Category

The Bold and The Beautiful, Playboy, Playmate, New Orleans, Spices, Cajun

Category

I thought I’d share some of my favorite recipes with you guys on a regular basis since so many of you are asking what to use the Cajun spice on and how I cook alot of the dinners I tweet about for Ronn and the girls. This is a quick and easy recipe that I call, “Steak Devin” and of course I use a generous amount of “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” on it. You can use our Cajun spice on everything from soups, salads, steaks, chicken and veggies. It gives food such flavor and just the right amount of kick to spice things up! Enjoy this dish with your favorite veggie, it’s low in calories and tastes delicious!

Recipe of the week, “Steak Devin”
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients

* 1 1/2  pounds  fat-trimmed narrow end of beef tenderloin
* 1  to 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse-ground pepper
* 3/4  cup  finely chopped shallots or onion
* 2  tablespoons  butter or margarine
* 1/4  cup  dry white wine
* 1/4  cup  white wine vinegar
* 1/2  cup  beef broth
* 2  teaspoons  dry mustard
* 1  tablespoon  Dijon mustard
* 1/3  cup  whipping cream
* 2  tablespoons  dry sherry
* 2  tablespoons  brandy
* Salt &
Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning


Preparation

1. Cut thickest part of beef across the grain into 1 1/2-inch-long pieces. Cut thinnest end into 2-inch-long pieces. Turn each piece onto a cut side and press down firmly to flatten.

2. Sprinkle meat evenly on each side with pepper, pressing it onto the surface.

3. In an 11- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan, combine shallots and 1 tablespoon butter. Stir over high heat until shallots are limp, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add white wine, vinegar, broth, dry mustard, Dijon mustard, and cream. Boil over high heat, stirring, until reduced by half (to 3/4 cup), 5 to 7 minutes. Pour sauce into a small bowl and set aside. Rinse pan and wipe dry.

4. Return frying pan to high heat. When hot, add remaining butter and swirl until it melts, then add meat (pieces should all fit in pan without overlapping). Brown beef on one side, about 2 1/2 minutes. Turn over and continue to cook until brown, about 2 1/2 minutes more for rare.

5. Transfer beef to a warm plate. Add sherry, brandy, and sauce to pan. Stir until bubbling. Pour the sauce, and any juices drained from the meat, onto plates. Top with the beef. Add Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning and salt to taste.

Ronn has a month off of B&B to rest and relax this summer and that starts now. We decided to drive near Yosemite to hang out with my pal Alana Curry and fellow Playmates LuAnn Lee and Jacqueline Sheen and their boyfriends to have fun swimming, jet skiing, boating and water skiing on a beautiful lake. It is just what Ronn loves to do to unwind himself into vacation mode. It’s also great for me because the cabin has Internet and enables me to keep up with everyone and it has a big beautiful kitchen for me to cook in so I feel right at home! I’ve enjoyed introducing everyone to “Devin’s Kickass Seasoning” with dishes like, Salmon and caper Buccatini, Lental soup and Steak Devin with Roasted potatoes. Ronn and I have been sleeping in every morning and enjoying every second of this amazing place. We plan to stop off and check out Yosemite before heading to our own cabin and picking up the kids next week. We will then head to Hawaii with them for a family vacation before Ronn heads back to work in mid August. It always seems like the summer just flies by with the kids, their friends, our friends and traveling. So we are just trying to enjoy every minute of it. I plan to finally finish my next book, “True Age, Timeless Beauty” as well as, make up some new recipes of course. We are also planning to renovate our cabin by next year so that we can have friends come and hang out with us there. Ronn just loves editing all the video he shoots and enjoys the peace and quite there. So we hope to spend more time at our cabin once it’s remodeled. Hope you are all enjoying the summer as much as we are!

