{ I fell in love....all over again..... }

You might think I'm referring to my husband or my children, and though I love them with every fiber of my being, I'm actually referring to something else.....something that also makes me smile.

Sense and Sensibility!

I know you've heard me talk about it on my blog many times, you've seen the posts about how much I love Jane Austen and how I just can't help but read her books over and over and watch her movies countless times, something I NEVER do with any other movie. I'm a one time watch and never watch again, kinda gal.

That right there should give you an example of how much I adore this woman's work and the movies based on them.

When I first heard that BBC had produced a new version of Sense and Sensibility, my first thought was NO....why? Why mess with a good thing?

But goodness I was not prepared to watch the new version and completely fall in love again with the story, and furthermore.....proclaim this version my favorite and the best of all others.

As much as I loved Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood and truly thought there could never be another, I was wrong, deadly wrong.

Be forewarned though that the very beginning of this new version has a very un-Janelike scene, it's a little racy though you don't see much at all, but it's not something you expect from a Jane Austen book or movie so it may throw you off a bit. I honestly had to go back and check to make sure I was watching the right show *teehee*

But it lasts a second or two and then kicks into the movie..the death of Mr. Dashwood and John’s promise to take care of his stepmother and stepsisters.

Oh and then you are hooked, from beginning to very end. The music, the costumes, the new actors which for me are by far the best from all other S & S versions. I even found myself loving Captain Brandon which had not happened until now, I just could never get into the character and never thought any of the actors played him well enough.

Colonel Brandon

Willoughby

Edward Ferrars

Of course there may be some of you out there who will watch it or have watched it and completely disagree with me, and that's ok, we all have different views on things.

I'm just saying that for me, this is my favorite and is going in my collection.

If anyone wants to watch it and hasn't yet done so, you can buy the movie by visiting Amazon here, or if you're impatient like me, while you wait for it to arrive in the mail, you can go on YouTube and watch it there. The one I used has French subtitles but it didn't bother me one bit.

Here's the first part for you:



Now remember, the opening little love scene thing is very short and it's not bad at all, you don't see much of anything, but just want you to be warned.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this version, did you like it, dislike it, which is your favorite Sense and Sensibility?

PBS Masterpiece Theatre

One of my favorite Jane Austen books and movies is Emma.

I can tell you that I've read the book numerous times and have watched every single version of the movie on TV. I even thought the Gwyneth Paltrow version was my favorite, until now.

Screenwriter Sandy Welch retooled the story and came out with this absolutely amazing version of Emma.

Now I'm not sure if you're aware that PBS Masterpiece Theatre is currently showing this wonderful movie, but if you're not, don't worry. It's being brought to us in 3 episodes, the first of which premiered here in the US last Sunday and you can watch on the right here.

Tonight we will be delighted with Episode 2 at 9pm and February 7th Episode 3. What I love is that you can watch them all online, the first one is already available and here is the line up for the other two.

Episode two of Emma is available for online viewing Monday, February 1, 2010, through Tuesday, March 9, 2010, Eastern time.
Episode three of Emma is available for online viewing Monday, February 8, 2010, through Tuesday, March 9, 2010, Eastern time.

Emma walks with Miss Taylor

As you may recall the book starts with Miss Taylor's wedding to Mr Weston but in this version it starts with Emma's birth, which personally I loved. It made it more real to me though at first I was a little scared that it wasn't following Jane Austen's story but it was quickly forgotten once I got to admire little Emma with her sister and Miss Taylor, and, also got a glimpse of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill as little ones.

I can't even describe the music, the colors, the costumes and the visual appeal of this new Emma, it's an overload of the senses in every way and I'm absolutely smitten with it, I am counting down the minutes until the second episode starts.

I was a little skeptical at first watching Jonny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley, not quite sure if it would work but within the first 5 minutes, I can safely say that he is now my favorite George Knightley of all time and right up there with Mr Darcy as my favorite Jane Austen male character.

Romola Garai impressed me, I love this Emma, she is very animated and bubbly and I think she portrayed the spoiled strong personality girl, extremely well......and then of course there's the chemistry between the two actors which is enough to make anyone blush.

Romola Garai as Emma and Jonny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley

One of the other characters in the book which are not exactly my favorite, is Mr Elton but I was drawn to him in this script, maybe because he was portrayed by Blake Riton who I adored as Edmund in Mansfield Park (2007).

Mr Elton and Emma, with Mr Knightley watching from the window. I think at this point he knew exactly what Mr Elton's intentions were, but of course Emma is completely oblivious.

The above slideshow was made by Katherine of November's Autumn and it features the new soundtrack which you can download here, or on Itunes (search for Emma Soundtrack and Samuel Sims who is the composer).

Here is the trailer:

Oh and when you're done watching the first Episode of Emma, while you wait these long hours until the next one starts, you can always spend a little more time at the Masterpiece Theatre with Dame Judi Dench in Cranford and Return to Cranford. I will talk about these two a little more on another post.

Screencap courtesy of Emma Adaptations. There are tons of wonderful images, info, reviews etc, be sure to check out the website.

And before I forget, you know what just started too? Lark Rise to Candleford Season 3 and oh my word, is it ever as good as the first two Seasons :)

Before I leave, I'm giving you a link to the Masterpiece Classic Schedule, this way you know exactly what is coming up and when. Enjoy and if you do watch these shows, won't you come back and tell me what you thought? :)

Lost in Austen!

