One of the best things about cookies is that there are so many different kinds. From the classic chocolate chip to the decadent double chocolate chunk, there is a type for everyone!

HelloGiggles loves seeing your creative nail designs. From glitter and lace to cartoon and holiday homages, we appreciate a bomb manicure when we see it. Send a photo of your fancy fingertips to info@hellogiggles.com with the subject line “Nails of the Day” and we’ll feature you here!

Copperpeace is a proud supporter of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and their guitar straps have been featured on Katy Perry, Weezer, Band of Horses, The Jonas Brothers, The Avett Brothers, All American Rejects, Switchfoot, The Crystal Method, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lisa Loeb, Yeasayer, Michelle Branch, Meiko, Brite Futures, Butch Walker and many more.  They’ve also snuck into TV cameos on GLEE, The Office, America’s Got Talent, Yo Gabba Gabba, 90210, NCIS, Bones, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, plus many commercials.  As Copperpeace says, “Seek out the signature ‘pick pocket’ or medallion and you’ll know it’s a true Copperpeace.”

"Glovely" Silver Sequined Guitar Strap by Copperpeace

The cool and laid back aura she brought to the table allowed for less of an interview type feel and more of a friendly conversation between three best friends (which of course we are). She truly does represent the few Hollywood stars that are just like us.

Her new movie, Snow White and the Huntsman, will be hitting theaters June 1^st, and boy are we excited to see this one (expect to see us at the midnight showing). While preserving a few of the original morals (the dwarfs, the apple and the mirror), this adaptation takes the Snow White fairytale to a whole new level.

This interview was by far the best because I got to interview my BEST FRIEND!! Well, not actually, but I did get to interview Kristen with my best friend, Lily. She also happens to be a die-hard Kristen fan (her surprise party was KSTEW themed), but shh… don’t tell Kristen, she doesn’t know that we were completely overwhelmed by her awesomeness. She probably thought we hadn’t even seen the Twilight movies with the calm we kept (I’ve seen them at least 10 times each). So, here it is – sit back, relax and enjoy the interview.

P.S. Feel free to become as equally as overwhelmed as we did!

What was it about this version of Snow White that drew you in?

“It’s funny, it really didn’t have anything to do with Snow White one way or the other. I’m not just inherently rebellious; I didn’t JUST want to do it because it was different from what you thought Snow White would do. If you read the seven page Grimm story, it really is… And anyone who is going to do a full length movie and completely elaborate on it, its like this is just a different take on it. We needed to find the ‘why’s of everything. The character, for whatever reason, felt so real to me and in a world that is so unbelievable, that is kind of an exceptional thing. I just wanted to so badly join the cause, more than anything, and I just believed in it.”

Did you know automatically that you wanted to do it, or what there a moment of hesitation?

“I totally knew I wanted to do it. I read the script that we initially started with and I saw so much potential in it. I knew when I talked to the director that this was something that he wanted to really delve into and work out and figure out who everyone was. When you have a story full of archetypes and it’s like, we aren’t just playing the evil queen and the beautiful young girl, it really needed to make sense in order for us to play it properly. So the script changed a lot. We were obsessed with it on set every day; it was the most time I’ve ever spent, being so obsessed and tweaking every little thing. And we don’t say much in the movie – it is pretty hectic and it just goes and goes and goes. We don’t really give you all the plot points, and for such a big movie that is rare.”

Was there one specific thing that you really wanted to change, or one thing that you wanted to work well?

“I mean, everything, but really you don’t want her to just overnight be able to kick ass and defeat an army. We made the action a lot more realistic. We made her able to do all of the things in the movie, rather than ‘I just literally killed a giant 6 ft man in armor’, you know? I probably couldn’t do that, but it doesn’t matter because she outsmarts him; it was just a way to think around it. So you could just get behind her rather than ‘I would really like to do that in a movie, but it real life that would never happen’.”

Were you into those fairy tales when you were younger?

“No, not really. I loved Disney movies, I just wasn’t into the super girly ones. People know this already, but I loved The Jungle Book, it was my favorite thing ever.”

Were there any personality connections that you found between you and your character?

