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- Arizona, Culture, Drink, Education, Explore with Cassie, Food, Latest News, Nature, Restaurants, Travel
Women Putting Arizona Wines on the Map
Story by Cassie Hepler & Arizona Office of Tourism, Submitted Photos Before I was a twinkle in my mother’s eye, she lived in Arizona back in the 70’s being an adventurous hippy with her little yellow VW bug and working at a grocery store in the meat department. She started out in Yuma, AZ before there was any sort of land development then worked her way over to Prescott, AZ. And one of her dreams was to open a vineyard in Arizona. Fate had other plans as she met my father in Pennsylvania who wisked her back East and my brother and I were born. But funny how I ended…
- Art, Charity, Culture, Dessert, Drink, Education, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Style
Barnes Foundation Art Ball Showcases French Artist Suzanne Valadon
By the light of the silvery moon (and purple-hazy pool reflection), one magical evening at the 2021 Barnes Foundation Art Ball took place. “One of the things that’s quite striking when you look at her self-portraits is her attitude to aging. There’s a refusal of prettiness there … and an attention to the artifice of beautifying yourself, and then this very unflinching representation of her body as it changes.” – Nancy Ireson, deputy director for collections and exhibitions at the Barnes Foundation, speaking about Suzanne Valadon Story, photos by Sharon Kozden It’s been some time since I had reason to slither into a slinky cocktail dress and to slip on…
- Animals, Charity, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Food, Latest News, Suburbs, Travel
Lehigh County Humane Society Holds First Annual Garden Party at Bell Gate Farm
Keynote speaker Eve Warsinski poses with husband, daughters and Koda. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Our animals connect us to the sacred. What are pets, really, other than an attempt to have a little bit of a God in the house?” – Russell Brand Autumn weather in Pennsylvania felt more like spring or summer than fall. Not cool, literally. Projected temps were near 80 degrees some days. The expected crisp chill? It would be here soon enough. Despite seasonal signs of brilliant-hued mums, cider fests, all things pumpkin spice and Halloween decorations, I continue wearing open-toed sandals and tee-shirts. Consequently, my headspace can’t seem to reconcile this unseasonably warm weather…
- Architecture, Arizona, Art, California, Culture, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Education, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Latest News, Nature, Style, Travel, West Coast
Art Car World Bringing Burning Man Vibes to Douglas, Arizona
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Zooming straight away from my bed and breakfast in Bisbee to Douglas, Arizona is a short half hour ride out of the mountains and relatively easy to find at the newish location of Art Car World at 450 E. 8th St. Street, Douglas, AZ 85607. I met up with Harrod Blank, the brains and brand behind the mission outside and he was excited to share his master plans with me. Harrod has that kind of personality that you immediately take to, or maybe I did because we both have that one parent was all business and the other a hippy background. Regardless, we were fast…
- Arizona, Culture, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Education, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Food, Health, Latest News, Nature, Restaurants, Suburbs, Travel
Drop Down South to the Wine World of Willcox, Arizona
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler With more than 20 wineries in the Willcox, Arizona area, there are seemingly endless wine tastings and other area activities to chew on. Located in Cochise County near the border of Mexico, this small city is surrounded by picturesque mountain ranges, such as the Pinaleño, Dragoon and Chiricahua mountains. Surprising to most out of state visitors, the desert climate offers an ideal climate for winemaking including monsoons in the summer that gives that precious moisture to the earth to make the flavorful magic happen. But wine is not the only thing this small town but actually a city has to offer! We connected with the Cochise…
- California, Culture, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Education, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Music, Nature, Restaurants, Style, Suburbs, Travel
Small Businesses Reopen in Funky, Artsy Town of Claremont, CA
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Finally California small businesses can breathe a sigh of relief – although still trough face masks as Los Angeles county mandates everyone unvaccinated or vaccinated wear a face mask in public places. And it’s not a bad call considering the Delta variant seems to be sneaking through even the best jabs available so far. So masked up and ready to explore, my journey began a little clunky with my TPMS tire light turning on about halfway to Claremont from Chula Vista, CA. My first thought was go to the tire store and second was it just needs some air… always go with the first intuition.…
- Animals, Arizona, Casino, Culture, Day Trips, Drink, Education, Entertainment, Explore with Cassie, Fitness, Food, Health, Latest News, Nature, Restaurants, Sports, Style, Travel
Four Diamond We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort Offers Stay and Play Adventures
Story, photos and video by Cassie Hepler Because everyone seems confused, let’s address the We-Ko-Pa namesake first! The name We-Ko-Pa means four peaks which is the popular mountain that borders the eastern skyline of Phoenix. The fabulous new 166,341-square-foot We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort replaces the original Fort McDowell Casino that many remember from 1984 as a bingo hall. Eight years later, the proud Yavapai Nation peacefully held off the attempts of federal agents to seize their slot machines, protecting their right to operate a casino on their reservation and provide livelihoods for their tribal members. That sentence alone infuriates me… freaking ‘Merica, but that’s a whole other story. Let’s focus instead…
- Animals, Culture, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Nature, Style, Suburbs
Horses ‘Rein’ at Annual Carriage Procession in Chester County, PA
Carriage-hitched horse and riders pass the Lincoln Building, home to the annual Yellow Springs Art Show. “At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack, but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other. Each is the selfless guardian of the other’s very well-being.” – Author unknown Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My first encounter with a horse occurred during the summer of my 12th year, when a school chum allowed a bunch of us to ride her mare. The young equestrian sat in the saddle as we took our respective turns while scrunched in front of her. Both horse and owner actually resembled one another as…
- Architecture, Art, Beauty, Culture, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Music, Nature, Restaurants, Style, Travel
Paris, je t’aime! An American Reminisces on Her Love Affair with France
Story, photos by Jill Beckel Bonjour! It is hard to say where my obsession with Paris started, but I am honestly not sure. I know that I dreamed about going to Paris as child and something about it always fascinated me. I took French throughout middle school and three years of high school. However, I am by no means fluent. I can pick up phrases and written words here and there, but definitely could not hold my own in a full-on on conversation in French (I did try to brush up with the Duolingo app before this trip). Once I was in college, I knew that I wanted to travel…
- Arizona, Celebrities, Culture, Dessert, Drink, Education, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Food, Latest News, Music, Restaurants, Style, Travel
Merkin Vineyards in Arizona Offers Outstanding Reds, Food and Music
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler First of all, let’s set this namesake straight. Do you know what a Merkin is? Go check it out on Wikipedia before you continue reading if you don’t. Now that we’re all on the same page, this is just another reason why we love Maynard Keenan, the mastermind behind the brand that has the name “Merkin” on everyone’s lips. If you are not into heavy metal, you are probably not familiar with his many bands including Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. Congratulations, now you are all caught up! Everyone in Arizona knows that this rock star lives in Jerome, Arizona on the side of…
