Luxury Webblog Spot

Protea Hospitality Corp. issued the following news release:

The Southern Belle, a grand old steam-style boat that has plied the waters of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe for more than ten years, is the newest acquisition of Protea Hotels Zambia and is undergoing a US$1 million refurbishment.

The Southern Belle, one of the largest houseboats in southern Africa, operated as a charter boat in Kariba, Zimbabwe. She hosted many events, including theme parties, weddings and safari trips and offered stunning accommodation and impeccable service. It was because of Paloma Picasso Loving Heart ring reputation that former passenger, Mark O’Donnell, Chairman of Protea Hotels Zambia, seized the opportunity to buy the boat when she came onto the market.

The Southern Belle will be moored and eventually operate from Siavonga, Zambia. When the refurbishment is complete later this year, she will be officially launched as one of Protea Hotels Zambia’s most desirable holiday and conferencing venues.

The extensive renovation includes repairs, maintenance, new design and decoration and modernisation of facilities. The Southern Belle will have energy-efficient air conditioners and generators and a solar hot water system. Once complete, the Southern Belle will feature 22 en-suite cabins, including two Presidential suites, a conference room for up to 40 people, lobby, sundry shop, restaurant and bar, top deck with bar and a swimming pool. Though the houseboat is receiving a modern facelift, she will still maintain her Southern charm through design elements and menu offerings. “We can’t wait to welcome our guests aboard the Southern Belle!” O’Donnell said.

“We have taken several unforgettable trips on the Southern Belle Paloma’s Crown of Hearts pendant the years. The Southern Belle is an exceptional product that will be a fantastic asset not only to our Protea Hotels Zambia portfolio, but also to Zambia as a whole,” O’Donnell said.

Protea Hospitality Group sales and marketing director Danny Bryer said “the Southern Belle would be yet another African luxury tourism drawcard that would espouse the Protea Group’s vision of service excellence, style and comfort.”

“She’s a slightly worn grand old lady now, but when the Southern Belle is launched later this year she will be fit to go to the ball again,” Bryer said.

The Lake Kariba district boasts some of the finest tiger fishing and is an ideal base for the exceptional game-viewing in the area. Game species include elephants and buffalo. But if it’s not animals that float your boat, consider taking a birding safari. The lake, with a fossilized mopani forest rising Paloma’s Grown of Heart bangle the water, is also famed for its breath-taking sunsets.

The Southern Belle will be affiliated with the Protea Hotels Zambia franchise. The corporate objective at Protea Hotels Zambia is to offer the highest quality of affordable accommodation throughout the country. With the addition of the Southern Belle in Siavonga, as well as Protea Hotel Chipata which is under construction, Protea Hotels Zambia will have seven lodging establishments available for guests to enjoy.

It is hoped that the addition of the Southern Belle to the Protea Hotels Zambia stable will help raise the profile of Lake Kariba and Zambia amongst the international market.

To follow the progress of the Southern Belle, please email marketing@proteahotels.co.zmThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to be added to the email list or search “Southern Belle Zambia” on Facebook.com and click “Paloma’s Tenderness Heart pendant.”

Contact: Audrey Keane, 260/2112-52844

A talented and award-winning designer, Miriam J Splane, launches her couture fashion Bow earrings online at www.miriamj.com. Known internationally for her blazing chromatic silk fabrics and exquisite embellishments, each piece of her line is treasured by those who have purchased it.

To date the Miriam J line has been sold through elite specialty boutiques since its conception and release four years ago. With changing shopping trends and high demands Miriam J will now be available online to meet the increasing needs of her growing clientele.

In celebration of the new launch of www.miriamj.com Miriam J Splane held an exclusive fashion show and garden party on May 22nd. This VIP event included a choreographed runway show of the Spring/Summer 2011 line. This invitation only event included a garden party soiree held prior to the runway show.

Miriam J designs appeal to the fashion conscious woman who enjoys Paloma’s Galife Ring quality to enhance her own personal style. With a focus on timeless designs, a feminine flare and comfort, each piece adds versatility to any wardrobe. Miriam said, “I celebrate the glamour of women. I elevate the feminine; it is my joy to add sophisticated softness to the lives of my clients.”

All of Miriam J’s fashions are produced in a limited quantity here in the United States. Miriam J prides herself on the quality of the fabric and the construction of every piece she designs.

Now Miriam J has partnered with Pixeled Business Systems, Inc., to create an easy to use environment for those clients who prefer to buy through the internet. This concept ensures that women everywhere will now have the opportunity to own a piece of Miriam J’s.

