Reality on Bravo

In case you missed last night’s season premier, here’s what happened:

The show opened in true Real Housewives of Orange County fashion - with a parent buying her daughter a huge gift. Vicki Gunvalson, work-a-holic mother of two (Briana and Michael), bough her daughter a brand new Mercedes for keeping her grades up while in college. Briana’s in nursing school and doing well, but her mother definitely misses her. The kicker? Briana has to make the monthly payments, which are over $270 a month. Um…thanks, mom? Now, putting a down payment on a Mercedes is nothing short of amazing, but at the same time, if my mom did that, I’d be so mad. Any college student renting her own apartment will find it difficult to take on such a high bill. If it were me, I would have bought a more practical car. But that’s me. I don’ live in the OC. Anyway, the ladies went to lunch, and Briana told her mom that she and Colby (the sweetheart boyfriend) were going to Washington to camp out and see a concert. That was met with a resounding “No you aren’t” from Vicki. Vicki, I love you, but your daughter is 20. You can’t control what she does. Using your finances as a way to control your adult kids is unhealthy. Let her go, or one day, she’ll go anyway and she won’t be looking back.

Moving on…Lauri Waring is working on planning her wedding to George Peterson. They’re thinking about having the wedding at one of George’s two houses, and the guest list so far is at 400, but has to be cut to under 200 if they want to have it at their smaller house. Woah mama. 400 people? I don’t even KNOW 400 people. This season, we get to meet George’s daughter Mackenzie (not sure I’m spelling that right…will look it up when Bravo’s site is in better condition), who is 18 and graduating (presumably with Kara?). Josh is out of the picture, and Sophie and Ashley seem to be around the house. George’s other two younger kids (one boy and one girl, I believe) haven’t been shown much. According to RHOC news, their mother, Gina, has refused to let them be filmed on the show. In any case, for graduation, Lauri and George are sending MacKenzie to South Beach, along with the 22-year-old Ashley to supervise. Now THAT seems dangerous. Forget the responsible Briana going to Washington for a concert. George’s daughter has talked about how she is going out “partying” and Ashley admitted that she’ll probably drink on this drink. Yeah…seems like a reaaaaaal good idea…

Jeana Keough is busy as always, and in this episode she was helping Kara, 18, plan her graduation party. Kara is a brunette these days and had broken up with Steven (she wished him “the best”…and then stuck out her tongue. hehe, I know how you feel, girl). Kara has decided on Berkley, and the event planner that did her graduation party had more special things planned than most people do for their weddings. Shane is playing baseball in Toronto, so Matt missed Kara’s graduation to see his first game. That would piss off a lot of people, but I think it makes sense for the Keough’s. After all, Shane has to go when he gets called up if he wants to actually make it big, and Matt supported him and his baseball legacy while Jeana supported Kara at graduation. You know who didn’t go, though? Colton. What happened to that kid since last season?!? He was so sweet, and now he’s all bad-ass and getting to be more like Shane every day. And that’s not a good thing.

Tammy Knickerbocker is working on rebuilding her house, which flooded almost three years ago when she was baby-sitting Jeana’s kids for a week. The real story here, unfortunately, is that Lou Knickerbocker, Tammy’s ex-husband and Megan and Lindsey’s father, had a massive heart attack and passed away. He didn’t have a will. He wasn’t prepared. So now, his mail-order bride, a girl from Thailand who barely speaks any English, inherits all of his money and the girls get nothing. I guess they can’t really do anything to battle that, which is really, really sad, because you know that Lou would have taken care of his girls. Sigh.

Last but not least, there’s the new girl in town, Tamra Barny. She seems really sweet and laid-back, and she really is pretty hot, just like she claims. Tamra had a kid at age 18, and her son is now 21. That marriage didn’t work out, but she went on to marry Simon and have three more children, all under the age of ten currently. The oldest son moved out at age 18 because he didn’t see eye to eye with Simon, and Tamra admitted that they’ve talked about divorce because they didn’t agree on how to parent him. Now, he’s moving back in, and Simon gave him a list of rules, including a curfew. Give me a break. He’s 21 years old, and you can’t expect him to be in the house by 1. That will last a whole two weeks, tops. In any case, he seems like a decent guy, but a bit spoiled, just like every other OC kid out there. Tamra is turning 40 this year, so I guess we’ll see how she copes this season!

