1. Las Vegas: Las Vegas has a little something for everyone. Whether your vacation is geared towards gambling at a casino, live shows and entertainment such as Cirque du Soleil or a Gondola Ride at the Bellagio, or just shopping at the outlets and designer stores.

2. Mexico: Mexico offers a perfect combination of historical interest, beaches, and the crazy night life. Mexico has various beautiful landscapes, including mountains, deserts, tropical jungles, and quaint villages and resorts for tourists.

3. Hawaii: Hawaii’s warm hospitality, stunning volcanoes, but first of all for its beautiful beaches. There are plenty of tourist spots on the islands, but try to really experience the island by hiking the volcanoes or by flying over the islands in a helicopter.

4. Los Angeles, California: Due to the beautiful Californian sunshine year round, it is the home of a large number of celebrities, and is the center of the TV and movie industry. You can take a tour of the stars’ homes or visit the bohemian zones. There are also plenty of different and even authentic cuisine restaurants ranging from Chinese to Mexican.

5. Haute Route, Swiss Alps: Switzerland holds the famous Swiss Alps hiking adventure. Take the traditional Haute Route to see the largest mountain in Western Europe, the Matterhorn.

6. New York City: New York is something that everyone should do at least once in their life. For the City that Never Sleeps, New York is truly a sight to behold. Be sure to take the time to visit the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Empire State Building and Broadway plays.

7. Aruba: The Sunny climate of Aruba, which boasts an 82 degree temperature on the white sandy beaches for most of the year. On the western and southern coasts you’ll find a lot of sheltered beaches. This spot is a great alternative to the Caribbean.

8. Thailand: Thailand has a lot to offer visitors. Whatever you are looking for, you will be fascinated by the ancient civilization and the glorious culture. There are wonderful sights, including exotic open-air markets and sparkling temples. There are endless souvenirs and cuisine at bargain prices. visit a luxurious health spa to regenerate your body and psyche. Also try to relax on a golden beach and enjoy the tropical sunshine and deep turquoise sea.

9. Machu Picchu in Peru: Hikers and tourists have visited the fascinating Inca civilization since its discovery in the early 1900s. Many call the experience magical. Visit the Inca temples and villages. Blending in with the hillside itself, many say the area creates a seamless and elegant green paradise,

10. France: The country has a lot of beautiful attractions and cultural structures to visit. It is bustling with activity, full of large cities like Paris and beautiful small villages and vineyard country side. The countryside still holds a strong impression of Old World feelings and hospitality.

A MUST Read or Watch in 2012!

I would like to capture everyone’s attention to read a book (Or watch the movie) that can change your life forever! Not only is it a motivator, The Secret has inspired me beyond belief to believe anything is possible!

This is one of the most life changing books, and I absolutely recommend it to everyone! Even if one person reads, or watches “The Secret” this was worth writing about!! It is the kind of book/movie that you can read more than once to refresh a positive outlook and thinking process!

The Secret- This shows you how the power of positive thinking really works! And if you put your mind to it you can have or do anything you want, Literally!!! I highly recommend reading or watching this sometime soon in 2012!

Welcome – New

Did you resolve to be healthier in 2012, but find yourself craving something sweet at the end of the day? Well look no further than these delicious fudge brownies! These yummy brownies come in at less than 150 calories by reducing the amount of butter and using a combination of cocoa and melted dark chocolate.

Ingredients
• 4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• Cooking spray

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.
3. Place butter and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH for 45 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds. Stir until smooth, and set aside. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup sugar, milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, egg yolks, and egg; stir with a whisk to combine. Add butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Pour batter into an 8-inch square metal baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean.

So go ahead and indulge yourself while still sticking to your resolution!

ENJOY!

Do you ever feel cramped or uncomfortable in your own home? Whether you have had to downsize or expanding your family, you never seem to have enough room. Living in small spaces should not be tough if you know how to make the best of your living space.

I came across this great article from Better Homes and Gardens that I just had to share:
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/small-spaces/strategies/ideas-to-steal-for-your-apartment/

If you have any other great ideas to add I would love to hear them. Enjoy re-decorating, I know I am.

