Category — Travel Corner

As acne home treatments go, I have recommended Proactive solution time and again. I have also had countless readers write in with their experiences. Now I found a video with one user of this acne treatment. Hear what she has to say:

Hi all

Need travel advice or simply looking for where to go on your next vacation? Here is my newest travel blog with daily news on what is going on in the world - where to go, where to avoid, how to save money and much more.

Check it out here: Travel Advice Blog

I have also set up a travel squidoo page where you can see travel news articles, books and videos.

If you are planning your next vacation use these sites to keep track of where your next travel adventure might take you.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

P.S. Check this site out for travel deals, especial on cruises: Travel Deals

Love to travel? Need extra spending cash for your next adventure? Check out this home travel business that pays out $1000 per referal.

Recently I was planning a vacation and was horrified at the prices. I like to stay in four and five star resorts but I hate paying full price. So you know me, I started hunting for a better way to get my vacation and save money.

A friend referred me to a Vacation Club, which at first had me backing away. In my mind vacation clubs meant timeshares. Not so in this case. This club lets you buy a lifetime membership to stay in any of their 5000 four and five star resorts world wide.

For the rest of your life you can stay in these resorts and never pay more than $800 for an entire week and that price is for a family of four, not per person. And their are no black out dates. Plus you can travel year round. You are not buying just one week like a timeshare. You could actually travel every week of the year if you wanted to.

So I started comparing prices and realized that in 9 out of 10 cases they were able to get me a better price than all of the top end discount travel sites that I went to online.

As if that wasn’t intriguing enough. I learned that you can market this business and for everyone that you refer to the vacation club you earn at least $1000 per sale!

Now here is the best part. I don’t have time to run another business. As you all know I am swamped, as it is. So I almost passed on this until I realized that it is 98% automated.

They answer the phones and make phone calls. They create and run your website, autoresponder, etc…They even provide you with a personal success coach that contacts you from day one. All you need to do is market.

Then I talked to my friend and he told me that you can even sign up for their co-op marketing programs and have them do even your marketing for you! 

Can you tell how quickly I signed up? I am in the process of booking my vacation right now. I am just trying to decide between a week on the beach here in Florida or a week in Cabo San Lucas. Many of these resorts are right on the water and almost all of them come with full kitchens.

If you love to travel and prefer to stay in luxury resorts and you love to make money then definitely check this out - Travel Vacation Business

The Ritz Carlton Spa in Orlando Florida has only been with us for five short years and has had its share of growing pains, yet today it redeemed itself with flying colors. My sister, mom and I went to relax, pamper ourselves and reconnect and the staff at this premium spa made this amazingly easy.

As soon as you walk into the spa, the staff tells you to leave the world behind you. You are given your robes and slippers and brought to a lounge with fresh fruit and ice cold water tinged lightly with the taste of fresh oranges. I scheduled a seaweed wrap and although the girl performing it looked young enough to be my daughter, her demeanor and technique were amazing.

My sister had the same and loved it and my mom had an anti-aging facial that she absolutely raved about. She  told the skin care professional assigned to her that it was the best facial that she has ever had. She wasn’t just being polite either. My sister and I could not believe how amazing her skin looked. She looked years younger, refreshed and without a bit of redness!

We then wandered down to the spa cafe, where most people lounged in their robes and had bottles of water and delicious light dishes like bento boxes with grilled chicken and your choice of 3 vegetables.

During your spa day you are allowed to linger at the Ritz until 9pm. You can go to the pool, the sauna or just hang out in the lounge. If we hadn’t had a full day scheduled after our treatments, I am sure that we would have taken advantage of this access. Oh well, all the more reason to return.

Check this amazing spa out for yourself. Here is the spa menu:

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Orlando/Spa/Menu.htm

Hi all

Ever just feel the need to get away but don’t know where to go? There are so many fabulous places out there and so many amazing trips that deciding can sometimes feel like an ordeal. Fortunately there are companies that specialize in helping you decide, like TravelStoreUSA.com.

The agents at this site have actually traveled the world themselves and can give you a much better idea of where to go to fit your needs and what to do once you get there. From cruises to Costa Rica vacation packages they seem to have it all. You tell them your thoughts and your budget and they do the research and give you choices.

