(Photo credit: Thinkstock)Sunday's Academy Awards have us in a movie frame of mind. But if you're looking to get caught up on "Argo" and "Lincoln," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Silver Linings Playbook" – and you're not terribly interested in shelling out $10 to $15 per movie (per person!) to see them in theaters – watching all those movies can be a challenge.

Luckily, you don't have to hit the theaters to see the films everyone is talking about. Here are the best ways for movie buffs to see recent films from the comfort of your own living room.

Internet streaming: Pick and choose (and save)

Streaming movies online – whether you subscribe to a library of titles, as with Netflix, or you individually choose and pay for titles, as with Vudu – may be the cheapest, easiest way to get access to all the movies you want.

And these days, if you want to watch on a screen larger than your computer's, you don't need a smart TV. All you need are services that stream movies from the Internet to your television through an external

Click on the photo to go to a slideshow of the estate. (Photo via Sotheby's International Realty)Here's one of the more unusual home sale restrictions we've come across -- and we aren't referring to the estate's whopping $100 million price tag, although that does indeed put the home among the top five or so most expensive properties in the nation. (The most expensive is the Crespi-Hicks estate, in Dallas of all places, offered at $135 million.)

No, here's the real catch: You can't move in right away.

In fact, who knows when you'll be able to move in.

The property has been in the De Guigné family for 150 years. It's currently owned and occupied by Christian de Guigné IV (pronounced de-GEEN-yay), who was born there 76 years ago, the Contra Costa Times reports, and doesn't plan to leave the estate before he leaves this vale of tears. So it's being offered with the stipulation that the new owner can only move in after De Guigné dies. Quite a contingency, that "life estate" arrangement.

[See also: Why the super-wealthy are buying and selling in secret]

But here's what the farsighted

Space heater | iStockphotoYour home is cold yet you only want to warm the room you’re in. Using a space heater makes sense, except if it can kill you and others in your home.

What’s the chance of that calamity happening? Home space heater fires are involved in 19,300 home fires annually - half of which happen in December, January and February – according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Nationwide Insurance, which brought this possibility to our attention, says that the average space heater fire claim it pays is about $40,000. And to dramatize this for all of us, they sponsored a test fire, a “live bedroom burn” using a kerosene-fueled space heater to gauge how quickly these fires can spread and how much damage they can cause. To illustrate one problem they placed the lit space heater too close to bedding - within three feet.

“What families don’t realize is how quickly fires can spread,” says Matt Noble, Orange Township assistant fire chief, who participated in Nationwide’s space heater fire test.

(Photo credit: Thinkstock)Refinancing your mortgage is all about saving money. Sometimes even a small monthly savings can mean big changes in your life – especially when you're on a tight budget.

The money that Allison and Joe saved from their small refinance made a big difference when it came to getting out of credit card debt. This is their story:

When my fiancé, Joe, and I first discussed refinancing our mortgage back in early 2011, we were living paycheck to paycheck. We had a combined $7,000 in credit card debt and were struggling to pay it off. Every month that went by meant another interest payment at 17 percent, and though we threw extra money at the debt when we could, paying just slightly more than the minimum balance was all we could afford most months.

We weren't drowning, but we were certainly treading water. We couldn't seem to get ahead, and both of us knew that any significant upset in our life together could ruin us financially. If our condo was damaged by fire -- as had happened to another

The Samsung RF31FMESBSR Four-Door Refrigerator is due out in April.Fountain drink aficionados, prepare to fizz.

Samsung announced today that it's collaborating with SodaStream -- manufacturers of the make-your-own-soda machine -- on a refrigerator that will dispense cold soda water, aka sparkling water, right from the door. For those of you who are picky about your bubble density, you'll be able to select from three levels of carbonation, too, just by pushing a button. The fridge uses the same mechanism that dispenses noncarbonated water and ice.

Mix in your syrup and you're ready to go. No more 2-liter bottles to wrangle, no more late-night trips to 7-Eleven to quench your addiction -- you've basically got a soda fountain right there in your refrigerator door. (What, am I alone in my addiction? I can detail for you a hierarchy of my carbonation preferences: fountain first, then glass bottle, plastic bottle, can. And don't get me started on which fast-food joints have the optimum bubble-to-syrup ratio, which are the most consistent, which have the

(Photo credit: Shutterstock)New flooring is one of the easiest ways to brighten up a space. But with such a wide range of available flooring options, picking the perfect material isn't always easy.

To find the right type of flooring for each room in your house, consider the unique needs of each space.

Living Room

The living room is the perfect place to try solid hardwood flooring. Wood flooring will add warmth to your home and can last decades, since it can be refinished multiple times before it needs to be replaced.

Proper installation is the first step to keeping your floor looking good for years to come. A good contractor can ensure the new floor will be able to withstand both everyday wear and tear and long-term issues, like the house settling.

When hiring a contractor, be sure to ask about training, licensing and insurance. Check with services like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp and Angie's List for reviews, complaints and the overall reputation of the contractor you're considering.

[Want a pro to take

(Photo credit: Thinkstock)The new year has brought even more changes to the mortgage market. New and evolving lending standards mean borrowers need to pay more attention to debt and credit when shopping for a loan. And even lower interest rates mean homeowners and new home buyers alike should consider shorter loan repayment terms.

Whether you're looking to buy your first place or refinance your current mortgage, you'll want to keep these changes in the mortgage market in mind, as they could mean big differences for you. Here's what you need to know about this year's mortgage market:

#1. The rules have changed.

At the beginning of 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a rule forcing lenders to ensure that buyers have the ability to repay their mortgages. Under the Ability-to-Repay rule, all new mortgages must comply with basic requirements designed to protect consumers. Based on these requirements, lenders will need to issue what the CFPB calls "qualified mortgages."

Not all of the

The buzziest -- or perhaps we should say guzzliest -- moment surrounding Tuesday night's State of the Union address was the slurp heard 'round the world: As Sen. Marco Rubio delivered Republicans' response, he was afflicted with a dry mouth and streeeeeetched to reach his water bottle off-camera.

The Curbed real estate blog has since uncovered evidence that Rubio has long been inclined to give his water a starring role. His West Miami home has been on the market for some time now, and take a look at this property photo:

Care to take a crack at a caption in the comments below?

(Supply your own caption in the comments below.)

P.S. You can click the photo to go to the Rubio home listing, where the bottle makes two more cameos.