SELLER: Emilio Estevez
LOCATION: Malibu, CA
PRICE: $7,800,000*
SIZE: 3,731 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It has yet to pop up on the open market but Your Mama recently heard from a reliable celebrity real estate snitch whom we'll dub Debbie Doom that actor/writer/director Emilio Estevez has quietly floated his gated mini-compound on Malibu's celeb-popular Point Dume as an off-market listing with an asking price of $7,800,000.*
The Tinseltown scion, the eldest son of venerable veteran actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of the still somewhat erratic acting horn dog actor Charlie Sheen, was a founding member of the so-called Brat Pack, a small group of young actors who appeared in the iconic mid-1980s movies The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.** In the 1990s Mister Estevez's professional claim to fame came via the reasonably popular but almost universally panned sports comedy The Mighty Ducks and its two—Two!—sequels. Based on a careful perusal of his professional resume it seems to Your Mama that since in the early Aughts Mister Estevez has focused more directing boob-toob police procedurals and crime dramas (The Guardian, Cold Case CSI: NY, Numb3rs). He was last in the limelight back in 2006 when he wrote, directed, and appeared in the sprawling, star-studded, and not particularly well-received docu-feature Bobby.
Property records show Mister Estevez acquired the almost 1.1-acre estate near the geographic center of Point Dume back in April 2000 when he shelled out $2,200,000 for the then almost brand new residence that, as far as Your Mama knows, Mister Estevez still shares with his long time lady mate/fiancée, former Fulbright scholar turned boutique vintner Sonja Magdevski. The couple planted, nurtured, and now harvest the pinot noir vines that are planted across the property and, along with grapes they get from up in the Santa Ynez Valley, they produce artisanal wines under the Casa Dumetz label.
Marketing materials Your Mama managed to scare up out of the interweb describe the house as a "European influenced villa" that evokes "the best of Spanish hacienda traditions" with patinated antique-looking wood floors, arched doorways, stained glass, and loads of hand-painted frescoes. There are four en-suite bedrooms and five bathrooms in the single-story main house, which the L.A. County tax man puts it at 3,731 square feet, plus additional living space in a separate, self-contained guest house that's set just off the motor court opposite the two-plus car detached garage at the front of the house.
A shallow but wide foyer steps down into a sunny formal living room fitted with Old World-y architectural details such as a carved stone fireplace mantelpiece that may or may not be marble but either way looks like it was imported from some chateau somewhere, vaulted ceilings braced by magnificent muscular wood trusses, and a bank of curtain-framed French doors that open to a central courtyard.
One of the identical frescoed archways in the formal dining room connects to the cozily-scaled den/family room that has direct courtyard access and the other leads in to a spacious if somewhat tired-looking center-island kitchen with two-toned wood cabinetry—some of which may or may not be cherry, a four-stool snack counter, and a window-wrapped breakfast nook that overlooks the back yard. There are high-quality appliances, counter tops fashioned from some sort of marble or onyx, multi-colored Malibu tile detailing, lots of frescoing on the ceiling and on the stucco hood over the range, and a stained glass greenhouse window. If there's anything decoratively worse, children, than a greenhouse window over a kitchen sink it's a stained glass greenhouse window over a kitchen sink. Just. Say. No. Anyhoo...
A long hall off the living room leads back to the roomy master bedroom where there's a (second) fireplace and backyard views and access through large windows and French doors on three of the four walls. The attached master bathroom is has two sinks, at least two stained glass windows, an inelegant shower-tub combination, and the exact sort of white-veined green marble counter tops Your Mama expects to find in a Midwestern bank.
The back of the house wraps around three sides of a multi-level red brick courtyard with colorful Malibu tile detailing. Beyond the courtyard a hodge-podge of outdoor recreations and amusements include a simple rectangular swimming pool with attached spa, numerous long raised planting beds laden with organically grown fruits and veggies, a couple of sheds, and long, undulating rows of pinot noir vines. There are more grape vines on either side of the driveway, both inside and outside the motorized gate, at the front of the property.
Although Mister Estevez's future real estate plans remain a mystery, at least to Your Mama, we do knot that his parents still own a modestly sized gated residence just up the street that they picked up way back in 1973 for a measly $80,000. Also just a few doors down is germophobe comedian/t.v. presenter Howie Mandell's Nantucket-y contemporary mini-compound that's also for sale—but on the open market—with an asking price of $7,750,000, slightly higher than the $7,250,000 he listed the ocean view property at in 2011.
