ivygirl

And there was Scheana again. "I don't eat this." "I don't eat that." "Ew." Etcetera, etc., etc. So I stand by my opinion from last week: Don't want to drink? Fine. Don't want to eat? Fine. Say it graciously, and don't whine or make a big deal about it. Yet that isn't possible for Scheana, who--from season one--has chosen to take a fairly minor or common situation and squeeze as much drama out of it as she could.

Oh no. They're totally doing the episode crossover again. The last time this worked, I think Mork was fighting the Fonz. Hi, Tom!

It takes time to be the kind of assistant who can anticipate someone else's needs. Molly doesn't seem horrible; she's just green, and, as noted above, does well when tasks are clearly defined. In time she'll probably be fine at something she decides to do (e.g. If she likes kids, doing something with kids), and when she's not under the stress of working with someone as mercurial and pushy as Stella. Stella, OTOH, is a bad manager (contrary to her own opinion). On top of losing track of basic details important to her client's job, she doesn't know how to truly manage relationships. She has soured her relationship with those caterers, she can't do anything except berate Danielle and put her down, and she has no idea how to (or is flat out unwilling to) get Molly to a place where she'll be successful in her role. You can't expect an assistant to magically know what he or she is doing--especially if your attitude is "don't speak to me unless you're spoken to." You can't act like a pit bull and expect fantastic results.

Veuve is nice (and I like the rose) but it has a very distinctive flavor that you either like or don't. I confess that I still prefer California sparkling, Schramsberg being among my favorite. My suggestion is to get a couple splits (small bottles) and comparison test. Rough life but we can't all be Kyle and keep two full bottles of Veuve in the fridge at once ;) But I'm not too proud to admit that I love me some LVP sangria. LOL

For me, Kyle is rare (perhaps even singular) among RH of all cities and seasons in that her storylines have *improved*, as has my opinion of her (I saw RHOBH starting season 2 so I didn't see Camille's bad behavior until later). She seems genuinely happy, her nuclear family life seems genuinely happy, and she's got an adorable potato-stealing dog. She used to really grate on my nerves (mostly because she often read as smug to me), but now she seems the most relatable. I think it also helped that I read House of Hilton and it gave me some sympathy--and appreciation--for her due to her upbringing. I thought it was cute that she brought them all lunch and was curious where she got it from. I would've taken her for a Lemonade gal but that looked like another similar healthy casual place. Any SoCal denizens recognize the packaging?

Hold it there youngun ;) Not QUITE 40 years ago. Early-mid 80's were his prime years. I think he's probably pretty well known to a big swath of people who watch this show; but I would agree that she brings him up maaaayyybe a bit too much. Still, at least it's not like she's bragging about knowing Feargal Sharkey or the drummer from Haircut 100.

I can take or leave Erika, and I don't really care for Kenya, but judging by their appearance together on WWHL, if they co-starred in a show about two glamorous detectives who solved crimes while stirring the pot among loosely connected groups of friends in Beverly Hills, I would totally watch. They could call it Petty Crime.

Lisar: Farrah Fawcett's hair was also iconic, but it was left behind in the 70's. Simply because something is iconic, doesn't mean it will *never* look dated. It looks good on her, but a little bit of an update wouldn't hurt. Also: squint a little and Eden looks like Brandi!

In earlier seasons, Ariana is insufferable (and talks about how intelligent she is, so she'd agree with you). She even makes you feel sympathy for Kristen at some points. Aside from Scheana and her escapades with Eddie, I'm not sure the others acted like Lala in their younger years. The way she's introduced in an earlier season, she seems kinda shady in a way the others aren't. She also taunts the other girls and hits on their men, and then cries about how other women are so mean and that's why she gets along better with guys. That's my read on it, based on a vibe I get. Others' MMV. I thought they were going to tell us that Arthur was James' sober buddy/accountability dude. Stassi's quote was technically more along the lines of "there are better ways of turning down a shot than telling me I'll be hung over in the morning." It's all in Scheana's presentation. She doesn't have her special straw. Ew, green tea shots. Ew, I can't do this because I have bad college flashbacks. So maybe a simple "I'll pass" would have been less effective, but perhaps if she hadn't been so typically dramatic and told them, off camera, "look, I'm under doctors' orders to keep it one drink a day" or "I'm on meds, and I can't drink much, so chill with the forced drinking, at least for me," it would've been less... annoying--even if a slight fib. It may not have stopped Stassi's comments, but it would have given them less fuel.

And Scheana's whiny pickiness about drinking didn't help, either. Stassi had a point: if Scheana was just mellow and said "nah thanks, I'll pass," she wouldn't be as much of a buzzkill. I mean I'm sure they would have still rolled their eyes at her, but at least she would've been a little less... annoying. Besides, in my experience, if you're around big drinkers and don't want to drink or just want to keep it to one, staying quiet and not shouting "NOT ME I NEED MY SPECIAL STRAW AND MY SPECIAL BOOZE BECAUSE I CAN'T DRINK," you're just attracting their attention even more.

Totally disgusting but I think they may have gotten the idea from the movie Sideways. Intellectual Ariana has surely seen it, as she takes comedy so seriously. The lowest bar for me was Schwartz declaring he detected a semen aftertaste *while the winery guy was still there.* I'm sure that folks in Sonoma are used to drunken clods, but that was so vulgar to me... and I usually like Schwartz. I wouldn't have put it past Brandi, however.

