The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Hello! So, last night was the season finale of my guilty pleasure, The Real Housewives of Atlanta. To say that the series was over-the-top would be an understatement. Cat fights, fashion wars and financial competition were common themes. On the good side, all of the women seemed to be focused on following their dreams such as building their charities or pursuing their creative talents. I blogged about them before, so I wanted to follow up .

Financial updates:

Deshawn Snow: I learned that her hubby Cleveland Cavalier Eric Snow got injured and after more than 10 years in the league and is going into retirement. The couple has just bought a big old estate (yes, it has a hair salon inside) in the suburbs of Atlanta, and Mrs. Snow is not worried about a dime. She says they prepared for the day when her NBA player hubby would have to retire. She'll be cutting back a bit (no more Mercedes lease) but the family will be fine. Team SNOW! I love to hear about a family planning for the future. I really liked getting to know about her family dynamics this episode.

Lisa Hartwell: She's married to  Ed Hartwell, who had a fat eight-figure contract with the Atlanta Falcons before getting injured.  He spent the majority of the show in rehab, so he could get picked up by an NFL team. Ed got his wish when the Oakland Raiders picked him up. Lisa has about 3,000 businesses she runs, so when she found out her rehabbing husband got picked up by the Oakland Raiders, she was less than enthused. Lisa thought Oakland was too far and that football is too brutal of a sport. Another part of me thinks that Ed is her #1 employee and she hated the thought of having to hire help. Lisa forever had poor Ed working in the kitchen beading necklaces for her jewelry line.  Beading necklaces/football, it's all manual labor, Lisa! Ed ends up not lasting long in Oakland, and I guess that's just fine. Ed seems like a smart guy. He has a bright future ahead of him, and his wife will keep him employed!

Kim Zolciak: Kim is the "housewife" who dated a man dubbed, "Big Papa." The man is never seen but always buys her expensive gifts. I know Kim talked about having a singing career, but she hasn't recorded an album. I have no idea how she pays her bills, other than by getting support from Big Papa. I hope she gets child support from her daughters' father. Big Papa breaks up with Kim, we learn. Something about Big Papa makes me think he's a married man. Just a hunch!

NeNe Leakes: NeNe is seen buying her son a $42,000 truck. Gracious! She didn't seem extravagant with the spending during the season, so I guess it's a worthwhile purchase for her family. Her son has just graduated from high school and got good grades. Nice mom!

Sheree Whitfield: Sheree started a fashion line, but it has not done well. The clothing samples are horrible and her staffers stink. Mychael Knight, one of the finalists from Project Runway plays fairy godfather and offers Sheree some business advice: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRODUCT! High five, Mychael! Sheree seems to pride herself on having handlers to jump to her every whim. The only thing is that her "help" always does a horrible job. They take her money and have her looking like a jerk at every event. She had no clothes to show at her fashion line viewing because the seamstress botched the samples. I could sew better clothes than Sheree's seamstress, and I don't know how to hem!

I digress.

Did you watch the show? What did you think? Do you think these ladies are handling financial business? Who is your favorite?

Comments

[Product Junkie Diva]

LOL @ your section on Lisa and Ed, she sure did have him making necklaces..lol.
Loved the show and I heard they were picked up for another season so I will be watching that.
Kim revealed in an interview that Big Poppa is married but he is going through a divorce...yeah right!!!! And from the preview of the reunion show Nene makes a comment about Kim dating married men. Yes I would have to agree Nene didn't do big spending throughout the show so dropping $42,000 on her son may not be that big of a deal for her.
Sheree may want to have a business but she is not "hands on" enough as Mychael explained. She needs to have better business sense.
My favorite is Deshawn!

[Natalie]

I thought these ladies were CRAZY!! The drama they had in their personal lives and all -- and I would imagine it carries over to their pocket books somewhat. Well -- except for the Snows, but they didn't seem to be on the show that much (maybe because they weren't that much drama!?)
I really laughed when that lady had her husband doing jewelry!

[Tela]

I've watched all the episodes and do not think these ladies are handling their financial business because out of all the people they talked to on the show (hair stylists, car salesmen, jewelers etc.) no one went and had a tete-a-tete with their lawyer OR accountant. Bad move for anyone with "money" nouveau riche included. My favorite is NeNe because she talked the least about money.

[The Frugalista Files]

@PJD: I really liked Deshawn in this last episode. Sheree, hmmm. She needs to take some business courses.
@Namesake: *chortle* Lisa Wu Hartwell runs a family sweat shop! Her little infant will know how to bead before he learns how to walk!
Tela: Preach it! And NeNe was big fun. I just wish she wasn't so bothered by her friendships turning sour. She's very sensitive.

[luvadeal]

I always think it's really funny when people like Sheree expect others to care about "her" line as passionately as she does. If it works out, she gets the glamour, she gets the praise, she gets the cash. It's not that the seamstress didn't care. It's that Sheree didn't care enough to own it. I knew Sheree was a straight up amateur when she had samples delivered the day before her viewing. Sorry, if you are launching something in such a "grand" way, you have that stuff weeks done in advance, so you can edit for mistakes. I don't know anything about launching a fashion line but you don't check your key product the day before a launch. That is common sense 101.

