Alan Peppard

While Ashlee Simpson's nose no longer protrudes, her belly does. Her eggo is most definitely preggo.

Back in May, the locally raised Ashlee married Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz. Sometime in November, the couple will welcome their new baby. Big sis, Jessica Simpson, will be an aunt.

(BTW, next Friday, Ashlee turns 24.)

On Tuesday, Ashlee appeared at LFT, the clothes boutique in Victory Park, in a mood to shop. No doubt realizing that her girlish figure will soon return, Mrs. Wentz spent nearly two hours browsing and picking up clothes and jewelry.

Nice work by DJ Kidd Kraddick being quick on the trigger with the delay switch Thursday. It kept a cuss word off the air and saved Kidd, Kellie, Big Al, JC and Shannon from an FCC call.

Hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, ex of reality TV shrew Kimora Lee Simmons, was in the studio talking about a charity he founded, the Diamond Empowerment Fund. Soon after Kidd announced that the show was going to a commercial break, Russell, thinking they were off the air, let fly with a common expletive. But the delay button kept the audience from hearing it.

It was left to Kidd to explain that they were still on the air; they had merely switched from his national audience to the local broadcast on "Kiss FM" KHKS-FM (106.1).

But Russell isn't about cursing, he's about promoting. During the segment he plugged his endless array of businesses and their Web sites: ArgyleCulture.com, RushCard.com (a prepaid Visa card) and his gossip and news site, GlobalGrind.com.

Kidd promptly suggested he could start another site: IsworeOnTheRadio.com.

The reason for Russell Simmons' Dallas visit was a Wednesday night party at Trece restaurant on Travis. Sports entrepreneur Kirby Schlegel and beverage distributor Blake Andrews co-hosted the event. (For the second time in a week, Blake's runway-model girlfriend, Julianna Geldien, stopped traffic with her appearance.)

The evening was a warm-up for a Nov. 7 Dallas benefit for the Diamond Empowerment Fund, which will honor Magic Johnson. It will be hosted by Pat and Emmitt Smith.

So, what about reports that Russell Simmons is the Bill Gates of the hip-hop world?

"I'm not that rich," Russell said. "My ex-wife is rich. I'm not rich."

"It's nice to have a lot of money, but you know, you don't want to keep it around forever. I prefer buying things. Otherwise, it's a little like saving sex for your old age." Billionaire Warren Buffett on CNBC.