Anderson Cooper endorses Christian Audigier hoodies

Newscaster Anderson Cooper lets us all know a little bit more about what makes him tick with his first-ever product endorsement for Christian Audigier hoodies.

"The tie comes off and the hoodie goes on," says Cooper, who can often be seen breakfasting at Le Pain Quotidian in the Audigier signature hoodies, which run upward of $300 each at forward-looking menswear establishments in L.A., New York and wherever men want a Bedazzled look that's sure to be noticed.

"There's nothing like a yogurt parfait and the soft, cutting-edge feel of a genuine Christian Audigier hoodie to get me going every weekday morning," says CNN's Cooper.

Sources tell 2,000 Days in the Valley that Cooper will be inking a second endorsement deal soon -- this time with Ed Hardy, for which he'll receive a free Old English-style tattoo across his previously unmarked back. Oh, that and a closetful of Ed Hardy hoodies.

Leaf blowers -- if they were banned, somebody forgot to tell all the guys still using them

I thought they banned leafblowers. Nope, says Ilene.

Yep, it rained ... and I fixed the dishwasher again

This 39-inch Early 1950's Wedgewood stove was restored by Savon Appliances, which has locations in Reseda and Burbank. The Reseda store is right next door to

Just saw November's post. It finally rained. Quite a few times, in fact.

If I had scattered a big bag of rye grass seeds in the back yard, we'd have something going right now. As it is, there's barely enough crab and Bermuda (the grasses, not the mollusks and islands) to keep it from being a mud patch.

I did my third repair on the Maytag portable dishwasher. I had to replace the faucet coupler -- the thing that connects the dishwasher to the sink -- it kept blowing off under pressure (I bet that's a familiar refrain), covering the kitchen -- and anyone in it -- in a spray of water.

Again, I got the part from Authorized Appliance Service, 18450 Vanowen St., Reseda (just east of Reseda Boulevard on the south side of the street), where I've gotten parts for both the dishwasher and the Maytag clothes washer in the recent past. The guys there are tremendously helpful in figuring out what part you need and then getting it from warehouses all over the place. They'll do the repairs themselves, too, but since I'm so damn cheap, I do all I can myself.

Call them at (818) 342-2055.

Sometime in the recent past, Authorized Appliance Service was divided in half, with the right side of the building devoted to a companion business, Savon Appliance, where they refurbish old stoves -- and will refurbish yours, if you want. Check out the classic stoves they've restored. There's also a location in Burbank, which I've driven by -- it's way bigger, for one thing. I think Savon Appliance and Authorized Appliance Service are connected by more than physical lumber and concrete, but I can't exactly confirm that just yet.

I've also heard that Authorized Appliance sells restored Maytag washers -- the old, hard-as-freaking-nails kind that last forever. Something to think about.

But if you just want to keep your old appliances running and want to do the work yourself, Authorized Appliance Service can really help you get it done. If you tell them what's not working on your washer/dryer/dishwasher/what-have-you, they can probably tell you what parts you need, and if you pull the offending part and bring it to them, they can probably tell you whether or not you need a new one. It's worked for me every time I've done it.