a total of 52 episodes (although each "episode" is 2 different stories so it's really 104).  Right now Netflix has 18 of the episodes that appear to be a jumble from different seasons. 

This has quickly become my 2 year olds favorite show passing up Sesame Street and Strawberry Shortcake. :)  She asks for it regularly and I find her standing in front of our shoes daily saying "where my feet take me today" before slipping into them.  It's the cutest!

If you have a 2-5 year old I suggest checking out this show.  Then wait and see if they try on your shoes too! 

Franny's Feet Website - Interactive website with educational games and show clips.

Franny's Feet on PBS Kids - Similar contents as the above website but also has coloring pages and full episodes.

Downton Abbey is back - Is anyone still watching?

Season 4 of the acclaimed PBS show Downton Abbey returned last night.  But here's the question, is anyone still watching?

As you may know I was a big fan of the show, up until the end of Season 3 when it became "Downer" Abbey to me after so many sad-sad story lines.  There are only so many main characters that you can kill off in a series and still make it watchable in-my-opinion (unless it's a soap opera or Grey's Anatomy).

So...it was with much reluctance that I watched the first episode of Season 4 last night.  And.....I liked it.  I went on to watch the 2nd episode (you can find them online since they showed in the UK months ago) and it was even better than the 1st.  If you haven't seen the first episode you can watch it here on PBS. 

Shocking but I think they may be able to pull this off.  

So for now I tentatively remain a Downton Abbey fan.  How about you?  Which new characters do you like or not-like?  

And most importantly, did the show make you want to drink more tea? ;)

Call the Midwife

As you may remember I am a big fan of a very popular British Show, Downton Abbey.  I was a HUGE fan until this last season but we won't go over that again now.  I wanted to tell you about another PBS show from England, Call the Midwife.

I discovered this show last year on my PBS player and absolutely loved it.  It takes place in the 1950's in the working class/poor area of London's (the East End) and follows a order of midwife nuns and midwife nurses.  It is fascinating!  Now, I have to put out there that if you are not interested in birth this is NOT the show for you.  Shouldn't be a surprise since it's about midwives, but I still want to state the obvious.  Each show has multiple births and let's just say these ladies are vocal.  I watch it after my girls are in bed and still need to turn the volume down here and there. :)

That said it is a lovely mostly uplifting period show that is a great little view into what birth looked like before modern medicine took it out of the home and into the hospital.  It is also a drama, complete with relationships (nurses not the nuns, ha!) and a few plot twists and turns.

The 2nd season starts next Sunday, March 31st on PBS.  You can see all the episodes from Season 1 online here.  Or look for them on Netflix.

So get going, you've got one week to catch up!

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that I've already started watching Season 2.  They showed in England awhile ago so I found them online.  I couldn't wait!  It's fabulous.

5 Life Lessons from The Bachelor

I realize that by writing today's post I am admitting that I watch the Bachelor.  Talk about a guilty pleasure show; 25 girls vying for one guy!  But hey, you know I'm fascinated by Polygamy and this is pretty darn close to that. ;)  I watched the very first season of the Bachelor many many (10) years ago back when I was still single myself.  For some reason I decided to try this crazy show again and wouldn't you know it was so bizarre that I found it entertaining.

Last night was the "3 hr Live finale" (which by the way is only 2 hrs and 7 min without commercials!) and the Bachelor Sean chose Catherine.  I watched it today since we don't have television at our house (it is available the next day online).  Like thousands millions of other women all across American I'm hoping these crazy kids make it work.  Although I've read that out of 10 years of seasons only 2 couples actually have.  Ha!

It wasn't just a guilty pleasure show though, I learned a few things.  Here are my top 5:

5 Life Lessons from the Bachelor
5. Don't drink on a reality show.  You may be nervous but trust me, you'll be sorry later.
4. There is such a thing as too much bling, makeup and big hair.  Less is more ladies, less is more.
3. You can only say "you're amazing" so many times before it starts sounding creepy.
2. Keep crying spells to a limit, it makes your face scrunch up and you look ugly. That and people don't take you seriously after awhile.
Last but not least:
1. There is no such thing as "the one". There are many people that we could be with, it's all about timing and making a choice.  However, as long as you're not being followed around by a 50 person crew and numerous cameras there isn't a rush to make a decision!  It's just weird to break up with one woman and get engaged to another on the same day.

