Luxury homes and condos continue to hit the auction block. In the Dallas area, homes and condos which once were priced over $1 million will be available at bargain prices during an auction on November 7. Fifteen luxury homes in McKinney's Craig Ranch area and 29 high-end condominiums in Dallas' Preston Hollow neighborhood will be auctioned by the Kennedy Wilson Auction Group. Bidding on the homes will start at $125,000 to $370,000 and starting bids for the condos in Park Hollow, in the Preston Hollow area, will range from $215,000 to $495,000. The auction will take place at the at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas and Kennedy Wilson is holding informational meetings in advance of the event.

Perennially perky retired Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton has moved back to her hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia and is eager to sell her Houston home. The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties reports that she has cut the price of her 9,000-square-foot Houston home by 10 percent after three months on the market. The medal-winner-turned-motivational-speaker built the home in 2002 with her husband, real-estate investor Shannon Kelley.

The six-bedroom, home is on two wooded acres in Houston's Memorial Villages area. It has indulgent outdoor space that includes a raised terrace, grotto pool, dining loggia with fireplace and a park-like backyard. The sprawling master bath has a sitting area and there is also a media room and children's playroom. The home is now listed at $4.7 million.

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I don't usually cover homes under $1 million for estate of the day but this one is worth an exception on architecture alone. This home was designed by 2006 Rome prize winner Patrick Tighe and is located in the small town of Wimberley, Texas, 40 minutes outside of Austin. The compound in surrounded by 12 acres and the home was designed work with the rugged landscape. The home's facade is dominated by a swooping cear-lined roof that offers that for the shade for the walls of glass below which are supported by a dance of steel columns. The home rambles over the land and has a master suite on one end and guest rooms on the other with large open common living areas in between. It is listed at $899,000.

The first iBidcondo auction took place last months and a $690,000 condo at the Star Riverside complex in Austin sold for around $87,000. The beat goes on with iBidcondo's announcement that the will be auctioning off a unit in the Beat Condos in Dallas Texas on July 27.

Up for bid is a two-bedroom unit on the 4th floor, with a "retail price" of $280,000 which is expected to sell for between $50,000 - $100,000. The building is a ten-story concrete, steel and glass tower with a salt water pool with spa, poolside cabanas and a multiuse facility perfect for entertaining guests; controlled access entry and gated, garage parking.

The way iBidcondo works is that you buy a seat for $100. The seats cover the cost of the property so that the auction price is donated to a charity. You can see an interview with the winners of the first auction on the iBidcondo website.

Lance Armstrong recently twittered the birth of his fourth child which perhaps has made him more motivated to sell his expansive retreat near Dripping Springs, Texas. The 447-acre property was our estate of the day back in January. The ranch includes ownership in Deadman's Hole, a beautiful swimming hole that has a giant waterfall. The ranch includes a four-bedroom main house built in 2003 as well as a one bedroom guest house. The main house has great views of the surrounding countryside. There is also a pool and a spa and the acreage includes seven miles of bike trails. This home was listed at $12 million but is now for sale for $10.5 million.

When football/baseball double threat Deion Sanders and his wife Pilar moved to the small town of Prosper, Texas they put the small town in North Texas on the map. Their huge home is described in the listing as the "ultimate party and family ranch" and spans over 29,000 square feet. The multi-winged home is on 100 acres and has ten bedrooms. Few homes are as dedicated to the pursuit of leisure activities as this one is. It has an indoor basketball court and bowling alley, both indoor and outdoor pools, a billiard room, hall-of-fame gallery, movie theater and a game room modeled after the Dave & Busters restaurant chain. The grounds include a 12-acre lake, tennis court, a ten-car garage and a guest house. For a sense of the scale check out this Flickr picture. This is one monster of a home.

The Real Estalker provides additional details including the fact that the master bedroom has a large round bed, a sitting room that spins, kitchen, Jacuzzi and a two-story walk-in closet. The decor is completely over the top with swaths of drapery, columns, crystal chandeliers, a cartoon of lavishness. It is listed at $21 million.

