What I Am Not Doing In Las Vegas

Vintage Lapis Jewelry

Social Primer For Father's Day

Father's Day...is it here already? Well, just about.
It always sneaks up on me and I rush around at the last minute trying to find just the right gift.

You might want to check out Beladora's selection of cufflinks....and if you don't see something there that you like, send an email or call the office, because there are at least a hundred more pairs to choose from.

And, my bow tied buddy, LA's Social Primer, has a fabulous collection of well mannered monogrammed items to choose from. Please check out his site with well written articles and the SP shop with well edited gifts.

I adore these monogrammed cards
the SP Shop

Recession Vegas Style

Recession...what recession?
The Bellagio was so packed with people yesterday that I had to stand in line for at least 1/2 hour to check in, and they didn't even have a room ready....and how many rooms are there in this hotel.... Admittedly the casino looks a little quieter that usual but there are still loads of the people here, wedding parties, business groups, guys on golf trips, poker players and the usual tourists.

Playing With Polyvore - Tautological Theologian

"The best theology is rather a divine life than a divine knowledge."- Jeremy Taylor
(Another Miss de Ville Production)

Jeggings - The New Skinny On Jeans

From New York Magazine
When Trends Collide Just when you thought skinny jeans couldn't get any skinnier, the marketing geniuses at Topshop introduce a new term into our fashion vocabulary: Jeggings. (Or Treggings, to you Brits.) The brand's jean + legging hybrid is knit from cotton, polyester, and spandex, for that suck-it-in, painted-on look without the loss of circulation in your lower half. The Topshop site helpfully suggests that you pair these with an animal-print tunic (tunimal?).

Considering that most of the female population isn't 6 feet tall and 115 pounds with legs as long as Gisele Bundchen....are jeggings really a good idea?
Isn't painful enough that we have to wear skinny jeans which aren't exactly flattering for those of us without the DNA of a glamazon.

Hotel Hubris - Bring On The Bling

Yeah, I could be posting about this or this
But I bring you

From the Daily Mail
Hotel Hubris

It takes half an hour to cross the pool (by gondola, naturally). The spa has a room full of real snow. The bathrooms have gold-plated mirrors on the FLOOR. As Sharon, Paris and Mariah open Europe's most shameless temple of excess, can anyone afford to stay there?

The Mardan Palace

World recession or not

Frankly, the Mardan Palace must be seen to be believed. Russian billionaire Telman Ismailov spent more than £1billion on this project - and it shows.

The hotel itself - where suites cost up to £11,500 a night - is a temple to bling, fitted out with 2,500 tons of gold, 500,000 crystals and 23,000 square metres of Italian marble.

I thought that "If you build it they will come"

Apparently the hotel's owner thought that an opening with an hour long fireworks show and $200 Mouton Rothschild wasn't enough so he brought in the talent

for a price.

He's flown in superstar songstress Mariah Carey to perform (at a rumoured cost of £1 million) along with Tom Jones as the opening act. They are both on hand to entertain VIP guests including Ms Stone, Richard Gere and Paris Hilton, who have all been paid to attend and flown over on private jets for a blacktie party set to last for three days.

Seal was also a paid guest...SEAL!

Doesn't he have enough already with the music and the Heidi Klum empire?

Sharon Stone and Paris Hilton - aka the Bitch Brigade

Mariah Carey and Monica Belluci - aka the Diva Dames

Richard Gere and Tom Jones - aka the Silver Foxes

Of course with the paid talent you always get problems

Mariah Carey doesn't even bother to show up for her planned appearance at the press gathering, or the one-on-one interviews set up for afterwards, prompting several television crews to curse her audibly. She decides to stay in her room for what appears to be an extra four hours of hair and make-up.
Paris Hilton, meanwhile, arrives late and refuses to talk to anyone. The photographers are then called and asked to assemble before the evening's festivities because she has agreed to a photo session - which is a surprise to precisely no one.

Is any of this diva behavior a surprise?

So will this hotel live up to its sumptuous opening party and become a mecca for the European super-rich?
I'm no economist, but as the world slides deeper into recession, surely this is not the perfect time to be opening such a place. But then, perhaps the rich are not affected in the same way as the rest of us.
One seasoned Russian journalist is not so sure, though. 'Rich Russians go to France or England if they have the money - not Turkey,' he says. 'It's too much like our own country; the lifestyle and the people. Who will come here?'

Read the whole article....it's worth it just to read how the celebrities behaved in their press conference and how the reporter, a Mariah Carey look alike, was treated.

