Not everyone is unhappy about the recession, apparently. In a recent poll, one in four people said they were happy that the economic downturn took place because it helped them "realize their priorities in life." [Reuters]

It's been a busy month for Bethenny Frankel. First she got engaged to her boyfriend Jason Hoppy; then, a couple of weeks ago, she confirmed she's a little more than two months pregnant. With the Real Housewives of New York City currently filming its third season, we thought it would be worthwhile to get some parenting advice for the mom-to-be from one of her costars. So, naturally, we reached out to model-cum-designer Kelly Killoren Bensimon—a mom with two daughters of her own, Sea, 11, and Teddy, nine—to offer parenting tips for Bethenny. Kelly's advice, thoughts on women who breast-feed in public, and why she wears shorter skirts now than ever before is below. Join us, won't you?

If you loved the idea of a Hermès-branded helicopter, you're going to be thrilled to hear that Ferrari is now in talks to stamp its name of a line of luxury homes. If the deal goes through, you'd have to move to Abu Dhabi to actually be able to move into a house with a prancing horse statue on the roof. But that may not be such a bad thing considering you'd be close to the long-delayed Ferrari indoor amusement park that, when finished, will boast the world's fastest roller coaster. [Maktoob via WSJ]

Another figure in the Madoff affair should be headed to prison in the near future. David Friehling, Bernie's sketchy accountant and the man supposedly responsible for overseeing Madoff's financial activities out of his one-man firm in Rockland County, is expected to plead guilty to a variety of charges next week. He and faces a maximum of 108 years in prison. [NYT, WSJ]

Marc Jacobs isn't doing a reality show for Logo, as we reported a few weeks ago. But he hasn't closed the door to doing a TV program of some sort, provided the perfect opportunity came along. But it probably wouldn't fall into the reality genre. "Well, I really would just want it to be a really great project, not just another reality show," he tells The Cut. "Not that there's anything wrong with them, but, for me, there's nothing really exciting about doing another anything, you know?" Also? He's never see the Real Housewives, but has seen a couple of episodes of The Rachel Zoe Project "because she's my friend." [The Cut]

Matthew McConaughey leaving the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to head to Central Park to go jogging ... Matt Damon and wife Luciana having lunch yesterday at Sant Ambroeus ... Helena Christensen walking in the West Village ... Dustin Hoffman talking on his cell phone ... Julianne Moore walking around in the Village ... ... Michelle Williams taking daughter Matilda to school in Brooklyn ... Mark Wahlberg hanging out on the set of The Other Guys downtown ... Sienna Miller walking her dog in SoHo and later getting iced coffee from Green Symphony on West 43rd Street ... and Kurt Russell walking uptown in his Yankee cap.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher and chairman of the New York Times Co., is known for having a sense of humor. So you might think he'd get into the spirit of Halloween and put on a costume of some sort. That will not be the case, unfortunately. When we contacted his office, we were told to follow up with him directly by email, which, naturally, we did. His seven-word response: "I'm out of town that day." Next year then? [Previously]

Did you know cab fares are going up by 50 cents on Sunday? They are. (And the money that will be collected is going to fund the MTA, ironically.) But it seems the meters in some taxis malfunctioned on October 22, 25 and 26 and some passengers were assessed the surcharge even though it hadn't gone into effect yet. So you can get a refund! Assuming you kept your receipt, that is, which you probably didn't. So never mind! [NYDN]

• Scott Bessent, the founder of the hedge fund Bessent Capital and a protégé of billionaire George Soros, has taken a loss on the sale on his duplex co-op at One Sutton Place South. The four-bedroom, 11-room spread, which Bessent bought for $12 million in 2007 and listed for $12.5 million last October, has been sold to Joshua and Juliet Berkowitz for $9.5 million. The apartment was once home to Patricia Kennedy Lawford, the younger sister of JFK. [Cityfile]
• Brian Brille, Bank of America's former head of investment banking and its newly appointed Asia-Pacific chief, has gone into contract to sell his apartment at Trump Park Avenue. The 5,473-square-foot pad, which Brille bought for $8.6 million in 2007 and put up for sale last month, had been listed for $14.75 million by Corcoran's Carrie Chiang and Loy Carlos. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• Radio host Alan Colmes has put his triplex penthouse in the Silk Building on East 4th Street up for dale. Colmes first listed the two-bedroom apartment for $1.995 million in March, but pulled it off the market in September. It's now listed for $1.895 million. [NYM, Corcoran]
• New Jersey Nets rookie Terrence Williams has finally found himself a home. Williams is paying $7,000-a-month to live in the same Palisades, NJ, townhouse where Vince Carter formerly lived. [NYT]

She got married last weekend, but Ivanka Trump will be getting another big stack of presents today. It's her 28th birthday. Also celebrating: Simon Doonan, Barneys' inimitable creative director, is turning 57 today. Mega-agent Binky Urban is 63. Fashion photographer Mario Testino is 55. Gavin Rossdale is turning 42. NBC News' Andrea Mitchell is 64. Private equity bigwig Wes Edens is turning 48. Former Page Sixer Paula Froelich is 36. Henry Winkler turns 64. Actress Nia Long is turning 39. Kevin Pollak is turning 52. Harry Hamlin is 58. Cash Cab host Ben Bailey is turning 39. And Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin is 20. A few weekend birthdays after the jump.