After the jump check out a video of Neon Deion and his family touring the home which is so large that they drive around in little scooters. Deion seems both amazed and awed by the scale of his own home and does a better job explaining its many over-the-top features than any real estate agent ever could.

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Ligne Roset, a high-end, family-run (since 1860) furniture line that offers a range of products from furniture to lighting to upholstery, opened its first concept store, in Austin. The company focuses on smaller-scale, more design-forward pieces, and, unlike many of its competitors, allows consumers to purchase select pieces from the showroom and take them home directly. Some of its signature pieces are the origami-inspired Facett collection and Pierre Paulin's 1954 Tanis Desk. See the gallery for a few shots of the store.

Why do we love it when Avo Uvezian adds another year to his life? Of course, we celebrate the continued life of this cigar industry's living legend. But, few miss the fact that every new year brings with it another limited edition. I'm still excited about the Avo 80 that came out a few years back – well, three, to be exact. Now that the odometer's hitting 83, Avo and Davidoff are bringing a new cigar to market: the Avo Compañero.

The cigar's namesake calls it "the best blend ever released under my name from the Occidental Kelner Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic." And, let's face it: he's never lied to us before! So, I'm pretty excited about this new stick, and I suspect I'm not alone.

To fête this new cigar, a nine-city tour is planned, each with a cigar dinner featuring the Avo Compañero.

• March 16 - New York, NY – Davidoff of Geneva
• March 18 – Salem, NH – Two Guys Smoke Shop
• March 21 - Lake Mary, FL – Corona Cigar Co.
• March 26 – Houston, TX – Jeffrey Stone Ltd.
• March 27 – Austin, TX – Heroes & Legacies
• March 30 - West Chester, PA – G&G Cigar
• April 1 - Norfolk, VA – Emerson's Cigars
• April 4 – Raleigh, NC – Empire Cigars
• April 6 – Southport, NC – Havana Rays Fine Cigars

Put it on your calendar. I went to an Avo limited edition dinner back in 2006, and I can still remember the evening vividly.

Dripping Springs Texas Vodka doesn't have the sexiest name I've ever heard and the bottle design is very basic but it's what is inside that counts. The brand won the Purity Vodka Trophy at the International Wine & Spirit Competition last year beating out entries from around the world. The vodka made by the small San Luis Spirits is distilled 20 times and the tiny brand has struggled to succeed, including having to reestablish production after an explosion in the factory last November. The brand is made from sweet Midwest corn in small, hand crafted batches in a proprietary copper still and mixed with artesian spring water. It sells for around $21.

[via Star-Telegram]

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has partnered with Ralph Lauren to create a one-of-a-kind Valentine's Day getaway for stylish couples, called "Ralph Lauren Romance Always Yours." Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Ralph Lauren's Romance fragrance and the launch of their newest scent, Romance Always Yours, the package is available at select Rosewood properties including the famed Carlyle Hotel in New York (above); Rosewood's flagship hotels in Dallas, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and Rosewood Crescent Hotel; as well as the Inn of the Anasazi, A Rosewood Hotel in Sante Fe; the Mansion on Peachtree, A Rosewood Hotel & Residence in Atlanta; and CordeValle, A Rosewood Resort in San Martin, CA.

The two-night package, which starts at $799, includes a luxe room stocked with gifts including a bottle of champagne upon arrival and a custom monogrammed Ralph Lauren cashmere throw. A private candlelit dinner, created specially by one of Rosewood's acclaimed Executive Chefs, will be served en-suite. The indulgence will continue the following day with complimentary spa treatments for two and a limited edition bottle of Ralph Lauren's Always Yours, featuring a delicately hand-crafted glass dauber faceted like a diamond, to take home as a souvenir of an incredible weekend. See the gallery for pix of the participating properties.

Today's Mediterranean style home in Dallas is notable for its exquisite interior design. Designer Deborah Owens has enhanced the design by architect Robbie Fusch to create an elegant and refine home. The home was the 2008 LUXE Showhome. One thing that really impresses me about the six-bedroom home is the use of the color blue, from cobalt blue and turquoise accents to sky blue walls, the use of blue ties the rooms together and creates a nice counterpoint to the mostly beige decor.

