CruiseDiva

Cobb, no doubt those little bonus scenes that they add make them "new" but I didn't watch them as soon as I realized I'd already seen the shows. Did you get the finale from HGTV?

Not sure what happened, but my DVR recorded two "new" episodes last night. Those two were actually reruns that were labeled new. The finale, which would have been new didn't record. I found it On Demand, but it's not available from HGTV--only Discovery+. I'm not going to pay to watch Allison Victoria paint things black. I wonder what's up with HGTV/Discovery+. My cable is Comcast... did anyone else have this happen?

Yikes! When we lived in El Paso, TX my stepfather was leaving for work one morning and there was a rattlesnake on the hood of his car. He pulled out of the carport and used a broom to get it on the ground. Then he shot it. 🤣 Fun times!

Thanks for clarifying your comment! I had never watched AGT before so wasn't aware of the format or even certain that viewers' votes actually count. After seeing Drake on stage as a 9-year old and knowing how many contests he won as a young Elvis Tribute Artist, it's rewarding as a long time 74-year old "fan girl" to see how far he's come in his career. 😍

I met Drake and his mom on The Elvis Cruise in 2007 when Drake was only 9 years old and have followed his musical journey since then. He primarily performed Elvis' early music as a tribute artist and played the part of Elvis in the TV show Sun Records. His goal to become a country singer-songwriter is now becoming a reality. Folks, he's the real deal--very talented and charming. Not at all a spoiled young man who's been given opportunities on a silver platter. He's a hard working pro who's making it on his own in the very competitive country music industry.

In the earliest shows, like when they were building their lake house, they had an architect and designer. The designer quit the job when Sarah continuously butted in and made changes without consulting her or the architect. Sarah isn't a trained designer. She's an amateur that I consider an "influencer" more than anything. Or maybe she could be considered an interior decorator. She has no formal design training and it shows in the way she is constantly making changes to correct her mistakes.

As I watched the show last night I wanted to strangle Sarah. She is the most arrogant, annoying, and entitled "designer" on HGTV. I've always enjoyed Bryan's projects. He's a straight up guy with a solid work ethic. He's already in over his head with work to be done at the resort and the house they are rebuilding in Florida, so Sarah rents a huge empty space in a commercial building for her office and expects him to build it out for her. She says she needs it to expand her business and her "brand." Amid all this, their rental house is only available for a short time and the preview for next week shows Bryan with a snowbird-style RV. This show is really jumping the shark. 🤣 I googled Sarah's website and apparently her business model is to offer overpriced products for sale.

When I remodeled my master bathroom I had the ceiling light fixture changed to pot lights and replaced the exhaust fan. As a result of having electric work done, the contractor had to add hard-wired smoke detectors in all bedrooms and a couple other places to bring the house up to current code. In my area a homeowner has to have those code upgrades when selling a house.

One of my stepson's girlfriends worked for a non-profit and made over $150K a year. She also traveled a lot for her job--always first class air ad luxury hotels. When government grants ran out and the funding dried up the non-profit shut down and she was out of a job.

When we bought our home 34 years ago it didn't have porch railings so we had wrought iron railings installed. My husband even put "grab bars" on the garage walls by the three steps into the house. Back in 1988 our local building codes didn't require railings. That's changed and now they must be installed by code on entry stairs. Even porches must have railings if they are a certain height from the ground. Apparently the Detroit area that the Bargain Block guys are working in doesn't require railings. 🙁

Property taxes will also rise making it unaffordable for some long time homeowners.

HGTV is now billing Allison as their "superstar" LOL!!! 🤣 She's all over the place. Maybe they are trying to catch her up with the Property Bros, who also seem to be everywhere on the HGTV schedule. That Rock House will never be the final choice. The new foundation (for the floors laid right on dirt!) will exceed the renovation budget.

