Wendy and Lucky left the Big Apple last week for Tinsel Town to celebrate at the Oscars. First stop, the Independent Spirit Awards where the dynamic duo caught up with stars like Pierce Bronsnan, Taraji P. Henson and Ken Jeong from “The Hangover”. All were very excited about celebrating independent films and of course the Oscars.

Pierce Brosnan has been in quite a few indies lately, including his latest coming out this Friday, with Vampire hottie Robert Pattinson, called “Remember Me”.

They also talked with the filmmakers from the Oscar winning documentary, “The Cove”. And, got to hang with , the Oscar winner who wrote the best adapted screenplay for “Precious”.

And, lots of goodies in this year’s gift bags, from gym memberships to flip camcorders.

Gotta love Hollywood!

My picks for Best Dressed at last night’s Academy Awards:

1. Sarah Jessica Parker, who made a daring yet timeless choice, and whose dress will be remembered for years to come (much like the black minidress she wore to her first Academy Awards, which was similarly controversial). Too much bronzer and kind of odd hair, but that dress made up for it.

2. Miley Cyrus, whose dress (and makeup) was beyond stunning. Yeah, she slouched, and I often question her clothing (and life) choices…but she’s 17 and she looked classy and lovely. Let’s give her a break.

3. Vera Farmiga (left), who I desperately want to look like, made possibly the night’s boldest choice. Not everyone will “get” it…but it’s the Oscars, and that is an Oscars dress if I’ve ever seen one.

4. Zoe Kravitz, whose understated gown was a great color, a beautiful shape, and perfectly suited for a young, trendy starlet not tasked with nominating or presenting.

5. Rachel McAdams, because she can do no wrong.

Who do you think did it best?

-Jordan Reid

Jeff Daniels played Alan in the original Broadway cast of “God of Carnage” on Broadway. He was nominated for a Tony for that performance. And in a rare casting twist, he’s now returning to the show as Michael, originally played by James Gandolfini and later by Ken Stott, who originated the role in London.

The play is about parents behaving badly, and it’s wickedly funny and clever. The cast is rounded out with the brilliant Janet McTeer, playing Veronica, Michael’s wife. She created the role in the London premiere. Dylan Baker of “Spiderman” fame steps into the role of Alan and “Charlie’s Angels” Lucy Liu plays Annette, Alan’s wife.

We got a chance to talk with the four talented actors who begin performances tomorrow night at the Bernard Jacobs Theater. Jeff Daniels found himself wanting to interrupt Dylan Baker during rehearsal, but Baker was happy to receive a lot of encouragement from Daniels.

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Recently I was hired to be a guest speaker in Farmington, Connecticut, to talk about my signature style of creating casual luxury. I was joined by Lisa, my candle line business partner, and we were off to meet the ladies and enjoy a meal with them; my presentation was for after dinner. We left Westport around 5:00pm and as the sun set I noticed how difficult it was getting for me to read the street signs. Recently I also noticed I was having some difficulties reading the text on my iPhone. “Oh no!” I yell to Lisa, “It’s happening!” “What?” she replied. “My eyes are going, and it feels as if it happened overnight!” Turning 40 this year I had been told, “Just wait: once you’ve hit forty you’ll be needing readers,” but driving glasses—what gives?
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What I’m reading while I sit in jury duty for two days: Steve Almond’s Candyfreak. The author, an admitted “freak” for everything chocolatey, sugary, and nutty (although, oddly, not almonds), goes on a journey across America to document the efforts of regional candymakers before they fall victim to the monopoly of the “Big Three.”

Between the World Wars, candy manufacturing exploded in America, with thousands of boutique confectioners springing up in every state. Gradually, however, the three “majors” (Hershey’s, Nestle, and Mars – later renamed Masterfoods) took over, and the smaller manufacturers were slowly driven out of business.

Almond travels from Boston, where he meets with the foremost expert in the candy business, Ray Broekel, to Nashville, where he discovers the wonder that is the Goo Goo Cluster (I can vouch for this one), all the while including searingly funny anecdotes and a healthy dose of awareness that this is all, really, quite weird.

This is the second time I’ve read the book, and it’s even better this time around. There are echoes of David Sedaris, and even Phillip Roth…and for someone who adores both food writing and Portnoy’s Complaint, this book is just about perfect.

