
Entertainment
Chip and Joanna Gaines Unveil Their Amazing Restored Property
If you’ve ever tuned into the HGTV channel, you know that their priority is reality television. At HGTV, there is no show bigger than Fixer Upper. Led by hosts Joanna and Chip Gaines, Fixer Upper is all about following one family as they revitalize homes with glamorous and trendy makeovers. Of course, the show is really about how the husband-wife duo works together, and they’ve cultivated quite the following as a result. Now, in the ultimate Fixer Upper twist, we are going to head into the home that Chip and Joanna fixed for themselves!

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Meet Joanna and Chip
If you don’t know Chip or Joanna, you’ve come to the right place! The television co-hosts first met each other back in Waco, TX, in 2001. They were both attending the same high-school when they became aware of one another. Chip saw Joanna in a fancy portrait while visiting Joanna’s family business. Two years later, Chip and Joanna would tie the knot. Talk about a romantic story!

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Property Loving Family
Being in the fixin’ business, it only makes sense that the Gaines would live in many different homes throughout their life. After Joanna and Chip got married, they would end up living in nine different houses. While they no doubt loved exploring all of these properties, the Gaines always promised to settle down one day. It was this mindset that got them to begin working on their own fixer-upper!

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Renovating Their Dream Home
Suffice to say, Joanna and Chip are definitely no strangers to renovating homes. So, when they set their eyes on this decrepit looking farmhouse, they saw the end-product rather than what currently stood before them. It’s the ability to see the potential in a piece of property that has made the stars of Fixer Upper so popular among their fans.

Wide Angle of the Property
Here’s another look at the property before the Gaines family began to work on it. As you can see, there was quite a bit of work to do. Without their television production team behind them, Chip and Joanna would be on their own. Can you imagine what they turned this lunk of wood into? By the end of today’s conversation, you’ll have your mind blown by their fixer-upper skills!

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Successful Television Career
Before we dive wholesale into the renovation, let’s take a moment to look back at the careers of Chip and Joanna. Fixer Upper officially premiered in 2013. Since then, the series has gone on for five seasons and 56 episodes. More than just a family entertainment show, Fixer Upper has also scored two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for their work. The show officially went off of the air in 2018, but we’ll explore that topic more at a later time.

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Meet The Farmhouse
While it may seem sudden, their renovation took nearly 18 months to complete. Here we can see that the Gaines did as much work on the outside of the home as they did on the inside of the property. When they first purchased the farmhouse in 2012, right before they made it big on HGTV, the place barely looked livable. Now, the farmhouse looks like a miniature mansion!

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A Long Journey
While Chip and Joanna can renovate a guest’s property in the space of a single episode, doing the job in real life is a whole heck of a lot tougher. It took a full 18 months in order to turn this property into somewhere that they would want to raise their family. Of course, Chip and Joanna were totally fine taking their time. As you’ll see, the land that the property sits on is just as beautiful.

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Finally Moving In
While you might expect Joanna and Chip to go crazy renovating their own house, they were actually relatively constrained. By the end of their renovation, the reality television stars had only added a single extension to the home, and that for the master bedroom. It turns out that the famous couple wanted to retain as much old school charm as possible. Who can blame them?

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Perfecting the Color
In order to really perfect the look of the home, Joanna wanted something that was soft and elegant. Joanna decided that they needed to lean into white as one of their core color elements. As you’ll soon see, the gentle white color has helped to totally transform the interior of the house. While a slightly controversial decision, Joanna definitely made the most out of her choice.

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Rejuvenating the Kitchen
The kitchen is the beating heart of most homes, so it stands to reason that Chip and Joanna would want a nice kitchen of their own. With a gaggle of children to take care of, Joanna and Chip wanted something functional and aesthetically pleasing. This kitchen incorporates a stainless steel island, a hanging wooden rafter, and stark modern lines. Can you imagine having breakfast here?

A Cozy Entrance
When you walk into the home, you instantly feel at ease. With a ‘G’ adorning the wall, it is hard to forget who owns this house! Again, the Gaines paid a lot of attention to functionality while designing their dream home. You can see the hooks and cubbies for stashing supplies when coming inside. You got to do what you can in order to motivate your children to be clean!

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Attending to Little Details
What sets Joanna and Chip apart as designers is their ability to notice the little things. It makes total sense that they would remember to add beautiful little touches to their own home. Here you can see a few of the little design and decor decisions that Chip and Joanna made before finishing their renovation.

