Monday, June 2, 2014

Listen up y'all!

NOTE: Sorry, children, Your Mama needs one more day. Please be patient. (And don't make a mess is the comments sections or I'll just have to turn them off, okay?)

It may incite the vitriolic wrath of a few of the more sharp-tongued children but Your Mama has none-the-less decided to take a two week retreat in a remote, morgue-quiet high desert location where telephone and internet service is, at best, unreliable. That's right, butter beans, two weeks.

We do not plan to (dis or) discuss any celebrity-related real estate transactions until June 17, at which point we'll have some exciting news to unveil about the future of our little online endeavor.

Until then...


127 comments:

Malibu Eric said...

Have a fantastic trip Mama, you deserve it! xoxo

Anonymous said...

Noooooo! Oh Mama, you shall be sorely missed.

Malibu Eric said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
phillip paull said...

omfg im so scared right now, this website is my lifeline

Anonymous said...

NOOOOOOOOOOOO momma

Anonymous said...

TEASE. However enjoy your heat wave vacation.

Anonymous said...

Was Mama Alice from the Brady Bunch???

lil' gay boy said...

Only two weeks?!? Surely you deserve more...

I just took two months off to deal with a series of domestic dramas -- you're making me look like an indolent ungulate.

Enjoy, decompress, and perhaps hide the wooden spoon lest one of us chilruns succumbs to delusions of grandeur...

;-)

Anonymous said...

Lgb!!!
Been missin ya here and at oli!
Now....
What's the drama? :)
Do tell

Anonymous said...

Have a good desert vacation, Mama.

Glad to see you're back LGB. You've been missed around here by some of us old timers. Hope all is well/better on your end.

Anonymous said...

Miss YOU!

DC Guy said...

Oh Mama, you enjoy yourself. Rest and relax and have a cock (tail) or two. We'll see you soon, doll.

StPaulSnowman said...

Pass me the hemlock and tonic, please......

Anonymous said...

Omg is Mama writing a big book about Beverly Park?!?!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah plz let it be true

Anonymous said...

Stay safe. We'll miss you. See you on the flip side, happy and well rested. XXXOOOXXX

Sandpiper said...

Nothing like getting off the crazy train and entrenched knee deep in some good ol' solitude.

If I were to bet, your pending news will be announcement of a sweet syndicated gig for a major outlet. If so, long in coming and so very well earned.

If not that, then something else that's exciting an fulfills a new exciting chapter for you.

xoxo

Candy Spelling said...

Have a fabulous time, doll! Your vacation sounds almost as blissful and relaxing as a weekend at The Manor.

Anonymous said...

You deserve it Mama! Don't drink too much

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha bish u cray

Unknown said...

LGB my bosses wife actually used a wooden spoon on her kids and dogs !!!!!!! hahahah

Madam Pince said...

Say hello to Sister Woman for me!

Anonymous said...

Can't you get your maid, Svetlana, to fill in for you?
In fact, you could just make it one of her daily duties – and then you could drink gin all day and all night.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness LGB is back!

We missed you and now will miss Mama but a vacation is well deserved. Have a relaxing time! We butterbeans will be here when you return!!!!

lower_scott_hill said...

Enjoy your time off Mama. Hope it's the best!

This regular reader will be here waiting for new posts when the presses start to roll again.

Peace...

Petra's said...

Mama, after 8 years and over 3,000 posts, you've more than earned any length of vacay! Congrats on your new achievement - so well-deserved, whatever it may be.

Anonymous said...

Let's t.p. her house! And throw a Baby Ruth in her pool!

That'll teach her. :)

Rosco Mare said...

Don't rush it Mama Dearest! Two weeks may not be enough recovery time from having a little work done. Will our Mama Dearest have a new profile when she returns? Remember we love you exactly the way you are!

:-)

If you're resting in the Palm Springs area, visiting Sunnylands (www.Sunnylands.org) is worthwhile. Would enjoy your sharp opinion of the splendid, yet a little kitschy, MCM estate.