You. Yes, you!

It was exactly 2 years ago that I began my weight loss journey. I started out thinking I would lose 20 -30 lbs, get back into some old clothes and feel better about myself. I had no idea just how much my life was about to change. I started counting calories and doing some “at-home” dvds. I lost 11 lbs right out of the gate doing Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred (EVERY day for 30 days straight). It was HARD. But it was worth the effort. I had a difficult time getting up and down the stairs for the first few days, but after that, I really started to feel progress. I had never done anything like this before. My exercise routines were mostly treadmills and ellipticals or walking outside. Nothing ever quite this intense. But Jillian started to get into my head and I felt like I was working personally with her and I didn’t want to let her down. I pushed through the pain and sweat and felt like I had accomplished the world when I was done those 30 days.

A few months later after I had lost 30lbs, I started to plateau. Normally, this is where I would have stopped. But I didn’t. Something was different this time. I wanted to keep going and the fact that I was now only down to losing 3 lbs in a month did not discourage me (like it would have in the past). I started taking Zumba classes and LOVED it! I couldn’t believe how much it made me sweat! I couldn’t believe that any stress I walked in with was completely GONE – I mean, as if it never even existed – when I walked out. After 6 months of taking Zumba classes 4 times a week, I got certified to teach. This is something I never, ever would have envisioned myself doing in January 2010. But here it was December 2010 and I was going to teach Zumba. What a difference a year makes.

I also started working with a personal trainer, which to me, was key in all of this. If you have the opportunity and means to hire a personal trainer, it is so well worth it! I kept going over my finances and thinking, “Is this frivolous? Can I really afford to do this?” And my answer was, “Can I afford NOT to do this?” This wasn’t about money anymore, this was about saving my life. And it did. SHE did. Literally. Because of her, I believed in myself enough to get on ice skates for the first time in 21 years. Because of her I believed in myself enough to run a 4 mile road race in 36 minutes (I hadn’t done any kind of running in over 20 years). Because of her, I believed in myself enough to purchase and wear a dress that stopped above my knees and was sleeveless (I hadn’t worn a dress in over 12 years and NEVER sleeveless!)

2011 brought me to within 3lbs of my goal weight (which would have equated to 100lbs lost). All of a sudden everyone started telling me I had lost enough weight. My family was telling me I had lost TOO much weight (this seemed absurd to me because I had never heard those words before in my life – it was always, “You have to lose weight”). My doctor even told me to stop losing weight. I told her I only had 9 more lbs to go and she said “No”. So I asked if I could at least lose 3 more lbs to hit the “100 lbs lost” mark. She said, “Ok, but that’s it!” That just seemed crazy to me! It wasn’t like I was weighing in at 115 lbs or something, I was still at a weight that was, by the charts, considered “overweight”. So I guess I started believing everyone and so I just stopped. I have since gained back some weight (approximately 20lbs) but I refused to let it continue and had to find a way to refocus. There was no way this was going to be another one of those times where I lost weight and then gained it all and then some back. This journey is different.

So here we are In 2012, 2 years later and I am determined to get to my goal weight. I know I will do it. This road has not always been easy. It has been a journey full of lessons – some harder than others to learn. But the bottom line is that I am staying focused and positive and I hope to motivate and encourage others to join me along the way.

It’s time to take back your life! Believe in yourself! Don’t worry about the stops and starts – you need to just keep moving forward! Stop thinking about it. Stop analyzing it. Just do it. Patience. Faith. Determination. You can do it. If I can do this, believe me, anyone can.

Happy and Healthy 2012!

In the last 48 hours I have been asked by nearly everyone if I had any New Year’s resolutions and up until a few hours ago I didn’t. That was until I stumbled upon something on Pinterest while playing catch up on all of the twitter feeds, facebook posts… via Flipboard. Creating Clever is a blog by Aileen and recently she posted a decorative way to document resolution / manifesto. If you are a fan of the Holstee Manifesto then you will like this.

