It's time for the weekly Top Design Dish with our weekly guest writer Becky Harris who blogs not only over at Hatch but now... (drum roll please) she has her very own blog called The Bubb Report so please pay her a visit. The Bubb Report covers pretty much whatever Becky wants it to from her reality show obsession to how much physical pain she feels when she spots a Louis Vuitton handbag walking around. Congrats on your new blog, Beckster! It's time to tune in to Miss Becky and her weekly TD dish... Take it away, girl!

--------

Perhaps it was the two glasses of wine I had, perhaps it was that I could not listen to Kenley whine or be rude on Project Runway anymore (also, all four designs were disappointingly ugly tonight), but I LOVED tonight's episode of Top Design. I think the production work of the Magical Elves was really obvious tonight. The contest was a triathlon which included three INDIVIDUAL (Hooray!) LEGS, including the Chair Leg, the Dining Table Leg, and the Design a Room for a Magazine Spread with Stuff from the Garden Store Leg. It was fun, fast-paced and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It made me want to take four girlfriends to Homegoods with $100 each and a half-hour time limit and have a dining table setting contest. Also, Nathan CRACKED ME UP the entire time. From telling us he's "not a triathlete, but a smoke-a-lete" to saying he was sure the other contestants wanted to "put Visene in my coffee," he kept me laughing.

The episode really made certain contestants really stand out for me, while it became crystal clear that others have been slipping through the cracks. I also feel like I'm starting to get to know their personalities. Natalie and Ondine seem so sweet, and Andrea has really grown on me. I wonder if we all would have liked her from episode one if we had not known she was married to Ricky Schroeder.

Did you think Ondine's table looked the slightest bit Lilly Pulitzer? I'm a huge Lilly fan, and that looked like something someone would keyword spam on eBay and say "Lilly Pulitzer-like" when it's TOTALLY not.

By the way, I made up a drinking game for cliches on design shows on Hatch about two years ago. If you'd had a drink when Theresa said "zen" tonight, you'd be three sheets to the wind right now. Ugh. Also, just for the record, "plant material" and "water feature" are not words landscape architects like to hear. Add "hardscape" to that list as well. I'm just sayin'. For some reason, I felt "tablescape" coming and it didn't bug me like "bedscape" did last week. Go figure. Maybe it was the wine.

I digress. So how did you all like the format for this episode? Who has become a standout contestant for you? Do you think any of the rooms were worthy of an Elle Decor spread, or are you keeping your fingers crossed for Margaret that it will be a thumbnail-sized photo? What would you have grabbed at the garden shop? What event would you have styled your dining table for? Were you scared Wizit's opera singing would break the glasses on the table? Is anyone boring the pants off you? Do you think Ondine's room was Kelly green? Do you feel you've been too hard any of the contestants so far, or were your suspicions confirmed by the individual challenge? Who were your picks for each leg of the triathlon? Would you have trouble getting out of your own personal style and taking risks if you were on the show (I know I would!)? Did you think anyone was hit in the face by karma? Would you have been more successful and one leg over the others?

More importantly, what did you think of Kelly's hair? How about that black and white hat? -- Becky

(text written by becky harris for decor8, image from bravo)