Enjoy the bright sunshine!

Rosco Mare

Anonymous said...

Have a grand time... You will be missed greatly!

Camrose said...

Mama, enjoy your vacay! All the butterbeans will be right here waiting for you (you're the Richard Marx to our unwashed hordes all around the globe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_E2EHVxNAE).

Can't wait to hear the news. WORLD DOMINATION!

LGB - Welcome back!

Carla In California said...

Dearest Mama,

Enjoy your much deserved vacation slathered in Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil while sipping all the gin & tonics your liver can stand. You will be missed but we understand the need for a break...

Take a dip in a turquoise pool for me, would ya? ;)

Unknown said...

Wow, how fun I hope that you enjoy your much needed vacation! I am actually selling my house right now and I have had the best service with my Realtor and he gives me honest and informed advice! I feel like I am being well taken care of and my needs are out first! I am glad that these services are offered to help in times of need and i situations like the one that I am in right now!
Holly James | http://www.dougandersonrealestate.com/

FrenchGirl said...

Good holiday! Bonnes vacances!

Anonymous said...

have a wonderful,sexxy, relaxing time!
we eagerly await your return...

Aunt Gina said...

terrified that the celeb real estate scandal of the century will take place and no Mama...picture a sad and anxiety ridden butter bean face.

Anonymous said...

OMG PETRA DEFAULTED ON THE MANORS MORTGAGE AND CANDY BOUGHT IT BACK

MAMA WHERE U B???

Hahahahaha

tom said...

you haven't been missed since 2007. you were really great back then. you are not missed anymore.

Naughty Nancy said...

How could you abandon us in the midst of the busiest Real Estate season of the year?? Mama, I'm crying right now!

bentley said...

Bonne Vacances, mon p'tit chou! A bientot.

Mama should have left an honorary wooden spoon to keep all the dipshits in check in her absence. Especially you, Tom. How dreary! Unimpressed since 2007 yet still coming back for more. Get outside, man! There's a whole, beautiful world out there to enjoy.

I may take a percocet and have a stroll back through the posts I've loved. I'm thinking of redecorating this entire fucking house...

Petra's said...

My oh my, someone needs a time out in the corner!

But then again, we're all a bit stressed without Mama around.

lil' gay boy said...

Typical dysfunctional family...Mama's out & the kids start throwing shit & whacking each other. I suspect Bentley could buy & sell every one of us (if so inclined).

;-)

Now I know that Mama didn't leave me in charge (Svetlana hates me), but perhaps I can distract with a local curiosity (multiple link alert!) -- namely the recent price drop (from $11M to $9.9M) of Sunninghill, one of the American properties of Prince Jefri of Brunei, who came to notice locally (I lived two blocks away) when he planned to "enhance" the pool terrace with X-rated statues.

The house has an interesting history; originally known as Ça Va when it was built for Carroll Booth Alker {broker/yachtsman}, it is a circa 1924 Federal by Thomas H. Ellett (Aiker build a second home with the same name). Iron gates from the road open onto elaborately landscaped grounds that includes greenhouses, a garage, and a service court. Herbert L. Dillon purchased property and renamed the estate Sunninghill. It has always been maintained in pristine condition throughout its history -- a rare occurrence nowadays.

Herbert L. Dillon's widow sold Sunninghill to Lawrence Lever, a very successful and prominent Long Island real estate investor who was murdered in the house in 1978 by an accomplice of the Dinner Bandit.

The Lever estate then sold it to Dr. Jim Hill, the owner of the famous racehorse Seattle Slew, who owned it until 1987 when it was sold to Don Carter, who embarked on a three year major renovation including the building of four addition outbuildings and new plantings. It was sold by Carter in 1998 to Prince Jefri, the brother of the Sultan of Brunei.

