best-selling author, designer, restaurateur, entertainer — an arbiter of american fun. my childhood in a small south carolina town supplied me with an appreciation for interesting stories, fascinating characters, and comfortable design, all of which i've put to good use. my new multi-book brand with harper collins is an adventure in unique aspects of american life.
garage sale america , the first book in the series, is an exploration of the people, places, and things of this modern day gold rush. my other books—from the new york times best-selling use what you've got (with barbara corcoran ) to airstream living , an exploration of the silver american icon—have provided secrets to a happy well-rounded life.
i have owned and designed two award-winning restaurants (the rosendale cement company and the alamo: mexican food worth fightin’ for) , and i have designed and renovated numerous properties, including edgewater farm, a 1950s bungalow colony in the catskills.
i graduated phi beta kappa and outstanding senior from the university of south carolina, and after a glamorous modeling career brought me to new york (you may remember me from the cover of when a child kills) i was named a freedom forum scholar and received a full scholarship to new york university where i earned a master's in journalism. i have received numerous awards including the audie award for best business book of 2004, a christopher award, and the academy of television arts & sciences named my master’s thesis “best news/public affairs program†in the country. i co-wrote the play, game$how, a parody of pop culture, and my play based on the life of fritz perls , the father of gestalt therapy, has recently been optioned.