SOURCE Pixeled Business Tiffany 1837 Bead bracelet, Inc.

A year ago, East Nicolaus High’s softball team finished the Link necklace at 9-12.

This season the youthful Spartans are primed for a run at the championship.

Led by a dominant pitching performance from freshman sensation Amanda Taylor, the Spartans did quick work of visiting Modoc on Tuesday by cruising to an easy 6-0 victory in the opening round of the Northern Section Division IV playoffs.

“The girls brought their game today and were ready to play,” first-year East Nicolaus coach Doug Cater said. “It’s postseason ball, so you got to kick it up a notch. We had a little bit higher intensity today.”

While the Spartans racked up 12 hits against Modoc, it was Taylor who was the Love Knot bangle. The standout not only got the job done at the plate by going 2 for 3, but she also struck out 12 batters in a four-hit shutout — her seventh of the season.

The Braves (12-5) never had a chance.

“She’s a freshman and she’s doing exce tionally well for us,” Cater said. “There’s a very nice future for her (in the circle).”

The Spartans took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when Ana White lined an RBI double down the left-field line and came in to score on a two-run single by Kaitlyn Cumbie to give East Nicolaus a 3-0 lead.

White got things started again in the sixth when she slapped a single and came in to score on a Paloma-run double by No. 9 hitter Candee Gardner. Sierra Lehman, who went 3 for 4 on the afternoon, plated the final run of the inning with an RBI single to complete the scoring.

White finished the game 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored and Cumbie went 2 for 2 with a double and a pair of RBIs for the Spartans.

The victory propels the No. 3 seeded Spartans (17-11) into the section Paloma Picasso Loving Heart pendant, where they will play at No. 2 Etna on Thursday.

Credit: Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.

MRS. OBAMA: Thank you, everyone. Please sit. Lynn, don’t get up. I’m just teasing Tiffany CuffLinks. (Laughter.) Good afternoon, everyone. I’m just teasing you, Lynn.

It’s been three months since we launched “Let’s Move,” a new initiative with an ambitious goal to help reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country and end it in a generation.

And we built this initiative around four main pillars. We’re moving to make our schools healthier. We’re moving to increase the amount of physical activity that our kids get at school and at home. We’re moving to eliminate food deserts so that every American can have easy and affordable access to fresh, healthy foods right where they live. And we’re moving to give parents the information they need to make healthy decisions for their families. Most often, these decisions involve the food that we — that our families buy.

Now, we all know how important it is to eat less sugar and fat and more fruits and vegetables and whole grains. But we also know that sometimes it’s just easier to grab something quick and easy at the market.

And also we know that no matter how much we try to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, Tiffany Key Rings we’re not around, they grab that bag of chips, the candy bar, or that can of soda.

But today, between what’s in our food and how much of it that we eat, Americans consume more calories, fat and sugar today than ever before. Compared to 40 years ago, we consume 23 percent more calories, 56 percent more added fats and oils and dairy fat, and 14 percent more sugar and sweetener. Now, that’s 12 extra pounds of sugar a year just in 40 years.

And last week, as all of you know, we released the findings of our task force’s report outlining important steps the private and public sectors should take in the months and years ahead.

So that’s why today I am so pleased to be joined by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and the Partnership for a Healthier America to announce a major agreement on the part of the private sector corporations to improve the nutrition of the food that we put on the table or that we grab on the run.

The Healthy Weight Commitment is a partnership between 16 corporations that account for discount tiffany 20 to 25 percent of the American food supply. And today, I am thrilled to say that they have pledged to cut a total of 1 trillion calories from the food they sell annually by the year 2012, and 1.5 trillion calories by 2015.

They’ve agreed to reformulate their foods in a number of ways, including by addressing fat and sugar content, by introducing lower-calorie options, and by reducing the portion sizes of existing single-serve products.

They’ve also agreed to work with the Partnership for a Healthier America to come forward with specific commitments to reduce sugar and fat in their products within six months.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is going to serve as an independent evaluator as these companies work towards their goals. And the Partnership for a Healthier America will hold the participating companies accountable for meeting today’s pledge.

This commitment represents a major step forward to providing Americans with healthier choices so that they can choose to lead healthier lives. And in the weeks and months to come, we expect to hear more announcements regarding specific steps on reducing sugar, fat and sodium in the foods that our children eat, because as I’ve said so many times before, solving the obesity epidemic in this country requires far more than anything government can or should do. It will require all of us working together — parents and children, teachers, principals, super markets, food manufacturers, restaurants, fast food chains, mayors, governors, and, yes, First Ladies.

