The Real Housewives of New Jersey - Episode Eleven Recap

This week had two birthdays and two "meetings of the mama's"!


First up was Antonia Gorga's birthday party.   While Melissa is getting her make-up done prior to the party (by the fabulous George Miguel), Joe talked with his mother-in-law, Donna, and her sisters about the counseling session with Teresa.  Joe felt it was a horrible experience, it wasn't for them, and that he and Teresa should just work on it themselves.  Donna and her sisters told Joe that his relationship with Teresa will only work if the two of them can actually listen to each other instead of talking over each other all the time.  Good advice!!  Over at the Giudice house before the party, Teresa told her husband that the therapist suggested that they start the Sunday dinner tradition back up again.  Teresa didn't feel that the therapist liked her, and she already knew everything that the therapist told her.  Back at the Gorga's, talk of Sunday dinner came up and Melissa was 100% behind the idea.  She volunteered to host this Sunday and would invite Teresa and her family as well as their parents when she saw them at the party later that day.  She wants to bring the family together and if Sunday dinner will help with that, she is all in.

Photo Credit: Melissa Gorga (provided by If the Bow Fits)

The Gorga's celebrated Antonia's sixth birthday in style!  There was a huge bounce-house, a gigantic inflatable caterpillar that the kids could crawl through, and then popcorn, cotton candy and frozen ice.  Their front yard looked like a gigantic carnival.  Melissa said that she only has one daughter so she likes to throw big parties for her. Once the party started, all of the kids and Antonia's friends from school had a great time with all of the bounce stuff.  Teresa and her kids arrived and she and Melissa had a nice conversation about therapy and family dinners.  Melissa invited her over for dinner, and Teresa said that she would bring desert.  The ladies seemed like they got along well and were even joking around a bit, which was nice to see.  The Wakile's showed up to help celebrate as well, and Kathy and Rosie told Melissa all about their wild night at the gay bar and meeting Brianne.  Joe and Teresa talked about the upcoming RV trip to Napa, and everyone got along great.  Whether it was real or fake, regardless of what any one's motivation was, it was great to see this family all in one place and getting along with each other.  Especially with all of the kids around.   Antonia's spread for her birthday was beautiful - the candy, cake, treats, decorations and party favors were fantastic for a sweet seven year old girl!  Local Naperville boutique If The Bow Fits (ifthebowfits.com) provided Antonia's headband along with ones in the goody bags.

Photo Credit:  BravoTV

Lauren and Caroline are going in to business together to open a beauty bar and they looked at a store front space.  It seems right now that Lauren has one vision for the space, and Caroline has another vision.  Mom owns 51% of the business, and Lauren owns 49% of the business so she is feeling a little not heard. And she is struggling with the name "Cafface" - she doesn't like it.  It's a Cafe for your Face!  The way that Caroline explained it, it's the vibe of a restaurant but it's menu will be set up with facial services - treatments and makeup.  Lauren wants to be more successful than her brothers.  She wants to be an equal to her mother, not feel like she is having to say "mommy, lets try this", etc.  As you may or may not know, Cafface has already launched, so clearly they go over their difference to make it work.  I hope we get to see more of how Caroline and Lauren work together as partners.

Photo Credit:  BravoTV

Melissa had the opportunity to work with famed choreographer Cris Judd to prepare her for an appearance at Beat Stock - an all-day dance concert fest - where she was invited to perform "RockStar".  Melissa was nervous about the crowd because she has seen people get booed off the stage and really wanted to make sure that she was 100% prepared.  Cris had her just do her thing first to see how she moved before he started working on the choreography with her.  Cris has worked with the majority of A-list celebrities in the music industry - including Michael Jackson - so he has a wealth of experience and talent to guide Melissa in bringing out her best.   They only have two weeks to prepare, and Melissa is definitely nervous, but she is willing to put the work in so I am sure that she will be fabulous.  We saw Gia at an audition to be a dancer also at BeatStock during a different performance, and after working her little butt off, she was selected.  Congratulations Gia!

Photo Credit:  BravoTV

There was a family dinner at the Wakile's where Rosie brought her friend Brianne over to meet everyone (including her mama Maria).  Rich seemed to be the person who was the most awkward and unsure how to act about the whole thing.  He was trying to make a nice first impression, but I think he tried a little too hard.  Huge props to Maria for being old school Italian and accepting her daughter and Brianne.  She rolled with it a lot better than Rich did.  He was a typical man - uncomfortable, made strange inappropriate comments, and tried too hard.  But his heart was in the right place, and no one seemed to be offended by anything that he had to say.  Brianne seemed to roll with it all.  The focus of this family seems to be the happiness of Rosie, which is wonderful to see!

Photo Credit:  Bravo TV

Also celebrating a birthday during this episode was Chris & Al's room mate, Greg.  Lauren and Jacqueline took him in to NYC to Boxer's (a gay bar) for a surprise party.  In attendance were the Gorga's, Caroline, Christopher, Lauren, Chris Laurita and Chris Manzo with his girlfriend Lindsey (who is a New York Jets Cheerleader).  This would be the first time that Lindsey would meet not only Caroline but Lauren as well and everyone is a little nervous.  Al is admittedly in love with Lindsey, and they are a very cute couple together.  Al also acknowledges that the misconception about his family is that girls have to get past his mother - it's really Lauren that's the tough cookie!   The meeting between Caroline and Lindsey goes off without a hitch.  Caroline is very welcoming and very sweet to her.  Greg was genuinely surprised when he got to the bar and everyone was there, which was fun to see.  We never see Greg's family, but clearly he has been "adopted" by the Manzo's and they treat him as one of their own.  Melissa and Jacqueline were cute with Lindsey - giving her dating advice, chatting and laughing with her.  Just generally trying to make her feel more comfortable.  And it was a nice conversation between Al and Joe Gorga about how Al felt about Lindsey.  It will be interesting to see where this relationship goes in the future.  Everyone had a great time at the party - there were body shots off of Joe Gorga, the DJ played "RockStar" and Melissa dragged Lindsey up on the bar with her to dance, and just general silliness and fun.  Christopher brought out a cake for Greg and once the candles blown out some how ended up wearing most of it!  It was a fun episode with no drama!!

NEXT WEEK:  Melissa and Gia both perform at Beat Stock, and Al has some choices to make.

You can find the great people mentioned in this article on twitter:  
If The Bow Fits, @IfTheBowFits
George Miguel, @GeorgeMiguelC
Cris Judd, @crisjudd
Cafface Beauty Bar, @Cafface
Angelsea Urban, @AngelseaUrban (photographer for Antonia Gorga's birthday party)
and me, JustJen, @3girlsmomma19


Have a great day!!