Montecito - the seaside Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara is set against the Santa Ynez Mountains and home to many film stars; it’s a place where properties can go for more than $100 million by multiple accounts. The property is located on a private road in a luxury estate in Montecito, where every house in the neighbourhood is designed for privacy, with long driveways and large gates.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have gone exceptionally grand with their California starter house, purchasing a $14.65 million estate in the heart of posh Montecito, the seaside Santa Barbara County enclave that is famously home to a slew of Hollywood heavyweights.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ names do not appear on grant deeds related to the property — records show the estate quietly sold in mid-June to a mysterious trust with a deliberately opaque name, though the trust happens to share a mailing address with the offices of Meghan Markle’s longtime Hollywood business manager.

Public documents also reveal the buyers secured a $9.5 million mortgage to acquire the 7.4-acre compound, which is securely tucked away on a private, gated street. Despite the unquestionably hefty pricetag, it could be argued Meghan and Harry scored the property at a discount of sorts ;

The seller, low-profile Russian businessman Sergey Grishin, acquired the estate in 2009 for $25.3 million and had attempted to sell it many times over the past decade before finally accepting a $10 million-plus financial loss.

 Built in 2003, the Mediterranean-style main house includes a trove of beige and off-white decor, plus a library, gym, separate wet and dry saunas, an elevator, arcade, game room and home theater. There’s also a detached guesthouse with two bedrooms and bathrooms; altogether, the estate boasts nearly 19,000 square feet of living space with a total of 9 bedrooms and a whopping 16 bathrooms.

Dated listings note that the property additionally offers a “tea house,” a “children’s cottage,” and exceptionally beautiful manicured grounds that boast tiered rose gardens, century-old olive trees, and tall Italian cypress trees that likely cost a small fortune to maintain.

A full-size tennis court, lap-lane swimming pool, and a notably elaborate built-in children’s playset are among the numerous other outdoor amenities.

Meghan and Harry, who first moved stateside in early 2020, previously resided in a fortified compound owned by Tyler Perry, whom they met through mutual friend Oprah Winfrey.

Montecito may be located a full two hours northwest of downtown L.A. by car, but celebrities have flocked to the area in recent years — the neighborhood’s laid-back and mostly paparazzi-free atmosphere provides a welcome retreat from the hectic hustle of Hollywood and its surrounding environs.

Current area residents include Gwyneth Paltrow, Ellen DeGeneres, Ariana Grande, and — perhaps most famously — Oprah Winfrey herself, whose nearly 70-acre “Promised Land” compound qualifies as one of Southern California’s most lavish estates.

https://variety.com/2020/

                               Santa Barbara in California

 

 

Pursuit of freedom and democracy

Treasury Sanctions Individuals for Undermining Hong Kong’s Autonomy

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on 11 individuals for undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly of the citizens of Hong Kong.

These actions were taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13936, “The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization,” which President Trump issued on July 14, 2020. E.O. 13936 declares a national emergency with respect to the situation in Hong Kong, including recent actions taken by the People’s Republic of China to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and democratic processes, and provides for the imposition of sanctions on actors engaged in these malign activities. E.O. 13936 also builds on and implements provisions of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020.

The recent imposition of draconian national security legislation on Hong Kong has not only undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy, it has also infringed on the rights of people in Hong Kong, allowing mainland China’s security services to operate with impunity in the region, mandating “national security education” in Hong Kong schools, undermining the rule of law, and setting the groundwork for censorship of any individuals or outlets that are deemed unfriendly to China.

Today, Treasury is sanctioning Carrie Lam, Chris Tang, Stephen Lo, John Lee Ka-chiu, Teresa Cheng, Erick Tsang, Xia Baolong, Zhang Xiaoming, Luo Huining, Zheng Yanxiong, and Eric Chan.
“The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and we will use our tools and authorities to target those undermining their autonomy,” said Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin.

Carrie Lam, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
Carrie Lam is the chief executive directly responsible for implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes. In 2019, Lam pushed for an update to Hong Kong’s extradition arrangements to allow for extradition to the mainland, setting off a series of massive opposition demonstrations in Hong Kong. Lam is designated for being involved in developing, adopting, or implementing the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (National Security Law).

