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NYSD TODAY: The New Owners of Evermay; Dr. Drew's "Political Rehab."

Georgetown's grandest estate, Evermay, recently got new owners after decades in the same family. Who are the new owners, who paid $22 million for the historic mansion and 3.5 acres of lawn and gardens? Read about it here. Also, some thoughts on what Dr. Drew could do for Washington. 

Sinatra and Sartorial Verve, on NYSD Today

 WELL TURNED OUT AT THE SINATRA SOIREE

With a dress theme of "summer ahoy" there was a pronounced fashion verve at the annual Sinatra Soiree, hosted by The Capital Club. Read about it on New York Social Diary here. 

NYSD Today: Summer Pursuits

My regular Monday  New York column has a little something for everyone, beginning with the American flags distributed throughout Georgetown this past weekend. Interesting where one ended up. Also Washington Kastles tennis begins today down at the team's new stadium on the Maine Avenue waterfront, where a week ago I boarded Jeff Pfeifle's yacht Sea Loafers for a lovely cocktail gathering, a prelude to surgery for Jeff's friend, Adam Mahr. Reluctant to give up the watery theme, I also attended a fascinating gala for explorers and exploration hosted by, (who else?), National Geographic Society, and featuring a humble James Cameron. Read it all here on New York Social Diary.

A Wedding(s) Celebration at Hillwood

THE HILLWOOD DINING TABLE, SET FOR A WEDDING LUNCHEON

Hillwood museum opened the vaults and pulled out the extravagant wedding attire worn by Marjorie Merriweather Post and her daughters at a dozen of their marriages. The silks and lace and other memorabilia have been transformed into an exhibition called "Wedding Belles," which opened this weekend, another good reason to visit the museum house on Linnean Avenue. Read about it here. 

NYSD Today: The Italians Live Like Guggenheims at DC's Villa Firenze

 DOIN' ALRIGHT: THE ITALIAN AMBASSADOR'S WASHINGTON SPREAD

In the 21st century, with communications technology advancing at warp speed, leaders of nations can communicate with each other almost effortlessly. The role of ambassador, once so vital to these communications, has become more ceremonial, social and pro forma. But, at least for some ambassadors to Washington, it can be a very grand life. Just regard the photo above of Villa Firenze, the grace and favor home to Italian Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant' Agata. Not bad digs at all for company housing. We're talking acres upon acres of beautiful lawn, a mansion with dozens of rooms, and a large pool, and gardens, and guest houses. Once upon a time it was home to the Guggenheims. 

Imagine attending a late spring lawn party there. Read on in my New York Social Diary column today here. 

NYSD Today: LEARNING TO DRIVE

THE DAY WE ARRIVED AT THE PACIFIC OCEAN, JULY 2005

Life forced me to learn how to drive, at age 47, but learning how to drive gave me new opportunities and personal strengths, and made possible the best summer trip ever, driving cross country and back with my then 13-year-old son, Spencer.

From LEARNING TO DRIVE: "By the time this long-haul journey happened we were veteran road-trippers, a mother-son team who found emotional recovery and an eternal bond on the highway and, in particular, in a car. It was a milestone on many levels, but especially because I was in so many ways a new driver."

Read more here. 

NYSD Today: "Follies" and Its Relevance to Washington Marrieds

 THE KENNEDY CENTER AT TWILIGHT (photo by Carol Joynt)

The Kennedy Center revival of Stephen Sondheim's 1971 hit, Follies, is proving to be a hit with Washington audiences. Apart from the obvious reasons, why is that? I try to answer the question in my New York Social Diary column today. Please read it here. 

NYSD: DANNY MEYER BRINGS SHAKE SHACK TO DC; GAME ON!

My New York Social Diary column today focuses on the opening in DC of the famed New York burger joint, Shake Shack, and its creator, Danny Meyer, and what that may mean for a hometown fave, Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery. Read it here. 

NYSD Today: DSK in Georgetown, and a "Thank You" to New York

THE GEORGETOWN HOME OF DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN

In my New York Social Diary column today, a wee bit on DSK in Georgetown and a whole lot more on my whirlwind week in NYC for the launch of "Innocent Spouse. Read it here. 

New York Social Diary Today: Eric Ripert and Tudor Place

THE CAVE DWELLER ELITE AT THE TUDOR PLACE GARDEN PARTY

On New York Social Diary today I write about Eric Ripert's appearance last week on The Q&A Cafe. There's good reason why he is a world famous chef. Also, a visit to the week's best social event, the annual Tudor Place Garden Party. Read it all here. 

