The daily gossip: Armie Hammer helped build a motel, Alyson Hannigan is using old props as Halloween decor, and more

1. Armie Hammer reveals details of his lockdown construction gig

Fresh off a quarantine in Cayman Islands and a divorce, Armie Hammer didn't know how to pass the time during the pandemic aside from sitting at home "picking boogers and seeing how far I could flick them," he said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (for which he wore a spacesuit complete with sandals and half a pedicure). When his friend asked him to live in and work construction on an abandoned motel, Hammer lived up to his name and said yes. He describes himself as "moderately handy" and spent two months sanding floors, moving objects, and replacing drywall. The motel is called the Ramsey at 29 Palms, though The Motel that Armie Hammer Built may attract more enthusiastic visitors.

People

2. Alyson Hannigan uses props from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Halloween decorations

It's safe to say vampires will be steering clear of Alyson Hannigan's home this Halloween. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress revealed she has a ton of props from the show, and brings them out of storage each year to decorate her home for Halloween. Hannigan has tombstones from the Buffy graveyard set up in a "real spooky" display, along with the skeletons from the Master's lair, which "look really authentic." However, they are understandably falling apart, as any 20-year-old skeleton would. No word yet on what Sarah Michelle Gellar's Halloween decor consists of, but she must have some slayer's stakes lying around somewhere.

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Entertainment Weekly

3. Kelly Rowland is pregnant with her second child

Can you handle this? Kelly Rowland announced her pregnancy, appearing on the November cover of Women's Health flaunting her bump. Rowland and husband Tim Weatherspoon, who share a 5-year-old son, had been talking about expanding their family, and decided to try when the pandemic hit. The singer was hesitant to announce the good news, but wanted to "remind people that life is important." She knows fans were expecting an album, not a baby, so she has to "figure this out so they get both." But it's clear from the comments on her Instagram the baby news was met with joy. Celebrities sounded off their congratulations, with a relieved Tina Knowles writing: "It has been hard keeping this exciting news a secret!"

Women's Health

4. Chicago pizza shop calls out Netflix's Emily in Paris for 'heartless' joke

Francophiles and Frenchmen alike are criticizing Netflix's new series Emily in Paris, and Chicago deep-dish restaurant Lou Malnati's wasted no time in adding to the pie-le on. Emily in Paris, which stars Lily Collins as the titular Parisian transplant and Chicago-native, equates Lou Malnati's pizza to "a quiche made of cement" in the first episode, leading restaurant owner Marc Malnati to release a statement Wednesday calling the dig "heartless and not humorous in the midst of Covid-19." Restaurants have been especially hard hit during the pandemic, making Emily's jab extra dicey. Emily in Paris filmed during fall 2019 — months before COVID-19 became a public health crisis — but its arrival in 2020 clearly comes with some serious baggage. Talk about a faux pas!

The Chicago Tribune

5. Orlando Bloom is a self-proclaimed 'baby whisperer'

Baby Daisy Dove Bloom is already sleeping through the night, but, as we all do, she still has her fussy moments. Then, it's Daddy Bloom to the rescue. In a virtual appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Orlando Bloom said he often chants a Buddhist mantra in his baby's ear to calm her down, and now just the sound of his voice soothes her. "It's like I'm the baby whisperer," he said. "I am definitely winning the daddy points." He might be the one to calm Daisy, but DeGeneres mentioned the baby gets her looks from her mother, Katy Perry, and Bloom agreed. "She got those Katy blues, which was perfect."

Cosmopolitan