The Chronic Consumer

I watch a lot of TV, but have never actually seen an episode of Boston Legal during its regular broadcast time. Instead, this is a show that I discovered through DVDs, and that I continue to watch only through DVDs. I borrowed Season One from a friend, then ended up purchasing Season Two for myself because I liked the show so much. Here’s what you can expect to get from your Season Two box set.

This is a 7-disc set that includes all 27 BL episodes that aired during the show’s second season. Most TV series usually run just 22-24 eps per season, so getting these extra eps was pretty cool. These discs come in plastic slimline cases that are in turn enclosed in a rather flimsy cardboard box.

There are four slimline cases, with the first three containing two discs each and the fourth containing just disc seven. The covers feature portraits of the main characters (Alan, Denny, Shirley, and then Denise, Paul, and Brad), while the backs feature episode titles, original airdates, and short plot summaries.

Each episode has its own menu, where you can select subtitles (English, French, and Spanish) or specific scenes. There are no commentaries to any of these episodes, but there are two featurettes at the end of Disc 7. One featurette is called “Exhibit A: The Look of Boston Legal”, and takes viewers behind the scenes of the Crane, Poole & Schmidt office set, while also discussing camera work and wardrobe. The other is called “Legal Pad: The Words of Boston Legal” and is a very short look at the approach the series writers take with each script.

Overall, I was a little disappointed by the lack of commentary and the fact that the extra features were so short. One of the reasons I buy DVD box sets in the first place is for these bonuses, so when they’re missing or simply tacked on to the end, I feel a bit cheated. This is the kind of set that you’d buy just to watch the shows; it’s not really for collectors.

I paid $26 (and change) for this set from Amazon.com a few months ago. I guess that’s a fair price for just watching the eps (works out to about a buck per), but I do wish there were a few more bonuses in there!

Even though I do a majority of my shopping online now, there are still some products that I never considered buying from the Internet before. For example, window blinds definitely fit into this category because it just seems like it would be far too much of a hassle to try to order the right size, style, and color without physically handling the product first. All of my friends told me that they had to hire a professional decorator to come in and take measurements, make suggestions, bring samples, etc., so I figured I was in for the same experience.

But after making some phone calls, I learned that I simply would not be able to afford the consulting fees that the decorators wanted to tack on to the already high price of whatever window treatment I wanted to buy. Since I’m working with a tight budget as it is, I decided to try shopping for blinds online.

After checking a few different sites, I found one that looked pretty promising. It’s called shadesshuttersblinds.com, and separates itself from the competition by offering a lot of useful information to help make the purchasing process as smooth as possible for customers. For instance, they have a very detailed instructions on how to measure windows and install their products, plus they offer free samples so you can see exactly what the blinds will look and feel like in your home.

In addition, shadesshuttersblinds.com has a vast selection of top-quality blinds and window coverings to choose from. Those customers (like me) who are interested in value will appreciate the wide variety of affordable bamboo blinds and mini blinds in stock, while those with a bit more money to spend will likely turn to the upscale products from Hunter Douglas. Either way, you’ll enjoy the same high level of customer service from shadesshuttersblinds.com, as well as a limited lifetime warranty on the products.

The bottom line here is that I’m going to take the plunge and try buying blinds from the Internet. The money I save will make it worth the extra effort I have to put into measuring the windows by myself, so I’m still coming out way ahead here!

My son has mentioned that he would like to try camping, so my husband and I are thinking about taking him somewhere next summer. We’d definitely want to make the experience as authentic as possible, so we’re actually going to sleep in a canvas tent, cook our dinner over a campfire, and leave all electronic devices at home. In other words, we’re not going to rent a fully-equipped cabin at a nice resort and call it “camping”!

So right now we’re looking at camping supplies and trying to determine what we need. We want to buy the bare minimum at first because we’re not even sure if our boy will like camping or not, and we obviously don’t want to spend any more money than we have to, just in case he hates it.

I’ve found a couple of websites that offer discount camping gear and have seen some really great deals on tents, sleeping bags, cookware, and other necessities. I think we can get pretty well outfitted for a couple hundred bucks, which would be perfect!

