The Martha Blog

Partying in style with Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Martha Stewart — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:04:52 +0000

Yesterday, Thursday, I attended, what was being dubbed in the news as ‘the party of the century.’ It was the 40th birthday party for hip hop mogul, Sean Diddy Combs, held in the Grand Ballroom at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Diddy, who is known for his extravagant parties, hired event planner, Bronson Van Wyck, and asked him to create a fantasy dreamland. The party was simply stunning and I had such a fantastic time! Please enjoy these photos.

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1 My friend, Sean Puffy Combs 'Diddy'

2 Diddy's jacket was amazing.

3 The man of the hour

4 Sean Puffy Combs's son, Justin

5 Diddy's younger son, Christian

6 Here I am being greeted by the press line.

7 The hand of each attendee was marked with a black light-sensitive stamp.

8 Ballet students from the Dance Division of The Julliard School were poised throughout the party.

9 Oh - to have a ballerina's body

10 Sarah Goldman, daughter of Amy Goldman - garden author - was my guest for the evening.

11 Holla at me!

12 I was happy to meet Rapper Nelly.

13 Designer Zac Posen, his mother, Susan, and me

14 Here I am with the Reverend Al Sharpton.

15 Comparing shoes with a guest

16 Here I am with Paul Schindler - entertainment lawyer - and his wife, Jane.

17 The plaza was decorated exquisitely - here with real ferns. The security was great.

18 The floral decorations were extraordinary!

19 Clusters of berries mixed in with the arrangements

20 Here I am with Bronson Van Wyck - event planner for this party.

21 Real apples hung from the branches.

22 Cocktails were served in this greenery-filled 'holding pen.'

23 Well-dressed bartenders - Ciroc vodka was a sponsor for the evening.

24 Another sponsor

25 Here I am with entrepreneur, Russell Simmons.

26 Candles and cattleya orchids decorated the room.

27 Here I am with Anthony Anderson - actor - who was a guest on my television show. We made beautiful stone planters together. I'm eating a delicious grape popsicle.

28 Posing with another guest who.......

29 who proudly showed me his bling.

30 Posing with a guest

31 Everyone was texting and taking pictures.

32 Body guards were everywhere.

33 Orchids mixed into the greenery

34 A body guard

35 Chocolate sticks dipped in dragée were a big hit.

36 As was the cotton candy

37 Tim and Helen Schiffter of LeSportsac

38 Voluptuous lady guests

39 This table was reserved for Diddy.

40 The crystal chandelier is the actual one in the plaza. All the others were brought in for the party.

41 Large black orbs

42 The DJ and emcee announced guests as they arrived.

43 Getting friendly with a horse lamp

44 More ladies

45 And more ladies

46 Incredible flower arrangements

47 Another view

48 Gorgeous hydrangea

49 Great shot of Diddy entering the party

50 Another guest

51 This looks like ice sculpture, however it's glass!

52 Love this jacket

53 The ballroom was furnished with giant black velvet couches.

54 The scene

55 The ceiling

56 Posing with the body guards

57 More guests

58 A very tall guest

59 Another shot of the ceiling

60 More guests

61 Part of the decor

62 Andre Balázs (left) - New York City hotelier - with a friend

63 Love the boots!

64 A closer look

65 Diddy's intern from Columbia University

66 My friend, Harvey Weinstein

67 Striking a pose

68 Guests leaving - Bono is at the front of the line, but I didn't get his photo.

69 Sassy

A Puerto Rican Evening

Martha Stewart — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:01:34 +0000

Last Friday, November 13th, I attended the Comité Noviembre 14th Annual Gala Celebrating 23 Years of Puerto Rican Heritage Month held at the Hilton in New York City. My very good friend Carlos A. Picón asked me to attend and present him with the award he was receiving that night. Carlos, a fascinating fellow, is the Curator in Charge of the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One could only wish to have him along while exploring the ancient ruins of Greece and, to my great fortune, that is exactly what happened back in 1996. I was vacationing with a group of friends and Carlos joined the group as our informal lecturer and cultural guide to the wonders of ancient Greek history - a most memorable experience.