[luvadeal]

But you asked about money. If NeNe and her hubby have that kind of cash to spend on a child's first car, then ok. I mean he did get good grades so again -- incentive. I'm also glad to hear DeShawn and her hubby did some planning. They do have 3 children. I was also fascinated to know so many athletes have to change their lifestyles so dramatically when they get cut. PS -- How old is Lisa? She's older than her man, right?

[Mimi]

These women were a trip. I think Kim is a pathological liar (former stripper, they say). NeNe has a good heart but needs to think before she speaks. I think the SUV they bought for their son wasn't real. They didn't really buy that boy that expensive vehicle. They seem too sensible to do that, especially her husband. Just like using Dallas Austin to pretend he was helping Kim do an album when she can't sing. Of all the women on the show, NeNe is the one who has the brightest future, and that will be based on her charisma. She can carry a television show by herself. She has the "It" factor that makes for success. Kim and Sheree are the least likel to succeed because one is a moron/stripper/pathological liar, and the other thinks basking in her "beauty" is enough to survive on. Does she really believe Atlantans are jealous of her??? Does she believe all eyes are on what SHE wears? Oh woman, get real. You are too egotistical. DaShawn is a sweet, pitiful girl who thinks that spending more money will buy her more class. I think she means well but her light bulb was off when she tried to raise $1 million without so much as charging for the ticket to enter the gala. That was pathetic but quite well meaning. Her husband is a gem. He loved her more for what was in her heart. Lisa and Ed are a lovely couple. Seems like true love here. She needs to focus more on exactly what her priorities are. All of her businesses cannot be equally important. Yes, the baby will soon be making jewelry for her. That's her Chinese heritage - the entrepreneurial side. I admire that in her. Now for the one person I cannot stand on the show: Sheree Whitfield is a cold, distant, person who is clueless about business and is the biggest wannabe on the show. I never saw her hug her children. I heard her talk about getting her $1 million plus divorce settlement but I still don't know what she contributed to her marriage or her family. She seems to hold people at an emotional distance. I can't see her giving much of herself to her husband. He probably said good riddance. She has some interesting fashion ideas but that was about all. She likes to wear high fashion clothes but if she ever delivers a clothing line I will give her a thousand dollars out of my pocket. I couldn't believe she had all these women sitting around the table trying to translate her ideas into a grand opening. What did she want? She wanted a big party that she would be the center of and if she happened to have some decent clothes to show, so be it. What fool would organize a party before she even got a sample back. What fool would allow others to execute everything from sketches, to buying the fabric that she couldn't even bother to buy herself!!! And, did she really not know who the seamstress was (had she worked with her/him before????), etc. I could go on and on but it's not worth it. The woman needs to get a J-O-B. Child support yes, alimony, no.

[Heidi]

I tried to watch these gals, just couldn't do it. And full disclosure: I was a Real Housewives of New York and Orange County lurker....("What's with the lying??")

[veronica]

Love the show, can't wait to watch the reunion show. NeNe was probably my favorite and next would be Lisa just because she is ambitious and not about the drama. DeShawn is sweet but she is waaayy to into having money (not sure if that made sense). Sheree? Please when Kim and Sheree didn't show up to DeShawn's little gathering that was so rude and their responses to it in their interviews were rude. They could have atleast called and said that they weren't coming, they have the nerve to talk about other people being classless. Kim Kim Kim, how old is she? She said something about quitting smoking before she was 30? For real? All this time I was thinking wow she looks good for 50.

[Jamillah]

Love the show with all its excess. I love NeNe, Lisa, and Deshawn. The two I can't stand is Kim and Sheree. Kim can't sing a lick, bought her 11 year old a Louis Vuitton purse, and was tripping about eatting guacamole out of a stone pot. Sheree had no interaction with her kids, never hear of her DH and she wants a seven figure divorce settlement so she can blow it on fashion shows with no fashion and shoes that cost as much as my nest egg. Mad at Bravo for the short ass season.

[Lou]

Did not watch the show. But have been up on everything as the sister in law and niece LOVE it and give me the low down on it. I'd love to watch the next season. I should have DVR'd it. Hm, reruns, DVR, schedule. Gotta go play with the remote.

[Aisha]

I absolutely love the show... I started in Cali, passed through NYC, and landed in Hot Lanta!! THe girls are all colorful in personality and some unfortunately more than others. Like most NeNe is my fave, her husband is wonderful and she is grounded in a boistrous, cleavegy, kind of way...lol. Loved how she called a k-a-t (lol) a cat when she heard about Kim's well financed and destined to fail singing career. Lisa's great love her energy..not so many good things said about her life prior to ED...but hey we live and learn. DeShawn is sweet but tries a bit to hard...hopefully she will learn that with money comes the option of not having to try at all..lol. Lastly, Sheree was top on my list until I saw her play sides with NeNe and Kim...but most importantly, I was disgusted to hear about her 23 year old daughter that she had as a teen, who is not allowed to call her mom, and Sheree refers to her as a friend...get over yourself girl, no mom is ever so fly that she has to deny her child...you lost major points in the so-pcalled "sophisticated and classy" department for that one...shame on you---I'm holding my breath until the reunion show, looks like it's going to be a good one!

[Diana]

I am not sure if anyone is aware that Sheree had been on Amazing Race season four along with another NFL wife name Monica.

[A'shantie]

I love you insight about the show, you hit it right on point. I just cant wait to see what happens tonight on the reunion show. From the preview i saw not only is Ne - Ne tried of Kim but also Lisa.