Rovaness
My travel and lifestyle website Rovaness launched this month!
Featuring stories and photographs from my own personal trips, as well as a selection of quality curated content that will leave you feeling like you’ve taken a vacation without even leaving your chair, Rovaness aims to inspire travelers the world over.
So grab your virtual travel bag and point your mouse toward Rovaness. Here are the places you will go, the things you will see, the people you will meet, and, of course, what you will pack.
-Marie
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
A few weekends ago I visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. If you like the Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Garden, you’ll like this place too, since it’s something like what you’d get if you put the two together, plus added a natural history museum. There’s a lot going on. Read more
JewelMint
If you’re looking for a little retail therapy for yourself, or if you’re in search of a gift for a jewelry-loving lady, I’d recommend JewelMint, a refreshingly affordable collaboration between actress Kate Bosworth and stylist Cher Coulter.
If you remember my post about StyleMint, the concept is the same. You take a quiz to determine your style preferences (classic, edgy, romantic …) and then JewelMint displays your best matches every time you sign in. Read more
Valentine’s Day at Hotel Valley Ho
Downtown Scottsdale’s Hotel Valley Ho is celebrating Valentine’s Day this year with a Romance Package, a special dinner at ZuZu and sweet spa specials.
With the Romance Package, sweethearts will enjoy the gift of a Red Flower aromatherapy candle, a half-bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, fresh fruit, a complimentary in-room movie and breakfast in bed or at ZuZu, the midcentury-modern hotel’s signature restaurant. Read more
Spring Training Festival
It happens every spring! The Spring Training Festival will be back this year Feb. 25-26 to kick off the 2012 Cactus League.
The event, which is free, is presented by the Scottsdale Charros, and will be held at Scottsdale Civic Center Park and the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Try food from local restaurants, view art, purchase baseball merchandise and listen to live music. Read more
Circulating: Clarins Blush Prodige in Miami Pink
I recently contributed an article to myCosmeticBag about Clarins Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour in “Miami Pink.”
The compact holds a miniature mosaic of subtly different yet very complementary shades in different finishes in order to add some depth and color to your skin after you apply it. The blush is pretty cool, because it takes all the hard work out of finding shades to flatter your skin tone. Read more
Valentine’s Day at FireSky Resort and Jurlique Spa
FireSky Resort, one of the greenest properties anywhere in Arizona, has some romance in store for couples celebrating Valentine’s Day.
While the Romantic Rendezvous Package places the emphasis on amour, the Robe-mance Package gives guests extra reason to snuggle, with the gift of two super-plush robes for an extra cozy stay.
And on-site natural Jurlique Spa will further woo you with wine, roses and relaxation. Read more
Circulating: Blush for Wine
I recently reviewed an app called Blush for Wine for iPhone.AppStorm that makes selecting the right bottle of wine for any occasion really fun, whether it’s to give as a gift, to enjoy with a special meal, or to serve at a party.
I have to mention, too — and this is the coolest part — the app includes a scanning capability, so you can also use your iPhone to read the label on any bottle of wine and learn more about it. How cool is that? Plus, it’s a great way to keep track of the wines you’ve tried and loved.
Celebrate Arizona’s Centennial
Next month a good percentage of the population will be focused on celebrating Valentine’s Day, but there’s another reason to celebrate — Arizona’s centennial.
Arizona turns 100 years old this year — more precisely, on Feb. 14 — and it would seem there’s an endlessly long list of events, parties, celebrations and other happenings taking place in honor of this major milestone.
Here are just a few ways you can fête our grand ol’ state in the upcoming months. Read more
Young Adult Writing Conference
At the beginning of this month, I mentioned the Indie Author Publishing Conference & Pitchapalooza, and here’s another conference you might be interested in.
It’s not too late to register for this upcoming Saturday’s Young Adult Writing Conference, taking place at Burton Barr Central Library.
Presented by Phoenix Public Library and Changing Hands Bookstore, the Jan. 28 event is scheduled to be held between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will include writing classes, a box lunch, and a writing panel of standout authors of YA fiction, including several New York Times bestsellers. Registration is $85. Read on for more details, including which authors will be present and which classes are on offer. Read more
El Chorro Goes Electric
Well this is pretty cool: El Chorro Lodge, the first restaurant in Arizona to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) Gold Certification, has now gone electric.
That’s right — El Chorro, located in Paradise Valley, recently unveiled three brand-new Blink electric vehicle chargers, offering green drivers a convenient place to not only enjoy a fine meal, but to charge up their car while they do so! Read more
Circulating: Heavy Metal
I had a lot of fun — too much, probably — curating jewelry for the article called “Heavy Metal,” included in the January/February 2012 issue of Jetset Magazine, featuring the one and only Katy Perry on the cover.
Of the nine individual pieces included, every single one is glamorous, edgy and irresistibly “rock ‘n’ roll.” Read more
Circulating: Unlock Your Closet With Cloth
I recently reviewed an app called Cloth for iPhone.AppStorm that makes it possible for you to save and share photos of your outfits. It’s a great tool to help you remember which of your looks you like best.
For every photo you take, you can assign it to a category, such as Work, Vacation, Evening, Event or Everyday. This means all your work clothes can be found in one (virtual) place, all your vacation clothes in another, and so on. Just think how much easier this could make the task of packing for your next trip. Read more
Circulating: Post-Holiday Detoxifying Facial Masks
So the holidays are over and now everyone is coming down from all the holiday (or even pre-holiday) excess. Well, while you’re hanging on to your new gym routine, cleaner daily diet and other life improvements, don’t forget about your skin!
Every year, during the holidays, I get less sleep, I eat more sugary confections, and I also wear more makeup, thanks to the seasonal influx of get-togethers. So by the time January is in full swing, my complexion needs a pick-me-up.
Over at myCosmeticBag, I laid out a few of my go-to facial mask products for starting the new year out right, with cleaner, healthier skin. Read more
Indie Author Publishing Conference
On Saturday, Feb. 25, Changing Hands Bookstore and the Phoenix Public Library present the Indie Author Publishing Conference and Pitchapalooza.
The event’s goal is to give participants the tools they need to jumpstart their endeavors in publishing. One lucky individual will even win an introduction to a literary agent during Pitchapalooza. Continue reading for more info regarding the various conference sessions. Read more