• Lindsay Lohan may be into boys again, at least according to the Sun, since she supposedly spent the night with a male model who she'd been seen making out with the night before and later posted a picture of her new conquest on Twitter. Whether this is a make-Sam-jealous ploy or true love is hard to say, but rest assured her dad will probably weigh in on the matter by the end of the day. [Sun]
• A brazen jewelry thief busted into Amanda Peet's Tribeca loft on Wednesday and said, "What up, bitch? I live here" to Peet's assistant when she happened to walk in on the guy. He quickly fled, but let's hope she got out a "What up, mo fo?" before he was out of earshot. [P6]
• Jessica Simpson likes "spiritual," "artistic" and "intellectual" men because she "can bore out pretty easily." And now it's totally clear why her relationship with Tony Romo didn't work out. [Extra, People]
• CNN's Lou Dobbs says he's been receiving threatening phone calls and his house was shot at due to his views on immigration. But police don't have any any record that he's reported threats in the past and they think the shot was fired by a hunter. So, per usual, Dobbs is probably just full of crap. [P6]
• Michael Jackson's dad says his son is "worth more dead than when he was alive." The world already knew that was the way he felt, of course. But no one was expecting him to come right out and say it. [NYP]

We weren't able to find out what Eliot Spitzer is dressing up as for Halloween, but Ashley Dupre came through in a big way when she posted pics of one of three looks she'll be rocking this weekend to her Twitter account. (She'll be a sailor on Friday night, a cat for brunch on Saturday, and a vampire on Saturday night.) Ashley would like you to know she isn't wearing any make-up in these photos, and that it took her an hour to get the contact lenses in. But her efforts paid off nicely, didn't they? Two bigger pics of New York's most famous ex-call girl turned recording artist looking her freakiest are below.

• The hotel bar is experiencing a resurgence, as you've probably noticed. [VF]
• Indochine is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new book. [GoaG]
• Does Danny Meyer have a new restaurant in store for the church on 21st Street and Park Avenue South? That's the rumor anyway. [Eater]
• A Q&A with Locanda Verde's Andrew Carmellini. [Blackbook]
• The annual Chocolate Show goes down this weekend. [ChocolateShow]
• A few suggestions on where to carbo-load if you're planning to run the marathon this Sunday. Or where to just pig out if you're not. [SE]

• Time Inc. is expected to announce plans to slash $100 million in costs next week; naturally, lots of layoffs will be involved in making that happen. [NYT]
• The Wall Street Journal is closing its Boston bureau. Also in Beantown: The Boston Globe's publisher has announced he's stepping down. [BW, NYT]
• The war between the White House and Fox News is over. For now. [DF]
• Esquire's latest bid for relevance: Its December issue will be tricked out with "an emerging technology called augmented reality." Sounds hot. [WSJ]
• Lou Dobbs says someone fired a shot at his New Jersey home/horse farm. He's yet to blame the population of Mexico. But just give it time. [CNN]

How many valet parking attendants did it take to handle the (second) wedding party for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at the Puck Building last night? Quite a few, clearly. What, no one has chauffeurs anymore? [Curbed]

What's Al Sharpton dressing up as for Halloween? A spokesperson for the good reverend declined to comment. [Previously]

Congrats! The website Total Beauty has concluded that New York is America's "vainest" city. The proof? Residents here spend more on hair coloring, skin care, makeup and hair growth products than those in every other city in America. But we save on food, so it all works out! [Total Beauty via NYM]

Hedge fund mogul Raj Rajaratnam managed to post $100 million in bail, but his lawyer asked a judge today to reduce it to $25 million as well as given Rajaratnam permission to "travel freely in the contiguous 48 states." How else is he going to enjoy his country house in Connecticut and condo in Florida while he's still a free man? [NYT, WSJ]

If Goldman Sachs wants to redeem its reputation, it would have to donate "at least $1 billion" to charity, says billionaire Pete Peterson. "'Only a donation that size would 'have much resonance in the public,' Peterson, the 83-year-old co-founder of Blackstone Group LP, the world's largest private-equity company, said in an interview in New York yesterday." Fair enough. But we're thinking Peterson might need to rename a concert hall or build a new hospital if he expects us to not immediately think of his fame-obsessed grandson every time we hear the name "Peterson." [Bloomberg]

Hillary Clinton won't be dressing up for Halloween. (But don't let that stop you from dressing up as Hillary, if you'd like.) When we called Secretary Clinton's press office in Washington, DC, and explained our request, the incredulous woman at the other end of the line said she'd have to get back to us. We later got a call from a press representative from the State Department. "Unfortunately, she's not going to be here to celebrate Halloween," he said. "She's traveling overseas in Asia and won't be back until the first week of November." So will she be dressing up overseas? "Um, I couldn't say," he replied. (MF)