Month: July 2019

SWEET SUMMER TIME

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Happy Summer! I know it just started, but it goes by way too fast, not that I’m complaining. (I’m the most basic white girl when it comes to Fall – I live for it.)  But I do love Summer, and so far, I’ve been having a blast.

My boss gave me Red Sox tickets, so Saul & I went to Fenway to watch the Red Sox play Toronto, which happened to fall on the first day of Summer.  My boss did tell me he had great seats, but I underestimated how great these seats actually were.  I felt like I was on the field! I could see the players up close.  I’m not a huge baseball fan, but the ambience was great and it’s always fun to head into Boston.

The next day was a Saturday, and Saul and I had booked a mini weekend getaway to Vermont.  I hadn’t been to Vermont since I was a teenager, so I don’t even count that trip.  My friend’s parents had a timeshare and we were bored and went to Smuggler’s Notch off season.  We never left the resort, unless you count going to Big Lots and the grocery store. We weren’t of age, so we couldn’t really go anywhere.

We went to Stowe and stayed at The Golden Eagle Resort.  Vermont is so pretty.  Everything is so green and lush.  We had a lot of fun trying new restaurants and breweries.  We loved Cold Hollow Cider Mill – amazing cider.  We also tried Idletyme Brewing Company, but we weren’t impressed.  We had dinner there, but they were super disorganized and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

We went to The Ben & Jerry Factory and took a tour – that was probably my favorite part of the trip.  It was so fun!  They had a “Flavor Graveyard” of all of the old ice creams that they’ve gotten rid of, it was really cute.

We also ended up on a scenic route, which was scary AF but fun.  I wish I didn’t delete the videos I took while we were driving on it.  There were boulders everywhere and you couldn’t really see around the bend.  There were also no middle lines in the road.

All in all it was a fun trip, and I would definitely go back to Vermont.

Me and Saul decided last minute we should have a cookout for the fourth of July, so we had some friends come over.  I got to see my nieces, and my nephew, which I’m always super excited about.  And my cousin Melissa came, which was shocking.  (LMAO I love you Mel!!!!) We got this blow up pool, that has a filter, so we had it all set up and it was such a hit. (With the kids, and the adults.)  It’s nothing crazy, but the fourth of July was so hot so it was nice to be able to cool off.  I was literally melting.  I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were sweating, so besides pictures of the babies, pictures were a hard no. I had a lot of fun, but probably had too many White Claws.

On Saturday I went up to Maine with my BFF Jena.  Her mom, Patty, has a house there, and we stayed with her for the weekend.  I absolutely love going to Maine.  I always have a blast with Patty and Jena, and Maine overall is just gorgeous.  I feel so calm and relaxed when I’m there.  We chilled poolside all day Saturday, and then Saturday night we went to Inn On The Blues.  They had a live band playing (The Nate Bash Band) and they were so good! I love live music, it’s so entertaining.  Again, I drank too many White Claws (actually, this time, I think I was drinking Truly), and we went to bed super late, so Sunday we had a lazy day in Maine and just relaxed.  I had a great weekend.

Now it’s Monday, and unfortunately I’m back at work.  I’m looking forward to more fun Summer Days and Nights though – in August, I’m going to Maine for a week with Saul, his brother, sister-in-law, and my niece, Ellie.  I cannot wait.  We rented a house and I know that will be fun.  Jena’s birthday is in August, so that will be a fun celebration.  And I’m planning on hopefully having some more cookouts and get-togethers.  Maybe another weekend away?  Who knows.  I also have some adult things to do – a phone call with our wedding planner at the end of July, and I need to get my Save The Dates out! It feels like our wedding is so far away, but I know it will be here before I know it.

How’s everyone’s Summer so far, and what’re your plans? What’re you looking forward to? Leave me a comment!

Talk soon!

 

 

THE HILLS: NEW BEGINNINGS – YOU’RE NOT MY FAMILY

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We start where we left off last week – Stephanie’s welcome home party, at Nightingale.

Everyone’s arriving and greeting each other. We get a quick flashback of Stephanie and Spencer’s tumultuous relationship. (This clip will forever make me laugh, I’m sorry. 😂 Steph is literally crying, and tells Spencer he made her cry. His response? “No, you’re making yourself cry thinking about what you did.” I’m LOLing right now. 😂😂😂)

Spencer tells us in his confessional that he feels like he’s made a lot of progress over the years, but he’s unsure if Stephanie has. To him, it doesn’t seem like it, based on what he sees on social media. Spencer says that “Stephanie is a lot” – and he basically just wants to be on the right side of all of that energy.