This is precisely the kind of real private-sector commitment that we need. So I am grateful to these companies for stepping out and being among the first to make this happen. And I hope that more will follow the example that they’ve set and step up to the plate on behalf of our children, too, because as ambitious as Tiffany Bangles goal is to end the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation, as we all know, it is achievable — that is, if we’re all willing to play our part.

Now, it is my pleasure to introduce David Mackay, who is the chair of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. David, we are so grateful for all that you’ve done. Thank you so much.

Jewelry just took a major step toward being considered an art, rather than a craft. The new Museum of Arts & Design in New York City’s Columbus Circle, scheduled to open in 2008, will include a study center and exhibition gallery for contemporary jewelry. The museum has appointed Ursula Ilse-Neuman as the country’s first museum curator for contemporary jewelry.

The new study center and gallery is supported by a S2 million grant by the Tiffany Foundation, the largest in the foundation’s history. The new Tiffany & Co. Foundation Jewelry Gallery will be the first resource of its kind in the country and will provide a new platform for the presentation and study of contemporary jewelry.

Designed by Massimo and Leila Vignelli, and Kiss & Zwigard Architects, the center will house the museum’s permanent collection and host a schedule of public programs and artist residencies, allowing visitors to become actively engaged in jewelry making processes and techniques.

While people across the Kingdom bought flowers, exchanged love letters and went out to restaurants to celebrate Valentine’s Day last weekend, a group of Jordanians had a different take on the occasion.

One day after breaking up with his girlfriend, one 19-year-old Jordanian spent the eve of tiffany jewellery Valentine’s Day dancing at a cafe.

The bachelor was one of more than 300 singles attending an “Anti-Valentine’s” party, which organisers said targeted “lonely singles” in the Kingdom at a time when most other establishments restrict entry to couples.

“We ended our relationship yesterday due to certain issues, so I came to this party tonight alone,” he told The Jordan Times, requesting to remain unnamed.

The young man added that although he enjoys being single he wanted to celebrate the holiday.

Not being in a relationship is no reason to shun Valentine’s Day, according to party organiser DJ Flava.

“This party is for singles so they don’t feel lonely on the Valentine’s Day,” he told The Jordan Times silver cufflinks, adding that “all parties on this day are usually designated for couples only,” excluding those who are without a date.

Flava explained that the dance party aimed to celebrate singlehood, hosting black balloons instead of the traditional red ones, in a sign of an anti-Valentine sentiment.

“I don’t celebrate for the sake of Valentine, I celebrate for myself,” said Leen, a 19-year-old party goer.

Also on Friday, youth at the Saint John De La Salle School in Jabal Hussein hosted a silver money clips Valentine’s Day party without restricting entry to couples, an event the organiser said was for all people, regardless of relationship status.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated across the world on February 14.

Although stories vary, some legends state the holiday dates back to the reign of third century Roman Emperor Claudius II who banned marriage for young men as he thought celibacy would make his forces better soldiers.

Despite the ban, Christian preacher Valentine continued to facilitate marriages between young men and women, and was later arrested and executed by the Roman emperor.

Before being executed, one version of the story claims that Saint Valentine passed a letter to a woman he was in love with, the world’s first valentine.

The autumn leaves, red and yellow and brown, are tumbling from the trees, resigned to their fate. Weekends are full of football and the scritching of rakes. Lazy squirrels are still munching on moldering jack o’ lanterns left over from Halloween. In other words, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas tiffany jewelry.

Disney released a new version of the Dickens Scrooge story last week, timing it so that “A Christmas Carol” will be lucky to be in distribution past Thanksgiving Day.

Starbucks has already retired its white cups for the duration, replacing them with cranberry-colored, snowflake-flecked seasonal substitutes. Wal-Mart is just one of the retailers already Kringling away like crazy, running television ads with Andy Williams crooning “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Who knew that the weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving were the hap-happiest season of all?

The day after Thanksgiving used to be the official launch of the commercial Christmas season. Now Sears is running “Black Friday” specials all through November.

Given half a chance, retailers would probably try to get their plastic garlands hung just after Labor Day. (Ho-ho-ho, it’s back to school!) But we’ve been spared that particular encroachment, thanks to a holiday that has proved capable of standing athwart the relentless forces of Christmas-creep — Halloween. Once a quaint bit of Americana built around the simple pleasures of costumes, candy-grabbing and petty vandalism, Halloween has become a marketable and profitable holiday, putting many official holidays to shame. If only Presidents Day had some sort of free-candy angle.

