Write Woman's blog

Honor's Haven Resort and Spa

What happened to the Catskills from the 1960's? A time when everyone traveled to the "mountains" vs flying to the Caribbean or to Europe.

While those time are long gone, there is now a resurrgence in the Catskills region of New York.

I have seen many articles stating that the Catskills is the "UN- Hamptons." A place where you can be yourself, down to earth and at peace with nature.

That is a sure sell to anyone coming from the hectic pace of NYC. Now with the summer season in front of us, it is a perfect time to plan your weekend getaways,

Nestled between the Shawagunk and Catskill Mountains, in Ellenville, NY, is Honor's Haven Resort and Spa.

Within a 2 hour drive from NYC, Honor's Haven's completely redesigned interiors and zen-like outdoor landscape will draw you back again and again. And from those who grew up in the Catskill hotels, it will be hard to believe that this was once the infamous Fallsview Hotel!

The one thing that has NEVER changed in the Catskills, is the fresh air and plenty of it! Honor's Haven is surrounded by a green lake filled with ducks and rowboats. You can take the rowboat out and try to replicate the ducks as they swim along the outskirts of the lake. Can anything be more peaceful? Well, maybe....

A lake-lined yoga class? Tai chi with master instructors? A spa menu?

It is all there for your at Honor's Haven!

Remember the food in the catskills? Who doesnt? And if you DONT remember the food, then you werent REALLY there!

The food is primarly served buffet style and the enormous dining room can serve several hundred people at once. 3 meals a day and weekend cocktail parties.

Honor's Haven is a perfect venue for school reunions, business conferences, wellness seminars and retreats and for every type of group in between.

The famous "falls" is still just up the road a piece and makes a great hike anytime of the day. When you get to the waterfall for which the original Fallsview hotel was named, you will be amazed at how this splendor exists so close to home.

How many people have walked the falls? A timeless piece of nature. A must see!

For more information on Honor's Haven and on the Catskills please visit:

www.honorshaven.com

www.scva.net/

www.visitthecatskills.com/

Off the “Charts”

What do you love most about fine dining? Is it the personalized service? Unique, gourmet food? Atmosphere?

When you dine at any Chart House restaurant you will find ALL of the above and more. With locations nationwide, Chart House offers steak and seafood prepared to meet every palate. From signature fish dishes such as Miso Glazed Salmon to Macadamia Crusted Mahi to Chart House’s famous 16oz “Callahan Cut” Prime Rib, they have it all!

Amazing drink specials at equally amazing prices during their ongoing happy hour are alone, worth the visit.

Chart House restaurants can be found all across the country from its origins in the Midwest to Las Vegas, NV in the Southwest to Atlantic City, NJ on the East Coast.
Whether you are looking to dine at a Chart House near you or while traveling, I am certain you will find one in driving distance. Smart marketing? Absolutely.
The food speaks for itself as does the service, therefore Chart house is as much about quality as it is the quantity of their restaurant locations.

On a recent visit to their new Atlantic City location, I was impressed from the moment I crossed the walkway from the adjoining Golden Nugget Hotel into the restaurant.
This Chart House offers an amazing view of the Atlantic City Marina and even in the dead of winter, you will feel warm and “beachy.”
Add a classic, Chart House signature Mojito to the start of your meal and you will definitely be transcending into summer!

The décor is bright yet calm. Shapes of waves and modern art adorn the walls and are both welcoming and relaxing.

Equally perfect for an intimate dinner or a group of sports fans/friends, the Chart House in Atlantic City/Golden Nugget fits “the bill.” Speaking of bills, the cost is very reasonable considering the high quality food and service you will receive.
Everything from $5 happy hour appetizers to competitively priced seafood, chicken or steak dinners-everyone is a winner (even if you didn’t play the tables).
Great attention is given to taste, spice and portion. In many elegant restaurants you may be accustomed to receiving tiny portions. Not so in Landry’s Chart Houses.

For your next business lunch, family or anniversary dinner, dine at an American favorite,
THE CHART HOUSE at the Marina in Atlantic City.

It is truly off the CHARTS!

www.chart-house.com

www.goldennugget.com/atlanticcity

Come Full Circle...

 

Retailing for only $24.99, you can find "The Full Circle Come Clean Natural Cleaning Set" on major internet outlets such as Amazon and in large department stores such as Sears.

This unique cleaning set makes it easy to create your own environmentally friendly cleaners. Save money by using everyday, nontoxic ingredients. Full Circle products are made from all natural, sustainable ingredients.