Hysterical

Around Town - Holiday Hiking - Sun and Snakes

Another thing to love about LA

This lovely trail...only a few miles from where I live

Cool and quiet, it seems like a million miles away.....not part of bustling Brentwood only minutes from the beach.

Summer has definitely arrived...Today I saw my first snake of the season which appeared to be a small rattlesnake sunning itself in the middle of the fire road.

Note to self: keep a couple of small rocks in my pocket to throw near snakes to gently encourage them to slither into the brush.

Memorial Day - Helping The Military By Humanitarian Aid

Sewing Centers for Women In Iraq Provide Clothes and Jobs

OK...now that we've established that I have the best job in the world, buying and selling estate jewelry...this Memorial Day I'd like to acknowledge and thank the men and women of the armed services who don't get to do anything so cushy as brandishing bling.

And...I'd like to tell you about Spirit of America, an organization that funds projects that help our military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and other locations abroad.

The Mission

Spirit of America's mission is to help Americans serving abroad assist people in need. We respond to requests from American military and civilian personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa for items that will help local people.

Objectives include:
Increase the reach, scale and impact of the informal humanitarian activities that take place on the front lines in troubled regions.
Contribute charitable goods that can have a positive, practical and timely impact in the local communities where American personnel are involved.
Establish connections and strengthen bonds between the American people and those in countries struggling for freedom and democracy.

The Organization:
Spirit of America is a 501c3 nonprofit supported solely through private-sector contributions. We do not receive funding from the government or military. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible.

Here are some of their current projects:

SSG Dale Race in Afghanistan--Farming, Clothing & School Supplies Help Army SSG Race bring much-needed supplies to Kunar Province Valley

SSG Dale Race stationed near Kunar Province Valley Afghanistan contacted SoA to help with the need in this rural area in Northeast area of Afghanistan. SSG Race wrote, "I would like your help with providing basic subsistence items to a few local Afghan farmers and their children in our area of operation in the Kunar province. Most farmers and families lack some of the things we take for granted every day such as fresh water, food, education and clothing." With your contributions to this project, SoA will supply items such as shovels, rakes, baby blankets, clothing, school supplies and more.

What does your donation buy?
$500 buys 50 blankets

$250 buys 10 heavy duty shovels

$150 buys one 125 lb spreader

$50 purchases 5 school kits

Navy HM1 Ward-Women & Children's Engagement ProjectEmpower Iraqi women and children with education, literacy and sewing center supplies

Fleet Marine Force Corpsman (HM1) Charlotte Ward is serving with the 1/4 Battalion's Caleb Platoon near Fallujah, Iraq. She wrote to Spirit of America to secure supplies for women and children to provide them a support system to combat the instability they face on a daily basis and to empower their self-sufficiency through education, literacy and a sewing center. Your contributions to this project to benefit HM1 Ward's request will help to bring practical assistance and hope to Iraqi women and children in need.

What does your donation buy?
$350 purchases one sewing machine
$100 purchases 10 school kits
$50 purchases one set of sewing accessories, buttons, notions and thread

Army Major Poirier-Bring Light and Hope to AfricaHelp Army Maj. Michael Poirier bring supplies to children and solar lanterns to Senegal

Poverty, lack of education and limited access to basic utilities make circumstances difficult for many in Senegal. Army Major Michael Poirier contacted Spirit of America to help provide basic supplies such as school kits, hygiene kits and soccer balls. In addition, solar powered lanterns are needed to bring light where no electricity is available. Your generous contributions to this project will allow Spirit of America to provide all of these supplies and more.

What does your donation buy?

$680 purchases 10 solar lanterns

$100 purchases 10 school kits

$50 purchases 10 hygiene kits

And projects being implemented:

Marines Seek Clean Water for Iraqi Villages

Help bring water purification systems to small villages along the EuphratesRead More > >
Army Captain Selph-Wheelchairs for Afghanistan

Help Army Cpt. Terri Selph provide wheelchairs to Afghans injured by land minesRead More > >
SPC Kissam in Iraq- Items for Iraqi orphans

Help Chaplain Assistant SPC Kissam Adopt an Orphanage!!Read More > >
Chaplain Damon Saxton Iraq-School supplies

Help Army Chaplain Damon Saxton provide school supplies to kids in Southern IraqRead More > >
Army Corps of Engineers Angela Drinkwitz-Community Learning Center for Girls and Young Women

Help Army Corps of Engineers personnel equip Sewing Center in International ZoneRead More > >
Help Army Chaplain Murphy Bring Clean Water To Iraq

