HOLLYWOOD—The holidays are here, which means that most of us will gorge in scrumptious desserts. Don’t let the food police intimidate you. It’s the holidays and the majority of people just love desserts. Most people will gain on an average 10 pounds from Thanksgiving till New Year’s Day. Why do people love desserts? Desserts make people smile and they are comfort food and they taste so good. When you think of desserts, you always think of Buddy Valastro of TLC’s “Cake Boss.” Buddy is a very down-to-earth celebrity baker and chef.
One book that I recommend for the holidays is his “Baking with the Cake Boss,” where you will have plenty of recipes to choose from for the holidays. Buddy just opened another bakery on November 25, in Red Bank, New Jersey, making it his fourth bakery location in the New Jersey and New York area. We are still waiting for him to open up a location in California. The Red Bank location makes it the largest bakery to date, which includes an open kitchen so people can see treats being made as well as a party room for birthdays and cake decorating classes. Valastro constantly makes surprise stops unannounced to check up on the locations and his employees. He loves to make sure his bakeries are super clean and warm. Buddy is still waiting to bake a cake for President Obama. That would be Buddy’s best Christmas gift.
This holiday when it comes to buying gifts for women, men tend to wait until the very last minute and end up buying something that is returned the day after Christmas. Fragrances are very personal, unless you have been married for a long time or dating for over six months, not everyone loves patchouli, jasmine or musty scents. You can’t go wrong with classics, such as Chanel, Calvin Klein, Gucci or Dior. Trust me, with an estimated $4.2 billion fragrance business, you’ll find something that smells sensational.
Jewelry is always expensive gift, especially sapphires, deep-blue diamonds, especially if it’s D color and flawless. Emeralds that are top grade from Columbia are beautiful as well. Pink diamonds are still very popular. Watches are great gifts, especially the Richard Mille Panda Tourbillion watch, encrusted with black and white diamonds. They are limited with only 15 of them worldwide. The Swiss watch manufacturer collaborated with French jewelry house Boucheron in coming up with a watch made from meteorite garments and other earth rocks. There are only 30 of them RM-018 Tourbillion wristwatches with a whopping price tag of $1 million. The luxury watch is made from chondrite meteorite from an asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. If this is not in your budget, Michal Kors, are great gifts. The “boyfriend watch,” is still a popular item, which has an over-sized face and large straps.
Handbags are a must-have in every woman’s wardrobe, especially designer bags like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Tory, Prada or Gucci. One of the world’s most flamboyant handbags comes from a little known designer to the world. The “Gadino Bag,” is made from white crocodile skin and 39 diamonds that are place on the clasps, it was created by Hilde Palladino, the Norwegian designer. She has become one of the most sought after designers among the A-listers. Judith Leiber has the “Precious Rose Bag,” witch is made up of 42 carats of a variety of jewels including diamonds, tourmaline and sapphires. The bag goes for more than $90,000. The Hermes bag is always a must have, especially the “Matte Crocodile Biking Bag,” named after actor-singer Jane Birkin is the most expensive piece from the Hermes line, costing $120,000. The Mouawad company with headquarters in Geneva, Middle East and Dubai, have the “Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond purse,” which is made up of 18 karat gold and encrusted with more than $4,500 diamond ranks. The bejeweled purse goes for an estimated $3.8 million, thereby earning a place in the Guinness World Records in 2010 for being the most valuable handbag in the world.
Rose’s Scoop: Taylor Swift who won big at the American Music Awards last week looked stunning as she joined Prince William at Kensington Palace for the Winter Whites gala to benefit Centrepoint, a British charity that supports homeless young people.
By Rose Quintiliano
