ivygirl

I must have blipped out when they mentioned that Brawnwyn’s son was 14–I thought he was older. And unlike Kelly, I have no idea why, or reason to assume why, her son enjoys drag. I can’t say HE is doing it for attention—we’ve seen him for all of a couple minutes—but I think that Brawny is SHOWING us this to gain HER attention. I feel like we see very little of her kids unless we’re learning something somewhat attention-grabbing about them, like her daughter’s body-image issues or her/her kids’ food allergies. None of these things make me feel any particular way about the kids, but it does make me feel like she’s using her kids for screen time in a way more like Lisa Rinna versus, say, the other teens on RHOC, who tend to come off as... well, ii won’t say “well rounded,” but more dimensional.

I really want to like this show, but it’s battling itself. The premise is compelling, but we are getting too many layers here. The pacing feels off and every scene goes on way too long... I didn’t need that much of the kid talking to Iliza in order to understand that it was up to no good, and I didn’t need a server to mysteriously “walk off” in order to be creeped out. It feels like we’re going in circles and I find myself wondering how long it’s going to take until we get to a part that actually moves the plot forward, rather than just adding more complications.

This ep... typical episode 1 of a season, where we are catching up and there’s minimal excitement (except Braunwyn’s admission, of course). Still liking Shannon but not looking forward to the hysterics. After several seasons, I wish she’d been a teeeeeeeeny bit more self aware about how that comes off on camera. She does have a sense of ease with this new guy, and I do wish her well. The sooner we can leave David in the rear view mirror (or even further away), the better. Looking forward to the season because it’ll be interesting to see how things transition from pre-COVID to early COVID lockdown. It’s felt like one thing to watch the franchises that took place before shutdown, but for some reason I am intrigued to watch the changeover. I’m also glad it’s this franchise and not, say, BH—as much as I’d like to lock Rinna in a room by herself, I can’t imagine most of those people’s lives being as compelling as, say, a concerned Shannon and COVID.

Definitely some fun moments and some lame moments here. But was not impressed with Leah’s statement that she knows what she needs to do to get men to do her bidding via her looks or whatever. I thought she was suppose to be a #BossLady? I don’t pretend to be Ms Entrepreneur 2020 but I also wouldn’t use manipulative means to get what I want out of a man. Maybe she was kidding, I don’t know, but anyway I wasn’t impressed.

When Andy picked up those texts and started reading them, two ideas came to mind. One, either he’d seen them before and his studying them was for show OR it really WAS his first time seeing them—but either way, whatever was there, he was taking it seriously (or else he would have gotten after Ramona AGAIN); and two, they helped him make a decision about Dorinda’s fate. It irks me that he uses Ramona as a whipping post, but I’m guessing he also realizes that for all her superficial sorrys, she’s not as heinous as many of the housewives (even across franchises), and she wouldn’t produce “receipts” if she wasn’t concerned and/or aware that Dorinda would completely deny whatever Ramona had to say. I’d rather be one of Ramona’s fifty friends than even have ONE “cool” friend like Dorinda.

GOODBYE, RHOBH!

Completely! More wacky rich-people antics, fewer trashy gossip storylines that carry on for an entire season. And yes, those SMEG toasters are trendy items, and it was a great gift in that respect. When Rinna implied that Sutton was getting downgraded from a tiara to a toaster, I wanted to yell, “Rinna, call me when you get ANYTHING from Dolce gratis.”

Sutton’s birthday party was the best part of this. And I have food allergies, so I can relate with her talking head! I’m good with anything, just don’t surprise me with a walnut-crusted fish or pecan cake.

Is this the episode with all the leftover belly laughs and glamour? Lisa Rinna said there was a lot of belly laughs and glamour we didn’t see this season.

Exactly. I work with legitimately certified personal trainers (not that you’d know it by looking at me, LOL) and as they explain it, weight loss is a calorie-in, calorie-out deal. You need a certain number of calories for your body to function in a healthy way. Above what you need (based on what you burn daily) and you won’t lose weight; below, and your body rebels—your workout won’t even be as effective as you hope (for a bunch of metabolic reasons I’m not equipped to explain... but they can!). And your diet isn’t just about eating LESS, but eating WELL (which means primarily healthy food, with the occasional treat). The InBody (which Tamra had at CUT) is actually a very useful tool in this regard, when used by the right person. Plus: the people I work with are POSITIVE and encouraging, but don’t hesitate to get after you when you are off track, LOL. No shaming involved. Just multiple LEGIT certifications and good people skills. And kadooz to everyone here who has worked so hard, in a healthy way! GOODBYE, TEDDI!