I came across this great offer while browsing through Overstock.com on this CyberMonday. Apparently, PayPal is working in conjunction with several online merchants for this special holiday promo. From November 26 until no later than December 10, you can get 20% cash back on purchases that you make using your PayPal account.

I went to the PayPal site to read the fine print, and it says that for Overstock.com, you have to spend at least $100 (which can include taxes and shipping), but it didn’t specify a minimum amount for other merchants. Multiple purchases are acceptable; however, you will receive a maximum of $50 cash back per PayPal account. Also, the offer is only valid for U.S. residents with PayPal accounts in good standing.

The list of participating merchants includes Barnes & Noble, Blue Nile, Dell, EastBay Sports, ebags.com, Electronic Arts, eToys, Guess, GbyGuess, HP, Newegg.com, Overstock.com, Ralph Lauren, Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Boaters World, eAngler, OuterBank Outfitters, Camera World, Photo Alley, ShopAtShark, InsanitySauce, Sharper Image, Sierra Trading Post, Skymall, Smartbargains, and Toys R Us.

Each merchant can decide to end the promotion before December 10, so be sure to read the details at whichever site you’re planning to buy from.

This sounds like a great offer, so you better believe I’m going to take advantage of it one way or another!

One of the biggest drains on my family’s budget is insurance premiums. We carry all kinds of insurance, including life, medical, auto, home, and more. We have a few pieces of jewelry insured, and we sometimes spring for travel insurance when we go overseas. All of these monthly payments serve to reduce the amount of money I can spend on shopping, so I’m always looking for ways to save.

Thanks to the Internet, it’s easier than ever to compare rates and switch policies when I find a better deal. For example, if I know our life insurance policies are coming up for renewal, I first call our current carrier to see how much they will charge for continued coverage. Then, I go online and search for life insurance quotes from other companies to see how those rates stack up.

If my current rate is the best, then obviously I’m better off staying where I’m at. If I find a better quote, I don’t hesitate to make a change.

I’ve saved lots of money this way, so I’m sure you can too!

Buying perfume is such a personal choice that I don’t expect anyone to take advice from a website. Nevertheless, I want to write about Lauren by Ralph Lauren because it has been my favorite fragrance ever since I was in high school — which is more than 15 years now. In all that time, I haven’t tired of this scent. And even though I’ve tried other fragrances over the years, Lauren is the one I always come back to. I absolutely love it!

There’s no way I can adequately describe this scent, so I’ll try to recount what others have said about it. I guess there’s a combination of rose and carnation in there, and something else, such as “sandalwood” or perhaps “amber.” Again, I’m not really sure, as I’m not very good at coming up with descriptions. But suffice it to say, this perfume is light and sweet — not overpowering in any way. It’s a very feminine scent, and is perfect for me.

I have a hard time finding Lauren in local stores these days, so I just order it online from websites that have huge inventories of every perfume you can think of. I can get a 4oz. eau de toilette spray bottle for about $60, and that lasts me for more than a year.I couldn’t ask for a better deal than that!

Right behind my subdivision, there’s a 200-yard long stretch of overgrown grass, trees, and shrubs separating our homes from a large industrial park complex. This buffer zone has become a popular place for local teens to have paintball wars or plink cans and bottles with their air guns. My husband has gone back there several times with our neighbors from down the street, and now he’s talking about buying an air gun for himself.

With Christmas coming up, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to surprise my husband with a present that he really wants. Towards that end, I’ve been shopping around for air guns online, and came across a website called PyramydAir.com that looks very promising for our needs.

Pyramyd Air has an enormous selection of air rifles, air pistols, ammo, and accessories suitable for beginners and pros alike. Plus, their prices are very affordable, so I know I’ll be able to buy my husband something good. And as an added bonus, PyramydAir.com will give you an additional 5% off coupon if you can find a mistake on their website!

