Reality on Bravo

Things are never quiet in the OC, are they? Recently, this blog has become all but consumed with Project Blog, so I wanted to take a moment and get back on track with what my most loyal readers really want to hear about - recaps, news, and reviews of the best Bravo reality shows! And last night’s epi of The Real Housewives of Orange County was a doozy - so let’s dish!

Lauri Waring, often the most controversial housewife, is busy planning her big day…although, it is her third big day (heck, I’m hoping for just one…). In this episode, she went to lunch with her daughter Ashley, and they discussed the wedding plans, along with who Lauri is going to have as her Maid of Honor. Ashley, once again, had my shaking my head in disbelief as she all but demanded to be given the chosen role. Yes, it probably makes the most sense. Ashley and her mom are really close. But it is Lauri’s decision. If anyone ever tries to persuade me to pick them as MOH, I’m going to be pretty offended.

Later in the show, all of the bridesmaids went with Lauri to pick out a wedding dress with none other than Austin Scarlett of Project Runway season one! How exciting to see yet another cross-over with the Bravo shows. I’m sure that Bravo’s executives had NOTHING to do with Lauri’s choice of designer….but in any case, the dresses were amazing and Lauri looked like a princess. The pictured dress was my personal favorite. $18,000…yowsa. That’s more than I’m going to spend at my entire wedding, let alone on the dress!

But moving on…Jeana Keough and her youngest son, Colton, traveled to Vancouver in this episode to watch Shane play. Must be nice to just hop a plane to Canada whenever you feel like seeing a ball game. Shane, congratulations, I don’t think you’re a total ass anymore. Don’t get me wrong. He’s still an ass. But, at least he’s nicer to Colton these days. I think he recognizes the complete drive that Colton has to be better than him, and instead of being defensive, he’s being realistic. In all honesty, Colton probably will be better someday, and Shane’s going to help him find that success. How sweet.

Vicki Gunvalson is still the crazy mother, but in this episode her son, Michael, decides to put up with it in order to learn about the insurance career. He’s not really motivated because his internship at the moment is boring (and who can blame him - I’ve had horribly boring desk jobs like that and it is NOT fun). However, I really can see him doing well in this business if he sticks with it. Michael seems to be a hard worker when there’s a prize at the end - and in this case, the prize is a great salary that can, in his own words “buy him a yacht.” He’s willing to start at the bottom and work his way up to that million-dollar paycheck.

And that’s totally different than the mindset of Tamra Barney’s son, Ryan. As much as I think all of the OC kids are a little whack (if you know what I mean), Ryan is by far the most spoiled, the laziest, and the biggest jerk. I’m not a huge fan of Simon, Tarma’s husband, but I do think that he is in the right when he says how disappointed he is in Ryan and how upset he is at how Ryan treats his mother. In this episode, Ryan is finally forced to actually get a job, and Simon gets him an entry-level position as a part picker for $10 an hour. Yeah, that’s not glamorous and it won’t pay many bills in the OC…but you have to start somewhere. Ryan seems pretty much ready to quit though, upset that he isn’t starting at a high-paying desk job. You reap what you sow, buddy. Put in the time and effort, and you’ll get that higher-paying job. Look at Tamra, for instance - she’s working hard at her career and is selling multi-million dollar houses!

Tammy Knickerbocker wasn’t really featured in this episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County. Neither were her daughters, Megan and Lindsey. You have to wonder if they didn’t perhaps ask for a little privacy to help cope with Lou’s death. It also seems like Tammy’s boyfriend isn’t keen about being on camera. In any case, it seems like they’re slowly phasing her out of the show - which means that it is time to bring in a new housewife! I must have been really behind on my Real Housewife news, because until I started seeing previews, I had no idea that new housewife was coming to town! Enter the beautiful Quinn, who, by my calculations, must be in her mid-40s at least, given the ages of her children…and she’s dating a 26-year old - who was mistaken as her son (and probably almost could be)! We’ve never really had a “couger” on the show before, so it’s pretty fun to watch the others’ reactions to that! In any case, I think that Quinn seems really fun and sweet, so I look forward to seeing more of her on the show! I’m signing off for now… but to leave you, here’s a little video about how Quinn and Jeana met:

Project Blog is an ongoing competition that coincides with Bravo’s Project Runway. Every week, blogtestants from all over the blog-o-sphere compete in blogging challenges. Every week, the top blogger wins a special prize and, more importantly, immunity and the blogger with the lowest score is eliminated. There are prizes for readers too! And you can play along on your own blog if you’d like email me at allison.boyer-at-yahoo-dot-com with your entries, and I’ll show you a little link love AND give you an additional entry in the prize for that given week!

In this past week’s challenge, blogtestants were asked to give us a post in just 50 words, and then to expand on it. Bloggers were also judged on their awesome commenting skills. You can find a list of their entries here.

You guys voted to pick the reader’s favorites, who get points, which are added to the judges’ scores to create a final score for each player. Project Blog Judges are Beth (the winner of the Reality on Bravo “Create your own Reality Show” contest), April (a freelance writer and the blogger for Life as a Christian Woman), and myself.

Imagine, if you will, that the bloggers are lined up on a virtual runway, because it’s time to announce the winner! There was some stiff competition this week, but the person with the highest score is….

Once again, we found it totally hard to judge this week, and their were so many awesome entries. Winnie, we can’t deny that you have the reader following, though, and that knocked you over the top this week. We were also impressed with the insightful comments you left on other sites and the linking your did in your post.

Finishing second in the judging was Kate. We really liked your style during week one - it was an unusual and interesting take on the challenge that said a lot in not a lot of words. Third Place went to Jodie this week - says one judge, “Your 50 words really packed a punch!”

Congratulations, Winnie. You and your blog, Watching the View, win week four of Project Blog!! You have immunity next week and will be getting a cool prize in the mail in the next week or so.

And now for the part I don’t like…the elimination.

Sigh.

You’re all wonderful bloggers, but we do have a few comments for the bottom two before making an elimination. Congratulations Kara and Sally. Your scores have qualified you to remain in the competition; you may leave the virtual runway.

That leaves us with the bottom two. Mark and Cynthia, let’s bring out your models…er…blogs so we can make a few comments.

Mark, we have to give you props for the video. I personally could not stop laughing. However, even though your posts are funny, sometimes we have to wonder “what’s the point”? Every post has to have a distinct purpose in order to make readers come back every day. Your post this week was a bit long with a lot of linking that felt a bit forced.

Cynthia, we did like your post idea - it was very creative. The nail in your coffin this week was not meeting the first deadline. We also would have liked to see more linking in your posts.

Now here’s the hard part…this week, we’re eliminating:

It was a tough call, but in the end, we’re worried that perhaps Cynthia doesn’t have the time for this competition every week. Although we did like your idea and thought you bounced back well, it just wasn’t enough to bounce back completely.

Project Blog is an on-going competition at Reality on Bravo where top-notch bloggers from around the world are competing to be named the ultimate “top blogger”. We’ve got some great prizes lined up, and there’s good news - you can win too! Every Monday, I’ll announce the weekly sponsor and the prize. Make sure that you play every week - you can win some amazing things, thanks to our awesome sponsors!

Week Four’s Sponsor: Astrology Explored (www.astrologyexplored.com)
Week One’s Prize: A free reading from 451’s resident astrologer, Beth

If you’re a dedicated Real Housewives of Orange County fan, raise your hand. (*raises hand*)

You should, then, remember last season when Vicki hired an astrology to do full readings for all of the ladies. It was an epiphany for her - she realized that she wasn’t insane; it was written in the stars for her to have a certain personality.