Jemima Rooper stars as Amanda Price, a frustrated romantic who discovers a gateway in her flat to her favourite world - that of Pride and Prejudice. But is the “true” story in danger of being thrown off track by her presence?

STOP what you're doing right now and go and find this movie. I can not tell you good enough things about it other than you need to watch it as soon as possible.

Let me start this post by saying that I am a huge Jane Austen fan, I mean who isn't right? It always surprises me when I talk to people who have no clue who this author is, when she is just one of the most brilliant writers of all time.

I don't think there is one her books that I haven't read or related movies that I haven't watched, well, actually, I am watching The Jane Austen Book Club tonight, but that is not really an Austen Original.

When I first heard about Lost in Austen, I was reading one of my favorite blogs and she was talking about how it was showing on tv in England and it was a series. I immediately jotted down the name and zipped over to Netflix to find it, upon doing so it was placed at the top of the my Queue.

So last night, after the kids were in bed, I popped in this movie and I was thinking, it's not going to be so long I'll be able to get to bed at a reasonable time, but be forewarned, it's about 3 hours long but well worth the watch.

This is why I'm talking about it today, so you can get it for this weekend and don't worry if the husbands aren't interested, send them off to do something or find a movie for them to watch later on, but I insist that you sit down and get comfy and then come back here and tell me if I was right about this being one of the best movies so far this year.

But I'm babbling and not really telling you what it was about, tsk tsk tsk.

Imagine if you will a young lady, living in modern London, going about her life but like so many of us out here, a huge fan of Jane Austen and an even bigger fan of her books especially "Pride and Prejudice".

She takes this book everywhere and reads it at every chance she gets.

Then one day she hears some noises coming from her bathroom and walks in to find Elizabeth Bennet. I KNOWWWWWWW! ELIZABETH BENNET in her bathroom.

She tells her she came in through a doorway in her bathtub. Amanda steps through and finds herself in the Bennett Household back in the 19th Century.

I'm not telling you anything else because I don't want to spoil it for you, but I can say that the whole time I was watching the movie I was thinking "Oh man....I wish it were me, I would have loved to step back in time and into one of Austen's books".

Ohhhhh Mr Darcy! Yes the wet shirt scene was one of my favorites but in my defense, it's been one of my favorites since Colin Firth's *Pride and Prejudice*.....and of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the gorgeous man (Elliot Cowan) playing Mr Darcy, yes he's no Colin Firth BUT he's still very good looking *snicker*



This is not good, you see I never watch a movie twice, NEVER. I'm the kinda gal that once I've seen something it's enough for me, but now having talked about Lost in Austen again and seen all these pictures and the video, I'm afraid I may just spend tonight stuck in Austen World.....yet again.

Oh dear!

I'm just going to go fix dinner and let you all track this movie down, here, I'll help you LOL

Netflix - Lost in Austen
Amazon
Blockbuster

NOTE: I decided to update this post with something fun. I'm putting up a Mr Linky and I want you all to join in, all you gotta do is leave the name of a favorite Chick Flick and even better if it's along the lines of Jane Austen.

Won't you join in? Get your friends to come in and drop a name on the list too, think of it as a huge movie suggestion list for us all. It will be fun to see what everyone has been enjoying and give us all some ideas on something to watch this weekend.

Rain, Jane Austen and a Cup of Tea!

Good Morning everyone....I know I know, it's actually afternoon but I'm kinda slow today, dragging myself around the house and not really wanting to do anything. Problem is if I don't, then who does???

After a full weekend of rain NON.STOP....this morning we woke up to a beautiful sky, no rain and just a wonderful breeze. It feels wonderful outside and just look at these pictures? There's something magical about the sun's early light, it casts all these wonderful colors and shadows on the sky.



So last night after the kids were asleep, I crept into bed and got nice and comfy to watch "Mansfield Park". I LOVE Jane Austen, and no matter how many times I watch her movies or read her books, I just can't get enough, I end up falling in love with the characters all over again.



Since I had missed "Northanger Abbey" last sunday I was able to actually find it on youtube and watched it yesterday afternoon. To say that I was running on pure Jane Austen adrenaline is an understatement. For those of you that missed Mansfield Park, I did record it on my computer and have a full copy of the movie if you're interested, just let me know and I'll split it up and upload it online for you.

Meanwhile, here is Northanger Abbey on YouTube.......just go to Scampostrini's Videos and you will find the whole movie from part 1 to 16.

I'm drawing a blank today, you ever have those days when you feel like you have so much to say but nothing comes to mind? Because that's how I feel, so I think instead of talking I'll just give you some linky love to what's going on in blog land.

Kelli at "There is no Place Like Home" just posted a bunch of great links and recipes for everyone from her Seasonal Delights magazine. Go on over and take a look.

The Pioneer Woman posted a great recipe for the Superbowl....Quesadilla Party. Again as always YUMMY is all I have to say to her blog.

If you look on my sidebar I've added a new section for Homesteading Blogs. You might want to take a look at those, they are amazing and I'm learning such great things from them on budgetting, making your own stuff and living a simple life.

That's it, I have to get on the phone with Social Security and the IRS and have laundry to put away as well. Have a great monday.
Btw, my Menu Plan is posted on my food blog, so don't forget to give it a look and if you're interested in joining in, just head to Laura's Blog.