My Thoughts on DWTS Cast for Season 13

I don't watch a ton of television and when I do it's a lot of reality and news.

Sad and gross, I know.

Brad and I end up in separate rooms most of the time because he can't stand it.

For the record though -- when regular TV comes back next month Wednesday is our night we watch together.

The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town.

Oh.. and he will watch Biggest Loser and DWTS with me too.

I'm sure he's hating that I just wrote that.

In case you haven't heard they recently revealed the new cast for Season 13 of DWTS.

 One word: MYOH!

Talk show host Nancy Grace?

What is the world is she thinking?

She loves to be critical of people...

Well she better watch out!

They are going to ROAST her!

Plus, her credibility was already hurt from the Anthony trial what does she think this is going to do?

She might as well reformat her show to be more like Jerry Springer after this.

And seriously?

Chaz Bono.

No words.

He/She freaks me out.

Why would you go through the process of becoming and man and not finish the job by changing the 'parts'.

That's what I heard he/she say on Oprah.

Not going to get rid of the junk.

At least now.

I feel sorry for Cher.

Oh.. and Chaz..

A VERY UNATTRACTIVE man.

He/she should have stayed female.

The rest of the cast is pretty interesting too.

Robert Kardashian?

As if that family needs any more publicity.

What do you think?

Do you watch?

It's Been Real Jansport!

Dear Jansport,

It's been real.

Very real.

18-years of real.

I'll never forget the day in 1993 when you and I first met.

I was starting college at LSU and could not have been more excited.

You and I have been through a lot together.

Walks along the LSU campus, hikes in California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona,Virginia, Tennessee and the mountains here in beautiful North and South Carolina.

But, after all these years it's finally time for us to part ways.

 I'm an adult now and it was made official when my husband, Brad, purchased this awesome North Face backpack for my birthday(which happens to be today).

 I would say the two of you could be friends but it's time for you to retire.

Thanks again for the memories.

You'll always be cherished.

Love,

Dee

Yes, it's my 36th birthday!

I've come a long way since the days of Holly Hobby lunchboxes!

Happy Monday!

The countdown is on until we are on Lake Erie!

Weekend Pictures

While most of the East Coast was dealing with Irene we were enjoying time at the lake house.

Saturday was windy but to be honest - it felt good.

I hope all of you affected by the storm stay safe and power gets restored soon!

For now, our weekend in pictures.

 Cutie niece Paige.

 Lots of jet ski rides.

 If big brother does it little sister is too.

 A ride on the tube.

More jet-skiing.

This time my in-law's neighbor and his pooch.

Isn't this hysterical?

I'm not sure Buddy is ready for this yet.

 The daily feeding.

 Leaving the rugrats with some dusty hands!

Who knew corn could be so dusty?

 An attempt at a sibling picture.

 An attempt at a cousin picture.

I must have taken 10.

This was the best one.

 A lot of squirrel hunting.

None caught.

He's staying at the lake this week so he has more time.

 A birthday celebration.

MIL's birthday is 3-days before mine.

Tomorrow Brad and I will celebrate. 

 Sunset on the lake.

Doesn't Robyn's hair look great?!

She says she's done with the wig!

I don't blame her!

Sort of spunky!

How was your weekend??

Britney Baby!!

Britney Spears came to Charlotte!

I was there!

It was sort of a debacle getting all my plans sorted out, but in the end it could have not been

more perfect.

It started with plans changing for a few friends.

Then...

My Groupon did not end up being what I thought I had purchased.

I got my money back after a phone call.

Then, I called in a favor from a friend.

Something I rarely do.

But..

I really wanted to go to the concert.

A. Liz, from A Liz Adventures, had commented on my blog earlier this week that she too wanted to go but couldn't rally her friends.

PERFECT!

We went together!

Time Warner Arena was the venue.

 I was pretty excited since it was my first Britney concert!
(BTW - I'm wearing shorts and top - not a dress)

 We quickly discovered that my friend had put us in a suite!

WOOT!

You can't get better than that~!

 A. Liz was pretty excited!

So, was I!

 DJ Pauly D was the opening act.

Gotta love house music even if I don't watch Jersey Shore.

 For what I had been told were low ticket sales, the arena looked pretty packed to me.

Not a total sellout, but it had to be close to it.

A. Liz and I had a good time checking out some of the outfits concert goers chose to wear.

I seriously felt like I could have been in a Vegas club.

Short skirts, shorts, tight and stilettos.

Made me feel old!

 Then Britney took stage!

