Travel the world!

Surprise!

2011-04-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Check out our newWebsite at http://www.discovertravelingdivas.com/ .

Today we attended IMATS, we'll tell you all about it real soon.

Celebrities and Twitter!

2011-03-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

These days people who stay connected with others become resilient and it helps them overcome turbulent times. Whether they join Facebook or Twitter, they interact with other people and learn to cultivate any crisis. Celebrities, athletes and politicians of all ages share and express what’s on their minds via Twitter. The most famous and influential people on Twitter these days are Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, the Dalai Lama, Paulo Coelho, Charlie Sheen, Kanye West, Mayor Cory Booker, President Barack Obama, Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas.

Justin Bieber stays connected with his 8,138,837 followers on his Twitter account. He has over 8422 tweets. Lady Gaga has 8,787,440 followers and only 638 tweets. The Dalai Lama has 1,465,450 followers and only 459 tweets. The Brazilian author Paulo Coelho has 1,312,409 followers and has over 9,157 tweets. Charlie Sheen has 2,778,713 followers and only 103 tweets; I guess some of them have been deleted. Kanye West has 2,730,716 followers and over 1,401 tweets. Mayor Cory Booker has 1,069,179 followers and over 7,238 tweets. President Obama has 6,980,766 followers and over 1,287 tweets. He follows over 701,536 people. Nick Jonas has over 2,307,598 followers and over 1,366 tweets. Last, but not least, Joe Jonas has 1,710,131 followers and is an avid tweeter with 2,482 tweets.

Speaking of Joe Jonas, we bumped into him on March 13 at the Trump Soho Hotel in New York City where he was greeted by a throng of female fans. The 21-year-old heartthrob was in town to attend the “Ocean Grove” band concert on March 11. His brother Kevin and wife Danielle also attended. Nick arrived from Nashville to attend the sixth annual “Carnival for a Cure” at the Metropolitan Pavilion in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. On March 20, they will be performing for the “Concert for Hope” at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City with Allstar Weekend. Selena Gomez & The Scene will headline the show. The artists will perform to give hope to millions of people with cancer.

Selena Gomez, who is currently dating Justin Bieber, will most likely include her brand-new single, “Who Says,” at the concert. The 18-year-old has been receiving hundreds of hate tweets from Justin Bieber fans. Bieber is currently in England on tour, and was spotted modeling his new hair cut. If you’re a follower of Selena’s tweets, you know that she just finished shooting her music video for “Who Says,” which was shot in Los Angeles.

Allstar Weekend became famous a few years ago when they were outside of a Jonas Bros. concert passing out postcards of their band and signing autographs. At that time, no one knew who they were until the Disney channel promoted one of their singles. They have opened up for the Jonas Bros. on several concert tours.

Rose’s Scoop: The Trump Soho Hotel in Manhattan the weekend of March 13, welcomed not only Joe Jonas but also John Stamos, Ryan Seacrest and Jessica Alba. The penthouse suite caters the last three levels to celebrities and ranges over $6,000 a night.

Eat, Pray, Love in CANADA!

2011-03-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

We took a trip to Canada, Niagara Falls to be exact. Betty could not make the fabulous trip with us for business purposes. The weather was delightful, except for the 2nd day when we woke up and we were in the clouds. Yes! We stayed at the Hilton on the 43rd floor, what spectacular views. We'll have to share the pics. Be prepared to spend lots of money in Niagara Falls! Our room was a two bedroom suite with a jacuzzi, fireplace, two flat screen tv's, and a sofa bed. The room holds 6 people, but we enjoyed it the two of us.

Valet parking as well as self parking is both $20 per day. What a rip off! Plus tax, might I add.

We took a tour of the hotel and the city of Niagara Falls, absolutely beautiful. It is so relaxing to watch the cascading falls. The night view from our window is spectacular. You have to see it for yourself!

The first night we ate dinner at Brasa Brazilian steakhouse......incredible, make sure you don't eat anything the whole day so you can enjoy and savor the different variety of meats along with a roomful of sides, including Brazilian rice, salads and veggies.

We visited the American falls and the Canadian falls that are in a shape of a horseshoe. Of course, everything by the falls is expensive. If you bring your car, you'll have to pay $14.00 to park, or you can just double park alongside the road and hope that the Canadian Mount Police don't show up. Then you'll have to pay up or end up in a barrel in the Niagara Falls.