The house has been empty for about 12 years, save for a caretaker. With 28 acres, there is only one real Sunninghill, and its at 873 Cedar Swamp Road in Old Brookville, not to be confused with another "Sunninghill" -- now more disfigured than remodeled -- located less than a mile south @ 1087 Cedar Swamp Road, built for Martin Richmond {stock broker} who was the brother of Katharine Richmond wife of Sir Samuel A. Salvage, president of the American Viscose Corporation, which was best known for developing rayon fabric. The Salvages built "Rynwood" next door in 1927 in the Elizabethan style; "Rynwood" was acquired by Banfi Vintners in 1980 who restored the home and now operate it as the only vineyard in Nassau County).  The real estate relations in this neck of the woods resemble the proverbial Southern Family tree; anyway...

Anonymous said...

Oh Lil Gay Boy...
You'll never be Zach or HPHS
:)

lil' gay boy said...

Oh honey, don't I know it! That's why they have great blogs and I just talk a lot...

;-)

LA Ad Guy said...

LGB, loved the links and background on this gorgeous estate, feel free to feed us hungry chillren a kernel or two whilst mama is away!

LA Ad Guy said...

P.S. who's Zach and HPHS?

Sandpiper said...


Bentley,

Um, I don't know Percocet, but you make it sound yummy.

lil' gay boy said...

LA Ad Guy,

Zach is the brilliant blogger of Old Long Island (OLI), a comprehensive collection of posts regarding all things of the Gold Coast era (and more) on Long Island.

HPHS ("half pudding, half sauce") is a frequent commenter there, and has his own blog (The Country House, ) based on New England country house gardens & design. The term is from a quote from Thomas Hastings: "The appropriation for a house should be divided into two equal parts, one-half for the house, the other for the gardens, pathways, court, approach, terrace and the rest of it, or, as it might be termed, one-half for the pudding, the other for the sauce."

Two great sources for all things related to New England/Long Island country house evolution.

Anonymous said...

Li'l!

Forget Prince Jefri of Brunei!

Tell me about Ballyshear! Who is the architect in charge? The Google Maps satellite imagery shows additions, pool relocation, wonderful gardens.

Anonymous said...

I have recently toured Sunninghill and I have to say that the interiors of the house are quite underwhelming. And, shockingly, even though you are set back very far on just shy of 30 acres, there is a great amount of traffic noise coming from Cedar Swamp.

Anonymous said...

P. S. What does Ballyshear?

lil' gay boy said...

Ballyshear (one of my personal LI top ten) is the former Charles Blair Macdonald estate built in 1913; Macdonald designed golf courses, was credited with creating the first 18=hole course in the US, and helped found the USGA.

There is, unsurprisingly, a lot of secrecy surrounding Bloomberg's ownership (which has been finally confirmed). There were some covenants/conditions on the sale of the estate, including the promise to preserve the cryptomeria (a rare collection of Japanese cedars) adjoining the house to the south.

The pool was not in the original estate plan, and to me it seems fitting to move it (and add the putting greens below the terrace), thus opening up the view to Bullhead Bay & the National Golf Links (which Macdonald also designed). It also makes sense since the south terrace is shaded by the cedars; removing the pool provides an additional sunny outdoor space adjacent to the house.

Other work on the property appears to be a remodeling of the garage wing into additional living space overlooking the new pool, and the detached equipment shed to the north has been updated, expanded, and rotated on its axis to serve as a new garage.

Rumor has it that most of the interiors have remained unchanged for 100 years.

Anonymous said...

Have a wonderful time! Bloggers deserve a vacation too!

Anonymous said...

Ooo-oh, you've written a lot more than I expected, and I thank you for that.

I knew it was one of your favourites.

(By the way, can we get a list of those ten?)

I am so intrigued as to who is handling the renovations.

My last comment was supposed to contain the verb "mean", but somehow it got lost. What does Ballyshear mean?

Anonymous said...

How much time exactly do you think it took?

