The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are over and now the real political campaigns begin in earnest. Increased attention has been focused on the fashions of the potential first ladies, Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. As we recently reported, Vanity Fair tallied up the cost of one of Cindy McCain's outfits finding that it topped $300,000 (helped along by a pair of $280,000 diamond earrings). While current First Lady Laura Bush sometimes wears a single strand of pearls, Cindy McCain upped that look, wearing her glowing four-strand pearl necklace on several key RNC occasions including the speech introducing her husband.

Michelle Obama has also worn pearls at several events but her signature look just may be the creative use of the brooch. She has worn a variety of pins on various occasions such as the flower brooch she wore on her dress strap when she was on The View, the cluster of rose pins she wore on her Thakoon Panichgul dress on the night of her husband's acceptance speech, and, most famously the turquoise and silver brooch she wore for her own speech at the Democratic National Convention. Both the rose pins and the brooch are said to be Erickson Beamon designs. Vanity Fair estimates Cindy McCain's four-strand pearl necklace as costing between $11,000–$25,000.

This seems like a great idea to me, a stepped wok that has two separate sections. The bottom part allows searing and sautéing close to the heat source. The higher shelf lets you move food up to the next level and still keep it warm while other ingredients are seared on the bottom. A metal steamer fits snugly into the wok to prepare foods that benefit from moist heat. The stainless steel pan comes with a heat resistant glass lid and sells for $199.

The Real Estalker Mama already ably skewered this one but let's take a look at the pictures for the home owned by Nascar driver Denny Hamlin. Hamin, a young driver on the circuit, has a rather large bachelor pad on Lake Norman in Cornelius, North Carolina. Hamlin bought the five-bedroom mansion in 2006 for $3.4 million and is said to have spent another $1 million decorating it to its current gaudy standard. The home includes lots of single guy-friendly features like a large home gym , bar area, and a dramatic red and black billiards room as well as huge plasma televisions mounted improbably high above fireplaces. It is clear that a lot of money was spent here on touches like the shiny golden home theater room, gourmet kitchen with adjoining domed breakfast room and the master bed and bath which looks a bit like a suite at the Bellagio. The property includes a pool/spa area, outdoor fireplace, basketball court, boat house and a long dock with a boat lift. This home is listed at $4.9 million.

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Just in time for leaf peeping season a new resort has opened on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York. The High Peaks Resort is located on the site of the former Lake Placid Hilton and is offering couple-centered packages including "Romancing the Peaks" which features two nights accommodations; bottle of wine, fruit and chocolates upon arrival; two High Peaks bathrobes; room service or breakfast for two in the dining room each morning, and three-course dinner for two at the Reflections Restaurant. The hotel also has extensive banquet facilities which can accommodate up to 800 guests and is hoping to cash in on the area's scenic beauty as a wedding destination.

The resort includes a "floating" lobby with a two-sided stone fireplace, three indoor and outdoor pools; a fitness center with the latest equipment, and spa with array of treatments. Located at the resort directly on Main Street is the Dancing Bears restaurant with street-side seating, casual dining and great beverages. The Reflections Restaurant has an outdoor patio overlooking Mirror Lake and regional menus of fresh, healthy cuisine that utilize local produce and the finest fish and prime meats from New York and Canada.

There are 79 guestrooms with double queen beds and 54 with king beds, several with fireplaces, whirlpool tubs and direct waterfront access. All have European-styled bathrooms with natural stone tiled walk-in showers, granite vanities and Molton Brown of London amenities; work desks; flat screen televisions; wireless and wired high speed Internet access, and multi-function music systems with MP3 players and movies.

Jewelry designer Heather Moore is more than just a jeweler, she's an artist who has worked with Judy Pfaff and creates glass masterpieces. Her personalized jewelry line lets you be the artist, you choose the charms, the stones and the inscriptions. Then she does the hard part and puts it all together. You can create keychains, bracelets, necklaces, cufflinks and even belt buckles. If you are feeling less imaginative you can choose one of her existing designs and tailor it to your specifications. Prices vary depending on the intricacy of the design created.

From the LA Times Hot Properties:
--Celebrity manager Rick Yorn has sold his Brentwood house for $9.35 million.
-- Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin listed his 3,881-square-foot house in Malibu for $3,895,000 originally, it just sold for $2.5 million.
--The home belonging to Kanye West's mom, Donda West is expected to get another price cut, to $1.595 million. The contemporary home in the Playa del Rey area of Los Angeles was originally priced at $1.945 million and was dropped to $1.745 million at the end of May. The listing is here.
--The Polaroid house, shown above, is located on Malibu's Carbon Beach, has been home to plenty of A-list parties but with Malibu's new paparazzi crackdown the home is looking for just one owner. The property has 80 feet of beach frontage and has approved plans to build a 6,000 square foot estate with a beachfront pool and spa as well as the existing home. It is listed at $32 million.