The next day was cloudy, up in the clouds again at the "Watermark" restaurant which is located on the 33rd floor. The price for breakfast is around $19.95 per person for a full buffet including coffee and juice. Kelly and I could not see anything outside of the window, but a few hours later, it began to clear up. A nice family we met on the elevator was being funny and said that we don't need to see a view, we need to see our food on the plate. Another breakfast option in the hotel was to go to the Grand Caffe for $14.95 with no view, however, there was a 20 minute wait because of the Spring Break tourists.

We didn't go to the fitness room because there aren't too many options there to choose from. So, instead, we decided to go down 43 flights of stairs. Yes, 43. Are we nuts? Our legs are killing us for the past two days!! So, we ended up in the employee only area in the basement. We were beyond lost. We passed the laundry area and the mattress and bedding area. We finally heard voices, and we told two women that we were lost and needed to go back to the lobby to get our car. They both looked at us weirdly and thought we were nuts for walking down 602 steps. We finally got escorted, by one of the ladies, to the lobby.

In the hotel lobby, there was a Starbucks, and we made conversation with the bartender. He mentioned that hundreds of celebs, including Lady Gaga, Lauren Conrad, the cast of The Sopranos, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and many more stay there.

The Hilton has a large pool with a huge water slide that the kids would love! Next, we came across dozens of brochures and advertisements to spend our afternoon in Niagara Falls. We wanted to do something different and fun! It's always interesting to do different activities, because then we will always have a memorable adventure to talk about on our blog!

We came across a glass-making brochure, which included a free tour! Free, in Canada? We went for it! We got lost around the city because we did not have our handy GPS, Richard, with us we forgot to bring him. So we ended up on the highway to Toronto, and needed to make a U-turn back to the hotel to ask the concierge for another map of the directions to the tour. We finally got there, and we were so impressed by the tour that we went back the next day to purchase a 22 k gold perfume glass, in the color, cranberry.

We skipped lunch that day, and went back to the concierge to ask for advice on a reasonable, Italian dinner. He was very friendly and recommended Carpaccios, which is outside of the tourist area. We found the restaurant and fell in love with it! The prices were reasonable, starting from $16 per entree. Not bad in Niagara Falls. I think it was the best lasagna I ever had in my whole life. The waiter was very friendly, and even offered us a complimentary on-the-house Tiramisu. Yummy!

After dinner we decided to walk around Clifton Hill and do some souvenir shopping. It was fun! We got a few knick-nacks for Betty, Brien, and Puly. I spent the remainder of the night making videos for you guys and soaking suds in the jacuzzi.

The next morning we woke up with a bright light beaming from our window. We were not complaining because the day prior we couldn't see anything. We skipped breakfast because we wanted to grab lunch at the Skylon Tower. We went up 770 feet above the ground into an elevator that took less than a minute to go to the revolving dining room. What a cool room! The total price was around $60. We had a coupon for 1/2 off a second entree. So it wasn't too bad.

Then, we grabbed some water in bulk, in a local grocery store for the ride home. We crossed the border to the U.S.A. around 3 pm and we we driving for hours. We stopped for St. Patty's Day dinner at Applebee's. Total amount was around $28. Way cheaper compared to Canada's prices.

We were so tired that we had to stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania before our trip concluded.

We just finished having breakfast at our lovely Hampton Inn. We will visit the city, along with the news station next door, before we go back home.

We promise we will write here on a daily basis, we missed blogging!

I will post the photos from our vacation later tonight when we arrive.

Have a great day,
The Traveling Divas

Meeting Joe Jonas

2011-03-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

Cheryl Burke

2011-03-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

Miss America

2011-03-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

"How Sweet it is" TLC Commercial with Buddy from Cake Boss!!!

2011-03-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

Meeting Miranda Cosgrove

2011-03-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

Sammi really is a Sweetheart

2011-02-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ringing in the New Year!

2011-02-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ringing in the 2011 movie season is always fun, especially with all the movies to look forward to in the year ahead. But before we get into that, let’s review “Little Fockers.” The cast of the film was packed with A-listers, and with salaries, according the the New York Post, quite astounding. The major chunk went to Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro racking in $20 million. Owen Wilson took in $15 million and Barbra Streisand $7 million. While Dustin Hoffman negotiated $7.5 million, and Jessica Alba was paid $3 million.

