March 18th, 2010

The Marriage Ref tonight - behind the scenes!

I was very intrigued when I was approached to appear as one of the panelists on The Marriage Ref, Jerry Seinfeld’s new comedy series on NBC.  I was told that I would be part of a three-member celebrity panel, along with Jason Alexander, actor and comedian, and Cedric, the Entertainer.  I have to admit that I was slightly put off by this because Jason and Cedric are just so inherently funny.  They barely need to think about the next hilarious thing to pop out of their mouths.  If you haven’t been watching, the premise of The Marriage Ref involves real life couples, who have been experiencing problems for a long period of time.  The panel must argue the merits of both sides and vote on who they think is right.  I hope you will tune in to this evening’s episode and let me know your reactions.

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1 On the night of the Marriage Ref, I was touched up by my new makeup artist, Charlie Green. She is a very famous makeup artist, known by everyone, and she applies very beautiful makeup that is not artificial or heavy. We are in the CBS studios on West 57th Street, where the new Seinfeld show is filmed.

2 My attorney, Larry Shire, dropped by to visit with me before the taping of the show - he put me at ease.

3 Larry is a partner at Grubman, Indursky & Shire, a well known firm specializing in celebrity music, news, media, and fashion stars.

4 Larry getting into the picture

5 Here I am with one of the producers of the very funny new show, The Marriage Ref.

6 Another producer said she would pose with me.

7 Cedric the Entertainer, one of the funniest comics in America, was one of three judges on my night - Jason Alexander, who played George on 'Seinfeld,' was the other.

8 Lo and behold! Joey Kola, from my show, was warming up the Seinfeld audience - he was moonlighting!!!!!

9 Tom Papa, the comedian, and I right before we went onto the stage - He is the host of the show.

10 Cedric, me, and the very, very, famous funny man - Jerry Seinfeld - Jerry is the genius behind the show.

11 Jason Alexander is also a genius. He is so clever and so fast. I had a very hard time keeping up with Jason and Cedric, two seasoned performers who make their living being funny.

12 Notice my great shoes? Who knew they would have a coffee table in front of me blocking the view of my gorgeous YSL pumps!

13 I was quite a bit taller than Jason, even without the shoes.

14 The three 'judges' - we made a mess of it, and we were happy!

15 There are TV screens everywhere, showing backstage what is going on.

16 Tom is very funny, although he had the advantage of scripts, while we had none!

17 From the look on my face, I am objecting to something.

18 I'm probably thinking of an answer to a very silly question.

19 This is the area where we sat for more than two hours, listening and reacting to marriage woes.

20 We were having a very good time, but compared to Madonna and Larry David, we were sooooo tame!

21 Here we are talking remotely to one of the couples.

22 There is a very large audience and Jerry stays close by.

23 This woman was hysterical and very cute.

24 Funny, funny, funny

25 And even funnier!

26 Cedric was hysterical!

27 The audience sits in front of and above.

28 There is even an NBC newscaster who provides the 'facts' for each couple.

29 This is one of the camera men - I counted more than seven cameras!

30 Joey Kola worked hard to keep the audience engaged and lively.

31 My hairdresser, Anthony with Charlie, backstage

March 17th, 2010

Antiquing in Santa Monica, CA

Last week, a group of us from the company, went to Los Angeles, California to present our new line of Martha Stewart Living products available exclusively at the Home Depot. This Home Depot Managers meeting was held at the new Marriott in Santa Monica. We had a three-hour break between that presentation and an upfront dinner for advertisers held at the Montage, in Beverly Hills. Robin Marino, our CEO, and I decided to take the time to explore some antique stores and to scout around in Santa Monica. We went to Wertz Brothers Antique Mart Inner Gardens,  and Mary Steenburgen’s Rooms and Gardens.  Here are some photos of what we found. Also, don't forget to check out Kevin Sharkey's blog Home Design With Kevin Sharkey for more photos from our L.A trip!

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1 The first stop on our antiques jaunt - Wertz Brothers Antique Mart - a wonderful antiques mall

2 We were given a warm greeting as we entered - he was very happy to see two New Yorkers with 'big eyes.'

3 This is a typical booth at Wertz - chock full of stuff!

4 Fire King is still really hot.

5 There are many, many cases full of all kinds of treasures - jewelry, porcelain, dolls, glassware, etc., etc.

6 I saw many things I would have bought, such as this outdoor planter encrusted with small conch shells - perfect for my East Hampton place.