Gorgeous Living Room
This is the perfect living room for any family that is always on the go. There’s enough comfortable seating for the family to relax, but nothing feels overwhelming. This living room is beautifully designed, and we love the mixed textures that they chose to pursue. The white board set against the faux wooden windows is just a great look.

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Sense of Refined Charm
From a decrepit old building to a refined and upscale farmhouse, Chip and Joanna did one heck of a job. We love the rustic-industrial look that the Gaines family managed to pull off for this renovation. You can see that they care deeply about blending both function and fashion into a cohesive space. With a large dining room table and plenty of space for relaxing, this is a great family area!

Luxurious Bedroom
Now, this looks like the perfect bedroom to pass out in. We love the windows that straddle the bed as well as all of the delicate decors that they incorporated. The white walls mixed with the natural earthen tones combine to make this a bedroom to dream of. What makes this bedroom even cooler is how much it sprawls, but we’ll get to that in a little bit.

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Master Bathroom
Before we move on, let’s take a moment to peek into the master bathroom. This is the extension that we had mentioned earlier. This free-standing en-suite has its own bathtub as well as white tiling. We love how the old door makes the room more inviting than ever. We almost feel like this is a room pulled straight from The Hobbit.

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Sprawling Comfort
Turn just to the left of the bed and you’ll find yourself staring at what makes this bedroom truly special. A beautiful fireplace is adorned by two chairs and an antique desk. The windows add a ton of light and the white lace curtains create a sense of vulnerable elegance. With a house full of kids, it can be nice to have an adults’ only escape.

Boys Bedroom
Now that we’ve seen where Chip and Joanna sleep, it’s only fair to check out the boys’ room. You can tell right away that the family wanted a clean and open space for their boys to roughhouse. Two bunk beds set the tone and the steel ladders and rails make them pop off of the walls. We continue to love how the wooden floor and white wooden walls blend together.

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In the Girls Room
In the girls’ room, things look just a little bit different. For one, this is probably the softest and most delicate looking bedroom to ever exist. This is where Emmie Kay and Ella Rose sleep. They have their own chandelier as well as, probably, the coolest looking dollhouse in the world. While this is smaller than the boys’ room, it certainly feels complete and cozy.

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Master Bathroom Interior
Let’s swing back to the master bathroom for a close-up view of the interior. Once you step through the delightfully Hobbit-esque door, you’ll find yourself in a bathroom that blends class with antique appeal. We absolutely adore the hanging chandelier as well as the free-standing tub. The his-and-her sinks are also a phenomenal choice. What do you think of the way that the tiling blends with the wooden ceiling?

Boys Bedroom Layout
Here’s a wider view of the boy’s bedroom. Your eyes will immediately be drawn to the giant map hanging above the bar. On the far wall, you’ll find an exercise ladder and a pair of pinboards that are perfect for adding family photos. While the Gaines are focused on fancy renovations, they make sure to never leave out what is truly important to them, family.

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Remember the Family
Speaking of the family, you can’t walk up or down a flight of steps in this house without being reminded of who lives there. The stairwell has been adorned with family photos set inside of dark black frames. The black frames really help to pop off of the wall. We also love the little light bulb sconces that seem to be all over the house.

Adult Business Room
Considering the fact that Joanna and Chip are two television stars with plenty of work to do, it makes sense that they’d have a meeting room. This giant space has been designed for a number of different tasks. The primary table is great for business meetings while the cabinets and side tables are perfect for storing and working on crafts.

Adorable Coffee Bar
Many people don’t understand what makes an interior designer good at what they do. Here, we can see a clear example as to why Chip and Joanna are the best in the business. This nifty little coffee bar is functional, adorable, and completely effective at filling in this awkward room. Knowing how to work with space is so important when you are a designer.

Kids Crafting Room
When the kids want to flex their creative skills, they are sent to the crafting room. With a gorgeous window, a hanging chandelier, and two mounted baskets, we couldn’t find a more inviting room to relax in. What do you think of the stools that are attached to the table? We thought that was a rather inspired decision!

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Relaxing Outdoors
When you have a house filled with children, you have to make a space outside for them to enjoy. We can see the sprawling yard that encapsulates their property, just beyond the fence line. We can also see what appears to be a brick oven stove, a barbecue, and the cutest outdoor picnic table of all time. Could you waste an afternoon in this yard?