From the NY Post's Real Estate section:
--Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is about to list his Plaza apartment for $50 million. The apartment is located in the northeast dome on the 18th and 19th floors of the building and includes four bedrooms, a formal dining room, large living room, library and gourmet kitchen.
--Paul McCartney is looking for a New York City apartment closer to the Upper East Side apartment of his new flame Nancy Shevell.
--Denis Leary's TV series "Rescue Me" has just signed a six-month lease with Loft 14, the 10-story condominium building at 135 W. 14th St., where taping of their fifth season will begin this month. The lease is for $14,000 a month and the apartment has a real asking price of $2,375 million.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Actor Chris O'Donnell has paid an undisclosed amount for a house in Pacific Palisades. The seller bought it last year for $4.675 million. He sold his last house in Pacific Palisades for $5.05 million.
--Jamie Foxx has sold his Tarzana home. It was our estate of the day back in June.
--Nicolas Cage's Bel Air home is back on the market, this time for $29.999 million. It hit the market last September for $35 million and was later pulled. The listing for the classic home which has been owned by both Dean Martin and Tom Jones is here.
--Glenn Frey has paid $7.75 million for a six-bedroom estate in Hana, Hawaii, on Maui.
--Kiefer Sutherland has paid $8.25 million for a t five-story town house in Manhattan's West Village.

From the Real Estalker:
--Looks like neither Donald Trump nor the mystery buyer have picked up Ed McMahon's house. It is still listed at $4.6 million.
--Rumor has it that Cher has sold her Malibu mansion which was listed at $45 million.
--Stevie Wonder has put his home in Los Feliz on the market for $3.2 million.
--Nascar racer Denny Hamlin has put his North Carolina home on the market. It's our estate of the day later today.
----via Boston.com, quarterback Tom Brady is a real estate winner. He converted a Beacon Street town house into four condos and sold three of them saving the top floors floors for himself. As a result he earned back more than he paid two years ago for the building. His total proceeds were $7.95 million which is $1.71 million more than he paid for the entire building, according to public deed records.
--via Nashville City Paper, country singer Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn and his wife Barbara are the buyers in Nashville's biggest home sale of the year. They paid $5.45 million in August for a new house in Forest Hills.
--via the Real Deal, Moby sold his penthouse at the El Dorado, the twin-towered cooperative apartment at 300 Central Park West near 90th Street, for $6.7 million. It was our estate of the day in July of 2007 when it was priced at $7.5 million.
--Dane Cook has picked up a four-bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills for $7,078,412.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Basketball player Allen Iverson has reduced the price on his Villanova, Pennsylvania home by 37%. We will be checking this out as our estate of the day on Monday.
--Basketball player Rasheed Wallace has cut the price on his Portland, Oregon home. It will be our estate of the day on Tuesday.
--Actor Matthew Modine has purchased a condominium in New York's Chelsea section for $1.7 million.
--Leonard Ross who put the Hearst estate in Beverly Hills on the market for $165 million has taken it off the market. He has decided to keep the home.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
-- A co-op penthouse in 1060 Fifith Avenue has sold for $48,836,000 setting a new co-op price record in Manhattan. Hedge fund manager Scott Bommer and wife Donya. The couple bought the home for $46 million penthouse back in January. The buyer is listed anonymously on the deed as Park View Trust.
--Writer Ian Buruma spent $1,495,000 on an apartment at the Kalahari on West 116th Street. He and Eri Hotta, who taught at Oxford until 2005, closed last month.
--Ben Stiller spent $10 million on a duplex in a prewar orange-brick co-op on Riverside Drive in the West 80s, the same building that his parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, have lived in for years.

Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather may be dressing a little plainly lately. Last month burglars broke in to his Las Vegas home, and, according to the pugilist, made off with around $7 million in jewelry. The home was empty when a window between the master bedroom and pool area was smashed and the valuables were stolen. The security camera footage has been little help in ascertaining the identity of the four bandits who broke in.

As David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press notes, last year on HBO Mayweather demonstrated that he doesn't believe in credit cards and believes in liquidity, shocking the camera crew by showing off $1 million in cash stored in a duffle bag in his bedroom. Mayweather is notoriously spendy, wearing flashy jewelry, giving lavish tips and gambling big on sporting events but after this he will likely be a lot more careful about where he stores his bling.

A celebrated British car brand is about to return to production. Lagonda will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year and Aston Martin will bring back the brand which produced cars independently until 1947 when it was bought by Aston Martin. After that Aston used Lagonda as a model designation from 1976 to 1989 creating a boxy four-door car. The last model Lagonda produced was the 1961-65 Rapide, a nameplate which Aston used on its upcoming four-door coupe model under the Aston Martin name. The concept car for the new Lagonda will be be unveiled at the Geneva show next March. Autoblog's sources say that the new car may be a sedan competitor aimed at Bentley and Rolls-Royce but focused on more on performance than long distance cruising.

