Playing With Polyvore - Spring Evening On Mulholland Drive

This Spring by belle de ville featuring sandal heels

By the Beach in Bridgehampton

Feeling the heat?  What you need is a modest house by the beach.  This one is for sale.

What a perfect place to cool off for the hot summer months
before the big chill really sets in

There is something very Gatsbyesque about the house don't you think?

Downsizing - The Bel Air Way

 

Well this is good to know

America's most expensive mansion just sold

Mohamed Haddid the former owner of the Ritz Carlton Hotels was asking a mere $72 million for Le Belvedere, his 48,000 square foot pied a terre in the hills of Bel Air. The actual sale price is unknown but it had to be north of $50 million.

 

In addition to its 10 bedrooms and 14 bath rooms, the little country cottage boasts a gym, a 20 car garage, an indoor theater that seats 50

and a Moroccan room with a Turkish bath because what fine Bel Air home doesn't need that!

Hadid says he chose to sell because he is "downsizing" his life. He's also confident that the properties he builds are unique enough to lure buyers, even in a down market.

"These are very special homes. I can pretty much ask for anything I want," he says. "There are certain properties that are so unusual, people are afraid they will lose the opportunity to buy them. Even if the market is 5% or 10% below, people with substantial funds will come in and say, 'let's do this now.'"

 
Over at Drudge Millionaire's Riches are Returning to Pre-Crises Levels
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals with more than $30 million to invest saw their wealth rise by almost 22 percent in 2009, faster than other millionaires, according to the report, which attributed the gain to a “more effective re-allocation of assets.” 

It's good to know that everything is back to pre-crises status quo...except of course for the 2.3 million jobs that have been shed since 2009.

Around Town - Fred Leighton Opens On Rodeo Drive

How does this happen?
Seriously, I want to know.
How does a company that is basically bankrupt open a store on the priciest real estate in the US.?

First there is the chapter 11 auction mess between Christies, Merrill Lynch and Ralph Esmerian.

Next we get Peter Bacanovic brought in to run the company.

Then the Fred Leighton Store on Rodeo Drive.

Being a good neighbor, also on the 300 block of Rodeo, I stopped into the store this week.

And I was duly impressed.

The goods are gorgeous and the store is sumptuous.

And...having Fred Leighton across the street is great for my business...

Looking For A Bargain?

Well it's official...it's getting tough all over. Even private jets are going on sale!

From Luxist.com

Anyone want to buy some Eclipse 500 very light jets? Now that the DayJet, air taxi operation has folded, their 28 Eclipse 500 planes are looking for a home. DayJet had originally ordered 1,400 of the small jets for their planned network of fights but closed up shop in September citing the current economic crisis and the inability to secure funding as causes. The 28 are now up for sale and are being sold "as is" with DayJet logos and interiors. The DayJet Eclipses had accumulated no more than 450 hours each. There are three different configurations of the jets. Eclipse hasn't disclosed a price for the aircraft but some have estimated that it would be in the $1.5 million range per plane.

So bargain shoppers...here's your chance to get into your own private jet for only about $1.5 million!

Boy, if this trend continues, you might be able to pick up that house in the hills and a big white diamond at bargain prices too...