I wanted to get a few of my girlfriends over for an all girl pow wow before the summer got to busy and thought we’d celebrate my birthday. There were about 20 of us outside by the pool and since it was getting a little too hot, we moved everyone under this cabana area to snack on finger sandwiches and champagne punch. I started opening presents and was just screaming over my purple custom made blinged out cell phone case made by my neighbor Sharyn. Then my pal Sandi Taylor wowed me with this cute bunny ring and rose colored beach bag. More bling followed with picture frames, jewelry boxes and earrings, chocolates, roses, beauty products and sexy clothing! The girls all looked so beautiful since only I would have a brunch in the middle of the week and many of my pals work or have kids to pick up. I feel so blessed to have so many amazing gals in my life. My dear friend Fiona Horne’s birthday is the day before mine, so she’s my soul sister and we blew out the candles together. Ronn had to work so he missed out on seeing all the pretty girls having a blast in our backyard, but arrived just as the last few girls were leaving. My pal Alana Curry and Fiona ended up hanging out a bit longer to chat with us around the fire pit. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day with the girls! I’m looking forward to more gatherings out by the pool this summer!

Ronn and I are looking forward to going to a couple of parties this weekend. A neighbor is having a BBQ bash tonight and you can see an awesome wireworks display from their deck. After entertaining two weekends in a row of movie nights, it’s safe to say they are a big success. Cooking for a dozen friends is a lot easier on me and give Ronn and I chance to talk to our friends. Jam parties are fun, but having a hundred or so people coming through the house makes it difficult to say more than two words to anyone. So smaller gatherings are more along the lines of what we want to continue for a while. Tomorrow we are going to the Playboy mansion for fun in the sun and Hef’s amazing fireworks. Apparently, he got a slip and slide this year and the BBQ is sooo yummy! The city of Los Angeles approves this amazing fireworks display that is always tops and it really is the place to be on the 4th. Hef didn’t do a 4th of July party last year, so we are really looking forward to it this year! Ronn and I are starting to really enjoy our pool with the girls and friends, so this Wednesday I’m celebrating my birthday with a bunch of my girlfriends with a poolside Birthday brunch. Since I was in Vegas and couldn’t celebrate with Tina, Cindy and all the great gals I know and love to party with; It was only an excuse to have an annual reunion. A lot of the girls were anxious to get together ever since the wedding festivities last year ended. Many of you have been emailing me on my website asking for autographed photos and inquiring how to send me items to sign. You may send anything you wish me to sign along with a self addressed stamped envelope and $20 cash per signature to 1336 Moorpark Rd #326, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360. I hope you all understand it is impossible to send everyone who asks Ronn or I for photos. The postage alone for such requests would make us homeless, especially since B&B is the most watched show in the World! It’s simply impossible!! So PLEASE stop sending such requests because you will not get any response. If you would like autographed photos you can purchase them on our websites or through EBAY. That’s why they are there. If you have a magazine, article or anything you wish for us to sign, you must do as I’ve stated already and send $20 cash per signature along with your self address stamped envelope to the address above. The reason this is required is so that other people cannot make a profit from our signature on EBAY. The Internet is a wonderful tool that allows us all to communicate more effectively. In the past your letters of requested photos didn’t stand a chance to even being seen by a celebrity, now because of the websites it’s possible to do so and get your requests met. But, we must all be realistic and know that postage isn’t cheap and many such requests are possible directly from celebrities, but it won’t be free, it’s simply not possible because there are thousands of you and only one of Ronn and I. With all that said, I hope you all have an amazing 4th of July and eat some yummy BBQ, stay out of trouble and see some great fireworks. July is always a super busy month for Ronn and I with parties, charity events and kids. It always seems like the summer just flies by huh? We are looking forward to sharing more pics and videos from our upcoming parties and events with you here and on our website!!