Established in 1987, the mission of Comité Noviembre is to commemorate and acknowledge all aspects of Puerto Rican life from the social and cultural to the educational, economic, and political. This organization strives to create an awareness of the rich culture, language, and heritage of the Puerto Rican community. The gala last week was a benefit to raise funds for its scholarship awards program. The event is known for the exciting musical entertainment it draws, and I must say that it was certainly a lively and fun evening. Thank you, Carlos, for inviting me and congratulations to all who were honored!

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1 At the Gala Benefit - a good photo of me and Carlos - Curator in Charge, Department of Greek and Roman Art Metropolitan Museum of Art

2 A 1996 photo taken of me and Carlos during a cruise around Greece. Carlos was a fabulous tour guide.

3 Before the festivities began - the sound check and pre-dinner preparations

4 This is in the ornate Trianon Ballroom at The New York Hilton

5 There was very lively dancing by Bomba Y Plena Extravaganza.

6 Whirling around the ballroom

7 Vibrant swirls of color

8 Frankie Negron - International Recording Artist - performed two National Anthems - The Star Spangled Banner and La Borinqueña

9 A dinner entree - New York strip steak, spinach and wild mushrooms, gruyere potato au gratin

10 Laura Posada - wife of baseball legend, Jorge Posada - Co-Founder & President of Jorge Posada Foundation

11 Here I am with Jesus Omar Rivera - aka El Boricuazo - historian and author - 2009 Spokesperson

12 With my good friend Kathy Sloane

13 An adoring fan who wanted her picture taken with me

14 A friend of Frankie Negron, who performed that evening

15 Here I am with Carlos Picon and Benefit Committee members - Lourdes Torres, Suleika Cabrera Driane, and Teresa A. Santiago

16 Choco Orta - salsa diva and awards presenter

17 The Master of Ceremonies - Jorge Ramos - Anchorman, NBC/Telemundo

18 Teresa A. Santiago - Chairperson

19 Presenter - The Honorable Sallie Manzanet-Daniels - Associate Justice of the Appellate Division First Department

Meredith Vieira and I have a baking contest

Martha Stewart — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:01:21 +0000

With the holidays approaching, I've been all about pies lately. We held a pie contest on my television show on Monday and invited the winner, Marjorie Johnson back to the show on Tuesday to demonstrate her recipe for English Toffee Pecan Pie. Yesterday, on the Today show, co-host Meredith Vieira and I decided to have a little contest of our own baking apple pies. Meredith brought her mother's original recipe in and I came prepared to make one that I call the 'Mile High Apple Pie.' Co-host Matt Lauer was the judge, a position that made him a little nervous, I think.

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1 For my pie, I used Empire and Granny Smith apples. Other good pie choices include Golden Delicious, Macoun, Crispin, Cortland, Winesap, and Rome.

2 The finished pies - Meredith's delicious apple pie of her mother's is behind my mile-high apple pie.

3 Matt was a very cautious judge.

4 Instead of choosing a winner, he tossed up the ribbon - Meredith caught it!

5 After tasting Meredith's pie, I was very impressed with its flavor and texture.

6 Here I am backstage with Kristen Stewart (no relation) star of "Twilight" and the new "New Moon."

7 We had a wonderful conversation.

8 Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi who was on the show promoting 'The Circle,' his new CD and 'When we Were Beautiful,' his new book.

9 Katie Goldberg - my AVP Public Relations - posing for her latest prized photo with Bon Jovi

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Mile High Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS

Pate Brisee

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Mile High Apple Pie

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

• Deep-Dish Pate Brisee

• 5 1/2 pounds firm tart apples (about 14), such as Empire or Granny Smith

• Juice of 2 lemons

• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1 large egg yolk

DIRECTIONS

Pate Brisee (makes enough for 6 double-crust 4-inch pies):

Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add water in a slow, steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour to 2 days (or freeze for up to 1 month; thaw in refrigerator before using).

Mile High Apple Pie:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the smaller piece of pate brisee into a 15-inch round about 1/8-inch thick, dusting surface with flour to prevent sticking, as needed. Brush off excess flour. Roll dough around rolling pin, and place over a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate. Line plate with dough, pressing it into the corners. Trim dough to within 1 inch of the pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate.

Roll out remaining piece of dough into an 18-inch round. Transfer round to a baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

Peel and core apples, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices in a large bowl; sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon; toss with apple slices.