Chris Tang, Commissioner of Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF)
Chris Tang, as the Commissioner of the HKPF, has enthusiastically supported the Hong Kong National Security Law. The HKPF besieged Hong Kong Polytechnic under his leadership, along with arresting hundreds of protestors. Chris Tang also sits upon the newly established Committee for Safeguarding National Security. He is designated for coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals under the authority of the National Security Law.

Stephen Lo, Former Commissioner of HKPF
Stephen Lo was the previous commissioner of the HKPF until 2019. Under his leadership, over 4,000 protestors were arrested and 1,600 injured in clashes. Stephen Lo is designated as a leader or official of a government entity whose members have engaged in activities to prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly in Hong Kong.

John Lee Ka-chiu, HKSAR Secretary for Security
John Lee Ka-chiu is the Secretary for Security in Hong Kong, where his office is responsible for all security-related policies. John Lee Ka-chiu is also a member of the Executive Council of the HKSAR government, an organ for assisting the Chief Executive in policy-making, and has introduced a new police unit dedicated to enforcing the Hong Kong National Security Law which will have intelligence gathering and investigation capabilities. He is designated for being involved in coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals under the authority of the National Security Law, as well as being involved in its development, adoption, or implementation.

Teresa Cheng, HKSAR Secretary for Justice
Teresa Cheng is the Secretary for Justice for Hong Kong. As head of the Hong Kong Department of Justice, Teresa Cheng has said that her major responsibility is implementing and safeguarding national security in the HKSAR. She is designated for being responsible or involved in developing, adopting, or implementing the National Security Law.

Erick Tsang, HKSAR Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
In April, Erick Tsang assumed the post of Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland affairs, the office that maintains relations between the HKSAR government and mainland Chinese government. He is designated for being responsible for or involved in developing, adopting, or implementing the National Security Law.

Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council
In February 2020, Xia Baolong was announced as the newest Director for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, an organization within the State Council designed to assist the premier in dealing with affairs related to Hong Kong and Macao. The Office has stated that it is entitled to supervise affairs in Hong Kong, including implementation of the Basic Law of the HKSAR. Xia Baolong is designated for being a leader or official of a government entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or autonomy of Hong Kong.

Zhang Xiaoming, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council
Zhang Xiaoming is former Director and current Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, where he is in charge of daily operations. As Director, he backed the controversial 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. He is designated for being a leader or official of a government entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or autonomy of Hong Kong.

Luo Huining, Director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office
Luo Huining is mainland China’s top official in Hong Kong, as the Director of the Hong Kong Liaison Office. The Liaison Office has claimed that it is entitled to intervene in Hong Kong affairs despite the Basic Law’s prohibition on interference in the affairs which the HKSAR administers in accordance with the Basic Law. Luo Huining is also a National Security Advisor to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. He is designated for being a leader or official of a government entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or autonomy of Hong Kong.

Zheng Yanxiong, Director, Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong
Zheng Yanxiong is the inaugural director of the newly created Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong. The Office was established under the Hong Kong National Security Law and has broad powers to supervise local authorities and directly investigate major cases. As the Office’s Director, Zheng Yanxiong is designated for being a leader or official of a government entity that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or autonomy of Hong Kong.

Eric Chan, Secretary General, Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR
Eric Chan, the director of the Chief Executive Office, was appointed by Beijing to be the Secretary General of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security as recently established by the Hong Kong National Security Law. The Committee’s work is not to be made public and its decisions are not subject to judicial review. As such, Eric Chan is designated for being responsible for or involved in developing, adopting, or implementing the National Security Law.

The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong in their ongoing pursuit of freedom and democracy. The 11 individuals designated today have implemented policies directly aimed at curbing freedom of expression and assembly, and democratic processes, and are subsequently responsible for the degradation of Hong Kong’s autonomy. The United States will use the authorities in the Executive Order to continue to pursue those that implement these nefarious policies.
Sanctions Implications

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the individuals named above, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or otherwise exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods or services from any such person. More information on the entities designated today.

####

“Under Souleymane’s leadership, the 3R militia committed brutal atrocities against innocent civilians,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich. “The United States will continue to aggressively use its tools and authorities to target and expose human rights abusers, wherever they are.”

OFAC designated Souleymane pursuant to E.O. 13667 for being responsible for the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape or other sexual violence), abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law.

 

Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1088

President Barack Obama welcomed with hugs by sister Auma as he lands in Kenya

US President Barack Obama hugs his half-sister Dr Auma Obama at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on July 24, 2015. Dr Auma then rode with him in the president's official limousine.

