padma lakshmi

From Move Trends:
--A home in Encino, California once owned by late singer Al Jolson, Academy Award Winner Don Ameche, actress/singer Ruby Keeler, Matt LeBlanc, Kristie Alley, Katey Sagal and Charlie Sheen and his former wife Denise Richards has failed from the $9.39 million million price it was listed at in 2009 all the way down to $6.95 million.
---Buy a Top 10 Most Expensive Home for Your Valentine

From the NY Post:
--Padma Lakshmi continues to shop for a Manhattan home. She was spotted checking out multiple downtown residences including a $10.995 million five-bedroom condo in the Greenwich building on West 13th Street. The listing is with Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens.
--Internet marketing moguls Loren and JR Ridinger, have their penthouse condo at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton building at 10 West St. on the market for $7.95 million. But they have rented the 3,600-square-foot duplex residence in the 40-story Battery Park City building to Kim Kardashian and now Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the former chairman of Dubai World, is staying in the three-bedroom unit.
--Scott Lipps, president of One Management, a model management agency, has listed his one-bedroom condo at 505 Greenwich St. for $1.35 million. The listing is with Wilbur Gonzalez and Richard Ball of Prudential Douglas Elliman.
--Musician Zander Bleck is now living in the luxury rental building at 312 11th Ave., where Darryl Strawberry also has an apartment. One-bedrooms in the building start at about $3,200, with higher-floor units going for more than $4,000.
--Hamptons developer Joe Farrell has partnered with Peter Sabbeth of Modern Green Home to create a new firm called Gaia Building, which will help architects and homeowners be more eco-friendly.
--Literary agent Marianne "Mimi" Strong is selling a $299,000 studio apartment she bought for her nephew. The 400-square-foot studio at 160 E. 91st St. is listed by Alta Brockinton of Prudential Douglas Elliman.
--Nest Seekers broker Ryan Serhant, one of the stars of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing," just moved into a $5,500-a-month 20 Pine St. rental.
--Julianna Margulies was spotted checking out a $11.95 million, 4,300-square-foot condo penthouse at 158 Mercer St. The three-bedroom bathroom home is owned by fashion photographer Raymond Meier. The listing is here.

From AOL Real Estate:
A Bel-Air, California home, designed for movie legend and singer Judy Garland by architect Wallace Neff, is on the market for $5.5 million. The property website is here.

Padma Lakshmi has the career of seven women. She's a model, author, a TV host (most notably Top Chef) and now, the new mom has a jewelry line.

PADMA launched in May 2009 and consists of 40+ earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings inspired by Lakshmi's eclectic past. She was born in India, raised in both India and the US, and has lived in France, Spain and Italy. "I love the rich heritage and beauty of traditional Indian jewelry, but I wanted something more modern and delicate. I also wanted to create something that women would love to wear everyday; pieces that work with jeans and cocktail dresses, jewelry that highlights the myriad sides of a woman's personality without upstaging her."

The collection features an India-inspired hand piece, a "back to front" necklace which "adorns a woman's back as much as her décolleté, cascading down the neck on both sides" and a micro-collection called "the Nav," which is based around traditional Hindu beliefs, incorporating stones which represent the nine planets and harnessing their energy.

Even her foodie experience has influenced her designs. "In hunting for the most precious spices, I found the shapes of seeds and pods exquisite, a purity of proportion and form that had an inherent sensuality to them." We find the designs subtle and thoughtful with a distinct womanliness. The collection's seed and pod themes are exceptionally well-suited to make gifts for pregnant women -- how apt that Padma just gave birth to a baby girl, Krishna.

We interviewed Padma via email about her new jewelry collection, her career and her life.

Luxist: How has your multi-faceted career led you to jewelry?

Padma Lakshmi: Even before my fifteen years in fashion, as a child I was always attracted to my mother's jewel box. Over the years I've been lucky enough to gather some beautiful pieces through my travels along the way. But at a certain point, I wasn't finding exactly what I was looking for in the accessories marketplace and it turned out that others weren't either. I started reproducing the bespoke custom pieces that I had created for myself; that's pretty much the organic process of how the company came about.