“It’s funny, I am yet to play someone that I don’t love so much. I haven’t played someone I disagree with. I would love to, but things have just happened that way. She is so awesome it is hard for me to say I am like this, I am like that. She is so completely not able to be a part of the people that she loves so much. She really does not find herself as a part of it yet, she’s been so disconnected from people. And to be able to feel something about it… and feel like…not a part of it, I can so relate to.”

Do you ever read the comments and reviews about your movies and the things you do?

“Yeah, totally. I don’t take it to heart because I remember experiences in my head a certain way and I value them so much, and I would never do them differently. Massive response is always weird. Usually things don’t matter, usually when you talk to people during interviews, things fill up in my head and I get nervous. But I am the type of person who needs to know exactly what is going on in their life ‘cos I’m a weirdo… and I need to know everything.”

If there was one message you could send out to your fans, what would it be?

“Hey! Literally, you just need to be able to say ‘Hey!’ It’s not like I have a statement for you all. Like, I’ve been the most honest, it’s not actually true to say, I have been completely honest from the start. If you’re a fan, ‘Hello’. It’s also a rare opportunity to be able to sit with a fan and not be all like ‘Ahhh’ and hectic.”

A phone screen says a lot about a person, so what it yours?

“My phone screen is nothing. And that says a lot about me. I’m kind of technologically out of it. It was my cat for a while. What does that say about me?’

You’re a cat lady! In the movie you are faced with a man who is protecting you – the huntsman and your prince, who is your cute attractive love interest. Which one is more important for you to have in your life?

“Chris is pretty cute. Funny thing about our prince, he wants so badly to be the huntsman. But for some reason, the fate or the stars sort of turns things askew and the stars aligned differently when I came out of Prison and I came of age. The fate is not as clear, things just don’t line up. The Prince really has to prove himself, he is really good with a bow and he is constantly vying but the movie moves so fast it is hard to focus on the romance, but for me… I would probably want both.”

Do you think you have both?

“[Giggles] Yeah…”

Was it difficult to do all of the fight scenes considering the weight of the armor?

“Well we had two different versions. One was very heavy and hard; well, it wasn’t really the weight, it was just rigid. And one version was plastic – well…rubber.”

Did you do a lot of training to learn how to do the fight scenes?

“Well, we had to throw out a bit of choreography, because a lot of the sword fighting stuff was like doing a dance. It looked really great but suddenly it looked like I was a ninja and just could take out an army. It wouldn’t have felt as good to see her succeed if it was impossible. Rupert, the director, who is amazing, made go out and just say to myself ‘Don’t die’ and said, ‘There will be a ton of people coming at you, and here’s a shield and sword.’ But I do think the training really helped me get into it. When you were put on the set with 500 people, it really did help.”

 You are really known for your [unique] style. You were just voted best dressed in Glamour UK, so if you could where one designer and feel really comfortable in it who would it be?

“Balenciaga!! [Lughs] I think, yeah, I mean, I just love Balenciaga. I mean, I’m not just saying that, I promise you! Yeah, you see that is the thing. Balenciaga stands out more than anyone else just because of how they are so… weird, which is so cool to me! If you are going to do something, especially like with actors and fashion and their relationship with it, it is so strange because we are not involved in the creative process, you are really only able to hang out with them and wear their stuff! It is just not often that you really run into stuff that seems like it was made for somebody’s own self rather than to be like ‘Look at this!’, you know? I don’t want to seem like a weirdo person that criticizes people for selling out, but they are genuinely artistic and I feel like a lot of designers now just aren’t!”

Well, we are going into high school next year, as are a ton of your fans. What was a thing that you feel really got you through high school, Kristen, and helped in figuring out what you wanted to do? I mean, when you are talking to younger girls, how is it that you inspire them to really pull through high school?

“Wait a second, you’re going to be in high school NEXT year?”

Yeah!

“Are you KIDDING me? Get OUT of here! That’s ridiculous! Well I would have to say that for one, thank God you’re almost in high school because high school is awesome compared to middle school! For me, at least! OH GOD! I mean, here is the deal… I didn’t actually have to go to high school…”

You got the EASY way out, didn’t you Kristen?

