Circulating: Meet Goals and Record Your Progress With Trakr
I recently reviewed an app called Trakr for iPhone.AppStorm. It helps you keep track of anything you can count, and well, I found the thing to be pretty darn handy. Books you’ve read, cakes you’ve baked, pages you’ve written, miles you’ve conquered, stitches you’ve knit, games you’ve won, dinosaur bones you’ve found … anything! Read more
Scrivener — Powerful Software For Writers
The $45 I recently paid for the writing software called Scrivener has turned out to be money very well spent. Created by Literature and Latte, Scrivener is a word processor plus a project management tool, and it helps you tackle the most difficult of all writing obstacles — how to organize all those ideas and get them onto the page in the order you want and without leaving anything out. (And then even easily reorganize those ideas later if need be.)
Anyone working on long-form texts — novels, research papers, essays, memoirs, movie or TV scripts — will find this program a life-saver. Read more
goodreads
Today I joined goodreads, which is like an online bookshelf for all your books — those you’ve read, those you want to read, and those you’re currently reading. I discovered it a while back but put off taking the plunge, I’m not sure why. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, though. Now that I’ve signed up, I’m excited about all the organizational and recommendation features. But then again, I’m kind of weird like that. Read more
Kartchner Caverns
My trip to Tucson in January included a visit to Kartchner Caverns. The 2.5 miles of cave passages were discovered in 1978 by two amateur cavers, but kept secret from the public for a decade until approvals and leads for funding could be secured to turn the area into a state park. When you visit, you’ll see that not only are the caverns themselves incredible, but so are the state’s innovative preservation efforts. Read more
The Brush Bar
You must go try The Brush Bar in downtown Scottsdale! I’m not a painter at all, but I tried this place for the first time last Friday night, and it was a blast.
The studio guides you through the creation of your own painting, from start to finish, stroke by stroke, in a matter of just a few hours. They play great music, your first glass of wine or other beverage is included in your reservation, and the atmosphere is incredibly fun. Plus, at the end of the evening, you have a work of art to take home! Read more
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
The Garden at Rico’s American Grill
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to meet chef Kenneth Arneson of Rico’s American Grill at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, and he is doing some exciting things at his restaurant.
At the invitation of Rico’s, members of the media, including food writers and others, enjoyed a meal served on the patio, right next to the restaurant’s garden, stocked with herbs, peppers, squash and much, much more.
Chef Arneson created the meal’s courses based on what was available locally, and most importantly, from the garden. The menu included … Read more
Guanyin of Lianhuashan, Guangzhou, China
When my family visited Hong Kong earlier this year, we took a day to travel into mainland China.
One of the places we visited was Lotus Hill (Lianhuashan) in the area of Guangzhou.
A statue there called Guanyin, situated along the Pearl River, depicts a goddess of mercy. Visitors ascend the hill to see the 134-foot-tall statue, with some bringing along beautiful paper creations to burn out of respect.
Come on, I’ll take you on my walk up Lotus Hill. Read more
StyleMint Magnolia T
It finally happened — I broke down, caved in to peer pressure, and jumped on the StyleMint bandwagon. (I don’t really mean the peer pressure part. Who am I kidding — it was all me.)
I used one of the “new members only” promo codes last month to buy the Magnolia T. (It’s shown at left in blue, although I bought the black version. Because 90 percent of the time I’m wearing either black or red. See photo at right.)
The packaging was a little unexpected … My tee (which StyleMint likes to write as “T”) arrived plainly wrapped in brown grocery-bag-like paper — a much more eco-friendly alternative to the Tiffany & Co.-colored JewelMint boxes and their trappings.
And the shirt? Perfection. Read more
Circulating: City of Influence
Florence, Italy, ranks among the most beautiful and culturally influential cities in the world — which is why I was so thrilled to get to traipse through its neighborhoods and the surrounding Tuscan countryside for a week this past July.
My eight-page article covering some of the things I experienced while I was there has been published in the latest issue of Jetset Magazine, which also features the perpetually handsome Patrick Dempsey from Grey’s Anatomy on its cover, along with a story on the actor’s successful turn as a race car driver. (True story: He owns and drives for Dempsey Racing.)
Wait, where was this post headed?
Oh right, Florence … Read more
Little America Hotel, Flagstaff
I visited Flagstaff this past weekend and stayed at the Little America Hotel, one of eight Grand America Hotels & Resorts properties owned by Earl Holding.
I wasn’t sure what to think at first, since when I pulled up, the Little America Hotel sign featured an out-of-place penguin. (Still not sure what that was about.) But the place turned out to be really charming, with more than 240 guest rooms, beautiful landscaping and 500 acres covered with Ponderosa pines. Read more
Velvet Boutique at Phoenix Fashion Week
Chandler shop Velvet Boutique rocked the runway at Phoenix Fashion Week last Thursday night.
Velvet Boutique carries designers such as Twisted Heart, Miss Me, Rock Revival, M2F Denim, Level 99, Blue Bird Denim, James Jeans, Stop Staring, Black Russian Label, Nostalgic Boutique by Rebecca Turley, Hannah Jo, Affliction Premium, Anama, Toggery, Fresh Laundry, LA Made, Splendid, Girl Two Doors Down Sandals, Body Fit, Miilla, Dogeared Jewelry and other unique items by local designers.
In a former life, I used to work with the boutique’s owner, Maria Ward, and always knew her to have an undeniable sense of style, so it was fun to see the ensembles she styled for fashion week.
Click through to see a video of highlights from the Velvet Boutique runway show at Phoenix Fashion Week 2011. Read more
Riomaggiore
During the week I was in Italy this past July, my family set aside a day to travel from Florence to Riomaggiore, a village situated on the Italian Riviera.
Riomaggiore is one of the Cinque Terre (five lands) located along a stretch of rugged coastline west of the city of La Spezia, in the Liguria region of Italy. Because Riomaggiore is the first of the five villages you arrive at when coming from the direction of Florence, and because we were only going to have time to visit one of the villages, Riomaggiore was the obvious choice. Although I wish we could have taken the train that goes from one to the next! Maybe next time. Read more
Shop 20 at 20 Lounge
A few weeks ago, 20 Lounge Boutique Nail Bar had a huge event on Sept. 22 to unveil their new menu. There was bubbly, free mini manis and pedis, cute clothes and bags for sale, and more.
The new menu follows a lounge (surprise!) theme, meaning you can request your desired service — manicure or pedicure — and then add a $5 single shot (like glitter or a French manicure), $10 double shot (like paraffin or a 10-minute massage), or $15 “on the rocks” (like shellac or a sugar scrub). Read on to hear how my shellac manicure turned out … Read more