This easy to use cleaning kit contains:

Microfiber cloths, a multifunctional lemon juicer, spray bottles of varying sizes, reusable labels and full guide with bonus recipes for making as many diverse all-natural cleaners as possible.

The entire kit comes in a cool orange color with a built in handle making it easy to transport from room to room.

Great for naturally disinfecting kitchens, baths, baby rooms and so much more. Works as a natural room freshener as well! You would use items you already have at home or can easily find in your local grocer. Ingredients such as lemons, white vinegar, and essential oils of lavender, orange, peppermint and similar scents that both detoxify your indoor air as well as surfaces. You would only use a few drops as essential oils are strong and linger in the air long after you spray them. They mix well with water (preferrably filtered) and the bottles are easy to clean and store.

Chemical mixes are a waste and are dangerous. Even if direct links are not yet evident, between the use of harsh household chemicals and respiratory and other disorders, they will become evident in the near future. I am confident of that.

Using a full size, full service product such as Full Circle's Natural Cleaning Set and its earth friendly tools, you will be doing good for both  your indoor environment as well as the larger global environment.

"Think global, act local." Isn't that what they say? Using a product such as this will ensure you are doing great things for yourself, your family and so much more!

Please visit their website at:

www.fullcirclehome.com

Happy cleaning!

Sweeney Todd- Alive and well in Irvington, NY!

If you close your eyes and just listened to the HS production of Sweeney Todd, held last month at the famous Irvington Town Hall theater, you would think you were on Broadway! (minus the parking nightmare ofcourse)

What a spectacular performance by all. Each actor gave equal effort and are all truly talented. If any of the performers choose to pursue a career in acting and stage/screen, I know they WILL succeed! A great balance to have had a few actual broadway performers act along side the high schoolers. They were mentors to the student actors and created an ambiance of enjoyment, professionalism and poise.

Under the direction of Jason Brantman & Fiona Santos, Artistic Directors of the Broadway Training Center of Westchester (http://www.BroadwayTraining.com), their Sweeney Todd production was a true hit!

Johnny Depp would be quite proud of the Sweeney Todd actor in this local, live theater rendition. He did a great job, both in his mannerisms, voice pitch and level of emotion.

Costumes were well selected and crafted to reflect early century and European styles. Everyone imparted humor when appropriate and kept the audience well engaged throughout the broadway length performance.

Sweeney Todd the barber is/was alive and well again- at the Irvington Theater!

For more information on the cast, crew or to reach the directors or development director, please visit:

www.irvingtontheater.com

www.broadwaytraining.com

Thanks!

Ellie

 

 

Swim "up stream" with Soda Stream!

So it is not soda, it is seltzer. Even better!

Healthier, no chemicals or phosphoric acid to rob your body of calcium and other nutrients. No excess sugar to wire you up and destroy your immune system over time.

Just good "ol' fashioned" seltzer! Plain or flavored, you make it yourself and the Soda Stream is reusable and you will never have to buy store bottled seltzer again. The only thing that may be missing here are the old glass bottles which seltzer used to come in and was delivered to your home by the famous "seltzer man."

I believe that if you recycle glass bottles at home or office, you can fill up the Soda Stream bottle and transfer it to glass for refrigeration.

Soda Stream is a great way to also help kids have fun and learn to do things themselves instead of thinking everything you eat or drink MUST come from a store.

Back to nature is best. Soda Stream also offers endless flavors to add to your plain seltzer which satisfies a wide variety of palates.

My favorite so far is Lemon Lime. It adds just a hint of citrus flavor without being overpowering and is great as we enter the summer season.

The Soda Stream machine comes with a chrome finish, in red, in black and looks great on everything from an office desk to a picnic table. Easy to handle and clean- the bottles should be hand washed in warm water, not in the dishwasher.

It works with a small carbon dioxide tank, which is what makes seltzer seltzer. No electricity needed. Just a few pumps of the soda stream mechanism, adding co2 to tap or bottled water will produce desired results, best achieved by refrigerating to get cool.

You can have it plain or add the flavors and really experiment with this handy, do it yourself "soda" machine.

Healthy, cost effective and resusable. What better timing for Soda Stream in our go green environments!

For more information on the Soda Stream or to find retailer or order online, please visit:

www.sodastreamusa.com

Enjoy!

Ellie

 

LEGO meets LITE BRITE!

Who doesn't remember LITE BRITE as a child? That incredibly fun, interactive game board which "lites" up after you place the pegs in to make any one of a thousand designs?