Vegas marked the first time the Daytime Emmys was held there and I don’t think it will be the last. The Hilton hotel hosted the event with a bevy of stars and fans. Ronn presented a special part of the CBS presentation of “Feed the Children”, a charity that helps American homeless families and Veterans. We visited the LA mission where Ronn interviewed a family with 5 little girls all living in one room. The father lost his job over a year ago, along with their home and all their belongings.  Their 7 month old baby girl was born in the shelter, it was heartbreaking to see this type of homelessness is a realty in our country and we want to do all we can to help!  The production of the Daytime Emmys was different, moved a lot quicker and was more entertaining. A tribute to Dick Clark brought a tear to everyone’s eyes. I met Dick Clark years ago and he told me he voted for me in the finals on Star Search and PLAYER was on American Bandstand with their hit song, “Baby Come Back” in 1978, so Dick is very special to us. We were doing the twist with Chubby Checker and The Bold and The Beautiful won their second “Best Drama” award! I predicted to Brad Bell who was sitting right next to us that he would win again and to get that speech ready at the beginning of the show. Drew Tyler Bell won along with the B&B writing team, so it was a Bell night and a much deserved one. The after parties were amazing. We toured the remodeled ELVIS suite which was 16,000 sq ft and met Marie Osmond, Susan Lucci and Tony Orlando. Then we headed to the B &B/ Y & R bash at the Wynn hotel’s Tryst club. It was the coolest place and everyone danced their asses off all night long! Needless to say, Ronn and I were completely exhausted and got only a couple hours sleep. We believe the Daytime Emmys should be combined with the Prime time Emmys now. Because of the Internet, the networks need to realize how dumb it is to separate the two and the fans love to see all the stars that have been a part of their lives for decades. It’s time for them to wake up to the 21st century and get with the program here. Perhaps from this year’s broadcast they will finally know how loyal and devoted the daytime fans are and how necessary it is to to combine the two Emmys. Here are some highlights from the show.

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Ronn and I have been having a blast and have found Vegas to be an adult playground. The last time we were here was about six years ago, so being back for my birthday and the Daytime Emmys made it quite special this trip. Our stay at the beautiful Venetian hotel was amazing and we were in awe of both Cirque Du Soleil shows, LOVE and ELVIS!! Highly recommend seeing both. Today we head over to the Hilton to celebrate the first live broadcast of the Daytime Emmys on CBS tonight, will blog later about that. Here are a few pics of our trip so far.

We kicked off our first dinner/movie night with great success. Ronn and I have a 12 seat movie theater and we love to watch movies with the girls. So far, the kids have used the theater to entertain their friends with movies more than us!  So this marks the first time in the three years we have lived in our home that we have filled our movie theater. As you know, Ronn’s busy schedule has made it nearly impossible to entertain that much and now that we have some time, we wanted to share our passion for movies with our friends. So we started with the band and their wives, along with a few dear friends to watch one of our favorite movies, “Arthur” with Dudley Moore. I cooked red beans and rice, Cajun jambalaya pasta, along with  salad, fresh fruit, baked cookies, strawberry cheesecake and wine to make sure the boys were happy enough to play a few songs. I now call the garage the “Moss Lounge” cause that what it feels like in there.
We were all dancing to the music the band was playing and having a blast. After the movie, we hung out around the firepit and told funny stories before calling it a night. I think this will be the start of other smaller gatherings that we will do on an ongoing basis now. I’m already planning the next one in July!

This is from our recent trip to the cutest little town called Bulgheri in Tuscany, Italy. We stayed in Bulgheri after I finished Ballando con le Stelle (Dancing with the Stars) and went to spend some time visiting my Italian dance partner, Sara Di Vaira, and her wonderful family. Sara grew up in this special scenic town. In this clip, we’re meeting Illia. She’s 92 years young. She’s the oldest person in Bulgheri and, as you can see, probably the most spry as well.[wpvideo 9dnenMkm]

It’s hard to believe almost half the year is gone! Seems like yesterday we celebrating New Year’s Eve in Rome and Ronn was embarking on the Ballando challenge. Now that it’s all behind us, we have been focusing on our home and getting it into shape for summer parties. We plan to host a variety of smaller themed dinner parties, movie nights and BBQs of course. Everyone is now asking me about the next Jam party and I know we will have one, just not sure when or where?  Seems between friends, kids and neighbors, everyone wants to Jam with Ronn and the band now. I just can’t handle hundreds of people and kids running around my home, so I’m thinking of doing a charity event that will help boost “Devin’s Kickass Cajun Seasoning” and really help New Orleans. It just makes me so sad to see the devastation that my home state has endured. I know everyone ran to the rescue of the Haiti victims, including us, but folks we have major problems here in our own backyard to deal with and New Orleans needs your help! Ronn and I created this spice that is manufactured in Louisiana to help in a small way that we hope becomes large for this reason. We all need to do our part to preserve that area of the United States and it seems so little is being done down there? I urge you all to help us help the gulf by buying a spice and spreading the word to your friends, or buying one to give to someone as a gift. BBQ season is here and anyone who has tried the spice knows it’s amazing! So please do your part of help us help New Orleans. We are giving proceeds from the spice to Brad Pitt’s, ‘Make it Right” foundation who is already doing so much to help down there. Also, if you want to see Ronn on Dancing with the Stars here in the US, please join this facebook page#mce_temp_url# to show your support. It seems ABC has never had anyone under contract on another network on the show. So with your support we can possibly change this dumb rule they have had in the past because with the Internet anything is possible right?  Ronn and are planning to have a quiet Memorial Day weekend at home with the girls in gratitude for the men and women who died for our freedom. We wish you all a safe and great weekend.