“Yeah, that’s right! But like I still stayed completely in contact with my friends who did go to high school. And I was still very much in-ish! I didn’t have to go but things got so much easier after that, for me! So I would say, just hold on! Also, like, it is so weird harping on this sort of subject because I still feel so close to that time, even though I am breathing a bit easier now that I know myself a little bit more, and I just feel more comfortable… but at the same time, I don’t feel like I have changed at all, necessarily, I mean… Oh my God, this is so funny, now we are having the Bridesmaids conversation: ‘I’ve grown but I’ve changed!’

I just feel like you have to have at that age, and this is going to sound so cheesy but I am serious about this and I completely remember it, you’ve got to do what you want to do! And it is as simple as that, and that’s all I have got to say! But you know it’s not easy to do, and WOW, now it sounds like I’m giving advice as someone who knows what the hell they are talking about! It is true, not that I know what I am talking about, but that you have got to do what you do. And also make sure that you have something to do! Like you know, everyone can do something! Some people walk around saying you know, ‘I’m bored! I’m bored!’ It’s like no, DO something! Everyone is kind of awesome!”

Yes totally! Well, thank you so much, Kristen, this meant so much!

“Yea,  totally! Of course!!”

I refuse to park my own car.  If there’s a valet parker less than half a block away from me, I will always park my car with him.  I avoid parking lots like the plague, especially the “Two Hours Free” ones. It’s one of my worst qualities.  The problem is that I never have money for valet parking. I have written more $6 checks to valet companies all throughout the city than anyone you’ll ever meet. The last couple of places didn’t take checks so I’ve turned myself around and really made an effort to try to carry cash.

The other day, I was going to meet my friends at dinner and I asked my husband for valet money. He didn’t have any and I was too embarrassed to ask my friend for some again. There was no way I was doing that. After searching all over my house, I remembered that I found a pink play purse of Sunny’s with cash and a few marshmallows in it. Perfect! I would just take Sunny’s cash and then return it tomorrow. I had scrounged up $4 on my own so I only needed three dollars. Two days later, I found myself in the same predicament. I would just take the remaining $4 and give it all back this week.

As I was taking the $4, Sunny came into the closet. “What are you doing?” she asked. Shocked, I took a step back. “Nothing, I’m just checking to make sure you have all your marshmallows.”

She looked confused. She asked for her purse. I handed it to her and right away she saw that the money was missing. So for some strange reason, I blurted out, “I invested your money.” I explained that in two days she would have more money than she did before and not to ask too many questions but just to trust me. For the next 24 hours, my daughter, the loan shark, was stalking me. I could not believe that Sunny not only remembered I owed her money, but was actually hounding me about it. That night at dinner, she kept asking me what an investment was and if she was going to be rich. Remind me never to borrow money from this chick again.

The Coveted Lisa Frank Playing Cards

I bought the cards from her, of course, but in talking to her I discovered that what I really wanted was to get to know the woman herself: her name is Rondi Kutz and she was the head designer for Lisa Frank from 1987-2002 (a.k.a. the golden years). Rondi was kind enough to let me interview her about what it was like to work for the woman who influenced an entire generation of girls. Without further ado, I present pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about Lisa Frank.

Hi Rondi! Thank you so much for letting me interview you. Let’s jump right in. How did you first get involved with Lisa Frank?

In 1987, I answered an ad for an artist job that was posted in the Phoenix paper. I had no idea who had posted it and when they requested an interview I found out it was Lisa Frank. I still had no idea who Lisa Frank was. But when I went through the front doors of her studio and walked into a little show room with all of the products, I knew that I was home. Luckily I got the job!

What was your journey within the Lisa Frank company?

When I started my title was simply artist. I started out doing concepts for designs with markers. I also did some illustration and had to learn how to airbrush. All of the art  back then was done by airbrush, although they did have one computer that the creative director was learning to use. Then the other artists learned to create the airbrushed ‘look’ art and started to do all of the illustrations on the computer by 1988-89. I had no patience for the computer, so continued to do concepts as marker renderings, which then went to the computer illustrators to clean up and illustrate.

This is my kind of history lesson! What was your role later in the 90s?

