Mixing and mingling in the kitchen. Lots of Asian motifs here. I counted about four or five Buddhas on the walls --�not to mention several bottles of sake.

Another angle of the kitchen area. Unlike previous seasons which seemed hellbent on driving the houseguests nuts with a tacky decor, this house is very well appointed (with an exception or two). The whole Asian-meets-sustainability theme felt very New Age and peaceful. We all were surprised at how much we liked it.

Upstairs.

The living room. Again, the overall feel of the place is modern/upscale. Lots of plants growing along the walls (they were probably fake). What you can't see here and what you will probably rarely see on the show is that the walls are actually two stories high. As a result, the whole space is surprisingly very large and airy, and the living room in particular has a very lofty feeling, thanks to the high wall of tiered planters.

Another angle of the living room. Lots of woody and green (both literal and figurative) touches. Also, plenty of CB2 decor --�note the vases in the background.

The swanky bathroom. I had a zit I really wanted to pop, but I was afraid to look in any mirror longer than half a second for fear that a long, lingering close-up of my face would wind up in the press footage.

The backyard. I enjoyed the silly mural of windmills against the back wall, but that might be just because I tend to like anything windmill related. Also, the yard was much narrower than I had expected and certainly not as expansive as I had always imagined it to be.

One of the bedrooms.

The "pool" room. The entire decor of this bedroom clashes with the rest of the house, offering up a bright and gaudy public pool experience.

From what we could tell, people in the pool room will have no blankets. They'll have to make do by sleeping under these foamy rafts. And yes, the pillow cases are vinyl. Expect lots of sweaty faces.

The exercise/spa room. As you can see, the walls have been decorated with recyclable materials. It actually looks very cool in person. Additionally, the leftmost wall is entirely covered in bubble wrap, and yes, I accidentally popped three or four of them. (Also note that the two bikes power the light bulbs on the counter. Sustainability etc.)

The hallway leading to the Diary Room.

Me complaining about berries in the Diary Room. As you can see, lots of bright blue colors in there and a modern backdrop.

Entering the HOH room. The wall behind the bed actually featured a trickling waterfall. Very zen.

Exposed beams and a photographic mural of a coastline were surprisingly effective in creating the illusion of being perched in a hillside mansion.

Here we are lounging in the HOH room. It felt much larger than it looks here in this shot.

Me in the Veto Competition wearing a beanie. A proud moment.

An even prouder moment: pulling my key!

And now the video. This is all the footage we were given in its entirety. The Big Brother production staff edited our stay together like an actual episode. Needless to say, it's totally surreal and awesome. A lot of stuff didn't make the cut though --�specifically the scheming and campaigning and whatnot. We weren't a particularly cutthroat group, but there was a bit more there than perhaps this footage might suggest. To read about all that stuff, check out TV Week. To see us in action, check out the videos below...

Part I

Part II, wherein I present a glorious pit stain to America.

Part III.

Braden calls himself a fashion icon and thinks anything creative is totally rad; he even designs his own jewelry. But he hopes that he is not placed in the house with "fashionistas who think they are too cool for school." Braden has a very laid-back, California vibe and is concerned that the stress levels in the house will mess up his mellow personality. His fellow Houseguests may be thrown off by Braden's vocabulary as he tends to make up his own words.

Aside from winning the cash prize, Braden hopes to have new experiences and gain the virtue of patience. He plans to win BIG BROTHER by being two-faced.

Braden's favorite color is blue (because, according to him, it compliments his eyes) and his favorite food is sushi. His birth date is September 13, 1980.

Chima is extremely close to her ailing mother and expects she'll be taking care of her in the future. The fact that her mother's health is no longer at its best greatly concerns Chima, but she plans to happily provide the same care and love to her mother that her mother has provided to her throughout her lifetime. She is also very close to her stepfather, and fondly recalls him as the man who taught her how to ride a bike, swim and was always ready and willing to help her with her homework.

Adaptation, the ability to not be intimidated and an extremely disarming smile are all tools that may get Chima far in this game. In life she has proven that she is strong and has the will to win. Her plan is to create and break alliances and annihilate her competition. With her keen mind and plan at hand, she hopes to walk away with the cash prize.

Chima is a military brat who has lived all over the country. Her birth date is July 28, 1976.

Easy-going and laid-back, Jordan says she's game for anything, short of eating an insect, but she's also always up for a challenge and that's something this game will surely give her.

It will be very hard for her to be apart from her mother and brother for such a long time (she also has one sister), because she is very close to them and describes her mother as an extremely strong person who she considers her hero.

Jordan describes herself as an outgoing friend and party girl who likes to hang out with her female friends -- all tools she'll use to gain the trust of her fellow Housemates and, if the situation calls for it, she'll flirt with the guys for votes. But she won't have sex on television, or as she calls it, "bugger," because her grandpa will be watching the show.

With nothing in her hometown holding her back, she is ready to play the game and ready to be the last Houseguest standing.

Jordan's birth date is November 21, 1986.

She finds her work as a model rewarding due to the fact that she is able to meet fascinating people, has received crazy gift offers and has been able to travel to amazing places for free. This work has resulted in her appearance in several tanning product advertisements and gave her the opportunity to win the 2008 Planet Beach Title (a pageant) where she also competed in the World Finals.

She enjoys going out at least once a weekend. She doesn't feel that she is extremely temperamental but, once while out and about, she went toe-to-toe with a woman who gave her a nasty attitude. She can't stand when people attempt to make her feel inferior.

While in the house, she plans to live in her bikini (which will surely show off a lower back tattoo that she refers to as her "Tramp Stamp") and feels that her body will be her secret weapon. For her, the hardest part of being confined in the house will be abstaining from sex.

Unafraid to hurt feelings, lie or manipulate in order to win, she feels that her advantage is that she is a genuine BIG BROTHER fan who truly knows how to play the game -- she can even name the Head of Household winners from every season.

Laura's birth date is December 21, 1987.

Michele's motto in life is "don't sweat the small stuff," which is something she needs to continually remind herself. In the past, she's had a tough time controlling her emotions and was often extremely stressed, but she was able to overcome her issues and get back on track.

She described herself as a news-junkie and is not sure how she'll cope without the Internet, but is sure her fellow Houseguests will provide hours of entertainment.

Michele is a self-proclaimed nerd and former band geek who is always the smartest person in the room. She used to get beat up in school for being too smart and is now ready to get revenge for all the smart kids.

Michele's strategy going into the game is to try to win challenges without actually dominating the competitions. She figures that will help her stay under the radar, while her people skills will her keep her a favorite in the house.

Michele was born and raised in Iselin, New Jersey. She has been married for three years. Her birth date is June 16, 1982.

He is obsessed with video games and often plays more than six hours a day, even to the point of ignoring his wife. Ronnie is a collector of all things sci-fi, especially Star Wars collectibles.

Ronnie is an über BIG BROTHER fan who can recite the order of every person ever evicted from the BIG BROTHER house. This student is most proud of being a national champion in speech and debate, as he feels this activity is where he excels.

One of the most interesting things he learned from one of his previous jobs as a travel agent is that you can purchase a personal blessing from the Pope.

Ronnie's birth date is January 15, 1979.