Robots can clean your floor and entertain you, now they can also help you shop. Uniqlo's Soho store will debut Wakamaru, the first robot to be used in a retail store int the U.S. to greet customers, during the second week of September in their SoHo store. Fashion Week Daily reports that the bright yellow robot takes its name from a famous 12th century warrior and was designed by Toshiyuki Kita and developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The friendly robot will recognize people, let customers know of special promotions, make eye contact and even lead store staff in motivational morning exercises.

Last month, Newsweek had an interesting piece on household robots, highlighting Wakamuru and Roomba. While the Roomba has been a huge seller, Wakamaru with its $15,000 price tag was not so successful. It was expected to be a popular household helper robot when it first rolled off the assembly line in 2005 but was not been a hot seller.The large robot was pulled off the market and units have been rented out for greeting gigs like the one at Uniqulo.

I wondered back in 2006, when I first saw today's estate listed, if it was a bit overpriced. It turns out I may have been right, it has gone through a major price reduction since then. Luxist reader Ryan reminded me of Edge Wood in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a large six bedroom home which was built in 2002 and sits on the waterfront. It has two docks, three boat lifts and a sandy beach. The compound is over three acres and has more than 21,000 total square feet of space including a large guest house. The home includes details such as a billiards room with a bar, a large art studio and a master suite with a wet bar. It is listed at $16 million, which is less than two-thirds the price it was two years ago when it was listed at $24.5 million.

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

Fans of the hot stuff rejoice. Heaven Hill Distilleries is now making Tabasco brand Spicy Tequila. The new brand launches this month in five markets and sells for $21.99. The product website includes recipes for margaritas, versions of a Sea Breeze and a Tequila Sunrise and even a mojito with the spicy liquor. It would probably be great in a Bloody Maria and maybe a fun shot but I'm not so sure about mixing the Tabasco and the fruit juices behind the bar.

[via Brandweek]

It looks like New Zealand yacht company Sensation Yachts is in some serious financial trouble. TVNZ reports that the Auckland-based company has to pay Russian investors more than $32 million over a deal gone bad. A $90 million contract was signed three years ago with the promise of five boats. The Russian investors paid $25 million in deposits but no boats were completed.

TVNZ goes on to reveal that Sensation's Australian boatyard in Newcastle is also floundering because they cannot afford to pay rent and keep workers. Both the Australian and New Zealand boatyards are facing increased pressure from creditors. Owner Ivan Erceg has been able to stave off creditors thus far paying just enough to keep the business afloat. Having to pay off the Russian contract could spell doom for this company which has produced some beautiful yachts including the 148-foot Maria Cha III shown above.

This week Kwiat brought some more sparkle to Madison Avenue with the opening of their 1,000-square-foot boutique at 725 Madison near other high-end diamond jewelry brands including Graff and Leviev. The flagship store celebrated their grand opening with a party hosted by Jennifer Hudson who tried on Kwiat designs for the press. Actress Eva Amurri and editors from various consumer fashion magazines were also in attendance. The company is dipping their toes into the retail business and is looking at shopping spots known for big spenders such as Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

Sheraton is getting into the apartment business in Spain. The hotel company has announced that their first ever apartment 'Residences' will be available to purchase at the Med Group's Bonmont golf and residential community on the Costa Daurada, south of Barcelona. There will be seven buildings, each with four two-bedroom Residences next to the 136-room, five-star Sheraton Bonmont Golf Resort & Spa. The Bonmont residential community is built around an 18-hole golf courses and facilities include a golf academy, gym and restaurant as well as three swimming pools and tennis courts.

All apartments will be fully furnished in the same style as the hotel and will be priced from 600,000 euros. The Residences can be divided into two units so owners can live in one half and rent the second out, or rent all of it either as two one-bedrooms or one two-bedroom. Rentals will be managed by the Sheraton hotel in Bonmont. The hotel and apartments are now being built and set to open at the beginning of 2009.

Turning high fashion glamour into high-end living environments is the unique talent of the men behind Los Angeles furniture store Mogul. Designers Thomas Piscitello and Neal Wagner were inspired by fashion designer Tom Ford to create rooms that are both luxurious and sexy with rich colors and tactile materials such as fur, leather and exotic skins, highlighted by Swarovski crystal chandeliers and gleaming chrome, acrylic and lacquer details. Neal Wagner also sells his own abstract art pieces which blend seamlessly into the decor.

The company sells furnishings and accessories as well as offering design services and staging. And like Tom Ford, they know that you can't go wrong with a little flesh. The intro for the mogul website features rock music and a parade of semi-nude models reclining on the furniture.

[via Furniture Style]