Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

As we mentioned a little while back, the New York Observer recently reported that casino mogul Steve Wynn’s New York City apartment was up for sale. Now thanks to a post from the Real Estalker, we found out that the listing has gone live. Wynn’s Fifth Avenue palace is a two-bedroom apartment that measures around 3,500 square feet.

Steve and Elaine Wynn are getting a divorce (actually it’s their second divorce, they were first married in 1963 but divorced in 1986 and then remarried five years later). Their full-floor apartment was once a four bedroom home but the renovation trimmed the number of rooms and expanded the spaces with an eye toward the grand and bland. The main living area was once the living room, formal dining room and library and has views over Central Park. The master suite was created from three bedrooms and has his and hers bathrooms.

As the floor plan reveals the resulting layout is a bit odd. The master bedroom has been put next to the living room to take advantage of the ideal views but this means that the two bathrooms are sequential rather than side by side. The kitchen is directly opposite the second master bathroom and the dining room has been shoved to the back of the apartment right in front of the laundry and utility areas. The home has been redone in shades that design books likely refer to as variations of honey, taupe, caramel and rattan but mostly it’s just beige, elegant, but beige and with a hotel’s anonymity. Particularly curious is the kitchen which seems to have matching granite floors and counters. The apartment is priced at an outrageous $25 million but it seems doubtful that the Wynns will get their price.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Continue reading Steve Wynn In NYC, Estate of the Day

Steve Wynn In NYC, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Other issues, Money and Finance This day, Personal finance, Small business

This is bizarre at best but its true. In Latvia there lives a man named Viktor Mirosiichenko who heads a company called Kontora Loan Company. Who is this man and what is so uncommon about him? He will make a loan to you if you sign an “agreement” and pledge “your immortal soul” as collateral.

Continue reading Would you pledge your soul as collateral for a loan?

Would you pledge your soul as collateral for a loan? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Comedic actress Kristin Johnston was recently signed to a stage production at the Lucille Lortel Theater this fall so she’s not leaving New York City but she may be leaving the West Village. Cityfile found the listing for Johnston’s condo. Her colorful duplex measures 1,541 square feet and has two bedrooms. As the listing puts it, the ideal part is the solarium which enjoys a south-facing view of the planted terrace and has built-in seating and glass walls. In the main space a dining upholstered banquette seats 10 and the kitchen has an open counter to the living room. The style is a bit eclectic and busy with a hodgepodge of wallpapers and clusters of vibrantly-colored accent pillows. It is listed at $1.795 million.

Kristen Johnston Lists Her New York City Apartment originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read

Share This

Share This

As I sorted through some of my mother’s collection of memorabilia, I encountered lists and letters and account summaries of her years operating a small country general store on the edge of our farm property.

Image:sxc.hu

My dad and a friend built it and the friend managed the business.  When he had a heart attack, Mom (a former school instructor, who had no storekeeping experience) decided she would operate it.  So during my last year of high school and my college years, I spend weekends and vacations working at the store and on the farm my dad owned.

Mom didn’t make a fortune.  In fact, she generally lost money because she was so kindhearted and trusting.  However, she did affect her customers’ lives because so many wrote me after she died, telling me how much she meant to them.

I need to find time to compile her notes and snippets of information, along with photos, into a journal or scrapbook, chronicling her years as a country storekeeper.  This would be an interesting item to have for our family heritage.

Why not journal your business?  Begin where your are, then write down the beginnings as you recall them.  If you’re just starting a small business, keep a daily log.  It doesn’t have to be much, but will be a good business information journal and something of interest to family in years to come.

Tags: country store, family business, family store, grocery store, journaling, memorabilia, memories, small business, Small Business Boomers

Share This

Share This

Share This

I have a friend who is trying to figure out if she should quit her job or stay. She messes up every day at some point during the course of a day. This is not necessarily my assessment of her, but it is definitely how she sees it. How does she decide if it’s time to leave her job? Is it up to her boss? My friend knows that she frustrates her boss on a regular basis. She tries to do the things that need to be done, but inevitably something else happens. Should she quit? What do you think?

Self awareness is actually an important part of growing. Just being aware of how you impact people, and your environment is a good bit of information to know. Unfortunately, not everyone knows their impact on people and environment. My friend is aware of how she’s impacting her boss, and yet she hasn’t really done anything differently to change the situation. So, in this case, she’s aware of her impact, but her ability to problem solve and make what I call minor course corrections, continues to elude my friend.

If you find yourself in a similar situation at work or you know someone, here’s my point and what I have stated to my friend: You get to decide the outcome. Don’t let someone else determine your future. If you want to be in the job, make the changes and move forward. Feeling sorry for yourself isn’t a solution, and refusing to change is not a solution either. Too many times, people stay in a job out of convenience or fear or habit. None of those things will help you survive in a job this day. If things aren’t working, take some time and decide if you really want to be doing what you are doing. Be honest with yourself. Don’t look at your boss and his/her issues. Don’t blame the organization, the culture, the climate or the people. Look at the man in the mirror. YOU!

Credit Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Bizzia

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

A Hamptons beach house designed by Philip Johnson three years before the architect built his famous Glass Home in New Canann, Conn. has come on the market for $35 million. Built in 1946 and based on plans drawn up by Mies van der Rohe, the modernist Farney Home (above) is nestled in the dunes of Sagaponack supported on raised log piers. The home, which was expanded and updated by local architect Mark Matthews in 1989 - perhaps spoiling the purity of Johnson’s work in the eyes of some - features a stunning glass-enclosed living room with spectacular ocean views. The 5,000-sq-.ft., 8-bed, 7-bath wooden residence sits on 3.6 oceanfront acres with 363 ft. of pristine Hamptons shoreline, and is accessed by a private road situated a substantial distance from any public beach access. The property includes a free-form swimming pool, tennis court, play area, putting green and basketball court incorporated into a beautiful landscape design, as well as a long boardwalk running from the home to the beach.