Wow, this person who swears in the comments...

What is this?!

lil' gay boy said...

Currently, in addition to Ballyshear (if memory serves, it roughly translates from Scottish as "pleasant path"), the list includes Caumsett, Ormston House, La Selva, Planting Fields, Oak Knoll, Westbury House, Marney, Sunken Orchard and the Luckenbach Estate.

Of those no longer extant I would include Inisfada, Harbor Hill, Farnsworth, Matinecock Point, Ferguson Castle, Pembroke, Meudon, Laurelton Hall, Spring Hill and Roslyn House.

The lists change according to whim; you can find all of them on OLI.

Anonymous said...

Ugh, love Ormston House but I can't pay it enough attention without getting distracted by Meudon next door...
It was wonky looking for sure, but still, just insane

Anonymous said...

I've had the pleasure of touring oak knoll recently as it is for sale. The property is truly incredible.

nursedeb said...

MAMA
get rested!
we will try and behave in your absence.
welcome back LGB
two weeks.....OMG

Aunt Gina said...

is there no place on the internet where "Anonymous" has not reared it's ugly head? Don't the "Anonymous" of this world realize they have no credibility when they hide behind anonymity?

If you find your own comments, no matter how vile and predictably juvenile they may be to the rest of us, so desperately important to you, don't hide behind anonymity. Put your sad little name to them so we can ignore you specifically instead of just ignoring all of you en masse.

My rule of thumb is to never read the mean spirited comments by Anonymous posters. I highly recommend the practice. It saves me time, aggravation and completely nullifies any recognition they are so desperate to achieve.

Anonymous said...

Oak Knoll? What's Oak Knoll?

lil' gay boy said...

This is Oak Knoll; built by Delano & Aldrich three years after the Whitney Art Studio, upon which it was apparently based.

PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

Unknown said...

LGB
I went looking on those links ! nice Long Island homes ! I would buy Winfield Hall ! I like it very much
thanks for sharing

lil' gay boy said...

Chuck,

Winfield Hall -- you picked a good one -- hope you like mysteries:

• Haunted (natch);
• Original wood-frame house burned under mysterious circumstances -- there was time to remove most of the valuables, plans for the current house (same footprint) already existed, and rushed construction was 24/7 under lighting at night;
• Secret compartment in wall;
• Secret door in master bedroom;
• Hidden catwalk behind walls in music room from which guests could be spied upon;
• During a party, while a storm raged outside, a bolt of lightning struck the marble fireplace in the entrance hall and sent a crack through a family coat of arms that adorned the mantle.  The coat of arms was decorated with a relief sculpture of Woolworth, his wife and his three girls.  The crack from the lightning split the likeness of Edna, the other family members’ images were untouched.  The next morning, Edna was found dead by her five year old daughter Barbara (Hutton, one of the poor little rich girls for whom the press coined the phrase "rich bitch" after her coming out cotillion), having taken her life at some point during that stormy night;
• Rumors of a secret room under the west porch stairs that contained a sarcophagus;

Other fun facts:

• Was a girls' school in the 60s (modeling, air hostess, secretarial. etc.);
• Conference center for Pall Corp;
• Currently owned by former governor Hugh Carey's brother Martin;
• Film set (everything from commercials to porn to HBO's Mildred Pierce);
• The Woolworths sold it to the Reynolds -- Reynolds Wrap was created in the garage-cum-laboratory there...

And more -- happy Googling!

Unknown said...

Interesting. I usta date a girl whose Father worked for Reynolds. Well did when he was alive.
Her Mom was an air hostess in the 60's ! Wonder if she attended there? that would be hilarious and spooky at same time.
the girl now works for Macy's in NYC a department store like Woolworth's!
this sounds like one of those Kevin Bacon Things.

Anonymous said...

Lil, what about some newer ones? Ronald S. Baron's? Sandy Gallin's? Ira Rennert's?

