Mad Men: Thoughts on Season 5 (spoilers)

I have an unabashed love affair every Monday when I get home from work. It's during those precious 10 minutes I watch iTunes download the newest episode of Mad Men for my viewing pleasure (reminder: we don't purchase any TV subscription, so we're forced to be creative).

When season 4 finished and we realized it would be nearly a year and a half until any glimpse of season 5 would hit our screens, I was nervous. Really nervous. How can a show with so much momentum take so much time off? Would they lose their spark? Lose their inspiration? Would the show pick up where it left off or fast forward in time to catch up to their audience? These are the things I truly lose sleep over when it comes down to things I love.

Season 5 hasn't disappointed me so far, but probably for a few unconventional reasons. Here we go.
**SPOILER WARNING: If you are waiting to watch season 5, please do not read below.

#1: Don's no longer a pig
Thank heavens! As much as Jon Hamm can pull off the sexy ad-man persona, I was getting a little sick of it. Seriously. Near the middle of season 4 when Don sleeps with his secretary (even though he's newly divorced), I had reached my moral limits. I just shouted at my television, "Okay! I get it! Don has mystical powers! He can attract ANY female on the planet!" I'm happy to see Don transform into more of a family man and less of macho miserable pig.

#2: Megan
I love her. She's such a strong, passionate character. There have been many moments, especially when she's working on the Heinz project where I just say, "Liz. That's who you want to be. Be her!" It's awesome and sad at the same time. I'm happy to see another strong female lead that we see both in the office and at home. There is no doubt that Peggy and Joan are strong female characters, but they're also not as developed since we don't see the inner nuances of many of their relationships.
 
#3: Lane FINALLY punching Pete Campbell
We've all been there. We want to punch Pete Campbell when he fulfills his class-A jerk role in the show, but we then realize that we can't punch our TVs on our computer screens. I have been building YEARS of angst regarding that character. I love how much I hate him. Seriously. Alas, Lane finally let him have it and everyone stood back to watch--amazing.

#4: Don's New Pad
I know I'm not the first person to claim affinity for mid-century mod furniture, but there is certainly something special when it all falls into line into a pitch-perfect design. I would probably do anything to take a tour and/or live in the new Draper residence. I mean, it is stunning.

#5: More Supporting Characters
I love the new characters. I love that the actress formerly known as Alex Mack is returning as Ken Cosgroves wife (or fiance?) and I really love how frequently we're seeing and hearing from these little guys.

#6: Peggy is FUNNY.
Elisabeth Moss has been on a roll this season and hasn't missed a beat. Peggy Olsen is now a funny lady who isn't afraid to talk back to Don Draper and let him know how she really feels. REJOICE! I have always loved Peggy, but I love her best in this season. She's really developing and I love every minute of it.

(All photos are from amctv.com except for the apartment photos; those were found here.)

Want more to read about Mad Men Season 5?

This NY Times article is pretty stellar and is where I got the photos of the Draper apartment. You can also see photos of the apartment and read discussion here.

Have you been watching season 5? What do you think of how the characters are evolving?

Deck the Halls: A Mad Men Giveaway!

I've been a Mad Men lover for years now and the fact that season 5 has been so incredibly belated sort of breaks my heart. I know out there in tiny corners or back alleys there are readers who have never seen Mad Men, or have never seen all the episodes. I'm making my personal mission to stop that. That's right. It's getting personal because I love the show THAT much.

So, I have a little treat for one very special reader.

A Mad Men Giveaway!

(The copies of Mad Men being given away are brand new and never opened.

I shot my personal copies to avoid glare from the wrapping.)

One lucky reader will win a copy of all 4 seasons of Mad Men a $100 value!

I'm throwing in a few special Mad Men surprises with this giveaway for that lucky winner! ;).

What you have to do to enter:

• Be a follower of this blog via Google Friend Connect
• Leave a comment including your name and email address telling me what you're looking forward to this holiday season!

For extra entries:

• Tweet about the Mad Men giveaway mentioning @donnasdecembers (so I can see it)!
• Follow this blog on Bloglovin'
• blog about the giveaway

NOTE: This giveaway is open to domestic AND international readers, so enter away!

