Tahitigirl

Regarding Josie's seizure, it occurred to me that not only did Michelle and JB not come home right away but the presence of the camera crew indicates they were filming without the parents there. I would have expected control freak JB to be there whenever the cameras were filming.

I've seen this in every model home I've toured for the past twenty years. This is not unique to Joanna Gaines.

No kidding! It was a far cry from Jessa Dugger's broom closet courtship!

I generally like (or at least appreciate) their renovations but there were several things that bugged me about this one. First, I would never live in a house where you have to walk from the living room through the kitchen to get to the dining room. I don't want my guests to see my cooking mess as they're walking to the table. Secondly, the stove was butted up against the sink. In my city, building codes require at least 12" of counter between appliances. I did like the trellis and the light purple siding didn't bother me until I saw the neon purple porch paint. The upstairs master was lovely. Overall I like their transformations but the lack of emphasis on safety during demo really bugs. They unnecessarily damage things, injure themselves (remember the huge gash in someone's arm?), often don't use eye protection or dust masks. I don't know if it's all to show off for the cameras but it annoys me.

This episode is brought to you by the words "ain't" and "like." Joy's grammar had me cringing throughout the entire first half. Maybe Austin thinks it's charming but it would drive me batty. I could not live with that on a daily basis.

I watch this show because I live in the southwest where we have the Mediterranean style stucco houses like they show in Vegas. Even though I love the houses in other areas of the country and would love to have a big farm house, that's not feasible here. I want to get ideas for what I could do with the style of house I have. However, I have yet to see anything in this show that I'd like to incorporate into my own home except for maybe the bathrooms. That said, WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PUTS THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM IN THE LIVING ROOM? You could see the toilet from the front door! I would never buy that house for that reason alone. No guest would ever feel comfortable using it with you sitting mere feet away, able to hear every tinkle. I could see some 6-year-old child swinging the door open (no lock on a barn door) while someone is in there, revealing Aunt Edith on the throne in all her glory. Put the washer and dryer in the garage, take out the closet and weird, small hallway and enlarge the guest bath with the door opening to the side instead of into the living room. In her defense, they did mention that the house was 1000 square feet. My first house was 1200 square feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, and we thought it was tiny. Our bedrooms were 10x13' (2 of them) and 10x10'. The master bath was so tiny that if I touched one wall with my fingertips, my other hand was halfway into the shower, with the wall-mounted sink directly in front of me. So yes, the house shown was small. But not small enough to warrant having the bathroom open into the living room!

A few miscellaneous thoughts... Re: Taylor, I can't remember him mentioning a wife but in the episode when Kirk was the mail carrier and mixed up all the mail, Babette said something at a town meeting about getting Taylor's girlie magazines. As for Michel, Rory made a comment in a very early episode about him, "I'll tell all the ladies what a stud you are," or something to that effect. His response was, "I believe that message has already been sent." In later seasons reference was made to him dating but nothing was mentioned about the person/people he dated. I thought there was a trailer showing Rory with Michelle Obama and there was speculation that she had a White House position after the campaign. But that clip wasn't even in the show. What's up with that? Sookie was a disappointment to me. The personality just wasn't the same. Kelly Bishop slipped back into her role with the least awkwardness, in my opinion. She rocked it the entire time. Even Lauren Graham seemed to try too hard at times. As far as character development and life circumstances are concerned, it really seemed like this should have taken place 4-5 years after Season 7, not ten. Overall, though, I'm glad they did it and I'm glad I watched.

Sue would annoy me on occasion as well. She seemed like a caricature rather than a person. Then I watched the first two seasons (season one is from 2010) and completely changed my mind. She consistently showed great kindness to the contestants and exuded a warmth that I hadn't seen in the current seasons being aired. If you haven't watched those seasons, they're wonderful.