Dr Auma Obama is probably one of the most talked-about woman in the world right now.

This follows the euphoric hug she shared with US President Barack Obama when he arrived in Kenya on Friday.
 

President Obama’s half-sister then took a ride in the "Beast", which is one of the most highly protected armoured vehicles used by the president of the world’s most powerful nation.
 

When Air Force One carrying President Obama touched down, a number of dignitaries, among them Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, waited patiently for him to disembark.

She was at the end of the queue and as President Obama shook his host’s hands, she patiently waited and kept smiling and putting her hands in her trousers’ pockets.
 

President Obama embraces his half-sister at Dr Auma Obama at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on July 24, 2015. On the right is President Uhuru Kenyatta.
 

LONGEST HUG OF THE NIGHT

Then came the moment. Everyone was treated to the longest hug of the night, followed by an eye to eye conversation between the two siblings as if nothing else mattered.
 

As the security agents kept their watch, the two conversed jovially then they boarded the "Beast".

Dr Auma could be seen through the window adjusting the seat belts on her own as she conversed at ease.

That episode carried the day and was used by local and international media to narrate the welcome that President Obama received in Kenya.
 

Before the heart-warming hug, Dr Auma had tweeted; “My brother’s coming home and we are over the moon. Welcome little brother!”
 

This was not the first time, though, that Dr Auma had taken the envied attention of President Obama, as the two have been in a close relationship since they were young.
 

In his book Dreams from My Father, Mr Obama recounts how his half-sister picked him up from the same airport in a "battered Volkswagen Beetle" that kept breaking down every now and then.

He also says that despite the numerous trips to the mechanic, he enjoyed the trip.
 

US President Barack Obama chats with half-sister Auma Obama (2nd right) during a family dinner at his hotel in Nairobi on July 24, 2015. On his right is his step-grandmother, Mama Sarah Obama. 

OBAMA RETURNS FAVOUR

On Friday, it was Mr Obama’s turn to return the favour. He rode with Dr Auma in his official limousine, the Beast, from the airport.
 

Early Saturday morning, Dr Auma, who had been very protective of her brother, wrote; "Precious time family meal before GES. B’s allegiance to American people (and rightly so) but he found time 2 (honour) Kenyan heritage."
 

It will also to be remembered that Dr Auma was a bridesmaid during Mr Obama’s wedding.
 

During an interview with CNN, Dr Auma said, "I'm proud of our name because my brother really has carried our name up there. It's made our mark in the world."
 

Dr Auma studied sociology and German studies in Heidelberg before attending the German Film and Television Academy (DFFB) in Berlin and finally graduating in Bayreuth.
 

She lived in Germany for 16 years and later in the UK before eventually returning to Kenya.

She runs an NGO called Sauti Kuu Foundation.

Source: Daily Nation, Kenya

Fugitive businessman Jho Low, accused of buying with stolen money from a multibillion-dollar heist

Fugitive businessman Jho Low, accused of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud of a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to forfeit over $100 million worth of luxury real estate as part of a wide-ranging settlement with U.S. prosecutors.

That includes two posh London apartments, two New York City condos—one on the city’s famed Billionaire’s Row—and a contemporary mansion in Los Angeles, all of which U.S. prosecutors accused Mr. Low of buying with stolen money from a multibillion-dollar heist, known as the 1MDB scandal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

The collection of lavish properties are only a slice of some $700 million in assets, including a private jet, fine art and diamond jewelry, that Mr. Low has agreed to give up, according to court documents filed this week.

Mr. Low, 37, has denied all charges against him. He said in a statement that the settlement did “not constitute an admission of guilt, liability or any form of wrongdoing by me.”

The three U.S. homes were already headed to the market as part of prior agreements between Mr. Low and federal prosecutors, Mansion Global has previously reported. 

One of them, a lavish penthouse atop the Mandarin Oriental Residences by Central Park South, a stretch of Midtown Manhattan referred to as Billionaire’s Row for its superlatively expensive apartments, is already in contract, according to listing records on StreetEasy. 

The three U.S. homes were already headed to the market as part of prior agreements between Mr. Low and federal prosecutors, Mansion Global has previously reported. 

One of them, a lavish penthouse atop the Mandarin Oriental Residences by Central Park South, a stretch of Midtown Manhattan referred to as Billionaire’s Row for its superlatively expensive apartments, is already in contract, according to listing records on StreetEasy. 

