The 30-year-old actress was joined at the event by Jennifer Hudson …Hope you all have a festive season filled w/ joy and cheer! #letitsparkle… FULL ARTICLE AT Just Jared Stepping out for a swanky evening, Jessica Alba hosted the Swarovski Elements Installation for Rodeo Drive 2011 Holiday Decor last night . Read more: Jessica Alba: Holiday Lighting Ceremony with Jennifer Hudson
Posts Tagged ‘ west hollywood ’
Chris Brown Snag Sexy New Crib in Hollywood Hills
BUYER: Chris Brown LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA PRICE: $1,550,000 SIZE: 2,473 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Listen chickens, Your Mama wouldn’t know a Chris Brown ditty if it walked up, kicked us hard in the soft of our shin and called us a jive-talkin’ turkey. What little we know about the young R&B/pop musician comes exclusively from what we’ve read on the blogs and in the tabs and gossip glossies, which is to say, what we know ain’t not particularly flattering. We know he smacked (or otherwise assaulted) former gal pal Rihanna a few years ago and we know that more recently he’s worked the last nerves of at least a few of his neighbors at the 7-unit West Hollywood condo complex where in February 2011 he paid $1,600,000 for a penthouse pad with 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. A few minutes research on the interweb turns up various and scads of stories about young Mister Brown (and/or his guests) parking their luxury automobiles in two of the building’s underground parking spots marked for use by handicapped folks. However, for the record, his big-name legal man Mark Geragos claims Mister Brown’s deed shows the two handicap parking spots belong to his penthouse and in September (2011) 95 of 117 pending parking tickets incurred by Mister Brown were dismissed after the a court determined the parking spaces were indeed assigned to Mister Brown’s penthouse. Mister Brown’s neighbors’ complaints do not, alas, end with the in-the-end not-illegal parking matters. They also say he and his entourage blast music at all hours of the day and night, race dogs in the building’s corridors–What?!?–and over the summer the po-po were summoned to the premises after it was reported someone carved the initials “C.B.” into the elevator doors. Mister Brown alleges it was one of his disgruntled neighbors who carved on the elevator doors in order to make him look bad. Could be. Stranger things have certainly happened. Whatever the case, Mister Brown was clearly not well liked by his neighbors and smartly opted to get out of Dodge, or out of West Hollywood anyways. The tatted-up 22-year old was widely reported to have vacated the premises in early November (2011) and in mid-November it was reported by Radar Online he’d “bought a swanky Hollywood Hills Mansion for a cool $1.5 million.” Your Mama would surely have looked right on past Mister Brown recent real estate activities–he’s not really in our orbit of interest–were it not for the rather surprising number of queries we’ve had about his new digs. It took us a day or two to get things sorted out but after a few queries, a couple of dead ends and a report on The Daily forwarded by Jezebel Justwantstoknow, Your Mama has ascertained that Mister Brown decamped to a fairly recently built and decidedly contemporary crib that clings dramatically to a precariously steep slope in a rugged (and quiet) ravine above Lake Hollywood in a neighborhood known as the Hollywood Dell. Yes, children, there is an actual (man-made) lake in Hollywood . Anyhoo, it’s not entirely clear to Your Mama if Mister Brown leased or purchased the hillside house in question but property records do indicate that a mysterious corporate entity did indeed acquire the residence in mid-October (2011) for $1,550,000. Whether he bought or rented–it does appear to Your Mama, who does not know a gnat from a violin, that he bought the sexed-up residence–Mister Brown’s ludicrously painted Lamborghini Gallardo was reported by The Daily to have been seen parked in the street-level two-car garage that has a clear glass door, which ain’t the best way to keep the prying eyes of anyone from identifying one’s easily identifiable whip, you know? The multi-level residence, designed by noted and accomplished L.A.-based architect Jay Vanos , sits high–very, very high–above the narrow and winding street. One old listing we dug up states that the top of the house soars more than 100 feet above the street, high enough to make someone with even a mild case of acrophobia to sweat like a sow and shriek with anxiety. The main portion of the house is accessible by either a butt-busting exterior staircase or private elevator that more easily whisks residents and guests up from the street level interior entry, past the separate guest quarters atop the garage to an exterior glass-railed bridge that spans a plunge-sized swimming pool and spa below and connects to the main entry to the glassy, multi-story main house. Inside there’s a double-height living room with towering walls of glass with canyon views, fireplace with flat-screen mounted above and ebony wood floors under foot. The living room is open to a sleek Boffi brand kitchen with charcoal-colored cabinetry and what looks to Your Mama