She's modeled, she's written cookbooks and hosts the popular cooking competition "Top Chef." Now the lovely Padma Lakshmi will have her own jewelry line. The new collection, titled simply Padma is inspired by the kitchen and by Padma's Indian heritage. The collection in 10K and 14K gold and will feature pieces that take a bit of their design from seeds and pods like cardamom, lentils and cloves. The collection of necklaces, rings and cuff bracelets has a price range of $375 to $6,600 and will be available at Bergdorf Goodman starting in May.

From the Real Estalker:
--The Desert House, the sleek and modern prototype for the deluxe prefabs created by starchitecture firm Marmol Radziner in Desert Hot Springs has been listed at $1.85 million.
--Did Scott Baio move to a five-bedroom house in Encino? The Real Estalker Mama reports that Baio and his wife, Peaches Renee Sloan, still occupy Baio's home on Royal Oak Road in Encino. It looks like the couple "bought" the new home on the show for reality drama's sake.
--Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford are renting out a beach front four-bedroom home in Malibu for $22,500 a month.
--Rumors have been swirling that Britney Spears bought a new house in Hermosa Beach before she went into the hospital. The home in question appears to be owned by professional photographer Dani Brubaker (who recently took pictures of Britney and her children for OK Magazine) and it seems unlikely that Britney actually bought this home.
--Has billionaire Ron Burkle helped Michael Jackson save Neverland Ranch? Roger Friedman at Fox News has reported that Burkle might have intervened of Jackson's behalf to provide an extension to give Jackson time to refinance.
--Jennifer Aniston has moved out of the Malibu cottage she's been renting since 2005.
--Jermaine Dupri has listed a five-bedroom home in Atlanta, Georgia for $1.5 million. The listing is here.
--Melrose Place actor Grant Show has listed his three-bedroom house in the Beachwood Canyon for $1,995,000. The listing is here.
--Singer Dido has listed her house in the prestigious Bird Streets area of Los Angeles for $4.6 million. The listing is here.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--A Parisian home that once belonged to Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir is on the market. It is out estate of the day later today.
--NBA point guard Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors has sold a pair of adjacent condos in West Hollywood for $2.66 million.
--Investment banker Warren Woo has paid $20 million for a house in Los Angeles, plus $2 million more for furnishings.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--A two-floor penthouse at 530 East 72nd Street which was lived in by Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow and then by Andy Warhol's physician, Denton S. Cox is on the market for $5,995,000 and it's a real fixer-upper. The listing is here.
--Ex-F.B.I. Special Agent Ali Soufan, who now works for Guiliani Partners, and his wife just paid $1.7 million for a new Manhattan apartment.
--Stephen Drucker, House Beautiful's editor, and real estate agent Frank Newbold closed this month on a two-bedroom co-op at 125 East 74th Street for $1.45 million.
--Parker Posey, who late last year listed her apartment in an 1845 brownstone on East 10th Street near Third Avenue for $1.175 million, is in contract to buy a $1.35 million one-bedroom co-op at 30 Fifth Avenue.
--Salman Rushdie's ex-wife, 37-year-old Padma Lakshmi, the model-turned-Top Chef hostess paid $1,651,111 for a long, full-floor loft in Alphabet City.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Wilmer Valderrama has sold a home in Tarzana for $1,750,000 after it had been listed for $2,250,000 and later reduced to $1,950,000.
--Rupert Murdoch has taken $2,000,000 off the asking price of his Long Island, N.Y. mansion, Rosehearty, reducing its listing price from $14,800,000 to $12,800,000. It was our estate of the day back in July.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--A new record residential price has been set for the North Fork of Long Island. A 135-acre estate that includes a 19-acre vineyard has been sold for $19.5 million. The original asking price for Indian Neck Farm was $22 million when it went on the market in 2006.
--Edgar Bronfman Jr. and his wife, Clarissa, finally have taken possession of their 11-room co-op at 1040 Fifth Ave.
--Author and interior decorator Regina "Gigi" Mahon has paid just over $14 million for two condo apartments on the fifth floor at the soon to be completed Plaza.
--Polo-playing communications mogul Adam Lindemann has found a new oceanfront Hamptons hideaway in Montauk for $21.5 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Keith Yamashita, a high-powered business consultant, has listed his contemporary Manhattan Beach home at $3.449 million because he and his partner, Todd Holcomb, are planning to return to San Francisco, where their 10-year-old company, Stone Yamashita Partners, is based. The listing is here.

From AOL Real Estate:
--A list of America's richest counties.