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☆ At Home With Faith Popcorn: Interior Design Tour
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | Katherine Marks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Faith Popcorn, thought leader, trend-spotter and flamboyant futurist, never saw townhouse ownership in her own future. Popcorn (originally Plotkin) was living in a small studio apartment with a Murphy bed, a rental turned co-op. She felt wonderfully comfortable there — until a friend from California, who “had this gorgeous place in Beverly Hills,” came to visit. Popcorn recalled. These days, she works from home: The Upper East Side townhouse she bought in 1995 serves as home and headquarters.

Persons: Plotkin, Murphy, “, ”, Popcorn, Willie Nelson Organizations: PepsiCo, Home Depot, Pfizer, American Express, Comcast Locations: California, Beverly Hills

☆ A Historian Makes Peace With Her Own History
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

After Doris Kearns Goodwin’s husband died nearly six years ago, the couple’s home, a 19th-century farmhouse in Concord, Mass., no longer felt right. “We were there for 20 years,” said Ms. Kearns Goodwin, 81, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian whose new book, “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s,” will be published April 16. “It was a house we had loved, and a house that in many ways we had built together,” she continued, referring to assorted refinements, including the three-car garage that became a library and the addition of a tower inspired by her husband’s fascination with Galileo.

Persons: Doris Kearns Goodwin’s, ”, Kearns Goodwin, “, Galileo Locations: Concord ,

☆ Should You Consider Buying Your Childhood Home?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Recalling those sounds makes Ms. Gorgano smile. So is Ms. Gorgano. She is in the process of buying the four-bedroom house in Commack, N.Y., from her mother, who now divides her time between Florida and her partner’s Long Island condo. “Financially it made sense,” said Ms. Gorgano, 25, a speech pathologist, who is buying the house for about $600,000 with her boyfriend and co-buyer Mike Stillman. It’s less than what she would get if she was selling it to a stranger,” Ms. Gorgano added.

Persons: Jen Gorgano’s, ”, Gorgano, Mike Stillman, “, Ms, She’s Locations: Commack, Florida

☆ When Nate Berkus Decorates Your Home, It’s Best Not to Change a Thing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Patrick Page and Paige Davis met in the mid 1990s, during New York rehearsals for the first national tour of the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” But with Mr. Page working on his scenes in one studio (he played Lumière), and Ms. Davis, an ensemble member, singing and dancing in another, they didn’t really get acquainted until performances began in Minneapolis. “We started hanging out as friends, and we’ve been hanging out ever since,” said Mr. The couple’s 2001 alfresco nuptials were chronicled on the TLC series “A Wedding Story.”For several years, the vivacious Ms. Davis, now 54, was the host of TLC’s “Trading Spaces,” a home improvement show (wherein neighbors, backed by a design team, would redo a room in each other’s homes on a $1,000 budget), and later returned to her theater roots, starring in “Chicago” on Broadway. Recently, she completed an indie short film that’s due out this year.

Persons: Patrick Page, Paige Davis, Davis, “, we’ve, ”, alfresco nuptials Organizations: Broadway Locations: New York, Minneapolis, “ Chicago

☆ She Writes Storybook Endings. Of Course She Got the House.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The house, a traditional 1940s white stucco ranch, felt just right to Nina Weinman. It was in central Los Angeles, where she and her husband wanted to live, and it was in their price range. It had a dishwasher and a garbage disposal, central heat and air-conditioning — all things lacking in the couple’s rental apartment. The house was in disrepair, but it had a solid foundation and a roof of recent vintage, making it catnip to flippers. Ms. Weinman and her husband, Will Swift, a talent manager, had several contingencies and needed a loan.

Persons: Nina Weinman, ”, Weinman, Claus, Will Swift Organizations: Hallmark Channel Locations: Los Angeles

☆ ‘My Name Is Barbra’ Review: A Star Is Boring
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | Barbra Streisand | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Barbra Streisand in 1966. At nearly 1,000 pages, Barbra Streisand’s memoir, “My Name Is Barbra,” is longer than the combined recollections of Prince Harry (“Spare”), Britney Spears (“The Woman in Me”) and Henry Winkler (“Being Henry”). Grab a Copy My Name Is Barbra By Barbra Streisand Viking 992 pages We may earn a commission when you buy products through the links on our site. Granted, Ms. Streisand, now 81, is the enduring pop voice of her generation, not to mention a Broadway and Hollywood star, movie director, producer and composer, and political and social activist. A winner of Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and a Tony, Ms. Streisand is a woman of many talents.

