Actress Jane Lynch, best known as the meanie Sue Sylvester on Glee, was out doing the opposite of what her character normally does on the show. She brought smiles to faces in Times Square Wednesday as she crowned Alabama’s Iris Hill Queen of Go Nation.  It was the culmination of a two-month long nationwide search to find the Charmin Go Nation King or Queen of the Throne.

Lynch, who has been nominated for a Golden Globe for her role on Glee, told reporters, “I always enjoy a little healthy competition during the television awards season, but I’m looking forward to being on the judging side of this competition today.” Iris walked away with a $50,000 prize and will preside over the Charmin Restrooms for the last few days of 2010. Her main job will be to greet and welcome visitors and their families to New York City.

For more photos, visit the Haute Living Events Gallery.

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Our favorite former-MTV-VJ-turned-late-show-host Carson Daly rang the New York Stock Exchange opening bell Thursday morning. The event marks the seventh year that Daly will host  “NBC’s New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly.”

He was joined by his girlfriend, Siri Pinter, and baby boy Jackson James. Daly’s two-hour New Year’s Eve special will air live on Friday from Times Square, of course. The show starts at 10 p.m. and will end with the countdown to 2010 and the first performances of the new year. If you plan to tune in, you will also see NBC “Today Show” co-host Natalie Morales and Alison Stewart; they will be providing live reports from the heart of Times Square, where there is bound to be around a million spectators.

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Moscow offers a hefty choice of gyms and spas. So whether it’s an exercise regime or some pampering you are looking for, Haute Living selects the top fitness clubs in town.

Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. Dwyane Wade, a Miami Heat MVP, scored a season-high 40 points last night against the Knicks, bringing the Heat to its 15th win out of 16 games so far.

Dwyane Wade

Category: Athletes

Company: Miami Heat

Industry: Basketball

What Made Him Haute: Dwyane Wade has been part of the Miami Heat since 2003. It can be said that Wade is the force and face of the Heat, especially after being their scoring leader, helping his team win its only championship in the 2006 NBA finals. At only 28 years old, Wade is a basketball superstar.

What Makes Him Haute Now: Last night Wade scored a season-high 40 points in the game against the New York Knicks, according to The Miami Herald. Wade was able to reach 40 points with four free throws late in the game. It was a close match, but when that buzzer sounded it was the Heat that was crowned victorious, beating the Knicks 106 to 98. According to NBC, Wade was probably the biggest reason why the Knicks weren’t able to catch up to the Heat.

“My teammates did a great job, especially in the fourth, of looking for me,” said Wade. “Guys did a great job getting me the ball in my sweet spots and I was able to attack.”

The Heat’s winning streak continues on, having three wins in a row under their belt.

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Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets—Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. These people continue to make moves, so rather than waiting for the next Haute 100 issue to come out, we thought we’d provide you with regular updates on those Haute 100 members who are making headlines. Recently Carl Icahn’s plans to sell his shares in Motricity have made headlines.

Carl Icahn

Category: Billionaires

Company: Icahn Enterprises

Industry: Finance

What Made Him Haute: This real estate and finance mogul is ranked as the 20th wealthiest American.

What Makes Him Haute Now: Carl Icahn owns 7.8 million shares in Motricity Inc., which is a mobile phone appliance maker.  He is planning to put a majority of those shares on the market very shortly and his actions have led other investors to plan on doing the same. Icahn may not completely sell out his shares in the company, but what he is selling will bring in an estimated $192 million.

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A fitness New Year’s resolution is probably what many of us are thinking after the weeks of holiday indulging. Get back in shape with these top Dubai fitness clubs.

While checking your email can sometimes cause heart palpitations (How may assignments am I supposed to be working on right now!?), it can also lead to the discovery of something new and fun. Just like when we were kids and we ran to the mailbox looking for that first birthday card, we now scan the spam looking for exciting little messages. For many of us, one of those has been the daily Rue La La sales email. The thrill just got better, through, as city-specific Rue Philadelphia launched yesterday.

Rue La La is a member’s only virtual club where you can log in shop designer duds at ridiculous discount. Each day, Rue La La opens new boutiques with limited amounts of current styles, slashes the prices, then sends you a email letting you know what’s ripe for the picking. Right now, there’s an Andrew Marc leather jacket for nearly 50 percent off and Calvin Kline silk ties for under $20. Which means you can buy twice as much as you had planned!