A forfeited four-bedroom Manhattan penthouse of fugitive financier Jho Low is already in contract with a buyerThe four-bedroom penthouse went into contract earlier this month, asking $30 million—approximately $500,000 less than Mr. Low bought it for in 2011.

Agents for Mr. Low are expected to help the U.S. government manage and dispose of the assets, including his five homes, the Justice Department said.

But the intermediaries are likely to face an uphill task selling off the properties for figures close to what Mr. Low originally paid, as both New York City and London are in the midst of a downturn in their prime housing markets.
  
For example, Mr. Low’s other New York City property is located on the second floor of a historic pre-war building in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood. The apartment, which features 14-foot ceilings, decorative interior columns and built-in bookshelves, is asking $9.2 million—several million less than the $13.8 million Mr. Low purchased it for back in 2014, according to a listing for the property and court documents.

A historic SoHo apartment Mr. Low purchased for $13.8 million in 2014 is now listed for $9.2 million.It’s not just a change in market conditions that presents a hurdle for those charged with unloading the properties, as some have fallen into disrepair.

For instance, the sprawling Los Angeles mansion, set on 1.2 acres off the city’s Sunset Strip, “will need full restoration,” according to a listing for the property with Ernie Carswell and Christopher Pickett, both of Douglas Elliman. The brokerage has declined to comment on the property.
The Los Angeles house, which prosecutors said Mr. Low purchased with embezzled funds, is on the market for $24 million—less than two-thirds of the $39 million the businessman paid in 2012, according to property records and court documents.

Meanwhile, the sale of Mr. Low’s London properties face a similarly daunting market, as higher transfer taxes in the U.K. paired with a rancorous political environment ahead of Brexit have combined to depress home values in the city’s center since 2014. 

It’s not clear how much Mr. Low paid for the two London apartments, which include a 12,000-square-foot penthouse and a nearby flat, both in the city’s posh Mayfair neighborhood. Federal prosecutors claim he wired at least £35 million to a U.K. bank account for the purchase of the penthouse atop Stratton House in 2010, according to court documents.

But the developer of the building, Grafton Advisors, claims the lavish aerie set a record nine years ago at over £4,000 per square foot, according to Grafton’s website. That would mean a final sale price at the time of over £48 million. At the moment, there are no publicly listed apartments priced that high in London.

Mr. Low, who is reportedly in self-imposed exile in China, is accused of orchestrating the theft of $4.5 billion from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB. U.S. prosecutors maintain that he laundered the ill-gotten gains through banks around the world and used the funds to run a lavish lifestyle.

“Thanks to this settlement, one of the men allegedly at the center of this massive scheme will lose all access to hundreds of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California in a statement on Wednesday. “This settlement agreement forces Low and his family to relinquish hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains that were intended to be used for the benefit of the Malaysian people, and it sends a signal that the United States will not be a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption.

link:   https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/

A forfeited four-bedroom Manhattan penthouse of fugitive financier Jho Low is already in contract with a buyer.

A historic SoHo apartment Mr. Low purchased for $13.8 million in 2014 is now listed for $9.2 million.

 

 

10 things you might not know about geniuses

 

Oct 23, 2015 at 9:00 AM

Why was Albert Einstein so brilliant? He had a superhighway running through the center of his noggin. (Associated Press)

The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation recently came out with this year's "genius grants." There's a new movie about another genius, Steve Jobs. It's time for you to get smart, unless you already know these 10 facts about geniuses:

1. "Genius" is a vague, debatable term. But in the 1920s, Stanford professor Edward Terman used IQ scores to select more than 1,000 children as subjects in his Genetic Study of Genius. The participants — nicknamed "Termites" — have generally remained unidentified.

But among them were Edward Dmytryk, who directed the film "The Caine Mutiny," and Norris Bradbury, who ran the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Two children whose IQ scores didn't meet Terman's standards were William Shockley and Luis Alvarez. Those rejects grew up to win the Nobel Prize in Physics.

2. Shortly after Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955, his brain was sliced and diced and photographed in an effort to see what made him so darn smart. But it wasn't until 2010 that newly rediscovered photos and advances in brain research offered some answers to that question. Certain sections of Einstein's brain were more developed, and it had more wrinkles and loops and ridges — which is good in a brain — but the key may have been his huge corpus callosum, the dense network of nerve fibers that connects the different areas of the brain.
Einstein, as it turns out, had a superhighway running through the center of his noggin, likely explaining his astonishing creativity and genius.
 