While I just love Robert De Niro (he is an amazing and talented actor), it’s certainly not his fault that the writers didn’t deliver. “Little Fockers,” was as funny as having a root canal. I mean it. In the 97 minutes that I watched the movie, I didn’t laugh once. The movie made no sense at all; since when do in-laws come to visit two weeks prior to the grandkids' birthday party? Perhaps if they live in a third world country, and getting there would be full of travel mishaps. A perfect example would be the original “The Out of Towners,” starring Jack Lemmon. I just didn’t get it. Even the title had little to do with the Focker kids. The third film in the Ben Stiller-Robert De Niro series went absolutely nowhere, and I suppose the only reason it made so much money New Year’s weekend, was that it had an A-list cast and the audience was curious. A decade ago, “Meet the Parents” was funny, and then the 2004 sequel “Meet the Fockers,” with Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman added to the cast, was hilarious; however, “Little Fockers” was lost in translation.

Anything is subject to change, so while many dates are tentative, here is what is scheduled for the first three months. In January we have the film “Country Strong,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow; “The Green Hornet,” starring Seth Rogan; and the much-anticipated “No Strings attached,” starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman.

In February, we have a concert documentary about the boy, the legend, the fever, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.” So if you’re a parent of a tween, get ready for the much-anticipated movie. In March, we are graced with “Jane Eyre,” with Mia Wasikowska as Charlotte Bronte’s timid governess and Michael Fassbender as Rochester. For the kids, there is the voice of Johnny Depp in the Wild West cartoon, “Rango.”

So what’s ahead for 2011, besides these movies? We will see many more inspired ballet books, due to the phenomenal turn in “Black Swan” starring Natalie Portman. We’ll also see many celebrities steeping out with their fashion label. Recently, Justin Timberlake's collection William Rast will be featured at Target. Avril Lavigne, who two years ago launched her line to Kohl’s, currently relaunched her line on her e-commerce site, AbbeyDawn.com. Her collection includes handbags, shoes, dresses, denim, active wear and even a few men’s pieces.

Valentine's Day and more!

2011-02-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

February is always a special month. It’s the month of the Super Bowl, Grammys and the Oscars. It’s that time of year where romance is in the air. Godiva chocolates, red roses and romantic getaways mean only one thing: Valentine’s Day!

Last year we had the movie “Valentine’s Day,” which was full of love and celebrities. It was a star-packed movie which starred Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Queen Latifah , Ashton Kutcher and Taylor Swift just to name a few. This year we have “Blue Valentine” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The film centers around a couple who go through the test of time. Michele Williams is brilliant in her role and has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actress category.

Valentine’s Day can seem very blue for single people. It is extremely hard when you think you found someone to love, but then you become disappointed. Once you open up your heart you are subjected to being hurt. Later you realize that love never fails, people do. It is a painful day for those who have loved and lost. The heartbreak of being tossed around like a salad, thrown in the trash and replaced perhaps by someone who has the IQ of 50, can leave anyone speechless. Single women certainly know how it feels to be dumped, especially before Valentine’s Day. Don’t take it personally. Usually it’s because they don’t want to break the bank account.

You can always rent my favorite movie “Legally Blonde” eat Godiva chocolates and throw the $30 box at the TV when he dumps Elle during that infamous scene when they are having dinner in the restaurant.
As Valentine’s Day nears, most lovebirds want to celebrate love with a dream wedding. Soon thereafter, once the question has been popped and someone has said "Yes," the happy couple will find themselves ensconced in the myriad details of planning a joyous occasion. One of the best ways to make sure your wedding is a magical experience is to attend a bridal show. We bumped into Doria Pagnotta of “Jerseylicious,” who does hair and makeup at the Gatsby. Doria is one of the sweetest and personable people I’ve ever met. Unlike her character in the reality show, she is a genuine, kind-hearted soul. Doria told us she will be on the third season of the show portraying the back-stabbing, conniving diva. Sometimes, Doria’s fondness for melodrama will give you the riveting, dazzling, emotional episode you don‘t want to miss.

Whitney Port and the Paparazzi!

2011-02-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

2011-02-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Brides & jerseylicious!!

2011-02-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

Ringing in the New Year!

2011-01-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

3...2...1... Happy New Year 2011, everyone! So once again we ask ourselves, “What will 2011 bring?” It’s that time of year when we make the same resolutions each year: quit smoking, lose weight, drink less, find a job, get organized, travel, save money and, most importantly, spend more time with family and friends. Well, these are some of our resolutions for 2011. In the spirit of the New Year, these resolutions are made in good faith; however, only a handful of us will actually succeed.