As the company grew I became more involved with the product development and started to design and develop all of the craft kits. They also discovered I had a knack for writing, so I named all the products, wrote all the stories for the characters and wrote all the material for the Lisa Frank magazine. I wrote copy for ads and even TV commercials. I also worked with the art director on photo shoots (for the magazine, packaging and ads) doing wardrobe and styling. It was such a blast! My title ended up as Senior Designer/Product Development Group Leader.

What was it like working for Lisa Frank herself?

It was exciting and exhausting! Lisa is a tiny ball of energy, on the go and in full creative mode at all times. I worked closely with her the first several years I was there until she had her kids. After that  she wasn’t in the office much, choosing to work most of the time from home.

Did you have any idea when you were first working there that your designs would be such a hit?

No, not really. When I started working at Lisa Frank, she had already made a pretty big name for herself in the sticker industry. It was really just when I started in 1987 that she started doing school supplies, which of course included the famous Trapper Keepers. This really launched the brand into a whole new market and it was a hit. It just kept growing from there.

Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper

What are some of the coolest designs/merchandise you can remember working on?

Well, all of the character designs were always fun to work on and probably my favorite part of my job. One of the very first craft kits was Bead Mania, which was the first craft kit I ever worked on. It was really a learning experience. I even got to go to Hong Kong and work on it, which was pretty cool.

Bead Mania

What was the best part of working for Lisa Frank?

It was so great being a part of something that grew so big and experiencing it from almost the beginning. The experience afforded me a lot of exciting opportunities, like going to Hong Kong, flying to meetings across the country in Lisa’s private jet, hosting fashion shows at the mall, working with models on photo shoots and TV commercials (including Mila Kunis when she was twelve years old), and meeting celebrities that would be involved in fundraisers.

And the most challenging part?

The most challenging part was the incredible pace at which we had to work. Getting ready for big meetings would require lots of overtime and the patience for enduring revision after revision after revision. Lisa is fanatical about detail. But that is what makes her art so extraordinary.

Is there any one iconic design you can point to and say, I designed that? Or was it more of a collaborative effort?

The artwork was a collaborative effort, but it all began with me putting it on paper as a marker rendering. The concepts came from Lisa, James (her husband) or me, so I can say that some of the characters were my idea and original design. But by the time it went to an illustrator to redraw it, adding detail, then to the computer artist who rendered it on the computer (which entailed hundreds of hours of work), it had many artists’ stamps on it.

What was the work environment like physically? Were the walls decorated with Lisa Frank designs?

The first Lisa Frank studio where I started was in an old house near downtown Tucson. It wasn’t fancy, but it was really cool. Colors everywhere. Eventually, the company moved to its mega huge corporate headquarters. Talk about cool! The building was unbelievable, inside and out. Huge stars, hearts and music notes in rainbow colors around the outside of the building. The artists’ area inside was state of the art. All windows, hardwood floors, open duct work in rainbow colors and huge character statues all over. It really did/does match the fun and colors of the brand.

What would you say were the most popular items when you worked there?

Well, anything with unicorns, kittens, puppies, or horses were always popular. As far as products, it kind of varied over the years. When I first started it was stickers, then the school folders/Trapper Keepers, then the crafts got really big for a while. Oh, yeah, the hand painted rainbow shoes. Guess what… I was the one who painted them! I WAS Panda Painter. But I have a feeling that stickers always were and still are her most popular product.

Panda Painter

What’s your favorite Lisa Frank character or design?

I think it would have to be the Punk Poodle. It was one of the first designs that I worked on. It also looked just like my parent’s dog, Mitzy – minus the rainbow hair, earrings, sunglasses and leather jacket.

I have to ask, was Lisa’s personal jet decorated in a Lisa Frank style? Did she dress in Lisa Frank colors? How much does the person match the brand?

Lisa IS her brand! She lives, breathes, and quite possibly eats colors. Her house was/is purple. She wears the most awesome shoes – usually with super platforms – and unique designer clothes. She is teeny tiny, with a personality about a million times bigger than she is physically. Lisa radiates creativity along with extreme business savvy. She is one sharp and colorful cookie!

Anything you want to add?

I just want to thank Lisa Frank! It truly was an amazing experience.

Thank you so much, Rondi! This was the interview of a lifetime for me. And I also want to thank you for helping to influence the taste, creativity, and passion (not to mention bedroom decor) of so many girls like me. We love you!