Rue Philadelphia adds in a local component — in addition to deals on shoes, dresses and jewelry, your daily email will now include a exclusive, carefully chosen, Philly-based deal. Yesterday’s first release, half off a cocktail-paired tasting menu at 13th Street hotspot Sampan, sold out well before the 24-hour close time. The next special goes live in … one hour, 15 minutes … and you can be sure I’ll have my mouse and credit card at the ready.

“Rue Philadelphia delivers not only some of the best brand names in the world, but also exclusive offers from premier local businesses,” said Mark McWeeny, president of Rue Local. “From incredible retail brands to rejuvenating spas to wonderful dining, the Rue Local team handpicks these experiences for inclusion in Rue Philadelphia and delivers them at up to 70 percent off retail.”

Rue Philadelphia is the third city-based offering from the group; Boston and Seattle both launched earlier in 2010 and have garnered a faithful following.

So check that email and get ready to indulge in even more shopping! Not a member? Ask your friends for a referral code, or head to ruelala.com and apply. Happy deal-stealing!

By now you must have received your fair share of New Year’s Eve invitations, found several evites clogging up your inbox and heard through the wires about the best bashes in town. Still, several of my peeps haven’t booked reservations or made any plans (I know, I know, the ball drops in less than 3 days)!

It can be difficult to plan for the most pressure-filled night of the year. Do you go the typical dinner/dancing/drinks/drinks/drinks route? Where can you find a party that’s a guaranteed good time without neon glow sticks or walkers?

If you’re bogged down trying to make a decision, let me make a suggestion. The Scarlet Tea Room is doing deco this NYE and believe me, their take on the countdown is hands-down going to be a swinging and styling soirée.

The famed Pasadena tea spot is kicking off the evening with a delish three course prix-fixe menu. Guests will have the option of picking from a selection of dishes for each course such as New Bedford Diver Scallops with hearts of palm, mustard-crusted lamb with chestnut risotto and port jus, and sticky banana toffee with a slated caramel sauce and vanilla rum ice cream.

Of course, a live jazz band and then a late night DJ will provide tunes for those of you who brought your dancing shoes. For those who prefer other spirits on NYE, Scarlet Tea Room has a sumptuous assortment of libations to sample. Personally, I’d order from the amazing mimosa-inspired cocktail menu such as the lychee mimosa and the hibiscus mimosa but martini-buffs won’t be disappointed either. Scarlet Tea Room’s “Ritzy” cocktail menu also boasts a slew of creative martinis as well.

A “vintage” photographer will also be on hand to capture your night in all its glory. Say cheese.

Scarlet Tea Room, 18 Green St., Pasadena, CA 91105 626.577.0051

In the established tradition of end-of-the-year surveys that so dominate media at this time of year, I thought it would only be appropriate to offer my own such list of the Top 5 new supercars of 2010.  Please note, unlike the clinical and carefully measured studies of the serious auto mags, this list is a purely emotional response to the most eye-catching, powerful, and technologically impressive highline sports cars that debuted this year.  Consideration for this particular list was limited to exotic 2-seaters, irrespective of production or concept basis.

Tied 4^th place -  SSC Ultimate Aero II

(pictured above)

Washington–based Shelby SuperCars (no relation to Carroll Shelby) enjoyed a David vs. Goliath moment in 2007 when their original Ultimate Aero supplanted Koenigsegg (and prior record holder Bugatti) as the fastest production car on the planet.  After Bugatti regained the crown earlier this year with another retuned version of the Veyron, SSC answered with the Ultimate Aero II.  Still in development, the new car’s Enzo-like shell, penned by former Pininfarina stylist Jason Castriota, rebuts critics of the first generation design’s 80’s wedge styling.  The Aero II will purportedly produce 1,350 horsepower, a figure that in combination with extreme weight savings (we’re talking purpose-built, one-piece carbon fiber wheels) should be enough to propel the car to the manufacturer’s estimated top speed of 275 mph, just a hair faster than the 268 mph record set by…

Tied 4^th place -  Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

The current top-speed king of the hill, the Veyron Super Sport, debuted to much fanfare last August when it set the record in Germany, subsequently serving as a centerpiece for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Quail Motorsports Gathering and the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion.  Despite shocking performance numbers (2.5 seconds 0-62 mph, 268 mph top speed, 1,200 horsepower), this car is essentially an upgraded version of the Veyron, a model that has been in production since 2006.  Thus, the lack of a brand new design kept this extreme supercar, which handles as luxuriously as it accelerates ferociously, from placing higher on the top 5.