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View of the Land
Here is another angle of the land encircling the farmhouse. Apparently, their farmhouse came with 40 acres of land that is filled with trees, shrubs, and other plants. While renovating 40 acres of land is tough, Chip and Joanna got right to work on a few of their favorite little passion projects. Let’s take a trip around the property in order to see what our favorite Fixer Uppers stars have been up to.

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The PERFECT Greenhouse
Let’s take our first stop at the Greenhouse. Joanna is a pretty big gardening fan, and this greenhouse means that she can tend to her plants no matter the time of the year. This greenhouse is more than just functional, it is absolutely breathtaking. Seriously, look at the refined angles of the building itself. This isn’t a prefabricated greenhouse!

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Laid Back Afternoon
A home isn’t really a home when you can’t relax in it. Fortunately, the Gaines family doesn’t have any trouble sitting back and letting peace overwhelm them. The deck is just as pretty as the rest of the house, but with a better view for the family dog. Here we see Joanna and Crew taking a moment to admire the life that they have built.

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The Home Office
In some ways, this home office is a little bit upsetting. With that being said, the reason that Chip and Joanna don’t need a home office is simple, they are always on the go and working! On the rare occasion that they get to relax at home, this desk looks perfect for grinding out a few emails while taking in the nearby view.

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The Family Room
The family room is probably the most important part of the house. When you have as many kids as Chip and Joanna, you want to have a place where everyone can gather. What picture would be more symbolic of a family gathering than this one? Here, we see everyone doing their own thing while the beauty of the house looms over all.

Enjoying the Fireplace
You aren’t often going to be starting up your fireplace in Texas, but on the rare occasion that you want to, it’s nice to have the option! This fireplace is situated right in the heart of the family room. This would be a great view to take in on a cold, wintry morning. We also have to compliment how much green the Gaines managed to showcase in their home!

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Before and After
This incredible before and after picture really shows you how far Chip and Joanna have come. Remember, they purchased this home in 2012, before their show had even gone on the air. For seven years, Chip and Joanna have owned this property. They’ve watched their children grow up while renovating the building. While the actual work only took 18 months, the house has cemented itself as a major part of their life.

Excited for the Future
When Fixer Uppers was pulled off of the air in 2018, fans all over the country reacted with concern. After all, Chip and Joanna didn’t have any new show in development when Fixer Uppers came to a close. Would this be it for our favorite remodeling professionals? Well, if you are reading this paragraph right now, you probably already know that this isn’t where their story ends! Instead, they are moving onto something even bigger and more exciting!

Making Big Moves
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Chip and Joanna have partnered with the Discovery Network in order to take over the DIY Network. Chip, Joanna, and Discovery will work together in order to renovate the DIY Network into the television channel of their dreams. We have a feeling that you’ll be seeing much more of Chip and Joanna in the coming months!

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Entertainment
Big Plans For The Goonies House In Oregon

The well-known “Goonies House” in Astoria, Oregon has recently been purchased by a new owner who intends to keep it open for movie fans.
For decades, fans of the film have visited the house, which is located at 368 38th St, Astoria, OR 97103. Many visitors have taken pictures outside the house, and some have even climbed to the roof to reenact the iconic scene in which the Goonies slide down the chimney to escape the Fratellis.
The new owner stated that they have always been fans of the film and were thrilled to be able to purchase the house. They intend to renovate the property, but they want to ensure that it remains true to its appearance in the film.
“I have always been a fan of The Goonies, it was my favorite movie as a child, and I remember visiting the house when I was a kid. I just couldn’t let it go when it went up for sale. It is such an iconic piece of movie history,” said the new owner. “I’m excited to share the house with fans from all over the world and to give them a chance to experience the magic of the film in person.”
The new owner also intends to open the house to the public for tours, and they are currently developing a website where visitors can learn more about the house’s history and purchase tour tickets. They also intend to have a gift shop on the premises where visitors can buy Goonies merchandise.
The Goonies House is located in Astoria’s historic district, which was also used for filming. The house was used as the exterior of the Fratelli’s house, where the Goonies characters Mikey, Brand, Data, Mouth, Chunk, and Andy try to save their neighborhood from demolition by searching for the treasure of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate.
Richard Donner directed and Steven Spielberg produced this film, which starred Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, and Jonathan Ke Quan. The film was a smash hit, grossing over $61 million in the United States and Canada, and has since become a cult classic.
Overall, the new Goonies House owner is thrilled to be preserving a piece of film history and sharing it with fans from all over the world. Visitors can expect tours, merchandise, and the opportunity to witness the film’s magic in person.
Entertainment
France’s 2022 Z Event Blows the Doors of Expectations

