Most Powerful Women

The former CEO of Martha Stewart's company, Lisa Gersh (L- above), just got scooped up by Gwyneth. That's right, Gwyneth Paltrow's scaling company, GOOP, the online lifestyle startup just scored a big player, in an effort to expand the business. If that little tid-bit is of interest, perhaps you'll find the below intriguing: Today, I'll spend a decent portion of my day watching the live stream of Fortune's annual "Most Powerful Women Summit" (MPWS). Yesterday marked the first day of the annual event and will include panel sessions with speakers such as Tracy Anderson, fitness to the stars and founder of The Tracy Anderson Method, Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Julia Hartz, Co-Founder and President of Eventbrite, Jane Lauder, Global Brand President of Clinique and The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Carolyn Everson, VP, Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook, and Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors.

The event was started in 1999, with the intention of gathering prominent women in business to engage in proactive discussions regarding global business issues, leadership challenges, industry trends and the modern day successes and conflicts women in particular face in such a landscape. Monday marked the launch of Fortune's digital Most Powerful Women Channel, which serves as a platform to share such topics from an insider's perspective. To see a complete list of speakers for this year's MPW summit, click here.

Just Right

Ordinarily, I don't gravitate toward contemporary interior design, however I've warmed up to such elements in recent years. I've always appreciated the art of the narrative some traditional and antique pieces offer, and I suppose, contemporary pieces can certainly hold their own too. The above photo is a living room designed by Sara Story for a Manhattan family, part of a city project she completed in 8 weeks, a swift timeline dictated by her clients' interest in finishing before their children came home from summer camp. The high gloss gray walls, Will Rizzo coffee table and lush velvet textures on the sofa and rug make this room its own sophisticated hideaway. See more below. Photographs via

Do You?

Do you follow your horoscope? I do. I'm hoping this won't jinx it, but this month is looking swell for us Aries folk. The above and below were taken from Tory Daily and her collaboration with Susie Cox. Libra Happy birthday, lovely Libra! Your planet, Venus, is in the sign of Libra from September 29th until October 23rd. Make sure you do some serious self-pampering during those dates, maybe even a trip to the spa is in the air.

Scorpio Mercury will retrograde in Scorpio from September 27th until October 10th, when it goes back into Libra. Tend to your affairs while it’s visiting Scorpio and straighten out any financial matters that may need to be fixed.

Sagittarius Mars is moving through your sign of Sagittarius and will be forming a positive angle to both Jupiter and Uranus from September 25th until October 19th. Good luck will be your friend during those magical dates.

Capricorn The first week in October is your week. Plan important business meetings at that time and you will be set for the entire month. If only all months were this productive.

Aquarius Your sign always thinks big, but this month you will see the world with an even larger view. Be daring and know this is your time to expand your horizons.

Pisces Pisces is full of inspiration and on October 5th you will be even closer to your source of creativity. Then on October 6th, your creative venture will become real. Plan to do something that you can finish in a couple of days.

Aries This is a big month for you! The total eclipse of the moon is in Aries on October 8th. An eclipse in your sign is the time to look at your life and decide what to release to open up space for new opportunities.

Taurus To be successful, plan to negotiate with authority figures on October 10th and 11th. They will listen and you will realize you have influence over them instead of the other way around.

Gemini If you are the Gemini who likes to write and communicate, this is your month! Pull out that manuscript you’re working on and polish it up, because you will be even more brilliant than normal.

Cancer Being the caregiver of the zodiac, you will feel extra emotional around October 15th. Family issues could arise, but never fear, you will be the perfect person to smooth out the wrinkles.

Leo You strut your stuff better than any other sign, and the weekend of October 17th and 18th is your time to shine. Get dressed up and throw a party for your outrageous friends. Yes, you can go over the top!

Virgo You are the most organized sign of the zodiac, but on October 5th and 19th, you will feel like you are floating in space. Maybe relax and don’t work too much, because you probably won’t be very productive anyway.

The Clamor & Construction That Is Pacific Heights

Growing up, I would visit my Father at his job sites, watching contractors pour concrete or landscapers planting around a new terrace with the clamor of nails and heavy machinery around us. As a builder and developer, my Father educated me on the many intricacies of new construction, green construction, heating and cooling systems, inspections - you name it. He would point and pry, introducing me to the engineer, architect, electrician - everyone under the sun. This world is one I feel comfortable in. Yet, given my familiarity, I am constantly enamored by the sheer volume of construction in Pacific Heights. Yesterday, I went for one of my typical walks in the neighborhood and could have counted 20 different construction projects on Vallejo Street alone. I'm not talking a new sidewalk and a few cosmetic improvements, I'm talking about stately buildings completely demolished down to the bedrock to accommodate newly appointed, state of the art single-family homes. The neighborhood is alive with construction crews, cranes, workmen on their lunch breaks - it feels almost surreal, as if you're walking through a movie set.

As most of you know, Pacific Heights plays host to some serious real estate. As evidenced by SF Curbed, some of these home owners pay close to half a million in real estate taxes annually. If you walk the neighborhood in the evening, you'll notice that a handful of these homes are empty, including the Pincus' home that was just listed for $18M. As inventory is limited, pockets are deep and demand is high, it will be interesting to see how the neighborhood changes throughout all of these projects - a subject of true fascination.