like stainless steel counter tops but may very well be something else entirely. Above the kitchen there looks to be a lofted office/sitting room. The top level master suite, separated from the staircase by a glass wall that stretches from wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling, is open completely open to the bathroom that includes a free-standing soaking tub, separate glassed-in shower stall, and long, double sink vanity. It’s all terribly sexy in that Miami hotel suite sort of way but we can imagine it could be awfully annoying for a couple who have different schedules and routines to have to listen and watch their partner do their morning and/or evening ablutions. The custom-designed house is, as per listing information we teased out of the internets, was designed with a green roof and is kitted and fitted with all the latest high-tech electronic gadgetry that includes a Crestron home automation system, state-of-the art audio and video security systems, and LED lighting displays throughout including in the swimming pool and jacuzzi that lights up like a damn disco at the flip of a switch. As far as we know and/or can tell, Mister Brown has yet to lease or list his West Hollywood penthouse although we don’t expect he’ll want to keep it since at least some of the other residents of the complex seem to loathe the entertainer with every fiber of their real estate beings. listing photos: Nicholas Property Group via Southern California Homes Originally posted here: Chris Brown Snag Sexy New Crib in Hollywood Hills
Rescue Dog of the Week: Major the American Bulldog/Husky Mix
Major is a young, male American bulldog/husky mix who was surrendered to a shelter because his previous family was moving. He has lots of energy and is a total lover of his human pals. This pup has some training, is neutered and up to date with his routine shots. Major is in need of a foster home, or even better, a forever home. Ace of Hearts is a 501c-3 dog rescue foundation dedicated to rescuing dogs—the day they are to be euthanized—from various Los Angeles shelters and placing them in loving homes. It does not take dogs in. It rescues only from shelters. Its adoption days are normally held every Saturday at the West Hollywood Petco at 508 N. Doheny Drive from 1-4 p.m. Click here for information on how to adopt a rescue dog from Ace of Hearts. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Visit link: Rescue Dog of the Week: Major the American Bulldog/Husky Mix
Former Friends Star David Schwimmer Lists L.A. Mansion
SELLER: David Schwimmer LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA PRICE: $10,700,000 SIZE: 11,336 square feet, 9 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms YOUR MAMAS NOTES: There are three–make that four–main reasons why celebrities, high profile people and others with the ducats to indulge their multi-million dollar real estate whims: death, marriage, divorce and/or the birth of a child. Since former Friends actor David Schwimmer got married last year in an all-but-secret ceremony and then pushed out a baby in May 2011 it’s really not such a surprise to any of us real estate gossips that he and his new missus-mommy Zoe Buckman–a former waitress and part-time photographer from London–recently heaved his long-time bachelor pad in Los Angeles’ hoity-toity Hancock Park area on the market with an asking price of $10,700,000. Since Friends went off the air in 2005 Mister Schwimmer hasn’t been very busy in front of the camera instead preferring a recurring voice over role in the Madagascar animated film franchise and directing a few things here and there including live studio segments for the long ago canceled Little Britain USA , a short-lived sketch comedy series that starred the deliciously campy, button-pushing British actor/comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas, who recently snatched up his own house in Los Angeles. Property records show Mister Schwimmer acquired his gated and high-hedged Hancock Park spread way back in May 2001 when he paid $5,600,000 for the 1-plus acre estate located in the fancy heart of one of the better pockets of the historic, affluent, and celebrity-friendly Hancock Park ‘hood. Listing information indicates Mister Schwimmer’s massive two-story Mediterranean mansion was built in 1926, measures 11,000 square feet–the L.A. County Tax Man shows it’s 11,336 square feet–and contains 9 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms and 5 fireplaces. We’re not sure if those bedroom and bathroom counts include the detached guest house, located above the detached 3-car garage and described in listing materials as “a modern loft experience,”that has its own living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Current listing photos are few and limited only to exterior shots of the house and grounds but listing information does indicate the interior spaces include formal living and dining rooms, a wood paneled library, stone-walled den, and a newly-installed state-of-the-art screening room. While the house was largely remodeled when Mister Schwimmer acquired it he did do over the back yard, install new heating and air conditioning systems and restored the windows, doors and hardwood floors.