Anonymous said...

dr dre's house is for sale for 35 million!!! he's craaazyyyy

Unknown said...

I like Angelina's house. Nestled in the trees. Secluded, in a gated neighborhood. At the end of a dead end street, so the kids have room to roam.
I even like the looks.
http://www.eonline.com/news/355549/check-out-brad-pitt-and-angelina-jolie-s-sprawling-los-angeles-compound

Of course Brad went all Celebrity on us an bought like 4? more neighboring properties ? hahah he has a compound there, not a single one with a decent view.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kissyface said...

The sound of gravel crunching under the wheels of Mama's big black BMW as it pulled out of Max Mutchnick's0 pimped out (by Marmol Radziner) mock tudor pile could not cover the scream of anger as Mama pulled out her iphone and was forced to read the trail of drivel and dementia left on her beloved baby The Real Estalker.
You see children Mama is a classy lady who did not want to spoil things and/or boast to the children, some of whom live most of their pathetic lives in the sewers of the very homes shes features with such wit and honesty, that she had been in a series of meetings with some VERY important TV producers about her future show business career. As she fumbled for a nerve pill in her Judith Lieber purse in the shape of a small house covered in shimmering Austrian crystals and reached for the sterling silver Tiffany flask filled with more gin than tonic, everything was coming into focus and she let out a howl that almost made the dear Dr Cooter miss that last hairpin turn.
"Who the fuck needs them anyway?" she laughed "I never wanted children anyway." Sure there had been some wonderful Children, what ever had become of Aunt Mary anyway?
Next stop, lights, camera, ACTION!
No this was no valley of the dolls, this was big time TV chickens............ring, ring ring. Who was calling Mama this late? It was a 310 number though so she answered. "Oh Ellen...why...oh you do?....and Portia reads it too?.........Oh yes Max said you might like to show us around for the series opener......yes,yes the black plaster powder room I've only heard rumors.......OK.....yes tomorrow at noon I'll be there!".
Ah ha tomorrow at noon Mama would be sipping gin and tonics with Ellen and Portia in the loggia of the organic orchard they had just installed in their new digs on S. Mapleton Drive. This was the big time and the children were not coming with her!

Anonymous said...

KissyFace, gurl, put down the meth pipe for a few

Anonymous said...


10:04,
You aren't clever, funny or compelling. Zzzzzz. Get a life.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing this information and Very good looking blog.
I am bookmark this blog need some more post.
Flats in Dwarka

Hot Chocolate said...

Gurl you take as much time off as you need to. Everything's just gonna be three times as expensive when you get your ass back here. Peace love and windowed poopers.......

Unknown said...

http://thingsibuiltintexas.blogspot.com/2014/06/this-blog-is-only-for-while-mama-is.html

This is something I threw together for you guys. It is kinda random but it is what the title says. Things I Built in Texas.
I really really like the Cali Homes and grounds. Of course I enjoyed LGB's home links to olde NYC.
This is all one home. Old man Hearst eat your dead heart out.

Anonymous said...

Mama, you are surely getting a record number of hits on your Blog now, as I know I have gone online every day to see if your back. I hope that you are relaxed, happy and ready to hit the ground running when you do return. I saw the Oreole birds house that you commented on is back for sale, on Westside Estate Agency's site.

Anonymous said...

o where o where has the mama gone,
o where o where can she be?

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long ways from home :(

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I feel like a Mamaless child
Sometimes I feel like a Mamaless child
Sometimes I feel like a Mamaless child
A long ways from home :(

fify

Anonymous said...

Get back to work already....

lil' gay boy said...

As requested:

Ronald S. Baron's Further Lane was constructed on land formerly owned by the de Menil's; at $103M, the 40+ acre parcel was the most expensive real estate transaction at the time. Various area structures used to occupy the site as the de Menil's were active in local restoration. The new house clearly disappoints; a pastiche of gables & dormers, it resembles nothing so much as those former occupying structures having been bulldozed into an unsightly pile (mercifully, the original structures have been relocated).

