Mob Wives: From Housewife to Mob Wife

Here I am!

I know some of you were curious, even anxious, to get a glimpse of me on Mob Wives. I didn't want to let you down. I found a clip of the Book Launch on VH1 and took a couple of screen shots for you. There I am the little hidden head next to Renee. Check out the video below if you want to see it again!

When I started this blog with Mob Mistress I had absolutely no idea where it would lead. Our intention was to find something we had in common and blog about it together, for fun. If people read it fine, if they didn't, that was fine too. We would make each other laugh. We have different styles and perspectives. We appreciate each other's humor. That's all it was supposed to be...a little hobby. Little did I know, two months later, on June 24th, 2011, I would be meeting Renee and Jennifer at Sugar. I didn't even know it then, but Ramona was also there. They knew about me and the blog already. Renee was wonderful. She just lights up a room when she is in it. Before I knew it I was doing a couple of interviews, the readership of the blog was growing and I even joked about being on Mob Wives one day. After all, I followed the show so closely, met and spoke to some of the wives and that was the next logical step. I never imagined that being at Karen's book release party would result in fulfilling the last little piece of the puzzle for me. I managed to be filmed and make the final cut for episode 14. The editor's made a wish come true. The show has brought me full circle, from housewife to mob wife, in one year. 

What's next? Well I'd love to be at the reunion taping and taking notes for you all. Maybe Jennifer will make that happen? If not, I will still be watching very closely to give my take on it. And you can bet your boots I will be sending VH1 some great questions for Joy Behar to ask and I'll let you know if any of my questions make it or not.

There I am behind Karen and Gerard, trying to take a picture!

Picture Credit: VH1 

Mob Wives: The Birth Of Our Blog!

~Our first blog, April 10th, 2011~

Baby Pictures: One day old!

On April 17^th, the premiere episode of Mob Wives aired! Has it only been four months ago that Mob Mistress and I started this blog? It seems like 4 years ago. I blog so much that I barely come up for air. I got to thinking, maybe our readers would like to know how these two “miserable often b!tchy housewives” got into this blog business in the first place. Let’s see if I can make sense of it for you.

Mob Mistress and I met almost a year ago in an online forum discussing other television housewives. We soon grew tired of the drama in that forum, where the posters were taking remarks, about their favorite housewives’ bad behavior, very personally. They were even forming alliances with each other behind the scenes, like Big Brother. Soon, instead of individuals arguing with each other, there were groups hurling insults at each other and it really got ugly. The drama on the forum was ultimately far worse that the behavior of the women on the show could ever be. In the process of all this, Mob Mistress and I gravitated to one another. The reason for this is that we both enjoyed each other’s writing and respected our differences of opinions, and believe me there were plenty. But, instead of arguing like the others, we discussed our different views and agreed to disagree. We also have in common the fact that we appreciate intelligent, articulate, logical people, like ourselves! And “likes” do attract!

The housewives forum was no longer fun. The once seemingly intelligent conversation literally went to pot on a few short weeks. One day, Mob Mistress tells me she wants to write a blog with me, a little place where we can have a fun and peace, just the two of us. I ask her, what would we write about? I can’t just write about anything, I need to care about what I write about. She answers that we will pick different topics and each voice our opinions on it. She thinks it would be interesting because we have very distinct and different writing styles and opinions and it could be a success.

Well, we let that idea marinate in its juices, and while it was sitting out there in cyber space, I started talking to her about watching Mob Wives. VH1 did a great job of promoting the show and the clips had plenty of drama and excitement. The next thing I know, Mob Mistress has a blog up for us, ready to write about the show, two weeks before it premieres. She asks me if I want to blog about the show, since we will both be watching it. We will be equal partners, it will be a joint venture. I say yes, but I hesitate a little at first because, after all, we are going to write about the “mob.” How will we be able to say how we feel and think if the “mob” is reading our blog? Of course this is of absolutely no concern to Mob Mistress. Just so you completely understand, let me be clear. She has always made a very strong point that she doesn’t care who likes her opinion or who doesn’t like it. She will say what she wants, to who she wants, when she wants, always with honesty and integity, but always what she wants. She will not censor herself for anyone, or be censored. However, she understood my concerns eventually, even though it took me a while to get my point across. We decided to make “pen names” or aliases so that we would be freer to express ourselves. I felt better about that. Next thing I know she has two or three blogs up and gives me the green light to start writing.

I looked at the blog and it’s beautiful! The third post, “The Big Bang” could not have been more appropriate for the show’s take off and our blog’s launching. Mob Mistress posted it April 11^th, just six days before the premiere. I hated the song at first and quickly learned to love it. Mob Mistress loved the song at first and then, well, she got tired of it.