Images via cheerall.com, picasaweb.google.com, etsy.com, ghostofthedoll.co.uk, lisafrankonly.tumblr.com, etsy.com, lisafrankparty.tumblr.com

Congratulations! I’m sure it feels like just yesterday you first embarked upon your college endeavor, anticipating new experiences and unique perspectives, completely unsuspecting of just how much the next few years would shape who you are today. I bet you had no idea when you first stepped foot on campus how much you would grow, how many friends you would make or how great you would be at Quarters. And here you stand before your friends and family on this momentous occasion of your graduation ceremony, eagerly awaiting your chance to walk across this stage, receive your empty diploma frame and face the world at large.

But what is the state of the world at large? I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors. Mounting national debt, a disappearing middle class, people getting eaten by sharks, a volatile and challenging economy, among many other large-scale issues. And then there are the issues even more specific to your generation. Millenials (people born in the 80s and 90s) face a 12% unemployment rate, which is higher than the 8% national average unemployment rate. The Associated Press just reported that half of you will leave this ceremony either unemployed or underemployed. I bet that makes it tough to deal with their average $45,000 in debt. And it probably doesn’t help that most Millenials are financially illiterate.

You know what’s crazy though? You’re going to be just fine. You see, despite the seemingly herculean obstacles all around us, you are well-equipped to not only survive, but to thrive. By attaining a Bachelor’s degree, you have earned yourselves a spot among the highest educated 30% of the U.S. population. You grad students out there are in the top 11%. You are armed with the tools and training to be the impactful people of tomorrow. When you get frustrated with the inefficiencies and injustices around you, take comfort in the fact that when the old guard passes, you will be there to step in and make a difference.

That’s not to say that you are going to walk away from this ceremony and start kicking ass. There is going to be some struggle. There’s a chance it will take you a while to find work. You will probably have a quarter life crisis, if that hasn’t happened to you already. There may still be break ups, make ups and shake ups you never saw coming. You might even find yourself moving in with your parents or strangers on Craigslist who don’t wear pants as often as you’d like them to, but they don’t require a security deposit so it’s really the only affordable option at the time. (They might end up being kind of fun! Sometimes.)

For me and some of you and many of our fellow Millenials, there is a giant gap between graduation and self-actualized adulthood that nobody told us about. There are going to be a few years where we are too mature to end up on “Texts From Last Night,” but still not ready to buy houses, have serious conversations about life insurance or propagate on purpose. In fact the average age of a first-time homeowner these days is 35. The average age for a first child among female college grads is 30. You’ve got a while to go.

It’s been five years since I graduated and I still have moments where I can’t get it together. But the older I get, the more I feel like I know what I’m doing. Maybe I’ll have it all figured out by 30. Probably not, though. I bet that’s still okay. Like I said, the fact that you are standing here today proves that you have what it takes to succeed eventually. And you certainly don’t have to do it on anyone else’s time frame.

In a way, success isn’t your entitlement – it’s your obligation. Your education was an investment. It was an investment of your money, or your parents’ money or maybe the government’s money. It’s an investment on the part of the faculty who imparted both knowledge and wisdom, even when they could tell you weren’t paying attention. Think of your friends who supported you, stayed up studying with you, celebrated the end of semesters with you and pretended that they couldn’t tell you hadn’t washed your hair when you were too busy studying for finals. (BTW – try some dry shampoo next time, for serious.) Think of your mentors who wouldn’t have offered their time, advice or even concern if they didn’t think you were going to make something of yourself. Think of everything you did in the last few years to earn this moment. You owe it to all these people, and most importantly to yourself, to be a good investment and live to your best potential. To quote a Jack’s Mannequin song, “The whole world is watching/ You haven’t come this far to fall off the earth.”

A few final pieces of parting advice – if you happen to reach true and stable adulthood sooner than everyone else, that’s awesome. But maturity doesn’t entitle you with a smug sense of superiority, so be nice to everyone else. Don’t stop learning just because you’re not in school. Never forget to wear sunscreen. And as happy as you are in this moment, don’t let this be your peak. Make sure it gets even better from here. I know it will get even better from here.