Help turn the 'Triangle of Death' into the 'Triangle of Hope'Read More > >
Support 'Football for Peace' in Wardak Province

Help Army Cpt. Greg Schaefer bring the benefits of sports to Afghan youthRead More > >
Army Major Cintronolivieri Seeks Support for Central Iraq

Civil Affairs team in Balad, Iraq needs clothes, sports equipment, hygiene and school suppliesRead More > >
Help Army SFC John Ingrum Help Iraqi Children

SFC Ingrum serving in Habur Gate, Iraq wants to help Iraqi kids get off the streets and back in schoolRead More > >
Military Chaplains Help With Hearts for Baghdad

Support a clinic at Camp Victory that treats over 1200 Iraqis monthlyRead More > >
Army & Air Force Exchange Service Request for Iraq

Help Soldier in Iraq since April 2003 help the citizens in Habur GateRead More > >
Gifts for Children

Help US troops improve relations and bring hope to childrenRead More > >

From clean water to school supplies to wheelchairs for land mine victims, Spirit of America is working to bring immediate humanitarian assistance.

To make a donation:

100% of your donation to Spirit of America is tax-deductible
By Phone - Call 1-800-691-2209
By Check
Please make checks payable to Spirit of America and mail to:
Spirit of America

File 50315

Los Angeles, CA 90074-0315

or go here

Shopping Spree - Viva Las Vegas 2009

It's Vegas time again!

Seeing the new trends in Couture and Italian jewelry design and shopping for jewelry at the Antique Jewelry and Watch Show in Las Vegas...

Do I have the best job in the world or what!!!

Vintage Value Venture - BHB Summer Style

Shrimpton Couture Vintage Prada Dress $150

Beladora.com Christian Dior "Coquine" Yellow Diamond Dangle Earrings in $3250

(retail $8990!!!!!)

Beladora.com Retro Citrine and Ruby Ring $2250

Dorothea's Closet Vintage Blue Print Bag $115

When the weather gets this nice I like to spend my time outdoors...hiking, biking or yes...attempting to play tennis....I spend enough time indoors during the week at my office.

Still, when I'm not being sporty I do need something to wear for those warm nights out on the town.

And why would I spend time inside stores when I can find a vintage outfit like this online?

Playing With Polyvore - Charismatic Chemist

"No, this trick won't work... How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?" - Albert Einstein

Around Town - It's Not All Good

I love dogs as much as the next person....or blogger, Wendy, Jill, Pseu, Miss C, Belette...

I even own a dog

But like dog jewelry, this is just so wrong in so many ways

Party planning for dogs...yes it actually exists in Beverly Hills

Am I wrong or is there is something deeply disgusting about a society where people actually pay for party planners for pets?

DWTS Finale - Bringing On The Bling

Beladora Diamond Bling

The Credit

Rhonda Faber Green Diamond Chandelier Earrings

My take on the winner

OK so everyone knows that Shawn Johnson is a competitor with physical dexterity and olympian intensity...but what about flair, finesse, delicacy and grace and just plain sexiness?

Was Giles just too Gaulic to have won?

(Thanks to Daniela and to Carrie Ann for making the goods look so good!)

Playing With Polyvore - Happy Horticulturist

"You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think." - Dorothy Parker

(yes...how could we have not used this Dorothy Parker quote?)

Back From Buckhead

Imagine my trepidation when I realized this past week that I would have to take a quick one day trip to Atlanta....because seriously these women scare the hell out of me.

Luckily, I never came into contact with the Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Instead I met with some very nice people and wouldn't mind going back once a quarter for business.
But, the W Hotel in Buckhead is going to have to pay a little more attention to detail.
W people... is it too much to ask to have bottled water in the minibar and turn down service?
And just because the menu at your Market restaurant was created by Jean-Georges Vongerichten doesn't mean that your chef knows how to cook the dishes properly.
Next time I'm going to skip the restaurant and have my one cocktail at the rooftop Whiskey Blue bar and a club sandwich in my room.

Whiskey Blue on the rooftop of W Hotel Buckhead

Playing With Polyvore - Precocious Particle Physicist

"I am now convinced that theoretical physics is actually philosophy." - Max Born

another polyvore from Miss de Ville

Around Town - The Brentwood Tavern

The long awaited new restaurant, The Tavern, by uber chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques and AOC

has finally opened. OK, so maybe there was a serious problem with the service last Sunday night when it took the kitchen over an hour to serve steak tartare and pomme frites....But I'm still psyched to have a restaurant of this quality with reasonable prices in the hood, within walking distance.

