Hey y'all!

Since filling you in at the beginning of the summer, I've been a busy girl! I packed up my house, redid a new one and moved into it. Scott and I had been toying around with the idea of changing things up since my home in Pasadena (which I gave you a peek into last season) was starting to feel neglected while I spent so much time on the road. Scott and Floyd (my Yorkie) join me in different cities, and so we're really a little like gypsies, a traveling family. We put the house on the market, and it sold while I was in DC working on Pete's kitchen. (I have to address how incredibly lucky we were to have found the right buyer at the right time in this market, so we feel especially blessed.) It happened so fast, and so as soon as I landed back in Cali, we headed to Venice to start looking for a fun new home near the beach. The perfect house wound up being in the perfect place - on the canals in Venice - and this was validated by the fact that there is a duck park at the end of my new street. If this sounds to you like less than a reason to base the decision of your new home on, then I must tell you how we manage to live in hotels in different cities regularly. It's the ducks. You see, Floyd is a doggie that has no idea he's a dog. He seeks out ducks for friendship - not canines. In Pasadena, we had a duck park that was situated halfway along our hike to the Arroyo. In NY, we have the duck pond in Central Park.

In every city in between, Scott gets a map and finds our boy some ducks! Watching ducks, tail wagging a million miles a minute is our little guy's absolute greatest joy in life, so we try to accommodate that by making sure he lives near them.

Oh, and we also happen to really love the new house. 99 percent of the furniture from Pasadena worked here, so I only had to do a little shopping. However, the house was built in '85, so as you can imagine a lot of the charm needed to happen by way of moving in with us and - ever a believer in the power of paint - we created a lot of detail with the canned goodness!

I write this on a plane to NY - getting started on segments this week and can sigh a little relief when I say I'm gearing up for this season with the house pretty much done. Not completely, but then maybe that's the point. I always compare myself to the cobbler whose kids will never have shoes (as a designer who will never ever live in a done house) but I'm trying to learn in this house how to take that pressure away, and say it's done enough. I'm going for a bike ride. Literally.

Yesterday Scott and I bought our sweet new bikes - this has been a three-week hunt and he has been entirely patient with all of the work at the house knowing that bike purchasing and therefore bike lifestyle would mark the end of it, as I promised we'd devote an entire weekend once the house was done and I could focus on the never ending choices I have as a new member to the Venice bicycle community.

Here's my new ride ... notice Floyd's seat on the back, and my cup holder!

Now that I'm back on the road, I have getting home to bike rides and ducks to look forward to. It doesn't get much better than that in my book. Hope y'alls summer was equal parts productive and relaxing!

xo,
kc

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Since I came home from Turkey and Israel (you can read all about my trip below), I've been busy working on my new Bravo show with Tim Gunn. It's called "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style" and I'm having so much fun with it! You'll be seeing both of us on Rachael Ray when the show gets ready to premiere in October, and I'll be back with Rach and the rest of the gang before then - I can't wait!

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the last weeks of summer. I was lucky enough to be at Shea Stadium for the closing concerts with Billy Joel. He was amazing and there were a ton of surprise guests including Tony Bennett, Steven Tyler, Garth Brooks, John Mayer and John Mellencamp. But the biggest surprise of all was when we heard a helicopter overhead, saw it land backstage, and out walked Sir Paul McCartney! He had literally just stepped off the plane from London and the crowd went crazy when he treated us to two songs. It felt like we were all part of history because The Beatles were the first rock stars to play at Shea. It was a big, big moment for me and I wish you were there to share it!

Another summer highlight for me was Super Saturday, which is a big shopping party in the Hamptons with all the proceeds benefiting the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. There's great food and everything is discounted - I picked up some makeup from Sonia Kashuk, a Zac Posen handbag, and a Michael Kors top. The best part - aside from knowing that you're shopping for a great cause -- is that you get a goody bag at the end of the day and this year's was better than ever. I brought the bag home so I can go through it product by product (so far I love the St. Tropez sunless tanning moisturizer), and then I promise to report back to you on my favorites when I head back to Rachael's set!

That's all for now, but I'll see you back in the studio very soon ... the new season starts on September 8th!

xoxo,
G

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With gas prices being so out of this world, this year we've decided on a "staycation"... we ain't goin' anywhere! Tom's beautiful kids are with us for the whole summer and we've been playing board games, card games, charades, going to the beach, and just enjoying being a family!

When I'm not hanging with Tom and the kids, I'm carving out a little time for summer reading. I just finished a beautiful book, which I immediately passed on to Tom's sister, Angela, and now she is loving it. I love passing on good books! Anyway, it is called The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. It's considered a young adult book, but I think it is a wonderful read for any age. It's the story of Leisel, a young girl in Nazi Germany, her family and the people in the small town where she lives and the narrator is Death ... but hold on, it's not as dreary as that might sound! It's heartwarming, sad, uplifting, heartbreaking and an absolutely beautiful take on that time in our history.

Of course, summer fun also involves plenty of food, which means we've been having backyard barbeques, and I've been making my favorite summer meal: turkey chili! Believe it or not, I love making a huge pot of it in the summer. Everyone is in and out of the kitchen and the chili sits on the stove simmering all day so people can just grab a bowl whenever they get hungry.