I still remember my brother saying "lis, close the light so we can see it light up!" Once you did it was like being transformed into outer space for kids. The feeling that what you created appeared in almost 3d. The effect was everlasting, so was the light from the peg board, wowww. I can still see it as clearly now as when i flipped the switch at age 8!

And LEGOS?? Let's not even go there! Hours of placing the WOODEN sticks and pieces together to form houses, cars and all types of imaginative contraptions and objects. Wooden robots that would now fight each other for lunch upstairs. Plastic LEGOS are ok, but nothing beats the old wooden sets!

Now, lets fast forward about 30 years (shhh) to  "Laser Pegs Lighted Construction Kits"

These kits are perfect for kids age 7 and up as they include a step by step guide to creating endless projects out of the 72 piece sets. Anything from cars to a train track to a robot and beyond. Watch out Toy Story, kids will enjoy hours of fun creating their own "toy story."

It is perfect for siblings, male and female. A good way for brothers and sisters to play together and feel equally comfortable playing with the same toy/set. That does not happen often as many games and sets are geared toward one gender or the other. Not Laser Pegs!

Laser Pegs are unisex and even adults love them! I witnessed a father showing his kids how to build their imagination with Laser Pegs, especially focusing on the lighted feature. This feature truly brings the set and the objects you create to life. It makes you want to play for hours and looks great outside in the twilight to show off to your kid neighbors.

Younger kids should be supervised initially by an adult while creating Laser Pegs since it involves the use of electricity to run (uses batteries).

Laser Pegs are listed as one of the 10 best new Tech products by "Dr. Toy" and as one of the top 100 best products by the same rating group.

You can find Laser Pegs Construction Kits in many local toy retailers as well as online at:

www.laserpegs.com

From LEGOS to LITE BRITE to LASER PEGS! Everything old is TRULY new again!

Enjoy!

Forget Saturday Night Live- It's WHISKY LIVE!!!

So its Wednesday, not Saturday and its Whisky NOT Wine.

On Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 at 6:30pm (VIP entrance 5:30) in Chelsea Piers in NYC,

join thousands of whisky lovers and purveyors at the annual Whisky Live event!

       Now in its 11th year, Whisky Live is the whisky tasting & sampling event of the year, happening worldwide in places such as Dublin, Shanghai, Toronto and Glasgow! In short, you can now "scotch it up" across the globe!

Start in the city that never sleeps, NYC!

Whisky History:

            "Whisky"- The name of the "water of life" produced in Scotland and Ireland comes from the Celtic, which was the official language for ages. Before bearing the name of "whisky" (or whiskey if it is produced in Ireland or in the United States).The name evolved to become Usquebaugh, then Uisge and finally Whisky.

           Legal distillation of whisky is rather recent. Production of legal whisky in Scotland was led by the Duke of Gordon in 1823. But of course, Scotland did not wait till then to produce their national drink. History of distillation begins in the ancient Egypt. This technique was used mainly for the production of perfumes.

        Traces of distilled barley go back to the XIIth century. Whisky was not considered as a pleasure like nowadays, but people thought it was a great medicine, helping to heal all kinds of diseases. It was used as an ointment and as well as a drink.

         At Whisky Live you will learn all about this great drink's history while enjoying hundreds of samples, listening to  beautiful world music and engaging in masterclasses, taught by famous whishy experts!

Please visit: www.whiskylive.com for full event details. ENJOY!

John Allan's- Finally a place for the pampered man!

So often, you read about spas for women.  Most spa services both in NYC and across the country appear to skip over the men or add them in for good measure.

NOT the case at the famous John Allan's salon and spa, which caters exclusively to MEN.

They offer amazing packages, spa services and that "great gatsby" feel of being a pampered male. You will feel like you are back in this earlier time, back to the 20's and 30's. A time where it was socially acceptable for a man to get a pedicure or a close shave topped off by a hot towel.

John Allan's products emphasize natural ingredients and their salons create an aromatherapeutic effect .

You will feel pampered from the moment you walk in. From JA's superb service and friendly knowledgeable staff to their full line of spa services, you can truly get away from the hectic NYC pace and escape to a more peaceful setting. If only for a couple of hours. Many times that is all you need to feel rejuvenated and inspired.

Inspired to engage in a regular routine of spa services in the future. Clearing your mind in order to enhance your performance at work. Another great reason to visit John Allan's salon.

John Allan has 4 locations across NYC as well as in the famous "Loop"district in Chicago.

