Winding Down From A Week Of Extremes

What a week of extremes

from the the utter devastation of an already impoverished country

to the non-stop activity on Rodeo Drive

specifically red carpet looks for this weekend's Golden Globe awards.

It's hard to think that these things matter in the grand scheme of all things

but they do for an industry that is extraordinarily important for Los Angeles

Yes, the Big Entertainment beast must be fed!

Gowns must be chosen and fitted

and the appropriate jewels borrowed

I'm actually looking forward to seeing who is going to wear what.

Maybe we will see a star in one of the stunning gowns that

Carrie posted this week.

My favorite of Carrie's gowns being the aqua dress by Jenny Packham,

a Georgian confection worthy of an Assembly Ball,

but alas, I've no need to buy it as the closest I'm going to get to any red carpet is hopefully seeing some Beladora bling adorning the neck of someone at the event.

Andrew Gn

Jenny Packham

Douglas Hannant

Graeme Black

A serious amount of my time this week was spent with CBS stylist

for Entertainment Tonight/The Insider

Anya Sarre

who is hardworking, talented, incredibly nice

and has les yeux de biche like you've never seen

In addition to styling the talent, Anya does her own segments ET/Insider including the Lara's Look For Less

Yes, team Beladora hearts Anya.

Part of me feels that that all of this red carpet stuff seems wrong in light of what happened in Haiti this week

and then I remember that this is where Hollywood and the entertainment community can really do some good. Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and so many more have stepped up to donate funds to relief efforts.

Hollywood is rallying to help Haiti in its time of need. With hundreds of thousands feared dead, George Clooney will host a telethon a week from Friday that will be broadcast by MTV, with Sting reportedly signed on. George's pals Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have pledged $1 million in humanitarian relief, in addition to approximate $10 million in relief The American Red Cross is releasing Thursday. The Red Cross has also opened its warehouse in Panama to provide tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets for thousands of families. They say that clothes are not helpful right now because there is nowhere to store them, no one to sort them, and it would be difficult to transport the items to Haiti.

Entertainment Tonight, along with actresses Olivia Wilde and Haitian born Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, has put out a request for funds for the American Red Cross

Here is the info

How you can help: Financial donations can be made at www.redcross.org, 1-800-REDCROSS 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or mail your donation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. The public can also help by texting "Haiti" to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. Funds will go to support American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

After such a long week I was very happy to finally settle into cocktails and dinner with friends at Fig Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica and to remember how lucky we are to live in LaLa Land.

Jewelry Biz - A Momento Mori for Martha

One of the many reasons why I love estate jewelry is that each piece has a story behind it. And most often, a love story.

Admittedly sometimes you know the story and sometimes you don't, but even not knowing the exact provenance of a piece of jewelry there is a sense that you are holding something meaningful.

Historically, jewelry was not commissioned or purchased in a casual way. There was almost always a specific reason that jewelry was created, gifted and worn.

With the exception of engagement or wedding rings, jewelry today has become primarily a fashion item. Prior to the 20th Century most jewelry while a form of adornment, had some specific significance such as a signet ring with a family crest or a tiara or practical purpose such as a fibula or chatelaine.

On occasion we can still see signet rings and tiaras...especially if we accustomed to attending formal events with European Royalty. But today one never sees a category of jewelry that was so commonly worn during the Georgian and Victorian periods, Mourning and Momento Mori jewelry, typically a locket or brooch often with a lock of hair, worn in memory of of a loved one.

Which brings me to this:

Christie's to auction Thomas Jefferson's watch key

New York--Christie's upcoming Americana Week 2010 sale in New York will feature a rare keepsake owned by much-revered American president Thomas Jefferson--a watch key that contains a lock of hair belonging to his wife, who died at the age of 33.

Conceived as a "memento mori," the engraved gold watch key contains a braided lock of hair from Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, who failed to recover from illness after giving birth to the couple's sixth child and died on Sept. 6, 1782, according to a Christie's press release.

It is believed that Jefferson, who never remarried, likely commissioned the watch key as a poignant reminder of his young wife in the years following her death. Two months after she passed away, Jefferson's grief is documented in a letter to the Marquis de Chastellux in which he described how he was "emerging from the stupor of mind which had rendered me as dead to the world as [she] was whose loss occasioned it."

The front of the key is engraved with Martha Jefferson's birth and death dates, and the reverse bears a clear case through which the braided lock of hair is visible. Made in England or France, this watch key could have been acquired abroad, when Jefferson served as commissioner and minister in Paris from 1784 to 1789, or from an American retailer who imported European watches.

The watch key is estimated to sell for somewhere between $40,000 and $80,000 at the auction, which is slated for Jan. 21, 22 and 25 at Christie's in New York.

Today it is difficult to think of Thomas Jefferson without thinking of his complicated personal life and his extended family. But this watch key, like so many pieces of antique jewelry, has a story of deep devotion behind it.

Romantic isn't it?

Around Town - Dinner Al Fresco In January

So last night at about 7:30 I closed up my office and headed down Rodeo Drive to have dinner with friends at Two Rodeo And just when I was crossing Dayton I asked this young man who was wearing shorts, probably a tourist from Alabama who was here for the football game, if I could take his picture.

Then I proceeded to have dinner at a table outside, wearing just a cashmere sweater on a January evening.

With apologies to my fellow bloggers, Miss Cavendish, K-Line, Sher, and all the others who are dealing with snow!

Cuisine Francais - a la "Old School'

I have an affection for 'old school' style restaurants and I remember having, maybe not great meals but great dining experiences at places like the "21" Club and the Rainbow Room. Los Angeles is all about the new new thing when it comes to food and there are very few traditional 'old school' restaurants left. So voila, New York.



This is the second time this week that I've read about this very traditional Manhattan restaurant Le Veau d'Or. Thanks to The Trad I found this video of Anthony Bourdain enjoying an old fashioned french meal. The Epic liked it so much that he dined there several times on his holiday vacation.

Definitely it will be on the top of my list for my next trip to New York.

Do you have an 'old school' favorite?

Big Bling For The Big Bang Theory Babe

I admit that I have absolutely no idea who this cute young actress is
but she does look rather adorable in the 2 carat diamond studs and Henry Dunay diamond ring, both in platinum, from Beladora.com.

OK...I've been enlightened.

This is Kaley Cuoco from the show 'The Big Bang Theory' which won the People's Choice Award For Best TV Comedy.

I've never seen the show and I doubt that you have either.