Again, congratulations. I’ll see you back at my HelloGiggles column in six months when your student loans kick in.

Image by Shutterstock

Welcome to the HelloGiggles Rabbit Cam!

The tagline of the Real World franchise, “When things stop being polite and start getting real”, is especially prescient and applicable to the real housewives brand of realness.  To clarify, this social realness isn’t of the Emily Post variety; it’s of the “close your legs to married men” (Nene Leakes 2008) variety.  Moreover, it’s also of the “shaming your ex-husband on national television by bringing up his lack of financial support vis-a-vis child support”-variety (Sheree Whitfield 2011).

With so many extreme examples of Bravo ladies behaving badly, I have to pose the question: what is the positive message hidden just beneath the surface of such basic behavior (informally defined as “basicism“)?  Former New Jersey housewife/villain Danielle Staub used to propagate the “love and light” mantra, which mockingly got thrown back in her face on many an occasion.

So the question begs to be asked: is there a silver lining to watching grown women verbally assault each other (by bringing up embarrassing circumstances involving their personal lives) week by week?  Can we learn from the flagrant, albeit slightly egotistical assertions of upwardly mobile women?  What is it that keeps us hooked and entertained on a weekly basis?  Is there any love and light to be found in the Real Housewives franchise?

While some people argue that reality television rewards bad behavior, I would argue that perhaps reality television (Bravo in particular) rewards the raw, visceral power of truth lurking deeply inside all of us.  Whether we want to admit this or not: reality television peels back the primary layers of the onion of life.  Surely, there are some unpleasant, tear-inducing truths in those cutaneous layers, but reality television forces us to confront those uncomfortable truths and chew on that onion raw dog.

Keeping this in mind, allow me to illuminate 5 life lessons I’ve learned from 5 (Really) Real Housewives:

1. Nene Leakes – Let Your Haters Be Your Motivators.

Ironically, that’s what Kim Zolciak and Sheree Whitfield (Public Enemies #1 and #2 for Nene Leakes, respectively) said in reference to Nene herself on Season 1 of RHOATL.  However, “let your haters be your motivators” is practically Intro to Real Housewives 101.

If I’ve learned anything from Lenethia “Nene” Leakes, it’s that you shouldn’t waste too much energy on haters.  Don’t get me wrong – according to the How To Be a Future Baller Handbook I’m putting together, you are allowed (practically encouraged) to waste just enough energy to acknowledge and throw shade at the haters, but you can’t waste too much energy.   The reality is: if you’re expending too much energy on your haters, you aren’t out there accomplishing greatness for yourself.

Ultimately, “let your haters be your motivators” is about acknowledging the hate and then using that negative energy as an impetus to hyper-motivate you to accomplish great things, although it goes without saying that you shouldn’t need to get doused in the face with haterade to achieve greatness in life.  However, any inspirational energy, whether negative or positive, doesn’t hurt the process of becoming powerful and amazing (and a future baller).

So by all means, acknowledge those haters, and let those very haters watch you achieve your dreams.  When you start to accomplish your goals, be like Nene: wave to the haters, blow the haters a kiss and be like, “Hey, Haters!!” 

2. Jill Zarin/Camille Grammer – Be Careful What You Say on Camera, Because It’s There Forever. 

This life lesson “be careful what you say on camera because it’s there forever” is a tie between former New York housewife Jill Zarin and kinda-former Beverly Hills housewife Camille Grammer.  Throughout her tenure on The Real Housewives of New York, the unofficial queen of mean wasn’t shy about expressing her Regina Georgeian opinions on the other ladies, most notably she of the getting-hives-at-awkward-public-moments-persuasion, Alex McCord.

During each RHONY Reunion episode, Jill Zarin would get called out on the mean things she said about everyone on camera.  To Jill’s credit, her words were slightly comedic in a juvenile, middle school capacity; although it’s also worth noting that Jill’s words were simultaneously mean-spirited and totally inappropriate for someone her age!

On her last and final season of RHONY, although Jill tried her best to tame her meanness (she publicly acknowledged that she had changed), she let the above dig slip at a society (I’m rolling my eyes as I type this) wedding that same season.  Rest assured: cattiness isn’t just relegated to one coast – it’s a bicoastal phenomenon.  And Camille Grammer brought her own trademark best coast brand of cattiness to the town of Beverly (quite wonderfully, I might add).

