Blog Posts by The Vivant

By Spencer Cain, The Vivant

Nicki's expensive gift To have someone specifically request to dress you for the Met Gala (a.k.a. fashion's biggest night and the most major red carpet of the year) is quite the honor, but some designers are taking it a step further and treating celebrities to lavish gifts. Case in point: Nicki Minaj, who was outfitted for the celebration of the new exhibit "Punk: Chaos to Couture" by Tommy Hilfiger.

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In order to thank Minaj for her presence on the big night at his table, Hilfiger gifted her a Rolex Oyster 41 mm Day-Date II watch in Everose gold that retails for a whopping $37,000. He sent the amazing piece of jewelry to her hotel room with a note simply stating, "To Nicki - XO - Tommy," which she put a photograph of on Twitter.

Well, damn. Talk about a lucky gal. Not only did the rapper get to rock an awesome punk-themed duds, she now has a fabulous five-figure keepsake that she can wear on her wrist

By Spencer Cain, The Vivant

Carole Radziwill On the last season of "Real Housewives of New York City," viewers were treated to a somewhat surprising new cast member: Author Carole Radziwill, whose been a New York City fixture and household name for years now. Her 2006 New York Times bestseller What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love, based on the tragic passing of late husband Anthony Radziwill and close friends John Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, is a haunting must-read-and her latest book The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating (out September 17) is a more humorous look at life after the death of a loved one.

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Radziwill is also a bona fide fashion lover, with a unique sense of style. We caught up with her to chat about her favorite spots to write, her enviable closet, and her memorable run-in with Karl Lagerfeld.
The Vivant: Tell us about your process when it comes to writing.
Carole Radziwill:

By Leah Bourne, The Vivant

Tourists Ever wonder which tourists spend the most money when they travel? Visa's 2013 Global Travel Intentions Study has just been released, offering some insights into just that.

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After surveying 12,630 travelers from 25 countries the survey found that Saudi Arabians are the top spenders shelling out an average of $6,666 per trip. Coming in second are Australians who spend on average $4,118, while Chinese travelers came in third spending $3,824.

The Chinese could soon take the top spot. Boosted by a rising Chinese currency, Chinese travelers spent a record $102 billion on international tourism in 2012, a 40 percent rise from $73 billion in 2011.
Which tourists shop the most contrasts sharply with the top travel destinations in the world. The US came in first with 17 percent of respondents saying they went to the US in the last two years. Other top destinations were the

By Spencer Cain, The Vivant

Beyoncé Beyoncé may position herself as one of the most humble stars out there, grateful for all her blessings and just happy to be doing what she loves, but let's not forget that she is a total diva. Last night, she kicked off the first of six shows in London as part of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour at the famed 02 Arena-and she had some pretty lofty demands.

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After arriving at the arena by a private helicopter, the 31-year-old star immediately took issue with one very important thing: Her dressing room! While the dressing rooms are said to be luxurious and massive at the arena, she just didn't feel they were big enough-and opted to get ready in the ones that are normally used for entire sports teams.

Of course, she reportedly customized the rooms before she arrived with white drapes, leather sofas, and dramatic carpeting. This isn't the only demand Bey has had

By Leah Bourne, The Vivant

Queen Máxima Just yesterday the Dutch celebrated the coronation of a new king and queen of the Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Máxima. Being obsessed with all things royalty, here, 12 things you need to know about the new queen.

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1. She's Argentinian. No, Máxima's doesn't hail from the Netherlands herself, she is from Argentina.

2. She is a descendent of royalty. Through her father, she is a descendant of King Afonso III of Portugal and his son King Denis of Portugal and many noble families of the Iberian Peninsula.

3. Her father has a controversial past. Máxima's father was a cabinet minister during the regime of Argentine President Jorge Rafael Videla, and was believed to be involved in the "Dirty War," a period of state sponsored terrorism in Argentina during the 1960s.

4. She has a business background. Máxima worked for Deutsche Bank in New

By Spencer Cain, StyleCaster

Matt Lauer It's no secret that Matt Lauer has had an incredibly difficult year. The "Today" co-anchor was deemed responsible in the media for his former co-host Ann Curry's incredibly controversial departure from the show. Numerous reports labeled him as beyond difficult, cold, and essentially a 55-year-old male diva. So, as anyone with a $25 million annual contract would do, Lauer has decided he needed something to help him relax at this $15 million Hamptons mansion-and therefore bought a $1.4 million Hinckley T38 yacht.

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The brand new yacht is named "Resilient"-and frankly, given the public beating he's taken recently, we can only assume it's a way of keeping his confidence high. It could also refer to his marriage with model Annette Roque (the duo have had ups and downs over the years, with a divorce petition filed-but removed-back in 2006).

Lauer's

By Spencer Cain, The Vivant

The Kardashians In case you don't keep up with the Kardashians-and let's face it, that's pretty hard to do in the age of social media-you may not know that they're currently on an incredibly lavish vacation in Greece that's being filmed for their E! reality show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." Just a nice, secluded vacation with their family and tons of camera guys-that's costing well over $200,000 a week!

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The family (minus significant others, like Kim's baby daddy Kanye West and Khloé's husband Lamar Odom) have been living large aboard an unbelievable yacht off the coast of Mykonos. We did some digging and discovered that the yacht, known as Oceanos, is a 161 foot behemoth that can be reserved for $195,000 a week. Regardless of their fabulous surroundings, Kim and Khloé are reportedly miserable that their men had to stay behind for work commitments, and that they were contractually obligated to go

By Leah Bourne, The Vivant

President Obama and Michelle Obama The State Department has just released a report on the haul of gifts that President Obama received from world leaders in 2011 and the gifts are not to be believed! The Philippines Ambassador gave Obama a bamboo bicycle, the Afghan Ambassador gave him a rug, the Australian Prime Minister gifted him an iPod shuffle, the President of El Salvador gifted a wooden mask carved into the shape of a jaguar, the Polish Prime Minister gifted vodka, and the German Chancellor gave him a putter set.

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The most generous gifter was former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni who gifted the First Family over $40,000 worth of items including a Hermès golf accessory bag worth $7,750, a Louis Vuitton men's bag, two Baccarat crystal lamps worth $5,500, and children's clothing from Bonpoint Paris.

And don't think Obama was the only administration official to get some serious