Bravo Blast!

Check back tomorrow for a Bravo Blast when I release my latest Real Housewives of New Jersey, Princesses: Long Island, Below Deck, Property Envy, & Interior Therapy Reviews!  Come on...you gotta do it!

RHONJ and Princesses: Long Island Upcoming!

Don't worry, I will have my Bravo updates for the latest episodes up soon, so check back before Sunday for all the drama from last week! Browse my other blogs on all of television's hottest shows in the mean time!

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RHONJ Update! It's My Party... & Gym Rats

With last week being Father's Day, I wasn't able to post - let alone watch - The New Jersey Housewives and their escapades.  So this week I am catching up on both episodes, It's My Party and I'll Fight If I Want To & Gym Rats and the one thing I can say about all the conflict is that it stems from gossip, he said-she said tattles, and when any of them finally get together to hash it out, they are all too upset to even hear the truth. 

Teresa seems to be the theme of the newest episode, supposedly causing drama everywhere, but the thing is she never even seems to be in the room, or the instigator of any of it (currently).  When Melissa goes home to report to her husband Joe on the events of Gia's birthday party, she doesn't have anything nice to say and just stirs up trouble.  First, she can't count.  I am not going to go into whether or not Teresa should care about Melissa visiting her father-in-law in the hospital because it's pointless.  Her father mentioned Melissa hadn't come to see him and it hurt Teresa.  She is entitled to her feelings.  Kim D. doesn't ever help the situation, but we all know this and should be over it at this point.  Kim is Teresa's friend, Teresa was upset and she shared it with her friend, probably not the best decision, but that's what friends are for.  Kim shouldn't have approached Melissa about a family matter but she did.  Melissa lied, she claimed she saw her father-in-law in the hospital the day after he went in.  He went to the hospital on Saturday, she went to see him on Wednesday, that is not the day after no matter how you look at it.  She then does a number of twists and turns to excuse her behavior, which means she knows she was wrong.  If she thought she did the right thing, she wouldn't need all the excuses.  She claimed that she had a sore throat, to quote her she "felt like she was swallowing glass" for two days which is why she waited.  Sure it's a good excuse, but is it true?  During these two days when she felt too bad to go see Joe & Teresa's father, she was at the gym working out and meeting up with other cast members, she seemed fine.  Even Kathy didn't believe her sore throat routine.  Melissa's other defense is that everyone should mind their own business and stay out of hers.  Seriously?  Then why are you on a reality TV show?  The whole premise is to let everybody into your life and your business, especially other cast members.  She fails on all fronts and just stirs the pot constantly while blaming Teresa for all the problems.  She needs to accept her fault in all the family issues and I really believe that a large part of the blame is on her.  Melissa claims that she is concerned that Teresa will say negative things about her to their children, and later Joe mimics the same line, but Melissa talks shit about Teresa in front of her children often and it is depicted on camera at least twice in the last two episodes, while I have yet to see Teresa do this at all (recently).  They are hypocrites and until they stop believing the bullshit they are spreading, only Melissa and Joe are to blame for their family's turmoil.  I find Melissa insinuating that Teresa is bi-polar was distasteful and out of line.  There are people who actually struggle with mental illness and I don't think that it is something that should be tossed around as an insult when she can't think of anything else negative to say.  So why did Teresa change her tone?  Probably because it was her daughter's birthday and it was time for cake and she wanted to put on a happy face to make the party enjoyable for her daughter.  That's not something to insult, but rather admire.  Aside from this debacle, we saw Melissa discussing her book about marriage.  With these housewives, there is always a book deal about something.  It was her relationship with her father that was the topic and we saw previous clips where Melissa regarded her husband, Joe, just like her father and that is why she loves and appreciates him so much.  But there is some disconnect in this story as all Melissa-tales go as she makes claims that her father was a cheater and would disappear for days at a time and she would find her mother in a ball crying over her father's actions.  For many daughters with unfaithful fathers issues arise in relationships regarding trust.  However while Melissa claims she has these repercussions, they are never visible and I don't understand why she would love her husband so much because he reminds her of her cheating father.  It just doesn't add up.           