You can join with an annual membership or just a one time spa package. Their Full Service, Deluxe and Bronze packages make great gifts for the man in your life. Great for your boyfriend as well as your father. John Allan creates a atmosphere of wellness and charm which will appeal to a men of ALL ages.

A gift certificate/package is a great gift to give your fiancee. Why should the bride to be,  be the only one pampered and pedicured? A John Allan service(s) makes a great Valentine's Day gift as well.  In addition they are currently offering products at a great discount just in time for Vday! You can buy JA's skin care and related products by themselves,without a service. They are handsomely packaged to appeal to the man in your life.

John Allan is also a great location to hold a corporate event or fundraiser.

Please visit:

www.johnallans.com

for a full list of services and locations and get ready to get groomed!

 

World Yacht- "Around the World in 30 days...ok, in 3 hours!"

Are you new to NYC? A "local?" With a group or a couple? Planning a wedding or a reunion?

World Yacht cruises are perfect for any situation or size.

Departing from Pier 81- West 41st street and the West Side Highway, World Yacht offers stunning views of the NY Harbor on their three hour brunch and dinner cruises!

Full service with several package options, the World Yacht is a must on your tourist "to do list!"

Perfect for those who live in the area as well, once onboard the beautiful Princess or Dutchess ships, you will feel like you left home and left the NYC hustle and stress behind.

Getting out on the open waters, seeing parts of NY and NJ from climate controlled indoor decks as well as a third level-outdoor deck, will rejuvenate you.

It will impress your guests and please your family.

The food is nothing to sneeze at either. Well, that would not be a pretty visual!

Pan Seared Salmon, Assorted gourmet cheeses, Champagne, fresh greens with baby pears and so much more! Service is impeccable and very friendly.

World Yacht is a perfect spot for a romantic dinner, to celebrate birthdays or even to propose to your girlfriend! Trust me!

Then, you can start planning your wedding onboard The World Yacht.

So conveniently located to all points north, south and east in the city as well as its proximity to the SS Intrepid, The World Yacht can accomodate several hundred guests/passengers and you can reserve an entire deck just for your friends and family.

Their full live band is top notch and you can hire them for private events or bring your own dj to spin on their spacious dance floor. You will feel the grooves, not the waves!

You will sail down the Hudson, around and up onto the East River- sail under three bridges and come around past the spectacular lady. Lady Liberty that is! Once again, a perfect spot within the length of the cruise, to propose. How ironic. Liberty= freedom, marriage=?. Kidding!

The World Yacht is your perfect choice for group events large or small, for celebrations, business meetings, tourist trips and private charters.

Please visit their website for information and reservations!

www.worldyacht.com

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d472442-Reviews-World_Yacht_Dinner_Cruises-New_York_City_New_York.html

 

 

Propel's Health and Beauty Media event

At the Marriot Marquis in Times Square last week, Propel Media Events held their spectacular Health and Beauty expo!

For media only, this event offered journalists over 40 companies to meet and review.

The companies represented  all aspects of health, wellness and beauty and the show was sponsored by Pevonia Skincare and Platinum Hair Extensions. Both ahead of their time in their respective fields, Pevonia and Platinum offer customers and retailers the best in botanically derived skin care products and superior grade/human hair extensions.

Propel's event was so well organized and their staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. The registration process was smooth and the gift bags given to each regsitered member of the media- was chock full of samples from the exhibiting companies.

From small businesses to corporate companies- all types of ventures and services were represented.

From the male entrepreneur who developed a product to remove those unsightly yellow t-shirt stains to an equally ambitious and successful female physician turned businesswoman and her "honeycat" cosmetics- the event was filled with excitement and great, health oriented and innovative products!

Propel also offered all attendees, herbal tea samples (from one of their exhibitors) and a buffet lunch filled with healthy wraps, large cookies, chips and drinks!

From the novice freelance writer to the published journalist, everyone was appreciated and accepted as respected members of the media who came to offer their reviews and services.

In today's struggling economy and often toxic environment- the importance of events such as Propel Media Events's Health and Beauty media event/expo, could not be better timed or more important!

For more information on this and other exciting, upcoming Propel events, and to see a full exhibitor list from the Health and Media event, please visit:

www.propelmediaevents.com

or these highlighted exhibitors:

www.honeycatcosmetics.com

www.cranimal.com

http://www.curls.biz/

www.giveagreenbag.com

www.fresh-wave.com

 www.cookingonthelightside.com