Love on people, love on.

Downton Abbey - Season 3 Finale

Can we chat about Downton Abbey for just a bit?  If you haven't seen Season 3 or the finale then stop reading right now and come back after you've seen it.


You were warned, so no spoiler complaints.

As you know I am a fan.  I've blogged about my obsession interest a few times now.  I like to see myself as a tried-and-true fan but this season has tested me.  At times I have referred to it as "Downer Abbey" thanks to the unfortunate plot twists.  I think I prefer the lighter period and social class issues to the tragic deaths.  Anyone else?

But this Season Finale was the worst.  I had the advantage of knowing ahead what would happen at the end, otherwise I might have been horribly shocked like the many throngs of irate British fans who saw it first.  Of course they also had the disadvantage of watching this unfortunate episode right before Christmas as it was promoted as a Holiday special.  Talk about a bummer, the season ending with the death of a favorite and primary character!

I have done some behind-the-scenes reading so I learned that the reason for his removal from the show (and Sybil's too) was their wanting to leave the show.  They both believed there were greener pastures elsewhere.  Can you imagine?  Wanting to leave such a popular show?  Boggles the mind.

Bottom line, I'm not as excited about Season 4.  I can't imagine how this show will work without Matthew.  How can it not be a huge sad show week after week dealing with all the grief and loss?

Perhaps they will skip ahead a few years to avoid it?

Is anyone else oh-so disappointed?

What I love this week.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites from this last week.  My friends and I chat all the time about what we love, so I thought I'd share it with you too!

1. Newborn size BabyLegs - I have this exact darling little set of babylegs and have been using them in heavy rotation lately.  This time of year in Phoenix it can be in the 50's in the morning and the 80's (or even 90's) in the afternoon.  So I can dress up the baby in a sweet summer outfit but make it weather appropriate in the am by adding these little leggings.  They also come in handy around the house since we do cloth diapering.  Changes are much swifter if you don't have to remove pants!  My baby may be 8 months old but she's still rocking the newborn size.  Yes, I make skinny legged children.
2. Beyond The Sling by Mayim Bialik, PhD - I briefly wrote about Mayim and her book yesterday.  I just got the book on Wednesday and I'm loving it so far.
3. Green Sprouts slicker - We've entered into the oh-so-fun but messy stage of eating with the baby.  Since she pretty much refuses to eat out of a spoon food ends up all over the place.  I bought this slicker on Zuilly a month ago and it arrived this week.  Just in time!  Although I bought the larger stage 4 (2t) size it is working pretty well for us.  I love the coverage, less to clean off of baby.  I'll post some photos of it in action soon.
4. Bluum - Have you heard of Bluum?  You purchase a subscription and every month you get a box of random samples or goodies targeted for parents of small children.  You never know what you're going to get, so it's a fun surprise.  This last month they had a Rabbit Organic baby food pouch, white tea sample, 2 Wedela travel size samples, a spritz (mine was for your pillow) and a chocolate.  Very fun to open but I have to admit that at $11 a month I'm not sure I'll keep my subscription past the 3 month intro I purchased from Plum District (for a steal of only $8 total).
5. Indestructibles Wiggle March  - I discovered this baby book while on our trip to CA.  If you have a small baby you must get this book!  It is thin like a magazine or big kid book (which babies are oh-so drawn to), but it's indestructible.  They claim to be chew proof, rip proof, non-toxic and washable.  My 8 month old is trying her hardest to destroy the book but so far it's still intact.  At $4.95 it's a great deal.  
6. Old Navy ruffled sleeve dress - I got this dress for my 4 year old at Old Navy for only $10 this week!  I think it will be on heavy rotation this spring and summer.
7. Mad Men - Season 5 just started on AMC.  I was able to see seasons 1-4 on Netflix after my baby was born.  Let's just say I saw all 60'ish episodes in a very short time period (on the iPad) thanks to being up all night with a newborn.  The season premier was on AMC.com, not sure what I'll do for the rest of the season since we don't have cable or live television.
8. Trader Joe's Movie Theatre Popcorn - This stuff is amazing.  It is all natural but somehow tastes just like the chemical laden movie theatre stuff.  I don't know how they do it but I am loving it.  At only $1.99 a bag it's a steal as well.  Let's just say that we can go through a few bags a week around here (I'm not the only fan).

