absolutelyido

First episode of S2: When I saw Sarah and Bryan Baeumler were the judges I knew Allison's team would win because their kitchen had no color. Both of the other teams had green cabinets, and there's no way Sarah would go for that. She rarely uses any color in her designs. White/beige/black/wood, that's her aesthetic.

The only person I would tune into every night in place of Rachel is Nicole Wallace, but I doubt she'd want to give up her 2 hours from 4-6 EST for Rachel's 9PM slot 4 days a week. I like Ali Velshi, but I see him as more of a reporter than a political analyst/commentator like Rachel is. I think Ari Melber is quite good, but haven't watched him enough to know if he could (partially) fill Rachel's shoes.

I agree with everyone that Mike and Egypt deserved the win. But, I was glad that Keith and Evan got some well-deserved kudos. The judges loved their backyard, and so did I. Brian said it was his favorite backyard. I also thought the mural that Keith painted in the nursery was gorgeous!

It seems like Egypt & Mike added so much value by putting brick on the entire house, no matter what else they or any other team did didn't really matter; which kind of made the rest of the outdoor competition pointless. I actually didn't care for their whitewashed brick. It was blindingly white in the sun, and when the sun wasn't out it turned a flesh-color just like the pink Dave & Jenny were criticized for. Of all the backyards, the one I would want to hang out in was Keith & Evan's. They were the only one's who added any kind of shade structure. Their raised bed garden was practical vs. the Twins' living wall that you would have to use a ladder to reach. I think a fence was a must to keep kids and dogs out of the pond, but I'm surprised no one thought of either lowering the fence in the back (say 4 feet vs. 6 feet around the rest), and/or spacing out the boards to allow a view of the pond while still keeping kids and dogs in.

I was kind of looking forward to Jim and/or Mallorie seeing their old place redone, but it was the rare episode when neither of them were on the show. I thought for sure they'd play that up.

I thought it was hard to decide who should have won this week (FROG and loft) since Jenny & Dave did a laundry room and no one else did. Certainly everyone else will put in a laundry room, I believe even Leslie & Lindsey even said that the washer & driver they put in the master closet would be a secondary unit. So, how can you say Jenny & Dave did best when you can't compare to everyone else's laundry room? I liked Jenny & Dave's FROG the least. They specifically mentioned it could be used for grandparents, but that built in bed looked too small for two people, and the only way to get out of the upper bed was by stepping on the lower bed. Not great if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. For a short-term rental, I thought Keith and Evan's FROG was the best. It looked fun and cozy for few nights' stay, and they were the only one with a real bed and full kitchen. It was too many different colors for me to want to live in full-time, but for a few nights, sign me up! I thought Egypt and Mike's FROG was the most functional, I liked how the desk could also be used as a dining table, if guests were staying there. I loved the pegboard wall in Leslie & Lindsay's loft, although I would have painted it the same color as the walls so it would blend in better.

I think this week's competition was pretty much over when Egypt & Mike connected the garage to the house. I'm not a real estate expert, but I think being able to say that they have an attached, instead of detached, garage is huge in adding value. I wish they had found a way to tuck the powder room around the corner where they put the mud room. I just hate when a bathroom is so close to a public space that it seems like everyone can hear you peeing and flushing. If they had swapped the location of the mud room and powder room, they could have moved the mud room entrance into the entry way instead of the living/dining area--where the powder door was. (I think Dave & Jenny put their powder room in the same spot as Egypt & Mike.) I actually normally like Unsellable Houses, but the twins aren't impressing me at all so far. They seem too focused on design, and not on adding any function or square footage. (I don't particularly think the tiny wet bar area added much function.) I liked Dave & Jenny's design, they came in second for me. The Detroit boys are out of their league.

I'm not usually a fan of Jenny Mars' designs, I think she does some dumb stuff**, but I agree that they had the best kitchen design. Turning the island to face the sliding doors was a must, IMO. It made the kitchen feel so much larger, and will give the family room a direct connection to the kitchen rather than having to walk through the dining area. The Mars were also the only ones to connect the pantry directly to the kitchen. Having to walk all the way around to the pantry like in Mike & Egypt's design is a non-starter for me; it could be a general storage closet, but not a pantry so far from the kitchen. **One time the Mars hid a secret stairway to the basement within a kitchen island. It led to some kind of wine tasting cellar for entertaining or something, I can't remember exactly. But you had to open up the island to get to the stairs, making the island unusable. How does that make sense for entertaining?

Looks like Kody couldn't be bothered to drive down and see his daughter who lives on the other side of the country. He's been pictured in the past few weeks in a restaurant and a shopping mall with Robyn (on separate occasions) so its not like they are still in quarantine.

