Real ladies read the news

Top picks for today:

• Forget global warming and world peace.

The Washington Post reports today that the RSVP is near endangered status and experts predict the problem will only get worse as the fall party season approaches.

It's a tacky and rude world, indeed. The Virginia Housewife offers this suggestion -- Ditch the anacronym and just spell it out: Repondez, S'il Vous Plait. French = classy.

• Also from the Washington Post, reality TV guru Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) is chatting with Martha Stewart about developing a prime-time series .

Housewife applauds Martha's decision last week to begin her prison sentence on Oct. 8. That graceful move bumped her stock up a few notches and this announcement will surely do the same (if only because Burnett was authorized to purchase 2.5 million shares of his own) .

She has nowhere to go but up. Burnett, afterall, is the man who's made Donald Trump look good.

• More...

How to plant bulbs from the Boston Globe
Mulching in the right places from the Seattle Times
Decorating for dummies from the Richmond Times Dispatch
Ready to wear window dressings from the Dallas Morning News