Speaking of succeeding, Hollywood ended 2010 on a high note with “Little Fockers,” the third installment of the comedy series starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. The movie topped the Christmas holiday box office with $30.8 million over the weekend, according to Hollywood.com.

So let’s look back at 2010 and see who dominated the year: Betty White, the 88-year-old actress, comedian and author reigned in 2010. White was seen in a “Snickers” commercial during the 2010 Super Bowl, which led to a massive campaign on “Facebook” called “Betty White to Host SNL (Please).” When the group reached 500,000 members, NBC confirmed that White would host “Saturday Night Live” on May 8. Miss White will turn 89 years old on January 17.

Is New Jersey the new entertainment capital of the world? “Jersey Shore” is the highest rated show in MTV history. Go figure! Snooki, Mike “The Situation” and “Pauly D” are the most popular. The first season was filmed in Seaside Heights, N.J. The second season was filmed at Miami Beach and on July 2010, MTV announced the entire cast, with the exception of Angelina, would return for the third season to be shot back in Seaside Heights, N.J.

I‘m still trying to figure out why the Kardashians are famous. One thing is for sure, Kim Kardashian sells magazines. If she is gracing the cover of any magazine, rest assured the magazine will sell. The reality star is quite the businesswoman; she has even launched her own perfume “Kim Kardashian.”

The hills are alive with the sound of Sarah in TLC’s new reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” Wasn’t Sarah Palin the one who complained on a regular basis about the media’s intrusion into her family life when she was John McCain’s running mate back in 2008? Moreover, you might even recall her daughter Bristol Palin who was a finalist on “Dancing with the Stars.” It must have paid off somehow since Bristol is now a new homeowner in Maricopa, Ariz. She paid in cash $172,000.

It doesn’t look like Lindsay Lohan will make a comeback in Hollywood. It seems that producers don’t want to take a chance on her because she is too much of a risk. Rumors began swirling that her mother, Dina Lohan, would be selected for “Dancing with the Stars.” All I can say is “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” according to a friend of mine, whose son dated Dina. A much better choice would be Ruta Lee for “Dancing with the Stars.” Her classy, glamorous looks would bring the ratings to a higher level.

How can we forget “Glee”? The musical-comedy drama has been a success on Fox. The show’s musical performances have also been a commercial success, with over 13 million copies of single releases purchased digitally and over five million albums purchased worldwide, according to published reports.

The year 2010, was full of celebrity breakups and of all the Hollywood breakups, we empathized more with Sandra Bullock. Bullock married motorcycle builder Jesse James back in 2005. Shortly after Bullock won an Oscar in 2010, a scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock. Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010.

So what’s in store for Hollywood in 2011? Let me look into my crystal ball. Justin Beiber continues to reign. Taylor Swift continues to make news amid huge record sales. Finally, millions will tune in to watch the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William on April 29, 2011.

Hanging out with Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi

2011-01-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

Whiskey our doggy opening presents

2010-12-27T19:42:00.001-08:00

Christmas in New York City

2010-12-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

Buy a christmas tree with us!

2010-12-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

How to make Pasteis de nata

2010-12-18T12:12:00.001-08:00

Sweet Candy Lanes

2010-12-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

Holidays in Hollywood!

2010-12-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

The holidays are officially here. It seems that people tend to skip Thanksgiving; the Christmas lights go right up after Halloween. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, officially kicks off the holiday shopping season. While the deals this year weren’t that great, bargain-hunters still shopped for GPS navigators and Nikon Coolpix cameras; they were down to $79. Those items were selling like hot cakes. You may recall two years ago when throngs of rampaging shoppers broke down the doors at a Walmart store on Long Island, N.Y., and trampled to death an employee on Black Friday. This year a woman in a Target in Buffalo, N.Y. was trampled on and rushed to the hospital. Despite a weakened economy, consumers are still buying and charging on their credit cards creating more debt for themselves. We realize that standing outside in the cold for hours can turn the most polite-best-intentioned individual into a Black Friday savage, there is absolutely no excuse for this inhuman, unacceptable behavior.
It seems that consumers are buying plenty of Wii games, including “Call of Duty: Black Ops” and the “Glee” version of Karaoke Revolution. The songs only include songs from the first season of the Fox hit. The game lets singers perform to video montages and alongside the cast of "Glee.” The holidays are just around the corner and your to-buy list is more packed than Santa’s sleigh. There are basically two types of people during the holiday season. The organized ones that are all done and wrapped can take advantage of this holiday season by listening to just a few holiday CDs and singing along. They are the ones that can enjoy since they feel accomplished, so they can kick off their shoes and relax. Then you have the other type, the last-minute shoppers that are suffering from anxiety and stress. You’ll know who they are; they are the ones that drive aggressively. The ones that are mad at the world. The ones that take out their frustrations on a poor innocent victim. The ones that are grumpy.