The home is built around a sunken central courtyard which is set 11 feet below ground level to keep the outdoor area 15 degrees cooler than outside areas above ground, a nice feature for Texas summers. The courtyard has a double-sided fireplace. The home includes a theater and game room with a kitchenette, a spa and exercise area with a steam room, and a wine cellar with dining area and an eight-car garage. The ground floor includes the dining room, great room, two-story library and the master suite and two kitchens. The home also includes a mother-in-law suite, elevator and a smart home system that will send you a message when anything is wrong with the house no matter where you are. It is listed at $11.5 million.
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Bicycle champ and serial dater of celebrity blond beauties, Lance Armstrong is putting his Texas vacation home on the market. Armstrong, who also has a fancy home in Austin, owns a 447.8 acre ranch in Dripping Springs, Texas. The ranch includes ownership in Deadman's Hole, a beautiful swimming hole that has a giant waterfall. According to the Real Estalker, the 17 neighboring landowners all have deeded rights to the swimming hole. In 2005, Armstrong ran afoul of his neighbors when he started building a dam on a creek on his property that feeds into the swimming hole. The neighbors said that the dam construction ended up muddying the clear waters of Deadman's Hole. Armstrong paid around $850,000 to solve the whole mess including clean-up costs and legal fees.

The ranch includes a four-bedroom main house built in 2003 as well as a one bedroom guest house. The main house has great views of the surrounding countryside. Built for entertaining, the home has an open floor plan with a kitchen, dining room and living room in one central area. The second floor features a cozy media room for watching television. The outdoor space includes a grill, patios and dining and lounging options. The guest cottage matches the main house in its rustic charm. There is also a pool and a spa and the acreage includes seven miles of bike trails. This home is listed at $12 million.

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

For the last few years it's been build, build, build in growing Austin, Texas but the Austin American-Statesman reports that Austin's biggest hotel project, a planned 1,000-room Marriott on Congress Avenue has now been postponed. The $275 million project is the largest project among eight hotels had been planned for downtown. It's just one of several projects having trouble getting and keeping financing. Construction of the 26-story Marriott originally was to have started this year, was then shifted to 2009 and now there is now start date planned.

The developer, White Lodging Services Corp. had said the 1,000-room hotel would generate 600 jobs and $7 million a year in property and hotel occupancy taxes to the city. The proposed project was the subject of some controversy because it meant closing the popular Las Manitas Cafe.

The article in the Statesman reports that some developers are planning to wait a year or two until the economy improves which may mean a bumper crop of condos and hotels in 2011.

Today's estate is a rather fancy new home in the Highland Park area of Dallas. The home was designed by Richard Drummond Davis and built by Sharif-Munir to be the height of faux-French lavishness. The chateau-like home has an ironwork doorway that opens to an impressive two-story foyer. Extravagant details include high ceilings with carved wooden coffers, an imported 18th century French marble fireplace, inlaid wood floors, and custom plaster ornamental detailing. The master suite has a fireplace and an additional sitting room as well as his and hers bathrooms with marble details. An additional l private residential suite with full bath and sitting room is located in the basement and there are six bedrooms total. Outside there is a deep outdoor living loggia that overlooks the pool with fountains and spa below. This home is one of several elaborate new homes in the area built on a grand scale and priced at the top of the market. Doubtlessly planned in more exuberant times I wonder how they will fare in this market. This home is listed at $11.25 million.
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If you are into recreational sports, I've got the home for you in Boerne, Texas near San Antonio. This home is on 40 acres with an estimated 500 trees on the property. What is most interesting is just about every bit of the property is professionally landscaped, mowed and put to use either for sport, games, recreation. The property includes a soccer field, baseball diamond, six hole golf course and driving range, well-stocked pond, creek, waterfalls, fishing holes, a pool and tennis courts. There is a large main house with a game room, media room and colorful kitchen as well as three guest homes and an indoor tennis/sports arena. This home is listed at $2,999,500.

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