Unlike Jill, I have to actually go out and forage to get good food, professional chefs aren't just showing up and cooking awesome meals for me at home.....

Playing with Polyvore - Sophisticated Semiotician

"Semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign. A sign is everything which can be taken as significantly substituting for something else. This something else does not necessarily have to exist or to actually be somewhere at the moment in which a sign stands in for it. Thus semiotics is in principle the discipline studying everything which can be used in order to lie. If something cannot be used to tell a lie, conversely it cannot be used to tell the truth; it cannot in fact be used 'to tell' at all. I think that the definition of a 'theory of the lie' should be taken as a pretty comprehensive program for a general semiotics." -Umberto Eco, Theory of Semiotics, 1976

(A Miss de Ville Production)

Around Town - Nature vs Culture and Nature Wins

Another springtime Sunday with so many choices, so little time
Shall it be hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains


Or, the John Adams opera "The Flowering Tree" at Disney Hall

OK, nature wins...I can listen to John Adams music on my ipod while I hike

Eurovision 2009

Eurovsision 2009 winner Alexander Rybeck of Norway

It just wouldn't be right if I didn't share it with you

Banking On The Brand - Or Just A Lot Of Goop

Oprah
Martha

Rachel

Tyra

Gwyneth

I was just wondering do we need another lifestyle guru?

Estee Lauder to lose £1m Gwyneth Paltrow as she plots her next career move... as a lifestyle guru

So here she is the woman who has everything

the looks, the rock star husband, the two adorable kids, the academy award

not to mention the $$$

‘But now she wants to expand her personal influence to become an Oprah Winfrey-like lifestyle guru via her website,’ says a source.

‘She wants to become a brand as herself and she would have been limited if she was tied down to this cosmetics deal. Ending it was a priority for her.’

God...it must have tough to have been tied down to a contract of a couple of million a year just for a few photo shoots a year....maybe what, 5 days of modelling for Estee Lauder ads per year

‘Gwyneth doesn’t want to be one of those women who rely on a make-up contract well into 50s to stay in the public eye. To her, that’s just pathetic.’

What's with the need to stay in public eye?

Could she be just a little bit more of a media whore?

What's up with her Goop website which is childish and pain to navigate?

Can someone tell me what makes Gwyneth an authority on anything?

Here's her recipe from Goop for a body scrub

Mix Turbinado sugar, olive oil and coursely (sic) ground coffee to soften and cleanse pores.

Coarsely ground coffee with olive oil

Sorry but that's just gross

And... I don't even know where to go with this

Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle website attracted controversy recently when she claimed shampoo could be linked with cancer

Did Gwyneth get a medical degree in between winning the Oscar for best actress and marrying Chris Martin?

Whatever happened to actresses living outside of the public eye like Meryl Streep?

Playing with Polyvore - Avid Anthropologist

"Anthropology was the science that gave her the platfrom from which she surveyed, scolded and beamed at the world." - Jane Howard

(A Miss de Ville Production)

So Much For The Sisterhood

From the American Lawyer
The End of Sisterhood
Posted by Dimitra Kessenides

The message is clear: Women are united, and they want their sisters to succeed.
But scratch the surface a bit deeper, and some members of the sorority tell another story: that women--particularly their immediate superiors--can be their worst tormentors. Fact is, despite the veneer of harmony and the decades of shared struggle, there's tension on the women's front. Talk to any group of women lawyers, and there will be plenty of war stories on the betrayals--real or perceived--that they have experienced at the hands of other women.

read the rest

From the New York Times
Backlash: Women Bullying Women at Work

It’s probably no surprise that most of these bullies are men, as a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, an advocacy group, makes clear. But a good 40 percent of bullies are women. And at least the male bullies take an egalitarian approach, mowing down men and women pretty much in equal measure. The women appear to prefer their own kind, choosing other women as targets more than 70 percent of the time.

read the rest


I work in a harem....no seriously I do. The office make-up is 8 women (the harem) to 1 man (the sultan). It is the perfect environment for an Organizational Development case study..maybe I should've paid more attention to the subject in B-school....then again the professor shouldn't have been such a smug bitch...but I digress.
Let's just say that it endlessly amuses me to sit back and watch the office dynamics.

And to anyone who thinks that the world would be a kinder, gentler place if controlled by a coterie of women....may I humbly suggest that you work in an office dominated by women and then give me your opinion....