WOW!

Awesome, even if she is lip syncing!

It's quite the production.

Costumes, dancers, set pieces.

 I started thinking about it.

I don't think I've ever really been to a concert like this.

I've seen KISS which is pretty high production value, but in a different way.

Other than that - I'm pretty much a band type of girl.

I have seen No Doubt and Gwen on her own, but she doesn't put on a show like this.

 Going back to Vegas, it really reminded me of a stage show you would see out there instead of a concert.

 As far as Britney's performance?

Pretty good even though she was only really singing in this act when she was on a swing.

Her body still looks pretty good but A. Liz and I decided she's had her ta tas redone recently.

 Overall, an awesome time!

 Even if my ears are still ringing and I had a little less sleep than what I'm used to.

Thanks to A. Liz for being my partner in crime!

Crazy part?

We actually have a lot of mutual friends outside of blogs!

We're planning on getting together real soon with our husbands!

YAY for blog friends!

As for this weekend -- we're going to keep our eyes on Irene and try and relax!

Oh.. and maybe try and celebrate my 36th birthday a bit early, since it's Monday.

Tootles!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm hooking up with Deviled Megs and This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

Here we go:

#1. I'm loving that nobody was seriously hurt in yesterday's earthquake on the East Coast.  Yes, we felt it here in Uptown Charlotte even though I was totally confused about what was going on.

#2. That I'm going to the Britney Spears Femme Fatale show tomorrow night, like I said I would do months ago. I even got a Groupon! $35 for 2nd level seating.  I'm told they had to do that because tickets sales were terrible.

#3. That I bought those pillows I posted about last week.  I now need to find some down forms for them so they don't slide all over my leather couches.

#4. In one week we'll be headed to Kelley's Island, Ohio for our annual Labor Day trip with Kathleen, Dean and baby Blake!

#5. College football season is just 10-days aways! Geaux Tigers!

#6. Looks like my girls weekend in Cape Cod is going to pan out after all and tickets are dirt cheap from Charlotte to Boston for late September!

#7. Last but not least -- I'm loving the website Yelp. Are you on there? I'm here, so be my friend! I absolutely love it!!

What are you loving this Wednesday?!

Family Friendships

We actually stayed in Charlotte this weekend.

No day trips or anything.

It doesn't happen often but when it does it's nice.

Earlier in the week SIL Robyn texted me about scheduling a dinner and night out just the four of us.

Me, Brad, her and Jeff(Brad's brother).

I jumped at the chance because the four us rarely get out and do something just 'us'.

So Saturday night we had a date night.

We ate here and went here afterwards.

Not bad.

Especially since we don't really 'go out' that much anymore.

We prefer cooking and having people over or vice-versa.

The night out had me thinking about how great it is to have such a good relationship with my brother and sister-in-law.

There is absolutely NO drama!

I say that because my ex-sister-in-law, my brother’s ex-wife, was a piece of work.

Only, 3-years older than me she was one of those people who was nice to my face but would talk sh-t behind my back.

Not sure why she disliked me so much.

Oh, wait I do.

I won't get into that.

Never good though.

Especially when kids are involved.

It's different this time around.

 Robyn is my age and just as nice as they come..

She’s always thinking of others, not to mention a ton of fun to hang out with!

She’s supportive, understanding and treasures family just as I do.

Despite Brad and his brother being 4 ½ years apart they are pretty tight too.

That’s not always the case with family.

My entire life all I've ever heard from my Mother is how you marry the family.

Starting at a VERY young age she would tell me.

"You meet that family! Because you marry them too!"

I feel so blessed to have married into a great group of people.

What’s your relationship like with your siblings and/or their significant others?

Again, I'm one lucky gal and  can't wait for another night out just the four of us.

Happy Monday!

Opinions Needed

I've been looking for some new throw pillows for our couches and when Classic Annie posted about this Etsy shop I knew I had found my match.

Or..

I think I have.

That's why I've decided to have you-all weigh in.

I want you all to be TOTALLY honest.

Here is our living room.

Brad had these couches and rug before I moved in.

I added all the decorative pieces along with the coffee table and lamps.

The pillows I have now aren't terrible.

They're down Ralph Lauren from several years ago but they're just boring!

I need some color!!

So, I'm thinking about this ensemble.

I don't want to order until I'm 100% sure -- which is why I feel the need for a second, third or even a fourth opinion.

Thoughts?

If you aren't a fan of this -- go to her Etsy shop and tell me what you do think would look good!

Again, honesty peeps!!

