Archive for the ‘Hot-Mama Appreciation’ Category

“Tell me again why you watch this?” queried Hubby, plopping down on the couch next to Yours Truly.

“Because she’s the real deal in a sea of imitators?” I shot back. “Because she has a stellar work ethic? Because she makes me LMAO?”

We don’t usually upspeak like gum-chomping Valley gals in Momover Central, but for some reason we were the other night, as I plowed through about five eps of The Rachel Zoe Project jamming our DVR queue.

“But wait – is she a cougar?” Hubby asked, spotting Rodg onscreen next to Rach.

“They’ve been married for like 20 years, you scary age-ist,” I said, rushing to Rach’s defense. “And for the record, I think he’s actually older than she is. Not that it matters, meanie.”

Of course straight guys don’t get why a good chunk of the world is gaga over Rachel Zoe, but I most certainly do. To them, she’s just a tightly wound whirling dervish, mincing through her very rarefied world in what I like to call “ER” footwear. (Case in point: The new broad on RHOBH, who’s on crutches because she fell literally off her shoes. Straight guys don’t fall off their shoes.)

Remember when Rodg had to make it his life’s mission to get Rachel to wrap her mind around having a baby? I was a nervous wreck, chewing my nails down to bloody stumps (just jiving – I’m not even a biter) fretting that she might let motherhood pass her by. The clock was ticking, and I was freaking, watching the wheels turn as she calculated just how very, very much a tot would turn her amazing life on its ass.

Aaaah, but then she took the plunge.

Et voila, a so-cute-you-could-just-squish-him Mini Rodg.

Okay, so new-mommyhood makes me love Rach even more than I did in Seasons, 1,2 & 3. And because I know you’re on pins and needles waiting to hear the other reasons, I shan’t keep you in suspense any longer.

1. She’s a perfectionist to the über-nth degree. This is not a woman who phones it in. EVER. When she commits, she gives it her all.

2. She never stops being excited by fashion. We should all love our work so much. Actually, I do. Yay!

3. She paid her dues. Life wasn’t always 7,000 square-foot pads and Marc Jacobs on speed-dial.

4. She’s a really loving wife to Rodger. I think she could let him off his leash a bit more, but you can tell how devoted she is to him. And vice versa. That bambino is one lucky tyke to grow up surrounded by so much love. Awwww.

Welcome back to the post-Labor Day grind, my lovelies.

Thankfully there was no rain to speak of in Gotham this weekend, so I got to watch so much of the U.S. Open on the telly that I’m actually quite surprised my head didn’t explode. And when I wasn’t watching, I was reading that kitschy klassic Learn Tennis In a Weekend book I told you about.

Now I’m rush, rush, rushing to finish my chores so I can catch of a few of today’s matches, which start in a scant 2.5 hours. I think I’m addicted.

Which leads me, in my typically meandering posting style, to a new feature I’m inaugurating on Momover: Hot-Mama Appreciation. And who better to kick off this grooviness than the major babe who pulls a new talent or expertise out of her magic hat on a daily basis?

I swear on a stack of holy bibles that I hadn’t seen the terrific cover story in September Elle when I posted last week about craving ciggies, even though I lost my own 3-packs-a-day parents to smoking-related causes. But when I read that Gwyneth lights up occasionally, despite the fact that her own papa died of lung cancer, it made me love her even more.

If you’re a Gwynnie-basher, you might want to stop reading right about now.

Still with me? Fantastic. Because I will now put aside my gargantuan envy of this gorge creature to tell you what I find so, so, so inspirational about her:

1. She’s always learning something. Like playing the guitar, which is so frigging hard. And intimidating, one suspects, when you have a world-class rock star perched across the breakfast table every morning.

2. She busts her ass. Literally. To all those who bitch and moan about the fact that GP has the dough to keep Tracy Anderson on speed-dial, I say, “Yeah, but she still has to show up and do it.” That ain’t no walk in the park. And besides, you can always order one of Anderson’s great DVDs and bond with the tiny powerhouse in your very own living room.

3. She speaks Spanish to her kids. Again: Hard. Again: Takes effort. I don’t know what the stats are, but I don’t think many Americans have mastered a second language. I certainly haven’t; I just took a French proficiency exam on About.com, and my score was a paltry 74. And this is after years of French classes and private lessons at Berlitz. You know Gwynnie would never stand for a 74. Project!

4. She’s hilarious. And for that alone, I would nominate her for Momover’s First-Ever Hot-Mama Appreciation Award. I ask you: What’s more beautiful and engaging than laughing your head off and genuinely enjoying yourself and your tots? Nothing in the universe, that’s what.