Thursday night is the last night of the week in Manhattan social circles. After that everyone’s on their own or owning their on, depending on how you look at things; or in their chariots heading for the Hamptons, the hills of Connecticut or what-have-you.

Last Thursday night was a brilliant one in New York. Down at Lotus Space at 122 West 26th Street, the Young Friends of the ASPCA staged a benefit “Horsin’ Around” with invitations exhorting guests to “Please wear your best Denim.”  Maria Menounos was Honorary Chair with big Executive and Benefit committees to bring in the crowds. Also appearing were some of the sweetest little four-legged ones in Need of Good Homes and offering unconditional love and devotion (and please tell me where else you’re gonna find that?).

Coco Chanel's apartment

Meanwhile uptown among the smart set where there are those who believe that diamonds, not doggies are a girl’s best friend, Quest’s Chris Meigher and Ronald Winston hosted a dinner for James Archer Abbott and his fabulous new book “Jansen” (Acanthus Press).

Jean-Henri Jansen started his decorating firm Maison Jansen in Paris in 1880, and with it he established a reputation that lasted more than a century and which continues to imply the most refined taste and style. Among the many distinguished designers and decorators associated with the legendary firm are Stephane Boudin who worked wth Jacqueline Kennedy on the re-decoration of the White House in 1961, and Henri Samuel.

In the introduction of Mr. Abbott’s beautiful coffee-table size book, he reports that Jansen was patronized by queens and millionaires, captains of industry, leaders of international society and the occasional dictator. The term “interior decorator” had a far different meaning than it does today as architects during that era had dominated the field.

The Maison Jansen produced woodwork, furniture, metal work and restored antiques while providing the client with its look as Mr. Abbott describes it: “a skillful and seemingly impossible melding of 18th century French palace historicism, 1920 Hollywood theatrics, and country house subtleties.” A recent NYSD entry of photographs of the Paris apartment of Count and Countess Hubert d’Ornano is a very late example of high Jansen (and/or Napoleon III) as guided by Henri Samuel more than a quarter century ago.

Click cover to order

Abbott’s book includes the residences created by Jansen for, among others, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Nancy (Lancaster) and Ronald Tree at Ditchley, Ava Astor Ribblesdale (Vincent Astor’s mother), Lydia and George Gregory, parents of the three Gregory brothers, Peter, Alexis and Andre; Mildred and Charles Allen (parents of New York’s Terry Allen Kramer), the Jayne and Charles Wrightsman residence in Palm Beach (no longer extant thanks to some contemporary designers), as well as the Wrightsman Galleries at the Met; Babe and William Paley’s 820 Fifth Avenue apartment and the Harry Winston store where last Thursday night’s reception/dinner was held. Those are only a few of the prominent and wealthy clients whose houses are featured in James Archer Abbott’s treasure trove.

Meanwhile moving right along with last Thursday night, over at the University Club, the McKim, Mead and White (good examples of the aforementioned architects who dominated interior design) Italian Renaissance palazzo-style structure erected on the corner of 54th and Fifth in 1900, Olympic Gold Medalist Donna deVarona, Tony Award winners, Victoria Clark and James Earl Jones were among those honored at the Blanton-Peale Institute’s Norman Vincent Peale Gala Awards Dinner.

A half century ago in New York and across America, Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, who preached every Sunday at the Marble Collegiate Church here in Manhattan (and broadcast over network radio), and was without question the most famous Protestant minister in this country. His book (his fourth) “The Power of Positive Thinking” was published in 1952 and sold more than 20 million copies, printed in 41 languages, and introduced the term into the national parlance.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale preaching the Power of Positive Thinking (Minister at the Marble Collegiate Church from 1932-1984). 1/20/05.

His weekly radio program “The Art of Living” ran for 54 years. Dr. Peale was the mid-20th century icon of self-improvement in America, a profoundly more religious era than exists today. Dr. Peale, unlike so many of his contemporary antecedents was a gentle and benevolent mentor of faith and certainty, a kinder voice. He died at age 95, in 1993 when, ironically, much of that “positive thinking” had fallen away from the national dialogue.