UPDATE (10/2/13): It appears, as was reported by the L.A. Times, that the asking price for Mister Estevez's mini-vineyard has officially been set at $7.8 million although this property gossip has digital evidence the listing agent originally shopped the property at $9.995 million, as we originally reported.
*Miz Doom assured Your Mama there's a for sale sign out front of the house and whispered that there was an invite-only broker's open house last week.
**The Brat Pack consisted primarily of Mister Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Low, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy.
listing photos: Mark Singer Photography for Hilton & Hyland
Thursday, September 26, 2013
A Love Affair With... Prints!
Happy Thursday dolls! Hope you've all been having a great week so far. I took these photos last week and have been so anxious to post because I really love these pants! I was hoping that they would have come in time for fashion week but they ended up getting here 2 days after I left for the city. Better late than never, right?

Sunglasses: Target/ Necklace & Earrings: C/O Prima Donna
Cuff & Black Ring: C/O Gorjana Griffin
A common theme in my closet is a ton of printed pieces. I've noticed lately how much I have been wearing them and I just can't seem to get enough. I truly am having a love affair with them! I've tried to experiment a little bit and wear prints that I haven't really worn before, like the one on these pants. I'm all about taking a color in a particular print and bringing it out with another piece in my outfit. So I decided to go for burgundy, which I am currently obsessing over this season. This blazer was perfect. I've already worn it three times and only got it the beginning of the month. It was only $19.99! This is why most of my blazers are from H&M. The quality is great and the price point is even better. I always get my moneys worth. If you haven't noticed yet, I am all for white this fall. I recently did a post on Fearless Fashionista explaining how to wear this trend!
I still have my NYFW Diary & recap of the shows, so I will probably put them together in a post soon. So stay tuned for that! :)
Have a great day loves!
<3
SHOP THE LOOK
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz Snags Chelsea Loft
BUYER: Adam Horovitz and Kathleen Hanna
LOCATION: New York City, NY
PRICE: $2,950,000
SIZE: 2,500-ish square feet, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We first heard it from a trusted celebrity real estate tattletale, The Rolling Stone, who also kindly pulled up and provided Your Mama with the public record evidence that Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz of Beastie boys fame and fortune and his riot grrrl activist wife, Kathleen Hanna, shelled out a close to three million clams for a loft-style co-operative apartment in New York City's Chelsea nabe.
We have yet to suss out a sale price but online listings show the high-floor residence was last priced at $2,950,000 and property records show the seller is an influential lady-executive and accomplished luxury goods expert who's currently employed at Ralph Lauren and who acquired the centrally situated co-op in 2007 for $1,995,000.
The boutique-sized building near the border between Chelsea and the bustling (and residentially trendy) Flatiron District was originally built in 1909 as a sewing factory and, at some point—we don't know when and aren't convinced it's important enough to figure out, was converted to a 16-unit residential co-operative. The building offers its well-heeled owners and residents roomy loft-style apartments, a newly renovated lobby, a separately keyed mail room, a state-of-the-art video security system, and a web-enabled virtual doorman. For all that, as per listing materials, maintenance charges for the apartment ring up to $3,600 per month.
Listing details show the 2,500-ish square foot spread has a compact but proper foyer—a too-rare feature in urban loft dwellings, two well-separated bedrooms, three on-the-small-side bathrooms with nary a window between them, a good-sized laundry room tucked behind the kitchen, and a central living/dining/kitchen space that stretches more than 42 feet from front to back.
Exposed concrete ceilings are laced—as code, no doubt—requires—by fire sprinkler piping and there are medium brown hardwood floors throughout the loft that look to Your Mama a little too perfect to be original to the building. Believe it or not, puppies, there are many people who detest open-plan layouts like this but the four over-sized and south-facing windows in the living room will surely appeal to all the city dwellers who appreciate natural light in their living spaces.
The spacious and expensively equipped kitchen is fitted with honey-gold toned Shaker style wood cabinets topped with sand-colored granite and high-grade appliances. We dig the pantry wall with its glass-fronted doors on the upper cabinets but we're bitterly vexed by that curved breakfast bar island. Why? Why make it curved? Nobody asked Your Mama what we think—and what we think matters piddly-squat, of course—but we think the curve is way too self-conscious and makes it appear as if the kitchen is trying way too hard to be cool or contemporary or—the worst—interesting. Anyhoodles, poodles...
Located less than optimally directly off the main living area, the lone guest/family bedroom has three closets, two south-facing windows, and floor-to-ceiling built-in book shelves that mean the room easily does double, triple and/or quadruple duty as a library/study/office.