The truth is ugly
h/t BL1Y

Always Optimistic

Always an optimist

I bring you

Top 5 Best Things To Have Come Out Of The Recession

from the DABA girls

5. Severance
4. Acceptable responses to everyone’s all time fav question “What do you do?” include “I’m still figuring that out”, “I’m taking some time to relax” or “Yeah, not sure.”
3. It’s actually possible to get a cab going downtown at 9 am.
2. Waiters don’t pressure you to buy bottles- tap water is finally assumed.
1. Crime is up, gentrification down. Soon modern day New Yorkers can claim to have street cred.

and

from the BL1Y lawyer boy

5. Bankruptcy. Firms are losing a lot of corporate work, but at least some of that is being made up for in bankruptcy jobs. Massive doc review will keep under-worked junior associates busy (and employed).
4. Getting to see firms that rejected my application layoff associates. Doubly good when someone I didn’t like works worked there.
3. Massive sales on clothes. Longer/better happy hours. If you didn’t lose your job, this basically equates to a raise.
2. UK dropped their student loan rates to 0%. Maybe the US will follow suit? Hope and change, baby, hope and change.
1. Bar tenders can now deal with drunk assholes by saying, “Do I come down to the unemployment office and harass you?”

and the BHB list

5. The A table is actually available at my favorite restaurant.

4. On street parking on Robertson, Melrose and Rodeo

3. Sales girls at Chanel are genuinely nice...not just fake nice

2. Prices are so reduced that I can finally afford to buy my own product

1. With the rise in foreclosures, that ranch property in Ojai is getting closer to being within my reach

Bidz.com - It's A Question Of Class

And by class I mean class action suit

Two Class Action Suits Filed Against Bidz.comTwo legal firms, the law offices of Howard G. Smith and Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, have filed separate class-action lawsuits against auction website Bidz.com for securities fraud. On behalf of those who purchased common stock of Bidz.com (BIDZ) between August 13 and November 26, 2007, the two firms allege that Bidz.com inflated the price of its stock by issuing misleading statements that disguised the company's problems. Attorneys for Bidz.com contend that the plaintiff's allegations are without merit, as they are based on a November 2007 report by Citron Research, which has since admitted that it held a short position in Bidz.com stock at the time of the report.

Music - The Toppers "Shine" On Eurovision

While Paris brings us 3 hot babes and a dance song
Amsterdam brings us....well I don't even know what to call this...




As the Manolo would say AYYYYY!

Music- Baby Baby Baby

OK...so Paris might not be the most stylish city
but the Parisians do come up with videos like this

Make The Girl Dance "Baby Baby Baby" ( official video )
by placeblancherec

Style In The City - London Over Paris

From Forbes.com

The World's Most Stylish Cities

Nicola Ruiz
From Berlin to Barcelona, these 10 buzzworthy spots epitomize cool.

Paris has La Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. New York is home to Fifth and Madison avenues. And shoppers need look no further than Via Monte Napoleone in Milan, Italy, for the latest prêt-a-porter.
But none can match London's cosmopolitan vibe. One third of the city's population was born outside Britain; that's 2.3 million Londoners sharing their cultural style, fashion and cuisine. This mix gives tremendous vibrancy to the city, the world's most stylish according to a recent survey.

While Paris came in second, Anholt says it's done less to deserve this elite spot than other cities. With no notable new buildings going up since the Arche de La Defense 20 years ago, and few new crowd-pleasing events of late, Anholt says that Paris, like Rome and Milan, is riding on its reputation.

Riding on its reputation....I love that phrase

(I might add that I am a Francophile...not a Parisophile)

Here's the List

London

Paris

Sydney

New York

Rome

Barcelona

Melbourne

Berlin

Amsterdam

Madrid

I'm OK with the fact that Los Angeles didn't turn up on this list.

It's too crowded here already and we don't need any more people

stylish or not.

And, I'm not sure whether or not I want La Belette to finish her

365 Things That Don't Suck About LA

Maybe she should stop now with Thing #1 The Getty

Playing With Polyvore - Budapest Bohemian

"The trouble with life in the fast lane is that you get to the other end in an awful hurry." - John Jensen

Playing With Polyvore - Luxe Lawyer

This one is for Beladora Babe and In House Counsel, Renee!!!

From Prehistoric Porn to Currin and Coco

The birth of sculpture?
From the New York Times
Full-Figured Statuette, 35,000 Years Old, Provides New Clues to How Art Evolved

Venus of Hohle Fels
John Currin

Coco

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Cartier at 100 - Feel The Love!

Looking for a little Cartier Love of your own?

Beladora Cartier Love Ring in 18K $995

h/t Gem Gossip