Posts from — April 2008

Drugs and alcohol are two of the big problems for many people. That’s because in many cases, even occasional users may develop addiction, thus turning their life into a hell and their families’ lives into a bigger one.

The first step for somebody who wants to quit, is to find a Drug Rehab center and join their programs of drug rehabilitation, or even follow a drug treatment if the doctor so advices.

There are many centers like this, one of them being the Cliffside Malibu center, where trained personnel and counselors are trying to help adults with problems like alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders or depression. The methods applied in the Cliffside Malibu center are based on patients’ comfort and respect, and they exclude any kind of punishments from the therapy programs.

Patients who appeal to these medical services will benefit from all the comfort they used to have at home, as the facility is modern and very well equipped with TV sets, or wireless internet, only to give you a few examples. For those of you who are interested in more details, there is a toll free telephone line where you can call any time and speak with one of the counselors.

In order to be admitted into the center, you have to be over 18 years of age, to be addicted either to drugs or alcohol, but to be in a status where you can keep yourself and your room clean and in good order. As each case is unique, the best thing would be to give them a call, and they will tell you if those programs are suitable for you or not.

Gourmet cookies are suitable for many occasions, as anniversaries, celebrations, wedding ceremonies or any other kind of parties you can think of. Besides the fact that they are tasty, they also look very well and they come in beautiful packages which can also make them good corporate gifts. Why bother with crazy ideas of possible gifts, fearing not to annoy your business partners, when you can simply give them a splendid box of Gourmet cookies or some awesome-looking low carb muffins which will also help the receiver stay fit. Nobody would be upset with such a present, not to mention that you can make it a corporate branded gift, thing which will be remarkable for sure. Of course, in case you have some easy cupcake recipes, you can always bake the sweet gifts in house, but I think you really have to enjoy cooking in order to do that.

All these are offered to their customers by San Francisco Cookie Company, which was started by a cookie baking enthusiast, in October 2005, and which delivers such sweets, carefully prepared, ever since. If you are curious to see what they can do, you can take a look at their website and you can even place an order, as they have an online store.

Which cookie is your favorite? Would you like to get home baked cupcakes as a gift?

Most of the people, who are traveling for cultural purposes in Amsterdam, want to see the Anne Frank House. Like it wasn’t bad enough for her to live there. We have to witness, as well, the poor conditions the woman was forced to survive in. In fact, the only reason it is worth going there, is the beautiful building in front of the house. That is something not to be missed.

Less famous, but much more interesting from the historical point of view is visiting Willet-Holthuysen Museum and Van Loon Museum.
Those two museums are memorial houses owned by rich merchants who left a will saying that after their death, those 17th-century canal houses were to become the property of the city of Amsterdam.
Very well preserved, the houses offer an accurate image of how the wealthy lived in an Amsterdam canal house.
In Willet-Holthuysen Museum you’ll see on the first floor a magnificent ballroom, a dining room, a room looking over the garden, and an imposing corridor.
In other rooms furnishings have been brought from comparable 18th and 19th century houses, to recreate the atmosphere of bygone times.
On the second floor is the romantic bedroom with a wooden bed so wonderful that I felt like taking it home with me, or, better, ordering a copy of it.
In the basement are the kitchen and the scullery, suggesting what life must have been like for the servants.
At the back of the buildings is the garden, laid out according to the early 18th-century French fashion.

In Van Loon Museum you’ll see a collection consisting of of family portraits, furniture, silver and porcelain.
I specially liked the small interior garden and the richly ornamented rooms on the first floor.
Ferdinand Bol, Rembrandt’s most renowned pupil, first occupied the double canal house, built in 1672.
In the eighteenth century the interior was embellished with lavish stucco, marble and a grand staircase.
Willem van Loon was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company in 1602.

In 1973 the family opened the house to the public.

Famous and interesting is The Rembrandt House Museum. For almost twenty years Rembrandt van Rijn lived and worked in the house on Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam.
He bought it in 1639, when he was at the height of his fame. In 1656 he went bankrupt and everything of value was sold at auction.
A notary drew up a list of his possessions and that is how the historic interior of Rembrandt’s house was restored and furnished with items and works of art from the master’s time.

In Rembrandt’s workroom are demonstrations of how etchings are printed. Demonstrations of how paint was made in the seventeenth-century are staged in the studio, revealing what was a mystery over many decades. There are special activities for children, including a quiz quest through Rembrandt’s house.