Remove remaining dough from refrigerator; place apple mixture into prepared pie plate, mounding it in a tall pile. Dot filling with butter. Place dough round over the apples. Tuck edge of top dough between edge of bottom dough and rim of pan. Using your fingers, gently press both layers of dough along the edge to seal, and crimp as desired.

Using a paring knife, cut several vents in top of dough to allow steam to escape. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk with 2 tablespoons water to make a glaze. Brush surface with egg glaze; sprinkle with sugar. Place on a baking sheet; this will catch any juices that may overflow during baking. Bake until crust is golden, about 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely before serving.

A Pie Contest

Martha Stewart — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:01:10 +0000

Last Monday on my television show, we had our first annual pie contest, where we asked members of the audience to share their favorite pies with us. It turns out that many were eager to impress us with their baking skills because amazingly, a total of 161 pies were transported into the studio that morning. To judge all those pies, we asked Karen Demasco, pastry chef at Locanda Verde in New York City; Sandro Micheli, pastry chef at Adour Alain Ducasse in New York City; John Barricelli, host of "Everyday Baking from Everyday Food" and owner of SoNo Baking Company and Cafe in South Norwalk, Connecticut; and Sarah Carey, host of "Everyday Food" and food editor of Martha Stewart Living.
As you can imagine, there was a whole lot of tasting going on. It was a pie lover's extravaganza! The judges narrowed it down to five choices, leaving me with the final judgment. The winner was Marjorie Johnson with her most delicious English Toffee Pecan Pie. Enjoy these pie photos taken that day and try not to drool!

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1 It was a most amazing pie display!

2 TV show staff members Dani, Anduin, and Calia were happy to be tasaters.

A tag sale at my offices - Prada, Escada, Ralph Lauren and more

Martha Stewart — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:01:05 +0000

Last Friday, we held our annual tag sale at my offices in the Starrett Lehigh building in Manhattan. What we were selling was my television wardrobe from last season. Many of these items were only worn once and are of very good quality. The idea for this sale is to offer employees a really great deal for this merchandise. The clothing was placed in bins and moved from the TV studio. At Starrett, it was arranged on long tables, organized by sweaters, blouses, pants, shoes, etc. My executive assistant, Jessica, helped me price and tag everything. The sale began at noon and as tag sales go, it was quite a scene. I was happy to see that people were very happy with their finds.

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1 This is the clerestory. As you can see, it is a wonderful space for large events. The tag sale only took up one corner of this room. On either side of the clerestory, there are busy work areas behind the scrims.

2 The tag sale drew quite a crowd.

3 These gentlemen each have an armload of clothing! I wonder who the lucky women are?

4 The shoes were displayed in zipper bags and priced very reasonably.

5 All good tag sales have a give away area. This one featured assorted yarns, fabrics, and trimmings.

6 The clothing was displayed neatly folded upon long tables.

7 Simply stated

8 Doreen Hunt and Lee Evans tallied up the sales.

9 Ralph Lauren jeans

10 A great buy on Ralph Rucci silk pants!

11 White Escada trousers

12 I can't believe these prices!

13 This group of shoppers wanted free arms and stacked their finds on the floor.

14 These are the bins that the clothing was transported in.

15 A quick try on

16 Lisa just loves this Brooks Brother's shirt.

17 Tori is crazy about this bright pink Façonnable blouse.

18 Lynn plans on giving this silk yarn to her cousin to knit into an afghan.

19 Tana and her son, Dana - she is happy about her shoe purchase.

20 Claudia is browsing

21 Elizabeth, from the test kitchen, strolling by and taking a peek

22 Stephanie - another browser

23 Helene is contemplating this pair of Donna Karan tweed slacks.

Finding beauty on a gloomy day

Martha Stewart — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:01:10 +0000

Last week, two major weather systems sat over the Northeast, bringing rains and high winds. Many coastal areas were flooded and my heart goes out to the families of those who perished and to those with property damage. Away from the coast, the days were long and dreary and I decided to wander around the farm and capture some images of this rather bleak time. As my eyes began to wander, I was amazed at how much beauty there was just waiting to be seen, even on a gloomy day. Enjoy, and this week promises to be sunny!

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1 The sun is trying to be seen through the heavy cloud cover.