NYSD Today: Has The Circus Lost Its Buzz

 ONE OF THE POPULAR AFTER PARTIES HAPPENS HERE, AT THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR'S

On New York Social Diary today I look at whether the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner has lost its buzz. The event is this weekend and, regardless, it will be as packed as ever with a record number of before and after parties, plus all the imported tinseltown shimmer. Read it all here. 

NYSD: Brits In a Partying Mood, and The Folger Gala

 ANDERSON HOUSE ON A SPRING EVENING

The party was not for the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but nonetheless the Brits were in a partying mood last week at Anderson House. The soiree was hosted by the Financial Times, and it was one of the better parties held in Washington. Why? Read here. Also, the Folger Gala, with a photo report from James Brantley. 

NYSD Today: Countdown to the Non-Shutdown

 TULIPS, CHAMPAGNE, FOOD, FRIENDS AT THE BONDURANT-DUNN HOME

On New York Social Diary today, a look back at the weekend and how Washington went about its business during the countdown to the shutdown that never happened, and beyond.  Read it here. My explorations included a cocktail party at the home of Amy Bondurant and David Dunn, welcoming CNN foreign correspondent Jim Bitterman to town; cocktails and a buffet supper at the home of Juleanna Glover, who welcomed the nominees and supporters of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards.

Where I ended up Saturday evening is not in NYSD, but must be mentioned: a lowkey down-home barbecue dinner with The Moffetts, including Myra's family visiting from North Carolina (with the BBQ) and some friends visiting from Connecticut. After a stressful week, short of a getaway at the beach, this was a welcomed distraction. Sunday there was a 15th  birthday party for George Malloch-Brown, visiting from Merry Olde, which included lots of teens and parents and a mountain of Cactus Cantina.  

 MYRA MOFFETT TRILLS "COME ON IN."

 THE "MAKINS," FRESH FROM LEXINGTON, NC

 MYRA WITH HER STEP MOM AND DAD

 SARAH DELAPP, MYRA AND LESLIE BERAN AT THE TABLE

NYSD: Aubrey Sarvis & SLDN, Celebrating Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

 REP. STENY HOYER WITH AUBREY SARVIS AT THE SLDN DINNER

My New York Social Diary column today focuses on Saturday night's annual dinner of the Service Member's Legal Defense Network, the non-profit that helped engineer repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Its executive director is my former neighbor and good friend, Aubrey Sarvis. The dinner was held at the National Building Museum, where the mood was one of celebration. Read it here.

caroljoynt.com: Welcome to My Website

If you are a first time visitor to caroljoynt.com, welcome. It has a few different components. Chiefly it is home to a daily diary I write, "Swimming in Quicksand," which is about my life, my community, events in the news, popular culture, food, travel and the occasional rant. SIQ began several years ago on my first website, nathansgeorgetown.com,set up for the restaurant I inherited, Nathans of Georgetown. The site was launched to promote my interview program, The Q&A Cafe, but during the summer months when it was on hiatus I needed to find a way to keep visitors visiting. I started a daily diary. My inspiration was Ana Marie Cox, who at the time wrote for the website Wonkette. She'd been a guest on my show and I was impressed with her candor--both in person and online. I thought, to quote my late mother, Well, why not?

At first the diary was titled "Diary of a Mad Saloon Owner," but I never liked that name. It was unoriginal, and I wasn't mad, only the saloon business was mad. It was the world around me that was sapping my resources, making me vulnerable, scared, feeling as though at any moment I would sink beneath the surface. Voila! Swimming in Quicksand was born. 

In its early years, the late oughts, SIQ was where I went to vent a day of feeling challenged by so much I did not always understand. I wrote about trying to stay afloat, especially financially. Every day I had less and I had to find ways to cope. Writing the diary helped enormously, at least emotionally. There was a thousand ton weight on me, Nathans, but when that got cut free in 2009, the relief was tangible. I had much less money, much less, BUT, significantly, I had freedom. The glitch game in that I bought my freedom at the same time the economy was in meltdown. I made myself unemployed when there were no jobs. That's why I kept the diary and new website (caroljoynt.com) up and running. It was as relevant as ever.

I strive to be no B.S.-- honest, candid, funny when possible, compassionate, community-minded, but don't claim to be the official point of view. For example, for grounded online news about Georgetown, I always aim people to The Georgetown Metropolitan. Also, there's The Georgetown Dish. The Georgetowner, a print newspaper, is the dean of Georgetown media. 

Caroljoynt.com is also where I post news about The Q&A Cafe. In its first seven years, at Nathans, the show was weekly. Since 2009 it has been monthly, at The Georgetown Ritz Carlton Hotel. It airs on DC Cable, TV 16. The show's ten year anniversary will happen in October 2011. I'm quite proud it has lasted this long. In the last decade I've interviewed some 300 notable people. I hold that up there with my Emmy Award as a proud achievement. 