The Blanton-Peale Institute is a multfaith, non-sectarian educational and service organization that was founded in 1937 by Dr. Peale and the eminent psychiatrist Dr. Smiley Blanton. The objective Blanton-Peale established was to bring together the insights of the evolving fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy with the wisdom of the great spiritual traditions to help modern men and women, families and caregivers, deal with the psychological, emotional, and spiritual stresses of contemporary life. Today Blanton-Peale is the hub of a network of affiliated counseling centers and educational institutions that share its philosophy in the tri-state area and nationally. Needed now more than ever.

Also on Thursday night, I found my way over to Restaurant Daniel where Valentino and Graziano Boni, president and CEO of Valentino Fashion Group USA hosted a dinner in honor of artist Eneas Capalbo (known professionally as “Eneas”) after the opening of a exhibition of some of his work at the Valentino boutique on Madison Avenue at 65th Street. Eneas’ works are now on view at the store.

Updatedom: And then on Friday, after missing a couple of my appointments due to a trip to Paris and then a rotten cold, I returned to Inform Fitness which still intrigues this sluggish lay-about because of the possibilities that it presents to reviving my “youthful” energies. Or something like that.

I wrote a few weeks ago about starting this program that was recommended to me by a friend who is well-versed and expert in the business of keeping oneself toned and in shape, something I’ve never kept myself in in my entire life. At least not much.

Slow Motion Strength Training its called. Using re-designed Nautilus machines, once a week for less than a half hour, can restore your faith in yourself. But not until you’ve been willing to bite the bullet and “feel the burn.” Or, as they say: oy. When it is. It’s hard, whined the poor baby.

My “expert” friend, when asked more about its value, said simply that it “appeals to: elite athletes” (so there!), “surgery and rehabilitative clients looking to regaining their strength in recovery, and people who are at the upper end of middle age.” Does that mean you? It also, he added, assists in restoring vitality, increasing one’s ability to focus in a world of steadily accelerating loss of focus (my words, not his); to improve one’s posture and breathing. That I can vouch for.

I write all this to inform about Inform as much as to remind myself of why I have decided to return each week to the session. I also like the fact you can do this in your civvies without the gym costume (I am one of the few I notice). It serves the dual purpose of congratulating and prodding myself to stay with it, feeling the burn and all.

Last Wednesday night, photographer Roberto Dutesco hosted a benefit party for the Humane Society of New York at his gallery on Crosby Street. Despite the rain, animal lovers and art lovers attend to join Mr. Dutesaco and HSNY President Virginia Chipurrnoi for a private viewing of the “HORSES OF SABLE ISLAND” collection.  Fifty percent of all sales from the collection of black-and-white and sepia toned photos of the wild horses were donated directly to the Humane Society of New York.

HSNY’s Ann-Marie Karash greeted guests including Grace Mirabella and Jade Hobson, who arrived together, Laurence Chipurrnoi and daughter Sara Reeves, Dr. Peter Theodorou, Steve Ernst, Elaine Sargent, art expert Michel Witmer, Designer Adria de Haume, Jackie Rogers, Myra Scheer, Lexie Rogers,Ann Thomas, Mary McKenzie, Peter Tunny and Amy Magee, Jennifer Dobbeck, JonathanTaub, Chris Bolos, Dr. Eric Berger, Julie Hayek and model Luigi Tadini. Toby Tobias III, a seven-year-old black terrier mix who is up for adoption, also made his rounds greeting Lyn Paulsin and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, event planner Harriette Rose Katz and her lovely little pup, Zoey, and Junia Nevia and her dapperly dressed Schnauzer.

The horses are a fascinating story. “It is a world that exists by its own rules,” Dutesco said, referring to the sandbar in Novia Scotia where the wild horses live. “A place without trees, without shade and without shelter, it is a place where I have witnessed true peace and unquestionable love among is occupants.”

For more than a century, the Humane Society of New York has been caring for animals in need. Today, the hospital and Adoption Center help more than 30,000 dogs and cats annually.

For further information go to www.dutescoart.com or www.humanesocietyny.org.