I don’t know what it is, but I can’t help but be drawn to Ramona. She does many appalling things (everything from haughtiness, to glass-tossing, to gross negligence traveling around to Mar-a-Lago et al during COVID times... WHILE SICK)—NONE of which I excuse—but for some reason I find her “character” to be one of the more amusing across the franchises. Like one of those characters that novelists used to add into their books as the bad-example-comic-relief, who demonstrates the weaker aspects of human behavior. Ramonaland is an interesting place to visit, but I don’t wanna live there.

I was watching tv with my mom the other day and she said “Real housewives? We don’t need to watch that garbage.” I wish I would have listened to her. 🤣 Re the “2014” photo of Erika, it’s almost like they found footage from around the time she started filming the show, and dated it that way. I think her kid was already a cop when she started filming!

In response to Rinna’s “Are you insinuating I’m a bad friend?” I wish Denise had said “I’m not INSINUATING it, I’m SAYING it.” Because seriously, I can’t see any world in which a true friend acts anything like Rinna did toward Denise.

“I believe half of what I hear in life and all of what I see,” indeed...

Thank you! 🙂 Someone should edit her “CLIP! CLIP! CLIP!” together with that clip...

Fronting funds for Madame Paulette cleaning discounts on Coupon Cabin!

Ok, I can only go by what I saw—I believe they were there, but Bravo showed the home ones, hence my initial reaction.

Believe me, I’m not excusing Ramona. Those would have bothered me too. I’m referring to the ones Ramona filmed at home—Leah seemed to have a problem with those in addition to the less benign ones.

I watched early this morning and thought it appropriate that, while Dorinda was on one of her Deflect-athons, the garbage truck showed up and instead of hearing her tirade, I heard the dulcet sounds of the dump. Count me in with those who could have done without the ten minutes of COVID shaming. I get as upset at people misbehaving and taking stupid risks as anyone (and I live in a highly impacted area myself), but shaming Ramona for her silly in-house family videos—when so many others were doing the same thing—was completely over the top. COVID is a serious matter—but it’s also unhealthy to doomscroll and otherwise keep yourself in a completely negative mindset. I’m not a Pollyanna (you should hear the music I’ve been listening to), but I also think you need to focus on SOMETHING positive and fun or else your health goes down. Note I am not speaking of people grieving losses, or dealing with illness. Or even about taking this whole thing seriously and doing everything you can to soberly care for yourself, those you love, and by extension your community. Just that in general, as we try to cope, we need occasional encouragement as well as a little fun and distraction. And speaking of shaming... Wow. Dorinda. Admittedly I used to find some of her antics funny, but season by season she’s gotten worse, and this season she was SO horrible. If Tinsley was like “a mint in her mouth” or whatever, she must have been an Altoid because apparently that mint really overpowered her. And did nothing to clean up her foul mouth. I also caught LuAnn’s comment about Leah being “younger, but a mom like us.” Another dig at Tinsley and Carole? She could have also said “younger, but she has a mug shot like I do.” I’m also kind of over the dissection of why people choose to get married. None of them actually care about Tinsley, so why make a fuss over her being with Scott? I mean I have my assumptions about why they do, but it just looks petty. The berating of Denise about whatever she did or didn’t do with Brandi is worse, but both are equally tiresome. I will say, I like that they did this in person rather than Zoom style. And I agree with whoever mentioned the rugs! What a weird arrangement. They spent all that time decorating the set; surely they could have found a more elegant solution than what they produced. On a completely separate note, My sincerest condolences, @thesupremediva1.