Love DevRonn

Because so many of you have been asking for this recipe that I made up yesterday, I’ve decided to blog and post it. Really did come out delicious! I don’t use measuring utensils so you must use your own taste buds to estimate.


1 large Spaghetti Squash
1 large onion
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
3-6 small cans of chicken broth
fresh rosemary
real bacon bits
olive oil
milk

Take a spaghetti squash and put it in the oven or microwave for a few minutes to soften it. Chop an onion and a few cloves of fresh garlic and get a few cans of chicken broth. Poke the squash with a fork to see if it’s tender and then take it out and let it cool for a few minutes. Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Season to your liking, I of course use my spice and put face down on a cookie sheet back into the oven for 1/2 hour. Then simmer the chopped onion and garlic in a couple of Tablespoons of olive oil til tender and add the chicken broth. Take the Spaghetti squash out of the over and with a fork take out the inside so it comes out like spaghetti.


Add the squash to the broth and the fresh rosemary and bacon bits. I estimate how much depending on my taste buds. Add a dash of milk to thicken and simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently. Then puree’ in a blender a little at a time and put back to simmer for another 15 minutes. Add a little fresh rosemary and bacon bits for garnish and serve with garlic bread. So yummy!

Love Dev

Last weekend was a blast of fun for Ronn and I when we participated in a celebrity gun shooting tournament that benefited our troops and Veterans. The event took place in Ojai and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We were in good company with some old friends like Erik Estrada, Tristan Rogers and some of the cast members from “The Young and The Restless.” There were some real sharp shooters in the Sporting Clays competition, pistol and trap shoots. Who knew that “The Beaver” Jerry Mathers would be taking home the highest honors? Robert Carradine was on our team and Ronn did some pretty impressive shooting to say the least. I shot very well in the pistol competition, but we all need to practice a little harder for next year to beat the “Beaver!” The NRA put on this event along with “Associated Television” who is also doing the Daytime Emmys for CBS this year in Las Vegas! These guys did last year’s Emmys and do a first class event always. Everything was fabulous and Ronn and I can’t wait until the next one. We really had a blast and I want to practice my shooting for next year. Who knows, maybe I can give the Beav a little competition?


Dev

Ronn and I are heading to Vancouver this weekend to visit a dear friend of mine who has been ill. His name is David Chan and he was a Playboy photographer for over 30 years. A native of Vancouver, David lived and worked in Chicago most of his career until his health declined in recent years. I haven’t seen him in 6 years and am excited to introduce him to Ronn. He is 80 years old now, has trouble walking and hearing, but is still the same sweet wonderful man he’s always been. I credit David for discovering me when I was attending LSU back in 1981 and he shot my first appearance in Playboy. David has never been married or has children, so we sort of adopted each other a long time ago and he truly has been like a father to me. I visited Vancouver once many years ago when I spent Christmas with David and his family. He had a lot of brothers and sisters back then who have since passed away, so I really want him to know that he has me. Ronn has never been to Vancouver, which is truly beautiful, so I’ll post pictures of our stay later. Here is an article from People magazine that I found from 1988 that tells you a little bit about David and this was pretty much how he discovered the pinup in me.

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Love Devin

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Ronn and Sara’s Rumba

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An Amazing Flaminco!