Streaming events are easily the fastest, widest way to reach the biggest audiences with entertainment today. However, the Z Event has now raised things to an all new level, boosting a charity event to one of the biggest financial donation drives ever. Combining the marketing for five different environmental causes and their non-profit organizations, the Z Event consolidated giving to an eye-popping €10.1 million.
The Z Event took a combined effort of 57 different streamers working together to pull it off. Focusing on their audiences, channel tools, and various related activities, the streamers consolidated traffic and attention on the charity drive, pushing digital focus on boosting the financial commitments well beyond previous amounts realized in earlier drives. Each year has been a record-breaking performance, so the latest one wasn’t going to be an exception from the participants’ perspective. Just from a technical perspective, the logistics for the latest Z Event took some serious marketing. Streaming is generally based on the assumption that everyone has sufficient technology to watch and listen to the event online with a browser and sufficient hardware. However, at some point the event also has to be managed to the lowest common denominator in terms of being viable, otherwise people don’t “show up” online. Doing the same with 57 plus providers as well as the variety of tools used in a coordinated fashion is still eye-popping in retrospect.
Interestingly, the Z Event has generated such a sizable audience in France, it has even dwarfed the individual industry channels. Rather than just being confined to the gaming arena, the Z Event organizers broadened their scope to include popular music channels as well as even politics. That doesn’t mean there weren’t challenges; for example, one of the charity organizations to benefit was the Goodplanet Foundation, which was reeling from earlier criticism about its operations and connections. So, to address any concerns about where the money went, participants and fans were allowed to choose the organization they wanted to benefit from the pool of eligible charities. That easily shut down criticisms and allowed the Z Event to move forward in a positive light.
Despite the biggest blowout yet in response, the latest Z-Event is scheduled to be the last in the planned strategy. No one is quite sure whether it will come back in a new format or just be repeated or done at all after 2022. Given the results, there’s going to be considerable pressure to bring it back in 2023, especially from the organizations that benefit from the sizable charity generated. However, no commitments have been made to take on the next Z Event per se.
Entertainment
Overcoming a Fear And Then Creating a Children’s Book With It

People are afraid of different things. Some freak out from spiders, others can’t stand the sight much less the feel of a snake, and still others go into a panic over fish in the water. However, for Amulya Vadali, her fear was rooted in dogs. It didn’t matter the breed; all dogs were a primal threat to her as far as Vadali was concerned. If a city park allowed dogs, even in a fenced dog run, she wouldn’t go near the location. As it turned out, things were going to get even more challenging in high school. Attending her AP English class at Southern Regional High School, Vadali realized not only that her teacher had a dog, but she would bring the dog to class occasionally as well. It was the worst possible combination of academic stress and
Vadali was fit for a panic attack. Looking back on the matter after the fact, she is fairly convinced that the lack of any exposure to a pet dog in her younger years had a lot to do with her fear later on. As it happened, later in high school, Vadali’s brother was able to convince their parents to have a pet dog, and with exposure to their pet, Brody, she overcame her fear of canines in general. Much of the transition had to do with being with a dog from the beginning, puppy stage to full adult. In particular, the change catalyst came in the form of a golden retriever.
Named Cosmo, Vadali’s new pet was a gamechanger for her. In fact, the dog became her best friend. She went from being deathly afraid of dogs in general to practically having to be pulled away from them. It literally was a night and day change for Vadali.
Years later, Vadali made it through college, and then she found her husband and got married. However, one thing has remained constant: her four-legged partner, Cosmo. While the dog didn’t move away with her, Cosmo still gets visits almost regularly from Vadali. Every chance possible, she’s back with her childhood pet, most often on the weekends. She spends her work days functioning as a biotech researcher and scientist, but interestingly, Cosmo has also become her muse to be a children’s book author as well.
Vadali admits she loved the idea of writing early on, remembering back as far as when she was six and listening to her father read stories. And in school classes, Vadali tried her hand at writing. Her work was notable enough to earn some good marks, which inspired her, but Vadali ultimately ended up fading away from the practice. College science classes and similar kept her so busy, Vadali didn’t think about writing at the time. It wasn’t until she was back to regular life again, settled in marriage, that Vadali began thinking about stories once more. And that was enough to spark her mind towards writing again.
So, in October of 2021, Vadali decided to take a leap and write her first children’s book. And, no surprise, the focus of the book was on Cosmo saving his sister in a big, dark and gloomy forest. Named, Cosmo Faces the Forest of Fear, the book manifested Vadali’s early fears and how Cosmo helped her overcome them so much. Using tools of confidence, perseverance and patience, Vadali’s story provided a child’s resource for understanding how to deal with fear and overcome it. The book turned out to be a hit, sells well on Amazon today, and memorializes her years of relationship with Cosmo. Most importantly, she has put into words the love Vadali has for her best friend and dog.
Entertainment
The Simpsons Incorporate ASL in Their Show