Sandy Gallin's Further Lane home is a pretty good execution of the local vernacular; although the site doesn't stretch as far as the oceanfront like his neighbor Baron to the west, it is still close enough to not only walk to the ocean, but to hear it as well. But then there's that pot rack...

As for Ira Rennert's Fair Field -- tough call. Undeniably monumental in scope (which some critics feel is out of place in Sagaponack), it is currently considered the most valuable "occupied residential compound" in the US, with an estimated worth of $248M. One hopes that as the landscaping matures, it will lend the structures a little more soul; although exquisitely constructed, their sheer mass render them somewhat soulless.

God I hope Mama gets back soon; I suck at this.

What do you think she'll bring us?

;-)

Anonymous said...

I have no idea. I thought that the blog was to close, and Mama would move to a bigger publication, such as when she wrote that tiny piece for The Hollywood Reporter.

That would be problematic. Why would your informers send you information, from which you would make money, and they wouldn't.

There is also the question of tone. Would it be possible to write in the same way as he or she did here?

Someone mentioned a TV show.

Who knows.

Unknown said...

If anyone wants to live in between a Train Wreck and a Daddy Train Wreck the house inbetween Miley and Billy Ray just popped up FOR SALE.
Gee, wonder why.

On Zillow. 7 Million.
That is the ONLY thing I can find for sale that is Celeb related !! and it's just related !

GiltEdgeGirl said...

Enjoy your break, Mama. Can't wait to hear your news.
Anticipation!

Anonymous said...

Lil', have you seen Ronald S. Baron's house on the architect's website?

http://www.harthowerton.com/Portfolio_Residences_East_Hampton,_New_York.html

I thought you were going to like it!

lil' gay boy said...

Believe me, I wanted to...

;-(

Apart from Robert A M Stern & Oliver Cope, I've yet to see a modern architect who can capture the Shingle Style successfully, especially in the seaside vernacular. Employing what has been referred to as "asymmetrical symmetry", the idea of the Shingle Style was to reduce the appearance of height & volume with varying rooflines & complimentary massing; the eye should travel over the composition and out into the landscape, giving an impression of sprawlingly horizontality rather than looming bulk, (as the Baron house does).

Full props to the photographer; he captured one mis en scene after another to create a favorable impression -- but the composition of the house (particularly the oceanfront façade) just doesn't gel for me. Instead of leading the eye from one end to the other, I find my sightline ping pongs back & forth -- it's much too busy.

Looking at the William Bayard Cutting estate, Westbrook, one can readily identify the main block of the house, and see how the less massive service & bedroom wings balance each other without being mirror images, as well as the seemingly random placement of chimneys -- not so matchy-matchy.

In the Robert Appleton estate, Nid de Papillion, as well as two other homes to the east (on the other side of the recently sold Browne/Gordon estate), you can find three very different Shingle Style homes (Nid de Papillion having jerkin head dormers & gables, the middle one gambrel gables of different proportions, and the easternmost home (somewhat insensitively remodeled), known locally as an homage to the no-longer-extant McKim, Mead & White Low House in Bristol, Rhode Island) all unique, all undeniably Shingle Style.

Whilst remaining true to the vernacular in terms of materials, in comparison the Robert Appleton's Baron house gives the impression of squatting rather than sprawling. For the money, I'd want a little more authenticity (like the guest house demonstrates).

But hey, that's me.

lil' gay boy said...

Ooops; ditch the "Robert Appleton's" in the last graf -- cut-and-paste with a trackpad is not an exact science for a klutz.

Unknown said...

The old Ozzy, current Jessica Simpson home in Calabasus, is that shingle style? It sure looks it to my untrained eye. At least her garage ?

lil' gay boy said...