I’ve been reading since last night, but just watched now. OOF. Especially in comparison to the clips of the upcoming NY reunion. First off, just would like to show appreciation for Garcelle. Perfect? No, but who is on these shows? That’s why we watch! I would MUCH rather watch her ask nosy and uncomfortable questions than listen to Rinna screech about gaslighting in her dry wig. And that picture of her as a young model threw me right back to the 80s! So adorable. Then she goes and wears Asa’s jewelry to the reunion. She’s herself... ...as I think Sutton is. She is a weird mix of social graces and bull-in-a-china-shop honesty. Her couture style is bonkers, but she looks good in her interviews and on the reunion. I like her “character,” too. I mean YIKES I wouldn’t love being called boring at a dinner party, but it makes for entertaining TV. Certainly less rough than the garbage Rinna spews on the show and in social media. Both Garcelle and Sutton have clay feet, but they’re the kind of fun I originally enjoyed about these shows, prior to the scams, cheating spouses, felonies, dog-dumping, etc. I can completely buy this...Methinks Dorit has had to be a chameleon to make her way through society. She recognizes that this show is part of her cachet (be that as it may), and using her “sixth sense” to navigate the court of public opinion seems pretty on par with who she’s shown herself to be. But her treatment of Sutton was weird. You’ve all covered the rest... What angered me, angered many of you. I mean, the whole thing with Denise... I don’t get why they got so up in arms about ANY of it. She’s in her rights to ask people not to talk about stuff around her kids, AND, no matter what I PERSONALLY think about anything she may or may not have done with Brandi, again, I don’t know why these particular women were so compelled to make some giant deal out of her “lies.” Rinna is gross, and Erika can’t handle ANY kind of criticism. I don’t understand how Rinna can spew the garbage she says on social media and then try to make it that others are trying to manipulate or harm others with their words, or like “vile” tweets. OH NO THE FANS HAVE COME AT US. Waaaahhhhhh. You earned it, now “own it.”

That’s my understanding, too—and Earth Mother is the term I thought of as well. Living in the Bay Area I see tons of “granola” types, and it’s not defined by age, it’s more of a thing that’s marked by style, lifestyle choices, even hobbies, etc. I’m sure some use it as an insult—but it’s not necessarily one. I don’t use it as one. And maybe connotations vary regionally. I kinda liked Leah’s mom. More than I’ve enjoyed Leah.

Dorinda, how long have you lived in NYC that you say “Hip-HOP”? You sound like you just happened to click on Yo! MTV Raps for the first time. Im always off and on with LuAnn. This season I’ve found her completely annoying (the whole “I’ve had her phone number... but it wasn’t 212” thing... Peak Countess right there), but I did chuckle at her response to Ramona’s list of criticisms of Elyse. “There you go! That’s a list.” I think I might have responded the same way 🤣 Also considering the chat here tonight, got a laugh out of Ramona saying she could be a stylist. And speaking of Moaner, I did get a kick out of her interaction with Leah’s mom. Peak Ramona and probably the most natural she’s been all season. 🤣

Rinna made me physically ill during that last scene with Denise.

I feel bad that Garcelle was made to feel badly—it is rude for Denise to blow someone off like that—but I also feel bad that she feels bad over what is clearly producer manipulation. Again, I don’t think that it was cool for Denise to do that—twice—but I wonder if she was just trying to keep her tracks as covered as possible, or maybe just keep as tight a rein on her situation as possible... more about Denise than Garcelle. Anyway I think Garcelle is too normal-person-honest for this group. The sour irony of Rinna “schooling” Garcelle and Dorit on how awful Denice is. 🙄 I liked Dorit’s look at the Emotionally Unavailable bar. The designer name all over her clothes was much more subtle, LOL. And she looked relaxed but cozy. Her new house also feels more relaxed and comfortable, even though it’s all white and stylish. Huh. That Bowie artwork was kinda cool, too. This show was good training! LOL I think she’s a nice-looking woman! And ironically, that TH is the best I’ve seen her look all season. The worst? The bizarro sacred-heart doily dress. Sorry, Sutton, I don’t know if it protected you in that situation (maybe it did, you didn’t come off as poorly as Rinna 🤣).

Geez those clothes were not flattering. Is Century 21 like Forever 21? I’m only familiar with it thanks to The Carrie Diaries. In fact something was really off with how they were lit in this evening’s episode. Even LuAnn, who usually looks amazing, reminded me of Samantha in SATC after the extreme peel (or whatever it was). And was that Tito’s they were lugging into the party? First time I’ve seen that logo blurred on any Bravo show. Are they finally embarrassed to be associated with these shows?