3^rd place -  Morgan Eva GT

Epitomizing the entirely subjective and emotional nature of my judging criteria, the Eva GT is neither as powerful or pedigreed as some of the other notables mentioned on this list.  But, oh, what a design!  Morgan continues to find new and successful ways of re-interpreting their classic British sports car motifs.  The sweeping fender lines and grille treatment are futuristic renderings of the now familiar Morgan cues, themselves an amalgamation of 1930s era design triumphs.  And while this car won’t ever be in the hunt for fastest anything, its BMW 3 liter straight six engine is more than capable of 4.5 second 0-60 mph launches.

2^nd place -  Porsche 918 Spyder

Enthusiasts far and wide were thrilled when Porsche announced that this hybrid powertrain concept car would be approved for production development.  Though most of the major highline manufacturers are attempting to enter the ev/hybrid market, Porsche is the only one to field a car designed from the ground up as a standalone platform (unlike Mercedes-Benz or Audi).  The car also deftly answers the call for a successor to the out-of-production Carrera GT, and the Spyder moniker evokes those classic 550s and RS spyders of the 60s.  It doesn’t look half bad, either…

1^st place -  Jaguar C-X75

Our winner is unfortunately just a concept car, but what a stunner it is!  Similar to the Porsche to the extent that it is built as a standalone platform, hybrid supercar, the C-X75 has the most effectively futuristic lines we’ve seen in some time.  And the cockpit interface threatens to realize the full potential of Jag’s computer screen dashboard technology, already implemented to a lesser extent in the XJ production sedan.  Unfortunately, the C-X75 will likely never see the light of day as a production reality, but if Top 5 lists aren’t all about dreams, then what good are they?

Photos by Michael Hahn

If you were asked to name one famous architect in Chicago, undoubtedly the first name that would come to mind is Frank Lloyd Wright. Known for his Prairie, organic style homes, Wright custom-designed every detail down to the fixtures, furniture, carpet, windows, doors, tables, and light fittings.

S. Lloyd Natof, great grandson is a renowned furniture designer making a name for himself in his own right. Designing and building furniture from a spacious second floor atelier in an old factory, he has earned a reputation for elegant design with precise woodworking. Working on a commission basis, he has created pieces for private collectors, architects and corporations as well as interior and liturgical designers.

Is your style similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s?

LN: No, my pieces are more finely finished objects and less geometric. I am not so much interested in the wood itself as the compositional properties of wood and the intense coloration possibilities.

How did he influence you?

LN: Our family is very creative in general. I studied music  for 10 years before delving into furniture design and woodworking.  I can count at least six others in our family that have the same artistic passion. I teach wood shop, object design and mentor at the Frank Lloyd Wright School once or twice a year.

What’s your choice wood to work with?

LN: Right now, white ash, which is known as the poor man’s oak. It has an un-uniform pattern which is currently being attacked by the emerald ash borer, an invasive species of insects that is destroying the population. Once damaged, these trees are usually destroyed for mulch. I did a show “Rising From the Ashes” to showcase the usability of the wood for furniture.

What’s the favorite piece you’ve designed?

LN: Right now the Missbach Day. The darker and more exotic I can make something, the more satisfied I am. I am very drawn to burls and other non-linear grain patterns that allow for the creation of volumes- the possibility is a cabinet or table pure in expression of shape and volume, free from the tyranny of the plank.

Where do you hangout in Chicago?

LN: Chicago is topographically challenged. I try to get out of the urban jungle and enjoy exploring the industrial areas as much as I can- the buildings, railroads and bridges.

SL Natof, 1217 W. Monroe. 312.733.4205. http://www.slnatof.com/