Soho's landmark Puck Building was packed last night as the Bailey House held its 20th Annual Auction & Party.

Designers Jonathan Adler, Simon Doonan and John Bartlett, architect Jeffery Povero and Project Runway's Tim Gunn hosted the event which included both a silent and a more lively, live auction. Two women bid top dollar for a lunch with CNN's Anderson Cooper: $4,500! The following item: a maple leaf Mapplethorpe went for $9,500.

ABC News SVP Jeffrey Schneider, chairman of the board of Bailey House, was also the chief seer of paddles during the live auction, not missing a bid. By the end of the night $800,000 had been raised.

Among the 850 guests, the aforementioned Cooper (pre-AC360), GMA Weekend anchor Bill Weir and WABC's Bill Ritter.

Now going on 25 years, Bailey House provides housing and other vital needs to people living with HIV/AIDS and to their loved ones.

First, New York's Daily Intelligencer got their hands on the invite to the Wall Street Journal's office Christmas party. It sounded a bit blah:

-----Original Message----- From: [Redacted] Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 11:08 AM To: WSJ.COM NewsStaff Subject: Be of good cheer...

Folks:

It has been an eventful year. Let's swap stories and good cheer over food and alcoholic beverages and softer fare at WSJ.com's unofficial holiday party. Come one, come all.

When: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007, from 5 p.m.
Where: 12th Floor, Large conference room

Please RSVP with a one-liner so we know how much food and beer to procure. See you there.

Best,
[Redacted]

So, naturally, New York made a pithy one-liner. But then a WSJ employee replied in the comments:

Puh-leeze. WSJ hasn't had a holiday party in years because the old regime decided long ago to give the money that would be spent on one to charity instead. This informal event organized by the people of WSJ.com for the people of WSJ.com was plenty of fun. I had a few beers, some pizza and a good time. Way better than one of those forced, corporate events. Lighten up. I'm glad the haiku author wasn't there. Killjoy.

So we're curious. Did the beer, pizza and talk of Rupertization end up being any good? We know you're reading this, soon to be employees of News Corp. — so give us your take, damn it.

Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes. It turns out sex blogger Rachael Kramer Bussel loves 'em. So her and fellow cupcake bloggers Nichelle Stephens and Allison Bojarski threw a shindig at the Beauty Bar last night. We sent Amanda ReCupido over to investigate:

Cupcakes Take the Cake, the number one cupcake blog (there are others?), celebrated three years of "All Cupcakes, All The Time" last night with an anniversary party at Beauty Bar. The event included free cupcakes from Crumbs, Kumquat Cupcakery and Sugar Sweet Sunshine, along with a raffle of prizes and a cupcake-themed costume contest. The blog, which is run by Rachel Kramer Bussel, Nichelle Stephens, and Allison Bojarski, has been featured and quoted on NBC News and in the New York Times and USA Today. That was all before they were named one of PC Magazine's 100 Favorite Blogs of 2007.

It would only make sense that a group of cupcake connoisseurs would have an astute palate when it comes to this bakery treat. "Actually, my favorite type of cupcake is vanilla with chocolate frosting," said Stephens. "Cupcakes are really simple. That's why New Yorkers love them-they're portable and all about aesthetics." We nodded in agreement as we stuffed another red velvet cupcake into our mouths (hey, they were small, that practically doesn't even count!). The group plans monthly events that include cupcake picnics in Central Park, cupcake decorating contests, and even a cupcake-related scavenger hunt. "We're trying to visit all the cupcake bakeries in the city," Stephens said. "Oddly enough, we've never taken our group to Magnolia's. It's always crowded with tourists." Yes, just another thing we can thank Sex and the City for. Lucky for us, there are plenty of other cupcake shops that haven't been overrun by cosmo-drinking/stiletto-wearing-wannabes on a walking tour, and there are three women who have made it their mission that everyone knows about them.

— Amanda Recupido

Let it be said: The New Museum makes a good spot for a party. We stopped by Radar's industry schmoozefest for their New Radical awards at the Bowery museum last night and made a few observations.

...And, reportedly, the Times isn't having one.

Yup. It's Christmas party season. It's official.

Fashion Week Daily is much more masochistic than us and has put together a failry extensive list of Media Holiday Parties. Pick of the litter?

Over at Tavern On The Green, min held a luncheon honoring the winners of their 2007 21 Most Intriguing People List this afternoon.

The event had a industry all-star guest list including Maxim honcho Kent Brownridge, Condé Nast Portfolio's Joanne Lipman, Time's Rick Stengel, Atoosa Rubinstein and our very own Laurel Touby. Holding court was the ever-astounding Mr. Magazine himself, Samir Husni.

After the jump, a sneak peak at min's Top 21 List for 2007:

continued...

We mean that.

So a few days ago, we went to The Atlantic's 150th Birthday Party. Unfortunately, some of the other media folks who attended said that the party was a giant bust. But we'd like to speak in sympathy of the devil.

Folks, it's The Atlantic. You don't go to an Atlantic party expecting a riotous drunken shindig where you wake up on some strange street corner with half your clothes missing and a scar where your kidney used to be. There are some publications that throw good, crazy parties. Vice is one of them. Mass Appeal is another. The old, Puck Building-era New York Press was another.

But The Atlantic isn't any of those publications. We went there in hopes of hanging out with a few friends, having some ok-ish wine and seeing Patti Smith sing. We did all of these. That said:

1) The whole idea of having the party be open to the public? Genius. The whole idea of putting it into execution by having party guests sit in a theater watching VIPs party on stage? Not so genius. Guys/girls... Anyone who goes to a party being thrown by a magazine like The Atlantic is likely an intellectual equal of anyone on stage. They're going to (rightly) feel offended. Then again, the party was thrown to celebrate "The American Idea" and plutocracy is certainly an American idea.

2) Everyone who kept whispering to each other while Patti Smith was playing, you're probably going to end up in hell.

3) Despite how awkward he seemed on stage playing to P.J. O'Rourke and company, opening act Josh Ritter was a good sport — he traveled straight from The Atlantic's party to a gig in PA.

4) Moby, your "I'm just a poor indie musician" shtick is getting old. Real old.

After the jump, pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

continued...

We sent FBNY correspondent Amanda ReCupido out into the field to cover the New Yorker's annual Passport to the Arts on Saturday, November 10. The well-attended event not only netted guests free Padma Lakshmi books, but included tours of the vast majority of Chelsea's galleries... Along with a ton of corporate sponsorship. A ton.

After the jump, Amanda journeys on a New Yorker-sponsored trip into the heart of darkness known as the Chelsea gallery scene... and lives to tell about it.

continued...

A FishbowlNY contact attended the Executive Council's Ten Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, November 5. Guests included ex-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, Cushman & Wakefield CEO Bruce Mosler, Donny Deutsch and Fox Business' Liz Claman. Deutsch seems fine nowadays with Claman's departure from CNBC to Fox, according to them:

Donny Deutsch got a big laugh when he greeted Liz Claman alongside Paul O'Neill and Bruce Mosler, President/CEO of Cushman & Wakefield and quipped, 'I'll tell you... this is the difference between Fox and CNBC... Liz has always been gorgeous, but she went to Fox and now she's a hundred times better looking..." When Donny gave his welcoming remarks for Paul O'Neill, he repeated the exchange on the difference between CNBC and Fox and said, "It pisses me off! She looks so much better on FOX!"

After the jump, pics from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards Afterparty, ReadyMade NYC Debut Party, Skin Sense Awards Gala 2007, In Touch 5th Anniversary Party and more.

continued...