Tonight’s episode was definitely lacking without the Jo / Slade drama, but the newest housewife, Tamra, seems to fit right in with the rest of the ladies! Vicki is controlling, Lauri is in love, Tammy is rebuilding her house, Jeana is dishing out cash left and right, and the new girl? Well, she’s dealing with a deadbeat 21-year-old son and a strict husband.

Full recap tomorrow, but for now, here’s an update on Jo:

Today, Heidi Klum hosted the Project Runway Season four kick-off show. Check out the pictures from the show (click on them to enlarge!):

And check out who else was in attendance at the show: Lauri Waring from The Real Housewives of Orange County, looking beautiful as always!

Project Runway, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Heidi Klum, Lauri Waring, fashion, celebrity pictures

Tonight is the premier of The Real Housewives of Orange County Season Three, and really, I couldn’t be more excited. Since Halloween is over, I suppose that it is officially time to start thinking about the end-of-the-year holidays. For more, Thanksgiving doesn’t require much planning. I head to my mom’s house and she does the cooking (although this year, I may be taking my Chocolate-Caramel Banana Cream Pie!) I spend the day eating, sleeping, watching football, and pretty much repeating that schedule at least three or four times. Yay for family Thanksgivings!

But Christmas…well…that’s another matter. I decorate. I donate to charity. I make cards and presents. I plan really great gifts for friends and family. I put up lights. I wrap. I bake. Oh man, I bake…lots of cookies. I think Christmas is one of the best, most fun times of the year. And yes, as a Christian, I try hard to remember the real reason for the season, rather than getting sucked into the stress.

This year, in part because I’m moving into a nicer, bigger place and paying two rents for a bit, money is tighter than its been in awhile. Yet, I still plan to make Christmas special for everyone around me! I’ll just have to do it for a few less dollars.

In any case, because tonight is the start of season three for the Real Housewives, I have to admit that I do daydream about how much less stressful life would be with a bit more money. And could you imagine the Christmas gifts? If my family and I had millions, I’m sure that the presents would look a bit different, considering that the Coto ladies buy cars, jewelry, clothing, purses, shoes, etc. for no reason. I can only imaging what Christmas is like in the OC!

So, here’s my question for you: If you had $25,000 to spend on presents for your closest friends and families, what would you buy?

My list:

~A Wii and a bunch of games for my boyfriend
~A trip to Disney for me and my boyfriend to take together
~An Alaskan cruise for my parents
~A laptop for my little sister
~Apartment stuff for my best friends
~New house stuff for my boyfriend’s parents
~Some kind of fun trip for my Grandparents to take
~A huge kitty tower thingy for my cat, Godiva

As part of the NaBloPoMo celebration, I’m posting my list of top 30 Most Fabulous Bravo Personalities. The points of qualification? Only one: be utterly fabulous. “Fabulous can mean intriguing, funny, hot, crazy…or all of the above. Stop back every day during November to see if you favorite star has made the list!

Today’s Fabulous #27 is Vicki Gunvalson, from Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Why is Vicki Fabulous? Everyone seems to have an opinion about the Real Housewives of Orange County which, coincidentally, starts on Tuesday. Some people think the ladies are great. Others dislike their blatant display of wealth and, at times, ignorance. However, no matter what your personal view on the show and its ladies, I think we can agree on one thing. Vicki Gunvalson is a good person. She works really hard for herself and her family, and she doesn’t take crap from people. She also knows how to be that awesome mom would can totally rock out with a beer on the river. Of all the ladies, whenever there is a big comment-war over them, I’ve noticed that people rarely mention Vicki. And, as someone who has talked to her personally, I think she’s fab too.

Check back tomorrow for #26!

Here’s the list of my 30 Fabulous Bravo Personalities so far:

27. Vicki Gunvalson
28. Dale Levitski, Top Chef Season Three
29. Carson Kressley, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
30. Jeff Lewis, Flipping Out

Have someone you’d like to nominate? Feel free to email me at allison.boyer - at - yahoo - dot - com today or leave a comment telling us why your nominee is Bravo-fabulous!