The shingle-clad hipped, gambrel, shed and gable roofed structure is, IMHO, more in keeping with at least the spirit of the Shingle Style than the Baron house is...I'd have to call it Shingle Style-inspired, as it does express a certain horizontality.

Took a look at the Texas site; I was struck by the ephemera some car collectors accumulate; don't see too much of that here in the tristate area -- seems those collectors are more concerned with an auto's cachet (expensive) than the history that surrounds it.

Interesting...

Anonymous said...

If you hadn't told me, I would've presume that Westbrook was Tudor.

Funny how it popped up right when it was needed – I was always intrigued as to why these houses had such akward shapes. The wings aren't at a 90-degree angle, and there are plenty of houses like that.

Perhaps you can explain why and how that occurs.

I found it sloppy, but now I will have to rethink that.

Anonymous said...

Do you have the photos or the map of the old de Menil estate?

Anonymous said...

Here is another aerial look at Ron Baron's house, when the grounds weren't fully finished:

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2008/07/hamptons-overdrive-with-cameron-davidson/

lil' gay boy said...

The NYT did a brief slide show of the de Menil estate; the seven buildings were clustered east to west along the property edge (approximately where the Baron house sits now) -- the rest of the site was mostly undeveloped.

The half-timbering on Westbrook was a later addition to the original house.

Beginning at the end of the 19th century, the Shingle Style was a precursor to American outdoor living; much of the thinking behind eschewing 90 degree angles was to best orient rooms of the house to the surrounding landscape, and to "break up the box".

Anonymous said...

Goodness, Lil'!

I've just visited Oliver Pope's website! How huge is that Tudor castle on Whitney Lane! Such a weird house: red bricks on a Tudor? Red slate tiles?

Too symmetrical. It seems, as with many other similar houses, that it's just a plain rectangle in the middle, then go crazy with side additions: a garage here, a garage there, a domestic-staff wing there.

Once you strip that, it just seems so plain and uninteresting. As if there is no thought-out process and esthetics about them.

I'll have to check the Shingle Style houses.

lil' gay boy said...

How huge? Very.

I visited the Steven Schonfeld estate just before he moved into it from Scion Hall (top center, next to machine shop/service complex) -- his girlfriend was kind enough to allow me free access to the estate, which was virtually complete at the time. She told me he spent more than 10 years acquiring the land -- parcel by parcel -- to stage the 110-acre estate.

The guest house sits on the foundation of the former Roderick Tower house (also know as the French House -- built by Harry Payne Whitney for his daughter Flora and son-in-law Roderick Tower). Exquisite.

The photos on Cope's site do not do it justice; the brick (much paler & historically accurate for an Elizabethan structure) glows warmly in the evening sun. The interiors & grounds are impeccable, but I do find the roof over the master (second floor over the cloister, garden façade slide 5 to the left on Cope's site) to be somewhat clumsy.

Anonymous said...

I can't find a picture of the French House.

Anonymous said...

Mama, please come home. Your self-appointed stand in is boring me to tears.

Anonymous said...

Don't be a bore.

Read!

He or she said that he or she will be back on 17 June.

That goes for you and a few others up there who seem to have no clue that the person said when he or she will be back.

dalgal68 said...

Can't wait til you're back. Love love love this site. And a big
F YOU to all the rude anonymous posters who seem to love that word.

Unknown said...

Fuck is an interesting word. Noun, Verb, Pronoun. Pro-creator and Savior of the World.
In depth http://peevishpenman.blogspot.com/2010/09/nine-parts-of-speech-and-f-word.html

Used in most of these posts above, it's supposed to mean Jealousy.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Anon @ 8:36
Sometimes the internet machine is used for jokes, lighten up a little.
That word is commonly available in most dictionaries. IS is not used in a religious tone or manner, in my lighthearted post.
C'est la vie my friend.

Justin said...

i eagerly await mama's return today!

Anonymous said...

It's the 17th Mama, I'm back.... where you at grrrrl?

Fancy Nancy said...