3. Vivien Thomas, a 19-year-old black man in Nashville, Tenn., found his hopes of going to college dashed by the Depression in 1930. So he took a job as a lab assistant to white surgeon Alfred Blalock of Vanderbilt University. Despite Thomas' lack of higher education, he became a brilliant surgical technician and research partner who helped Blalock develop pioneering methods of treating shock and operating on the heart.
Yet for years Thomas was classified as a janitor and paid at that level when he was doing the equivalent of postgraduate work. Thomas even worked as a bartender at Blalock's parties to earn extra money. Ultimately, Thomas' vital role in the medical breakthroughs was widely recognized, and he received an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins in 1976.

Advertisement

4. Eureka moments are strokes of genius that have produced a number of scientific breakthroughs, including Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin and Philo Farnsworth's invention of the television. When Swiss inventor George de Mestral pulled burrs from his dog in 1941, his aha moment not only eventually gave the world Velcro, but also one of the first examples of biomimetics, or biological mimicry.
 

5. When Polish physicist and chemist Marie Sklodowska married Frenchman Pierre Curie and became "Madame Curie," she handled the grocery shopping and cooking with scientific precision. But the woman who would win two Nobel Prizes was confused by a recipe and had to ask her sister a difficult question: What exactly is a "pinch"?

 

Marie Curie, center, is seen with her two daughters, Irene and Eve, in this undated photograph. The physicist and chemist known as "Madame Curie" won two Nobel Prizes but reportedly didn't understand a common kitchen measurement. (Chicago Tribune)

6. Hedy Kiesler Markey received a patent in 1942 for her work with George Antheil to develop a frequency-hopping technique allowing radio-controlled torpedoes to avoid detection and jamming. The technological advance had major implications beyond World War II, fostering development of wireless communications. Markey was brilliant in another field as well, performing in movies under the name Hedy Lamarr.
 

7. It seemed like a great idea: a Nobel Prize sperm bank. But the 1980 brainchild of Robert K. Graham, who made millions off shatterproof plastic eyeglasses, quickly ran into trouble when he announced that the first Nobelist to donate was none other than William Shockley, an inventor of the transistor and also a notorious racist who promoted voluntary sterilization for less-intelligent people.

 

Though it survived until 1999 and produced 215 babies, the Repository for Germinal Choice, as the bank was officially known, couldn't shed the taint it was a Nazi-like scheme to create a master race. It also never persuaded more than a few Nobelists to donate. The bank's operations couldn't have instilled great confidence either. The catalog used colors to mask donor identities but was rife with misspellings. How could a prospective mother envision her own baby Einstein coming from a donor named Corral, Turquois and Fucshia?

8. Hungarian physician Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis had a controversial medical theory that many of his fellow doctors refused to accept. Frustrated, Semmelweis lashed out publicly and was fired from his job. Ultimately, he was committed to a mental asylum, where the guards reportedly beat him and he died in 1865. Semmelweis' unpopular brainstorm: that doctors should wash their hands before treating patients.
 

9. If you find yourself a bit bored at your next meeting of Mensa International, the club for people with IQs in the highest 2 percent, maybe it's time to apply to the Top One Percent Society or even the Triple Nine Society, representing the 99.9th percentile. If that proves less than stimulating, you may be ready for the Prometheus Society, which restricts membership to the 99.997th percentile and up, or the Mega Society, for those with an IQ of 176 or more, the top 99.9999th percentile of the population. Then again, being a genius, you know there are serious doubts about the accuracy of tests trying to measure IQs above 140.
 

10. Physicist Tsung-Dao Lee has wrestled with such complex issues as parity violation and nontopological solitons, but when the Columbia University professor shared the 1957 Nobel Prize, his favorite Chinese restaurant in New York put up a sign with a simple explanation for his triumph: "Eat here, win Nobel Prize."

By Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer
source:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/

Couple buy historic 1840s Creole cottage slated for demolition and move it across New Orleans where they faithfully restore the home to its former glory

• Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought the home after a church claimed they wanted to demolish it and expand their lot
• The home was dismantled and stored for a year before the couple found a lot across New Orleans that would fit the home's dimensions
• Tillero and her husband Ensslen now live in the home with their two sons, six-year-old Santiago and nine-year-old Javier, as well as Tillero's mother, Olga Tillero
• The couple stayed true to the cottage's floor plan, while converting it from a duplex to a single-family home
• They used salvaged and recycled materials to decorate the interior and exterior of the home  

 New Orleans couple bought a ramshackle historic cottage, moved it across the city and renovated it all the while using salvaged materials and respecting the home's original floor plan. 

Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought the the two-story 1840s Creole home from the Central City neighborhood after a church said they wanted to demolish it and expand their parking lot. The couple moved it to the Freret neighborhood where they then spent seven months renovating.

Tillero and her husband Ensslen now live in the home with their two sons, six-year-old Santiago and nine-year-old Javier, as well as Tillero's mother, Olga Tillero. 

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

Gaby Tillero and Greg Ensslen bought this 1840s Creole cottage style home in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans almost two years ago

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

The couple then dismantled the home, moved it to the Freret neighborhood of the city and renovated the home while respecting the floor plan and using salvaged materials to decorate the home

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

To honor the home's original duplex floor plan while still creating a single-family home, Ensslen and Tillero put a massive wooden staircase between the kitchen and living room

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

The home is decorated with materials salvaged from other homes and salvage markets. The bookshelf on the right holding dishes was part of a house Ensslen restored in 1999

This is what the Central City house looked like before Tillero and Ensslen bought up the house and moved it to the Freret neighborhood where it sits now

The original staircase in the home separated the building into a duplex. In the renovated home Tillero and Ensslen honored the staircase idea by putting a massive wooden staircase separating the kitchen from the living room

'We bought the house to save the house - it was slated for demolition,' Ensslen told The Times-Picayune. 'I've always liked the Creole cottage style.' 

Ensslen, who's a historic renovation developer and organizer of the Freret Market and Freret Street Festival, and Tillero wanted to live outside Central City, so they bought the house before they had a lot to put it on. 

They ended up having to dismantle the structure and put it into storage.

'We had to dismantle it completely,' Ensslen said. 'It was a stack of lumber. We put it in a few dumpsters.'

The dumpsters were stored on a secured lot near the city's Industrial Canal, where they sat for a year until the couple found a lot that fit the house's dimensions. 

Once they sorted how to rebuilt the cottage's floor plan and collected materials for its interior, they purchased a lot. They rebuilt and renovated the house in seven months. 

One of the kitchen walls is decorated with a series of hand-crank egg beaters, which Ensslen began collecting in the 1980s when he moved to New Orleans

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

All of the wood in the home was stripped of old paint and finished with linseed oil for a more golden touch in order to give it more character

Once the couple found a lot that would fit the cottage's dimensions, they spent seven months renovating the home

Source: the mail

Bobbi Kristina was found unconscious in her bath tub in Roswell. GA

As Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina continues to fight for life, police records have revealed she spent the day she was hospitalized with a friend charged with drug dealing.

Now Bobbi Kristina's family have confirmed officers did find drugs at her home in the wake of her near drowning.

Police had returned to the house to conduct a second and more thorough search when they seized a number of items. Officers would not confirm what was discovered but family sources told that it was narcotics.

Records have also revealed Maxwell Byron Lomas, who was with Bobbi Kristina on the day she was found unconscious in the bath tub, had been arrested just a month before for drug distribution charges. He was taken into custody on January 14 and later released on $15,000 bond, according to Fulton County Jail records. 

Bobbi Kristina Brown, pictured with husband  is fighting for her life after being found face-down in a bathtub on Saturday morning, her family has revealed in a statement

Bobbi Kristina's unresponsive body was discovered just days before the third anniversary of her mother's accidental drowning in a bath tub on February 11, 2012

The 21-year-old daughter of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston is fighting for her life, her family has revealed in a statement.

'Bobbi Kristina is fighting for her life and is surrounded by immediate family,' the Houston family wrote in a statement released on Monday afternoon.

'As her father already stated, we are asking you to honor our request for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and we greatly appreciate your continued support.'

On Monday it emerged that doctors have told her family to prepare for the worst.

On Sunday, Bobbi Kristina was moved from North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia to another hospital in Atlanta.

'The report that Bobbi Kristina Brown has been taken to the hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, is accurate,' said her father's lawyer Christopher Brown. 'No additional information will be forthcoming.'