With the southern part of California being ravaged with wildfires, I just wanted to take a moment to note that Bravo has issued a statement regarding the Real Housewives of Orange County. The ladies and their families are all safe, in areas unaffected by the fires, other than the fact that their mansions are covered with ash, which also is probably making it difficult to breathe outside.

That said, I’m sure many of our favorite Bravo moms do have friends and family being evacuated or that have lost homes already. Please keep them in your thoughts, along with all Reality on Bravo readers battling the blazes.

Last week, I wrote a post about Lauri Waring’s wedding and how to go about getting a piece of that extravagance at your own ceremony. In a world that is over-the-top, however, it isn’t just weddings that are expensive…everything is top of the line. So, I thought I’d do a little series for you all to show you even more about how “the other half” lives. Today, let’s talk about the homes found in Coto de Caza - and who better to study for that information than the one and only Jeana Keough, one of Re/Max’s top real estate agents.

If you head to Jeana’s Re/Max page, which is kept updated daily just like almost all agents’ pages, you can see what’s for sale in the Coto area. And woah mama look at those prices. In Orange County - well, the Coto area at least - an acre of land is easily worth a million dollars. Most of Jeana’s properties are in the $1.5 - $2.5 million range, although some are significantly higher. Break out the calculator here for a moment. I’m not exactly sure what the average % commission is for real estate agents, but let’s just go with a modest 5%, figuring that her average house sells for $2 million. That means Jeana’s average commission is $100,000. If she sells just one house, she’s already made more than I make in three years. Um…maybe I’m in the wrong business.

So after check out some of the homes listed on Jeana’s site and what they have to offer, I decided to pretend I have $3-4 million to spend on a home. What are some of the features I want and could get?

• At least 5 or 6 bedrooms
• A walk-in pantry off of my enormous kitchen
• A fireplace
• Walk-in closets in every bedroom
• A pool and hot tub
• A view of the mountains
• At least 2 or 3 acres of land
• French doors leading out to my Master bedroom’s balcony
• A home theatre
• Intercom systems
• Cathedral ceilings
• A Library

Put an emphasis on the library. I love me my books, hehe.

But let’s come back to the real world. I can’t afford a 3 million dollar house, nor will I probably ever be able to. That said, I am moving at the end of the month out of my tiny apartment and into a cozy 2 BR house. I’m super excited - it may not be Coto, but who needs a live in maid anyway?

My new house:





So, if you could plan a dream house with no budget, what would YOU include?

The third season of The Real Housewives of Orange County is sure to be a hit, even without Jo. One of the main events? The fabulous wedding of Lauri Waring and George Peterson.

Now, I haven’t actually seen any sneak previews, but knowing Lauri’s spending history and the size of George’s bank account, I doubt that this wedding will be frugal, even though it isn’t a first wedding for either of them. Hey, who knows? They may surprise me and run off to Vegas for the ultimate cheap wedding, but I think it’s more likely that we’ll see over-the-top spending in true housewives fashion.

I’m not married yet, but I am in a long-term commitment, and what girl doesn’t like to dream about her own wedding from time to time? Hell, most of us were dreaming about it long before we even picked out a potential groom! It got me to thinking - if money was no object, how would I like to splurge at my wedding?

And thinking about that is dangerous. Before I knew it, I was scouting all over the web for the coolest bride and groom “stuff” to have at a wedding. Here are some of the neat things I found…and maybe I’ll actually use a few of these ideas if I save up enough money:

*Ok, this is the neatest idea, especially since my boyfriend and I had our first date at a concert! You can get customer-printed “tickets” to use as save-the-date keepsakes, party invitations, etc. etc. etc., and the coolest thing about them is that they don’t totally break the bank. A pack of 10 is only $15!

*I’m not even a real “cake person”, but for my wedding, I want the yummiest, most delicious cake I can afford. Preferably with multiple layers of different flavors. And I’ll have some from each layer. I want it to look really cool too. Food network regularly has cake challenges, and here’s an example. Or how about these cool wedding cakes? Yeah, they’ll cost a few grand. Oh well, a girl can dream!

*It seems like a horrible waste of money, but if money really isn’t an concern, check out photo stamps for sending out your invitations. You’ll make all you relatives puke with your “cuteness” lol. A sheet of 20 is $5-10 plus the cost of the postage.

Check out Wedding Tactics for more wedding ideas!