The finals tonight were  emotional and completely exhausting in the end for Ronn and Sara, but they came out in 2nd place to Veronica. Apparently, all the judges gave them a perfect score for the Rumba, which was my favorite dance.   I’m very happy for Veronica and think she is an excellent dancer, however I don’t think it’s fair that such a tough competition has a 20 year old competing against a 58 year old in the end. Ronn told me Raz Degan was hospitalized during the Italian Emmys in Sanremo, which was why he didn’t appear on the show. All of the dance teachers and final couples were hurting from injuries. Veronica was the only one not in pain, a testament to her age I’m sure. Veronica also has 5 years of dance lessons under her belt and to me; this isn’t fair to everyone who hasn’t had any dance lessons, such as Ronn. So in my opinion he IS the champion tonight for he has endured the most with working on both B&B and Ballando  at the same time.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEh6wv0PBGc]

An Emotional Ronn and Sara brings everyone to tears

He has worked the hardest, with such a limited amount of time to learn all of those dances and enduring jet lag. How he did that, I have no idea? It took me a whole week to recoup from traveling there and he had to go straight from a plane ride with no sleep and practice 2-4 hours of dance lessons to perform the next night for a 4 hour live show! He has conquered his fears of doing something that he never thought he would remotely be good at and came out a winner! He has shown Italy who he really is and what he is really made of, which is strength, courage, endurance, humor, empathy and love. They now know and love Ronn and not just his character “Ridge.” I am so proud of him and will have a bottle of champagne waiting to celebrate when he gets home!

Love Dev

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_AI2zmFAZY]

Ronn and Sara’s Merengie and Disco Dance

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wywnR4Borqk]

Ronn and Sara’s Salsa and Quick step


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUL6KO9QIRw&feature=sub&playnext_from=TL&videos=r4JDH7-XXhY&playnext=1]Ronn told me that Ballando con let stelle won the Italian TV Emmy award in Sanremo for the best show. As you can see all the dance teachers performing in this segment are fantastic! They truly work very hard and deserve this award. Watching the progression of Ronn’s dancing and seeing firsthand how much work goes into producing these 4 hours live shows is something I have tremendous respect for and I’m am so pleased that Ronn has progressed to this point. No matters what happens on Saturday night, he is a winner and he has overcome many fears during this process. We have a new family in Italy and everyone there has come to know and love Ronn after so many years of loving Ridge. Thank you all so much for all the wonderful posts and comments of love and support throughout this experience. We truly appreciate each and every one of you!

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Love DevRonn

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I thought Ronn and Sara did a fantastic job with the Samba tonight. I spoke with him and he said that the judges scored them well and with the 20 extra points he had from last week, put him in the top 2 tonight. So he did not have to dance a second dance and is one of the five couples left for the last show next week, which is the finals. Milly did surprise Ronn with a special guest to dance with, Lavinia Biagiotti, They danced the Waltz together and she is part of our Italian family. Ballando had asked me to stay and surprise Ronn and dance, but I suggested Lavinia because I needed to get home to prepare for my upcoming personal appearance next Saturday.

.  I knew I would need a week to recover and catch up on things and wanted to look and feel my best for my first appearance in nearly 5 years! Plus, Lavinia loves to dance and I knew Ronn would be thrilled and it would be a wonderful memory for them. I thought they did a beautiful Waltz and I’m very proud of my hubby for coming this far with such a tough competition. He seemed to be having fun tonight, was much more relaxed and confident with his dancing and I truly believe he’s going to bring home that huge trophy!

Love Dev

I’m near the end of this amazing experience of Ballando con le Stelle (Dancing with the Stars) in Roma, Italia. I want to express how laborious, taxing, exhausting, frustrating, stressful, invigorating, rejuvenating, emotional, rewarding, challenging, and downright life changing this has been for me!! I owe my wife, Devin, and our two amazing girls, Creason and Calee, a debt of gratitude for putting up with my horrendous schedule during the last three months plus some. I’m looking forward to a lot of R&R with them, after this is done.

I now want to say something about my Tuscan born dance partner extraordanare, Sara Di Vaira. She is, without a doubt, the sweetest, kindest, most down to earth, talented dancing person I’ve ever known. She never failed to come into work without a huge welcoming (lets put everything we’ve got into this dance) smile every morning. It’s very very difficult to feel depressed at all around Sara. And I wasn’t. At all. The more we worked on learning her choreography for our dances every week, the more I wanted to win this thing. She was passionate, understanding, forgiving, a bit of a slave driver at times, but always with a laugh. She and I hit it off immediately and laughed and sweated our way to this moment now. I don’t yet know how the final show will turn out. If we will be blessed with winning this competition. But I do know either way, she and I feel we have already won. In so many ways beyond the competition. Our friendship. The sharing of families. She came to LA and stayed with Devin and my girls. And we went to stay in her Tuscan town of Bulgheri, where some of the best wine of Italy is grown and made. Her family are wine producers. The Di Vaira label. And take it from me, it was the finest wine I’ve had in Italy.