Nestled privately at the very back of the apartment, the 26-foot long, trapezoidal-shaped master bedroom has three super-sized windows on two walls, plenty of room for a sitting area/reading nook, a small-ish attached bathroom slathered in honed marble, and a fitted walk-in closet that all by itself is a whole lot larger than a whole lotta studio apartments in lower Manhattan. Marketing materials suggest the master bedroom closet is so large it could be converted to a third bedroom but opt not to mention that the potential third bedroom would not have a window.
Avid celebrity real estate watchers may recall that last year, in April (2012), Mister Horovitz and Miz Hanna sold a 19th-century townhouse on Spring Street in SoHo for $5.5 million to a Canadian developer who, after a bitter battle with preservationists, razed the house and its next door neighbor last October to make way for a mixed use retail-condo building. Interestingly enough, one of the Canadian developer's creditors recently initiated foreclosure proceedings on a $5.6 million loan partially secured by the Spring Street townhouse because, they claim, the townhouse was razed without their permission. It's a tangled tale and, iffin any of y'all enjoy these sorts of property debacles, the kids at Curbed have a small archive with lots of links over more stories on the matter posted on other property-centric websites.
listing photos and floor plan: Halstead
LOCATION: New York City, NY
PRICE: $2,950,000
SIZE: 2,500-ish square feet, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We first heard it from a trusted celebrity real estate tattletale, The Rolling Stone, who also kindly pulled up and provided Your Mama with the public record evidence that Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz of Beastie boys fame and fortune and his riot grrrl activist wife, Kathleen Hanna, shelled out a close to three million clams for a loft-style co-operative apartment in New York City's Chelsea nabe.
We have yet to suss out a sale price but online listings show the high-floor residence was last priced at $2,950,000 and property records show the seller is an influential lady-executive and accomplished luxury goods expert who's currently employed at Ralph Lauren and who acquired the centrally situated co-op in 2007 for $1,995,000.
The boutique-sized building near the border between Chelsea and the bustling (and residentially trendy) Flatiron District was originally built in 1909 as a sewing factory and, at some point—we don't know when and aren't convinced it's important enough to figure out, was converted to a 16-unit residential co-operative. The building offers its well-heeled owners and residents roomy loft-style apartments, a newly renovated lobby, a separately keyed mail room, a state-of-the-art video security system, and a web-enabled virtual doorman. For all that, as per listing materials, maintenance charges for the apartment ring up to $3,600 per month.
Listing details show the 2,500-ish square foot spread has a compact but proper foyer—a too-rare feature in urban loft dwellings, two well-separated bedrooms, three on-the-small-side bathrooms with nary a window between them, a good-sized laundry room tucked behind the kitchen, and a central living/dining/kitchen space that stretches more than 42 feet from front to back.
Exposed concrete ceilings are laced—as code, no doubt—requires—by fire sprinkler piping and there are medium brown hardwood floors throughout the loft that look to Your Mama a little too perfect to be original to the building. Believe it or not, puppies, there are many people who detest open-plan layouts like this but the four over-sized and south-facing windows in the living room will surely appeal to all the city dwellers who appreciate natural light in their living spaces.
The spacious and expensively equipped kitchen is fitted with honey-gold toned Shaker style wood cabinets topped with sand-colored granite and high-grade appliances. We dig the pantry wall with its glass-fronted doors on the upper cabinets but we're bitterly vexed by that curved breakfast bar island. Why? Why make it curved? Nobody asked Your Mama what we think—and what we think matters piddly-squat, of course—but we think the curve is way too self-conscious and makes it appear as if the kitchen is trying way too hard to be cool or contemporary or—the worst—interesting. Anyhoodles, poodles...
Located less than optimally directly off the main living area, the lone guest/family bedroom has three closets, two south-facing windows, and floor-to-ceiling built-in book shelves that mean the room easily does double, triple and/or quadruple duty as a library/study/office.
Nestled privately at the very back of the apartment, the 26-foot long, trapezoidal-shaped master bedroom has three super-sized windows on two walls, plenty of room for a sitting area/reading nook, a small-ish attached bathroom slathered in honed marble, and a fitted walk-in closet that all by itself is a whole lot larger than a whole lotta studio apartments in lower Manhattan. Marketing materials suggest the master bedroom closet is so large it could be converted to a third bedroom but opt not to mention that the potential third bedroom would not have a window.
