The Staying Power of the Real Housewives...

(Cynthia from The Real Housewives of Atlanta just might be the most gorgeous housewife in the history of the franchise...AND she's very nice)

I'm somewhat loathe to admit my fascination with the Real Housewives. It started out innocently enough - checking out that first season of the Real Housewives of Orange County, and one episode stretched into me watching most of the first season and that required me to watch season two and so on. Next came New York, and that was equally fascinating. And then Atlanta caught my fancy. New Jersey wasn't as good, but I still watched. DC was borderline boring, but still I persevered. And Miami wasn't all that great either...but I still watched every episode. Then came Beverly Hills and once again, I was in love with the franchise. When people talk about having a "guilty pleasure"...boy do I ever.

(I miss having Bethenny on the Real Housewives of New York, but I love her spin-off, Bethenny Ever After...Ramona is a kick)

And I'm not alone. I know many women who watch this show - some openly, and some in secret. The ones who watch in secret are funny. Because when they find out you watch it too it's like a relief to confess their secret to someone.

(I used to really dislike Sheree from the Real Housewives of Atlanta, but her relative poverty after her divorce from her NFL Football playing husband seems to have humbled her a tad)

Why are we slightly embarassed? Well, because on the face of it, it doesn't seem like there's all that much worthy of defending. Wealthy women, complaining slightly about their spoiled "princess problems", driving ridiculously over-expensive vehicles, living in houses which are bigger than anyone really needs, conspicuously consuming, often seemingly vapid, extra concerned with appearance and looks over substance, and pretty much out of touch with the average person. What's to like? And how can you really defend liking a show which focuses on those things season after season.

(tamra from the real housewives of orange county was always easy to dislike until it became obvious she was married to a control freak who wasn't a particularly nice guy...her recent divorce and financial distress has significantly upped her likeability factor)

It's tempting to laugh it off by saying we like the fashion (because actually, we do). Or that we like the peek inside the grand homes (because we like that too). The shoes, the cars, the jewelry, the make-up, the hair, the restaurants, the vacations...check, check, check, check, check, check and check. But is that really it?

(I can never quite decide if I should like Jill or not. But most of the time I do. Even though she's incredibly wealthy, there's a vulnerability that kind of seeps through. At the end of the day, Jill seems to want to be liked, and that's always endearing in a person)

Because I can kind of defend that. You know, it's escapism, just like most other tv programming and other forms of entertainment. But I don't really think that's all there is to it.

Television is full of cookie cutter wives and marriages and single women with pretty hair and nice furniture. We don't need the Real Housewives for that actually. It's a side benefit, and admittedly, these are real women, so the allure is a little different, but still...I don't think that's it.

(Kim is super close to my age, and I remember her from her childhood acting gigs in Disney films, notably, Escape from Witch Mountain, which was one of my favorites...her aging shows more than most of the Beverly Hills compatriots...which is...oddly refreshing)

I think it's because this might be one of the only shows that address real issues of real women in the 40+ age range. True, a few of the wives are younger than 40, but not most of them. Most of them are my age. And as I get older there are less and less women on tv or in movies who are in my age range. Of course, these women have opted to get injections and plastic surgery, whereas, I have not. But I still find myself relating. And I can sort of see them aging (even Restylane and Botox can't hide everything). And in a weird way...it's refreshing. And you see with your own eyes that having an Hermes purse and a Bentley doesn't prevent you from having many of the same problems everyone else has. And this, though we may not want to admit it, makes us feel better somehow.

(the level of wealth on the Beverly Hills franchise is rather astounding, Lisa Vanderpump being one of the wealthier ladies on the show. But she seems truly kind hearted and rather funny. I like her.)

And many of these ladies are likeable. Relatable. Some of them even make me laugh out loud. (I love me some Nene).

(If I could pick one housewife to hang out with for one day, it would obviously be Ms. Nene. Keeps me laughing)

So long live the housewives. I for one will be watching as long as Bravo wants to keep bringing me updates of the franchise.

(I miss Jeana Keough who was on the Orange County franchise for quite a while. She was vulnerable and full of "issues" and I often related to her)

All Things Bright & Beautiful

My file of BOLD is getting pretty full so I thought I share some happy decor ideas. I think the bold ones are usually my favorites. Lately all my dreams are very vivid and bright, so these images kind of remind me of a pocketful of dreams. Life is too short for boring rooms. :)

This is super insane...but don't tell me you don't wish you had the NERVE to do this...

I love the color combinations here...and it's such a great space!

Will I ever grow sick of these types of chairs and couches, etc.??? I doubt it...

This is just so crazily great...the wall and the combination of plums with bold turquoise is awesome.

Here I just can't get enough of that Robin's Egg blue...

Great combination of colors. Don't be afraid to throw everything into the mix!

I just think this is adorable. I've long admired that Anthropologie comforter. I wish they were just a might bit cheaper. But I'm super cheap when it comes to stuff like that...

