BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 10/29

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:30:30 PDT

Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as Iron Man for the movie The Avengers. - Variety
Lauren Graham will play Adelaide in a Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. - Playbill
Natalie Portman is set to star in Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. - ComingSoon
The Jonas Bros. will make their feature-film debut by starring in Walter the Farting Dog. - E! Online
NYPD Blue alum Sharon Lawrence will play Megan's mom on Privileged. - Entertainment Weekly
Fox Searchlight has picked up The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, a project based on Tom Wolfe's 1968 book, with Gus Van Sant directing. - The Hollywood Reporter
Vince Vaughn will star in a drama titled Sunny and 68. - Variety
And finally, German police are baffled by a speeding car with a Muppet as its passenger. Seriously, you gotta see this picture. - Nine MSN

Source and Iron Man photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Holiday Wish Lists: Practical or Tacky?

LearnVest — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:15:58 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Ah, the wish list.

It made a lovely debut when we were little, often addressed to a certain Mr. Claus. It had a good run for a few years, but retired itself in adulthood as the stuff of kids and dreams (with the exception of weddings and babies, when they take on the adult guise of “registry”).

And now that we are adults, wish lists (outside of those socially acceptable registries) are at best silly and at worst mercenary, right? That’s what many think.

Are We Becoming More Mercenary?

A recent New York Times story discussed the recent trend of the wish list-it’s back, along with more mercenary attitudes towards gift-giving, like a desire for gift cards instead of actual gifts. (According to the story, for the last five years, gift cards have been the most requested gift, according to National Retail Foundation surveys.) A study released earlier this year showed that people who receive gifts they had requested actually derive more pleasure from them and appreciate them more.

Read on for more on wishlists.

Why This Woman Wants to Marry Rich

LearnVest — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:15:23 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

LearnVest presents an essay from someone with a bold opinion on a money topic. Past editions have included conversations about how living together will affect your finances, why “homesteading” could be a new feminist career and why the CARD Act may actually hurt women. In this latest essay, LearnVest spoke to one woman who tells us outright that she wants to marry rich.

The views expressed here are those of the essayist and not the LearnVest staff, but we look forward to opening the floor to debate and discussion. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Money is a core value and a deal breaker, like religion or children. A lot of people would sympathize if I said I didn’t want to marry someone because he didn’t want kids or his religious beliefs clashed with mine, but it’s a lot less socially acceptable to say that I wouldn’t want to marry someone who is poor.

Money is a divisive factor-on a global scale the pursuit of it causes wars and crime, and on a personal level it leads to immense stress. My mother grew up in near poverty, so she replies to “money can’t buy happiness” with, “No? Try going without it.”

I never intend to do so-I plan to marry rich.*

“Marrying for money” gets a bad rap because it sounds so mercenary. It’s implied that in marrying for money, you sell yourself to the highest bidder, regardless of the person holding the auction paddle. You then enter a lifetime of derision and emotional sacrifice, eschewing true happiness in favor of in-season Manolos. For me, a college-educated, generally rational woman, marrying for money isn’t at the expense of all else-it’s just a priority. Having that priority, my potential husbands are self-selecting. They, like me, are people who both have and value money.

Read on to find out what marrying rich means for this woman.

Best-Selling Author Emily Giffin Pens New TrèsSugar Guest Blogger Series!

Guest Writer — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:00:42 PDT

Editor's Note: Readers, get excited! Emily Giffin, the author of Something Borrowed and four other best-selling novels, is our new guest blogger! Here's what she has to say about it:

As a writer of popular women's fiction, including Something Borrowed and Heart of the Matter, and a lover of all things pop culture, I am thrilled to be a guest blogger for TrèsSugar. I look forward to sharing with you my girly pursuits - from my latest must-read books to all the relationship advice that comes my way as the author of five best-selling books about love and friendship. I can't wait to hear from you as we go along; please keep me posted on your latest obsessions, too! Stay tuned for my first post, going live tomorrow.

SFERRA Celebrates 120 Years! An Interview With CEO Paul Hooker

Julia Walsh — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:00:00 PST

Last week, I attended a fantastic cocktail party at the home and office of San Francisco-based designer Ken Fulk (right), hosted by Ronda Carman of All the Best, to celebrate SFERRA's 120th anniversary. The luxury linen brand was founded in 1891 by Gennaro Sferra when he first opened his linens factory in Venice, Italy. In 1977, it was purchased by CEO Paul Hooker (left), then a young 20-something, and has grown to include an extensive collection of fine linens for the bedroom, bathroom, and tabletop and become one of the most respected names in the arena of luxury textiles.

When Gennaro launched the company, his focus was intricate handmade laces and embroideries. As you can imagine, a lot has changed since then, so I was eager to learn more about the progression of the brand and where it's headed next. Luckily, Hooker gladly obliged to do a little interview with me. Read our conversation below!

CasaSugar: You bought SFERRA in the '70s, and it's since become one of the finest linen brands. How has the market for luxury bedding changed since then?

Paul Hooker: When I bought the business in 1977, there was no such thing really as "luxury bedding." SFERRA offered no bedding at all in our collection. We made tablecloths and napkins, mostly handmade lace from Italy. The changes in both have been dramatic. Today, it’s all about luxury bedding, and fewer and fewer people over the years have been having traditional dinners with lace tablecloths, so the change has been dynamic indeed.

CS: What growing trends do you see in the world of luxury linens?

PH: The buying trend today among the affluent consumer is one word: VALUE. She is not overly impressed with labels, to the contrary, she wants to know why she is being asked to pay a premium price for what is being touted to her as "luxury." What makes it so special? What is it made of? Will it last? She will pay for quality, no doubt, and she still aspires to owning luxury products, but today, she needs to be shown the reason for "paying up" for luxury. The importer and the retailer who doesn’t have those answers may not be around long enough to find them.

CS: What are your most successful products?

PH: Our customer loves the color and design, but she generally selects the "basics." She knows that she is spending one third of her entire life in bed, and combining the wonderful experience of a great mattress and luxurious sheets makes it all so wonderful. She wants to be pampered in bed, feeling the very finest cotton in the world next to her, to give her the ultimate sleeping experience. So, when it comes right down to it . . . "Would you like Percale or Sateen, white or ivory?” It’s quite simple what she wants, so we strive to give her several choices of the finest "basics" in the world.

Click to read the rest of our interview!