Avid celebrity real estate watchers may recall that last year, in April (2012), Mister Horovitz and Miz Hanna sold a 19th-century townhouse on Spring Street in SoHo for $5.5 million to a Canadian developer who, after a bitter battle with preservationists, razed the house and its next door neighbor last October to make way for a mixed use retail-condo building. Interestingly enough, one of the Canadian developer's creditors recently initiated foreclosure proceedings on a $5.6 million loan partially secured by the Spring Street townhouse because, they claim, the townhouse was razed without their permission. It's a tangled tale and, iffin any of y'all enjoy these sorts of property debacles, the kids at Curbed have a small archive with lots of links over more stories on the matter posted on other property-centric websites.
listing photos and floor plan: Halstead
James Van Der Beek Lists Valley Village Digs
SELLER: James Van Der Beek
LOCATION: Los Angeles (Valley Village), CA
PRICE: $1,250,000
SIZE: 3,017 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It took a little sorting out and a back up from the always in-the-know Lucy Spillerguts to figure out that a comfortable-looking if ho-hum ranch style residence located in the heart of the suburban Valley Village area of L.A.'s San Fernando area and currently listed at $1,250,000 is owned (if not occupied) by former Dawson's Creek heart throb James Van Der Beek.
Although Mister Van Der Beek, now in his mid-thirties with the blond, chisel-chinned good looks of Clark Kent (or maybe Prince Charming), has worked steadily in a slew of movies and television programs since 2003 when Dawson's Creek ended he didn't land another gig as a series regular until 2012 when he killed it for two seasons in a brutally self-skewering role as a preening and comically vain version of himself on the short-lived sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. He occasionally pops up on the long-running and award-winning but soon to be shuttered sitcom How I Met Your Mother and in May (2013) it was announced that a major network picked up the upcoming Friends-like sitcom Friends With Better Lives starring Kevin Connolly, Brooklyn Decker, and—you got it—Mister Van Der Beek. So, it seems, The Beek is back, at least as long as Friends With Better Lives stays afloat. Mazel tov and anyhoo...
Property records suggest Mister Van Der Beek and his ex-wife, actress Heather McComb, acquired the humble if not exactly inexpensive Valley Village abode in happier married days, in February 2006, for $1,260,000, a mite more than its current $1,250,000 price tag and a bit less than the original asking price of $1,295,000.
Current online listing materials show the 3,017 square foot single story California ranch residence was originally built in 1936, sits on a .21 acre mid-block lot in a respectable if ordinary neighborhood just off Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The front door opens directly in to the white-walled formal living room where there are wood floors under foot, a vaulted exposed wood ceiling over head, a fireplace on one wall, and two sets of French doors on the other that expose the room to the covered entry porch where listing photos show an Old-Timey chain-hung porch swing.
The wide plank wood floors in the living room switch to slate tiles in the adjoining over-sized family room that's commodious enough to accommodate a t.v. lounge and a pool table and has direct access through wood-framed glass doors to the backyard entertainment and recreation areas. A breakfast bar is all that separates the dining area from the kitchen that appears dated and a mite tired despite the high-grade, commercial-style stainless steel appliances.
The private master suite has more vaulted ceilings and wood-framed glass doors that lead out to the backyard plus an attached bathroom with tumbled travertine type tile work, a jetted tub, a separate glass-enclosed stall shower, and an unexpected bamboo vanity cabinet topped by a pair of frosted glass vessel sinks.*
The back of the house wraps around two sides of a sun-baked flagstone dining and lounging terrace that steps down to a hedge-ringed flat patch of grass and classic, kidney-shaped swimming pool. Staging Lady in a Pink Toyota tucked a free-standing hammock in to the back corner of the property that would be a great place to read a book if you didn't have to look at the air conditioning contraption on the roof.
We're not quite sure where Mister Van Der Beek and his preggers-with-their-third-bambino second missus, Kimberly, currently reside but we do know it's not at the gated, hillside in the hills above Studio City that Mister Van Der Beek acquired in 2001 for $1,330,000 and sold off in June 2009 for $1,825,000.
*Your Mama is seeing enough of these too-trendy frosted vessels sinks lately—we also spotted them in Chris Colfer's Hollywood Hills house—that we feel compelled to create Rule #109 in Your Mama's Big Book of Decorating Does and Donts that reads, "Thou shalt not, under any circumstance or decorative compulsion, install frosted glass vessel sinks in any bathroom anywhere."
listing photos: The Agency
LOCATION: Los Angeles (Valley Village), CA
PRICE: $1,250,000
SIZE: 3,017 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: It took a little sorting out and a back up from the always in-the-know Lucy Spillerguts to figure out that a comfortable-looking if ho-hum ranch style residence located in the heart of the suburban Valley Village area of L.A.'s San Fernando area and currently listed at $1,250,000 is owned (if not occupied) by former Dawson's Creek heart throb James Van Der Beek.