Stephanie claims she wants to mend her relationship with Spencer, yet she’s super weird as soon as they exchange hello’s. Heidi knocks something over, I don’t even know what it was, but it breaks. Heidi brushes it off, but it’s not malicious, it seems more out of awkwardness than anything else. The second Spencer and Heidi go mingle, Stephanie’s complaining. “Cool, she got that all over me,” she says to Justin, wiping her leg off. She looks over and sees Heidi and Spencer sitting and talking with people. “They have their own table.” Justin tries to reel her back in, but she’s already pissed. “This just doesn’t feel right.”

Brody skips the party. He’s at home with Kaitlynn, and he’s taking a bath. She comes into the bathroom to talk to him and he’s like, “Is this good mood Kaitlynn or bad mood Kaitlynn?” I swear I would lose my shit if someone said that to me, and then I would def be a “bad mood” bitch. In Brody’s confessional, he’s asked if he misses his single life. “Is that a trick question?” He’s “joking” and goes on to say that being at home with his wife and his dogs truly is his favorite thing. Is it really though, Brody? Cause that’s not how you’re acting. 🤔

Back at the party, Justin and Audrina are flirting. Audrina says that Justin and Stephanie have a lot in common. (Basically they’ve both traveled to other countries.) Justin says that he and Stephanie always used to be really friendly, and I’m dying when Audrina calls him out. She doesn’t recall Justin and Stephanie ever being friendly. That makes two of us, Audrina.

Mischa asks Steph if she’s dating anyone and she tells her she hasn’t dated anyone in two years. “We have to change that!” Mischa exclaims.

Perez is here, and Mischa is annoyed but ready to confront him. Honestly I’m super proud of her right now for being the bigger person and just facing him head on. I don’t think Perez even had intentions of talking to Mischa, let alone apologizing, had she not called him out. She really lets him have it, and he says that if he could go back and do it all over again, he wouldn’t have done those things. He does own that he was shitty, but I don’t think he actually feels that bad.

Audrina joins them and basically asks if he did it for the money – he doesn’t say yes, but he doesn’t say no either. Mischa questions him – “Would you really go back and do it all over?” This enrages Perez because he “swore on his daughter” and he can’t believe Mischa would doubt that.

He flips his shit and walks away, and Mischa is like, “Whatever, he’s a total dick.” Stephanie and Whitney are both like, WTF? And Audrina is super proud of her. She feels better knowing that she’s gotten that out of the way, and she didn’t run away from her problems, like she typically would.

Whitney asks Steph if she’s spoken with Spencer yet, and she convinces her that they should probably have a convo. Steph agrees, and she pulls Spencer aside to chat. I don’t know if she’s just nervous, but everything about her approach was so wrong to me. She was acting weird. Her mannerisms, her word choices. It was all bizarre.

Someone asks Heidi (I think it was Frankie but I could be wrong), “What’s the deal with you and Stephanie?” Heidi replies, “It’s hard to have a conversation with someone who always wants to have a problem with you.” Preach.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Spencer’s convo is not going well. “I just don’t get why it’s so hard,” Stephanie says. “Why what’s so hard?” Spencer asks, to which Stephanie replies, “Us.” You can see Spencer become visibly annoyed. “You talk nonstop shit about my wife, myself, and even my unborn son.” I feel like this was Stephanie’s chance to apologize – she should’ve just said she was hurt and that she was sorry and that she wants to move on. But she doesn’t. She harps on the fact that she didn’t know Heidi was pregnant, and she found out on her birthday. I agree with Spencer – she cares more about the fact that she happened to find out on her birthday over everything else. At least, that’s how it seems. “Spencer, you’re my family,” Stephanie says. “You’re not my family,” Spencer retorts angrily. “I don’t trust you.”

Spencer leaves, and Stephanie goes back to join the group. Heidi isn’t having this. She pushes her way through and is like, “I need to talk to Stephanie.” Stephanie says, “Did you see how your husband just talked to me?” Heidi literally goes, “Oh please.” Heidi basically tells Stephanie she doesn’t understand what’s wrong with her and why she acts a certain way towards them. Stephanie is still not letting the pregnancy thing go. “If I was married and got pregnant, I would make sure I told my husbands sister.” Heidi isn’t getting anywhere with this convo, so she gets up to leave. Stephanie runs off too.

Justin Bobby goes after her, which truly has me over here like WTF. Justin thinks Stephanie gets a bad rep but ultimately wants to reconcile with her family at the end of the day.

