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Last night’s episode of Entourage was called “The Dream Team” and actually — dare I say it? — showed that Vince’s career might be progressing beyond Medellín! Let’s get right down to the recap and reaction for 4×05.

Vince/E/Ari: The guys are headed to a meeting with Billy at Barney’s when they run into Snoop Dogg. Snoop says that he saw the Medellín trailer on YouTube and congratulates Vince for getting the film into Cannes. Vince and E have no idea how the trailer got leaked, but Billy doesn’t care. He’s incensed and is convinced that E did it because Eric is the only one who had access to the trailer. E takes exception to that, they start trading insults, and then Eric charges at Billy right in front of everyone. After bystanders pull the two apart, Eric and Vince leave.

Later on, they visit Ari who tells them that some journalist wants to interview Vince, E, and Billy about Medellín. He also says that it’s a good thing the trailer was leaked because now he can start shopping around for Vinnie’s next job. Ari even thinks he’s got a line on Lost in the Clouds, which is a project E found a couple years ago. Curtis Hanson is slated to direct, and one of Ari’s exes is in charge of the movie. He’ll go see her and get Vinnie in — it’s practically a done deal.

Problem is, Ari finds out that Heath Ledger is attached to the project. Good thing Heath is represented by Ari’s former protege Josh Weinstein, because Ari knows just how to sabotage the deal. He and Lloyd find out where Josh is having lunch, then the pretend to run into him. Ari then goes on and on about how Lost in the Clouds is another “gay man on a mountain” film, which is the last thing Heath needs in his career right now. Lloyd chimes in with his thoughts on how wonderful it will be to see Heath and The Rock as a couple!! Josh freaks out, and the next thing you know, Heath is off the project.

But that means Curtis Hanson is also off because he wanted to work with Heath. It doesn’t matter though, because Ari comes to the rescue… by selling The Dream Team of Vinnie as star, E as producer, and Billy as director! So Eric has to face the prospect of working with Billy again.

Drama/Turtle: Drama sees some guy wearing a “California Homegrown” trucker’s hat and decides that he just has to get one for himself. His TV show is about to resume shooting and he’s tired of being viewed as the old guy on the set. Drama and Turtle find out where to buy the hats, but can’t get into the medical marijuana bar without a membership card. So Drama goes to see a doctor that Turtle knows, gets a prescription, goes back to the club and gets a hat.

Everyone on set notices the hat and immediately start talking about how cool Johnny looks. Then they want to smoke with him, so Drama calls Turtle and tells him to bring the weed back to the lot. The whole cast smokes up in Johnny’s trailer, Johnny freaks out, blah, blah, blah. THe whole thing was kinda pointless.

My Reaction: I really liked this episode and thought that it built on the momentum of last week’s show, which is what I had hoped for. It’s good to see that things are moving forward in Vinnie’s career. Even though his movies aren’t exactly the focus of Entourage, they’re definitely catalysts for all the other action.

I loved it when Billy showed up to that interview in that “Suits Suck” t-shirt!! I don’t like him very much, but I absolutely hate the smugness that is Eric Murphy, so anytime someone decides to give E a problem, I’m on board.

I also have to give a thumbs up to the Ari/Lloyd teamwork in this ep. Those two are great together and I wish we could get extended scenes of them every week!

Anyway, things are looking up for Entourage. Cool!!

Most of my friends are now hitting the age where they’re ready to stop renting and finally settle into a home of their own. They all have the same visions of buying a huge, single-family home with four bedrooms, four baths, and a spacious backyard — but once they get a better idea of current prices in the suburban Chicago real estate market, reality sets in and they find themselves still renting.

While I can understand my friends’ frustration, I always tell them the same thing: buying a home doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. I think it would be much better to start with a small place, buildup some equity and credit, and then move up to the home of your dreams. That’s what my husband and I did, and it worked out beautifully for us.

So what I’m recommending that my friends do is check out condo listings in addition to single family homes. Condos are far more affordable, usually require less upkeep, and maintain their resale value just as well as houses do, thereby making them great investments for first-time buyers. In fact, I know that there are some great new Roselle condos on the market right now that would be perfect for my friends. There are studio, one-, and two-bedroom units available in a wide range of prices, and the buildings are located close to major expressways (53/290 and the Elgin-O’Hare) and the Metra, which is convenient for commuters.

If you find yourself in a similar situation where you’re tired of paying rent but can’t quite afford the big house that you’ve always dreamed about, then you should really look into buying a condo instead.