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    Real Housewives Recap

    Real Housewives of Dallas season 2 premieres with new socialites and less charity

    Kaitlin Steinberg
    Aug 14, 2017 | 10:02 pm
    Real Housewives of Dallas Season 2 cast
    Real Housewives of Dallas airs Monday nights on Bravo.
    Photo courtesy of Bravo Media

    “It’s not all about charity in Dallas,” says new housewife Kameron Wescott in a preview for season two of the Real Housewives of Dallas.

    If you caught season one of the awkwardly contrived reality show, you’ll recall that much of the drama revolved around the charity world and proper decorum at charity events and who among the housewives is actually charitable. It all got to be a bit much, particularly as “charity” in Real Housewives Land generally means throwing big parties and judging attendees based upon their clothing and behavior. The first season of the Real Housewives of Dallas was seriously lacking in drama that didn’t revolve around fake feces on giant hats.

    But here we are at season two, and joining returning housewives Brandi Redmond, Stephanie Hollman, Cary Deuber, and LeeAnne Locken are Kameron Wescott and D’Andra Simmons. Based on the previews, it looks like round two will focus much less on charity work and much more on interpersonal drama.

    So let’s dive in with the new taglines, shall we?

    Brandi: “I cheered for the Cowboys, so I never get played.”

    Stephanie: “I married into money, but family is my fortune.”

    Cary: “Every girl has skeletons in her closet. Mine are next to my Birkins.”

    D’Andra: “I started from a Dallas dynasty, but I’ll finish with my own empire.”

    Kameron: “Dumb blondes get noticed. Smart blondes get everything.”

    LeeAnne: “I’m a true Texan: no bull, but all horns.”

    These are slightly better than last year, but still not up to RHOBH standards. Don’t worry, ladies. You’ll get there.

    The episode begins with Stephanie coming over to Cary’s house for a dog playdate (where are their children?) and being joined by Kameron, who is wearing a fluffy pink vest and carrying a tiny dog wearing a matching pink vest. Kameron is extremely wealthy, extremely blonde, and extremely proud of both.

    Cary mentions that she’s throwing a party and inviting LeeAnne, who this group has been avoiding since she publicly accused Cary of stealing her husband away from his previous wife. Stephanie asks if the other ladies have seen the police report that Marie Reyes tweeted, detailing an incident in 2008 in which LeeAnne allegedly tried to stab an ex-boyfriend with a knife and hit him in the face with sandpaper.

    Elsewhere, Brandi and LeeAnne meet up to do some shopping. “Surprise,” Brandi says in an aside. “I’m friends with LeeAnne!” She reveals that LeeAnne has been in anger management, and she’s seen a huge change in her former frenemy.

    Back at Cary’s casa, Stephanie reveals that she hasn’t spoken to Brandi in nearly four months. Evidently Brandi cut her out, and Stephanie doesn’t understand why.

    Brandi knows exactly what’s up, though. She tells her new BFF LeeAnne that talking about Stephanie gets her very emotional, because Stephanie talked behind her back and called her marriage “a slow-motion car crash,” which, let’s be honest, it kinda was. Brandi didn’t appreciate that, though, and she doesn’t appreciate the façade of having a perfect life she thinks Stephanie creates for herself.

    Enough of that drama, though! Let’s see what’s up in glamorous new housewife Kameron’s world! She’s working on learning to cook, and, she admits she was a total nerd with no friends in high school. We all feel super sorry for you, Kameron.

    She met her husband, Court, in college at SMU at the age of 22, but she wasn’t initially interested in him because, even though they are a perfect nerd match, she’s 6 feet tall, and he’s lovingly referred to as “the hobbit.” The couple lives in a 7,500-square-foot home in Highland Park with their two children, Hilton and Cruise. Oh, and she loves pink.

    Later, LeeAnne and her boyfriend, Rich, meet up with D’Andra Simmons and her husband, Jeremy, for dinner. Both LeeAnne and Cary are friends with D’Andra, though there’s some beef over who is closer with the ultimate socialite.

    In an introductory montage, D’Andra shows off her eclectic Highland Park home, decorated with artifacts the couple picked up all over the world (Jeremy is a military photographer). D’Andra’s mother is a self-made millionaire, having founded Ultimate Living, a nutritional supplement company. Evidently, D’Andra’s mother promised her she’d allow her to take over the company back in 2004, but D’Andra is still waiting for mommy to retire.

    LeeAnne, meanwhile, proves that she really is trying to change, taking us along with her to a therapy appointment. During therapy, LeeAnne brings up the old police report, and she acknowledges that her instinct is to attack people who attack her. She realizes, though, that she needs to be the bigger person, particularly after the backlash she faced following her explosive behavior last season.