Persons: Barbra Streisand, Bill Eppridge, Barbra Streisand’s, ”, Prince Harry, “, Britney Spears, Henry Winkler, Henry ”, Barnes, Streisand, Hillary Clinton, Tony Organizations: Noble, Hollywood

☆ One of the Touchiest Housing Decisions: Do We Stay or Do We Go?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“My wife would have been very happy to be in Arizona full time and I would much prefer to be in California full time — I was adamant that we were going to keep the house in Mill Valley as our base,” Mr. Goldsholle said. “But my wife has been a good sport and I’m willing to split the year with her.”Among couples of a certain age, there are many iterations of the “what will we do in retirement” question, said Gail Saltz, a psychiatrist in private practice in New York, and a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical College. “One iteration may be that one member of the couple wants to retire, the other doesn’t. “It may hark back to discussions around earlier transitions like ‘will we have children? How many?’ Will we stay in the city or raise them in the suburbs?’ “

Persons: Mr, Goldsholle, Gail Saltz, Saltz Organizations: Presbyterian Hospital, Weill, Cornell Medical College Locations: Arizona, California, Mill Valley, New York

☆ Ready to Retire? Consider Your Family First.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But unable to make a final decision she asked her elder daughter, a college administrator in Richmond, Va., to come north and weigh in. Her daughter did as requested, only to suggest that her parents consider another option altogether: a senior living community in Richmond. “I asked her, ‘Why on earth would I do that?’” recalled Mrs. Genoni, now 79. “And then she told us, ‘Sooner or later one or both of you are going to need an advocate,’” Mrs. Genoni recalled. “‘Why would you make me worry about you from a distance when you could be living near me?’”

Persons: Marta Genoni, Kenneth, “, ’ ”, Genoni, ‘, ’ Organizations: New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, ‘ Sooner Locations: Westfield, N.J, Richmond , Va, Richmond, New Jersey

☆ Is Roz Chast ‘Terrible at Decorating’? You Decide.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years after she moved to Connecticut from New York, Roz Chast had recurring dreams about her beloved post-college apartment on West 73rd Street. The storyline and set design of those reveries varied, but she was always on the street where she had lived. “Or the building had been turned into a hotel. Or there was a marble staircase. Or I had an apartment that had this giant hole in the middle where I could look into the apartment below.

Persons: Roz Chast, ”, Chast, — Locations: Connecticut, New York, The

☆ Jose Llana (a.k.a. Ferdinand Marcos) Makes a Home in the Hamptons
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And here sits Jose Llana — he plays Ferdinand — in the kitchen of the Hamptons, N.Y., weekend house he shares with his husband, Erik Rose, a real estate executive. At home, the Filipino-born Mr. Llana, 47, seems a perfect lamb. There he is eight times a week, imposing martial law. He also starred in the subsequent tours of “The King and I” around the United States and Britain. “It was an incredible thing to be able to come back after all that time and say, ‘OK, what are we going to do with this lump of cash we now have?’” recalled Mr. Llana.

Persons: David Byrne, Fatboy Slim poperetta, Ferdinand, Imelda Marcos, Jose Llana —, Ferdinand —, Erik Rose, Llana, Ken Watanabe, —, ’ ” Organizations: Broadway, Hamptons, N.Y, Lincoln Locations: Siam, United States, Britain

☆ Does the Hudson Valley Beat Malibu? Ask Lorraine Toussaint.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The wildfire that destroyed Lorraine Toussaint’s house in Malibu, Calif., in November of 2018 did not leave her unsheltered — she had a rental apartment in Midtown Manhattan — but it did leave her unmoored. Home has to have dirt and plants,” said the Trinidad-and-Tobago-born Ms. Toussaint, 63, a series regular on the CBS crime drama “The Equalizer,” who is spending her summer playing Gertrude in the Shakespeare in the Park production of “Hamlet.” (Performances run through Aug. Almost exactly a year after that signal loss, Ms. Toussaint was shooting an indie film in and around Rhinebeck, N.Y., and began to explore. “I was really kind of desperate to find a place that would let me escape New York,” she said. “I love all that the city has to offer, but it’s a lot for me.”She had looked at a raft of prospective hideaways in New Jersey, but was now caught by the charms of the Hudson Valley.