In contrast to Halloween’s stalwart ability to keep Christmas from jumping the queue, Thanksgiving has lost its cultural muscle. The early advent of the Santa season may have less to do with the red-and-green imperative than with the weakness of Turkey Day. What happened to this quintessential American holiday cufflinks?

Lydia Maria Child’s ode to going over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house is a good place to start in decoding Thanksgiving’s decline. First, there is the anachronistic attention given to grandmother. Thanksgiving is one of the few occasions left, in our fanatically kinder-centric culture, to honor the elderly. Picture the famous Norman Rockwell illustration “Freedom From Want” — at the Thanksgiving table grandpa and grandma have pride of place. No wonder the day gets short shrift.

And then there is all that over-the-river-and-through-the-woods business, which in our day means a choice between stripping for the nice TSA agent or creeping along I-95. Thanksgiving is the official holiday of planes, trains and automobiles. What the modern travel experience lacks in charm it makes up for with sheer ordeal. And what’s the payoff for all this effort? A chance to make small talk with in-laws.

The Food Network may be the only institution in America unapologetically boosting the holiday. For weeks, the cable channel’s programming is packed with turkey tutorials, stuffing suggestions and investigations into the mysteries of cranberry sauce. But Food Network’s programming is less an indication of popular enthusiasm for Thanksgiving than a measure of the fear the holiday engenders. Hostesses know that they will be judged on the juiciness of their turkey, the cooking of which is an exotic undertaking chanced but once a year. And the result must be achieved while juggling a half-dozen side dishes, all the while making the above-mentioned small talk.

None of which would be so daunting if the day meant more to us. Could it be we’ve lost our capacity for gratitude? A successful harvest occasioned thanks back when it was all that stood between us and a long, cold, hungry winter. But now we’re divorced from the seasonal rhythms of the farm, where the harvest is celebrated as the payoff of all the year’s labors. Even in the midst of this Great Repression we enjoy perpetual plenty. What resonance does a cornucopia have to people who have come to expect ripe blackberries in February? If anything,money clips we should be more grateful, but that’s not our nature. Anything we struggle for, we hold dear; anything that comes easy, we take for granted.

Not only don’t we celebrate the astonishing abundance that is our good fortune, we whine and moan about how it makes us fat. Lydia Maria Child’s poem ends, appropriately enough, with dessert: “Is the pudding done? / Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!” A version for our time would read, “Is the pudding sugar-free?” And if that weren’t enough to squeeze the pleasure from the day, no modern Thanksgiving is complete without a college student home from school, lecturing the family on the cruelty of meat. (To which the only appropriate response is: “Does that mean you don’t want the drumstick?”) That same sophomore is also likely to bemoan the grim fate of the Native Americans who made the strategic mistake of helping the Pilgrims avoid starvation. In some circles, Thanksgiving is second only to Columbus Day as an occasion for grieving.

There will be plenty of time next month for all the secular manifestations of Christmas: shopping, trimming the tree, shopping, mugs of frothing Tom & Jerry, shopping, and watching Ralphie get his Red Ryder BB-gun and Clarence get his wings. Oh, and yes, shopping. But before we break out the ornaments and dust off the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack, let’s make the most of autumn and its particular pleasures. Jump in a pile of leaves. Savor the waning daylight. And go ahead. Week after next, eat that second slice of pumpkin pie –pendants just be thankful for it.

The city of Hickory issued the following press release:

The holiday season in Hickory will officially begin tiffany and co on Friday, November 20 at 6:30 p.m. when the festive and illuminating Christmas decorations are officially turned on during the Hickory Christmas Lighting Celebration in Downtown Hickory.

Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright will turn on the “official light switch” in the Flag Court on Union Square that will light up the trees and poles throughout the Downtown Hickory area. The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m., and Mayor Wright will turn on the lights about 7 p.m. Festivities on Union Square will continue until 8 p.m. Santa Claus will be at the entire event greeting kids of all ages and the CVCC Brass Ensemble will perform Christmas Carols after the lights have been turned on. Many of Downtown Hickory’s businesses will be open and all the restaurants welcome citizens to enjoy a delicious dinner in the heart of the city.

