One Thousand Nights and One Day,” a new musical at ART/NY Mezzanine Theatre

April 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment
One Thousand Nights and One Day will play the ART/NY Mezzanine Theatre (502 West 53rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues) and is produced by Prospect Theater Company (Cara Reichel, Producing Artistic Director.)
 
In mythic Persia, a daring young woman spins tales to save the kingdom and her life. In modern-day New York, a Jewish man and Palestinian woman fight to find love in a fractured world.  This world premiere musical, adapted from Jason Grote’s critically-acclaimed play 1001, reinvents “The Arabian Nights,” colliding the contemporary and the ancient.  Through a genre-bending score, it questions past and present images of the Middle East, exploring the power of story in our everyday lives.
 
One Thousand Nights and One Day features Sepideh Moafi (“The Deuce”, “Falling Water”), Ben Steinfeld (Fiasco Theatre Company’s Into the Woods), Ashkon Davaran (The Great Comet – Ars Nova), Yassi Noubahar (The Body Politic), Chad Goodridge (Passing Strange), Gabriella Pérez (Anything GoesNational Tour), and Graham Stevens (Peter and the Starcatcher).
 
One Thousand Nights and One Day features choreography by Karla Garcia(Regional: In The Heights; currently performing in Hamilton), scenic design by Jason Ardizzone-West (The Royale, Illyria), costume design by Becky Bodurtha (The Strangest; The Wife), lighting design by Carolyn Wong (This Was Written In Water; The Oracle) and sound design by Jeremy J. Lee (Tamar of the River; Broadway Associate: Superior Doughnuts; Mary Stuart). Kurt Crowley (currently the musical director/conductor of Hamilton on Broadway) serves as musical director and co-orchestrator with Marisa Michelson.

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CloudMover Day Spa Huntington Beach

April 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment

CloudMover Day Spa Huntington Beach CaliforniaThe Beach and a Spa, What Better Day…

Huntington Beach California is a vacation destination, or if you are lucky might be right outside your backdoor. Sunshine and relaxation are only enhanced by a day at the spa and the one to hit is CloudMover Day Spa. Voted #1 seven years in a row by the OC Hotlist you want to go where the locals go to get the best service in massages, facials, body treatments, and more. My experience was eye opening.

I am going to start with the facial, because I never knew the process could be this good. I have had facials before, but just a few and I never got very excited about them. Often after my skin was irritated and I never felt it looked any better for going through the discomfort and occasionally painful burn of the peels. CloudMover Spa completely changed my mind with their HydroMicrodermabrasion facial. Their staff is amazing.

Basically in the past spas had been using treatments that were too harsh for my skin type and I didn’t know better than to ask for what others recommended, I am not experienced with the beauty treatments out there. So I ended up irritating my skin and not getting good results. The HydroMicrodermabrasion method was amazing because it is gentle enough for all skin types and effective enough to really get results even with the toughest jobs. I went in with my Italian skinned gentleman friend who spends every day in the sun, pool, and slathering on sunscreen, clogged pore city. His skin looked amazing afterwards and the effects have lasted for weeks. My face has never looked so good and all of my skin issues were cleared up without any tenderness.
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Couples Massage at Elements Massage in Irvine Ca.

December 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment

You have heard about a couples massage. The topic comes up around the Holidays and Valentines as a great gift idea, which it is! There is no reason though to wait for a special occasion to enjoy this bonding experience. A couples massage can be a regular occurrence that helps you relax, enjoy each others company, and feel closer. Because there is nothing better than sharing the blissed out feeling you have leaving a great massage with your partner.

Elements Massage is an excellent choice to embrace the couples massage. They have a room specifically for side by side massages which is intimate without being claustrophobic. A relaxing, airy space for you to enjoy you choice of massage, which is customizable for each person. You can choose from Swedish Massage, Hot Stone, Deep Tissue, Prenatal, and Aromatherapy.

I enjoyed the Himalayan Salt Stone Massage. This massage incorporates thermal therapy and salt therapies through the stones enhancing the experience. My partner chose the Deep Tissue Massage to deal with shoulder issues, a therapeutic massage to really go deep and help get him back in balance. The whole process was perfect. Lovely setting, the staff was delightful, and the massages exactly what each of us was looking for.
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18|8 Fine Men’s Salon in Morristown NJ

December 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

18|8 Fine Men’s Salons are the destination for a well groomed man. With 400 stores operating or in development 18|8 is the go to place for men wanting to look their best. Lets face it, when you look better, you feel better and more confident. Taking the time to pamper yourself a little at the salon does more than just give you a haircut and men deserve more.

18/8 salon

Opening a new location in Morristown NJ at 40 W. Park Place the salon will offer a full selection of grooming services and treatments. More than just men’s haircuts and styling, they will offer waxing, straight edge hot lather shaves, and facials. If you are looking for more you need go no further, color services, scalp and hair replacement therapy, nail treatments, and styling products can all be found at 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons.
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Friendship and the Spa @FriendshipDairies #ThePowerofFriendship #ad

October 12, 2017 by 6 Comments

Friendship is a beautiful thing. Friends offer you comfort, support, share laughs, and and bring you joy. They also sometimes drag you places you never thought you would go or to do things you never imagined. There are times that these adventures open our eyes to whole new experiences that enhance our lives. I will also confess there have been times I say one and done to such adventures, but not so with my trip to the Korean Spa.