-Jordan Reid

Matt Kennon Performs

I just might become a country music fan after meeting Matt Kennon and his band.

His single “The Call” is lighting up request lines all over the country and I’ll tell you it’s for two reasons.

Number 1: The song has a great message.

And Number 2: His voice is SEXY!

He has a great southern,whiskey, deep voice and you can’t help but like it! (Ladies… he says he’s taken.) Matt was Georgia raised and hangs his hat now in Nashville.

 His arms are adorned with colorful tattoos and he’s not afraid to joke around. He had a great attitude on set and was a pleasure to work with.

His single “The Call” really hits your heart about love and support.  Make sure to check out his performance on Better Monday, February 22.

And if you want to learn more about him beforehand check out www.mattkennon.com. Or if want to download his song now it’s available on itunes. (His full album is out April 27th)

Usually I don’t pimp out musicians but you’ll definitely want to hear this song.

Every February across the country, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. That said, with all this love in the air my heart skips a beat just thinking about just how lucky I am to have both people that I love and ones who love me back.

Truth be told, the word “love” has become so commercialized and overused in the past several years that we often loose sight of the real meaning of love. I know even I throw around the word in meaningless ways. Have you ever said: “I love those shoes”, “I would love to have a new handbag”, “I love that Gucci dress”, or for you guys out there “I love football”, “I love the Saints”. We all do our part to wear out the word’s true meaning.

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I remember how funny I thought it was when watching the 1997 “Volcano”  movie and everyone is running around yelling “Lava! Lava! The lava is coming!” and the lava is shown, and moves so SLOW.

That’s how I feel right now when looking at an approaching snow storm and the entire state is crying “Danger! Snow!” And then we have to sit and stare at the Doppler waiting for it to come.

The kids will have school off, people will either take off work or go in later. Our whole day is effected by the weather.

Grocery stores are stocking up.  The snow plow drivers are ready to go.

Every local weather man is geared for full reports.

When I was a kid snow days were few and far between. Now it seems like I have to find a sitter or take days off every winter. Grown ups don’t get snow days.

At least nowadays there is stuff on TV or the internet. Tomorrow, Better goes one on one with Katie Couric. She talks about what she really wants to be remembered for doing. It’s pretty inspirational. (You can also check it out online if you missed it)

The internet can only distract so much…I can’t wait for spring.  Guess I will think warm thoughts . -L

With the Winter Olympic games just around the corner it’s hard not to reminisce about my former skating career. Just like millions of Americans, I too, have been glued to the television watching my fellow skaters compete to capture a place on the 2010 Olympic Team in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

My excitement has motivated me to skate quit a bit lately, and so much so that I have introduced my skating lifts and exercises off-ice—to my local gym. That said, my dear friend Geri Zatcoff (a nutrition expert) has been dubbed my new off-ice partner, and I began introducing a series of moves and lifts to her over the last couple of weeks. This week she was not exactly confident to be lifted, but with several weeks of stretching and mini lifts behind us, we left it to fate and up she went. Success! Although I leave you with this warning: just as the small print on your review mirror reads “objects may appear closer than they appear,” her small print could well say “remember: object may appear lighter than one crazy person might estimate.” Meaning my fault, not hers: my skating partners routinely had weights hovering near the 100 lb mark—a typical size for the sport, and my friend is definitely not big—in fact, extremely fit and slim—but still not what I remembered.

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It’s cold outside and thank goodness I have my Violet to cuddle up and sit on my lap to keep me warm. She’s better than a blanket, in fact right now while working on the computer writing this blog she is fast asleep on my lap this close to me at all times, offering me some extra heat and well-deserved schnauzer love.

That said, the sprinkle of snow today reminds me of winters past, and that’s there’s work to be done. Yes, with February just around the corner I’ve already had my trees trimmed and all holiday representations removed. Just a rule I keep, that everything needs to be gone come Jan 15th. Now that that is done, I can begin to review my collection of gardening design books and get inspired during these cold days in Connecticut. I also find myself in the garden studio, playing in the dirt as it were, creating fabulous spring-inspired arrangements to display as a mind trick that spring has arrived in my home. Truth be told, with spring still 50 days away my abundance of vessels are filled with daffodils, hyacinths and crocuses. Lush green textures and fragrances helps hold me over until then.

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