Whether you’re a believer or not, astrology can be really, really interesting. Here at 451 Press, we have a whole blog dedicated to that art. Beth, from Astrology Watch, is one of the best bloggers we have, and although time restraints have kept her from participating in Project Blog, she has graciously donated a prize for you guys to win - a free mini-reading.

I’m pretty excited about this prize, because it is a bit different from what we have been doing. Instead of winning an item, you’re winning a deeper look at yourself. And that’s super-cool, in my opinion.

Want a chance to win this week’s prize? OF COURSE YOU DO. You can enter up to THREEtimes this week.

• For one chance, leave a comment on this post on Reality on Bravo with one thing that you’ve learned from Beth’s site.
• For a second chance, blog about this contest on your own site and email the link to me at allison.boyer-at-yahoo-dot-com.
• Want a third chance? Vote for your favorite in our Project Blog competition, and leave a comment showing support! The winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries. You can vote once per day for your favorite (and please do), and you can comment once on this post link will go live on Thursday).

Please note that comments on other post on my site are not considered as entries.

The winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries, so get your comments and posts in today! (Deadline for commenting and posting is Monday, December 17 at noon EST)

The blogtestant entries are beginning to roll in, so that means it is time to vote for your favorite! The reader poll counts for 5 points in the overall score. First place gets 3 points, second place 2, and third place 1. Each judge also gets 5 points to distribute as they want, and the person with the overall highest score WINS! So, your votes could determine the winner this week and the blogger who gets immunity in next week’s competition.

In this week’s challenge, blogtestants were asked to give us an update on last week’s post and show us their commenting skills. If you played along, don’t forget to send me your link!

The blogtestants:

1. Cynthia, TV of the Absurd: “Ode to the Writer’s Strike”
2. Kara, Colorado Review: “More Details on What to Do at DIA
3. Winnie, Watching the View: “The State of The View Revisited: Some Solutions”
4. Kate, Babylune: “Let Me Just Annotate That”
5. Jodie, Gossip on Sports: “The Supermodel Effect Under Investigation”
6. Sally, Style Fix: “Revealed: My New Year’s Eve Dress”
7. Mark, Get Incensed: “More on My Favorite Subject”

Blogtestants are listed above by time of post and below by their previous week’s points. They have until Friday at 8 AM to post! If you came here from one of their sites, I encourage you to check out the other entries before voting. You can vote once every 24 hours, and the polls officially close Tuesday at noon! Happy voting!

UPDATE: Voting is closed for the week!

AND DON’T FORGET: After you vote, leave a comment here telling everyone who you’re voting for and why (it can be anonymous). Use a valid email address, because leaving a comment will put you in the running to win bath salts from Solay prize and Reality on Bravo!

Did you watch tonight’s episode of Project Runway week one? I won’t reveal the outcome in case you haven’t had a chance to tune in yet, but I will bring you a full recap tomorrow!

The task at hand tonight, though? IT’S TIME FOR PROJECT BLOG! In case you’ve not been staying up to date with your Reality on Bravo news, Project Blog is the blogger’s answer to Project Runway. We’ve got the best of the best in bloggers ready to go head to head in weekly competitions for the grand prize:

• An autographed picture of Jackie Warner, courtesy of Sky Sport and Spa (Jackie Warner’s gym from Work Out)
• A pair of shoes from the newest line from Jonathan Kayne (one of my favorite Project Runway Alums)
• A Soffe college hoodie, courtesy ofBCS Frenzy
• Gold-plated earrings from Aurora at Between the Sheets
• A pet portrait, courtesy of Intricate Art
• A set of bud vases from Top Design’s Jonathan Adler

And as a reader here are Reality on Bravo, YOU CAN WIN TOO! Every week, Reality on Bravo is teaming up with some awesome sponsors to offer prizes for lucky readers. Anyone who leaves a comment on Monday’s post or on the voting post (which will go live on Thursday) will be automatically entered to win the super-awesome prize - bath salts from Solay Wellness, Inc.