2 Leaves still dropping

3 So much work went into building this nest. I wonder where the little birds flew off to?

4 These dried stalks were the flower stems of leafy hosta plants.

5 The crab apple is now without leaves.

6 A close up of the fruit

7 A row of bald cypress nearly bare of foliage

8 These wisteria standards are late to drop.

9 How funny and strange - an oriental poppy is wanting to bloom in November!

10 My giant Kenneth Lynch urns have been covered over with protective burlap.

11 The cole crops - kale and collards look good in the vegetable garden.

12 The asparagus bed has gone to seed and needs to be trimmed back. I cannot wait to eat more in the spring.

13 How did we miss those raspberries?

14 I hope the berry patch is as prolific next season.

15 Entrance reducers have been installed in the bee hives to help keep the hives warm during frigid weather.

16 This is my cold frame.

17 This is what's growing inside the cold frame - leafy lettuces and herbs.

18 My little Japanese garden

19 The climbing hydrangea - clinging vines

20 Remember the jewel-like currants?

21 The woody stems of the blueberry bushes have a red tinge.

22 Into the woods

23 The Pomeranian geese are happy in their penned yard.

24 A grove of metasequoia - a coniferous tree with deciduous needles, thought to be extinct until it was discovered growing in China in the 1940s.

25 Needles and cones dropping from white pines

26 The dried flowers of a peegee hydrangea

27 Again - the sun

28 The tennis court with net down and lines lifted

29 The newly planted Japanese maple grove now void of color

30 No leaves left here

31 Ramon sporting his winter coat

32 This tarp is beneath the giant ginko tree collecting the falling, smelly fruit. When dried, the nuts are edible.

33 The tree peony bed all trimmed and cleaned

34 The herbaceous peonies cut back and resting for the winter

35 Another renegade flower - this time a clemetis

36 Sans blooming clematis, the pergola looks so bare.

37 Not much foliage left on this landscape.

38 Leaves still clinging to pin oaks

What is a tub grinder?

Martha Stewart — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:01:21 +0000

As you know from reading this blog, I am a very serious gardener and am very serious about my compost yard. About once a year, we hire a tub grinder to help us out. In the course of the year, my ground's crew amasses quite a large pile of organic debris from the farm including stumps, logs, and brush. All of this material will eventually decay, however, to speed the process up by many years, a tub grinder is necessary. Basically, material is fed into this large piece of equipment, where it is hammered into much finer wood chips, accelerating the decomposition of this organic matter.

Dan Repola, of Material Processors, located in Spring Valley, New York, has been at the farm working hard on this project. Once all the wood has gone through the tub grinder, Dan passes it through a second time to make it even finer. He also screens the older piles of decaying matter, turning them into the dark and rich compost that I like to call 'black gold.' I hope you enjoy these photos of this amazing process.

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1 This is approaching the tub grinder in the compost yard with piles in various stages of decay.

2 As you can see, this is major heavy equipment.

3 An excavator is used to grab big mouthfuls of logs and brush.

4 It is then transferred into the revolving tub of the grinder, which, by the way, measures 10-feet 6-inches across.

5 As the tub revolves, a hammer mill below, shatters the wood into fragments.

6 Those fragments travel on a long conveyor belt, forming a large mound.

7 You can see how finely the wood is ground up.

8 What is Laura taking a picture of?

9 Oh! It's Eliad in the Hi-Lo taking a picture of Laura!

10 Eliad got a better view from above.

11 That's Dan in the excavator feeding the tub grinder.

12 As the tub spins, friction actually causes some of the wood to smoke.

13 A better look

14 In one year, this wood pile had gotten quite large.

15 Another view of the ground up wood. By the way, it's very fragrant.

16 When the pile gets too tall, Dan uses the claw to push it down a bit.

17 This machine can lift even a mighty tree trunk.

18 It's hard to imagine that this could fit into the tub grinder, but it did!

19 Dan retrieves the nicer looking wood from the pile that he thinks will make good firewood.

20 That wood is sawed into manageable pieces and is neatly stacked for splitting into firewood.

A terrific evening for the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai

Martha Stewart — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:01:18 +0000

Two nights ago, I hosted the second annual gala for the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai. This is a special project I have been involved with for more than five years and is something very dear to my heart. When it opened, I dedicated the center to my beloved mother, who passed away two years ago this month at the age of ninety-three. The Center for Living is designed to provide out patients with whole patient care, including medical examinations, advice about diet and exercise, and the all important need for care giving. Simply stated, the main focus of the center is to teach how to grow old gracefully, something we should all start focusing on around the age of fifty.