[via JustLuxe]

Philip Johnson Hamptons Home for Sale at $35 Million originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Shaquille O’Neal’s name doesn’t seem to have done much for selling his own home but maybe his former rental will have better luck. Shaq finally sold his Miami home after it had been on the market for years getting $2 million less than he paid for it and just about half of his original $32 million asking price. A home that he rented in Paradise Valley, Arizona has gone through a deep price cut too. Both Shaquille O’Neal and Emmitt Smith did each rent this huge home for a year. Shaquille O’Neal recently moved out with his family.

The five-bedroom home was built in 2002 and has approximately 8981 square feet of space. The grounds include a pool and there’s a master bath that features a tub that might even have been huge enough for Shaq. The home is on a two-acre lot and is located near golf courses and restaurants. The listing agent reports that the home was originally offered at $6.5 million but it can now be had for $3.6 million.

[Thanks, Mika]

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living massive with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Continue reading Shaq Slept Here, Estate of the Day

Shaq Slept Here, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read

Share This

Share This

If I were a fruit what would I be? I’m still trying to think of an answer that I would give if asked this question in an interview. If you were a fruit, what would you be? I would love to hear some answers to this question. If a hiring manager asks this question in an interview, you do need to come up with an answer. It may seem like a dumb question, and even a waste of time, however people who ask the question are really looking for an answer, so be prepared to field a silly question.

Here’s a couple of thoughts on answering this question:

Whichever fruit you select, make sure you can connect the characteristics of the fruit to something that’s true about you. For example:

“I would be an apple.” - The reason I selected an apple is because I have thick skin, but I am sweet on the inside. I also get love to invest in others, which is represented by the seeds you find in the core of the fruit.

“I would be an orange.” - The reason I selected an orange is because I have a zest for life! Some times you have to get past my natural defenses, past the skin to get to the tangy, sweet flavor you find in an orange.

“I would be a banana.” - The reason I selected a banana is because it is very simple to get to know me. Like a banana, it takes very tiny effort to peel back the skin to get to the good stuff on the inside.

“I would be a pomegranate” - The reason I selected a pomegranate is like the sweet seeded fruit with I’ve lots of ideas. I love to share my ideas and many times, once you begin brainstorming with me, I can come up with endless creative ideas that work.

I just came up with these responses off the top of my head. If one of them works for you, retool it and use it in your interview if it ever comes up as a question. It may seem like a silly question, but, if you can come with an answer that connects you to the fruit, and they enjoy it, you might move yourself one step closer to a yes. Keep in mind, just like a good answer can be helpful, a bad answer can be detrimental to you in an interview. Don’t blow off this question. If it comes up, for whatever reason, unknown to you, it is an important question to the person asking the question in the interview. How you answer can make you appear like a fruit cake or a stellar performer in an interview!

Image Credit: sxc.hu

Post from: Bizzia

Share This

Share This

Filed under: Estates

We don’t have many photos of this one but Villa Rockledge is a beautiful older home in the costly seaside town of Laguna Beach in Orange County, California. Unlike many of the town’s costly cliffside homes this one has a long history. The Press-Enterprise reports that it was built over a four year period from 1918 to 1922 for Frank Miller, former owner of the Mission Inn in Riverside, who built the home as a gift for his second wife Marion and called it Mariona, a name which is still shown on a brick arch in one of the home’s entry points. The residence was added to the National Registry of Historic Places by the State of California and the U.S. National Park Service in 1984.

The 8,065 square foot compound includes a main home, six guest houses which are rentals and a secluded beach. The current owner, Roger W. Jones, bought the home in 1973 for $420,000 and has researched the history of Villa Rockledge even writing a book “The History of Villa Rockledge,” published in 1991. Celebrities from the grand ages of moviemaking including Errol Flynn, Clifton Webb and Bette Davis visited the home which was designed so that even the bathrooms have ocean views. Jones has stated that he he restored Villa Rockledge closer to its original condition exposing beams and brick.

The fact that the home is on the National Registry of Historic Places means it can’t be torn down but it does seem to be in need of some major renovation. It is listed with Susan Weir for $34.9 million but an MLS listing shows a couple more photos that reveal a very dated kitchen. It’s likely that any new owners would want to spend a significant amount of money on renovation. Because of its idyllic location and charm Laguna Beach hasn’t been hit as hard by the real estate market slump as other parts of Southern California but prices in this town have fallen off in the past year. This home seems to combine the ideal parts of Laguna Beach, the stunning ocean views clear to Catalina as well as the quirky rustic style that graces some of the older homes in the area.

Continue reading Villa Rockledge, Estate of the Day

Villa Rockledge, Estate of the Day originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read

Share This

Share This

I shall be blogging here at Small Business Boomers and helping you with business tips.  Jean Murray has done a fantastic job with  the Small Business Boomers blog.  I hope I can provide you with the same degree of helpful information.

Image: sxc.hu

I also blog at b5’s Home Biz Notes, My Organized Biz and write at Blisstree’s Parenting and Arts/Crafts sections. I’ve been involved in family businesses and home businesses all of my life.  Currently my husband and I work from home.  In addition I do alternative teaching during the school year.

Also, I invite you to share your boomer business experiences with us here at Small Business Boomers.

Tags: Blisstree, blogging, boomers, home biz notes, home business, Mary Emma Allen, My Organized Biz, small business, Small Business Boomers

Share This

Share This

Share This