Also here you will find news about my book, "Innocent Spouse," a memoir that is to be published May 10 by Crown. We welcome advance orders on Amazon or any other book website. Writing the book has been my "job" for the last year and a half. It was a writing project and an emotional purge and an altogether excellent experience. I owe a lot of gratitude to my agent, Laney Katz Becker, who found me, and to my editor, Suzanne O'Neill, who fell in love with the book and whose passion for it stayed strong all the way through. Working with the full team at Crown has been a rewarding experience, reminding me of the best collaborations I enjoyed during more than 30 years in mainstream print and network news. 

I also use caroljoynt.com to link to a weekly column I write about Washington for the website New York Social Diary. It is not a "society" column, but rather my take on the city where I have lived since 1977. Its about all aspects of the capital, including the occasional encounter with so-called society, but I'm not really sure what that is in a company town. Society, in the wealthy, frivolous, fashionable and trendy sense, is as ill a fit here as reality TV. What Washington has is more a "nouvelle" society, people with some new money and who want to spread it around or show it off. Since generosity matters, that's not a bad thing. The "going out" society in Washington is about fundraisers and rich entrepreneurial suburbanites and more fundraisers. They are commendable for their support of the arts, culture, preservation. In particular they are drawn to institutions that will put their names on walls and at the tops of invitations. I don't fault them for that. If it is a productive incentive, hat's off.

At the other extreme are the "cave dwellers," who by choice are off the grid. Their interest in public mention is entirely old school -- "birth," "marriage" and "death." They are an aging population of Washington families, some connected to government but most not, some with inherited money, some with less money, and they rarely go out. The best place to find them is the January Washington Winter Show, the Tudor Place Garden party and the Chevy Chase and Sulgrave clubs. But really, they don't want you to find them.

There's a young partying group in Washington, also quite active in fundraising. I find them interesting, diverse and ambitious. It includes many pretty women and I wonder why they stay in DC, where the men are mostly interested in other men, and I don't mean that necessarily in gay way. 

If there's any authentic high society in Washington it is among the old-guard African American community, as closed and tight as any true social bastion anywhere in the U.S. They dress up, they go out, they are mannered, they know each other well and there is a fierce hierarchy. If I were able to get inside that group and write about them then I could call myself a Washington society writer. But I can't so I'm not.

What I do for New York Social Diary is go to all kinds of places and events, observe the rituals, see things, eat an occasional meal, take photos, and report back, trying to put the experience in context for the most powerful city in the world. My editors, David Patrick Columbia and Jeff Hirsch, are great. When a DC power player is full of hot air, they let me say so.  If I could make a living writing my weekly column, I would do it from here to the horizon. But, alas, after the book does its turn, I will need to find gainful employment.

caroljoynt.com is a great front for the fact I am private, shy, not social, not fashionable, a loner, tight with a few close friends and interested primarily in my family and my home. Everything else is what I do to not sink in the quicksand. I hope you'll visit often. And, should you want to, please write. I welcome feedback. 

NYSD: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Benoit, and 3 Haute Hotels

 HEAVENLY SPAGHETTI AT L'ATELIER DE JOEL ROBUCHON

On New York Social Diary today I report for the "Dining" column on meals at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Benoit. Worth a read and a visit, here.

THE LIVING ROOM OF OUR SUITE AT THE SHERRY-NETHERLAND

Also, an additional report on New York luxury hotel "staycations" featuring The Four Seasons Hotel, The Sherry-Netherland and The Surrey. Read it here. 

NYSD Today: The Jete Society Dance Party, and Chris Botti

A tribal rite of almost spring, the Jete Society Dance Party happened this past Saturday night in a vacant office space on the Georgetown waterfront. Lots of young women and men, drinking, dancing, nibbling on corn dogs, and into the wee hours. But how do those pretty women of DC tolerate the DC men? Also, a party for trumpeter Chris Botti at the Kennedy Center. Read about it here. 

NYSD Today: "We Are Virginians"

On New York Social Diary today I write about my trip to Richmond for the gala opening night of the Musee Picasso exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. For me it was much more than a social event because its not possible to visit Richmond without time-traveling in history and considering what it means to be a Virginian. Also, I shine some light on where I stayed, the lovely Jefferson Hotel. It has cinema connections: to both "Gone With the Wind" and "My Dinner with Andre." 

If you live in the DC area, this trip is easy to do: 92 miles from here to there. The Picasso exhibition is a delight, as is the entire museum. But make sure to spend the night at The Jefferson.