As for the competition, you have a say in that too! Every week after Project Runway, I’ll announce the weekly challenge and our 10 competitors will scurry away to write some amazing posts. Read them, and on Friday, vote for your favorites. Your votes, along with the opinions of our amazing judges, Bethany (the winner of the RoB “Create Your Own Reality Show” contest) and April (an extraordinary professional writer and blogger), determine who stays and who “goes home”

And now, here’s what you really want to know - THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE:

I hope you’ve got those creative juices flowing, bloggers, because this week’s second part of the two-week challenge really is going to be a challenge. On Project Runway, contestants worked on teams to “bring back” (ie, update) three tired trends from the past. So, I’m sure you can guess what you’ll have to do - revisit/expand/rework your post from last week (in any way you want - no word counts!) and include a link back to that post. You can give us an update, use the same “style”, explain the topic further, etc, etc, etc. Just remember to link - a good blogger always has lots of links, after all.

But that’s not all. You didn’t think you were getting off that easy, did you?

On Project Runway, the designers worked on teams of three to create cohesive collections. Sometimes, their personalities clashed, but successful designers put their differences aside and found a way to collaborate.

So, in addition to linking back to your own post from last week, you must comment on THREE other contestants’ posts as well. A good blogger creates a community with commenting, so keep in mind what makes a good commenter…and what makes a good comment moderator.

You have until 8 AM on Friday to post, but remember - your link will be posted here for voting as soon as you post your entry, so for maximum voting, get your entries in soon!

Bloggers, start your engines! Check back later for a complete list of posts from our blogtestants, and don’t forget to vote on your favorite! Oh, and if anyone else out there wants to play along, send me the link to your post and I’ll include it on the list - you won’t be eligible for the grand prize, but you will get a little link love.

Good luck, bloggers!

The gang got together for an awesome Project Runway event, featuring designers and judges from all three seasons. Check out the pictures below (more after the break):

Andrea Gonzalo, Kara Saun, Heidi Klum, and Santino Rice

(more…)

One thing that I love about Bravo that you don’t get with many other channels is it’s high level of interactive features so that fans can be a part of the programming. Their website includes blogs from all of the major stars, and you can even vote on Bravo quizzes during the shows via your cell phone. The real-time results appear on screen at the end of the show - it’s like American Idol, but better, because you see instant results. Bravo really tries to connect with fans, which is why it is so easy to get sucked into their programming.

Well, Bravo is about to get even more interactive, at least for some viewers.

Bravo has just cut deals with four major cable supplies - Cox, Charter, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable - to enable customer interaction. Customers can use their remote control to interact with Project Runway, answering trivia questions and voting on designs. This feature is sponsored by Brother International, the same company who sponsors the sewing machines for the show, as well as has a deal with Project Runway for ad placement.

It’s a pretty neat concept. While the show is airing, you can use your remote control to click on options, allowing you to vote and play along with the trivia challenges. As far as I know, this feature will be free for viewers. Woo hoo!

right now, Bravo and the cable companies are just testing this to make sure the bugs are worked out before it is offered to viewers everywhere. Currently, the following areas can play around with this feature during Project Runway:

Cox users:
Phoeniz, AZ
Tucson, AZ
San Diego, CA
Las Vegas, NV

Charter users:
Los Angeles, CA

Comcast users:
West Palm Beach, FL
Palm Beach, FL

Time Warner Cable:
Greensboro, NC

Sigh. Wilkes-Barre, PA is not on the list. So, I guess I won’t get to try out this fun new Project Runway feature. If you live in any of these areas, tune in on Wednesday night - let me know how you live the new Bravo interactive features!

Project Blog is an on-going competition at Reality on Bravo where top-notch bloggers from around the world are competing to be named the ultimate “top blogger”. We’ve got some great prizes lined up, and there’s good news - you can win too! Every Monday, I’ll announce the weekly sponsor and the prize. Make sure that you play every week - you can win some amazing things, thanks to our awesome sponsors!

