E.T. Anniverary Edition DVD BLU Ray Review

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Academy Award^®-winning director Steven Spielberg’s magical adventure, celebrates its 30^th Anniversary with it’s first-ever release on Blu-ray^™ October 9, 2012. 

Featuring an all-new, digitally remastered picture that delivers six times the resolution of DVD, as well as all-new 7.1 surround sound, the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Anniversary Edition Blu-ray™ Combo Pack includes the 1982 theatrical movie, an all-new interview with director Steven Spielberg, and “The E.T. Journals” featuring never-before-seen footage from the set of the film. The Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack also includes UltraViolet^™, a DVD and a Digital Copy of the film, offering fans a chance to relive the mystery, laughter and wonder of the iconic movie anytime, anywhere on the platform of their choice.

Synopsis:

When an imaginative boy meets a lost alien, it is the beginning of one of cinema’s most endearing friendships, as Elliot (Henry Thomas) helps the marvelous creature he calls E.T. find his way back home before government agents can capture him.

Bonus Features Include:

·      Steven Spielberg & E.T.

·      Deleted Scenes

·      A Look Back

·      The E.T. Reunion

What I liked:

This film is timeless. I enjoyed it just as much with my kids as I did when I saw it (cough) 30 (cough) years ago. (When I was obviously just born.)

 

Thank you to Universal for providing me a copy of this Blu Ray DVD to watch with my family. And don't forget to phone home.

Dare to Try: Fake Eye Lashes

Thanks to L'Oreal for sponsoring my post about my favorite beauty looks, tips and tricks! Check out Makeup.com for beauty advice from the experts.

I like my eyelashes. I think they are nice. You know, they are decent. A good length, moderate thickness.

But there is a woman who works at a restaurant near my house her eyelashes go BOOM! BANG! POW! I know they can't possibly be her own naturally born eyelashes, but I can't take my eyes off of them just the same. It's exactly what I think I need to spice up my look a little bit. Not necessarily for car pool drop off, but for a holiday night out with the girls or with my man.

So how do you go about getting such fabulous lashes? Turns out, first you have to get up the nerve to ask someone with really amazing lashes and hope you judged the situation correctly. Which I did! Yay me! I asked the waitress how she got her eyelashes to look so long and beautiful. She waved her hand at me and said "It's SO EASY."

I didn't know. I've been intimidated by the thought. I don't have the best hand-eye coordination and I know you need glue and what if the glue never comes off or sticks to your hands or even worse drips onto your favorite going-out shirt? 

Turns out I had no reason to fear the false eyelashes! I got my own personal tutorial that I'm sharing here with you. Any woman can pull this off, trust me: If I can do it so can you!

• Check the length of the eyelashes you purchase. They should follow the natural line of your own lashes. Trim them with sharp scissors if need be.

• Start with fresh eyes, free of makeup or debris.

• Hold the lashes in your hand and put a very thin line of glue or adhesive along the base; let it sit for 1 minute. 

• Apply the false lashes above your eyelashes, as close to your lash line as possible, following its natural curve.You can tweak the lashes with your fingers or tweezers. 

Viola! Take a good look in the mirror and smile at what you see. Also, if your first attempt doesn't go as planned, practice makes perfect! False eyelashes are inexpensive and can be found at drugstores, department stores - even my grocery store has them so if you need to take them off and start all over again, go for it! 

(What do you think? Am I wearing them? I'll never tell..) 

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. Click here to learn more about Makeup.com or become a Facebook fan by clicking here.

Crocs Back to School

Thank you to Crocs for sponsoring this blog post. 

Please click here to learn more about Crocs’ new Back to School line. 

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. 

All opinions expressed here are my own.

Well tomorrow is the big day! It's back to school day for my first-grader. Yippee!

We know that back to school means back to school shopping. I do a pretty good job of stocking up on pants and tees all throughout the year (especially when there is a hot sale, natch) but when fall rolls in I need to go in search of backpacks, lunchboxes and shoes. You know, those things you buy your kids that they grow out of almost overnight? Yes, those.

I've written before about Crocs and how much I TRIPLE LOVE THEM. I'm not alone, my boys do too. Just because summer is almost over doesn't mean I have to leave my Crocs behind. Oh no. Did you know that Crocs has a back to school line? They do! They are school approved on the outside because they are close-toed and close-heeled, but they have the same comfort in the inside. Check it out: Crocs has a special microsite which shows all the styles and colors of the new school approved shoes and there are 13 new styles for boys and girls which go from K-8. Like these:

So I know, back to school shopping in stores can be a drag: Long lines, crowded parking lots. Here. Let me help you with that: Crocs created an interactive music video - you can click on the shoes in the video to go directly to the shoes' corresponding pages on the Crocs site.



But that's not all! Gather your kids and have them watch it with you. Try to find the hidden Easter Egg within the video and watch what happens.

Here's a hint: Look for this

See? FUN! 


So you have my personal recommendation that Crocs feel good, are reasonably priced and super cute. They have a fun interactive video and make shopping easy. If that's just not enough for you, consider this: If you visit the site you can enter a giveaway for a family vacation to San Diego on the microsite with no purchase necessary.

So hop to it! Shop till you drop!

E Me

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.

Do you and your BFF have a language all your own? My BFF and I do. We've known each other for so long and through so many different incarnations that we often communicate in an abbreviated fashion. For instance, when ever my BFF and I part ways she'll give me a hug and say "E-me".

My name is Amy and if I had my choice it would be something much more exotic like Shiloh or Alexandria or Magnolia - actually the list goes on and on. So whenever we go anywhere that requires a reservation, historically, we have given my name, only we say it with a great deal of sarcasm and very much in a nasal tone, which makes it sound like Eeeee-meeeee.