All that delicious food has me looking for new ways to get in the sun for some exercise -- like surfing! The water is quite a bit cooler here in sunny California than it is in Hawaii, where we shot my surfing commercial for Jenny Craig, so I will be donning a wetsuit when I hit the waves. It's such great exercise and so fun!

Hope you're also having a great summer! I'd love to hear from you so send me a note or a question on the message boards! I'll see you back on Rachael Ray in the fall - we're cooking up some great ideas for you!

'Til next time,
Val

Oh my goodness - I have so much to tell you! I'm still buzzing from the Emmys (you know we won, right? Woo hoo!!) It was such an exciting night, and I still pinch myself when I think how lucky I was that I got to go - thank you Rachael! Everything about it was a blast but I'll give you the highlights.

We all went as a family: Rachael and John, Colby, Kristan, and all the producers. It was so fun seeing everyone dolled up and totally glam. (Though I do have to tell you that the dress I wore was from five years ago ... which is a reminder to all of us that sometimes the best place to go shopping is in your own closet!) After walking the red carpet - where we stared at all the glamorous TV stars we've watched for years - we headed to our seats. Little did we know that there was such an exciting night ahead of us. When the Rachael Ray show was announced as the winner for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show, we couldn't believe it! We jumped to our feet, cheered, were hugging, kissing, and then ran up to the stage together. It was the most amazing thing in the whole world to be up on stage with your friends and everyone you love in such a special moment.

Then we went backstage where there was champagne and more hugging and kissing - it was a total frenzy! Rachael kept saying, "I can't believe it! Can you believe it?" She was high five-ing all of us telling us what a great job we did and how happy she was. We were shuffled off to the press room where we took a ton of pictures as we looked at each other in amazement and delight. The last stop of the evening was to an after party ... it would have been fun even if we hadn't won, but celebrating while actually getting the chance to hold the Emmy was just too fun for words!

I do, however, have one little gripe about the evening ... the good news is that you can learn from it! When we were on the red carpet, it was well over 100 degrees. As the photographers clicked away, I felt myself starting to drip and I was thinking, Uh-oh, this is not going to be pretty! I desperately needed a pat-down, I was worried that my makeup was starting to melt, and my hair was literally sticking to my face. It's something we all deal with in the summer months, so I figured I'd share my tips for staying pulled together when the heat or humidity get unbearable.

1) To keep your hair from frizzing or getting too "goopy," go easy on the gel or mousse when it's hot outside.

2) Take advantage of the pony tail. I saw it all over the red carpet - it can be so chic! Wear it high or low, loose or off to the side ... it's so easy and elegant day or night. (I wish I wore my hair up at the Emmys.)

3) If you're not a ponytail gal, try a half up / half down look so you can at least pull your hair off your face. (It'll feel better and also can help avoid breakouts.) You can also go with a headband or head wrap - a great way to stay chic and stay cool.

4) Always wear sunblock ...even when you're dressing up or going out in the early evening. You actually have to use one full ounce and apply it 30 minutes before going outside. Don't skimp and use an SPF over 50. You can never have too much protection from the sun.

5) Try a cream or liquid foundation, and only use concealer in the areas you need it. Then give mineral powder with SPF a try - it's a great way to keep the shine down, and you can reapply it without getting sticky.

Back to my summer adventures ... My birthday is on June 29 and this year I kicked off the celebration with family and friends in Boston. I always love a casual get-together, and in the summer it usually includes beer, grilling and beach. (Maybe a little baseball too.) From there I headed to Paris for the couture shows ... a girl's got to work! I go every year to get fashion and beauty ideas, and this time my special treat was that I brought one of my very best friends, Katie Lee Joel. (I usually love traveling with Rachael - especially because she makes sure I eat well - but she was also on a trip.) Straight from the airport we headed to the Chanel show where one model after the next wore the most beautiful clothes I had ever seen! I think we're going to see a lot of shine and sparkle in the fall because the show is a sneak peak of what's ahead ... I got so many great ideas that I can't wait to share with you on the show. (Don't worry - my ideas will be more affordable!!)

The rest of the trip just got better and better. From there I went to Israel for my first time for a friend's wedding, and then we headed to Istanbul, where I looked at fabrics for my own creations and did a ton of shopping ... it was the perfect blend of business and pleasure. There's so much more I could tell you about the amazing food we ate, the Grand Bazaar, the spices I bought to take home, my Turkish hamam treatment ... but I'm afraid I'll never stop! It was just a fabulous trip and I can't wait to share some of the fashion secrets I learned from my whirlwind adventure. And keep your ideas coming on the message boards too so we can hit all the topics you're asking about as we head into a new season of the show!

Au Revoire, Shalom and Hosh cha kaluhn (I have to brag that I picked up a little bit of the languages!)

Love,
Gretta
xxoo

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Hi all!