I am really disappointed with Jacqueline this season in regards to Teresa.  She hears rumors and puts way too much truth in them. (You would think she would have learned her lesson as this was the cause of the rupture of their friendship last season.  In case you missed out, Jacqueline kind-of gossip magazine & website stalked Teresa and then worked herself up over the information, causing her to worry constantly about Teresa's bankruptcy and possible jail time.  She was upset that she was hearing the information second hand, when she confronted Teresa she was assured that if these were real problems she was experiencing Jacqueline would know.)  Now she says she wants nothing to do with the Guidices, but her actions don't back up her story.  She traveled 45 minutes out of her way to the gym Teresa frequents regularly, getting lost and having a panic attack on the way, to spend time with Melissa and Kathy.  Although she arrived after everyone was done working out, she heard Teresa was upset that Jacqueline was there.  Again with the rumors.  I think Teresa, like me, was just confused with why Jacqueline would travel so far, not even to work out, to go to a place where it was likely she would see Teresa.  Jacqueline also talks about reading a book about sociopaths a friend gave her to examine how similar the qualities were to Teresa's.  If she doesn't want anything to do with her, why spend your free time studying a mental-illness and trying to make connections?  In addition, I think that Jacqueline just sees what she wants to see, the list of similar traits were flimsy at best and could be applied to anyone.  For example, blaming others - that's what they all do, they hardly ever take responsibility for their own actions and if that's all it takes to be considered a sociopath - they all fit the bill!  I like Jacqueline and I understand that she was worried about her friend because of what she was reading, but she needs to take things straight from the horse's mouth.

Kathy threw a birthday party for her husband Richie and their daughter Victoria with friends and family.  It was a nice celebration until Marissa made a snide comment about hoping it was better than Teresa's daughter Gia's party.  This of course sparked everyone into discussing Teresa and Kathy's sister Rosie screaming drunken insults which upset birthday-girl Victoria.  I mean, who are the adults?  Kathy commented that Teresa ruined the party even though she wasn't there, but wasn't it really Melissa's fault who brought her up and Caroline's for saying that Teresa didn't want anything to do with them?   Again, none of this is actually from Teresa, it is just opinions, hearsay and slander.  Kathy is upset because Caroline said that Teresa is still hurt from Kathy calling her father a coward.  I feel crazy even writing that sentence!  Plus it is insane to call Teresa's elderly father a coward, give a simple I'm sorry and think that it's forgotten.  She very well might have forgiven Kathy, but that doesn't mean it's forgotten.  Unless Teresa & Kathy actually talk one-on-one about their issues all this gossip is just making a bad situation worse.  

Finally, I want to address the brother/sister blow-out gym scene with Joe & Teresa.  Teresa finally sees her brother after a  year of not talking and says her father would be upset if he knew they were in the same room and didn't even speak, but I think he would be more upset with his son's behavior when she extends the olive branch.  It has all the same tones as Joe's first scene ever on RHONJ at his son's christening when Teresa goes over to congratulate him and a literal fist fight pursues.  Yes, Joe seems like a nice guy.  He is fun at a party and does crazy things, but he holds on to so much and as we see in this scene he really isn't a good guy.  I admire Teresa for trying to talk to him, but she should know her brother.  He claims that Melissa isn't the problem and he isn't pussy whipped but that just isn't true.  He doesn't talk to his sister, he just hears Melissa's side, the little devil on his shoulder whispering nasty things about Teresa every chance she gets.  I think that it is a good thing for a man to stick up for his wife but not to be completely brainless and not asses the situation at all.  He says he's smart, but I'm not seeing it as his line of logic is completely flawed and all he does is see red and fly of the handle.  The things he said to his sister were disgusting, hurtful and uncalled for.  Throughout all the nasty comments it seems like Joe and Teresa didn't have anything to fight about other than their spouses.  Logical people should be able to look at the situation and just say; okay I don't like your wife & you don't like my husband, let's keep them out of our business and ask them to just be cordial with us as a family and move one.  I don't see Joe Gorga doing this ever.  And while Joe Gudice has plenty of nasty things to say about his in-laws it never sways Teresa the way that Melissa's comments sway Joe Gorga.  Again, no matter how I look at it, it always adds up to Melissa being the problem in the family.  Until Joe Gorga thinks for himself and doesn't hold every overheard rumor and every bitchy comment from Melissa over Teresa's head there will not be peace.  They need to just forgive and forget, move on, cause it is so ridiculous it is painful to watch.    

Like I said in the first place, all the gossip is the root of the problems in Jersey.  They all have communication issues and the inability to let anything go.  I mean really, Teresa saying Melissa lip-syncs is why there family is torn apart?!  It is just one little dig after another and everyone has something to say about it!  In this close knit community all they talk about is each other and you shouldn't throw stones when you live in a glass house unless you want to end up like these girls, simply shattered.

RHONJ: A Manzo of her Word

This week's episode lacked the normal table flipping drama we have become accustomed to in Jersey, but there were some notable highs and lows and a lot of in between in this week's The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Melissa & Joe's open house was an interesting tidbit, as Joe Gorga built it and thought it was a masterpiece but as we got to take a closer look, as we rarely get to do, we found out that at least some parts of their home were phony and fake.  I mean the bathroom without running water and what looks like fine marble is really just cabinet topper over wood?!  To add insult to injury the wood is chipped and falling off - some masterpiece.  In addition I still have to raise the fact that they are selling their supposed $6 million dollar house for $3.8 million just because the sister-in-law (Melissa) doesn't want to live close to Teresa?  Really! Meanwhile Joe and Teresa are being mediated by Caroline to fix this relationship.  So what happens when they fix it, and they took a $2.2 million dollar loss and they don't live by her anymore, thus straining the relationship?  Crazy, plain and simple.  