Oh Camille, how I love thee, let me count the ways!  Firstly, how tragic it is that Camille won’t be a central figure on next season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, y’all?  Camille Donatacci Grammer’s verbal assaults on Season 1, while systematically catty, were so legendarily amazing that I am really sad she won’t be there to dish them out anymore (please see above example).  That’s often the plots of many reality shows: “You said this mean thing about me, and I found out about it, and now you have to deal with me either by me being mean back to you or beating you up!”

It always shocks me when reality TV people say truly horrific things about their castmates in their confessionals.  Common sense would dictate that they will inevitably have to deal with the consequences of those words at some point.  I analogize this to not paying your parking tickets on time. Surely, you don’t have to pay your parking tickets right away or even at all, until one day you’re shopping at Urban Outfitters on Melrose and find your car has mysteriously been incarcerated at the Hollywood Tow Lot.  Instead of paying the $40 it initially cost, you’ll end up paying something like $400.  And just like those parking tickets, words on camera will inevitably have to be dealt with, and the consequences are often very expensive.

Still, it goes without saying that dissing and then kissing/making up is engrained in the DNA of reality television.  Calling fellow housewife Kyle Richards’ best friend Faye Resnick “the morally corrupt Faye Resnick” was almost Shakespearean in its linguistic beauty (and acerbic burn).  Although “the morally corrupt Faye Resnick” wasn’t the only duplicitous dig Camille dished out during her freshman season (she had some real whoppers), it was by far my fave.

The lesson in this: be careful what you say on camera, because it will be there to haunt you forever, and you never know what life may bring.  After Camille went through a very (very) ugly public divorce and received copious amounts of public criticism for her catty, elitist comments, she was somewhat (okay, completely) humbled.  On Season 2 of RHOBH, Camille went into heavy PR damage control to transform her public persona.

After her epic Homerian fall, Camille decided to stay in the positive.  Other than a few sassy jabs here and there on Season 2, Camille didn’t really say anything (particularly) awful.  It’s also worth mentioning that Camille exhibited a fairly good sense of humor about her embarrassing comments, and I’m always a big fan of people who are self-aware enough to laugh at themselves.  Nonetheless, be care what you say on camera!  Let the record show that I am also trying to take my own advice!

3. Camille Grammer – Dance Like EVERYONE is Watching.

Don’t get it twisted: I realize that the expression is ‘dance like no one’s watching’, but Camille Grammer has changed the game with her too adorable for words/over-the-top dancing prowess.  As we all know, Camille Donatacci was a dancer on “Club MTV” (before she became Camille Grammer), and even though Camille ditched the Grammer, she still has the moves!

When Camille dances, she commands the room because Camille dances like everyone (and they are) is watching, and I love her for that.  Dancing like everyone is watching is really about being vivacious, loving life and owning that attitude in a public sphere.  Say what you need to say about Camille Grammer (there is probably a lot to say, in fact), but she owns herself in a way many housewives don’t.

On a related note, a personal trainer once said to me, “Edward, life is an attitude.”  At the time, he was referencing me pushing myself to do more repetitions of a really hard chest exercise (so naturally I wanted to smack him across the face), but his advice rings true in the case of Camille Grammer: life is an attitude, so dance like everyone is watching.

4.  Kim Zolciak – Who Needs Talent When You Have FRIENDS with Talent?

Let the court records of this hello giggles post unanimously show that I love Kim Zolciak.  And please don’t underestimate the wig-wearing, chain-smoking, Big Poppa-dating, Kroy Bierman-baby-bearing, Real Housewife: it’s Kim’s world and we are all just coexisting in it, okay?  You can Google her if you need to, although it shouldn’t be necessary if  you flip on Bravo for a mere 5 minutes on any given Sunday.

Based on outward appearances, a lot of people (cough Nene Leakes) probably wouldn’t have expected Kim Zolciak to soar to the great (reality) heights that she has soared to; however, Kim Zolciak knew how to be savvy and seize all the right opportunities.  Also, it’s worth nothing that although Kim Zolciak is a textbook opportunist-she is an incredibly gifted and successful opportunist.