Although Mister Van Der Beek, now in his mid-thirties with the blond, chisel-chinned good looks of Clark Kent (or maybe Prince Charming), has worked steadily in a slew of movies and television programs since 2003 when Dawson's Creek ended he didn't land another gig as a series regular until 2012 when he killed it for two seasons in a brutally self-skewering role as a preening and comically vain version of himself on the short-lived sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. He occasionally pops up on the long-running and award-winning but soon to be shuttered sitcom How I Met Your Mother and in May (2013) it was announced that a major network picked up the upcoming Friends-like sitcom Friends With Better Lives starring Kevin Connolly, Brooklyn Decker, and—you got it—Mister Van Der Beek. So, it seems, The Beek is back, at least as long as Friends With Better Lives stays afloat. Mazel tov and anyhoo...
Property records suggest Mister Van Der Beek and his ex-wife, actress Heather McComb, acquired the humble if not exactly inexpensive Valley Village abode in happier married days, in February 2006, for $1,260,000, a mite more than its current $1,250,000 price tag and a bit less than the original asking price of $1,295,000.
Current online listing materials show the 3,017 square foot single story California ranch residence was originally built in 1936, sits on a .21 acre mid-block lot in a respectable if ordinary neighborhood just off Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
The front door opens directly in to the white-walled formal living room where there are wood floors under foot, a vaulted exposed wood ceiling over head, a fireplace on one wall, and two sets of French doors on the other that expose the room to the covered entry porch where listing photos show an Old-Timey chain-hung porch swing.
The wide plank wood floors in the living room switch to slate tiles in the adjoining over-sized family room that's commodious enough to accommodate a t.v. lounge and a pool table and has direct access through wood-framed glass doors to the backyard entertainment and recreation areas. A breakfast bar is all that separates the dining area from the kitchen that appears dated and a mite tired despite the high-grade, commercial-style stainless steel appliances.
The private master suite has more vaulted ceilings and wood-framed glass doors that lead out to the backyard plus an attached bathroom with tumbled travertine type tile work, a jetted tub, a separate glass-enclosed stall shower, and an unexpected bamboo vanity cabinet topped by a pair of frosted glass vessel sinks.*
The back of the house wraps around two sides of a sun-baked flagstone dining and lounging terrace that steps down to a hedge-ringed flat patch of grass and classic, kidney-shaped swimming pool. Staging Lady in a Pink Toyota tucked a free-standing hammock in to the back corner of the property that would be a great place to read a book if you didn't have to look at the air conditioning contraption on the roof.
We're not quite sure where Mister Van Der Beek and his preggers-with-their-third-bambino second missus, Kimberly, currently reside but we do know it's not at the gated, hillside in the hills above Studio City that Mister Van Der Beek acquired in 2001 for $1,330,000 and sold off in June 2009 for $1,825,000.
*Your Mama is seeing enough of these too-trendy frosted vessels sinks lately—we also spotted them in Chris Colfer's Hollywood Hills house—that we feel compelled to create Rule #109 in Your Mama's Big Book of Decorating Does and Donts that reads, "Thou shalt not, under any circumstance or decorative compulsion, install frosted glass vessel sinks in any bathroom anywhere."
listing photos: The Agency
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Chris Colfer: Buh-by Hollywood Hills Starter House
SELLER: Chris Colfer
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $1,150,000
SIZE: 2,462 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We've now heard from several snitchy informants who let Your Mama know that out and proud Glee star Chris Colfer has put his starter house in the Hollywood Hills up for sale with a $1,150,000 price tag.
If y'all clear out the cobwebs and/or put on your thinking caps the children may recall that the singing and dancing Golden Globe winner purchased the house in the hills just over two years ago, in March 2011, for $860,000.*
Current digital marketing materials show the three-story residence with its—ahem—rusticated base, faux-quoining, and shingled mansard roof sits hard up on the street, as do many homes in even the swankiest sections of the Hollywood Hills. There are three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in 2,462 square feet of fairly recently remodeled interior space.**
A secured (and not particularly attractive) iron gate secures a walled and gated entry courtyard just barely big enough to accommodate two people. The front door opens directly in to the mid-floor "formal" living room where a low slate-tiled platform plays paltry substitute for a proper foyer. There are honey blond wood floors throughout the house and sliding glass doors at the back of the living room lead out to a wrought-iron railed deck that runs the full width of the house and hangs knee-knockingly over the steep canyon below.