“We are excited to hold the second annual Christmas Lighting Celebration in Downtown bracelets Hickory and encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the Christmas lights and carols that will brighten our city during the holidays,” said Mayor Wright. “Additional lights were added this year on Union Square and on the streets that surround the center of the city.”

In addition to the Hickory Christmas Lighting Celebration in Downtown Hickory, the Hickory Jaycees Holiday Parade will be held in Downtown Hickory on Saturday, December 5, at 4 p.m. Downtown Hickory Development Association will hold festivities on December 10 between 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Wagon rides, entertainment, and Santa cufflinks Claus will be on Union Square for “A Hickory Holiday.” Visit unique shops, dine in great restaurants, and make Downtown Hickory your holiday destination.

For more information, go to www.downtownhickory.com.For more information please money clips contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.

Food & Drug RETailers ; Price war breaks out among grocers ; Doubts cast over green shoots

Asda has signalled the most cut-throat Christmas for a decade by firing the starting gun tiffany and co on a multimillion-pound supermarket price war.

Britain’s second-biggest grocer pledged to cut prices by pound(s)150m, but was immediately trumped by bigger rival Tesco, which vowed to save shoppers pound(s)250m.

The moves underline the increasingly competitive nature of the sector, with grocers fighting harder for sales as sharp rises in food prices fizzle out and the stores expand aggressively into non-food lines.

Judith McKenna, finance director of Asda, said this year would be “the most competitive Christmas for a decade”. But she insisted: “We are not interested in price wars.”

However, she admitted that Asda had benefited from promotions, including a toy sale where it sold more than 30,000 doll’s houses priced at pound(s)35 each.

Asda reported a rise in sales from stores open for at least a year of 5.6 per cent in the three cufflinks months to September 30, a drop from 7.2 per cent in the preceding quarter.

Ms McKenna said the slowdown was entirely due to increases in food prices coming to an end. She said the volume of products sold was up, while profits were expanding faster than sales.

Families sitting in front of the TV on a Saturday evening watching The X Factor were helping to boost demand for food from pizzas to curries, as well as family favourites such as spaghetti bolognese and sausages and mash.

“It’s just like the 1970s with The Generation Game and Morecambe and Wise,” Ms McKenna said.

While some confidence is returning, she said that consumers remained cautious about the outlook for next year amid expected tax increases and public sector job cuts.

“We believe the green shoots of recovery that we’d all like to see could be held back by a few frosty money clips moments in the months to come,” she said.

She hinted that Asda could hold off from passing the increase in the VAT rate on January 1 on to its customers.

Ms McKenna also played down an internal restructuring of the business carried out in August.

She said the exercise, under which Walmart, Asda’s owner, altered the internal ownership structure of Asda, consolidating 30 separate companies into two,improved the way money flowed through the group and taxes were paid, although she insisted there was no change to the amount of tax Asda paid.

Toys for Tots is giving Santa Claus a run for his money.

The Marine Corps’ annual drive has increased its goals for the tiffany Philadelphia region this year because the recession and high unemployment threaten to deprive many children of getting a gift over the holidays.

This year’s goal is 150,000 toys, up from last year’s original target of 60,000, announced Brian P. Tierney, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Media Holdings, at a news conference yesterday.

Hopes were boosted by the overwhelming public support of last year’s drive.

By early December last year, donations were falling far short, when the company that produces The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com stepped up to the plate.

“This was 10 days before Christmas, and there were thousands of children who tiffany cufflinks weren’t going to have a Christmas,” Tierney said.

A “toy emergency” was declared, the word was spread with help of newspaper and online ads, and the public responded big-time.

The final tally: about 139,000 toys.

Even more are needed this year because of the troubled economy, said Tierney and Gunnery Sgt. David Pierson, speaking behind an array of footballs, plush toys, dolls, and games in the lobby of the Inquirer Building.

The collection, worth $5,000, was a new gift from the company, in addition to $4,500 in other donations.

The Inquirer Building, at Broad and Callowhill Streets, and the company’s printing plant in tiffany money clips Upper Merion Township are just two of dozens of locations throughout the area — including schools, museums, offices, and restaurants — where toys can be dropped off.

Lincoln Financial Field will be a major collection point Dec. 20, when the Eagles play the San Francisco 49ers.

To find a spot, go to www.toysfortotsphila.org . For locations, click on “Donate Toys,” and be sure to click “Next” in the upper right to browse for additional listings.

Money can be donated through the Web site or by mailing a check payable to Toys for Tots of tiffany pendants Philadelphia to 2838-98 Woodhaven Rd., Philadelphia 19154.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.