Mischa and Audrina go to check on Steph also (although, I think Audrina really wanted to check on Justin, lmao.) Audrina thinks Stephanie should probably just distance herself from Spencer and Heidi right now. She tried, but it’s not working. Audrina and Mischa leave, but Justin hangs back with Stephanie. What the hell?

The next day, Audrina, Mischa and Whitney are going for a hike at Runyon Canyon Park. They talk about the previous night, and Whitney and Audrina are both proud of Mischa for standing up to Perez. Mischa says it was “cathartic” for her, and she’s working on getting her confidence back and not being so meek. They also talk about the drama between the Pratt Siblings – Mischa thinks Spencer was mean to Stephanie, but Whitney points out that they don’t know what Stephanie said – she could’ve said something to set him off. Audrina agrees, and says that they both push each other’s buttons.

At Spencer and Heidi’s, Spencer is having a healing crystal session. (I am so here for this.) He wants to “refresh” after last night. Spencer tells Heidi he feels like Stephanie wants drama, and she agrees. She doesn’t think they should’ve even engaged with her. Spencer feels the way same. He thinks he made a mistake in going to the party to begin with.

Justin calls Stephanie and stops by her house. WHAT IS GOING ON? Seriously, MTV, stop fucking with me!! Justin feels bad for Stephanie, and worries about her “slipping.” (I assume he means with drugs?) Steph wants to go back to London, and Justin tells her that she just got back and should give it a little time. Stephanie tells us that she thinks Heidi manipulates her brother.

Frankie and Brody go to Brandon’s, who’s having a guys dinner. Brandon is only 23? He’s a baby. How does he even know Brody and Frankie? I’m bored at this point, but then Brandon talks about sobriety, which I will say I think is wonderful. I’m happy for him that he’s sober, and for even realizing that he had a problem at such a young age, and staying clean. Especially in his lifestyle, that has to be really tough and I give him a lot of credit for talking so candidly about it.

Brody briefly talks about his relationship with Bruce/Caitlyn. Basically he wasn’t really around much when he was young, and then he got older and they started to grow closer and Bruce became Caitlyn. Brody feels like he was just kind of getting to really know Bruce. He knows that Bruce is happier as Caitlyn, so he’s happy for that – but she’s kind of off living her own life, so he’s learned not to expect too much from her.

Then in his confessional – I’m confused AF, because I’m not even sure where this came from – does he insinuate that him and his wife, Kaitlynn, have an open relationship? Like what is going on right now?

We’re at Audrina’s with her stylist, Joey, when Heidi, Gunner and “Gunner’s assistant” show up. (Seriously? She’s a nanny.) Audrina tells them that Justin Bobby invited her to a concert/festival. She’s going, but she said she was mildly disappointed that she didn’t hear from him all week. Joey thinks it’s rude, and Audrina says Justin’s behavior is inconsistent. She tells them that her friend, Ashley, wants to set her up on a blind date. They think she should do whatever makes her happy.

Audrina’s friend, Ashley, is actually Jason Wahler’s wife. Remember when Jason dated LC on Laguna Beach!? And maybe briefly on The Hills. I don’t remember. He’s a totally different person now – he’s sober, married, has a baby, and is very happy. I’m happy for him and his family. Ashley and Jason are also going to the festival with Audrina and Justin.

The day of the festival arrives, and Audrina calls Justin to find out what the plan is. Justin seriously doesn’t even pick her up. He’s such a fuckboy. Audrina, please write him off! Audrina still goes to the concert, despite being disappointed. She says that Justin has let her down, but she’s willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. “He has the sweetest heart, but he gives me mixed signals.” Audrina is like, “Two can play that game.” She mentions how Ashley & Jason plan on setting her up, and Justin pretends to act unbothered, but it’s clear he’s jealous. I know last week I said I was here for this, but I lied. I am so not here for this pettiness. It’s been ten years. Either get together or move on, we’re way too old for this.

I wasn’t super enthralled in this weeks episode, but I’m not done with it yet. Who’s side are you on – Stephanie’s or Speidi’s? Do you think Justin Bobby and Stephanie have ever hooked up before? And do you think Brody and Kaitlynn have an open relationship?

Until next week…..

RHOP: SEX, LIES & BUTTER KNIVES

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I missed RHOP last week, but honestly, it was worth the wait. I love when Bravo gives us a super crazy intro – everyone is going insane at Candiace’s Dinner Party – and then we’re hit with a “One week earlier” – and everything is light and breezy around Potomac.