The family has remained tight-lipped about the cause of the emergency and her condition. On Saturday, her husband Nick Gordon was pictured looking anxious outside the emergency ward at North Fulton Hospital, with his hood up and a phone in his hand.

He was joined at the hospital by Bobbi's father Bobby Brown and family friend Tyler Perry, among others.

'Privacy is requested in this matter. Please allow for my family to deal with this matter and give my daughter the love and support she needs at this time,' Bobby Brown said in a statement.

A source told People of Brown: 'This is his worst nightmare. Losing Whitney was hard, but this is a million times worse, and to lose her in the same way would devastate him.'

The source described Brown as 'inconsolable,' and said the singer's daughter is using a respirator and that her brain has hardly any activity.

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

Vigil: Bobbi Kristina Brown's husband Nick Gordon seen on Sunday outside North Fulton Hospital near Atlanta, where she was taken after reportedly being found unconscious in her home bathtub on Saturday

'Everyone is holding hands, praying, hoping for the best. Everyone knows where things are at,' the source also said.

'We don't think Bobbi Kristina is going to pull through,' a source said.

It's still unclear what exactly happened and how long Brown had been in the water before she was found, but family members have started to disclose Bobbi Kirstina's struggles as she battled to become a singer while mourning loss of her mother.

One source close to Bobbi told People that she 'has been vacillating between extremes for a while now and is fighting grief and demons of her own creation.'

'The loss of her mom and her intense craving for attention of any sort are just the tip of her mountain of issues,' the source added.

Her husband Nick Gordon discovered her unconscious in a bathtub at their Roswell, Georgia home around 10:25am on Saturday - in the same home they shared with Houston.

On Monday, a police report noted that Gordon and a friend, identified as 24-year-old Lomas, were at the address when authorities arrived.

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

Police investigation: Police tape surrounds the home Bobbi Kristina shares with her husband Nick

• SHARE PICTURE

Copy link to paste in your message

 Bobby Brown's sister and Whitney Houston's former sister-in-law and assistant (pictured on right), Leolah Brown aka Leelee, is photographed outside the Roswell hospital with friends

Gordon performed CPR on his wife until paramedics arrived on the scene and rushed her to North Fulton Hospital.

Her mother was found dead almost three years ago when she accidentally drowned in a bath tub at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. She too was face down.

Roswell Police representative Lisa Holland said that officers searched the home after securing a warrant following the incident.

'Before the warrant, initially when the police went into the home there were nothing there that indicated that anything out of the ordinary happened,' she said. 'There were no drugs out in the open.'

She added: 'We don't know if this was a medical condition where she had a problem in the tub or if it was any type of self-initiated or overdose type of situation.

'Obviously we all know her mom died this very same way. Can't say how sad this is. It's a difficult situation for police officer to perform CPR on any person.'

Relatives and friends are now rallying around Bobbi's family in the hopes of receiving good news.

Source:  the dailymail

............................................................................................

News has found out that Roswell Police Department detectives are investigating the possibility that another person or persons may have been in Bobbi Kristina's home the morning she was found by Nick Gordon face down in a bathtub but fled before law enforcement arrived.

According to a source, police officers in recent days have asked storeowners in the commercial Ellard Village strip mall adjacent to Bobbi Kristina's gated community if they saw any suspicious persons or movements on Saturday morning prior to the police arriving at the scene.

The source tells E! News that two police investigators in fact visited Sun Trust Bank on Holcomb Bridge Road after the incident and questioned employees, asking for parking lot surveillance video and inquiring about any suspicious activity.
........................................................................................

Bobby Brown has stayed fairly silent since his 21-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was taken to the hospital on Saturday after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub.
But on Tuesday, the man once inseparable from Bobbi Kristina’s late mother, Whitney Houston, made a rare statement through his lawyer and used the opportunity to declare that despite “earlier reports” his daughter “is not and has never been married to Nick Gordon.” The statement surprised some, seeing as Bobbi Kristina declared she was “happily married” on Jan. 9, 2014, taking to social media to share a snap of her ring finger alongside Gordon’s, with both of them showing off wedding bands.

But Bobby Brown’s statement may be about more than clearing up rumors. A Georgia-based legal expert confirmed to FOX411 that whether or not Bobbi Kristina is married has some serious implications. For example, an official marriage could impact who makes Bobbi Kristina’s medical decisions, and it undeniably dictates who would receive her fortune in the event of her death.