2012 Manifesto… get your own

Happy New Year-

At River Place Towers in Lowell we always get compliments on the kitchen island that the interior designer selected for the model apartment. It has great storage, and doubles as a table with room for a stool. The popular piece was purchased several years ago at IKEA, and sadly it is no longer offered. There’s a similarly functional item available at Target.com for $249.99, and right now it’s 15% off with free shipping. (FREE is my favorite four letter word.)

This island is perfect for small kitchens that could use a little more counter space and for floor plans with open concept kitchens that flow into living areas. Visit Target.com and search for “Kitchen Island – White.” It’s also available in black.

Twitter had quite a year with record breaking tweet surges, a growing active user base and some serious celebrity gossip. Mashable.com reports that the topics and trends people talked about most on Twitter remained fairly consistent this past year. Celebrities, sports and holidays took the cake in 2011! See below for the Top 10 Twitter Trends…

#10 One Direction – The British- Irish Boy Band formed in the 7th season of the UK’s X-Factor.

#9 Japan Earthquake – A 9.0 Earthquake hit the coast of Japan on Friday, March 11th 2011 resulting in a tsunami.

#8 Britney Spears – Spears had 4 hit singles coming off of her 2011 album Femme Fatale.

#7 Super Junior – The 9 member South Korean boy band is known throughout Asia for their Super Show.

#6 Christmas – Christmas-themed trends began to chart in November.

#5 Jonas Brothers – Fans kept this band trending in 2011 while all of the brothers pursued solo careers.

#4 NBA – The basketball season culminated in June 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks defeating the Miami Heat for the championship.

#3 Lady Gaga – The flamboyant singer toured the world in 2011 promoting her album Born this Way.

#2 Soccer/Football – Women’s FIFA World Cup was the second-most tweeted topic in 2011.

#1 Justin Bieber – The record-crushing teen dream released 2 albums in 2011; Never Say Never and Under the Mistletoe launching him to 1st place.

Quiana & Rhiannan at Highland Reserve Apartment Homes here in Atlanta Georgia would like to share with you some of our Holiday Saving tips. The holiday season can be joyous, hectic, celebratory — and expensive. They also say that “money is the root of all evil.” Whether this is complete truth or partial exaggeration, this statement has been proven many times throughout history. While you probably enjoy hosting family gatherings and giving presents to your loved ones, you’ll find these things even more pleasurable if they don’t add a lot more weight to your debt load. That’s why you’ll want to follow some smart money-management techniques.

•As a guiding principal, set a budget and stick to it.

•Be honest with your self about your financial situation. Do not make sacrifices for the Holiday’s that can be detrimental to your
finances later.

•You don’t need to find the most expensive presents or overwhelm recipients with the sheer volume of your gifts.

•Spread out your purchases, you may be able to pay for them from your normal cash flow. But if that’s not possible, you might
want to consider “plastic” — your credit card. Just try to minimize your credit card usage over the holidays and pay off your
card as soon as you can.

Finally, just relax its just the Holidays have fun, enjoy your loved ones and eat some great holiday treats. Just remember, following some common-sense money-management practices can help you get through the holiday season in financial shape. “Save more and spend less”. Follow this one guideline and you will get your new year off to a positive start.

Happy Holidays!!
•

Taken from the USA.gov website, here are some New Year’s resolutions that seem to be popular year after year. Have you made any resolutions? Are they on this list?

Popular New Year’s Resolutions:

• Drink Less Alcohol
• Get a Better Education
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Lose Weight
• Manage Debt
• Manage Stress
• Quit Smoking
• Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• Save Money
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others

Okay, now that you’ve made a resolution, how do you make it happen in the New Year? Taken from the Wikipedia.org website, here are a few suggestions for following through with your resolutions! Good luck and Happy New Year.

How to be successful:

The desire of improving, the commitment to outperform is somehow inherent to the human being. However, most of these resolutions fail. Making a resolution is not enough, you need to structure a work plan to be successful and define the resolutions with a well thought methodology. We can create this roadmap with the following 7 steps:

 Having the right mindset
 Category identification
 Selecting the resolution
 Quantifying the resolution
 Setting intermediate milestones
 Setting the tracking tool
 The tough decision: Abandon or persevere