Don't you adore the rug with everything else? I don't think a white couch would ever survive in my house unless it were leather...and even then I have my doubts. But I do like the look of a white couch. It's such a nice neutral palate to start with.

THIS is just happy happy happy!

That couch is to die for!

I don't know how they did this headboard exactly but I LOVE it.

Precious.

I love the sheer audacity of this couch. I'd totally do this couch in my house someday.

Okay, be still my heart. Those floral materials are PERFECT along with the lampshade and the map??? Loverly.

Again with the plummy colors and the blues. Really works.

Okay this is a serious inspiration for me, because my office is this green color, and I wanted to add orange in there but I wasn't sure if it would work. And now I'm seriously considering adding some yellow to the mix. Isn't this just the cheeriest?

LOVE black and white with limey or kelly greens.

Big time headboard envy.

Again with the yellows and the greens (full disclosure...my favorite colors are green and yellow...with orange a close third)
This is crazy genius if I ever saw it.

Why I heart Pinterest...and why I don't think it's a waste of time...or at least I like to tell myself that...

So a little while ago I discovered pinterest. And ever since I've been singing it's praises to friends. Many of whom I think still don't 'get' it. So here are the reasons I think it's awesome and I think you should go check it out.

First of all, you get your own page to act as a curator of things that you really like or love. Or ideas that you just want to remember. How often do you see something somewhere on the internet but later, you have no idea where you saw it? That happens to me fairly often. It's one of the reasons I save all these decor ideas. Just IN CASE, even if I think there's little chance I'll actually get around to using them, I want to be sure I can find them again. But I'll see a recipe or some craft project or just some interesting quote or something and then later I'll be bummed that I can't find it. With pinterest, you can always find everything that you care enough to save without having to save it to your computer or worry about how to file it on your computer so you can find it again.

But let me offer a practical example. Suppose I'm a person who loves to bake. And sometimes I surf the internet looking for baking ideas. I know I'm probably never going to get around to making everything I see, but I hate to lose the ideas. Well if you find ideas you love on baking sites you can save them with your little pin to your baking board. You can also find a bunch of other like minded people on pinterest saving their own baking ideas, and usually, there is a link back to the original page where it was located on the internet. Very handy. Here are a few baking ideas that I saw on pinterest today:

and let's say that you are super obsessed with baking, you could have a separate board for cakes, cookies, pies, etc. That's the thing I love - you can keep track of whatever you want and categorize it however you like with as many boards as you want. Think of each board as a separate bulletin board.

Another example. Suppose you're planning a wedding and you're looking for ideas for a wedding dress which isn't strapless (tough to find, but based on pins I'm seeing on pinterest, the strapless gown is finally falling out of favor and lace gowns seem to be enjoying a comeback). Found on pinterest today:

And maybe all you care about right now is planning a wedding. You could have one board for flowers, one for cakes, one for dresses, one for bridesmaids, one for invitations, etc. Maybe you're looking for floral arrangements to the bride or the bridesmaids to carry which are unique. Found on pinterest today:

See what I mean? It's great resource. Even if you aren't in the mood to search the internet for flowers, you could always just search pinterest and find all the best stuff that other people have already curated to their boards for you.

So what else is on pinterest? Well, it's pretty much full of beautiful things. Home decor ideas, pithy quotes, gorgeous photography, excellent travel destination ideas, lovely portraits, fashion, shoes, accessories, crafts, sewing projects, quilts, colors, design and many other happy things.

To see my pinterest page go here: MY PINTEREST PAGE

Pinterest adds just a little bit of happy into my life.

Dreaming of Perfect Pools...

So I came home from vacation to this:

Yeah...not really how my pool is suppose to look. It amazes me how quickly a pool can get out of balance. And once it does, it deteriorates rapidly. I'm working on getting it back to normal, but I'm not quite there yet. Especially disappointing after seeing this pool on my vacation:

Of course, I'm not going to feel too bad about it - after all Hearst Castle has people who take care of that pool all day everyday! But isn't it gorgeous? I love the look of that crystal clear blue pool. I think I've mentioned I'm not a huge fan of most pebble tec pools and that is the main reason why - I usually never think they look quite as inviting or refreshing as a good plaster pool.

It's almost warm enough to get in the pool again (though not quite). And soon it will be swim team again too for my youngest. I do love a good looking pool, which is why I'm going to do my best to get mine back in shape. In the meantime, here are some other beautiful pools to inspire you. I know some people live in areas where a pool would just never be feasible. But I have to say that for anyone who has children and lives in an area where pools make sense, I think it's totally worth the investment. We've gotten many many hours of enjoyment out of ours. It's fun to have people over and invite them to a pool party. And it's also very fun for a mom to spend a few hours alone in the pool when the kids are off somewhere else, just floating and relaxing. One of my dreams when I was kid growing up was to some day have a pool. That wasn't an especially realistic dream for a girl from Idaho. But I'm so glad it came true! (even if it does look like a swamp right now)