The TV cartoon, The Simpsons, has never been known for being a mild, sedate cartoon with low volume. Instead, it’s been loud, brash and visual. That said, one of the reasons the Simpsons has lasted for so long, aside from always being relevant to current events and new generations, is the fact that the show also incorporates new elements when it makes sense. That was the case when the show’s writers decided to incorporate American Sign Language for the first time.
Of course, there were challenges. Cartoon characters are not always anatomically correct. In the Simpsons world, everyone has four fingers on a hand instead of five. To make matters worse, the episode needed Shakespeare to be translated with ASL. Oops.
Making Up Fiction Based on Reality
The current writer responsible for the ASL episode was also keen on going farther. Instead of just focusing on solving how to use ASL, Loni Sosthand also figured out a way to incorporate deaf actors for the voices as well. Double-wow. The recognizable character, Lisa Simpson, spends a story on mourning over the passing of a musician she liked and was a mentor to her character. As it turns out, however, that musician had a son in the cartoon, and the boy is deaf. Lisa, trying to be the perennial helper, wants to assist the boy in getting a hearing implant, and of course, things go sideways from there.
Of course, like many stories used by writers, Sosthand’s episode was rooted in reality. Her own family was big in jazz, different racial perspectives, and a sibling born deaf. The episode gave Sosthand a chance to use her personal experience of balancing a physical limitation with a whole family of issues and going from there. Sosthand ended up bringing her relatives into the cartoon world vicariously through Lisa Simpson’s experience trying to help the musician’s son.
The Results Proved the Success of the Idea
The ASL and deaf voice actor combination was a hit. The episode came across as realistic and accurate, despite fundamentally being a cartoon. And that’s the kind of factor that makes The Simpsons one of the longest running TV shows, much less the longest running TV cartoon show. Even South Park doesn’t even come close to longevity. And for those who use regular ASL, the particular episode of Lisa’s adventures hit home and provided representation for the first time on The Simpsons. It was history in the making.
Entertainment
Arthur is Going to End, Long Live Arthur

PBS has been known for a lot of things in terms of documentaries, but for a whole generation of kids the name Arthur was more familiar while they were growing up. Just like for Boomers and many from Generation X that the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom will never be forgotten in their minds for many Generation Z and some late Millennials who caught the show, “Arthur” was a familiar name from childhood. The PBS Kids cartoon has now reached a major milestone of 25 season runs, and its creators as well as distributors are in agreement it’s time to shut down the program.
The original concept for Arthur as a cartoon came from Marc Brown, a writer and illustrator of children’s books. Arthur was the “everykid,” a cartoon character kids from all backgrounds could relate to and no one in particular. It helped that Arthur was an Aardvark and his family and neighbors were all animals as well. A parent never had to try and explain differing cultures to their kids watching the show, unlike many other TV programs and simply growing up has required these days. The show was timeless, positive, and it became an international success as well, easily translatable to other languages.
The break in the confidentiality of the show’s ending first came from Kathy Waugh; she let the secret loose during an interview in the summer of 2021. Since then, the final episode has been in countdown mode, with fans of all ages wondering when the final chapter was going to be viewed. The creators and show managers decided reaching the 25th anniversary was as good a stop as any, especially after all 250 something episodes that came before it and a few movies. However, on February 21, the last episode was shown on its original schedule.
Lots of folks thought the Arthur cartoon series was just going to keep on going without an end. The program was easy to maintain, working with storylines that definitely felt evergreen in placement and not stale at all in teaching kids values and social
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