We’re at Candiace and Chris’s, and Candiace is talking about how she wants to move. Though the house is hers – it’s technically her Mom’s.  At least, I think her Mom’s name may be on it?  She is tied to it in some way.  Chris doesn’t think Candiace should be in a rush to move, but Candiace wants something that is just hers and Chris’s, and honestly, I don’t’ blame her.  Candiace tells us how she was recently at a friend’s wedding.  Her and her mother were bickering, and her mom smacked her in the face with her purse.  Like, WTF? How is this woman a therapist? Candiace talks about the upcoming dinner party she and Chris will be hosting.  Chris is working on a cookbook, and he wants to try out the recipes on the ladies.  Candiace tells us she did invite Ashley, despite their recent drama.  Chris is happy about this because he thinks Ashley would be a good critic, since her husband owns a restaurant.  It’s just a girls dinner – no husbands.

Ashley meets up with Gizelle and Robyn, and the three of them are going for a walk. They talk about New Orleans, and Gizelle asks, “What went on with you and Candiace?” Ashley dismisses it – she says she has a lot going on, so she’s just letting it go with Candiace for now.  She fills them in on the fact that she’s performing at Gay Pride in Virginia.  (Ashley has a single – “Coffee and Love”? Why don’t I recall this?)  She then tells them that she missed both of them at Monique’s baby shower.  Gizelle tells Ashley what Candiace had told her during lunch – that basically she didn’t buy anything Ashley said about being upset about her miscarriage, and that Michael had “crocodile tears.” Ashley is genuinely shocked by this, and upset, naturally.  Robyn tells us in her confessional that Candiace’s delivery is wrong, but she gets why Candiace is questioning Ashley.  “Some thing’s just aren’t normal.” Gizelle then brings up what Monique said about Katie, the whole “Amistad” thing.  Gizelle says that she and Monique are in a good place, so she doesn’t want to “attack her.”  But she does want to confront her.  And then in typical Gizelle fashion, she throws some shade in.  “Katie with her hair wrapped up looks better than Monique on her best day.” I’m shaking my head.

Karen and Ray have a brief scene while they take a dance class. Nothing really happens here.

Over at Monique’s, she’s having a maternity shoot. She’s literally in a wedding dress, and taking pictures in the pool under water.  At first I thought this was super extra, until I saw the pictures.  They came out so great!  She’s invited Ashley over.  They also talk about NOLA; Monique saw a change in Ashley, which is why she’s good with them moving forward with their friendship.  Ashley tells Monique about the conversation Gizelle apparently had with Candiace.  Monique doesn’t even remember saying Katie looked like “Amistad”, and she’s kind of like WTF?

Gizelle is with her mom, and their meeting with Gizelle’s realtor and a contractor. The house that she is currently looking to buy needs a ton of work, but the land is really good.  Gizelle said that it brings her “peace”, despite all of the work she’ll need to put into it.  Her mom approves, and you can tell that means a lot to Gizelle.

Over at Ashley and Michael’s, they’re moving their pool table out of the middle of the room, and Michael is totally freaking out. Honestly, this is so dramatic.  They talk about Monique’s baby shower, and Michael says he feels like he never really mourned over the fact Ashley miscarried.  Ashley debates if she wants to tell Michael what she’s heard Candiace has said, but decides not to.  She doesn’t see a point in bringing that negativity to their relationship right now.  Instead, she tells him about her spa day with Karen, and how she can see a friendship in the future with Karen, which is a nice surprise to her.  Ashley also talks about how she’s invited to Candiace’s dinner party, and she feels “apprehensive.”

We have a quick scene at Robyn’s – Juan and her two sons are making her breakfast in bed, and they also bring her roses. It’s actually really cute and sweet, and I feel like Robyn and Juan truly have come a long way.  Robyn talks about possibly re-marrying Juan.  I wonder if wedding bells are in their future.