    As Stephanie prepares dinner with her kids, she reveals that her relationship with her husband has improved since she’s been seeing less of Brandi. For their part, Brandi and her husband have mended their relationship, which is great, because what viewers saw last season was not pretty. Seems like both women are doing better in their marriages since they’ve started dating their husbands again instead of each other. The husbands still hang out, though. Awkward!

    Over at a pet boutique, D’Andra joins Kameron to research dog food. Kameron, you see, is determined to start her own line of pink dog food. ‘Cause why eat brown food when you can eat pink food, amirite?

    Later, Cary and LeeAnne meet up with their dogs. Of all the Housewives iterations, this one probably features the greatest number of women who actually are housewives with husbands and families, yet this episode is really playing up the dog parenting.

    Cary admits to LeeAnne that her accusations from last season really hurt her family. LeeAnne apologizes, and Cary accepts, saying she wants to work on mutual respect with LeeAnne. When the topic turns to Stephanie and Brandi’s falling out, though, Cary gets a little miffed, as she thinks the situation between the former friends is none of her or LeeAnne’s business.

    LeeAnne and Brandi ride together to the birthday party Cary is throwing for her husband, Mark, and Brandi reveals that she got a text from Stephanie earlier in the day, warning her to stay away from LeeAnne, because she’s “up to her old ways.” These are evidently Cary’s words, though, not Stephanie’s.

    “Then Stephanie Hollman and I have a real problem,” LeeAnne says, even while attempting to practice the new zen-like nature she’s picked up in anger management. She and Brandi pray for peace before exiting the car and entering the party, but as soon as the other ladies spot them inside, the demeanor among them all turns icy. Well, as icy as things get in Dallas.

    As all of the ladies sit down together, Brandi actively avoids making eye contact with Stephanie, whose plastered-on grin seems to melt off her face. When Stephanie asks Brandi to step aside and chat for a few seconds, LeeAnne doesn’t give anyone a chance to respond before shutting that idea down.

    “Just text,” LeeAnne says, in a show of mock-helpfulness. “That’s what good phones are for!” Anger management is clearly keeping LeeAnne from erupting, but is there such a thing as meddling management? Can someone sign LeeAnne up for those classes?

    Brandi, unable to deal with being so close to (yet so far from) her former friend, excuses herself to cry. LeeAnne thinks this is a great moment to confront Cary about the “up to her old ways” comment. Cary denies it and tries to get LeeAnne to distance herself from the Stephanie/Brandi drama, but the suggestion definitely does not stick.

    As Brandi and LeeAnne, unlikely partners in crime, drive off into the brisk Dallas evening, Stephanie cries to Cary, feebly attempting to keep her excessive eye makeup from running all over her crisp, white turtleneck.

    Next week, Stephanie’s eye makeup continues to streak down her cheeks while she cries about Brandi. But all is not lost, for there appears to be a scene in which LeeAnne yells at Stephanie while wearing a hot dog costume.

    This, apparently, is what you get when you take a “carny” to anger management, and I am so here for it.

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    Charged up

    Magical Plano Elf Town to compete on ABC's Great Christmas Light Fight

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Dec 15, 2025 | 5:45 pm
    Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight
    Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder
    David and Melissa Loder's Elf Town is in on Pembroke Court in the Deerfield subdivision of Plano.

    A family from one of Dallas-Fort Worth's most famous Christmas-light neighborhoods is stepping into the national spotlight: Melissa and David Loder, who present a spectacular "Elf Town" display in Plano's Deerfield subdivision, will compete on ABC's holiday competition show The Great Christmas Light Fight on Thursday, December 18.

    The Loders will be one of four U.S. families battling for a trophy, $50,000, and major holiday-light bragging rights; show co-host Taniya Nayak is the judge.

    Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight

    Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

    David and Melissa Loder's Elf Town is in on Penbrook Court in the Deerfield subdivision of Plano.

    The episode will air at 9 pm on ABC stations around the country, but unfortunately for local viewers, WFAA will pre-empt it for the Dallas Mavericks basketball game. Light Fight will stream on WFAA+ channel 8.2 at 9 pm and later on WFAA / Channel 8 at 3 am. It will be available to stream on Hulu beginning Friday, December 19.

    "[Filming the show] was surreal at times, but we also knew we had created something special with Elf Town," says Melissa Loder.

    Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight The Elf Town Depot, with mayor Elfus standing guard.Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

    Exploring Elf Town
    The Loders, who moved to Deerfield in 2008, have been creating and evolving Elf Town since 2011. They use it as a platform to raise money for the Susan G Komen Foundation, an organization especially dear to Melissa, a breast cancer survivor.

    They call Elf Town "a place where holiday elves live, work, and play."

