Having your very own country seems like a rather unattainable goal for most of us - especially if you want the country to be somewhere habitable and not at, for example, the South Pole. If you have some spare cash on hand however, you dream of having a country could be only a phone call away. The Principality of Sealand, a "self-proclaimed mini-state" off of Essex, became a state in 1967 when the British government ruled that because it was three miles off the coast, it "was outside government control."

Due to the fact that the "island" is manmade, it is no tropical getaway. It measures only 550 sq m (5,920 sq ft) and is primarily made of steel. Sealand was built on what was once an artillery platform in World War II and boasts its own constitution, flag, coat of arms, stamps, passports and currency (one Sealand dollar is equal to one US dollar).

Initial reports listed the price as $126 million.

I wish that I could have found this tray before Thanksgiving. A cheese course isn't exactly traditional fare for this particular holiday, but cheese, crackers and other snacks are usually put out to keep dinner guests busy while the turkey is still in the oven. The Kent Cheese Tray is part of Oscar de la Renta's "Country" collection for Lunt Silversmiths. The oval tray measures 26" x 19" and is inlaid with wood of different shades to form an elegant star pattern. The handles are silver plated and add a touch of elegance overall look of the tray. Price: $195.

Bobbie Nudie, woman who started Nudie's Rodeo Tailors, passed away last week. She and her husband, Nudie Cohn, designed clothes for celebrities from Elvis Presley to Arnold Schwarzenegger, including famous outfits like Elvis's gold lame suit, and put hundreds and thousands of rhinestones on the clothes of country singers everywhere. Their remarkable costumes, which were made to suit their motto that "it is better to be looked over than overlooked," are highly collectible today and sell for upwards of $1000 when in good condition.

The upstairs dining room is now open at Country, New York chef Geoffrey Zakarian's new upscale eatery at 90 Madison. New York  magazine dishes on Country, the counterpart to Zakarian's first restaurant, Town, giving it a thumbs up for the halibut with arugula, white wine and clams, but a thumbs down for the service, which reviewer Adam Platt notes comes with all the "exaggerated pomp and ceremony you'd expect at a grand European hotel."  Upstairs, the prix fixe menu is $85, while entrees cost $17-$26 in the downstairs cafe.