The gala, held at my office in the Starrett Lehigh bulding in Manhattan, was a huge success with 375 guests in attendance. At the end of the evening, which included an auction, more than one million dollars was raised. The food was exquisitely prepared by Chef Pierre Schaedelin, who is now executive chef and part owner of Benoit in New York City. www.benoitny.com Sir Harold Evans, the legendary editor and journalist was our honoree of the evening and the event was emceed by Liz Smith. I wish to thank all who contributed and a special thanks to Jean Graham, Heather Kirkland, and Erin Fury, from our corporate events department, for all of their hard work in making this evening so wonderful. There is still time to bid on some great items to contribute to the Center for Living by visiting Charitybuzz.com.

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1 Tina Brown, Sir Harold Evans, and me DAVID X PRUTTING 2009 © Patrick McMullan

2 Here I am with Jim Cramer.

3 My daughter, Alexis, joined me for the occasion DAVID X PRUTTING 2009 © Patrick McMullan

5 Liz Smith, the Grand Dame of Dish, was our emcee for the evening.

7 Here I am with Ed Victor and his mother-in-law - Florence Boggs - nearly 106 years old!

9 Posing with Cynthia McFadden of Nightline and my niece, Sophie Herbert Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING 2009 © Patrick McMullan

19 Darcy Miller with Sophie Herbert - my niece, and Christopher Herbert - my nephew

20 Michael Citro, Laura Blau, Muffin Dowdle, and Peter Michaelis

23 Jeffrey Brown and Robin Marino Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

24 Bunny Williams, John Rosselli, and me Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

25 Barry and Diana Levinson Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

26 Pomegranate martinis Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

27 Chateau St Jean donated all of the white wine for the evening

28 The vodka for the martinis - Imperia, of course Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

29 The tables were set in the clerestory Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

30 I contributed some of my photographs for the auction.

31 Other various auction items and bidding forms

32 These items were also available for bidding on Charitybuzz.com - some are still open.

33 Here is one of the stations set up for bidding.

34 The room was decorated with large stained plywood squares with silhouettes of bonsai trees made from white and silver vinyl.

35 Another image

36 And another

37 The logo for the Center for Living

38 Chef Pierre Schaedelin and famed Alain Ducasse

39 Pierre's menu taped in the kitchen area for easy reference

40 These racks held the lobster salad awaiting to be dressed and served.

41 The first course was a colorful lobster Salad consisting of lobster, lettuce cup, heart of palm, green beans, avocado, tomato, and grapefruit.

42 Dr. Audrey Chun addressing the room

43 Dr. Dennis Charney

44 Here I am thanking everyone for coming. Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

45 My image up on the big screen

46 Pierre keeping a watchful eye over every detail

47 A very efficient assembly line

48 Pierre manning the ovens

49 The pace was fast in the kitchen.

50 The main course was salmon en croute served with carrot puree, spinach, and tarragon sauce.

51 The parade of food emerges from the kitchen.

52 The auctioneer for the evening

53 The Charitybuzz.com representative received bids by cell phone.

54 Dessert was a wonderful meringue shell filled with chestnut mousse.

55 Piping the filling into each shell

56 Candied marron garnished the top.

57 Cynthia McFadden and Sophie Herbert Photo - DAVID X PRUTTING/ PatrickMcMullan.com====

58 Dr. Nimesh Nagarsheth - the drummer for N.E.D, a rock band made up of six doctors.

59 Karen Hart - Steve Schwarz's daughter on the board of the Brookdale foundation and my friend, Ralph Robbins

What bulbs are you planting?

Martha Stewart — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:01:18 +0000

My gardener, Shaun, and his crew are busy with autumn chores. The garden beds are being trimmed back and prepared for the cold days ahead. They've also been hard at work planting all of the flowering bulbs that I ordered. I must admit that when it comes to spring flowers, I have a tendency to get a little carried away. I just love painting the landscape with swaths of bright colors, a real treat after the long and harsh months of winter. My sources for these bulbs are Van Engelen, www.vanengelen.com Brent and Becky's Bulbs, The Lily Garden, and B & D Lilies. Please enjoy these photos of the planting process and be sure to visit my blog next spring when I'll post photos of these magnificent blooms. And by the way, have you gotten all your bulbs in the ground yet?