So those are some of my favorites.  Do you love any of these products too?

My children don't watch television, sort-of.

What's going on here?

We don't have TV in our house.  We have a TV, but don't watch television.  Confusing?  Let me explain.  We turned off the cable almost 3 years ago and haven't looked back since.  At first I really missed my DVR, but without the constant drone of television I found that I had much more free time.  That first year I actually read 145 books.  Really, and those were grown-up books not children's stories. ;)  My daughter was 1 at the time and when she went to bed (or was napping) I'd read and read and read.  Let's just say my house got a bit messy and I was often tired as a result.

Since the reading had become a bit obsessive I scaled way back after that year and read much more moderate amounts.  Since having baby #2 I'm lucky if I can read the newspaper (and I only get the Sunday paper, ha) or a magazine.  I have plans to start up reading when this baby is one again though.

But I digress, back to the TV.  So we still watch shows and movies, we just do it on our time and in our way which is usually on a laptop.  We have a streaming Netflix subscription and sometimes rent movies online.  We also find shows through online players which the big networks have.  For the 4 year old I find her shows on Netflix or on DVDs, especially ones we get from Swap a DVD.

The main benefit to not having live television is not having commercials.  I feel strongly about limiting my children's exposure to the messages encouraging them to buy-buy-buy.  Especially since young children do not know the difference between a show and a commercial, it is all real to them.  I also naturally want to limit their exposure to violence, profanity and gender stereotypes.

So you may ask, why do I let them watch the TV at all?  Sigh.  Good question.  With my first child I had fully intended on having no television for her at all until at least 2 years old.  However, a set of Baby Einstein videos was gifted to us and one evening in desperation (cooking dinner anyone?) I popped one in and put her in front.  Turns out she loved it.  The simple images (babies, animals) and classical music were soothing to her and did not seem too harmful to me.

So here and there I let her watch one.  I added Baby Signing Time to the repertoire as well as Praise Baby.  When she was three I started letting her watch parts of shows on Netflix occasionally (like when I needed to shower) and that brought The Wiggles and Word World into our home.

She saw her first movie in a theatre at the age of three.  It was an IMAX 3-D presentation of Hubble (about the Hubble telescope).  Amazing film by the way, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio and we all loved it.  Then this last summer I took her to some of the movies at Harkins Summer Movie Fun (10 films for $7).  Now that she's four we go the the drive-in as a family and rent movies for home use as well.

However, although we've loosened up the rules on watching shows she still only sees about 20-40 minutes of a video or show on average per week.  And the baby, well I just started pulling out the Einstein and Praise Baby videos again for her.  She's not too interested at 7 months but will watch for a few minutes here and there.  I'll try to keep it to 1-2x a week for her as well.  But it is a bit harder with baby #2.  Am I right? ;)

Here are my girls watching a Baby Einstein video last week.  Judge if you will but they are pretty cute.  For now I'll keep monitoring and limiting their viewing but here and there I'll let them see one on our TV that doesn't have television. ;)

From Downton Abbey to Lanchester County

"This morning I got up at a quarter to 5 and I started getting the laundry together.  Then I woke the girls at 5 o'clock and they made breakfast" - An Amish woman as she uses a old-fashioned one tub washer to do the laundry by candlelight.  

I have been fascinated by the Amish for as long as I can remember.  I've read many many fiction books about Amish and Mennonite families and even have a few in my bookshelf by Beverly Lewis (Abram's Daughters Series).

Now that Downton Abbey is over I've had some time on my hands on Sunday nights.  Well this last week I came across the PBS Documentary The Amish on their series American Experience.  I was fascinated and learned a few new things about their culture and way of life.  I guess you could say it was a little more in depth than the Amish-fiction-romances I'd been reading over the years. ;)

In another life I would love to live as an Amish.  Of course I'd miss my laptop, netflix, van and world travel.  But, if I was born there I guess I wouldn't know any better. ;)  There is just something so attractive about the simplicity and complete devotion to their religious beliefs and way of life.  Also their commitment to each other as a group, rather than to their lives as individuals.  So foreign to our typical American way of thinking.

I've never been to Lancaster Pennsylvania but I have a friend who recently transplanted out there and so I hope to visit one day.  I'd love to be a tourist and see their farms, handwork and a glimpse of the life they live.

