I'm a Jersey girl, born and raised and, with the exception of a two-year exodus to Northern California, a life-long resident. I was born here and I plan on dying here in the house my mother grew up in. Yep, I'm THAT kind of Jersey girl. Needless to say, a girl like me doesn't say no to an invite to The Brownstone in Paterson, NJ to attend the official 'The Real Housewives of NJ' premiere party.

So, with my mom in tow (natch; that's her in the photo next to star Teresa Giudice), I hit the biggest party in town Monday night. The Brownstone is a beautiful venue in the state's third largest city. After checking in, we noticed a massive spread - a very Italian feast including calamari, eggplant parm and a stunning arrangement of cured meats and fresh mozzarella.

While most of the cast was holed up on another floor with press, Teresa and her daughter Gia were mingling with diners, graciously taking photos and answering questions. Despite her fabulous new "bubbies," it was her amazingly styled hair that seemed to draw the most attention.

After a quick pop into the ladies' room -- check out that glorious/gaudy sink, left -- we made our way upstairs to a huge ballroom set up as a viewing room for the premiere. It was loud and bursting at the seams with very 'NJ' looking fans and guests - tan women in short dresses, high heels and higher hair, for sure. The crowd went crazy for a glimpse of Simon van Kempen and Alex McCord from the 'The Real Housewives of New York' cast as they took the stage for photo ops. We ducked out at this point just in time to spy cast member Jacqueline Laurita's youngest son Nicholas playing paddy cake with his elder caretakers. He already seems well adjusted to all the chaos surrounding his family.

Unable to break into the press room to get access to the rest of the cast, mom and I made our way over to a smaller room in the back that was set up with a TV and tables. A perfect place to watch the premiere away from the craziness, right? Oh yeah, we definitely wandered into the right place. As the show started, the room filled with people, including the husbands of 'NJ' - Chris (Jacqueline's husband) and Joe (Teresa's man) - and Simon and Alex joined the gang as well.

It's odd to watch a reality show with some of the cast in attendance, but Joe was a good sport about the whole thing. We laughed in all the right places and were respectfully morose during any of Danielle Staub's awkward scenes (pedicure as confessional is pathetic). Then Joe asked us to all sing happy birthday to his buddy Chris as they cracked open a several-hundred dollar bottle of wine and offered a small glass to anyone in the room who wanted to partake. Most declined, though - this was clearly a family affair.

And that really sums up the venue, the event and the show overall - it's a family affair. In the same way we Jerseyans felt kinship with 'The Sopranos,' the Manzo family brings us locals together in a way that those kids at the 'Jersey Shore' could never understand. For us, it's all about family, business, humor, drama and great food.