Persons: Lorraine Toussaint’s, —, “, ”, Toussaint, Gertrude Organizations: CBS Locations: Malibu , Calif, Midtown Manhattan, Trinidad, Tobago, Rhinebeck, N.Y, New York, New Jersey, Hudson

☆ Summer Books: A Trio of Novels That Hit the Road
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/summer-books-a-trio-of-novels-that-hit-the-road-d34ad828

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ A Tony Nominee Shows Off Her Snug Upper West Side Rental
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bonnie Milligan, an actress known for her vocal range and belting voice, shares a snug rental on the Upper West Side with a college friend who is also a performer. Ms. Milligan’s bedroom is sufficiently small that she has to leave to change her mind. But the 30-something Ms. Milligan, a Tony nominee for her performance as the shifty, shiftless Aunt Debra in the musical “Kimberly Akimbo” (the awards ceremony is scheduled for June 11), isn’t much for trafficking in discouraging words. There’s a washer and dryer in the basement, and workout equipment in the courtyard. “Over the course of the 15 years I’ve been here, it has gone up $550 in total,” Ms. Milligan said.

Persons: Bonnie Milligan, Milligan, Aunt Debra, Kimberly Akimbo ”, I’ve, ” Ms Organizations: Lincoln Center

☆ Why the Real Star of the New Bradley Cooper Film ‘Maestro’ May Be a House
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After Mr. Bernstein’s death in 1990 (Mrs. Bernstein died in 1978), the three children inherited the property. As when their parents were alive, the compound is a gathering spot for birthdays and holidays, and for fiercely contested rounds of Anagrams. Lately, it has also served as a set for the upcoming film “Maestro,” a portrait of the Bernsteins’ complicated marriage directed by and starring Bradley Cooper. “He wanted an authenticity about how he was evoking our dad and his world,” Ms. Bernstein said of Mr. Cooper. “He was very curious to come up here and visit, and that’s when he decided he wanted to come back and shoot in and around the house.

☆ How Do Actors Find Housing When They Get Gigs Out of Town? Well, It Depends.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the pandemic, Mr. Conway said, a lot of actors moved out of New York with their families and put down roots elsewhere. “If they get cast in a show that will bring them back to New York, a housing stipend becomes pretty important,” he said. Rentals of less than a year are hard to come by, and rentals of less than 30 days are legally problematic. (For perspective, most actors are not rich. The median wage for actors was $23.48 an hour in May 2021, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

☆ An Urban Farmer and TV Host on Why She Recycles Almost Everything
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jamila Norman has a few houseplants, for the record, all thriving, at her home in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta. But although she has room out back, there is no garden. “My friends shame me for it,” Ms. Norman said. “They shame me for it all the time.”Is she ashamed? She has brought her knowledge and can-do spirit to full flower as the host of the Magnolia Network series “Homegrown.” On each episode, Ms. Norman, also known as Farmer J, helps someone transform an often wild-and-woolly outdoor space into a beautiful, functional backyard farm.

☆ ‘Spare’ Review: Titled and Entitled
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

‘Our royalty is to be reverenced,” the British journalist Walter Bagehot once wrote, “and if you begin to poke about it you cannot reverence it. Its mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic.” Daylight? Oh, if only. In his score-settling, setting-the-record-straight, ghost-written memoir, “Spare”—perhaps you’ve heard about it, then heard about it some more—Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, spills his tea about his frostbitten penis (spare us), the loss of his virginity ( please, spare us) and his copious youthful drug use and alcohol consumption (who would have guessed?).

☆ ‘“I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli’ Review: When Rye Met Pastrami
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New York‘Tell me what you eat,” the 18th-century French lawyer and gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin famously said, “and I will tell you who you are.” “‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli,” the terrific exhibit that opened last month at the New-York Historical Society, makes a credible case for an alternative view: “Tell me who you are, and I will tell you what you eat.”

☆ ‘A Dangerous Business’ Review: Widow Out West
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Eliza McCracken doesn’t want to marry Peter Cargill, the extravagantly well-mannered and apparently well-connected man her parents have foisted on her. But the year is 1849, and Eliza’s preferences matter not a whit. The McCrackens get their daughter nicely settled, or so they think; and Peter gets a servant and connubial rights in one tidy packet. This transaction propels the plot of Jane Smiley’s quirky historical novel “A Dangerous Business” and sets the table for the many transactions that follow. Fortunately for Eliza (and for the novel), Peter isn’t around long.

☆ The Museum of Broadway Review: Touting for Tourist Dollars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

You’d be forgiven for thinking you have the wrong address when you walk into the Museum of Broadway. It looks like a very shiny version of the souvenir shops that were once so plentiful in Times Square, with museum-branded mugs, caps, tote bags and T-shirts for sale at prices designed to make tourists shake their heads even as they empty their wallets.

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