I was thrilled to see Ryan on the race, just to see that he seems to be happy and thriving. For those who are interested, there is a Netflix documentary of his story called Dream Killer. What happened to him could have easily crushed him, so I'm glad to see his resiliency.

For people like Lexi, Morgan and Gabi, I think their career aspiration is social media influencer, which I actually think they can make a pretty decent income from (at least for a while). I just finished watching S2, and I absolutely hated the way they edited the Daytona routines. How is it possible that I invested several hours in watching teams prepare for Daytona, and I feel like I never actually got to see their performances? They way they would focus in on a few people at a time, and cut to the audience frequently, I didn't really get a sense of the full performances. I had to go and watch them on youtube. After I did, it became more apparent why TVCC won. Their program seemed to flow better and their stunts looked harder to me.

My guess is that if Kody took significant amounts of time to connect virtually with his kids, Robyn would be all, "Kody we need your attention", "Kody get off the computer Ari & Sol need you". You know she would have complained about not having his undivided attention. From Gabe's talking head, it sounds like he tried to reach out to Kody to connect with him but Kody never really made the effort. Please, please, please let their be a multi-part reunion episode at the end of this season. I want them to show Gabe crying because his father won't make the effort to spend time with him, and Ysabel calling for her father as she is coming out of anesthesia, then Robyn saying how Kody can't be away from Ari for too long because she cries when Kody leaves. Then ask Kody and Robyn why only Ari's tears matter and not Gabe and Ysabels.

They really have. She seems to have a knack for being on the forefront of the next thing. I mean, I had never even heard of shiplap before she starting doing it and then it was everywhere. With more people working from home during Covid, open floor plans aren't working as well as they have in the past. In both of the first two episodes of Welcome Home, she separated the office with a large wall of windows, still keeping an open view, but more quiet when needed. Very clever, and both window walls were gorgeous. Also, neither of the kitchens were white, so she has moved on from that as well. The only trend that has been around for a while that she is still following is brass/gold fixtures which I hate. I wish she would lead the way out of that trend!

Also, it's actually dangerous to sit that close. If the airbag went off it could do serious damage to her face.

Is Robyn cutting Ariella's hair because of Covid? Ariella has the world's worst mullet.

From the very beginning, Kody could have said, "I will be out at Coyote Pass every Sunday, everyone who can make it come out and hang out with me". I have literally never entertained as many different groups of friends in my backyard as I did in 2020. It was easy to get take out from a local restaurant, and set up chairs 6 feet apart. It wasn't that hard. Kody made no effort to spend time with his older children.

Even before that, I think back to when Kody revealed that he had gone with Robyn to pick out a wedding dress, after telling the other wives that Kody wasn't going to see her dress before the wedding. Robyn said that she didn't think that was something they needed to tell the other wives. She even took the other wives dress shopping, as if she hadn't already picked out a dress. I thought it shady at the time, but given how things have turned out, it really foreshadowed how Robyn was setting up her and Kody as a couple kind of against the other wives, and to keep secrets from the other wives. She was a liar and manipulator from the beginning.

In the time Meri spent putting up all her Christmas tchotche's throughout the inn, she could have taken down the wallpaper in the living room and painted it. Also, I wonder if she has looked under all the very dated carpet to see the condition of the floors. Given the age of the house I would think there would be hardwoods at least in the main living areas. Even if not in perfect condition, ripping out the carpet and exposing wood floors could be a huge improvement.

Since My Sister Wives' Closet is long dead, I'd like to propose a new title for this thread. Robyn Brown: What does the nanny do?

I wonder if they are jeggings (leggings meant to look like jeans). It seems like jeggings would be more likely to have the seams go sideways than regular jeans.

Unfortunately for Meri, Kody's already got Janelle for a quiet break from Robyn's. I think that's why Kody and Janelle seem to get along pretty well. I'd bet that Kody's night at Janelle's house involves sitting in a couple of recliners watching TV, and that works fine for both of them. I don't think Janelle asks for much from Kody, other than friendship, and Kody enjoys the quiet time away from demanding Robyn.

Why are Brett and her friend sitting on those filthy chairs? Gross! I think Johnny was very unhappy when Bao said she was sticking with their marriage. I feel like he wants to make her so miserable that she quits so he can be the good guy and Bao the quitter.

I felt sorry for the neighbors who had to live next door to that tower. I think the only situation where those big folding doors would be practical is between the house and a screened porch that would keep the bugs and critters out.

I don't get that either and I've seen it on several remodel shows. I could maybe see for food, as most dogs generally eat all their food as soon as it's served, but isn't it best for a dogs health for it to have access to water all day? I have cats, and would never imagine not having water available for them all the time.

I can't figure out what her deal is. She's so proud of being persnickety. I'm wonder if she thinks it makes her seem refined or high-class. She's proud of being the picky whiner like Jake was proud of being the 80's guy.