We all know that TV stars - even reality show TV stars - have some money to throw around. Do I? Nope. So, I’m bringing your Friday’s Fashion Finds! I’ll take a picture of a favorite Bravo star and show you where to find similar fashion for an affordable price. See an outfit you’d love replicate? Email me today, and I’ll feature you on an upcoming week!

Today’s Fashion Inspiration: Jo De La Rosa on the season finale of Season Two of the Real Housewives of Orange County

With the excitement surrounding the announcement of the thirds season of the Real Housewives of Orange County, how coul dthis week’s FFF not be about one of the stylish ladies on the show? Trust me, it was hard to pick just one. But, since we won’t get to see her on the show anymore, let’s go with Jo De La Rosa. She get my top honor of “favorite fashionista” - she’s always wearing something cute and she never looks like she’s trying too hard.

Check out what Jo’s doing here - she picked a color family and went for three simple but bold pieces in different tones. Jo also knows what’s up about fit. Like Padma last week, she’s chosen fitted pieces that show off her best features while hiding anything she doesn’t like about her body (if there is anything…) Keep in mind that Jo’s dark skin looks especially nice with these colors. This may not be exactly the right colors for you. Take the idea and run with it - different shades of gray, blue, red, green, etc. can also work well!

I’m sure Jo paid top dollar for her outfit, and it was money well spent, because she looks like a million bucks. You don’t have to spend a ton to get that same look. Check out the great fashion finds I stumbled across that can give you the same look:

—Amazingly, the shirt’s for less than $50 from Amazon, you can get the skirt from Target for under $20, and the scarf is available online for only $19.95 (it comes in all colors). Throw in some hoops and a killer part of shoes and people may be mistaking you for Jo!

Jo De La Rosa, Real Housewives of Orange Country, fashion

Last night during Queer Eye for the straight guy, Bravo announced that The Real Housewives of Orange County are back! Woo hoo! Vicki, Lauri, Jeanna, Tammy, and the newest housewife, Tamara, hit your tv screen running on November 6, I’m guessing after the close of Queer Eye. I’m excited. This is definitely one show that I thought I’d hate, but have instead grown to love.

According to reports, Vicki is crazier than ever. I love that lady! With her kids gone to college, maybe she’ll have more time to spend with her family, but of course, she’s still a bit of a control freak, so she’ll be keeping a handle on Michael and Bri, I’m sure!

Lauri and George are getting married, of course, so much of her story line revolves around planning a huge, expensive wedding (you go girl!). There were some issues with her son, which were reported in the news, but I’m not sure if the show will touch on that or not. We’ll see.

Jeanne is still Jeanne. Kara’s gone to school now, and Shane is playing baseball thousands of miles away. Don’t worry though, Shane will still be a part of the show, since earlier reports noted that the Keough family and camera crew visited him in Toronto.

Tammy’s ex-husband, Lou Knickerbocker, passed away since the last season was filmed. The death, I’m sure, was a hard blow to daughters Megan and Lindsey, and may also mean a drastic change in money for the girls and Tammy.

Tamra Barney is the new girl in town! This mother-of-four proclaims that she is “the hottest OC housewife” (hehe - way to rock it with the confidence), and this season’s introduction to her life will show us her struggle to balance a new job and her family after staying home to raise four kids over the last 18 years. She hs three younger children with her now-husband, Simon, and a 21-year-old son from a previous marriage. I wonder if he’s as hot as some of the other older OC “kids” on the show *cough*shane*cough*

No Jo De La Rosa this year, but maybe they’ll update us on her, like they did with Kim! And what’s a good Real Housewives season without Slade Smiley. I’m sure we’ll catch a glimpse of him from time to time!

Jo De La Rosa, Tammy Knickerbocker, Jeanna Keough, Shane Keough, Lou Knickerbocker, Tamra Barney, Slade Smiley, Vicki Gunvalson, Lauri Waring, The Real Housewives of Orange County

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Firmly committed to its ongoing goal of being a vital force in today’s entertainment industry, the multi-faceted, Los Angeles based company immergent is pleased to announce an exclusive distribution deal for North America with KOCH Entertainment Distribution for its new, catalogue music and DVD releases.

One of the artists that calls immergent home? Non other than Jo De La Rosa. According to reports, she is still hard at work recording her first album “Just Jo.” Some others include Alan Parsons, Ian Gillan, and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, as well as a number of other up-and-coming artists.