Mama, mama, mama, where are you???

Colorado Mortgage Broker said...

I wish I could take 2 weeks away from the world. Have a great time!

Joe said...

Have a nice trip
Removals Hammersmith

Anonymous said...

My guess is the fat bitch won't post shit for several more days. Lame--- Signing off for good.

Say what you want, about her having other stuff to do but bitch probably makes a good portion of her income off the advertising revenue of this blog and the quality and quantity of the post has been lacking for the last several years really.

mbh said...

Can't wait to have you back, it is the 17th! Hope who ever it is with the potty mouth can clean it up, tacky!

Anonymous said...

2:10, don't let the door his your big ol' bum on the way out.

Anonymous said...

Your missed more than you know.
Many of us don't usually post but wait with baited breath for each
obtuse opinion about the wasted wealth of the self undulgent in our society. I love surprises.

Are they going to turn you into
a wealthy realtor godess so you can
buy one of the palaces we read about so much ?

Unknown said...

My little link to a blog about things I built in Texas had 27 views? and one from Belgium and one from Ukraine. The rest from Canada and US. !
Ukraine? wonder if preggars Mila Kunis has relatives checking up on her? Mama had a previous post about her getting a new home.

nursedeb said...

MAMA.....
hurry back, you're killing me!

Sandpiper said...


Mama, this must be some pretty darned fantastic news if you're holding off for another day. Darlin', you're not pregnant ... or are you? Not that I'm starting rumors, but ...

Anonymous said...

where the hail are you????

Anonymous said...

WTF. I'm pissed now! Come back Mama!!!!! Jason P.

Anonymous said...

MAMA...we need you
laughs have been sorely missing the last 2 weeks
hope you had a good holiday!

Anonymous said...

According to the Google search results: "Variety has hired Mark David, aka the Real Estalker, as the publication's real estate editor. " But the Google listing leads to a dead or missing Variety article. So what gives?

Sandpiper said...

Kind'a sad Mama couldn't announce this on her own terms. Then again, no spoiler alert can trump how mama will brilliantly craft her announcement.

She'll get free passes to the award shows...for all of us? Mama, pretty please.

Anonymous said...

Haha! Mama at an award show?!
"where did you get dressed?"

tom said...

sorry about my previous comment. it reads worse than it sounded in my head.lol. don't they always.

Anonymous said...

Wait...Mama doesn't have female organs???

lil' gay boy said...

Sure she does -- they're in a jar on top of the fridge...

;-)

Anonymous said...

Yes variety.com already has Mama's column up
Congrats Mama, hope to hear your announcement soon.
As a longtime reader of your blog, I am looking forward to
It and wish you all the best!

Anonymous said...

What sad is Mama is already writing for Variety. Stories posted today! Yet - with no taste or style she's turned her back on the endeavor that got here there. Not even updated what's going on or continuing to feed her children. YOU ARE A WORTHLESS BITCH MAMA!

http://variety.com/2014/dirt/news/rob-zombie-lists-bucolic-ct-country-spread-1201221874/

http://variety.com/2014/dirt/news/and-the-beats-go-on-dr-dre-buys-and-sells-1201221886/

http://variety.com/2014/dirt/news/jimmy-buffett-buys-margaritaville-west-1201221879/

http://variety.com/2014/dirt/news/dreamworks-ceo-stacey-snider-lists-maximalist-manse-1201221870/

Anonymous said...

http://variety.com/author/your-mama/

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Mama, you done us wrong....

we were good urchins while you were gone....

and we waited for this?

I am not a happy camper.

Sorry to see this happen to Mama as the Variety site looks terrible on my Iphone and takes FORRRRRRREVER to load.

I won't be a fan and won't cross over so Mama it's been a fun ride but you WILL LOSE many good people and make some new and not so snarky ones I am sure.

Christin said...

Missed you all. But hey everyone needs some time off. Glad your back safe and sound! Chris Crozzoli