7 A closeup of the shell covered urn - it is quite extraordinary!

8 I was very much drawn to the étagère stand in metal - I thought this would make a good plant stand.

9 At Wertz, I discovered this beautiful two tiered cart with glass shelves - If polished, it would be perfect for my daughter's new apartment

10 Another view of the cart - I did not purchase it yet.

11 Silver was available in quantity at Wertz - lots of napkin rings.

12 I started a collection of old baby dishes years ago - this one was not in perfect shape, so it stayed in California.

13 Another view of the baby's dish and saucer - it was engraved with the name, Janice, on the bowl and on the saucer.

14 Engraved with nursery rhymes, these childrens' silver items are really cute and beautiful.

15 I collect old taxidermy and this river otter caught my eye at Wertz - it was a little mangy, however.

16 At Inner Gardens - This wrought iron tree is a two-part sculpture in the shape of a tree, which has holders for live potted plants - I love its size and form.

17 A better look at the tree plant stand - it has a long provenance and is very, very lovely - it was priced at $15,000!!!!

18 The plantings at Inner Gardens are just phenomenal - this old yellow planter contains beautiful orchids and succulents.

19 These unusual bronzy bromeliads were planted in faux bois tabletop containers.

20 Air plants will do just fine in an arid planter, like this - this is a very pretty example.

21 Another fine example of arid loving plants

22 At Inner Gardens, old iron shelving is newly transformed into giant, very heavy, dining tables - very beautiful!

23 I loved these wicker chairs, painted a nondescript shade of gray - they were comfortable and sturdy.

24 A low, wide, prostrate aloe planted with echevarias, in an incredibly lovely stone planter.

25 A stone terra cotta colored planter filled with succulents

26 An amazing ancient cactus - well-planted in an iron container

27 The only artificial thing in inner gardens was this very lifelike bonsai tree.

28 Three ponytail palms planted in a large Chinese pot

29 Shapely bronze dishes at Inner Gardens created by a sculptor

30 Another shapely dish

31 At Rooms and Gardens, the lovely shop owned by Mary Steenburgen, I found a pair of over-sized lanterns - these can be used indoors or out.

32 A closeup of the iron hanging lanterns, which I loved. Mary's shop has an eclectic assortment of home furnishings, ranging from lamps, wicker, candles, linens, and dishes.

March 16th, 2010

From Gurgling to Raging

Last week, the weather reports, once again, were forecasting heavy winds and driving rain throughout the weekend.  As it turned out, this was no idle threat because what arrived was one stubborn storm, bringing with it, hurricane force winds and torrential downpours.  I felt extremely fortunate that the Bedford area was spared any great damage because so many surrounding locals were hit extremely hard.  Huge trees were toppled, homes were wrecked, electricity was lost, and low-lying areas were badly flooded.  I was also deeply saddened to hear of loss of life associated with this storm.

On Saturday evening, when the winds subsided, I took a drive around my farm to survey any damage, which was minimal.  What was impressive were all of the streams on my property.  After more than five-inches of rain that fell in a very short period of time, those gurgling rivulets became raging torrents.  I shot these photos at around 8 PM.  How did you fare during this storm?  We’d love to hear.

1 This raging brook is normally a gurgling little rivulet.

2 In many places, the water ran way over the banks and onto surrounding woods and fields.

3 In this photo, you can clearly see the raging waters flooding the woods.

4 This is a very deep pool that formed - the rising river waters swept sticks and twigs from the banks, towards their ultimate destination - the Cross River Reservoir.

5 The churning waters were quite muddy from all of the erosion, caused by the heavy rains and high winds.

6 The little bright dots you see are actually illuminated rain drops, caused by the light of the camera flash.

7 When the water rushes like this, I wonder what becomes of the small fish that live in the shallows of the streams. Do they, too, wash down to the reservoir?

8 In dry weather, there is no stream, whatsoever, here. These low areas become small rivulets to accomodate the flowing water from the rains and the drains.