I knew what spas were, women and men walking around in robes as they were pampered in one way or another. I confess I had never experienced more than a massage myself. I walked down to the room then crawled in just my panties under the sheets to be enjoyably rubbed down and relaxed. Even that level of nudity made me somewhat uncomfortable, because lets face it, we all have some reservations about certain parts of our body. I certainly don’t fit the Barbie body model.

This is where friendship took me to a place I had never been before, a whole new level of spa, the Korean Spa. My friend Carrie convinced me that this was something not to be missed and I confess I am always up for a challenge. Even if the idea is terrifying. So I embarked on a trip to the Korean Spa or as my friend sometimes calls it, naked lady bonding time, lol.

The closest you have likely come if you have never had the experience yourself is the gym locker room and sauna. There are usually one or two women that strut their stuff in the buff. These are not always the young, or the fittest, but they are confident and not afraid to be exposed in front of strangers while the rest of us hover in a corner trying to show as little as possible. Well at the Korean Spa you have no choice but to let it all hang out, which is a hurdle only friendship got me over.
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Visit the New York Renaissance Faire #NYRenFaire

September 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Longing for a break from the routine, but don’t have the time to take a week off right now? Travel to distant lands and faraway time periods, all within a short drive from your home.  We recently visited the New York Renaissance Faire (or if you aren’t local to NY, you can find another in your area- visit the website’s main page for locations and dates) and it was a fun way to spend the day with your family and friends and get away from your routine.

Take a step back in time (but not too far back, it’s just fun and not a serious event) and get into the spirit by dressing up in the time period. Don’t have a costume? That’s OK, there are plenty of vendors there that have items to sell, from clothing to headgear to fantasy peices and beyond. You can be a knight, a princess, a squire, fairy, or anything in between.  We saw unicorns and minotaur this past weekend- really, only your imagination will stop you. There are also fun “theme weekends”, such as Pirate, Celtic, or Time Travelers weekends, where some Faire goers will dress accordingly, and shows will also reflect the idea.

The marketplace has, as mentioned, a fantastic selection of clothing vendors. Yes, you can try on before you buy, and better still, they will help you be fitted and learn how to get into things you might not know how to wear properly. Lacing up a floor length dress is not exactly pulling on a pair of sweatpants, is it? The shopkeepers are helpful and friendly (and usually very funny), so be prepared to have a good time shopping. Yes, guys too.

There are many other fun finds as well. All sorts of jewelry and shiny baubles (of course, what is a Faire without crowns?) to pick and choose from, plenty of toys, swords, shields-  if you are into it, you can even find chain metal and armor.  There are home decorations, spices, and a live glassblower that you can watch and then make purchases from. The kids loved watching him create, and honestly, so did the adults.
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Six Tips for Cruising with Kids

December 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Going on holiday with the kids is as equally rewarding as it can be frustrating. This is especially true if you are trying to travel to a range of different destinations. Corralling little ones onto flights can be tricky at the best of times and this is only exacerbated when you have multiple transfers and connecting flights to make. Fortunately, there’s one way to simplify the process and let the whole family travel to various places with ease – by taking a cruise.

By opting for a family cruise holiday, you just travel to the departure point, get comfy in your cabin and let the world come to you from the comfort of a luxury cruise liner. No longer the preserve of wealthy pensioners, cruise holidays are available to anyone. Whether you fancy touring the Mediterranean, The Caribbean, or even chillier climes – it’s up to you.

Don’t worry if you’ve never cruised before. It’s easy! And to make it even easier we’ve compiled a short list of tips for getting the most out of a cruise with kids. Read on.

Feel free to take the kitchen sink

It is received wisdom these days that it’s best to pack light when traveling. And usually this is the case. However, on a cruise you have the luxury of your cabin as a base of operations throughout the holiday. You don’t have to pack and repack (beyond a day bag for excursions). Combine this with the fact that there are not lots of shopping options on the seven seas, you don’t want to get caught short by forgetting any necessities. So, don’t worry about packing your suitcases a little fuller.
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Top 4 Safety Travel Tips

December 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment

travel tips

Taking a vacation is one of the things that helps make life fun.  In fact, studies show that four out of five domestic trips made are for leisure. Getting away from it all is sure to be ideal for better health and less stress. However, you will want to be sure to make the most of your trip, and this means not worrying about what could go wrong. The ideal way to do this is to be as prepared as you can be by putting specific safety tips into place before you leave. Knowing these tips will enable you to have fun while taking time off work.

Tip #1: Secure your home

One of the ideal ways to ensure you won’t have any issues with your home while you’re gone is by activating your security system before you leave. It’s ideal to rely on this type of security to keep your home monitored when you aren’t there to do this job.

Some of the things you will want your security system to do is alert others if an intruder enters your property. This could involve creating a loud siren noise that will blast the neighborhood when an individual attempts a break-in.

The more advanced systems may get in touch with the police immediately if this occurs or you could even have cameras installed that enable you to watch your property at any time.

Tip #2:  Update insurance

One thing you will want to be sure to do is to update your health and auto insurance before leaving. You may need to simply review your policy or make some major changes to help ensure you’re properly covered. The last thing you want to do is to have to make an emergency room visit away from your local area and not have insurance.
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