Designer

………………I have known Robyn for more years than I can remember. She started working for Donna and I doing the model’s make up for my shows at Anne Klein….GENIUS!….When she married Armando Cosio she moved to LA. Armando was also a makeup artist and he did hair too….That’s how I met Armando when they both came to NY to continue doing the makeup for my shows….Armando was BRILLANT, and worked on many actresses including Linda Evans….He did both her makeup and hair when she was on “Dynasty”……Robyn now “does BROWS”, and has an extensive clientele on both coasts. She is the author of a book on the history of “THE BROW”, which is the name of the book……..Last month Robyn said to me, “Lou, would you like to go and see the Radio City show with me in Dec?”…..”YES” I said….so Robyn went over to the box office and bought two tickets…..Last night was the night we met……First, it took me almost 2 hours to drive into the city which normally takes me 45mins to 1 hour, but during the Christmas season there are many many people coming into the city to celebrate, and I know to leave myself lots of extra time…..I met Robyn at a restaurant I booked called “Gattopardo” on west 54th street. That’s us at the upper left in front of the beautiful town house the restaurant is in…….For me a restaurant must have three major things to be great……great food…fabulous atmosphere, and wonderful attentive service…..Gattopardo has ALL THREE….It truly is a superb restaurant. I highly recommend it, but be warned it’s very pricy…….We first split a delicious Ravioli with veal dish. Then I had a beet salad and Robyn had a mound of mixed greens and slivers of radish…..Everything was delicious! For our main course we both had the special fish dish which they beheaded and boned at the table…..It was a show in its’ self!….Prosecco was our beverage of choice. Always nice to have something a little bubbly to celebrate the season!…..We were too full for desert so I finished the meal with an espresso……Did I mention the restaurant was packed!…..Then we bundled up and headed over to Radio City….just a few blocks away…….Robyn had a little trouble retrieving the tickets on her phone, but once she remembered her pass code all was well, and we went in. Give me the old fashion paper tickets….I can’t remember pass codes!!!!!…..Chapter two coming tomorrow………The Show!

……………………Today is going to be a fun filled Christmas Day in the BIG APPLE……..I’m meeting my dear friend Robyn Cosio. We have been besties since the early 80s. She lives in LA, and is coming to the city for work. On her last visit we made plans to go to see the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall!!!! First, I am meeting her for an early dinner at IL Gattpardo, a lovely Italian restaurant….Then to the show, and afterwards we will go and see…..THE TREE….then a walk up 5th Ave from Saks to look at the windows…..Robyn is an ex New Yorker, and isn’t used to the cold anymore. She dresses like an Eskimo!………The weather is going to be good to us….a clear day, but cold….I’ll report on the days festivities tomorrow…….Happy Holidays everyone!

…………………It seems like yesterday that Jac passed away and left me……and yes, after six years, the feelings aren’t constantly as raw, and with time the pain that I had every moment of the day has faded………but scratch me just below the surface, and it all comes back….as real and painful as ever. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t speak to Jac, but there are never any answers…..I’m always looking for her signs……I remember when her dear mother died she would say to me…”Lou, I don’t hear her…I know she would do anything in her power to reach me!! I don’t even see her in my dreams!”….I knew she was loosing faith….Every day from the day her mom passed away until nine years later when Jac could no longer hold a pencil, she would sit in her moms room, looking out the window at the water, and wrote to her on her legal pads….I would try to reassure her and sooth her by telling her “she’s always here with you hon in everything you do….she’s inside of you, she’s in your heart”….so now I’m always looking for Jac’s signs to me…I too, for the first year, sat in that same chair and every day I wrote to Jac…..but I felt in my heart that she knew what I wanted to say to her before I could put pencil to paper so I stopped…..Talking to her helped me more than the writing….I have read many books about grief, and the words did give momentary solace, but they too fade with time, and the pain comes back…..I have been collecting these quotes for a long time, and have been saving them for today…Each one speaks so true to me…….I miss my Jac terribly, but I know she wanted me to go on and be HAPPY…I have no choice…….Go on I will until we are together again……but it’s the happy part that is difficult.

……………….I miss my Jac more and more with each day that passes…..Every morning I say to her, “Good morning hon”, and every night before my head touches the pillow I say, “Good night my sweetheart”………….”Good morning my baby”

……………….I recently posted the picture, at the upper left. of my house when it was first completed in 1906, and then sold by William Randolph Hearst…..He built it for his mistress, Marion Davies when she was making silent films here in CT….However, they moved to the west coast, and she never lived in the house which was named “Ivyhurst”…This was the picture at the upper left was in the newspaper when the house, just recently completed, was put up for sale…..It has been requested of me to post a “before and after” photo of the house in 1906 and the present day…..Below the picture of the original house is a photo of how the house looks today. There were three major changes made to the house before I bought it in 1992….The stone porch that went along the “front” of the house facing the Long Island Sound used to extent out passed the footprint of the house where you see the large arch entry way. There were steps that went up onto the porch….This extension of house allowed a balcony on the second floor with a door to the main bedroom to exist…..In later years the entire stone porch was completely taken down and a enclosed sun porch was put in its’ place….adding more living space to the house….The original entry to the house was through the large stone archway onto the slate porch, and the front door was on the inside of the porch that went into the house on the right…….The tree lined road along the water’s edge that led to the house was entirely destroyed by a hurricane. The photo at the bottom left shows a slate path along the water where  the road used to be. A new driveway was added from the new street that had been built, at the top of the property. It came down the property that you can see in the bottom left photo ending in a circle….The room on the second floor to the right , with the chimney was expanded and the chimney was removed. This is now my office where I make my posts….A new “front” entry was made where the three windows are to the right of the chimney. The photo at the top right was considered the “front” of the house since that was where the original tree lined road to the house was located. A slate path led up to the stone archway….I would guess the the first six windows from the right, and the sliding double door is where the stone porch used to be….I added the “family”, or “gathering room” onto the house to the left….It is located  where the five windows are at the left of the sliding doors. I changed all of the windows on the first floor facing the water to give the house a uniformed look. ……The rest looks much as it did in 1906. The “Dutch Clapboard” house kept its’ peeks and eyebrow windows which gives the house it’s character, and unique look…..It was painted all white from the dark brown many years ago before I owned it. As far as I know the house has had two or three owners before I purchased the house…….I’ve had 31 years of pleasure being the custodian of this beautiful home………I can only hope the next owners love it as much as Jac and I have.