Lisa needs one of those cheesy "panty patrol" tshirts. Geez. She's like the underwear detective. The trips were part disgusting, part hilarious. I was so sad for Cline. It's one of the most laid back, friendly wineries (with good wine!) in Sonoma, and it STILL was too elegant for these clods. However I was very humored by Kristen. She seriously has stopped caring and it's funny. "They're all bad memories but I do it anyway." I don't think getting stupid drunk is all that funny, but it seemed like Kristen said it just to get Scheana's goat. Flashback to "we're getting bulldozers." <3

It's been my experience that the people who constantly act perky and pronounce everything as wonderful! and amazing! and sooooo fun! are the first to get equally (if not more) nasty if they think you've insulted or crossed them. (I'm not talking about generally happy or funny or easygoing people--I'm talking about people with personalities like Erin's. For example, if that had happened to Jason he probably would have made some kind of corny joke and laughed at himself; by contrast, if Erin made the "elf boot" stocking and the judges kinda called her on it, she would've gone DEFCON 1 right then and there.)

Aren't managers supposed to be on top of tiny details like TIMING? Stella's main job seems to be to talk about how tough and awesome she is, and she seems to be so distracted by her personal agenda that she can't keep track of a literal agenda for her client. Mariah said "Take the blame, apologize, and keep it moving" = seems to be par for the course with Mariah. Stuff happens, and whoever she blames in private, she seems to truly follow that philosophy... at least publicly. Unfortunately, her diva rep gives people reason to assume the worst.

That reminds me of the atrocious "Daick! Daick! D-D-Daick the halls with boughs of holly! Fa-la-la-la-Daick!" jingle that plays during one of the car ads this season. So effective I can't remember which make!

Lol! I think it's probably fine to toss the tea towel after it was used to pick up the cat barf/mop up the Pinot Noir/clean the mildew off your shower curtain or door. Then it can get "lost during a move" or "put away in a special place" that you can't for the life of you remember, if you need to explain.

Whoever compared Dorit to Brittany Murphy was spot on. Now I can't unsee it, and I keep wondering when she'll ask to hear "Rollin' With the Homies" one more time.

- Tea towels: If I were to go through with this idea (not for a wedding, but perhaps a shower or, I don't know, a tea party?) I would've purchased white ones and ironed on a more minimalist design. The iron-on stuff isn't cheap but I'm sure it's cheaper than $18 a pop... They are really good for drying dishes as the texture can be soft enough to not hurt/scratch glass, but not plush like a terry towel (so they aren't as linty and don't get soggy as quickly). - I LOL'ed at James' comment about the bar being between the famous Whisky and Roxy. "At some point in their careers, Jimmy Page, Vince Neil, and The Doors all WALKED BY this place!" - My theory is that Lala, who's "too good for commercial" planes, freaked out about the flight and either drives up, or gets on Mystery Date's private jet. That or yeah, this is her last stand. As MattDuffysCat noted, a lot of Northern California places don't have central air because it's only needed like one or two days a year. (And that's when all the fans, which otherwise sit forlornly on the summer aisles of Target, all get sold, LOL). And along the central coast, central air="open the window" because the air current off the ocean will come in. ;)

Both Stassi's mom and Scheana's mom remind me of Amy Poehler's "cool mom" character from Mean Girls... which, come to think of it, is kinda fitting...

Is this tea towel discussion going to be the hottest topic this week?

Nickolai was the best part of this episode. Well, that and DJ Applebee's getting shut down by Lisa. I suppose they felt it was ok to show a boring episode right after a holiday. Bring on next week, I guess? ETA I didn't think those were too large to be tea towels. I've seen them that large.

Catching up on this forum. Just watched the last episode and Nancy pushed me over the edge. She was so obviously in Jason's corner, and so obviously picking at the other two, that it bugged me to the point of posting, LOL. Granted, my dislike and irritation with her has been around since I first saw her on Farmhouse Rules, so this isn't new; but I would SO love to see her dumped. It won't happen, but a girl can dream. In the spirit of the show, I'll call it my Christmas wish ;) I really liked Shawn (sp?). I think all the "It's Caribbean, that's why it was different!" was producer prompted. I was, however, disappointed by his execution of the "snowman family" theme--that could've been super cute... alas, his was more like "giant misunderstood snowman lives alone on scary mountain and just wants love for Christmas." And I see I'm pretty alone on my... non-fandom for Jason. I just didn't enjoy him. The "eye-talian" bit got to me; I know it's a regionalism but they were playing it up. I'm sure when we see him again he'll be dialing it up to eleventy hundred in true Food Network fashion--especially when he's put next to Miss "Oh Shnickens!" Erin. (But let's see him say "Eye-talian" to Giada, LOL.)

Scheana: "you all have the same opinions." Stassi and Katie (in unison): "NO WE DON'T!!!"

Raise your hand if you didn't miss James this episode! It's so transparent that the only reason Scheana cares about either of these trips is because if she doesn't go, she wont be filmed.

Yes indeedy! The person who posted the Top of the Pops retrospective even used LVP's image as the thumbnail! I totally remember that video but wouldn't have remembered it was her...