Confessions of a Reality Show Addict

First, let me start with a shoutout to my international blog viewers!  I have noticed from my blog statistics that less than half of my readers are from the United States.  After the US, I have the most readers in Sweden, then the UK, then Canada and then Australia.  So hello to all of you and thank you for reading!

Okay, now that I have that out of the way, I have a deep, dark secret to share…I am a reality show addict.  That’s right – I won’t deny it anymore!  I’m not ashamed and I’m (somewhat) proud to admit that I follow the struggles of aspiring hair stylists (Shear Genius), house-flippers (Flipping Out), interior designers (Design Star), cooks (currently The Next Food Network Star – formerly Top Chef), realtors (Million Dollar Listing), matchmakers (Millionaire Matchmaker), D-List comedians (My Life on the D-List) and even housewives (Real Housewives of Orange County/New York City).

This summer is absolutely RICH with new first-run reality shows – especially on Bravo (my fav for these types of shows).

But my favorite reality show of all has just started a brand new season – Project Runway is back for season 5!  I don’t know what it is about this show that I love so much – something about being given a challenge, making an artistic attempt and having it judged by others – not so different from creating crafts for publication, I guess.

So for those who have seen the first episode of Project Runway where the designers had to make an outfit from items found in a grocery story (a repeat idea from season 1, but still fun to watch)..how could they have left Blayne on after that horrible drawer-liner/jump-rope/pot-holder thing!  I mean, the scary shower-curtain/raincoat with the axe-murderer gloves that eliminated Jerry was frightening, but at least it required some effort!

And speaking of Project Runway, I saw that Michaels craft store is now carrying little “Project Runway” paper doll kits for girls that allow them to create their own outfits with fabric and accessories – how cute!  Hmmm…maybe I’ll buy a kit for Emily as a ‘gift’ and then play with it myself…

And for those other closet reality show addicts out there, I’ve found a whole NEW set of shows that are equally fun to watch on TLC.  There’s Rock the Reception where a choreographer teaches a couple how to do a fun dance at their wedding reception (sounds corny, but it’s cute).  And Must Love Kids – a dating show for single moms with children.  And one that I couldn’t stop watching this weekend, Ashley Paige – Bikini or Bust. Ashley owns a famous high-end bikini design shop, but is having trouble paying her bills and running her business.

Sigh…my DVR is going to fill up fast this summer!