A circular staircase with an industrial-ish stainless steel banister and more than a half dozen small windows ascends to the upper level bedrooms that include a couple of guest/family bedrooms—one is currently staged as a home office—that share a fairly compact three-quarter bathroom with corner sink situation and glass-enclosed stall shower.
The master bedroom, also on the upper level, has lovely canyon and sky views and a fitted walk-in closet. The attached private bathroom is outfitted with a slate tile vanity with two frosted glass vessel sinks,**** and a triangular-shaped jetted tub—it's almost heart shaped, really—set into a ebony pebble tile-walled corner. A separate but open shower appears to be fashioned from poured concrete but, for all this nimrod property gossip knows, it may very well be a far less humble material.
The house's main living space on the lower level encompasses an open, loft-like space that spans the full width of the house. At one end a family room has a (gas) fireplace with bulky slate tile surround, a built-in sofa bench (that we sorta love as a reading nook), and sliding glass doors that open to a second wrought iron-railed deck that, like the one above it, also spans the full width of the house. In the middle of the long, low-ceilinged space is a tight dining area—currently staged with a bothersome bar-height table for four—and a wet bar with itty-bitty sink and under-counter wine and booze fridge. The kitchen at the far end of the room has Shaker-style cherry-toned cabinetry, golden-beige solid surface counter tops, and a weirdly shaped center island with a curved glass breakfast bar. The kitchen is also equipped with and expected suite of mid-range stainless steel appliances, a shimmery stainless steel kick panel under the breakfast bar, and—an honest to goodness excellent feature—an over-sized walk-in pantry.
Your Mama has no idea what future real estate plans Mister Colfer may have but the obviously staged interiors of his starter place in the Hollywood Hills and the empty closets more than suggest he's already packed up and moved on..
In other Glee-related real estate news:
We first heard it on the 5th of September (2013) a from a gabby gal we'll call Bea A. Sporte and we've subsequently heard word on the celebrity real estate street is that back in March (2013) the show's property mad creator, writer and executive executive producer Ryan Murphy, shelled out $9,000,000 for a fixer upper in the rustic-swank celebrity-saturated Sullivan Canyon area that snakes up into the Santa Monica Mountains between L.A.'s tony Brentwood and Pacific Palisades communities.
It appears the whole thing went down on the down low because Your Mama was unable to turn up any easily available online listings from the time of the time of Mister Murphy's surreptitious property procurement. However, we did manage to turn up loads of information about the 1.4 acre, horse-zoned spread from the time the sellers purchased the property just over a year earlier. At that time the residence was billed as a "Santa Barbara mission style home" that was built in 1991 with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in just over 7,200 square feet with "soaring architectural spaces" and "Arizona flagstone floors throughout." Other amenities of the multi-winged mini-mansion included numerous fireplaces, mature and private gardens, a swimming pool and spa set well back from the rear of the house, a putting green, garage parking for six cars, and a two two story guest house perched atop the gated entry gate.***
*Our research indicates stone tiled security wall at the front of the house as well as the faux-quoins were added subsequent to Mister Colfer's ownership, which means he poo-pooed Your mama's unsolicited and rather more modern solution (scroll towards the bottom) to the front façade problems.
**With the exception of the courtyard-creating wall at the front of the house, the addition of the ersatz quoins, and a fresh coat of paint, a quick comparison of current listing photos with those (still available online) listing photos from the time of Mister Colfer's 2011 purchase suggest Mister Colfer may not have undertaken any other significant cosmetic improvement projects. Listing details go on to note that the house has "newer copper plumbing, electrical and roof" but Your Mama, of course, has no idea how new these newer—and costly and important—mechanical upgrades are.
****Keep in mind, children, we have it on good authority that Mister Murphy has already embarked on an extensive overhaul of the property and the result, which will surely be in a fashion publishable in a glossy shelter magazine, may or may not adhere to the above mentioned measurements and features.
****Your Mama can't help it but we just get a decorative rash from this vessel sink mega-trend that we really, really, really hope soon reaches its expiration date.
listing photos (Colfer): Lighthouse Property
listing photos (Murphy): PostRain Productions for Gibson International
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $1,150,000
SIZE: 2,462 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms
YOUR MAMAS NOTES: We've now heard from several snitchy informants who let Your Mama know that out and proud Glee star Chris Colfer has put his starter house in the Hollywood Hills up for sale with a $1,150,000 price tag.