This experience has given me a newfound awareness of my body. I know that may sound strange, as physical as I’ve always been, but it’s true. It has shown me I can do something I NEVER thought I could do before. It has shown me I can still overcome fears. Major fears. It has shown me I can fly across continents many many times and forget about the massive jet lag I’m feeling by working my ass off, literally, sweating and dancing myself to euphoria, kind of like the runners high I’ve always heard about but never really experienced before. But mostly, it’s given me new friends. My Italian comrades who have also been working their asses off in this experience we call Ballando. Milli Carlucci and Paolo Belli are seasoned hosts of the original Dancing with the Stars. It began here in Italy. This is where it started. Words do not express my love and admiration for these two amazing people. Always positive, always with a genuine smile of encouragement. A much need supportive comment. The true test of a long lasting organization and show like this is the people working within it. All extremely professional, attentive, helpful, personal, but most of all they share a love of life. And that always shows. The Italians have a wonderful, unfailing love of life. That’s one of the many things I’ve always loved about them. And that’s just one of the many qualities I chose to absorb from this unique blessed experience.
Love to you all.

Tutto è bene. —–Ronn


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-5plGU0Kug]Ronn and Sara had the pleasure of watching show #8 as the contestants that were previously voted out had the chance to come back in for the semi finals next week. However, he and Sara had to dance the charleston and as a surprise learn a disco dance on the spot to perform within minutes. He did so well that the judges gave him the 20 points that are to be added to next week’s score. Two other couples made in into the semi finals rounding the number to six total.  He is not working on B&B this week, so instead of flying home for just a couple days decided to stay the week and put in extra dance lessons for the finals. The cast and crew of Ballando surprised him with a birthday cake and champagne on the set and Sara gave him a beautiful scrapebook of photo memories from his dancing experience. I’m so thrilled he had a wonderful birthday and got to share it with me being there. Lavinia and Laura Biagiotti also surprised him with a birthday cake and a terrific dinner. Actress Nancy Brilli and her husband Roy join us along with Lavinia’s boyfriend Francesco. We feel so blessed to have so many amazing Italian friends who are now like family to us. Ronn is getting more comfortable with his Italian and starting to speak more. I made it home last night, but was too tired to watch the Oscars. Ronn had an Italian TV appearance with the Ballando cast and everyone was talking about his disco moves. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6cVx8K6o-g] I had to come home to prepare for my first personal appearance is nearly 5 years and am looking forward to finally promoting my book. Ronn and I truly feel so blessed to have good health, love and happiness, a wonderful home with amazing friends and family and want to pursue our dream of giving back and helping others achieve success in all areas of life. This is basis of my next book, which I am putting the finishing touches on right now. I want to share the secrets I’ve learned so far in life. My life feels like a dream come true and Ronn and I couldn’t be happier. We decided we will renew our wedding vows in the future in Tuscany with our Italian family and perhaps make it a regular thing to do all over the world, what do you think? A good excuse for another wedding dress huh?

