A weekend with the angels

Danielynn & Larry Birkhead & Scott Baio

Just back from a great weekend in LA, where I went to help Renee and Scott Baio with their very first Celebrity Baby Yard Sale. I flew out there last Friday, rented a brand new red Mustang convertible (thanks for the upgrade, Hertz!), and headed to the Valley (my first visit ever) by the grace of GPS. The whole crew worked like mad setting up the event ; I didn’t get to bed till 4:30 AM! Three hours of sleep and I’m back up and off to the sale. Such a glamorous life, I know….

The day went really well – we raised at least $10,000 for the Bailey Baio Angel Foundation. Lots of celebrity babies showed up with their handlers - a.k.a. their parents. Dannielynn Birkhead looked completely adorable as usual. Her dad Larry promised to send me photos of her appearance on CNN’s Larry King Show wearing No Slippy Hair Clippy^® - he’s also going to visit their Web site and pick out clips to coordinate with all her outfits! I had a wonderful time talking to precious Ava Priestley’s dad Jason, who was an absolute sweetheart. True confessions - it helps that he’s Canadian - like me! We’ve sent Jason and his wife Naomi lots of baskets over the past few years, and they’ve always sent back the nicest, most detailed thank-you notes.

Ava & Jason Priestley

Special kudos to publicist Geneva Wasserman, who handled paparazzi like a pro, and everybody else who worked so hard to make it a really successful event. Renee and Scott Baio were wonderful; considering this was the first time they’d done something like this, they did a great job putting everything together. Their baby Bailey is lovely, and I was really glad to have the chance to help them out.

Once we finished up at the hotel, I headed over to a longtime girlfriend’s house in Hollywood for a little R&R. Now, it being Hollywood, just about every house you see has some kind of celebrity attached to it, but this house is way past that. This house is pure Americana. It was Ozzie & Harriet’s actual house! My friend and her husband have kept it in the same style as the Nelsons (it looks identical to the one created for their TV series), and tourists come by constantly trying to get a glimpse through the hedges. So get this – I got to stay in Ricky Nelson’s bedroom! And you can still see his signature on the wall in the closet! Supposedly the house is haunted by Ozzie; the real estate broker that sold it to my friend was even required to tell her about that. I’m skeptical – but I have to tell you - my Blackberry vanished in that room. So if anyone gets a call from that phone, who knows who’s going to be on the other end????