Caroline requested to meet Teresa after not having anything to do with her for quite some time and the last time they did see each other it didn't go so well.  While Teresa thought Caroline might want to apologize to her, which is insane, she quickly found out that the meeting wasn't going to be that amicable.  Bravo really played this "duel" up on the promotional clips for this episode but it was more of a puppy playtime than an cat fight.  They went back and forth and basically, when the end came to the point where Teresa agreed more or less with Caroline and told her to report back to her brother Joe Gorga that if he came to her, she would accept him with open arms.  The episode also showed a bit of Caroline and Albert's home life introducing another of Caroline's siblings who, after her divorce, has moved in with the Manzos.  Caroline stated that she accepts strays, when someone she loves needs a place to stay Caroline takes them in.  Her sister does the same...except with animals and she will even take in these animals in someone else's home.  You can see the strain it is putting on Albert- living in a zoo, which might cause some waves up ahead. 

We also see a stormy horizon with Kathy and Richie as they deal with their kids growing up.  Both parents take their son, Joseph, out driving and while Kathy tries to teach him, all Richie does is make jokes and a lot of them were pretty inappropriate for his son.  Things like always keep your eyes on the road even if there is a topless girl in the backseat.  I mean really?!  It is clear that not only Richie's jokes are taking a toll on Kathy but also the fact that their son is becoming more like his father, and Kathy does not want that!  There is a big similarity here with Heather and her husband Terry on The Real Housewives of Orange County and the guys should learn that cracking jokes 24-7 pisses off the wife.  Kathy and Richie also visit their daughter at her home town college and like we see the son possess traits of the father, we too see the daughter getting annoyed with daddy's antics.  There are two things with the daughter I don't get, if she lives at home why are they visiting her at school and becoming a nurse practitioner is a year to a year and a half program you can actually do it while your still in high school so at 19 why wouldn't she be done with school until she's 25? She should have a bachelors, masters and maybe even a PhD at that point.

In the category of "real people problems", Jacqueline and Chris's struggle with their child's autism is sprinkled through this episode.  I don't normally watch RHONJ to cry, it's more of an escape to watch them live out their petty problems as entertainment.  However this episode did bring me to tears as we see the rollercoaster of emotions Jacqueline goes through regarding her son.  In an interview with Parenting Magazine she cannot even recall how they first knew and finding a diagnosis without bursting into tears.  I have a lot of medical problems myself and underwent brain surgery in 2009, so I know first hand how a disability effects ones life.  However, I cannot imagine having to see my kids go through the pain I suffer.  It was a definite "high" though to see Chris not only support his son, but also his wife as they travel this journey together.  As a surprise, during a poker game with a large part of the cast, Chris brought the son in to tell his mother I Love You.  Three simple words to most of us, that Jacqueline had not heard her son say in over a year.  It was a beautiful moment that I think would have been better carried out in private, yet it showed not only the viewers but also the cast who shared the moment with them just how hard their struggle has been and not to take for granted what you have. 

This week wasn't a jaw dropping episode but it had it's moments and I'm looking forward to next weeks drama as the season is just beginning to unfold.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Premiere

The Real Housewives of New Jersey is one of Bravo's compilation of shows about a select, elite group of  "housewives" (some are married, some aren't even dating, some have kids, some have jobs - so housewife seems to be a relative term) of any given city.  However the New Jersey girls have some special spins to their show. First off they are all married and actual housewives.  In addition they have a special bond because through the seasons we follow two distinct families - The Manzos and The Gorgas.  This allows for a more plausible storyline that differs from forced parties, brand launches, vacations and charity functions in which the ladies, whether they are actually friends or not, must attend in order to get them together for the show and veers off into a more "real" reality as you can change your circle of friends but you cannot change your family.  Like The Real Housewives of Atlanta, that is African American based, New Jersey also has a common cultural bond of Italian decent.  The current cast consists of; Caroline & Albert Manzo (parents of Albie(27), Lauren(25), & Christopher(24)), Teresa & Joe Giudice (parents of Gia(12), Gabriella(8), Milania(6), & Audriana(3)), Jacqueline & Chris Laurita (parents of Ashley(22) Chris's stepdaughter, C.J.(13), & Nicholas(4)), Melissa & Joe Gorga (parents of Antonia, Gino, & Joey), and Kathy & Richie Wakile (parents of Victoria(19) & Joseph(17)).  While I have little to say about some of the housewives franchise, the drama on RHONJ is much more relatable and the constant bashing of personalities and opinions seem quite black and white to me, so it's easy to pick a side.  I predict that I will have a lot to say in the next few months about the show, but lets dive into the premiere episode Garden State of Emergency (June 2, 2013) where there is already so much to address!   