Good luck to you! I will be picking a winner next week as I'm off to enjoy my birthday weekend! :)

xo,

Liz

Mad Men as Yearbook Class? What?!

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I have a thing for Mad Men. I mean seriously, this is nothing new. I'm sort of dying over the fact that Season 5 isn't part of my back-to-school preparation this year. Definitely feels like something is missing.  

That's when I was thinking.. why wait for Mad Men when you could bring Mad Men to school? Well, as you know, Mad Men isn't the most teenage/family friendly television show. In fact, when I used a clip last school year, I was hard pressed to find one appropriate without a lot of innuendo, but I did. So what the heck am I talking about?

Yearbook Class meet Sterling Cooper.

I think you guys will compliment each other nicely.

We will have our Creative Department: To help brainstorm slogans, sections, layouts, the general feel of the yearbook.

Our Art Department: To funnel the ideas to print. Design the photography, the art, the graphics. Make sure everything fits the general theme.

Head of Accounts: To organize, manage, and invest time in making sure our Ads are filled, our payment has been collected, and our customers are happy!

And Me? Well, I'll be the Office Manager.

At first I thought it would just be funny to do it this way, but now I'm seriously contemplating it.

(As you can see, I try to make my classroom fun for the kids AND for me ;))

P.S. There is NO smoking or drinking allowed in the yearbook class!

What do you think?

He may act like he wants a secretary...

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but Mad Men won't be on the air this summer. It sort of breaks my heart a little, but I'm finding small ways to cope.

I own the first three seasons on DVD and because we're just shy of the time when Mad Men would be appearing on our televsion again, I've started from scratch with Season 1. I used to be a big "TV on DVD" or "anything on DVD" kind of person, but Netflix completely cured me of the frivolous spending. I find that the only media I may ever buy on DVD again are shows like Mad Men or vintage classics that Netflix doesn't carry, like That Girl and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I find that Mad Men is a reliable source of inspiration for me, plus, I never feel like I'm throwing away too many brain power when watching since it is so incredibly written and produced.

I was doing a little snooping around the Mad Men website and found some really fun features. The Fashion Flip Book for season 4 has me drooling to no end. Janie Bryant is such a talented stylist. She walks through multiple slides explaining the pieces each character is wearing in a specific scene. She explains the structure of the piece, as well as why it was chosen for that specific character and episode! Yum!

You can take a short quiz to see which Mad Men Character You Are.  I was surprised to find out that I am Roger Sterling! I don't know what to say about this, but I do know that he is one silver fox in my eyes. I have always thought he was a sexy man. ha!

As you can tell, I'm just passing the time over here. I am ready and so excited for season 5. I just want to know if they had to rid of 2 characters (that was a contractual debate that kept filming postponed) and what happens with Don & Megan! Goodness!

Are you yearning for some Mad Men?

Do you have a show that's helping you bide the time?

Baltimore's Belvedere

For Valentine's Day, Cory and I stayed in Baltimore, remember? One of the bars we visited that night was The Owl Bar at the Belvedere hotel. The Belvedere is a classic staple in Baltimore history and has been kept in pristine condition over the years.

In fact, it was featured in an episode of Mad Men!

(You may not know, the head writer of Mad Men, Matt Weiner is from Baltimore, and so is Roger Sterling's young wife, Jane Seigel Sterling! What up, Charm City!)

The Owl Bar is where F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of his most famous pieces:

Long story short, the inspiration for this post comes from an idea of one of Cory's colleagues. A teacher wants to promote an oral history class of western Maryland and discuss various events. Personally, I think the class would be better served if the students studied oral histories of various locations in Maryland. I think this would be cool because you could interview countless people who have drastically different perceptions of the same place. Wouldn't it be cool to know what other famous people have visited the Belvedere or the Owl Bar?

 I think so!

Maybe one of these days this idea will make me famous :)

xo,

Liz

Finally finished.

About a week ago, Cory and I finally bit the bullet and used our iTunes giftcards from Christmas (and my birthday) to purchase Mad Men season 4. As you know, we are both lovers of language and consider Mad Men to be the best written television drama of all time. This show is so beautifully written, I almost wish I could use clips of it to teach voice and syntax to my students. Aside from the incredible writing, I am also a lover all the vintage styling that goes on behind the scenes. I can't wait for a university to introduce a study of the 1960s via Mad Men course.