Hope you're having a fantastic summer so far. Mine's just getting started after a whirlwind few weeks... Two of them were spent in DC where I worked with the amazing guys from Nice Construction to make over "Sweet" Pete's kitchen -- the winner of Rach's "Hey Can You Cook!?" contest. I love that he won mainly because he and his wife Beth have a great sense of style, so designing for them was fun and rewarding, but I especially love that this amazing experience was granted to such a great family. I was able to spend time with Pete and Beth and the kids on both ends of their trip to Paris (his other big prize was a trip to the famed Cordon Bleu!) They are such a neat family- completely easygoing, hip, and gracious in every sense of the word. And the kids are just delicious!

Speaking of tasty, Ian (our producer) and I were invited over to Paul's (the contractor) lovely home for dinner while we were in town. You'll be able to spot him - he's the bald guy! His wife Laurie and the kids also stopped by the house with goodies throughout the week. This was incredibly important, as Paul and Jared and the rest of the guys worked through the night more than once to make this makeover happen in a week. Scott (my sweetie) showed up for the second half of the trip to help us with the final push, and Cindy, the neighbor, would greet us with fresh hot scones at 6:30 in the morning to get us going. I guess I'm trying to say "it takes a village" to pull these suckers off ... literally. The fact that none of the neighbors complained even though we ran compressors and drills until the early morning hours is a true testament to the relationships that Pete and Beth have with the folks on their block. We were given choice parking spots in the alley for Paul and Jared's trucks, and folks on their way out to work in the morning would give us a little thumbs up to start the day. Jared worked on his birthday on Saturday, Paul worked on a Sunday (which never happens!), and Ian missed a big family surprise party.

But here's the good part -- an awesome family now has a beautiful, functional space to make lifelong memories in. Ian, Scott and I now have an entire circle of new friends in the DC area. And once again, I watched a community come together under the happy little umbrella of "a makeover."

I love my job : )

I can't wait for y'all to see the whole shebang - it'll air when we come back in the fall... as an EMMY-AWARD WINNING SHOW! Oh, did I not mention- this is how my crazy whirlwind few weeks ended? I came home to California just in time to get a fancy pants dress and get myself spray-tanned and off to the Kodak Theatre for the event. What I should've invested in is some of that sweat resistent, cooling underwear, because my lands, was it hot. It cracks me up that all of us women are in more makeup and hair spray than any human ever should be, as well as brutally high heels, to have our pictures taken standing in an outside oven. But who am I kidding?! It's such a fun, surreal experience and one of the great perks of working in this business. This is my second year walking the Red Carpet with Rach, and I know it sounds silly, but I well up with pride each time. Gazillions of people are shouting her name - they've waited in the blazing sun to see her -- and it feels a little like getting to walk around campus with the most popular girl. Plus, Colby, Gretta and myself get to see each other quite a bit, but not always for pure fun the way we do at the Emmy's.

And back to the gushy stuff ... it takes so much work behind the scenes so I tend to brag about our crew a lot. We're very lucky as a show to have the best of the best on staff - producers, editors, directors, you name it. And even luckier that we're all crazy about each other. Seeing everybody all dressed up and in the same place and at the same time - and having no work to think about - makes for such an exciting evening. Oh ... and we won an Emmy too! Did I mention that earlier? It was for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show. But I think any of us would've told you that, trophy or not...

Hope summer has wonderful things in store for you.

xo, kc

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Hey everyone!

I hope your summer is terrific so far! It's been fun talking to y'all on the message boards (keep your questions coming!), and now I wanted to drop a line to tell you a bit about my summer adventures.

Deuce and I decided to take a road trip and headed down to the ranch in Texas for a few weeks at the beginning of the summer. I wanted to go help Mom out, reconnect with nature, and just maintain what I think is most important in life - balance. I'm going to post some photos that I shot while I was down there to share some of my experience with you. Hope you like them. There was a ton of work to be done, but I managed to squeeze in some play time as well! Check out the photo of me launching my brother's quad over a distance of 51 feet! Too much fun! The deer is our pet named "E.T." that my mother feeds by hand, and Dubya is our breeding bull that loves to have his nose scratched. There's also a shot of my boy Deuce with his best friend Smooch.

After some amazing time down at the ranch I headed to Dad's house for Father's Day to grill out on the lake where he lives with my other Mom, Angela. As you can see from the sunset photo taken from the back porch, it is one of the most beautiful and relaxing places on earth. I am truly blessed ... and I haven't even mentioned squeezing in some quality time with my grandparents (fishing and a little poker with my grand pop!) and the rest of my extended family while I was there. You can probably sense a pattern of importance here - FAMILY. They mean the world to me and are the real reason I've matured into the man that I am. They are the ones who keep me grounded and I owe them everything.

After almost 3 weeks of "R&R" in the Lone Star State, Deuce and I jumped back in the truck and headed west just in time to meet Rachael and the gang at the Kodak Theater here in LA. for the Daytime Emmy's (I had to dust off the ole tux and shine the shoes). And it's a good thing I did ... Can you believe it? We won!! Everyone is so excited and I can't wait to get back to work on season 3 of the show! So keep your segment ideas coming in because we are definitely looking for creative suggestions to help make our upcoming season even more fun to watch than the last!

Have an incredible summer and always pursue life to the fullest!

Your friend - Colby

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