Monique and Candiace meet up for dinner at Fig & Olive. Monique doesn’t believe that Candiace would say anything about her to try and put her in a bad light, so she wants to talk to her about what she’s heard that she has said, and just get it out of the way.  Monique tells her, and Candiace literally goes dead silent – almost like a “fuck, I got caught” silence. Then she says, “I told Gizelle that you said something about Katie looking rough and compared it to Amistad.”  Candiace tells us in a confessional that she regrets this.  Monique says, “Ashley said she was told that I compared Katie to a slave.”  Candiace replies, “That’s what Gizelle said.”  That makes more sense to Monique.  She goes on to say, “The way it was brought to me was almost like you were throwing me under the bus.” I honestly thought Candiace was going to apologize here – but she doesn’t.  “I felt like you were pre-judging Katie.”  Monique wasn’t “pre-judging” her, she was “making an observation.”  She basically says that Katie used to be super prim and proper and really cared about what people thought, and now she’s a free spirit.  She didn’t mean anything by it.  “I thought you were being judgmental,” Candiace says, not backing down.  Monique’s upset.  “You’re over here trying to pick me apart the way your mom does to you.” Candiace isn’t here for that.  “Don’t bring my mom into this.”  Monique responds, “You’re doing the same thing to me.”  Candiace is pissed.  And apparently, Candiace is also pissed because a week earlier, Monique told her that she was behaving like Ashley used to last year.  Basically, being messy.  I mean, Monique isn’t wrong. Candiace is literally just saying anything that comes to her mind. “I resent that,” Candiace says to Monique.

It’s the night of the dinner party. Robyn is the first to arrive (am I the only one shocked by this!?) Gizelle is next.  The girls all talk around the kitchen while Chris finishes up cooking.  They talk about how Ashley is invited, and Candiace makes a comment about her accepting the invitation in a “fake manner.”  “Not everything is fake about Ashley,” Gizelle remarks. “I’m not going to let you do that.”  Candiace is unbothered.  “Her hair is real.”  “Can you give the girl a break?” Gizelle asks.  “She’s coming into my home,” Candiace retorts. “That is her break.” Robyn calls out Candiace next.  “You have a hard on for Ashley’s life, it’s strange.” Candiace replies, “It keeps coming up.” Finally – the truth comes out.  They talk about the party at L2, and Candiace says what she heard Michael say – that he wanted to “suck someone’s d**k”.  Robyn feels like she’s in the twilight zone.  She knows she heard it, too, but she thought she was just drunk and confused.  Candiace says she’s tired of being accused of coming after Ashley for no reason.  There is a reason – her “sham, façade of a marriage.”

They continue to talk about it – Gizelle is shook. Robyn and Candiace both confirm that Ashley “disappeared” with Michael after he made the comment –for about thirty minutes or so.  Chris chimes in – holy shit, he heard it too! He thought Michael said, “sausage” and not “dick” but Robyn is adamant that she actually heard dick.  Gizelle wants to know who Michael is even talking about, and Robyn says, “One of our husbands.” It all clicks for Gizelle, and now she knows why Candiace has been coming for Ashley.  Robyn turns to Gizelle and says, “You remember a few years ago?” They reminisce on how Michael grabbed Andrew’s ass on the dance floor.  (Who is Andrew, and again, why don’t I remember this?) The doorbell rings, and the conversation is interrupted.  Candiace goes to get the door, and Gizelle turns to Robyn and says, “How did you not tell me this!?” Robyn replies, “I thought I was dreaming!” LMAO.  “What do we do with this?” I honestly can’t remember which one of them asked this, but I’m pretty sure it’s Gizelle that replies, “We bring it up!”

Monique is here, followed by Karen. Karen tells us it’s her first time seeing Gizelle since New Orleans, and she plans to just “keep it moving.”  Katie and Ashley are the last to arrive.  Monique touches Katie’s arm as she walks by and tells her she’d like to talk to her later.  You’d think this would be the drama of the dinner, but it’s not.  Katie either doesn’t know yet, or is just completely unfazed.  The second Ashley sits down she’s immediately on the defensive.  Chris made a pear dish that has wine in it, and he checks with Monique before serving it.  The ladies all think it’s fine for Monique, who’s pregnant, to have it.  “So Monique can have wine when she’s pregnant but I can’t have any alcohol when I’m trying to get pregnant?” It starts there, and then Ashley literally comes for Candiace about everything.  I’m dying when Monique is like, “Can we get the salad first?” LMAO.  Ashley says that there’s an “elephant in the room” and Gizelle replies, “There’s an elephant on the table, so let’s talk about it.” Ashley calls out Candiace for saying she wasn’t actually upset about the miscarriage, and Michael’s “crocodile tears.”  I’m dying – Candiace is literally impersonating Ashley on the microphone using a butter knife.  I am dead.  They’re screaming back and forth at each other, and the next thing I hear is Ashley saying, “I’m in your Mama’s house right now!” This sends Candiace over the edge, who literally leaps from her seat and is waving her butter knife in the air and yelling at Ashley to “Get the fuck out!” Chris has to come hold her back.

And then we are hit with a To Be Continued. Jesus! We haven’t even gotten to the heart of the issue yet, and everyone is already wildin’ out.  What’d you guys think?

Until next week….