Love Dev

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Last night was a great show for Ronn and Sara, but a controversial one for Lorenzo Crespi who walked off the set in the middle of the competition. Ronn and Sara were the first to dance and did the Merangie, which was awesome. The judges scored them better than usual, but still did not give them what they deserved in my opinion. I surprised everyone with blasting the judges in Italian and giving my strong opinion on how unfair they have been with Ronn and Sara week after week.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaQXD-Xhi50] Ronn spoke up for the first time and expressed his thoughts also to the judges. It seems the judges constantly give high scores to Lorenzo Crespi and even though he walked off the set and left Natalia Tatova alone for a big part of the competition, they were willing to have him back? Lorenzo’s behavior has been like that of a spoiled child for the last couple of weeks and this was not the first time he has done such a thing. The rest of the cast were furious that Ballando has coddled this type of unprofessionalism. It’s unfair to the rest of them that have worked so hard and we all know how hard Ronn has been working. So it was only fitting that Ronn spoke up last night to express it. As usual, my husband is diplomatic and eloquent in his speech and everyone was receptive with what he had to say. At the end of the night, Ronn was one of four couples left to compete in the finals, which will be show #9. Show #8 will bring back everyone that has been eliminated including maybe Lorenzo Crespi to compete for two spots open in the finals. The final show #10 will have 5 couples competing for the #1 spot as the winner of this season’s, “Ballando con le stelle!” In my opinion, no one has improved more that Ronn and Sara and it shows. In my opinion, they deserve to win, not Lorenzo Crespi. Lorenzo is good dancer, but his behavior  is not acceptable and not fair to the competition and if he is allowed back in will be a big controversy for the final shows. I was so happy that Ronn made it this far and am very proud of how much he has achieved with this challenge. Today we are going by train to Milan for Fashion week and will be in the Laura Biagiotti fashion show tomorrow. We will then stop in Florence to visit Sara’s Tuscan vineyard and shoot some footage for Ballando there before returning to Rome Tuesday evening for Ronn’s dance lesson. Until the next blog…….


Ciao Devin

It was a fun weekend spent with the girls. Creason had a few girlfriends over for a sleepover to start celebrating her 16th birthday, which is tomorrow! I told her she should celebrate for a whole month. So I cooked a bunch of Italian dishes and had some friends over to welcome Sara and her mother. Then I cooked a bunch of Cajun dishes in celebration of Mardi Gras and introduced it to Sara.  Ronn and Sara practiced the Rumba and the Marangie all weekend.  We shot some video of Sara gunshooting, horseback riding and visiting the set of B&B for a Ballando profile. I must say I am looking forward to seeing them perform the Rumba and think it’s going to be their best dance. It’s so sexy and beautiful to watch. Ronn has really come a long way and looks very graceful now when he dances. His body has transformed also into solid muscle. He was always in great shape, but he’s in amazing shape now! I believe we will continue dancing together after the show is over because he likes it and it will be fun for me to learn some of these dances now. We capped off a great week with Sara yesterday at the spa and had amazing massages and facials. I’m really proud of how much Italian I’ve learned and look forward to the next 10 days in Roma now to practice speaking more. I’m also taking my real estate workbook with me to study every night for my exam. I won’t be able to take the exam until the end of April, so I don’t want to forget what I’ve learned so far.  Right now I’m in the British Airways lounge waiting for my flight to meet Ronn in Roma. We are looking forward to going to Milan for Fashion week, compliments of Laura Biagiotti. I was hoping to see my friend Dita Von Teese there, but will just miss her, as she will arrive the day after we leave. So I’m hoping to visit her in Paris this summer and learn some French! Sara has invited us to visit her on her Tuscan vineyard during the wine festival and we are looking forward to doing that with Creason and Calee. After Ballando is finished, we will take our first family vacation with Creason and Calee and visit Florence, Venice and Roma!


Love Dev

It was great to have Ronn home if only for a few days. All he can talk about is dancing. He really is excited about the progress he’s making and seems to be enjoying it. We have invited Sara to come to LA to visit for a few days next week, so that she and Ronn can practice a little more since he doesn’t get to as much as the other contestants. I look forward to her helping me with some Italian.  I went to a great charity event last week with my pals Wally and Lori for http://www.standupforkids.org/“Stand up for Kids.” It’s a charity that helps homeless teenagers get off the streets. Some of the cast from “Desperate Housewives” were in attendance. I’ve also managed to make some progress with all of my studies and feel I’m almost ready for my real estate exam. However, due to the fact that I will be going back to Italy in a couple of weeks with Ronn and then again for our Spring break vacation with the kids; I probably won’t be able to take it until late April.  I’m so looking forward to our first Valentine’s day as a married couple and will celebrate it with our dear friends Bob and Kira Lorsh at a private dinner party when Ronn returns home. He will then be home for 10 days, so we are looking forward to that and celebrating Creason’s 16th birthday! Geez it seems like yesterday she was 10 and three inches shorter than me, now I’m looking up all the time to her!  Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day filled with love and chocolate covered kisses.


Love DevRonn