    "Like any town, we have a Main Street with a school, shopping, a bakery and a tavern all leading to a mega tree in the town center," Melissa says. "New this year is the Elf Town Museum that has photos of the evolution of Elf Town."

    "We also have industry - the toys travel via train, and there is a train depot for the elves to get their tickets and wait for the train," she adds. "We also have an entertainment area with a Ferris wheel and a disco for the elves."

    Standing guard over it all is The Mayor of Elf Town, a 20-foot elf named Elfus. And for the show, they created an all-new special feature: Santa's Spa in the backyard - "an area where no elves are allowed," she says.

    David and Melissa, who call themselves the "head elves" of Elf Town, work all year on their DIY display. "Woodworking, welding, painting, design and installation," they say, "are all done on site by our little band of elves," which include their daughter and son-in-law Alex and Joel Loper and their grandsons, Kade (8) and Tristan (5); nieces and nephews Sophie Polma (25), Maxine Polma (23), Beckett Polma (21), and identical twins Marlowe Polma and Julian Polma (19).

    "We also have amazing friends who materialize when we are putting up and taking down the display," they say. "Additionally, friends Roger and Rita Reynolds made guest appearances [on the show] as a famous couple from the North Pole."

    Getting on the show
    The Loders light their display up nightly for the public each holiday season. They were "discovered" by The Great Christmas Light Fight when a casting producer tracked them from a stranger’s TikTok video in spring 2022.

    Dallas-Fort Worth is a popular location for the show. The Loders now join the ranks of other Light Fight-famous homes, including the Burkman Holiday Home of Frisco (2021); the Ward family of Sky Elements Drone Shows in Keller (2023); the Hugheses' "Stay in the Light" in Rockwall (2024); the Joules-Cornettis' "Gift of Light" in McKinney (2024); and the Mach Christmas Display in Ennis (2024).

    "Of course we had seen the show from its first season, but since our focus is less about just lights and more about creating a magical world, we didn’t think we were a fit," Melissa says.

    Elf Town, Loders, Deerfield Plano, Great Christmas Light Fight The Loders have been presenting Elf Town since 2011.Photo courtesy of David and Melissa Loder

    They shot an audition video in 2023 and soon found out they made the cut. The show filmed at their house over three days in November 2024.

    "The process was three very long days of filming with a very sharp learning curve," Melissa says. "Our on-site producer was an amazing asset in the process. Her tips and tricks helped us all embrace the process, relax in front of the cameras, and hopefully come off well in the show; it was a whirlwind but so much fun.

    "I think the best part of filming was getting to learn so much about another industry that was so foreign to us. I am a clinical psychologist in private practice, and David is in sales with Porsche Plano, so we aren’t 'performers.'"

    Fighting on
    The Loders can't reveal whether they won the Great Christmas Light Fight, of course. (They'll be watching Thursday at a big party at Legacy Social Room.) But they can say with certainty that their display will continue to aid in the fight against breast cancer.

    "We participate in the 3 Day 60 Mile walk each year and the money donated goes to our 3 Day fundraising accounts," Melissa says. "Collectively, our little family of elves have raised over $180,000 to help fund vital cancer research and contribute to patient care and advocacy."

    Elf Town will light up daily from 5:30 pm to midnight through New Year's Eve 2025, with special nights offering hot cocoa, candy canes, or photos with Santa. While it's free to view and experience, visitors are invited to donate via fundraising links on their Facebook page and through Melissa's Susan G. Komen 3 Day fundraising page.

    "I think the most important part of our display is that David and I do this together as a hobby and a gift to the community," she says. "We love that we were able to do The Great Christmas Light Fight, but our true motivation for the time, energy, and money that we pour into the display comes from the stories we hear year after year of families who count on us to be part of their tradition."

    She says those include visitors finding the display as solace in hard times, along with marriage proposals, baby's first visit with Santa, and more.

    "We have even been brought to our knees by a woman who brought her infant daughter and took photos all around the display because she had a terminal cancer diagnosis and wanted her daughter to have 'magical' pictures with her so 'when she was an angel,' her daughter 'will know I believed in magic,'" Melissa says. "All of these stories and so many more are part of the legacy of Elf Town. These are our 'why' to the question we are often asked 'Why would you do this?'"

    ---

    The Great Christmas Light Fight will air at 9 pm December 18 on ABC and will stream December 19 on Hulu. Find Elf Town at 4641 Penbrook Ct., in the Deerfield subdivision of Plano. It's open nightly, 5:30 pm-midnight, through December 31. Follow the Elf Town Facebook page for updates. Visitors are encouraged to park on a less busy street, or at the elementary school off Quincy, and walk through the neighborhood.

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