You can arrange adventure travel, your honeymoon and luxury travel very easily when you have someone to walk you through it step by step. I don’t know about you but every once in a while I just want to hand over some of the decision making for my vacations to someone else, especially if they have personally traveled their themself.

Anyway, check them out for yourself and write in with your vacation experience. We would love to hear where you end up.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

Looking for French bakeries in central Florida but finding only pre-frozen over sugary processed confections? Well get ready to take a little trip to Paris, right here in Central Florida.

This weekend a friend of mine and I discovered a real French pastry shop not too far from home. The chef bakes dozens of mouth watering pastries like opera cake, capuccino cheesecake, freshly prepared chocolate mousse and much much more. Plus they serve home cooked soups, and freshly prepared sandwiches and salads Monday through Saturday.

Oh and did I mention that they create the most amazing wedding cakes that I have seen outside of a wedding magazine?

Not having a wedding but still want to impress your friends? You can hire Bruno took cook dinner in your home, while you entertain and relax.

The couple who owns this delightful pastry shop run it with the same high standard as the finest bakeries in Paris and they are both very warm people with a real passion for food. His wife graciously ignored my mangled French and took the time to tell me a bit about how certain foods are eaten and prepared in France.

I tried a freshly prepared curry soup and my friend had the lentil. Mine was so good I was tempted to actually lick the bowl clean. I then tried the Pralineige which is a light chocolate mouse like cake over a hazelnut crust that was out of this world. The coffee was also fresh, and smooth and capped off the meal perfectly.

Now finding this little shop is a bit tricky. It is actually located in a slightly run down neighborhood in Sanford, Florida at

2533 S. Laurel Avenue

Sanford Florida 32773

(407)323-9300

http://www.brunosgourmetkitchen.com

Definitely put this one into your gps or mapquest. When you arrive it will look like you are in a neighborhood, this cafe is located at the end of a row of houses. Just keep your eyes open and call them if you need further directions. Believe me once you discover this place your taste buds will have you on automatic pilot for the rest of your life.

Bon Apetit!

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

You all know how much I love to live life to the fullest. As Auntie Mame said, ” Life is a banquet and most poor sons of b*tches are starving to death. Live! ” This year don’t sit at home dreaming of places to go. Take action. Here is one little adventure that I will never forget:

One of the most exciting tours I have ever taken in my life was one of the Las Vegas Grand Canyon sightseeing tours. Imagine floating in the air over the grand canyon, one of the wonders of the world.

As we arranged for the champagne lunch tour, the helicopter company sent a limo to pick us up at the hotel. The ride lasted about five minutes then we were dropped off at the helicopter launch. Fellow passengers from all over the world chatted and waited for our adventure to begin.

Moments later we took off for one of the waiting helicopters. The pilot was wonderful, showing us how to get in and out and demonstrating how to use the headsets. My companion and I ended up in a helicopter of our own because several of the other passengers decided to just fly over the canyon. The tour we chose actually had us landing on the bottom.

Ten minutes later we were heading over some of the most beautiful scenes imaginable. Our Las Vegas helicopter tour included a canvas in every color imagineable painted by dessert, mountains and the colorado river.

Within twenty minutes of smooth flying we were over the canyon and able to see the landing pad, set in the middle of tumbleweed, mountains and cacti. As we disembarked the pilot helped us climb down the stone and dirt pathway to a little boat dock, where we met a family from Britain that would be our companions on our champagne lunch down the colorado river.

The boat captain was a tiny oriental man with sparkling eyes and a rich sense of humor. He handed out our picnic baskets and regaled us with stories of how the Grand Canyon was created. He also had the foresense to stop periodically and help us get the most amazing shots of the canyon. He seemed to know every rock and ridge and was able to point out eagles and faces carved into the rock by millions of years of erosion.

At the end of our Las Vegas helicopter tour we flew back to the original launch and took our limo back to the hotel, content, awestruck and absolutely certain that we would return to Las Vegas, the grand canyon and our Las Vegas helicopter tour.