But a great selection of air guns and rifles at fantastic prices is just the beginning of what PyramydAir.com has to offer. There are also buying guides to help you choose the right gun and caliber for your needs, and there’s a very cool blog (updated quite frequently) that gives in-depth product reviews, along with industry news and general shooting tips.

Armed with this information and a knowledge of my husband’s general preferences, I’m pretty sure that he would like the HW 40 PCA pistol by Weihrauch. It has decent accuracy for a gun in this price range, and based on the customer reviews I read, is a lot of fun to shoot. This would be perfect for my husband’s first air gun!

Now I’ve just got to come up with a way to make sure he doesn’t buy a gun on his own before Christmas so I can order this one and surprise him with it. Got any surefire stall tactics that I can use?

Anyway, if you’re thinking about buying an air gun for yourself or someone on your Christmas list, you should definitely check out PyramydAir.com. There’s a wealth of information on that site to help you make the right purchase, so be sure to visit them first!

I recently bought the children’s book Corduroy by Don Freeman for my son. He saw the cover and was immediately intrigued by the cute bear with the missing button, so he asked me if he could get the book. Since I vaguely remembered reading the book as a child and liking the story, I went ahead and complied.

Well, it didn’t take long for this book to become one of my son’s favorite bedtime stories! He has requested it every night for the past few weeks, and even takes it off his shelf and looks at the pictures by himself during his quiet play time — which is certainly more than I ever hoped to get out of the book.

Corduroy tells the simple story of a stuffed bear that sits on the shelf of a busy toy store day after day. None of the shoppers bother looking at him because he’s missing a button on his overalls and is therefore not perfect. But one day a girl notices Corduroy and sets her heart on bringing him home. She asks her mother, but her mother says they’ve spent too much money already and points out Corduroy’s “flaw.”

However, the girl comes back the very next day and purchases Corduroy with money she had saved up by herself. She brings the bear home, sews on a new button for him, and we can presume that they both live happily ever after.

This is a nice story for toddlers and young children, especially because the girl says, “I like you just the way you are.” Everyone is special, even if they’re not “perfect.”

If you’ve got young children on your Christmas list, you might want to give this book a look!

So do you have a game plan for Black Friday yet? I’ve got a basic idea of which stores I want to hit at which times, so hopefully that will make the day a bit less stressful. I am definitely not looking forward to dealing with all the crowds, but I just can’t pass up the chance to score some amazing discounts!

Anyway, my husband wants to check out some Xbox 360 games at one of the smaller stores at the mall, and I need to find an ipod battery since my Mini has been acting a bit wonky. After that, we’re going to go to the toy store to buy a few stocking stuffers for our son and my younger cousins. And finally, we’re just going to check out a few department stores because everyone in the family needs winter clothes (sweaters, long-sleeved shirts, etc.).

We’ll probably grab lunch while we’re out, then hit the video store before coming home to spend the rest of the day vegging out in front of the TV. Hopefully we can make it back home by 2:30 or so.

Anyway, if you’re going to brave the crowds and weather tomorrow, I recommend that you come up with a plan of attack first. This will save you time in the long run, and will lessen the chance of forgetting something while you’re out there!

With Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight one of my favorite products of all time, Stove Top Stuffing Mix. I absolutely love Stove Top, and eat it pretty much year round, so I always have some sitting in my pantry.

While I usually prefer the Chicken flavor stuffing, I also like the Turkey, Cornbread, and Savory Herbs varieties, depending on what my main dish will be. No matter which flavor I go with, the preparation is equally quick and easy, and the result is consistently great. There’s just no easier side dish to make than Stove Top Stuffing!

Right now I’m partial to the flex-serve canisters that allow you to determine how many servings to make. Sometimes my husband doesn’t make it home from work in time for dinner, so on those nights when it’s just going to be my son and me, I make a little less. When we can all sit down together, I obviously make a lot more.

I also love the way Stove Top can be used in casseroles and other recipes. One of my family’s favorite wintertime meals is the Easy Chicken Bake featured on the back of the canisters. So easy and delicious — it’s the perfect comfort food!

My family will definitely be having this with our turkey tomorrow. How about you?