You can read more about immergent and Jo De La Rosa here.

Don’t forget to enter my contest to win a free copy of the Real Housewives of Orange County Season One in DVD! You only have until September 20 to enter, so hurry!

…to enter the Real Housewives link contest for your chance to win the Real Housewives of Orange County Season One on DVD!

All you have to do to win is link back to the contest and leave a comment. I’ll pull a lucky winner at random from the entries. This contest lasts until September 20, and you can enter as may times as you want!

Real Housewives, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Lauri Waring, Jo De La Rosa, Vicki Gunvalson, Jeanna Keough, Tammy Knickerbocker, Tamara Barney

Desperate for more housewife drama? Then get ready for addictive, indulgent fun with Season One of Bravo’s hit sensation, The Real Housewives of Orange County!Join five real-life ladies of leisure—Jo, Jeana, Lauri, Vicki and Kimberly—for an all-access pass inside their exclusive planned community. Whether they’re sharing cocktails, shopping trips, travel plans or Botox treatments, these stylish women exspose the realities of living in Southern California luxury!

Bravo’s finally released the first season of The Real Housewives of Orange County on DVD, and you could win a copy of it today! Meet Jo De La Rosa, Jeana Keough, Lauri Waring, Vicki Gunvalson, and Kimberly Bryant for the “first time” all over again with over 5 hours of footage. You don’t want to pass up this Real Housewives give-away.

Entering is easy:

1. Link back to this site from your own website, blog, FaceBook, or MySpace profile. Sorry, comments on forums or other blogs don’t count. You must link directly to this post, not the site’s homepage and the link must be active through September 20 (ie, you can’t take it down after a day).

2. Leave a comment on this post with the URL where I can find the link. Make sure you fill in your email address–don’t worry, I’ll keep it private, but I’ll need to be able to contact you if you win!

3. Comment on at least one other post on this website: check out the categories on the right to find your faves or simply go to the home page and leave your opinion on the latest post. It has to be an intelligent comment, not spam or “cool site.”

That’s it! The contest will run now through September 20, 2007 so start linking! You can enter as many times as you’d like, but for each entry you must complete all three steps above.

And I’ll make it a little easier: You can simply copy and paste the code below, replacing the @ with < and the $ with >:

@a href=”http://www.realityonbravo.com”$Reality on Bravo@/a$ is giving away a free Real Housewives of Orange County DVD. I’m@a href=”http://www.realityonbravo.com/win-the-real-housewives-on-DVD”$ entering@/a$ to win! Are you?

Thanks for entering! If you want all the latest Real Housewives news, sign up for the Reality on Bravo newsletter here.

For those of you who have your own blogs, don’t forget to sign up for the Project Blog Contest for some awesome prizes of your own this fall/winter!

contests, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives, Real Housewives DVD, reality tv

As a good team guy, Shane Keough’s first thought was he didn’t want anything to become a distraction for his Vancouver Canadian teammates.

But what do you do when there’s a TV crew following your every move around Nat Bailey Stadium?

As reported by the Vancouver Sun, the Real Housewives of Orange Country is still filming their third season. There haven’t been reports yet as to when this season will actually come to be, but I’m pretty excited about it. There’s something about the feeling that you’re watching someone’s lives that is totally addicting.

That, and I feel like I’ve grown to know these people. Weird as it sounds, I actually care what they are doing with their lives and if they’re succeeding. Even Jo Del La Rosa, no matter how much I rag on her.

The bottom line? This is one of the shows that Bravo does really well–and I hope it sticks around for a few more seasons!

Although last season’s final episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County put the fabulous Jo De La Rosa and somewhat- house-wifey Slade Smiley at odds with one another, rumor has it that they never really officially ended things. At least not in any way where the “ending things” would last. Jo moved to LA, but it was later reported that her and JJ, the notorious party friend, had a falling out. She’s since been seen photographed at quite a number of events, both with and without the smiling Smiley. The latest shots of the “couple?” can be seen online at Hollywoodscope.com, where its been reported that the couple attended Alex Quinn’s “Dialed in With Blackberry Party.”

So what’s the deal? Hell if I know. But they sure are an attractive couple!