Bruce Gaynes, a shareholder at Kitchens Kelley Gaynes, P.C., said many of the legal questions surrounding Bobbi Kristina can be easily answered if she has a will.

“She is probably wealthier than most 21 year olds. You would expect her to have a pretty significant estate. If she was well-advised, she would have a will," he told FOX411.
But that may not be the case.

“Most 21 year olds do not have a will, in which case [if she dies] everything would go to her spouse,” he said. “If she does not have a spouse, it would go to her parents.”
That means if Bobbi Kristina and Gordon never officially tied the knot, her reported $100 million estate, which she inherited from Houston, will go to her only living parent, Bobby Brown.

Whether or not Bobbi Kristina and Gordon actually married could also impact who has control over the potential decision to end life support, if that question is raised.

Source: the fox

Mansion featured in Christmas classic Home Alone looks radically different after stunning remodeling

The house featured in the classic Christmas movie Home Alone will be looking radically different this holiday season after a dramatic makeover.

The stunning 1920s mansion, which is located on Chicago's North Shore, provided an important component of the 1990 family comedy blockbuster which catapulted child actor Macaulay Culkin briefly to mega-stardom.

Many scenes in the movie were filmed in the three-storey house including those featuring the kitchen, the main staircase, basement and most of the first floor landing.

The house featured in the classic Christmas movie Home Alone will be looking radically different this holiday season after a dramatic makeover

The house was built in 1921 and features five bedrooms, a fully converted attic, a detached double garage and a greenhouse.

In 2012 the property changed hands with the buyers getting something of a bargain after the sellers agreed to take $1.58 million – nearly $1 million less than their original asking price.

Despite its Hollywood pedigree and status as a tourist attraction, the property sat on the market for ten months from when it was first listed in May 2011 priced at $2.4 million.

Many will remember the colonial-style building in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka as the home of the McCallisters, and of course, the battlefield where Culkin's character Kevin took on those bumbling burglars.

The film - now 25 years old - stars Macaulay Culkin as young Kevin McCallister, left behind by his family when they fly to Paris for their Christmas vacation. Kevin initially relishes being home alone, but soon has to contend with two would-be burglars.

In the years since its cinematic release, Home Alone has become a beloved Yuletide staple full of heartwarming moments, slapstick comedy and a family-as-the-greatest-holiday-gift message.

Despite its Hollywood pedigree and status as a tourist attraction, the property sat on the market for ten months from when it was first listed in May 2011 priced at $2.4 million

Many will remember the colonial-style building in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka as the home of the McCallisters, and of course, the battlefield where Culkin's character Kevin took on those bumbling burglars

The McCallister family home now looks very different from when it appeared in the 1990 movie. It might not be decked out in Christmas lights and decorations, but it remains instantly recognizable on the exterior

The property has a four-room master suite, a stunning forest-inspired dining area and the notorious attic bedroom where Kevin had to spend the night with his bed-wetting cousin in the film

The property's sellers, John and Cynthia Abendshien, had only lived in the house for 18 months when Christopher Columbus, the director of the first two Home Alone films, asking to film the movie there

'Very few homes have a leading role in a movie, in a sense becoming an additional character,' said listing agent Marissa Hopkins

The McCallister family home now looks very different from when it appeared in the 1990 movie. It might not be decked out in Christmas lights and decorations, but it remains instantly recognizable on the exterior.

Estate agents have described it as: 'Classic residence offers timeless and inspired family living.'

'Very few homes have a leading role in a movie, in a sense becoming an additional character,' said listing agent Marissa Hopkins.

The property has a four-room master suite, a stunning forest-inspired dining area and the notorious attic bedroom where Kevin had to spend the night with his bed-wetting cousin in the film.

The home also has plenty of nooks and crannies in which to hide, one of the features which made it perfect for the Home Alone movies.

The house sprawls over 4,250 square foot and is blocks away from Lake Michigan and the affluent suburb's village center

• 
  

The bedroom retains a four poster bed, but otherwise the decor is substantially more minimalist than it used to be

In Home Alone Kevin initially relishes being home alone, but soon has to contend with two would-be burglars

The bedroom retains a four poster bed, but otherwise the decor is substantially more minimalist than it used to be the house sprawls over 4,250 square foot and is blocks away from Lake Michigan and the affluent suburb's village center

Source: the Mail