The house we bought in Baton Rouge in 1982 was built in the late 60s. Appliances were all original, except for the dishwasher and were that coppertone color. The fridge died shortly after we moved in so we replaced everything with almond appliances, which were all the rage at the time. Thankfully I could get a panel in almond to slide into the fairly new dishwasher door. When we moved in 1987 our builder here had already put in almond appliances, but when I had to replace them one by one over the years I couldn't get almond to match what I had so I went with black. The almond fridge that I bought in 2001 was the last of its kind. 🤣

I just replaced my 21 year old almond colored side-by-side fridge. It was difficult to find a new side-by-side fridge that would fit beneath the cabinet that's above the refrigerator because my house was built in 1987 and refrigerators weren't as tall then. My friend's husband, who is a custom cabinet maker, said he couldn't cut the upper cabinet down enough for a taller fridge. What to do? I'm a widow and don't need the latest and greatest appliances. I bought a smaller fridge with the freezer on top. Black, to match the other appliances I've replaced over the years and no ice maker. It works for me nd I was happy that a local appliance store had it in stock. It would have taken 2 months to get from a big box store. What I was told is that black appliances are hard to find... they are going out of style. I'm very happy with my new fridge (and ice cube trays). 🤣 House Hunters would shrink in horror!

It seems that the popularity of granite has given way to quartz countertops. SS appliances are still in demand, as are hardwood floors. However, a newly popular flooring option is Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) that mimics the look of hardwood and is water and scratch resistant. I actually have that type of tile in my kitchen, but mine looks like stone, not wood. The house next door to me was just flipped and remodeled with LVT flooring in a greyish wood looking finish that I think looks cheap. And, yes, it's much less expensive than real wood and engineered wood flooring so flippers use it a lot.

I usually like her work, but last night's master bedroom looked "off" to me. The "board & batten" on 3/4 of the height of the walls was very attractive and the trim on the doors was really an upgrade to plain flat doors. However, the tall, tall headboard was totally out of proportion relative to the height of the board & batten.

I've really tried to like this show since it first aired and do catch it now and then. The turn off for me is the ridiculousness of the childish men on the crew. I guess Mina and Karen put up with it because they are family, but after their antics on TV I doubt that anyone else would hire them in the future.

Bingo! I have a neighbor with an over-improved house that just went on the market with an asking price of $699K, more than $300K over the home two houses away that just sold for $385K. Granted, the lower priced house isn't as large, but it will be interesting to see if the high priced house sells and what they get for some pretty personalized renovations and additions. Also interesting, the two house I just mentioned were built in 1986-87 and originally sold for about $150-160K. 😊

The ship bed was a good idea, but poorly executed. I was impressed that they named it for a historic vessel that had meaning for the locale. I find the whole idea of a "kids' room" for a rental property at the beach limits the appeal for vacationers. Not everyone has children and even teenagers wouldn't be comfortable in a space designed for small kiddies. JMHO.

My 1987 built home came with a "garden" tub that we never used and a smallish walk-in shower. When I remodeled I removed the tub and put a large shower with a bench and grab bars in its place. I had a large linen closet built into the space where the old shower was.

The twins have the worst taste in furnishings, fixtures, accessories, and especially tile. They must go to a tile warehouse and pick up all the odd lots on the cheap. Mixing tile the way they do seldom works.

That's one of my major pet peeves. I first noticed it when the Chimpster repeatedly used foot instead of feet on Fixer Upper. Another one... does everyone "host" these days? I've never heard any actual real people that I know talk about "hosting" in conversation.

Not really zero maintenance. They will get dusty and need to be wiped clean.

Next door to the other house that she looked at in an "up and coming" neighborhood had an anti-theft cage around the outside air conditioning unit. Neither of those houses was a good choice for a single woman with two young children. The one she bought is a dump. JMHO.

When we relocated to east central Georgia in 1987 none of the kitchens in the houses we saw were white. I didn't keep track but I think we were shown at least 40 houses. I don't recall seeing a lot of hardwood floors. We picked ours because it was new and would be completed by the time we were ready to move. We got to select some of the finishes. Oak kitchen cabinets were already installed. They were built in place and were just what I wanted to go with my oak breakfast room table, and an antique oak chest and an antique ice box that I planned to use there.