Monday Morning Morsel: Rihanna
Thanks to Our Fairy Godmother in Beverly Hills Your Mama recently learned that Grammy-winning pop music sensation Rihanna (née Robyn Fenty) has somewhat quietly floated her water-logged Beverly Hills, CA mansion on the market with an asking price of $4,500,000. The children may recall that the Barbados-born international superstar snatched up the very contemporary crib high in the hills above Beverly back in September 2009 when she paid $6,900,000 for the then newly constructed 8 bedroom and 10 bathroom celebrity-size mansion. Just over a two years later, in late August (2011), it was revealed and widely reported by all the celebrity and real estate gossips that Riri was mad as a wet cat and had filed a lawsuit against the property developer (and a slew of others) that claims design and construction defects repeatedly allowed (rain) water to infiltrate and cause significant damage to various parts of the house after even the most moderate of rain storms. The gist and heart of the legal matter is that Rihanna (and her team of legal eagles and business managers) alleges the house was poorly constructed and leaks like a sieve when it rains. The suit goes on to claim the seller–named in property records and legal documents as Heather Rudomin–was or should have known about and disclosed the defects. In California, as in many states, sellers of real property must disclose any known defects or issues that might affect the value, use or enjoyment of the property. Not to disclose known faults constitutes fraud. A document provided to Your Mama by Our Fairy Godmother in Beverly Hills makes no bones about the current condition of the hill topping city view property–pictured in the document looking abandoned with paper and debris strewn over the front motor court–as having “significant water intrusion & moisture issues throughout” as well as “encroachment issues.” Furthermore, the listing states the property may be “subject to short sale” and that the seller “will consider all offers.” We don’t know the status of Miss Riri’s lawsuit against the property developer or any of the other many folks named in the suit, but it’s clear she’s ready to put this real estate episode behind her even if it means a multi-million dollar gut punch to her pocketbook. Note: listing photos above show the house as it appeared when Rihanna purchased the property and may or may not reflect the current condition and/or day-core of the home. aerial photo: Google listing photos: Coldwell Banker Previews International More here: Monday Morning Morsel: Rihanna
John Randolph Hearst, Jr., dies
Weekend Nugget Number Two: Jennifer Aniston
Rumor has it sitcom star and romcom queen Jennifer Aniston caught a costly case of the Celebrity Real Estate Fickle. Since she landed a co-starring role (and earned many tens of millions of dollars from) Friends Miz Aniston has lived primarily in Los Angeles. In April of this year (2011), with an itch to spend more time in The Big Apple where her actor man-beau Justin Theroux ( American Psycho, Six Feet Under, John Adams mini-series) resides, Miz Aniston coughed up $2,069,084 for a 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom apartment directly below a compact 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom penthouse with wrap around terraces that she bought at the same time from hairstyling honcho Sally Hershberger for $4,950,000. The plan, presumably, was to combine the two small apartments located in a top-notch Bing & Bing building in the West Village into a still not particularly large duplex penthouse with 270 degree views from downtown to Midtown Manhattan. Alas, Miz Aniston has reportedly changed her real estate mind and signed contracts to acquire a pricey pad in a particularly posh building that overlooks private, pristine and historic Gramercy Park . The high-style, full-service building was developed by boutique hotelier and property developer Ian Schrager, designed by soo-blime minimalist architect John Pawson and has only 23 apartments (some have been combined). Residents have access to the copious amenities of the adjacent Gramercy Park Hotel –once funky now terribly chic and owned by Mister Shrager, natch–including room service, housekeeping, valet parking with car wash services, event planning and butler services, personal shopping and delivery services, and membership to the hotel spa and David Barton gym. We assume the apartment comes with a key to gated Gramercy Park across the street. Listing information shows the apartment Miz Aniston is (allegedly) on the cusp of acquiring, listed at a superstar-sized $8,700,000, measures 2,873 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and pocketbook punishing monthly maintenance and common charges of $11,258. Gorgeous wood floors run throughout the apartment that has generous 11’8″ ceilings