Week Four’s Sponsor: Solay Wellness, Inc. (www.natural-salt-lamps.com)
Week One’s Prize: Himalayan Bath Salt Crystals

Ah…who doesn’t like a nice, relaxing bath? (And come, all my male readers, admit it - whenever you’re lady’s out of town for anything, you like to relax with a bubble bath too!!! Ok, even if you don’t, I bet your wife/girlfriend/mother will LOVE this prize!)

Thanks to some awesome sponsorship by Solay Wellness, Inc., we can all de-stress a bit with some Himalayan Bath Salts. Solay’s Himalayan Bath Salt Crystals contain 84 essential minerals (more then any other salt) such as magnesium, potassium, bromide, and calcium. These minerals are all readily absorbed into the skin, giving you that calming, age-defying effect. Really guys, I’ve researched and used Himalayan Salt in the past - it’s toally good for your health.

Solay’s products are all naturally harvested from mineral-rich ocean waters that dried and crystallized 250 million years ago. This makes an especially great Christmas gift for that lady who has everything. Just add a few ounces to your bath, put on some relaxing music, pour some wine, and tune out the world. Ahhhhh…..

Have I convinced you to check out the site yet? You can buy bath salt products here (that’s the prize for the week - but believe me, you’ll want more than one), or you can peruse the other salt products they have for sale. I’m especially fond of the salt lamps, and just may have to put in an order myself. Using one of these salt lamps is like having a natural air purifier in your home.

(Note - the weekly winner for Project Blog will be receiving a set of Himalayan Salt Tealight Candle Holders - but if you want to snag them, you either have to suck up to the winner or head over to Solay’s site!)

Want a chance to win this week’s prize? OF COURSE YOU DO. You can enter up to FOUR times this week, since Week Four is part of the two-week uber challenge!

• For one chance, leave a comment on this post on Reality on Bravo with the product from Solay’s site that you most want for Christmas (simply head to their website and browse around until you see something that catches your eye.)
• For a second chance, blog about this contest on your own site and email the link to me at allison.boyer-at-yahoo-dot-com.
• Want a third and fourth chance? Vote for your favorite in our Project Blog competition, and leave a comment showing support! The winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries. You can vote once per day for your favorite (and please do), and you can comment ONCE PER WEEK (so, twice) to be considered as entered into this drawing - once on this post (comments close on Wednesday night) and once on Thursday’s post (this link will go live on Thursday morning).

Please note that comments on other post on my site are not considered as entries.

The winner will be drawn at random from all qualifying entries, so get your comments and posts in today! (Deadline for commenting and posting is Monday, December 10 at noon EST)

…well, her own pilot, at least.

Bravo has announced that they have ordered a pilot for a show (tentatively called “Just Jo” but some of those people involved) that features former Real Housewife Jo De La Rosa and her new life in Los Angels.

Jo De La Rosa was never actually a “housewife,” but the show did something great for her - it put her on the map. Her singing career has a jump start (a luke-warm jump start, but a jump start nonetheless) because she was shown on The Real Housewives in the recording studio last year.

So what will we see with “Just Jo” (or whatever they decide to call it)? According to Bravo, filming will begin this month, and I suspect that the pilot will air sometime this spring or summer, if it airs at all. Jo is reportedly still split from ex-finance/sugar daddy Slade Smiley, although word on the street is that he moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her. Truth? Who knows.

More word on the street? She had a falling out with best friend JJ, who was one of the major influences in moving to LA in the first place.

Will I watch Jo’s new show? Well, I’m willing to give it a try. I have to say, though - the reason that The Real Housewives of Orange County works so well is that they jump from woman to woman and follow tons of story lines. With “Just Jo”, will viewers get bored? It’s possible…

We’ll see - but all the best to Jo, her new show, and her singing career.