It’s one week before the premiere. I need to do some investigating. I know nothing about these four women, except what is in their tiny VH1 bio. Hardly enough information to use to write a blog. But, I soon found, through my research, that there was tons of information available. And on top of that, viable sources started reaching out to us wanting to share information.  The problem is that the information we learn about isn’t always reliable. Mob Mistress and I, although we never had to discuss it, both strive for the truth and accuracy in what we say and write. I think that’s another thing that we bonded over. We wanted to write about the facts and feel free to voice our opinions based on what we read online, view on television and research. If we could not verify our facts, we sat on the story until we could. By the time the show aired, we had several blogs up related to the women, their families and their connections to the mob. It was fun discussing who would write what and when to post the blogs.

Once the show aired, we were getting hits. A lot of hits! People found our blog immediately and loved it. Neither one of us expected our little pastime amusement to grow and blossom the way it did. We loved the show, we loved the writing, and before we knew it, we were on the first page of every Google search on everything Mob Wives. Believe me when I say that we were not aiming to be so big and we do have to thank the success of the show for putting us on the map so fast. In June, just two short months into the show, Mob Mistress was interviewing the Mob Wives, and I met Renee and Jennifer Graziano in person! This was just too crazy! It was like I was in a blogger’s Twilight Zone. I felt like I had stepped out from behind the computer and into the show itself. Imagine how it must feel to one minute be blogging about the mob wives at a club on the show and then, almost literally the next minute, I am at a club with the mob wives! It was surreal.

Not only that, the blog keeps getting bigger and bigger. We added, ID’s I Married A Mobster, along with others shows and bloggers, and are talking with the women from those shows too. We seem to have become a phenomena without even trying. We just wanted to have a little fun and write on a small blog. It was just supposed to be a shared mutual interest between two friends who love to write, with a few regular readers. But, if Season 1 is any predictor of what is going to happen in Season 2, we just might have a Blogging Empire!

All written content is exclusive property of The Mob Wives Blogspot and is protected by copyrights or other intellectual property rights. You are prohibited from using, copying, altering, modifying, or changing our work. Unauthorized use of this is strictly prohibited. Violators are punishable under federal law. In simple English, stop f*cking jacking our work.

Mob Wives: My Meeting With Renee Graziano @ Sugar

Chiara Soprano meets her favorite Mob Wife Renee Graziano

All I can say is WOW! I should have just stayed up and blogged last night because between the wine and meeting Renee and Jennifer, I was not in sleep mode at all. I kept waking up during the night thinking about what I was going to say. If not for the fact that I pitied my poor husband and he needs his sleep, I would have had an all night writing session. So here is what you have been waiting for, the blow by blow account.

I had dinner reservations for 8 PM at Sugar. I was celebrating my wedding anniversary and the finale of Mob Wives. We arrived promptly on time and I asked the hostess if she knew when Renee was getting there. She informs me that Renee has 9 PM dinner reservations. Now, I am super excited, because I know I will still be there and maybe get a chance to say hello. My husband and I sit down and order four things off the menu. The menu at Sugar’s is like none we have ever seen before. Our waitress, Dana, explains how the menu works. They serve a variety of dishes, ranging from $12 to $18 each, which they are called hors d’oeuvres in any other restaurant. You get 4 of each item, so on average, you should order 2 to 3 plates per person. This is what we ordered from the menu: Grilled Shrimp a l’Orange, Smoked Pulled Pork Mini Tacos, Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, and Baked Spinach & Artichoke Fondue. The food was delicious! And, it was Ladies Drink Free from 8:30 till 10 PM so I had two complimentary glasses of white wine.

We finished eating and it’s approaching 9 PM. There is a big, empty table about four feet behind us. My husband keeps saying they are saving that table for Renee. I say to him, what are the odds I will be sitting this close to Renee? I jokingly say, I can practically pull my table over and join her, if she is sitting there. Well, at 9:10 there is a lot of activity around that big table. They were adding seats and dishes and utensils etc. and making sure everything was just right. A couple of minutes later, I turn around and there is Renee. I say to my husband, who may think I am crazy, “There’s Renee!”

The Mob Wives Blogspot's version of Charlie's Angels: Renee Graziano (Mob Wife), Chiara Soprano (Blogger) & Jennifer Graziano (Executive Producer)