But then a funny thing happened. Eeeeeee-meeee, the affectionate play on my name turned into E-me, as in "Email me later". Because the next thing to being there, is being able to chat via email during the day.


My friend and I both have two young children and we both work full time. Neither one of us have time to spend hours, or really, even minutes catching up with each others lives on the phone. There is simply no time. Plus, you know that when you talk to someone on the phone, it can go on much longer than you expected or you might find yourself in that uncomfortable position of not being able to get off the phone mid-conversation without feeling guilty for cutting someone off, let's say  -- in the event that there is a toddler standing right in front of you peeing on the floor.

But my Yahoo! email account (which actually includes the name "amy") gives me the chance to touch base with good friends who are like me, way too busy to meet for lunch, spend an hour on the phone or simply able to hang out and talk to each other without constant requests for shoe-tying, snacks or attention from little people.

Through out the day we are able to complain about how many cookies we have to bring to school that week, compare the benefits of bikini bottoms from Old Navy vs. The Gap and best of all, sneak in inside jokes to make each other laugh. Everybody should have that during a busy or stressful day. It's important to reach out and share with each other. Even when you think you don't have time.

So by all means, Email your BFF today and remind her of that time she did that thing that made you laugh so hard you almost cried. It just might make you smile too.

Gnomeo & Juliet! Now on DVD and Blu-ray!

GNOMEO & JULIET is a silly twist on a little old story called Romeo & Juliet but this time, as you’ve never seen it before and MUCH more suitable for the whole family.

You can enter the secret world of garden gnomes where you'll meet two adorable gnomes from completely different worlds who fight the odds to be together. But not in an overly mushy, romantic, boys won't like it kind of way.

Here's what the studio has to say:

From a director of Shrek 2 comes your chance to step into the secret world of garden gnomes — Gnomeo & Juliet. Perfect for the whole family, this fresh and funny makeover of one of the world’s most timeless stories features music from Sir Elton John, and the voice talents of Emily Blunt, James McAvoy and Sir Michael Caine. Caught up in a feud between neighbors, Gnomeo and Juliet must overcome as many obstacles as their namesakes. But with flamboyant pink flamingos and epic lawnmower races, can this young couple find lasting happiness?

I thought this was cute and I loved that they weaved Elton John's music through the story. I was ready for a good love story so I was sort of surprised at the level of action in this one - via a super turbo lawnmower -but again, I think maybe that's in there to keep the boys interested and distracted from the k-i-s-s-i-n-g. You know how boys (and some girls) can be.

Overall, Gnomeo and Juliet is popcorn and movie night worthy for sure. It's available now in a DVD & Blu-ray combo pack. Thanks to Disney for sending a copy my way!

There's something for everyone here. Mom particularly liked the sound of star James McAvoy's voice.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Great Outdoors DVD & Mickey Mote

Just in time for summer! Mickey Mouse and his famous pals (Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy and Daisy) are here to encourage kids and families to enjoy the outdoors by camping, fishing and exploring nature in Walt Disney latest DVD release, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Great Outdoors.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Great Outdoors features four episodes from the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” TV show plus one all-new, never-before-seen “Mickey’s Fish Story” episode and comes packaged as a special DVD Play Set (DVD + Digital Copy + Mickey Mote.)

This set really is a great value for parents and a fun, portable play set for kids, Disney has packaged Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Great Outdoors to include a DVD, a Digital Copy and a Mickey Mote –(a child-friendly handheld remote control) which provides hours of interactive fun. The digital copy allows parents to dowload the episodes onto a secondary device for easy, portable on-the-go access. Smart!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes never fail to disappoint and these are no different - plus my kids like to play with the Mickey Mote even after the DVD is done. Score!

Thanks to Disney for sending me a copy to review. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Great Outdoors is in stores now. See you real soon!

Email Love

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.

We all have email, right? Spend hours of our days/weeks/months reading it, sorting it--even anticipating it! I know I do. I love to hit the refresh button and see what pops up. Even the emails that I don't need. I still love to see it and scroll through it. It keeps my day interesting and makes me feel connected to people and places that are far outside the reach of the office chair where I spend a lot of my day.

I set up my Yahoo! email account in at least 2003. The reason? Love.

I didn't own a computer in 2003. I had one at work that I could use, but no email access. My husband, (an IT guy,) did. It's hard to believe that there was a time way back before cell phones and texting kept us connected but there was and during that time, I was MADLY in love with my boyfriend who became my husband. It was so hard to go ALL DAY without talking or communicating with each other. Infatuation. Sigh.

Someone in my office had a computer with email access (remember this was almost a decade ago) and I found a way to back her up when she was out of the office so I could exchange emails with my lover boy. Sometimes it was just a quick email with no message but a subject that said "GMB" which stood for Good Morning Baby. Just seeing that would send shock waves through my fingertips all the way up to my infatuated brain. Sometimes it would say *swoon* I love you.

Having these little email exchanges would keep my spirits up and my relationship exciting. I really believe that during our courtship, through our constant stream of email we learned how to talk to each other. In those early days we created a foundation through my Yahoo! email account for a partnership that is still going strong.

I'm also incredibly grateful that our history is just a few clicks away. I can open my email account, sort my email to the oldest date and look back at a loving email message I received from someone on an ordinary Thursday that made my whole week.

So what are you waiting for? I know you've got three minutes today. That's all it takes to send that special person in your life a quick email that says I adore you. It's kind of like this:

XOXO,

Me