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Where Will Scarlett Johansson Lay Her Head?

Posted by Katie McCaskey
The talented and beautiful Scarlett Johansson has a stellar career, hunky husband, and a debut album called "Anywhere I Lay My Head." Oh, and a gorgeous 1931 Spanish-style mansion. What could possibly be missing from Sco Jo's charmed life?

Umm.... a reason for listing the home for sale at a huge loss?

That's right: Scarlett purchased the lovely home back in May, 2007 for $7 million. According to the Real Estalker, she extensively renovated the home with new windows, doors, and even solar power-generated electricity. As you can see from these photos, this Hollywood Hills beaut features a sunny atrium, chef's kitchen and period-style kitchen with new, high-end appliances. So why the new price tag of just $4.995 million?

Even movie stars are unlikely to happily part ways with a cool $2 million, and in Scarlett's case, it wouldn't be the first time she sold at a loss....
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Sweet L.A. Rental: Los Feliz Sublet for $1,500

Posted by Harmon Leon
Home sweet gosh-darn home! Look at this place. It's one hell of the sweet rental. This 2 bedroom, 1 bath, lower-portion of a house looks like it's straight out of the Main Street USA Fourth of July parade at Disneyland. Look at it. You'd expect a pie to be cooling on the windowsill and a lemonade stand set up right in the front yard as a potato sack race takes place amongst the neighbors. Is that a perfectly manicured green lawn I see?

Instead of this quiet little hamlet being situated in Mayberry, it's
located smack in the middle of the hipster-heaven of Los Feliz - all for the reasonable price tag of $1,500.

Read on to find out the skinny about this sweet rental.....


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Look Inside Jennifer Aniston's Home

Posted by Katie McCaskey
Jennifer Aniston, tabloid darling, is probably happy to land on the pages of credible design magazine Architectural Digest, instead. The reason for the spread? Not some new insight into her relationship with Brad Pitt, it was to show the world her gorgeous, Beverly Hills home. Built in 1970, it took Aniston and her craftspeople two and a half years to renovate.

She's nicknamed her home "Owana," the Hawaiian word for "extended family."
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Getting Hotter (and Colder) in the Bedroom

Posted by Katie McCaskey
Do you prefer the cool side of the pillow? Or are you constantly freezing while your partner complains of being too hot? The world's first heating and cooling mattress, called the ChiliBed, may be the answer. It debuted last week at the World Market Center Las Vegas.

The temperature-controlled natural foam mattress is made entirely of soy. Unlike most mattresses, the ChiliBed allows you to enjoy bed temperatures of 48-118 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, its environmentally friendly in two ways: first, its natural construction without chemical off-gassing, and secondly, it reduces utility load and costs associated with heating or cooling your bedroom.

Perhaps the mattress is out of your budget. Worry not! You can still be enjoy Chili technology - a more budget-friendly mattress pad cover called the ChiliPad is also available.

Interestingly, the inventor, Todd Youngblood, is the nephew of the man credited with inventing the water bed in the 1960s. We spoke to him about the ChiliPad...
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Sweet L.A. Rental: 1-Bdrm House Near USC for $1,050

Posted by Harmon Leon
Holy mama: this sweet rental gives you more bang for your buck. You get a 1-bedroom, 1-bath duplex for just $1,050. You can barely get a shoebox-sized hovel in New York for that price. Here in L.A., near USC you get your own private Idaho, with a delightful front and backyard; situated close to school for all you Trojans out there. Did we mention it has a beautiful garden? Well it does.

This sweet rental has all the charms of small town living right in the middle of one of the largest cities in the U.S.



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Go Direct, Young Man (& Young Mama)

Posted by Kaomi Goetz
The devil really is in the details. For many renters, it's not the rent, utilities or cable that break the bank. Staples such as shampoo, laundry detergent and toilet paper -- those everyday, recurring items -- can add up, and can take a real bite out of your pocketbook if you're not careful where you buy them.

Corner stores and bodegas are known just as much for their high prices as convenience, and one of the hallmarks of a savvy shopper is buying in bulk at Costco or a supermarket. But a number of manufacturers are starting to make it even easier to save money.

Paint seller Benjamin Moore announced this week that it will sell its products directly to consumers via its Web site, delivering right to their door. It's the latest in a growing number of companies trying to sell to consumers directly – at lower, often wholesale prices online. Carl Minchew, Benajmin Moore's director of product development, says as more consumers turn to the internet, the decision to sell online just made sense.
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Ex-Mrs. Joel Savvy Real Estate Investor

Posted by Katie McCaskey
It would be unfair to consider Katie Lee as simply the latest ex-Mrs. Joel. She is, after all, also a chef and cookbook author. Starting today, thought, it might also be appropriate to consider her a savvy real estate investor. She stands to double her money on her West Village townhouse she once shared with Billy Joel in New York City.

Here's what happened: Katie Lee and Billy bought the townhouse back in 2006 for $5.9 million. Three years later he spent $3 million to sell his share of their home to her in the divorce. But clever KL just placed the home on the market this week for a lofty $12.9 million.

Why the large increase in value given the overall market squeeze for both celebrities and normal folks? One word: Design.
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Jay-Z Won't Spend a Night in This Hotel

Posted by Coryn Brown
Rapper Jay-Z may run this town, but he won't be staying at the J Hotel. The famed M.C., nee Shawn Carter, filed a $3.7 million lawsuit against investment firm Highland Capital Management and a small financial institution, NexBank, over dragging out renegotiations on a defaulted loan that would have financed Jigga's (tanked) West 21st building project – J Hotel.
A sign that "big pimpin'" is on the outs?

According to the New York Post
, the music mogul alleges that Highland purposely stalled his efforts to dodge foreclosure, abandon ship, and turn over the deed for the West Chelsea property to the company's investment chiefs. In doing so, Jay-Z claims that the firm leeched him of daily interest and fees that amounted to tens of thousands of dollars a day for a $52 million loan.
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Brooklyn Resident's Yard Gone to the Birds

Posted by Eva Hagberg
"It's not nearly as cool having chickens on your farm as in your New York City backyard," Dan Feldman says. Feldman, a thirty-nine-year-old executive who lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, is about to get cool thanks to a chicken coop--the Chicken Ark--designed by Australian expat Drew Waters, a TV news employee by day and Noah-like chicken coop creator by evening/night.

Why chickens?


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Are Renters the White Trash of NYC Condos?

Posted by Teri Karush Rogers
Some new condo buildings in NYC are treating renters like second class citizens.

Curbed details the humiliations, which include barring renters from full use of the common spaces and lackadaisical response to repair requests.

"Neighbors think they're no-good party animals who lack respect because they're not invested in the building. Developers, in the cases of unsold units, see them as living symbols of their own failure to sell product. They're a necessary evil," writes Curbed.
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