Whether you are the organized or the last-minute shopper, you really need to turn up the music in this holiday season. Get this, about two years ago, a study found that athletes who wear red were most likely to win. So if you want to feel good, wear something red.

While the gloomy economy has left many of us scratching our heads and tightening our belts, and spending less this holiday season. For others you would think they’re giving things away at the stores and malls. They are packed and people continue to spend. Consumers continue to buy, whether they’re in denial or just racking up the credit cards. This holiday season people are turning to crafts and homemade bake goods, which are the simplest and ultimate thriftiest Christmas gifts to offer family and friends. The more elaborate the gift the more expensive. For the woman who has everything, she would love the new Valentino petal-appliquéd evening bag from Valentino. The designer’s signature is red; however, it comes in black, blush and rose.

Speaking of the woman who has everything, Barbara Walters will air her annual list of the year’s most fascinating people on December 9 on ABC. The list includes, believe it or not, the cast of “Jersey Shore”, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Palin, princess-to-be Kate Middleton, LeBron James, “American Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez, Betty White and Justin Bieber. You’ll have to tune in that night to see her final pick.

Stardazzle!

2010-11-29T16:50:00.000-08:00

Buddy Valastro

2010-11-29T16:48:00.001-08:00

The holidays are upon us, which means that most of us will indulge in glorious desserts. The majority of people just love dessert. Why? Because dessert tastes good and it makes people smile.

There was a lot of smiling going on November 23, when we bumped into Buddy Valastro of TLC’s “Cake Boss.” Buddy is out promoting his book titled “Cake Boss: Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia.” Since Buddy is very family-oriented we decided to bring along our famiglia, which I feel really touched him. In a very informal meet-and-greet we asked Buddy one simple question:

Q: “Any plans on getting into film? Movies?”

A: “Right now, TV, one thing at a time, but I appreciate it, we’ll see.”

Buddy who is extremely friendly, and most of all humble, was pressed for time, since he had to do a show later that day. Where does he find the time? He’s currently on a book and show tour where he goes around the country showing audiences some of his trade secrets. He is also the proprietor of the infamous “Carlos Bakery” of Hoboken, N.J.

If you love watching the “Cake Boss” you will absolutely love the book. If you never watched the show, I guarantee you will start watching. You’ll learn how Buddy rose to bakery royalty. The book is very entertaining, and full of mouth-watering desserts. The recipes include, “Cream Puffs,” “Lobster Tails,” “Pumpkin Pie” and our favorite “St. Joseph’s Zeppelin.” Buddy’s memoir is to be admired because he loves two things: family and kids.

While some critics feel that the family should have kept Buddy in school, it’s not fair to judge, especially when no one really knows the circumstances. The recipes alone are worth the price of the book. You’ll even see some of the beautiful cake creations he has made. You would need just a book in itself to fill the pages of some of his beautiful masterpieces. If you are waiting to read something about his brother-in-law “Remigio” Remy Gonzalez, forget it. There is absolutely no mention of the disgraced Remy or family heartbreak. Believe me, it was heartbreaking to the family, so they even photoshopped him out of family pictures. Remy Gonzalez still remains in jail on charges of sexually assaulting a minor.

Buddy had brought along his wife, Lisa, who was sitting down with her kids, Sophia and Marco, in a corner of the room. Lisa is expecting their fourth child.

We asked Lisa, “Where is the other little one (referring to Buddy Jr)?” “Oh, he’s with Grandma, she responded.”

All in all, the book is a reflection of Buddy’s family life and humble beginnings, and with all his proclaimed fame, he’s just as sweet as pie. With all his success on TV, it would be great to see Buddy on the big screen some day. I’m quite sure it would be a great hit.

Thanksgiving & Black Friday deals!

2010-11-28T18:33:00.000-08:00