NATHANS Returns...In "Broadcast News" DVD

 WILLIAM HURT IN A SCENE FROM "BROADCAST NEWS," SHOT AT NATHANS

Director James L. Brooks has re-issued his film "Broadcast News" and the new DVD includes previously deleted scenes that were shot at Nathans. Its a little bit of sentimental time-travel for those who love the film and Nathans fans who remember the bar's hey day, circa 1987. Read about it in my column on New York Social Diary, here. 

Some more of the Nathans shots:

 HURT WALKS OUT OF THE FRONT DOOR, AT THAT TIME PAINTED WHITE

 ALONG WISCONSIN AVENUE, SHOWING THE BUILDING'S BEAUTIFUL WINDOWS

NYSD Today: JFK, Lyndon Boozer, Luci Baines Johnson, Dan Snyder

 KENNEDY ERA SOUVENIRS AT THE KENNEDY CENTER GIFT SHOP

There was quite a lot to talk about for this week's DC column on New York Social Diary. Part of it the Alvin Ailey gala at the Kennedy Center, where I remembered JFK and also spent time with Luci Baines Johnson and Lyndon Boozer, and took some photos I like of them, plus Howard Fineman, Katharine Weymouth and others. 

Also, my thoughts on the $2 million lawsuit filed by Dan Snyder against Washington City Paper.

Read it here. 

NYSD Today: "Please Don't Quote Me"

THIS PHOTO IS A PRANK. I DO NOT ACTUALLY WALK THE STREETS LIKE THIS - YET

People I write about do not always trust me to write about them in what they consider to be their most favorable light. In other words, that perhaps I might be, well, honest. Ha. And here I thought we were all just having a good time together, no holds barred, to tell it like it is in the nation's capital. Ha ha ha. You'll understand what I mean in my New York Social Diary column for today, here. 

NYSD "Dining"--Lavo, Where The Vibe Is Mama Mia!

 LAVO'S ITALIAN STYLE FRIES WITH PARMESAN, HERBS AND GARLIC

For New York Social Diary "Dining" today I write about a recent visit to New York City's crowded and stylish Lavo, where the signature dish is a giant Kobe meatball. Also popular is the Oreo Zeppole, double stuffed Oreo cookies served with a vanilla malted milkshake. Filling? Yes. But that's the point. Read more here.

NYSD Today: Farewell To The French Ambassador

PIERRE VIMONT, IN HIS ROLE AS FRENCH AMBASSADOR  

Pierre Vimont was in Washington only a few years as French Ambassador, but in that short time he made an impressive presence. Now he's off to Brussels for a much bigger job with the EU. He's the subject of my column today on New York Social Diary. Read it here. 

P.J. Clarke's DC - for NYSD "Dining"

  LUNCHTIME AT P.J. CLARKE'S DC

A bar is a bar is a bar, unless its P.J. Clarke's. For New York Social Diary "Dining," I visit the new P.J. Clarke's DC, as much a new adventure as a trip down memory lane. Read about it here. 

NYSD Today: A Rush Before the Holiday

PARTY GUESTS IN JULEANNA GLOVER'S KITCHEN

On New York Social Diary today I write about Larry King and his long-time producer, Wendy Walker; a private screening hosted by Jeff Zucker on behalf of Prince Charles; an Amy Holmes party at Juleanna Glover's, and an interesting visit to the ISPA convention at National Harbor. It's all here. 

Unfortunately when I was at the ISPA convention I missed the folks at Alchemie, DC's own Georgetown based brand (lower Wisconsin). I did stop by to admire their products, however, and today received this nice note from them which is an early holiday present for local fans. This is a deal not to be passed up:

"The Alchimie Forever showroom is a DC beauty destination that offers personal attention and quality Swiss skin care! We would like to offer your readers 15% off during the month of December if they mention LOVEAF at checkout."

 

 

The Washington Power Breakfast Is In Georgetown, on NYSD Today

 SITTING DOWN TO BREAKFAST AT THE FOUR SEASONS GEORGETOWN

For New York Social Diary's "dining" page today I focus on the Washington "power" breakfast, which is in Georgetown at The Four Seasons Hotel. But there are two awesome alternatives nearby, and both attract their own share of boldfacers: Baked & Wired and Furin's of Georgetown. Read it here. 

NYSD Today: Jon Stewart and Sanity/Insanity On The Mall

 

HA HA HA: AN ACTUAL LIMO, IN THE SHADOW OF THE CAPITOL, AT A LIBERAL EVENT!

My New York Social Diary column today is a look back at this weekend's Restore Sanity And/Or Fear rally on the Mall and a look forward to tomorrow's mid-term vote. Read it here.