The Amsterdam Historical Museum displays its collection of art, objects and archaeological finds in a building where Amsterdam’s orphans once lived (the former Civic Orphanage – Burgerweeshuis).
The team who created the concept and who realize it must be not only a team of historians but, as well, an artistically one, filled with love for Amsterdam’s past, history, people and spirituality.
They managed, better that other historical museum’s teams, to bring the past so closed to the contemporaneous understanding and feeling that everybody will fall in love with Amsterdam.
The photos and the film material are used to recreate (not just to show) the happy times as well as the drama of the modern city’s inhabitants.
Actually, that is how each object is placed in the museum.
It may be the reason, The Amsterdam Historical Museum is so alive that can capture the attention of people at all age.
The soldiers, the armours, the weapons, the ships create a scene painting enviously by the best movie directors in the world.

On the same page, from the historical point of view, is The Tropenmuseum.
There are thousands of stories and objects from a variety of cultures: New Guinea, The Netherlands East Indies, Southeast Asia, India, Latin America & the Caribbean, Africa, Western Asia & North Africa.
You will see in Tropenmuseum a forest of monumental wooden sculptures, some more than 12 meters high. They are used during bisj ceremonies, which are held to commemorate deceased members of the community.
These rituals, still performed today, are brought to life in an exhibition with a thrilling combination of light, sound and film.

The Tropenmuseum Junior is a lively museum designed for children from six to twelve years of age. It’s open on Wednesday afternoons, every weekend, during the holidays and on public holidays.

The Amsterdam Historical Museum and The Tropenmuseum are a must.

How many times have you wanted to buy flowers online without going to the crowded open market and without having to re-arrange them before giving them away?

It just happens that you don’t have the time or the desire to arrange a nice bouquet, so you’d rather have the florist do everything for you, according to your instructions. There is no problem nowadays to find online flower shops which deliver bouquets on demand. One example is the e-florist-inc.com website, where you can find a wide range of flowers in every season.

All flowers are delivered in the same day, and in case you are not very comfortable with the shopping cart, you cave the possibility to call a toll free number which is displayed on the website.

The best part is that the online flowers shop has search possibilities by multiple criteria such as shop by occasion, shop by product or shop by price. The bouquets are stylish, in various colors, so even the pickiest buyer would find something suitable. All products have photos, so you’ll know what you purchased and what you can expect. Moreover, for each bouquet you’ll find a description and a suitable occasion, plus a list of a few items for accompanying it in case you want to make a nice present to somebody. This is a great alternative to hydroponics, as not all of you may be able to take care of their own flowers garden.

When it comes to bags, the only material I see suitable is leather. Be it for casual bags or elegant ones, or for small, discrete purses which hardly can accommodate your mobile phone and your keys, I like them in leather.

And any kind of leather: it surely has to be very well refined, smoothed, so when you touch it to feel like touching a baby’s skin. This is probably the reason why I like so much the Coach bags tradition and style. If you didn’t know, the Coach company started from an old, used baseball glove which was refined and turned into a handbag. Born in Manhattan, about half century ago, Coach has gained awareness by keeping a very strict quality control and by choosing only top quality leather for their products. This made their leather goods so wanted by generations of people who love to see and touch beautiful things.

So, if it’s not leather, forget about it, as it’s not the real thing. All these plastics and textiles look cheap, no matter what you do to them.

When shopping online, it is important that you always search for coupon codes. As all merchants want to draw as many customers as possible, you can imagine that you can find a coupon code for pretty much everything that can be bought online.

For example, when you buy a new domain from Go Daddy, you can save some money on your order if you use these exclusive Go Daddy coupon codes. I buy new domains all the time, because I have lots of ideas for websites, so for me it is important to have those codes, in order to get discounts.

If you didn’t know, find out that there are websites which exist for the sole purpose of publishing coupons from lots of online shops. One good example is CouponHeaven.com, where you can find the Go Daddy coupons I’ve just mentioned, plus a l.ot of other coupons for various stuff, such as Sephora coupon codes.

The website has a search by merchant facility. In case you don’t know or you don’t care about the merchant’s name, you can choose to search by category or by brand. There are already more than 40 categories of products in the database, so CouponHeaven.com could be a good start for your shopping online.

Why not save some money when you can? I’m for savings. I just love discounts.