Without giving much away, my fondness for Peggy grew throughout the duration of this season. I have always appreciated her character, but I really sort of fell in love with her. I felt like she really grew throughout this season into the person Don always saw her to be. Truth be told, I do think some of my infatuation with this season is that Betty Draper plays a smaller role and for that I was very happy. Her character drives me absolutely crazy, but I do appreciate her new husband, Henry Francis, very much. I believe he is level headed, mature, and above all else, a considerate adult. He has class. Hopefully Betty can learn a thing or two from him.

To those who have finished season 4, the last episode made me almost pull my hair out concerning Don's final decision. I'm still not sure if I agree with it, but I have to say, it proved my theory of blondes vs. brunettes! All his mistresses he may have truly loved have been brunette and the women he never took seriously, but "tried" to date, were blondes. I feel as if I could quite honestly write a pyschological analysis of his character and the insight of feminine stereotypes pertaining to hair color per the 1960s because of this show. I mean seriously! We finished watching season 4 late last night (that's right... night-long Mad Men marathon), so I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite season 4 snapshots. These photos are so iconic and beautiful it's hard to believe they're from a film and not from a photo shoot.

Behold the beauty...

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Long Live Miss. Blankenship!

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If you watch Mad Men, you probably have a soft spot in your heart for this woman. She is incredible and I dare to emulate her when I am of the same age!

How do you feel about Miss. Blankenship?

If you're as in love with Mad Men as I am, check back tomorrow for my critique of season 4!

That time I ate pancakes and Mad Men'd myself.

This morning Cory woke up before me and began his day downstairs. I took the opportunity to stretch out and enjoy the entire bed to myself. It's rare that I get to do it, so I try to take advantage :).

Later, when I finally made it downstairs, I started a pot of coffee... and then I heard Cory head into the kitchen and rumble around in the drawers. Wha-la... he came up with these DELICIOUS cherry pancakes. They were the perfect way to start my Sunday :).

Other than eating delicious pancakes, I was able to put together a super cute Valentine's DIY (more info later) for a blog I'm visiting in February, and set up a Twitter account for Donna's Decembers!

I also had time to Mad Men myself. If you haven't done this year, head over here.

Here's my final result:

...and yes... that is me and Don Draper.

What have you been up to today?

xo,
Liz

We're back!

I'm back!

Wow, what a vacation! We finally made it back from our 2 week honeymoon late, late Friday evening. We decided to stay in North Carolina for one last afternoon at the beach. I just couldn't stand the idea of having to go home, to be perfectly honest. Yesterday we were very busy running errands and getting our house in order before we gorged ourselves with crabs at a local mom & pop seafood place.


Today will be spent crocheting in the car while we head to a cousin's 11th birthday party (luau themed, yay), and a sleepover at the inlaws. Why am I sleeping over at the inlaws just 2 days after the honeymoon, you ask? Well, it's quite simple.
They have cable and this:

Mad Men Season 4 premieres tonight on AMC and Cory and I are SO excited. In January, Cory and I decided to eliminate cable and internet from our house, and while it has been a struggle for me, I find ways of making it work.

I am so excited for this premiere tonight, I can't stay seated! I'm excited to see all the mod clothing and new set designs. Oh my, my. I am so excited. If you haven't gotten bit by the Mad Men bug, it's completely worth your time.

Giveaway Update:
Are you following this blog yet? Go here to see what you have to do to enter! I will be back tomorrow/Tuesday with a run-down of all the little goodies you're able to get from the giveaway! I will choose the giveaway winner soon, because I leave for San Diego on Sunday for a week. So busy!


Have a lovely Sunday!

xo Liz

1 week!

Only one week until Cory and I are Mr. and Mrs!

Unbelievable!

Today we're cleaning up a little, enjoying in some 4th of July festivities in town, and enjoying our last weekend before the wedding!

I tell you what, I am in love with this dress and this color pallet for the rest of summer. If I were going to a cocktail party tonight, it is absolutely what I would want to wear!

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I hope you have a lovely day!