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1 All of the bulbs I ordered arrived in late October for autumn planting.

2 I ordered between five and six thousand spring flowering bulbs.

3 These are assorted packaging for allium bulbs.

4 I decided to have allium planted in the knot garden. Here are the bulbs all laid out waiting to be planted.

5 As you can see from how they look, allium is the onion genus, with about 1,250 species. I just love their flowers.

6 Digging a hole about 6-inches deep

7 Setting the bulb in the hole, root-side down

8 Covering the allium and filling up the hole with soil

9 Allium ‘Ambassador’ is a giant with 20”-tall bright green stems and long-lasting 8”-diameter dark purple flower heads.

10 After all the allium were planted in the knot garden, the soil was raked smooth.

11 Beneath the allée of linden, Shaun planted clusters of hyacinthoides Hispanica Excelsior or Scilla/Spanish Bluebell

12 He laid out groupings of three.

13 Wilmer followed by digging and sprinkling bonemeal for nutrition.

14 Shaun and Wilmer cleaned out the lily borders for more planting.

15 Lilium asiatic Linda is bright and cheerful lily with warm tones of yellow and 'sunset'.

16 Lilium Red Hot is not red at all but the color of glowing embers.

17 Wilmer's gloved hand displaying a lily bulb.

18 Elsewhere on the property, the crew was busy planting hundreds of daffodils on what I call the 'triangle.' The ground was cleared and amended, before the bulbs were laid down.

19 The daffodil bulbs were then covered over thickly with rich, composted soil.

20 These circles of daffodils are so exciting and I cannot wait for spring!

ABC's Nightline comes to visit my farm

Martha Stewart — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:01:44 +0000

Recently, I was approached by Nightline, the ABC news show. They were interested in putting together a program about my life. Remember last week's blog from the book signing in Philadelphia when I mentioned that Nightline was also there? Well, to continue with that theme, yesterday, Cynthia McFadden, one of he co-anchors of the show, arrived at my home in Bedford bright and early with a producer and a film crew. Cynthia interviewed me and tagged along during my morning routine. Then, it was off to New York City, to visit my offices and to document what my day is like in my business world. Be sure to watch Nightline on November 19th!

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1 It was a perfect morning for a visit from Nightline - unusually warm for early November.

2 Early in the morning, before the crew of Nightline arrived, Gyurme neatened up the gravel on the driveway.

3 I started my day with my morning workout in my gym with trainer, Mary Tedesco. Cynthia McFadden joined me for the session.

4 After our workout, we continued our discussion over a healthy breakfast - scrambled farm-fresh eggs, homemade granola, fruit salad, and Greek yogurt - of course, cappuccino.

5 Cynthia spoke for a while to my long-time housekeeper, Laura Acuna.

6 Laura Acuna and Mary Curren, hair and makeup. Mary was laughing that she is always photographed with food on my blogs.

7 After breakfast, we moved outdoors and headed down to the equipment barn for a meeting with my Bedford staff.

8 On the way, we ducked into the blog studio, where I showed Cynthia some photos from my modeling days many years ago. Ken Fuhr followed with his camera.

9 Cynthia was interested in my bald cypress grove as it is turning a magnificent amber shade.

10 In the staff meeting, I instructed where to plant the new delivery of spring bulbs.

11 Here I am mapping out the new garden plan for the Summer House.

12 All the while, Nightline was rolling.

13 Cynthia was amazed at how much machinery is actually needed to run the farm.

14 My fleet of 2 Kawasakis sat ready to transport us to the next area.

15 As we drove down to the stable, we said 'good morning' to Billy, Clive, and Rufus.

16 Meindert was curious to see who was approaching.

17 Ramon was happy to be on camera.

18 Nicole Sutliff, of the Susan Magrino Agency and Kim Kaplan, assistant to Cynthia.

19 Camera man, Akram Abi-Hanna checks for lighting.

20 Akram captures the beauty of the farm with Gil Ben-Ze'Ev - sound technician.

21 The beauty of instant review

22 Rutger was in a playful mood outdoors.

23 Through the allée on to the chicken coops.

24 The chickens were clucking as we pulled up.

25 Cynthia was thrilled to gather a few freshly laid, still warm, eggs.