This is your year to explore and have an adventure. Write in with your travel experiences.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

P.S. Want to find out about more tours? Go to Trusted Tours and Attractions. When you sign up for their newsletter you are also signed up to win a free handheld GPS!

Hi all

As you may have noticed I have not been on as much as usual. For that I apologize. I have been working on some health issues for years and finally found something that seems to be working. For those of you who do not know my story, despite some minor health issues as a child I had a pretty normal life. At fifteen that changed.

An operation ended badly and left me in a wheelchair and then on crutches for about twenty years. I had tried everything from more surgeries to acupuncture to massage and body work with little improvement. I learned to adjust to the situation and rose above it to act, model, write books and run several small businesses. But let’s face it you always want what you are told you can’t have.

Several years ago I stumbled upon a technique that I have mentioned before the Release Technique that has changed my life. Behind every physical problem is a mental limitation. For me part of it was a fear of falling and other aspects developed from being concerned with how people viewed me. Despite just gettting out of the hospital and being advised that sitting for long periods would not be good for me I flew out to their latest retreat. At the Release Technique Bootcamp in Texas I let go of many of my fears and went after a twenty year period of being on two crutches to being only on one. I was also able to walk just by holding onto a friends arm.

I don’t know if you can even imagine how empowering that was. But before you begin to believe that I am some kind of superwoman, you need to know about what happened to others at this retreat just by using the techniques taught. A man who had been in a wheelchair for about thirty years was able to take his first assisted steps. Another man who had not been able to see for half his life was able to begin to make up shapes and walk for short periods without his walking stick. Everyone there benefited from those there for physical issues to those who went their to work on relationships or money issues.

And the environment was completely supportive. There were over 300 people there rooting for each other to succeed. And Larry Crane, the instructor, was there in his usual non nonsense way to make sure that if you put in the work that you got the results you wanted.

If you know of anyone with health concerns, money issues or relationship issues I wholeheartedly encourage you to look into the Release Technique. I have never met a single person who has not benefited from it. The only pre-requisite to taking one of their bootcamps is that you buy the Abundance Course first. It walks you through the basics of the Release Teachnique. It is also awesome for generating abundance into your life. Try it for yourself.

Sincerely, Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

P.S. Once you order the Abundance Course, feel free to call Larry. He actually answers his own phone and he and his staff give lifetime support to help you release absolutely free!

Hi all

All of us search for travel deals and with the holidays fast approaching and gas prices soaring we must be even more vigilant.  Here is a free service that I found that will search the web for you for the best deals for airfare, hotels and car rentals:

Save up to 70% on Flights! Most comprehensive web search.

Save up to 70% on Hotels! Most comprehensive web search.

Save up to 70% on car rentals! Most comprehensive web search.

Don’t we all have enough expenses with holiday shopping? Save on your travel so you can put your hard earned dollars to work making someone in your life happy. It’s a win win.

Sincerely,

Caterina Christakos - founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls

Hi all

Occasionally I like to blog about cultural experiences in addition to makeup, fashion and skin care. Inner beauty is important too. Anyway, this week I took a few hours off and went to the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park Florida and I am so happy I did. This scultpure, painter and all around Rennaissance man left his home ( one that he personally designed) to the community to display his art and inspire others.

The garden is the perfect frame for his life size statues and within the house their are examples of all the different art forms he attempted and excelled at. Born in Czechoslavakia he apprenticed as a wood carver and created wooden scultpures for churches. Knowing that he would never be able to afford art school in his country he immigrated to the United States and worked his way through art school, winning international acclaim for his sculptures.

The truly fascinating aspect of his life began, in my opinion, after he turned seventy. He had never been married before this period but was married twice after his seventieth birthday. He married the first time, after suffering from a stroke that paralyzed the left side of his body. Amazingly enough even with this paralysis he continued to paint and to sculpt some of the most beautiful bronze statues I have ever seen.

If you want to experience the ultimate expression of human spirit and determination go to this museum, look at the art work and definitely take the tour. Hearing about this incredible man from a true enthusiast is absolutely worth the tiny $5 entrance fee.

You can find more information about the museum and his life at: http://www.polasek.org/

Enjoy!

Caterina Christakos -founder of stillagirl.com - a positive place for women and girls