If y'all clear out the cobwebs and/or put on your thinking caps the children may recall that the singing and dancing Golden Globe winner purchased the house in the hills just over two years ago, in March 2011, for $860,000.*
Current digital marketing materials show the three-story residence with its—ahem—rusticated base, faux-quoining, and shingled mansard roof sits hard up on the street, as do many homes in even the swankiest sections of the Hollywood Hills. There are three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in 2,462 square feet of fairly recently remodeled interior space.**
A secured (and not particularly attractive) iron gate secures a walled and gated entry courtyard just barely big enough to accommodate two people. The front door opens directly in to the mid-floor "formal" living room where a low slate-tiled platform plays paltry substitute for a proper foyer. There are honey blond wood floors throughout the house and sliding glass doors at the back of the living room lead out to a wrought-iron railed deck that runs the full width of the house and hangs knee-knockingly over the steep canyon below.
A circular staircase with an industrial-ish stainless steel banister and more than a half dozen small windows ascends to the upper level bedrooms that include a couple of guest/family bedrooms—one is currently staged as a home office—that share a fairly compact three-quarter bathroom with corner sink situation and glass-enclosed stall shower.
The master bedroom, also on the upper level, has lovely canyon and sky views and a fitted walk-in closet. The attached private bathroom is outfitted with a slate tile vanity with two frosted glass vessel sinks,**** and a triangular-shaped jetted tub—it's almost heart shaped, really—set into a ebony pebble tile-walled corner. A separate but open shower appears to be fashioned from poured concrete but, for all this nimrod property gossip knows, it may very well be a far less humble material.
The house's main living space on the lower level encompasses an open, loft-like space that spans the full width of the house. At one end a family room has a (gas) fireplace with bulky slate tile surround, a built-in sofa bench (that we sorta love as a reading nook), and sliding glass doors that open to a second wrought iron-railed deck that, like the one above it, also spans the full width of the house. In the middle of the long, low-ceilinged space is a tight dining area—currently staged with a bothersome bar-height table for four—and a wet bar with itty-bitty sink and under-counter wine and booze fridge. The kitchen at the far end of the room has Shaker-style cherry-toned cabinetry, golden-beige solid surface counter tops, and a weirdly shaped center island with a curved glass breakfast bar. The kitchen is also equipped with and expected suite of mid-range stainless steel appliances, a shimmery stainless steel kick panel under the breakfast bar, and—an honest to goodness excellent feature—an over-sized walk-in pantry.
Your Mama has no idea what future real estate plans Mister Colfer may have but the obviously staged interiors of his starter place in the Hollywood Hills and the empty closets more than suggest he's already packed up and moved on..
We first heard it on the 5th of September (2013) a from a gabby gal we'll call Bea A. Sporte and we've subsequently heard word on the celebrity real estate street is that back in March (2013) the show's property mad creator, writer and executive executive producer Ryan Murphy, shelled out $9,000,000 for a fixer upper in the rustic-swank celebrity-saturated Sullivan Canyon area that snakes up into the Santa Monica Mountains between L.A.'s tony Brentwood and Pacific Palisades communities.
It appears the whole thing went down on the down low because Your Mama was unable to turn up any easily available online listings from the time of the time of Mister Murphy's surreptitious property procurement. However, we did manage to turn up loads of information about the 1.4 acre, horse-zoned spread from the time the sellers purchased the property just over a year earlier. At that time the residence was billed as a "Santa Barbara mission style home" that was built in 1991 with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in just over 7,200 square feet with "soaring architectural spaces" and "Arizona flagstone floors throughout." Other amenities of the multi-winged mini-mansion included numerous fireplaces, mature and private gardens, a swimming pool and spa set well back from the rear of the house, a putting green, garage parking for six cars, and a two two story guest house perched atop the gated entry gate.***
*Our research indicates stone tiled security wall at the front of the house as well as the faux-quoins were added subsequent to Mister Colfer's ownership, which means he poo-pooed Your mama's unsolicited and rather more modern solution (scroll towards the bottom) to the front façade problems.
**With the exception of the courtyard-creating wall at the front of the house, the addition of the ersatz quoins, and a fresh coat of paint, a quick comparison of current listing photos with those (still available online) listing photos from the time of Mister Colfer's 2011 purchase suggest Mister Colfer may not have undertaken any other significant cosmetic improvement projects. Listing details go on to note that the house has "newer copper plumbing, electrical and roof" but Your Mama, of course, has no idea how new these newer—and costly and important—mechanical upgrades are.