and over-sized windows with park and courtyard views. The contemporary crib features a long entrance gallery with nearby powder pooper, and a large living/dining room with fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows, a sleek center island eat-in kitchen. The park view master suite has a walk-in closet/dressing room larger than some New York City studio apartments and an attached bathroom with two sinks, a tub for two and separate shower cubicle. Each of the two guest rooms–both set up as a nursery by the seller–has large windows and en suite terliting and bathing facility. We imagine (and hope) Miz Aniston will bring in her team of smart architects and nice, gay decorators to remove the twee and toile-ish day-core of the seller and replace it with something more appropriate for a gal whose tastes run more towards modern than Connecticut country house in the city. Other residents–or at least owners–of apartments in the swank building include blue chip gallerist Alexander Acquavella and German-born but Paris-based haute fashion über-icon Karl Lagerfeld who has his little (or never) used unit in the building currently on the market with an asking price of $5,200,000 . We can’t fathom why Miz Aniston would switch real estate gears and head for Gramercy Park so quickly after spending more than seven million clams on two downtown apartments but, if we’ve said it once we’ve said to 56,417 times, such are the often fickle and inexplicable real estate ways of the rich and/or famous. Back on the left coast Your Mama hears through the celebrity real estate gossip grapevine Miz Aniston has gone on the hunt for a new Tinseltown residence to lay her perfectly-maintained tresses after she was kissed by the real estate leprechaun in June (2011) when she sold her just renovated Beverly Hills, CA mansion to a mutual fund mogul from Orange County for a gasp-worthy $35,000,000 after just two months on the open market with an even more gaspy price tag of $42,000,000 . More than one of Your Mama’s many Platinum Triangle informants have snitched to us that Miz Aniston has peeped and poked around a number of deluxe homes in the ten million dollar range including a one-acre ridge-top spread in Beverly Hills owned by the scion of a prominent Los Angeles family as well as a sleek and sexy Hal Leavitt-designed house in the Trousdale Estates area of Bev Hills owned by AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, decorated by Kelly Wearstler and recently acquired for well over $10,000,000 by music industry super-tycoon Simon Cowell. Until she picks and purchases a fancy-pants new pad in Los Angeles, Miz Aniston and Mister Theroux have leased a temporary love nest in the form a modestly sized but still quite pricey gated residence near the tippy-top of the star-studded Bird Streets neighborhood above the Sunset Strip. We don’t know what the couple coughs up each month for the 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom ranch-style residence but we do know it was last available with a $20,000 per month price tag. Once again, we’re not sure why Miz Aniston would opt to cough up twenty grand a month to rent a house when she has long owned another residence in the Bird Street neighborhood that is, buy our rudimentary calculations, just over half a mile from her and Mister Theroux’s rental. But again, who are we to make sense of the wacky ways of celebrities and other high profile peeps with pockets deep enough to indulge their every real estate whim and desire? listing photos and floor plan: Prudential Douglas Elliman More: Weekend Nugget Number Two: Jennifer Aniston
Tuesday Tidbit: Courtney Cox
Word recently slipped down the West Coast celebrity real estate gossip grapevine that sitcom star Courtney Cox ( Friends, Cougartown ) has added to her impressive real estate portfolio with a condo in the storied and star-stocked Sierra Towers building on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, CA. Property records show Miz Cox, separated from but still working with husband David Arquette, dropped $2,050,000 on the high floor residence in the full-service building. Records show the unit contains 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms in 1,672 square feet of interior space as well as a long balcony with views to the north and east. Miz Cox acquired the condo-crib from a not-famous short-term owner who, according to records we peeped, purchased the unit less than six months earlier for $1,450,000. Property records also show that just weeks after Miz Cox purchased her Sierra Towers aerie former cast mate Matthew Perry–himself on a bit of a real estate roll –dumped a 2 bedroom condo in the building he’d bought in April 2005 for $3,200,000 and sold at a huge loss in late September (2011) for $2,850,000. Some of Miz Cox’s new neighbors at Sierra Towers include a lot of high profile peeps like Cher, Elton John, Joan Collins, Diahann Carroll, and diet guru/social doyenne Nikki Haskell. Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne currently lease a unit in the building, which they had worked over by Million Dollar Decorator Martyn Lawrence Bullard , and past renters have included the likes of tabloid fixture Lindsay Lohan and stylist to the stars Rachel Zoe. In early 2007, after selling a spectacular John Lautner-designed house on Malibu’s Carbon Beach for $27,500,000 to dueling divorcees Frank and Jamie McCourt, Miz Cox (and Mister Arquette) spent $17,150,000 on a much more private bluff top compound she had worked over by architect Michael Kovac and much published nice, gay decorator Trip Haenisch . The property was featured in the July/August 2011 issue of Elle Decor magazine. In addition to their Malibu spread and a West Hollywood office building where their production company is based, Miz Cox and Mister Arquette also own two Beverly Hill residences located just a half a mile away from the Sierra Towers building. In June 2004 they spent $5,450,000 on a a sleek mid-century modern originally designed by A. Quincy Jones they they had done over by architect Cory Bruckner and in late 2008 property records show they scooped up an adjacent property for an unknown sum and unknown reasons. Back in mid-September (2011), just about the same time she was closing on her new condo at the Sierra Towers , Your Mama heard from an informant we’ll call Ivana Blowarealestatewhistle that the Cox-Arquette crib–the one with the circular swimming pool–is being readied for sale with an asking price of around $20,000,000 but that’s just celebrity real estate rumor and gossip at this point children, just rumor and gossip. Read the original: Tuesday Tidbit: Courtney Cox
WeHo Halloween Good for Business
Thousands descended upon West Hollywood Monday night to enjoy what some say is largest Halloween street party in the United States. While the party can bring in some big bucks to local businesses, the event… Photo Credit: Julie Brayton Read more here: WeHo Halloween Good for Business
Melody Godfred: The Nightmare Before Halloween: LACMA’s Dead Man’s Ball
After LACMA’s sold out Dead Man’s Ball on Saturday night, we may want to consider renaming Halloween after Tim Burton (Burtonween? Halloburton? That might scare people a bit too much). His influence was seen and felt everywhere, as a diverse crowd of partygoers paid homage to the king of underworld-inspired cinema with elaborate costumes including The Mad Hatter, Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride and Jack Skellington. This year, LACMA’s annual Muse Costume Ball gave Burton’s character center stage for a festive night of music and art. The event spanned several unique spaces within the museum, from an outdoor reception near LACMA’s signature installation “Urban Light,” a multi-room indoor space with a dance floor and of course, the Tim Burton exhibit itself, which was open all night in honor of its closing weekend. Walking through the exhibit, it felt as though Burton’s eccentric characters had escaped from their eternal resting places (sketches, sculptures and films) for a night of revelry, transforming LACMA into the scene of a Burtonesque Night At The Museum . The night also featured The Bumbys , an anonymous, masked couple that gave ghoulish guests a typewritten “fair and honest appraisal” of their appearance. A long line of costume-clad attendees excitedly awaited their judgment, which was contained in a short description (an original blend of intellect, wit and absurd pop culture references) and a numerical rating. In a night full of avant-garde entertainment, The Bumbys stood out for engaging the crowd, with everyone eagerly sharing their clever appraisals with each other. Other highlights included a rocking performance by She Wants Revenge , roving concerts by Killsonic (a 25-piece punk, jazz orchestra that dropped dead at the end of their show), DJ Beatlejuice (aka DJ Jeremiah Red) and several costume contests. The drink of the night was “The Afterlife Elixer” (Kanon Organic Vodka, lemon verbena bitters, simple syrup, soda and mint), which definitely kept partiers rallying until the close of the Dead Man’s Ball at 12:30 am. Although the event had light appetizers, guests also had the option of dining at LACMA’s restaurant, Ray’s and Stark Bar, which offered a Halloween-themed prix fixe menu that included Jack-O-Lantern Soup, Meat and Bones (hanger steak) and blood sausage. Now in its eighth year, LACMA’s Muse Costume Ball is known for drawing the best costumes in town. After this year’s Burton-inspired spectacle, it’ll be interesting to see how LACMA tops itself next year. Photos by Brian Brown of thebeeseye.com Read the original: Melody Godfred: The Nightmare Before Halloween: LACMA’s Dead Man’s Ball