Didn't Caroline Kennedy used to introduce the show at the beginning? Or perhaps just a segment in the middle? Maybe I blinked, but I didn't see her. I always liked her being there. It was a symbol that this is more than your typical Hollywood awards show.

Her eyes look vacant to me in that photo. (The Page Six link)

My favorite part was when Ree was talking about how big Bryce was getting and "....before long he'll be feeding by himself." (Yes, she was referring to the cattle but it sounded so funny!)

In a nutshell, without getting too theological, the Bible promises that God will forgive us: I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness." That's how we know.

At one point Giada got all defensive about the crisp being Raffy's recipe (Raffy had been complaining, I believe, that Giada changes everything) but failed to mention using her substitution of arrow root (instead of Raffy's corn starch) because arrow root is "natural" and corn starch isn't. I loved that Raffy gave her a hard time about using jarred sauce. And that she complained about having to squeeze the lemons with her hands the way Giada does instead of with a lemon juicer like she does at home. Comedy gold...absolutely. But I always feel sorry for Raffy. Giada treats her so poorly. Is it me or has Giada gotten more manic lately? I've been thinking this for awhile now. Maybe it's because of the new opening that shows all of her teeth in every shot. It sets up the episode that way from the start.

Perhaps it was the Parisian theme, but she made me think of Quasimoto running around the bell tower.

Do people (other than Ree) really use sirloin for stroganoff? My mother always used a much less expensive cut of beef.

Jim Bob would be too worried about his hair getting messed up to allow a child on his shoulders.

She's a Fundy Kris Jenner!

I thought it was interesting that they were able to have their secret party planning session by pretending to have "movie night at Zachary and Whitney's." MOVIE night?! They watch movies?! They are definitely more normal (mainstream) than the Duggars.

So this Anna friend of Jessa's is a close enough friend that she's a bridesmaid (?) but she stated during this episode that this was the first time she really spent any time with Jessa and Ben together. Granted, I didn't have a bridal party of ten, but they all knew my fiancé very well and we had spent a lot of time together. So was Jessa simply aiming for a huge number of attendants or are they actually good friends? As for Anna flying solo with three children, well, she had the camera guy and probably a sound guy along as well. Not so alone. I doubt she had to wrangle those suitcases any further than the garage and that was just for show.

So it's been a few years, er, decades since high school government class, but since when does the president get to pick the vice-presidential successor in the case of a vacancy? I thought it automatically went to the Speaker of the House, a la Gerald Ford taking Spiro Agnew's spot when Agnew resigned.

Why wasn't Jill along when Jessa was trying on dresses? Too busy chauffeuring Derick?

Watching today's episode...why does she keep singing? Is she incapable of speaking without launching into song?

Are cheese grits cowboy approved?

I was married in 1988 and I went totally against tradition by having a tea-length dress. It took me forever to find one and even with multiple shopping excursions and visiting over 10 bridal shops in a large metropolitan city, there were only two options. Thank goodness I actually liked one of them. Remember, Princess Diana was married in 1981 so the trend was still over the top gowns with trains almost as long as the church aisle. Because my dress was short, so were my bridesmaids'. I was determined that they be able to wear them again so they had simple cotton knee-length dresses with a touch of lace at the neck. I know for a fact that both girls wore them many times. But up until my wedding, I had never, ever been to a wedding where the maids' dresses weren't floor length. Back on topic: I find these designers disappointing. I, too, believe it's due to all of the one-day challenges. The first season I watched was Christian Siriano's win. (I had assumed from the title that it was a modeling show so didn't bother to watch.) I was fascinated watching the designers work. The detail they put into their designs was incredible. I miss those days. Now it's just a race against the clock and whose dress sucks the least.

Wow. I enjoy the show. Would I do everything exactly the way Nicole does? Probably not, but I enjoy seeing old homes revitalized. I live in a city where everything is new, well, no older than 50-60 years or so, so I have a deep love and appreciation for 100-year-old homes with character. But that little rant? Very disappointing.