Hoping to break into the realm of country music on the first season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, we saw Kim attempting to find a hit single while gliding along through life-happily (and aimlessly) with her mystery sugar daddy, Big Poppa.  I have a hunch that I wasn’t the only viewer who cringed when I first heard Kim Zolciak belt out her first, smokey, nicotine laced line of ‘Don’t Be Tardy For The Party’.

To break it down like Mariah, Kim was straight-up awful at singing.  But a little lacko’talent didn’t stop our sassy, buxom blonde from sizing up her opportunities.  Even after famed producer Dallas Austin embarrassingly tossed her aside on camera, Kim didn’t let that stop her from pursuing a singing career.

When Kim became friends with Grammy-winning Kandi Burress, “a single, [successful] independent woman doing it for herself,” Kim became inspired.  And with that friendship, the trajectory of Kim’s life was changed forever.  The moment that Kandi graciously offered to produce and mix up Kim’s track, I don’t think anyone conceptualized just how amazing Kandi could make Kim sound.

Certainly, Kandi made it rain with the autotune on her version of ‘Tardy For the Party’.  And surely, it really spoke more to Kandi’s ability as a producer (Kandi herself has said that she can “make anyone hot”) than it did to Kim’s ability as a vocalist.  Nonetheless, Kandi created a hit single for Kim, and the previously insurmountable feat of making Kim sound good was reached with one well-executed stroke of autotune dial.

Sometimes, it’s just about who you know.  And who needs talent when you have friends with talent?

5. Bethenny Frankel – You Are Your Own Personal Brand, and You Only Got One Life to Sell It.

Watching the rise of Bethenny Frankel was the ultimate life lesson because it was like watching a one-woman tour de force of wit and grit and schtick take over my Bravo consciousness/the world.  When the first season of RHONY aired, Bethenny Frankel was by far the sharpest, the funniest, the realest, the most self-deprecating and the most overtly diligent housewife on the block.  To top it off: she was also the only housewife who lacked the financial security of a husband, or the alimony of an ex-husband to rely upon.

After her the dissolution of her then relationship on camera, it seemed like Bethenny was in for hard times ahead.  By the third season of RHONY, Bethenny had also publicly lost her partner-in-catty-crime, Jill Zarin, over an imaginary slight.  Still, it seemed like something miraculous happened for Bethenny during that third season.  As a natural foods chef and businesswoman, Bethenny had used the visibility of the Real Housewives to promote her brand.

By the end of the third season of RHONY, Bethenny had started her own brand of beverages, Skinnygirl, modeled after her version of a “skinny margarita.”  Notably, Bethenny secured the success of her brand by investing in the business of herself.  Cultivating and refining an honest (and at times sardonic) wit, a sense of humility amidst great success, and an authenticity seemingly absent in the land or reality-Bethenny gained a loyal following and  really took things to a whole new level.

And then shortly after all that: Bethenny found herself in a new relationship, and shortly after that, pregnant! At almost 40 years old, a lot of pieces of the life puzzle started to fill in for Bethenny (albeit quickly).  Bethenny herself has attributed much of her own success to her singular focus: “I’m not running around buying diamonds and getting facials…I just decided to be totally honest and own it. You can’t do something you don’t stand for just to make money. It’s a smart audience, people will realize it.”

Using the Real Housewives as her global platform, Bethenny Frankel was able to advertise and market her product (and herself) by capitalizing on an invaluable opportunity that a lot of women use merely for the simple purposes of providing snarky commentary and tearing other women down.  The biggest lesson I learned from Bethenny Frankel is that if you are smart, funny, driven and have a brand to promote, using a platform like the Real Housewives (or any global platform, really) could lead to unimaginable success.

As long as we’re on the topic of self promotion, be sure to catch me and Leslie Grossman every Wednesday at 7pm PST on HelloGiggles UStream show, “That Hot Housewives Goss,” where we discuss-hot Bravo housewives gossip!  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send those into info@hellogiggles.com with the subject line “that hot goss.” You can also tweet at me or Leslie on twitter, and we’ll be sure to say hey!

Photos courtesy of bravotv.com