New York Marriott Marquis best Hotel in New York

The New York Marriott Marquis brings the energy of Manhattan to your door. Located in the heart of Times Square and the Broadway theater district, this Midtown NYC hotel is perfect for weekend getaways, family and business travel. This Broadway hotel sparkles with updated hotel rooms and suites, high-speed elevators and six hotel restaurants and lounges. With area attractions such as Fifth Avenue shopping, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios and Central Park just minutes away, a stay at this Midtown Manhattan hotel ensures that entertainment is just around the corner.


Additionally, the hotel is conveniently located in Broadway near Midtown attractions like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the UN and Madison Square Garden. Such a central location makes this Broadway hotel in New York City perfect for meetings, conventions, social events and weddings. With renowned Marriott service, creative catering and a variety of ballrooms, the Marriott Marquis hotel is the best choice for Manhattan events.

Source: Marriott Hotel

New York Marriott Marquis best Hotel in New York

The New York Marriott Marquis brings the energy of Manhattan to your door. Located in the heart of Times Square and the Broadway theater district, this Midtown NYC hotel is perfect for weekend getaways, family and business travel. This Broadway hotel sparkles with updated hotel rooms and suites, high-speed elevators and six hotel restaurants and lounges. With area attractions such as Fifth Avenue shopping, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, NBC Studios and Central Park just minutes away, a stay at this Midtown Manhattan hotel ensures that entertainment is just around the corner.


Additionally, the hotel is conveniently located in Broadway near Midtown attractions like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the UN and Madison Square Garden. Such a central location makes this Broadway hotel in New York City perfect for meetings, conventions, social events and weddings. With renowned Marriott service, creative catering and a variety of ballrooms, the Marriott Marquis hotel is the best choice for Manhattan events.

Source: Marriott Hotel

A new Christmas tea

Every year there are interesting products available on the market only during the holiday season. Fruitcake, eggnog and pumpkin spice flavored drinks are just a few examples. I am always looking for a few things that will excite my guests' palates during the holidays. I especially like it when I have a new tea to serve.

That is why I was so excited when my friend, Angela, shared some of her "Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea with me. It is one of the Celestial Seasoning holiday blends and I was happy to try it and even happier when I got it home and read the ingredients.

The main ingredient, milk thistle, is a cleansing herb and could really help during the holiday season -- which unfortunately is a season in which I have a tendency to overindulge. But the best thing about it is that my husband really loves it. I mean really loves it. Milk thistle does have a nice milky flavor and maybe that is what he likes. Also, it does taste a bit like sugar cookies. I guess it really tastes a bit like milk and cookies. What is not to like about that.

 Another tea he really likes is Peppermint Tea. I am a bit surprised at that, because it is not a favorite of mine. I like peppermint candy but I don't really enjoy it any other way -- just as candy.

 His very favorite tea is India Spice Chai, but this year I have not been able to find it in the grocery stores.

I can find the Tazo brand which is not quite as good to him, but he will drink most spicy chais, though he does tend to enjoy Celestial Seasonings brand the best.

One year I bought Grandma's Apple Pie Tea and all my female tea drinking guests really enjoyed it but not my husband.

This year I will probably add another holiday flavor or two by Christmas, maybe eggnog -- my favorite. It would be good if I could find a tea with the flavor of eggnog but without all the fat, cholesterol and calories of that yummy (to me) holiday drink. I am thinking a good gingerbread flavor would be nice, too.

All the goodies do call for a good cup of tea. I think this year I will have one treat and two cups of spicy holiday tea. Maybe then I won't have to make so many tough New Year's resolutions.

New Materials

We have such great patrons in Wesson! Our donations have really taken off during this "Season of Giving". Some of the authors are Nevada Barr, Suzanne Brockmann, Charlaine Harris, Iris Johanson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Stephen King, Lisa Kleypas, Dean Koontz, Jane Anne Krentz, Brad Meltzer, Robert B. Parker, J.D. Robb, and Amanda Quick. Truly, we are blessed!

Amansara Hotel and Resort

Amansara lies in the former guesthouse of King Sihanouk. This classic sixties structure has been converted into a calm oasis on the outskirts of bustling Siem Reap.

King Sihanouk commissioned French architect, Laurent Mondet, in 1962, to build a guesthouse enabling visiting dignitaries to enjoy a cool and contemporary stay while allowing them to embrace the outstanding ancient ruins and temples within its jungle and rice paddy terrain. The ruins of nearby Angkor, clinging on in the clutches of forest and farmland are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ranging from a cluster of bricks to the world’s largest single religious monument. Amansara, previously known as Villa Apsara, has had a fretful and fascinating legacy, though this splendid architectural gem, now meticulously restored and nurtured by Amansara, has maintained its spirit of intent. It rests as the ideal portal for discovering the incredible culmination of five centuries of Khmer civilisation, between 802 and 1220 AD, representing one of humankind’s most profound and long-lived architectural achievements.