I highly recommend seeing PBS's The Amish, it's almost 2 hours long but worth the time.  Watching how hard these women (and families) work makes me want to clean my house.  But you won't catch me hand washing my laundry by candlelight at 5am.  No thanks, I'm happy to use my newfangled front loader.  Ha!

Le Balloon Rouge

Have you seen The Red Balloon?  It is a 1956 French film about a little boy and a red balloon that befriends him.  It's only 34 minutes long and is takes place in the streets of Paris.  It has lovely images, cinematography and a message about how others can be jealous and cruel.

This movie is special to me because I watched it as a little girl.  I remember the teacher setting up the reels and watching it in class, more than once.  I remember longing for the balloon to be safe, and cheering on the little boy who protected him from the mean boys.  How I was concerned that the mean boys would steal and pop him.  Ah, the tension!

This morning I came into the living room and there was The Red Balloon in all of it's glory on my television!  My husband had chosen it for our 4yr old to watch and I was transported back in time.  I'd forgotten most of the movie but it seemed familiar at the same time.  It has probably been around 25 years or more since I'd last seen it (yikes).

My 4 year old seemed to like the movie as well.  She had the same concerns about the balloon and cheered it on as it flew about.  She like me was relieved that there was a happy balloon ending. :)

Have you seen the movie?  It's on Netflix, go check it out!  

And now a request:

This reminded me of another film I saw back in school.  It was about a planet where the sun didn't shine and so the kids had to use sunlamps. But, every 10 years or so the sun shone for one afternoon.  The school kids were teasing one of the other students and he got locked into a room that day and didn't get to go out into the sun.  They all felt horrible when they remembered and brought him flowers from the fields.  Does anyone know the name of this movie?  

Downton Abbey Finale

Hard to believe that Downton Abbey is already finishing up Season 2.  The two hour finale is on tonight. It seems like yesterday I was writing about the series here.  Of course it's only been 6 weeks, so I guess that isn't too long ago. ;)

Have you been following along with the upstairs and downstairs drama?  Have you been drinking tea and biscuits as you watch? I have.  Tonight I'll bring out my little Harrods of London tea pot and brew up some Lady Earl Grey tea with shortbread.  The sprinkles in the tea are from my Trader Joe's Sugar Chocolate & Coffee Bean Grinder.

In honor of the finale I had considered making my own clotted creme, the yummy dairy deliciousness added to scones over in England.  However, after learning that it takes 8-12 hours of cooking (either in an oven or a crockpot), and then 8 hours in the refrigerator to make only 1 cup of clotted cream I decided to forgo it this time.

Maybe I'll make scones and clotted creme for Season 3.  If I can wait that long.  I've read that season 3 will include Shirley MacLaine as the new character Martha Levinson, the mother of Lady Grantham.  That should be a hoot!

So what will we see in tonight's 2 hour finale?  Will Matthew end up with Mary?  I doubt it but I'll be tuning in online pbs.org to see.

Let me know what you thought when it's all over!

Are you down with Downton Abbey?

It's Sunday which means another episode of Downton Abbey season 2 is on tonight.  Have you seen this PBS (from the BBC) series?  If not run, don't walk to PBS.com to see the videos online.

The PBS website also has some great extra features like behind the scenes photos, cast interviews, history of the real abbey and other goodies.  On YouTube I came across a hilarious parody of the show from BBC Comic Relief found here and here.

The 2nd season just started last week, but I spent a few days before that catching up and re-watching Season 1.  I've noticed that I've been drinking a lot more tea since this all started.  I am so easily influenced I'm afraid. ;)  I like my tea the English way, with cream and sugar.  Perhaps because I'm part British?  I've also been adding cookies and was thrilled to find some shortbread to have with my tea one night.  The cookies were rejected by my husband but I think they're delicious.  We found them at Sprouts and they are gluten free.  I've also been adding one of my new favorites this winter, Trader Joe's Sugar, Chocolate and Coffee Bean Grinder.  It is the perfect touch to the top of my tea (or coffee).  Especially if I'm drinking gingerbread tea.  Yum yum.

As I type this the show countdown clock on the PBS page says there are 3 hrs and 20 minutes left until show time.  We don't have regular tv here so it may be a bit longer for me.  Last week I saw that they had the show available online that night so I'm hoping it's the case tonight too.  Otherwise I'll have my tea-for-one tomorrow night instead.

Enjoy!