Following last seasons tumultuous times, we begin Season 5 with the families in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  While all they really lost was electricity and their "second homes" suffered some severe damage they took pause to consider how lucky they are and we see both Caroline and Teresa giving back to their communities. 

Being a fan from the beginning, when Teresa's brother Joe Gorga (not to be confused with her husband Joe Giudice) and his wife Melissa joined the cast, I became an instant Gorga hater out of loyalty.  However as last season progressed I was on the fence a bit, and it seemed Melissa might not be as bad as I thought.  This episode pushed me right back over the fence.  Both the Giudices and the Gorgas refuse to accept any fault in their family's situation and it seems like the reason they don't get along is because they are a lot more alike then either one of them is willing to admit.  It is not until their young daughters reach out to one another with "I miss you" letters and phone calls that they even begin to try to set up a playdate...and who knew it would be so difficult!  I have to admit, I understand.  Neither Teresa nor Melissa wants to leave their child with the other and they don't really want to see each other either so it becomes a text battle between the two in order to decide if Melissa will take them out, or if she will drop her daughter off at Teresa's home.   Finally, thanks to Teresa's eldest daughter Gia(11) it is decided that they will meet, all 4 of them, at a neutral zone so their daughters can play.  Throughout this playtime, the different parenting styles emerge as the kids engage in an arts & crafts bracelet making session.  Teresa just wants the kids to spend time together and have fun, while Melissa is so overbearing instructing the kids on how to make the bracelets, which beads to pick and even what colors and patterns are acceptable.  I have a 6 year old daughter and I have to say I am on Teresa's side - just let them play!  Another issue comes up as it turns out they have both scheduled their children's communions and parties on the same day.  Melissa is quite the bitch and takes the so what, I don't care, it is what it is side of things.  Teresa, concerned about her parents and probably other family members they share having to juggle both parties and make a choice on which grandchild's communion they will attend, offers to try to move her daughter's party to a different day.  I applaud her for this, but she didn't need to point out that she was being the "bigger person", I mean if you need to say it...  Melissa's true colors shine in this episode and all the feelings I had about her from the start became crystal clear.  She even talked about, in her one person interview, that Teresa refused to acknowledge the elephant in the room (which I have to say after watching all the housewife drama I am sick of that phrase) and say sorry.  I think that Melissa has just as much if not more to be sorry for, claiming she was going to move just so her kids wouldn't go to the same school as Teresa's, and it is ridiculous for her to keep sitting on some perched stool above it all like she hasn't done anything wrong.  Teresa on the other hand says she doesn't want to be fake and pretend everything is alright and she does just that.  Kudos!

We have a small storyline about Kathy and her sister's lesbian dating and a little bit about Jacqueline and her struggle with her son and his autism.  It was hard to watch the 3 year old having such a hard time communicating when I hear my 2 year old running around telling anyone who will listen exactly what she wants.  I am blessed for what I have and I am impressed with Jacqueline's patience and endurance with her son.  Jacqueline states that she is done with the Gorga/Giudice drama and it is on her priority list next to bleaching her asshole.  Kathy talks a bit about how she needs to speak her feelings from the start and not hold onto them until her mouth gets her into trouble. 

Apart from all that there is a little bit of Caroline thrown into the mix as she shows the Gorgas her new apartment.  With all of her kids grown and out of the house, Caroline and her husband Albert are considering downsizing.  While Joe Gorga makes a fun comment regarding how the Manzos are like kids again, moving out of the house and into an apartment, Melissa yet again seems to ruffle some feathers commenting on how Caroline is just chasing after her boys who also got an apartment in Hoboken a few years back.  Caroline makes a comment about people who think this in her one person interview, she called them stupid.  She also reaches out to Joe Gorga personally, which pisses Melissa off (sigh) commenting that Caroline should mind her own business, to encourage him to make nice with his sister or to at least not let it interfere with the kids.  We have seen the many ups and downs of the Manzos in previous seasons and with something like 10 siblings she has quite a bit of experience when it comes to these family feuds.

So the drama is back in play and we have a few frontrunners right out of the gate.  While Teresa and Caroline start the season off well, with good and seemingly honest intentions to make things better, Jacqueline and Kathy are neutral as usual, trailing behind we have Joe Gorga who isn't ready to make nice with the family and his wife Melissa being a bitch at every turn.  We will see how the story unfolds in the coming weeks!