Philly Chit Chat

Last week there was a preview party with a “Luxurious Living” vibe for potential buyers and
residents of The Ayer to see the redesign of the original model unit where Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Iguodala lived while playing for the Sixers. 
The condo has been reintroduced to the market with a new look and new
price

Hostess for the evening was Kelly Straka, owner of Lux-Living (L) collaborated with Ilyssa Gross on the design and furnishing of the unit. Kelly’s with her parents.

Many reports state that homes that are designed or professionally furnished, sell much faster than homes that aren’t.

The exclusive marketing and sales agents for the Ayer unit. Lauren Lipowicz, Paul Lipowicz, and Emily Nussbaum of Keller-Williams Luxury Home.

Soaring 11.5 Foot and 8′ Windows create a light airy feel and allow a lot of natural light into the 2193 square foot condo. Andre Iguodala slept here!!

Each home is professionally furnished individually to make the home stand out. The number 1 rule: De-clutter, clean, and/or organize all rooms in the house.

all of the items in this photos were professionally furnished by Lux-Living

 

Lux-Living is a boutique company that caters to specific
interior design and real estate needs of their clients. They work with
everyone from first-time buyers to the top developers and high-profile
clients in Philadelphia.

• All artwork is original and is available for sale with Bluestone Art Gallery in Old City
• All area rugs are Marc Phillips and are available for sale in the Marketplace Design Center

Did I mention the view, looking over Independence Park, and the City Skyline, a stunning North/West exposures; significant upgrades of the finest exotic materials; Sumatra Rosewood flooring; customized storage throughout as well as Macassar Ebony built-ins; designer lighting, Bulthaup B3 kitchen; Miele/Sub-Zero, natural stone baths; Duravit/Dornbracht bath fixtures; fully automated “smart” home with motorized shades and custom audio; hotel-style concierge services; on-site valet parking; chauffer-driven sedan; storage locker, pet-friendly building; fitness center; and balance of tax abatement.

Like the Facebook Page Lux Living Homes and get a for a chance to win a free consultation. Follow Kelly on Twitter @KellyStraka, and her business @LuxLivingHomes  

Call Paul Lipowicz at  215. 805.9451
about the unit which boasts three bedrooms, a den, three bath condominium at the Ayer,
a coveted a 13-story, 56 unit property prominently situated on
Washington Square, in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. The
list price for unit 6NW has been adjusted to $1,349,000.

The Philly Naked Bike Ride, or PNBR, is part of the World Naked Bike
Ride series of events that take place all over the world. The PNBR is
dedicated to three simple ideas; fuel conscious consumption, positive
body image, and cycling advocacy.

 I did not publish any photos of people who were covering their heads with scarfs, gave me the signal not to shoot them, or had No Photos written on their bodies, even thought they were riding a unicycle

The girl on the right watches me on Fox 29’s Good Morning Philly, she told me. Thanks!! I’ll be on Tuesday at 930AM again.

This gal wanted me to strip naked if I was going to take any more photos. Then it would be called a Horror Bike Ride.

there was a huge wedding party and guests on this bus waiting for the bikes to pass by

If anyone would like their photo removed I will do it. If you would like your photo I ‘ll send it to you at the end of the week. email me buzz @ PhillyChitChat.com

Labor
Day Weekend will mark the first time in Philadelphia history that the
Parkway will host a large scale ticketed and gated event, the Made in
America Festival. The Festival is scheduled for September 1st
and 2nd with setup having started this week. 

Planners
have announced that the performances will begin at 2pm and end by
11pm each day of the event. A double fence system will be used to
keep individuals without tickets outside of the festival area, which
stretches from the Art Museum to 22nd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
to Park Town Place.
Philadelphia Police beacons will be setup between City Hall and Logan Circle
as well as a presence of Police and private security along the
perimeter of the festival. 

(Live 8 was held here too, the City did an amazing job on the organization of that event. I live right there, I know.)

Pink means road closed, blue means no parking.

In
addition, a number of street closures will be in effect including 22nd,
23rd, 24th, and 25th Streets from Pennsylvania
to Fairmount Avenues as well as Pennsylvania Avenue and Spring Garden Street
from 20th to 25th Streets. Residents who live
along the closed streets will need to show ID in order to enter those
streets by vehicle.

Thursday, Aug. 30:

•6 a.m.-10 a.m.-All center lanes on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will be closed until Monday, September 3.

•2:30 p.m.-6:30-The Benjamin Franklin Parkway outer lanes will be open for access to Kelly and Martin Luther King drives.

Friday, Aug. 31:

•6 a.m.-10 a.m.-Traffic will continue on MLK Drive to the outer lanes of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and to Interstate-676.

•Kelly Drive will be diverted at Fairmount Avenue.

•After
10 a.m., the eastbound outer drive of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
will be closed to vehicular traffic, from Eakins Oval to 20th Street.

•2:30
p.m.-6:30 p.m.-The westbound outer drive of the Benjamin Franklin
Parkway will be open to traffic and will lead to Kelly and Martin Luther
King drives

•At 6:30 p.m., the entire event area will be closed to vehicle traffic until Monday , September 3.

Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2:

Concert
performances begin at 2 p.m. and will end at 11 p.m. both days. Beginning at 6
a.m., roads in the area of the event will be closed to non-resident
traffic, including:

•21st street between Arch and Spring Garden

•22nd Street between Arch and Fairmount

•23rd Street between Parkway and Fairmount

•24th Street from Fairmount to Pennsylvania

•25th Street from Fairmount to Pennsylvania

•Spring Garden between 20th and 31st Streets (including Spring Garden Street tunnel)

•Kelly Drive from 23rd Street to Fairmount

•Martin Luther King Drive from Falls Bridge to the Parkway

•Pennsylvania Avenue from Hamilton Street to Fairmount Avenue

•Pennsylvania Avenue closed, from 2000 block of Pennsylvania Ave./Callowhill Street, west of Whole Food lot

•Park Towne Place from 22nd Street to 24th Street

While
the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and intersections adjacent to the
festival perimeter will remain closed, including 21st and 22nd streets
at the Parkway, intersections beyond the immediate festival area are
expected to open to traffic after midnight

Traffic patterns are expected to return to normal late Monday night or
early Tuesday morning, in time for Tuesday morning rush hour between 6
a.m. and 10 a.m.

SEPTA and NJTransit will operate under normal
weekend schedules. Festival ticket-holders and others planning to visit
the parkway are urged to use public transportation to get in and out of
Center City during the festival weekend, due to the road closures.

The
Mayor’s Office also says the city will provide a heavy police presence
during the concert. Three Philadelphia Police beacons will be positioned
outside the festival showing where officers are deployed to assist
festival goers. The beacons will be on the northeast corner of 17th
Street and the Parkway, the southeast corner of 18th and the Parkway and
the western entrance to Logan Circle between 19th and 20th Streets.

For a schedule of setup and street closures, click
here.

Access
to the event is only available to festival ticket holders. Tickets for
both days are still available. You can purchase them through
Ticketmaster or Live Nation. Proceeds from the concert will benefit
local United Way organizations.

For more information on the festival, visit the Made in America website.

Register for the 2012 City of Hope Walk for Hope at Bankwerx by Conestoga Bank at 1632 Walnut Street this Saturday from 11AM to 3PM. All registrants receive a great gift bag and are entered to win prize’s during the day.

HopeCuts 2012 Mid-Atlantic is coming on September 23, 2012. Participating salons from Virginia to New York will be hosting HopeCuts to assist City of Hope in continuing its groundbreaking research, treatment and education programs

I was having so much fun at Starbucks on Tuesday shooting Paranoia that I passed on at least 3 Miley Cyrus’ tips, but thank you to my tipsters. Miley started her day early hitting Starbucks at 8AM, no doubt having one of those sleeps I get about 4 hours. Then she hit up the historic area, I have reports of her at Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, Then she went to the Betsy Ross House late afternoon and over to Elfreth’s Alley.  Carolyn Santamauro was whipping up some pastry and invited Miley and her 2 friends in. One of the friends I’ve read is Liam’s bud from Australia, so don’t read too much into it.  (Eater Philly has the story.)

Later I got reports that Miley was walking down 2nd Street, crossed over Market and

Then like a young hip chick, Miley headed for a little retail therapy on South Street, finally finding her way back to Philadelphia AIDS Thrift at 710 S.5th S. (I was one of the first volunteers when the store was founded by Peter Hiler, Tom Brennan and Christina Kallas in 1992, and helped them set it up behind Hiler’s shop – The Book Trader when it was located at 7th & South Streets.)

Party in the USA, I’m gonna miss covering Miley & her fans in Philly. I kinda wish I had left Starbucks to see her one last time, but after chatting with her Saturday night I feel I broke the 4th wall and I really didn’t want to invade her personal space, especially since she thanked me for respecting it. In fact last night I had a chance to shoot Harrison Ford walking down Walnut St, but I walked across the street and just observed him for a few minutes before I headed to Le Castagne for dinner with friends.

A texting Liam “Miley where are you?”
This is one of the shots I got while Miley ran around town helping our economy and getting her history on. My Philly Mag column. 

Next week I’ll be on Fox 29’s Good Day with my wrap up of Paranoia & Miley. I have a couple fun stories I haven’t told, and will be doing a post on PhillyChitChat.com about it and well I did sell my story to one of the glossy magazines that will be coming out I think Friday. But I can’t comment on what it’s about, but it will answer some of the questions you ask me about.

The other day I was just randomly running by the Ritz Carlton and came across a dozen fans waiting for Victoria Justice. I had never heard of the Disney star, but I thought let me get a few action shot of the Nickolodeon actress with her fans.

She didn’t disappoint as she posed and signed for the nearly 20 tweens waiting for her.

 To the left is the Daddy Fan Girl that I tweeted about. Are you following me on Twitter yet. I chat about celebrity sightings, and other interesting tidbits happening in Philly. Check me out at @iphillychitchat

This is my favorite shot. I love that even when she was this close to the door of the bus she posed for one last shot.  Check out my Philly Mag Column today for the Philadelphia Geek Awards, should be live by 11AM – it’s under The Scene section here.
Also I posted yesterday’s Fox 29 celeb segment about Miley Cyrus and Patty Jackson’s events here.
Paranoia is filming at 12th and Walnut today, the street is closed, both the 1100 block of Walnut and 12th between Sansom and Locust Streets. Stores are open though.