****Keep in mind, children, we have it on good authority that Mister Murphy has already embarked on an extensive overhaul of the property and the result, which will surely be in a fashion publishable in a glossy shelter magazine, may or may not adhere to the above mentioned measurements and features.
****Your Mama can't help it but we just get a decorative rash from this vessel sink mega-trend that we really, really, really hope soon reaches its expiration date.
listing photos (Colfer): Lighthouse Property
listing photos (Murphy): PostRain Productions for Gibson International
One Last Summer Fling
It's officially time to bid adieu to summer and say hello to fall. That means lots of layers and pumpkin spice lattes! But over the weekend it was so beautiful out that I couldn't help but put together one more summery look. I went to Hoboken with my mom to enjoy the day :)
Top: C/O Furor Moda/ Pants: Love Culture/ Shoes: Forever21
Bag: olivia + joy/ Necklace: C/O Lipstick Rose/ Sunglasses: Charlotte Russe
Cuff: C/O Gorjana Griffin
Of course you can still wear white and floral print this season, but this outfit definitely has a summer feel to it. Initially I was going to pair the top with a black bottom, but decided against it when I saw how nice it was outside. As much as I love fall, I am definitely going to miss the warmer weather. The best part about this top is that it can be worn both casual and dressy. The floral print is a very silky material and the grey part is such a soft cotton. Since I typically always tuck my tops in, I wanted to leave this one out. It's super comfy and I like the loose fit.
I have a habit of wearing statement necklaces with a printed top and the same thing happens every time I take photos. It doesn't translate as well on camera as it looks in person. But I fell in love with this necklace and just had to wear it with this outfit. And the final touch was my bag to bring out the yellow in the print. Years back I would have seen a yellow bag and thought that I would never use it. But now, I can't even count how many times I have incorporated it into my looks. It's such a great statement piece.
I realized lately when resizing my photos they aren't coming out as clear as usual. Hopefully I can figure out the issue and have it fixed soon!
Just a little update: I was finally able to change my facebook page URL to match my blog's name. When I first created the page this name was in use so I am so happy that I could finally switch it over. The new URL is facebook.com/aloveaffairwithfashion
Have a great day!
<3
Cuff: C/O Gorjana Griffin
Of course you can still wear white and floral print this season, but this outfit definitely has a summer feel to it. Initially I was going to pair the top with a black bottom, but decided against it when I saw how nice it was outside. As much as I love fall, I am definitely going to miss the warmer weather. The best part about this top is that it can be worn both casual and dressy. The floral print is a very silky material and the grey part is such a soft cotton. Since I typically always tuck my tops in, I wanted to leave this one out. It's super comfy and I like the loose fit.
I have a habit of wearing statement necklaces with a printed top and the same thing happens every time I take photos. It doesn't translate as well on camera as it looks in person. But I fell in love with this necklace and just had to wear it with this outfit. And the final touch was my bag to bring out the yellow in the print. Years back I would have seen a yellow bag and thought that I would never use it. But now, I can't even count how many times I have incorporated it into my looks. It's such a great statement piece.
I realized lately when resizing my photos they aren't coming out as clear as usual. Hopefully I can figure out the issue and have it fixed soon!
Just a little update: I was finally able to change my facebook page URL to match my blog's name. When I first created the page this name was in use so I am so happy that I could finally switch it over. The new URL is facebook.com/aloveaffairwithfashion
Have a great day!
<3
Monday, September 23, 2013
Speaking in Lisbon on October 5
My friend Pedro Bastos graciously invited me to speak at a conference he organized in Lisbon on October 5 titled "Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases". I will give two talks:
- "Ancestral Health: What is Our Human Potential?" This talk will explore the health of non-industrial cultures in an effort to understand how much of our modern chronic disease burden is preventable, and it will briefly touch on one major aspect of non-industrial life that may protect against the "diseases of civilization". This presentation will focus on age-adjusted data from high quality studies.
- "Why Do We Overeat: a Neurobiological Perspective." This talk will attempt to explain why most of us consume more calories than we need to maintain weight-- a phenomenon that is a central cause of morbidity and mortality in the modern world. It will touch on some of the brain mechanisms involved in ingestive behavior, and outline a framework to explain why these mechanisms are often maladaptive in today's environment.
Pedro will speak about dairy consumption, vitamin D, and chronic disease.
The conference is targeted to health professionals and students of nutrition, however it's open to anyone who is interested in these topics. It's sponsored by NutriScience, a Portuguese nutrition education and consulting company. Sadly, I don't speak Portuguese, so my talks will be in English.
Access the full program, and register for the conference, using the links below:
Labels:
overweight,
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