This tranquil home offers a multitude of relaxing opportunities within its private garden enclave: a sultry curved slate swimming pool surrounded by bamboo and taupe cushioned loungers with a shaded pergola for alfresco delights; the Dining Room, previously the screening room of King Sihanouk, is both dramatic and outstanding with a cavernous seven-metre high ceiling and a well stocked walk-in wine cellar. The 24 suites are decorated in a classic Indochinese palette of cool grey, pristine white, dark timber and ivory with private courtyards and soothing water features with 12 offering private swimming pools. The Roof Garden, surrounded and shaded by trees, with mushroom hued cushions on low seating, is the ideal venue for relaxing by candlelight with pre-prandial drinks or, invigorating yoga sessions with the rising sun. The Spa, which has four immaculate treatment rooms in dark wood and fresh white, focuses strongly on therapeutic Cambodian techniques using organic products and faces an exceptional Angkor-inspired 43m sandstone bas-relief set above a green hand tiled reflective pond.

Every suite has access to its own custom fitted remork and driver, for personal expeditions into this rich and glorious land.

Amansara Hotel night view
Amansara Hotel
Amansara Hotel and Resort
Amansara Hotel white color
Amansara Hotel USA
Amansara Hotel classical
Amansara Hotel

Resource :Amansara Hotel and Resort

Amansara Hotel and Resort

Amansara lies in the former guesthouse of King Sihanouk. This classic sixties structure has been converted into a calm oasis on the outskirts of bustling Siem Reap.

King Sihanouk commissioned French architect, Laurent Mondet, in 1962, to build a guesthouse enabling visiting dignitaries to enjoy a cool and contemporary stay while allowing them to embrace the outstanding ancient ruins and temples within its jungle and rice paddy terrain. The ruins of nearby Angkor, clinging on in the clutches of forest and farmland are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ranging from a cluster of bricks to the world’s largest single religious monument. Amansara, previously known as Villa Apsara, has had a fretful and fascinating legacy, though this splendid architectural gem, now meticulously restored and nurtured by Amansara, has maintained its spirit of intent. It rests as the ideal portal for discovering the incredible culmination of five centuries of Khmer civilisation, between 802 and 1220 AD, representing one of humankind’s most profound and long-lived architectural achievements.

This tranquil home offers a multitude of relaxing opportunities within its private garden enclave: a sultry curved slate swimming pool surrounded by bamboo and taupe cushioned loungers with a shaded pergola for alfresco delights; the Dining Room, previously the screening room of King Sihanouk, is both dramatic and outstanding with a cavernous seven-metre high ceiling and a well stocked walk-in wine cellar. The 24 suites are decorated in a classic Indochinese palette of cool grey, pristine white, dark timber and ivory with private courtyards and soothing water features with 12 offering private swimming pools. The Roof Garden, surrounded and shaded by trees, with mushroom hued cushions on low seating, is the ideal venue for relaxing by candlelight with pre-prandial drinks or, invigorating yoga sessions with the rising sun. The Spa, which has four immaculate treatment rooms in dark wood and fresh white, focuses strongly on therapeutic Cambodian techniques using organic products and faces an exceptional Angkor-inspired 43m sandstone bas-relief set above a green hand tiled reflective pond.

Every suite has access to its own custom fitted remork and driver, for personal expeditions into this rich and glorious land.

Amansara Hotel night view
Amansara Hotel
Amansara Hotel and Resort
Amansara Hotel white color
Amansara Hotel USA
Amansara Hotel classical
Amansara Hotel

Resource :Amansara Hotel and Resort

Gourds

 

We are still waiting for our gourds to dry. They were quite green and are now turning brown and developing the character that gourds usually develop before they are ready. At least that is what I have read. I am on new ground with these gourds. I really like them, but I don't have any experience.

Any ideas for Christmas decorations? I thought about tying read and green bows around them but I don't have any definite ideas. I do like the fact that they are changing colors. They are developing a greenish, beige color that is very nice. They should become brown as they dry and I think these are "browning" nicely. 

I thought about "glittering" them but I just hate it when glitter gets all over the house, so I don't think that is an option I would choose. They are too big for ornaments and they are not quite dry yet so and I don't want to interrupt the process.

I have seen very small dried gourds made into miniature bird house Christmas ornaments, complete with a little hole drilled in them for the little bird ornament -- a small cardinal sitting on a perch -- very cute, but I didn't have any miniature gourds, only large ones. Maybe next year I will have a Christmas birdhouse with a cardinal for a decoration. I could paint cardinals on a full-sized birdhouse. That would be pretty.

Any suggestions for this year? I would really appreciate it!