GOING ON A REAL VACATION---BE BACK SOON

AND HERE'S THE MYSTERY DESTINATION........

THE PRIVATE GARDEN OF MY APARTMENT

Bless you all, and while I'm gone there will be people in my house. :)

WHEN I COME BACK YOU'LL HEAR ALL ABOUT KIM NOVAK AND THE TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL, IRENA MEDAVOY'S BIRTHDAY, ALEXANDRA DWEK'S LATEST FRIENDS WITH CAUSES DINNER....................PLUS MY TRIP.

OFF TO THE TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL RIGHT NOW--KIM NOVAK

THEY ARE HONORING KIM WITH A SPECIAL SHOWING OF "VERTIGO" ON THE CLOSING DAY. THE FILM'S BERNARD HERMANN SCORE WILL BE PLAYED LIVE WITH THE FILM BY THE TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA!!!!!

GORGEOUS NEWPORT-CORONA WEEKEND WITH FRIENDS

WEEKEND IN THE WATER...AS OPPOSED TO THE COUNTRY



Lucie and Larry Luckinbill and I were invited by the fabulous hosts Emmy-winning choreographer Kevin Carlisle and his partner John Jackson to spend the weekend with them in their home at Cameo Shores in Corona Del Mar. We wanted for nothing. There were perfect drinks, perfect meals, perfect pool temperature, perfect deck sunsets--and their beautiful home.

Newport in the Duffy

Larry, Kevin, Lucie and John

John and Kevin's pool

Seals sunning on the jetty buoy

Rock Jumpers

Happy seals

Sunset in Newport Harbor from the Duffy boat

Balboa Island

 This Zodiac goes 28 knots and flies over the waves. We went half-way to Catalina and then turned around and zipped to Laguna! Thanks, Captain Ryan!

Lucie and Kevin

As an extra treat, John took us to Roger's Garden's in Corona Del Mar. Aside from being the most remarkable nursery I've ever seen, at Halloween and Christmas they sell decorations from their themed exhibits. Just amazing. Below is part of the Halloween exhibit. You can't tell how dazzling it is from these pictures. There was room after room, each with a different theme.

DANCING WITH THE STARS OPENING NIGHT

JUST BEFORE AIR

I REALLY ENJOY GOING TO DWTS BECAUSE BEHIND-THE-SCENES- IT'S A LIVE SOAP OPERA. LET'S TAKE PAULA DEEN, FOR INSTANCE.......

Paula was absolutely terrified. I talked to her right after she was through dancing. She was in a slight sweat, still shaking, with her eyes WIDE open. "I'm so happy I made it through! I was scared to death!," said Paula. I gently changed the subject because I have wanted to talk to her about the scandal. I said, "We all know what's wrong and have made mistakes, but you were singled out as a scapegoat and I am so sorry about what has happened to you." She stopped in her tracks and took both of my hands. "Oh, honey, I can't tell you how much that means to me. It was so hard." She then cupped my face in her hands and said, "God bless you, child. This means the world to me." Love her.

Nigel Lythgoe stopped by to say hello to Karina and Victor Espinoza, the Triple Crown Winner.

Karina and I congratulated Victor on surviving his first dance. He is a sweetheart who grew up with no money and just a dream to come to the U.S. He loved horses so much, once he was here, he slept in a dilapidated tack room at a track just to be near what he loved. He suffers from a short term memory challenge, which is difficult for Karina where memorizing dance steps is concerned. He's trying his best and the audience fell in love with him. He and I are exactly the same height!!!!

Rumer Willis dropped by and said hello to Bruno and Carrie Ann.
After the show was over she and Val, her partner for the championship last year had a nice visit.

AND SPEAKING OF VAL CHMERKOVSKIY............

Said Val: "I really wanted to win last season. I needed to be validated and I was. This season and every season to come, I'm really just here to give my partners the best experience they can have. That's really what I'm feeling and I'm having fun."

Bindi Irwin is a natural in front of the camera. Off camera--no shoes.

Kim Zolciak of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" was very unhappy about how her dance went. Back stage she was grateful (in this photo) for receiving some encouragement. Even though she is someone I'd never let into my house, when you see vulnerability and defeat, it sure is real.

Chaka Khan barely had any rehearsal time with her partner--something like two hours. She was away performing.

VOTE FOR KARINA SMIRNOFF TONIGHT--DANCING WITH THE STARS NEW SEASON

CALL, TEXT OR GO TO ABC.COM TO VOTE

1-855-234-5613

HER PARTNER IS THE AMERICAN PHAROH JOCKEY, VICTOR ESPINOZA.
SWEET, SWEET GUY. HE'S TRYING HIS BEST!

A PLAN FOR THE JAILED MARRIAGE LICENSE WOMAN

RELEASE HER.     FIRE HER.       

END OF STORY. OR SO I THOUGHT. SHE'S AN ELECTED OFFICIAL AND HAS TO BE IMPEACHED.

WELL.....HURRY UP

JOAN RIVERS---ONE YEAR AGO TODAY

I TALKED TO JOAN LAST WEEK AND SHE'S HAPPY AND FREE IN HEAVEN

I'M NOT BEING FUNNY. I have trusted a psychic medium named Marla Frees for years. She channels dead people. Seriously. When you sit for a reading, people from your past just come to her and talk to you through her. They say things that are only known between the two of you that no one in the world could know. I believe her 100%.

What Joan said are things that I only shared with Melissa. That's the way it should be. I'll only tell you that she's really stress free and watching her family and really close friends all the time. I know because of many things, but particularly by Joan describing places I've been to alone to try to heal that no one knew about. She described them and clearly was there.

One thing I will leave you with is how she was stunned by the outpouring of love for her. She really never knew how people felt. Now she does. She's so grateful.

I love you, Joan, but you already knew that. So happy we're still hanging out. I couldn't live without you.

And, the only way to get to Marla Frees is by contacting her website for an appointment. She also works for various law enforcement agencies  all over the country and always requests anonymity. I'm not doing a commercial. I'm just so grateful for the help she gave me.

www.marlafrees.com