Happy Friday!

Housewives Drama and Reality TV

Most of you have probably heard about the death of Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast mate, Taylor Armstrong.

I'm not going to lie. I was shocked when I heard the news. It's just so sad especially when there are children left behind.

What I was not so shocked to hear about is the fact that Russell and Taylor were spending money they didn't even have to 'keep up with the joneses'.
They did so in order to keep the persona that they were filthy rich, in order to be a member of the Housewives cast.

60K for a child's fourth birthday party? Now we're finding out they were blowing through all their savings and them some to pay for such a thing?

Word is -- Russell left behind nearly $10-million in debt.

It's just so sad!

While I love to watch the Housewives franchise on Bravo, I'm sickened at what some of these reality stars are doing in order to stay on these shows and in the limelight.

For Example:

Lynne Curtin - OC Housewives: I actually tweeted(I'm @DeNanner in case you're interested) her earlier about how I'm sure her husband can relate to what Russell was going through. If you recall, Lynne's husband allowed her and their daughter to get plastic surgery knowing they couldn't pay the rent on their house.

The season ended with them being evicted and Lynne and her husband being 'outed', that they were not in fact wealthy. They were dropped from the cast.

Teresa Guidice - NJ Housewives: She and her hubby spent..spent..spent themselves into bankruptcy. I think it got worse when they too, joined the show.

NeNe Leakes - Atlanta Housewives: We know about their money and marital problems. I've also heard that Bravo pays their monthly rent for the mansion they live in so it appears they are 'Atlanta socialites'. I'm assuming they do this because they know NeNe and her drama bring ratings.

I could go on and on about different examples when it comes to this. While I'm not a fan of Gretchen from the OC Housewives, you have to admit, she lives modestly and within her means in comparison to the rest of her bunch.

The whole point of this post is to bring to light out how networks such as Bravo and others, exploit people for ratings not giving a crap about what happens to them down the road.

I don't agree with some, that Russell killed himself because of the show, but I do think the drama of the show contributed.

I know these people sign up for this but don't you think there should be some sort of guidance given by the networks on how to deal with the fame and money?

I know the NFL does this for their incoming players.

They go through weeks of seminars on how to manage their money, be leery of gold-digging women and so forth.

Thoughts?

Bucks

I don’t claim to be a fashionista.

That’s not what this blog is about.

While I like clothes, I don’t obsess over designers and what pattern they are coming out with next.
I’m not against others who do.
Heck, I even read a lot of your blogs!

Saying that – I have a question.

Are the buck shoes from the 1980’s and 1990’s making a comeback?

Or, are they back and I’m just out of the loop?

I’m asking because I’ve seen a few blogs mention them recently and I thought to myself. WOW!

Blast from the PAST!

Here are I am sporting mine back in 1989.

They were THE hot thing back in the day.

I found this photo and laughed.

I had just gotten my braces off the day this was taken.
(hence, why I'm in the front of my orthodonist's office sign)

As for the bow?
Click here for an old post about me as a bowhead.

Brad and I were driving down the interstate the other day and we looked over and saw some guy wearing a pair while riding a motorcycle.

(Not sure that's typical motorcycle fashion, but any way) 

Brad laughed and said, ‘Oh, wow. Bucks. I remember rocking those back in the day. ‘

I didn’t say it to him, but I thought, ‘I think people are rocking those today too. I think they’re back in style.’

Then I found this listing for them on JosABank’s website.

Let's Get Original Folks

Way before I started blogging and working in Corporate America, I produced this little show.

Some of you in Charlotte might be surprised to know that I was one of the lead producers who actually helped create this show.

I bring this up because today's post reminds me of a topic that I would have pitched to the crew for a 'topic' of the night.

The topic being:

Movie and TV Remakes - YAY or NAY?

It seems to be a big trend right now.

The most recent being that they're remaking the 1987 classic, Dirty Dancing.

Yes, it's true, and I think it's ridiculous.

This is one of the best movies of all time and I can't believe they're going to taint the original with a remake.

 There's also word that TNT is getting ready to remake/bring back, the 1980's hit show Dallas.

What's even crazier about this one?

Larry Hagman(JR), Linda Gray(Sue Ellen) and Patrick Duffy(Bobby), are all coming back and will appear in this new series.

 And...I've noticed that there's already a movie trailer in circulation for the remake of the classic movie Footloose.

It doesn't look nearly as good as the original.

 It's real simple.

Are you YAY or NAY on remakes?

You can probably figure out my stance by now.

Comment Away!