As Renee gets a little closer to me, I stand up and say, “Hi, Renee.” Thinking I am a fan, she comes right over to say hello. I seize the chance to tell her who I am: “Hi, I’m Chiara from mobwives.blogspot, and can I have a picture?” She gives me a hug and announces to her whole table of friends that I am from mobwives.blogspot. Then I see her sister Jenn! And like the genius I am, I tell Renee, “That’s your sister Jennifer!” And before my mouth gets in touch with my brain, I blurt out to Jennifer if I can take her picture. Renee jumps on it. She tells Jennifer to take a picture with her and me and asks one of her friends to use my camera. Then Renee has someone use her phone to take a picture of the three of us so she can tweet it. I am just blown away and in shock. The whole blog experience is only two months old and here I am standing between Renee and Jenn! I thank them, go back to my table and Renee follows me. She has a picture of herself that she is going to autograph right there for me and my husband, for our anniversary. So, I ask if she can please give me one for Mob Mistress, so I can mail it to her. Renee jumps right up and brings back another picture and autographs that too! I cannot tell you enough what a sweet and charming personality Renee has. In a couple of minutes it was like I had known her all my life. Meanwhile, people are calling her over to their table, and she keeps telling them all she will be there in a minute. She tells my husband how much she loves our blog and that she reads it all the time. It’s really quite a compliment coming from her. I don’t have to tell you that she won me over, right? She is not only my favorite Mob Wife, she is my favorite of all the Housewives on Reality TV!

As she is done with the autographs she tells me she will be back. She has to mingle with the other fans. By this time, she has already exceeded all my highest expectations, but I say to her, can I tell you one thing before you go? She says, “sure.” I told her what I have been wanting to say to her all season long. I said, “your son AJ is a remarkable young man. I cannot get over what a great kid he is.” In this day and age to see a child raised the way he has been raised, who loves and respects his parents, who is so mature, who shows that he has a good moral upbringing, who does well in school and so many other things…that’s a huge accomplishment. Her eyes light up (she has beautiful eyes), and she thanked me, as any mother would, who loves to hear nice things about her child. AJ means everything to his mother and as a mother I totally understands how she feels. She is so proud him and she has every reason to be. But, I also wanted to get across to her, and I hope I did, that Renee deserves the credit for that. She practically raised AJ by herself and she did nothing short of an amazing job as his mother. I really mean that from my heart. And, mothers aren’t told often enough, when they raise wonderful children, that they have done an extraordinary job. So I hope she understood, from one mother to another, that I appreciate all it took on her part, for her son to turn out to be a young man that any mother would be proud of. She thanked me again and with that she left, promising to be back.

We can only hope Renee keeps that phone safe from fellow Mob Wife Drita D'avanzo

My husband and I finished our drinks while I texted Mob Mistress to give her a quick update on what was going on. I couldn’t talk because of the noise. We stayed there until 10:15 PM, and then a gentleman from the restaurant came over. He seemed to think I “knew” Renee, and I almost feel like I really do. He told us he would need to remove our table, along with a few others to make room for a dance floor. I told him it wasn’t a problem, we were leaving in a minute. I went over to Renee to say good-bye. She gave us each a hug, and I said I would love to talk to her again. I passed by Jennifer and stopped for a second to wish her the best of luck on her spin offs and told her I couldn’t wait! As we headed for the car, I dialed Mob Mistress to fill her in on every detail of the evening. I should thank her too, not just for her idea to blog the show, and for her help and guidance, but also for strongly suggesting I attend last night’s Mob Wives, Finale Party. It was just amazing. I’ll never forget it.

Mob Wives: Finale Party @ Sugar's With Renee Graziano!

And guess what? It’s 8 o’clock and I, Chiara Soprano, am here right now!! Yes, at Sugar’s, waiting for Renee! And hopefully, I will get to meet her in person, while I am celebrating the huge success of the show with other excited fans. I could not pass up this opportunity after spending every day, for the last two months watching, thinking, researching, writing and talking about Mob Wives. I’m not obsessed, as Mob Mistress will have you believe! No, I am an avid, focused fan, who is devoted to the show and to our readers. We have been very well received by many of you who share our interest and enthusiasm for the show and the Mob Wives.

But, that isn’t all I will be celebrating tonight. It is also my wedding anniversary. So I will be enjoying a wonderful dinner with my husband of 28 years, while I wait for this evening’s star attraction, Renee, to make her grand entrance. You can be sure I will be blogging about this experience tomorrow and maybe even have a few candid shots of Renee, if all goes well.

It’s been a very exciting moment in my life, thanks in large part to Mob Mistress, who suggested we start this blog to have a little fun because we both love to write. Never in our wildest imaginations did we ever expect for the blog to take off as it has! And, I never thought for a second, that we might have the opportunity to actually meet and talk to any of the Mob Wives! If you are fan of the show and enjoy reading our blogs, please feel free to comment. We do read all your comments and try to respond to your questions and consider your suggestions for future blogs whenever possible.

Thank you for all for reading! We recently passed the 150,000 hits mark this week. We owe it all to you! We hope you will continue reading throughout the summer as we intend to keep blogging about shows, movies and topics we hope you will find interesting. We will also be closely following and writing about all things “Mob Wives” related and look forward to Renee’s launching of Jail Mail Inc!

Picture credit: Sugar's