Guilty Pleasures
Lately I’ve found myself trying to enjoy the comforts of home instead of spending money on outside social activities. Thank you, poor economy. As such, I’m becoming increasingly addicted to some television programming which is really just a guilty pleasure. Most of said programming does not enrich my life in the slightest but is just such fun that I can’t help but continue to tune in. There are very few network shows that I make sure never to miss – How I Met Your Mother is pretty much it along with Entourage (though that’s technically not a network show). So, what do I fill the remaining couch potato hours with? Well, I watch a lot of movies as I’ve previously mentioned. And then there’s the awards shows – I will watch everything from the Golden Globes to the Oscars to the MTV VMAs. The rest of the time, I just hope that one of the cable networks is airing a reality show that catches my interest. Back when I was younger (not that I’m old!) I used to love anything that MTV would run. These days, I’m not sure if I’ve just outgrown that smut or if it’s just way smuttier than it used to be. I watched about five minutes of Jersey Shore the other night and wanted to simultaneously gouge out my eyeballs and rupture my eardrums. I don’t find that show entertaining in the least.
Back to what I DO like. HGTV, Bravo and TLC produce some of the best guilty pleasures around. I like House Hunters and My First Place on HGTV because in a certain way it does educate me while keeping me entertained. When I do get around to finally buying a house, now I know that I indeed long for an open floor plan and know how to check under the heat vents to see if there are hardwoods underneath that nasty carpet. The entertainment factor comes from just how picky people can be when it comes to buying a house. Oftentimes, I find myself VERY thankful that I am not a real estate agent. And I totally love when the agent will put the buyers in their place. “No you will not get 4,500 square feet and granite countertops for $150,000 in Miami. Sorry.” (I made that up, but you get the point.) There’s actually quite a few really great shows on HGTV, check them out if you haven’t already. But be warned, you’ll tune in for one House Hunters episode and next thing you know four hours have passed!
Another show I’ve recently discovered is Tabatha’s Salon Takeover on Bravo. Hair stylist and salon owner Tabatha Coffey was a contestant on another Bravo show Shear Genius, though I never watched it. The show is now in its second season, the premise being that Tabatha will go in to a failing salon and attempt to save the business with her one week “takeover” plan. The interesting thing to me about this show is that the salon owners have obviously contacted Bravo on their own, but when Tabatha gets there they are often extremely resistant to her help. And Tabatha is not a nice, polite, flexible sort of person. It’s her way or the highway. She’s very tough on the salon and the employees but with the best interests of the business in mind. There’s always someone she’s butting heads with, but to me she’s like a breath of fresh air in a world where everyone is always trying to be so PC and careful with their words. She’s not afraid of confrontation, and let’s face it – that makes for good TV. Tabatha’s Salon Takeover airs Tuesday nights at 10 pm EST on Bravo, though you can usually catch the reruns during the weekend.
Speaking of Bravo, I must point out that Project Runway started on this network and I’ll forever be thankful for that. I actually wish they still had PR simply because they broadcast in high-def while Lifetime does not. But Project Runway will forever be my favorite guilty pleasure. Is there anyone cuter than Heidi Klum? I think not. And she ALWAYS seems to be pregnant, which is just endearing. I think most people have probably heard of Project Runway by now, so just a reminder that season 7 just began and airs on Lifetime at 10 pm EST on Thursdays. I don’t yet have a favorite designer this season, but so far I can tell you I’m not a fan of Ping. Maybe she’ll start making some normal clothes but her first outfit literally looked like she just draped some fabric and held it together with safety pins. I prefer designers who display impeccable construction. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens!
In the same fashion vein, it was recently announced that The Rachel Zoe Project has been picked up for a third season on Bravo. No word yet on when it will premiere but I already cannot wait. RZ is like an idol to me, I think she is just amazing and funny and refreshing. At the end of last season, she had promoted her senior stylist, Taylor, to the marketing side of her growing brand. Thankfully for all us viewers, the annoying Taylor has since left RZ so we will not be subjected to her snide comments and eye rolling. I’ll be the first to admit that even those jobs “a million girls would kill for” are not always what they seem, but I mean really – she dresses people for a living. It’s not like she’s curing cancer. Her life simply cannot be that terrible. Sadly, I think people like that just enjoy being miserable, nothing will ever make her happy. Good riddance to Taylor and hello to a new stylist and a new season. I die, Rachel, I die.
I used to watch a certain show on TLC about a couple with their eight kids, but I’m not even going to mention the name of that show or the parents who have shown their true colors to be money-grubbing publicity hounds. I will never watch that show again and truly feel sorry for those kids. These parents need to get their priorities in order and remember what is important in life. I’d also like for them to never appear on the cover of another magazine and for their show to be cancelled - which I guess it was, but the mom has a new one coming. Gross. Phew. Thanks for letting me vent. What I do still watch on TLC is Say Yes to the Dress, which gives the viewer an inside look into the business of high-priced wedding gowns at Kleinfeld’s in New York City. This show is just fun, though the cost of the dresses will make you a bit sick. They sell a lot of gowns that cost more than my car. You’ll “ooooooh” and “ahhhhh”, you might get teary-eyed along with the bride who finds her perfect dress and you’ll probably roll your eyes at some of the girls who are a little bit like Rachel Zoe’s old stylist. Say Yes to the Dress airs Fridays at 9 pm EST on TLC, though you can almost always find mini-marathons on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Seriously, who is home on a Friday night anyways??
That’s all for now. There are many other great shows on, but I’ll save them for another time.
