Drink
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Get a Taste of Philly in the Crystal Tea Room at Wanamaker Building
This way please … to an out-of-this-world beverage and food stuffs happening. “Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.” – Elsa Schiaparelli Story, photos by Sharon Kozden The elegant Crystal Tea Room was the perfect venue for Taste of Philly’s 12th Annual culinary tasting and tippling event, which showcases the finest in food and spirits that Philadelphia area restaurants, wineries and breweries can lay claim to. Notable this year was an expansion of space, allowing for the sold out event to feature more of everything, including…
- Casino, Culture, Dessert, Drink, Explore with Cassie, Food, Latest News, Nature, Restaurants, Travel
Spring into the Sierra Nevada Mountain Culture in Carson Valley
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler Nestled at the base of the Sierra Nevada, Carson Valley is an overlooked eye candy oasis begging to be explored. Located 45 miles south of Reno-Tahoe International Airport and 12 miles east of South Lake Tahoe, the region includes the communities of Minden, Gardnerville, Topaz Lake and Genoa (Nevada’s first settlement dating back to 1851). It offers a window to the authentic American West. The region’s natural beauty is legendary: wide-open farms, ranches, bands of wild horses and birds of prey dot the landscape. And of course golf with views that will leave you wanting more. The valley’s museums, arts, antiquing, Basque dining, a myriad…
- Arizona, Culture, Dance, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Music, Restaurants, Style, Travel
Explore with Cassie Celebrates 5 Years of Lifestyle and Travel Blogging
Story by Cassie Hepler, photos by D’Nyjah French What began as an idea to keep exploring in the middle of a cold, harsh Philadelphia winter has now blossomed into a 5 year old! I remember it well… that month me and my IT angel spent grinding the idea out with laser sharp focus. By the end of January 2015, we had not one but two websites Explore Philly and Explore New Jersey (this is what happens when you mix a Virgo with a Taurus… extra AF). But since it was such a local East Coast hyper focus, we found that limiting. Of course we frequently traveled outside of the tri-state area…
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Away Spa at W Scottsdale Whisks Your Stress Away
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Not the way you want to wake up on an early Friday morning… to a text from your father saying your grandfather passed away. I was immediately in flight and internal fight mode and to be honest a hot mess on the inside as I couldn’t make it back to the East Coast in time for the funeral. The last thing I wanted to do was face people but I had booked a hosted morning of pampering at Away Spa at W Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona for my blog weeks ago and knew that it would actually help me in the long run. So with…
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Mardi Gras is Not all Boobs and Beads in Lafayette, Louisiana
Story, photos and video by Cassie Hepler As soon as this press trip was in the planning stages, almost everyone started asking me about boobs… “Will you see any? Will you be showing yours?” (Hard no, btw…) Then the bead questions started rolling in as well and what occurred to me is that no one really knows what the hell is going on during Mardi Gras, better known as Fat Tuesday. The French saying refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. There’s also Lundi Gras, the Monday before Fat Tuesday which kicks off…
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DesignPhiladelphia Festival Celebrates 15 Years, Hosts Kickoff Party at Cherry Street Pier
The Ben Franklin Bridge’s steel-suspension design is a perfect backdrop for DesignPhilaldephia’s Kickoff Party. “Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fits our needs so well that the design is invisible.”- Don Norman Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My introduction to Philadelphia’s design scene occurred in fall at Cherry St. Pier, where DesignPhiladelphia kick-started its 15th annual 10-day long festival with a launch party that had the stunning Benjamin Franklin Bridge as backdrop. It was a fitting and iconic location choice. What, after all, screams both stellar design and Philadelphia more than the Ben bridge? What wasn’t fitting on that…
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Cheerio! Exploring London, England a Second Time Around
Story, photos by Jill Beckel London, England… a city known for its gray skies, beautiful architecture, culture, art, rich history, the River Thames, the British monarchy, pubs and tea. I was fortunate enough to have been able to study abroad in my college days for a term my sophomore year of college back in 2006. Since then, I’ve been yearning to go back and explore the city even more. I recently got the chance to make the trip back with my husband this time and it couldn’t have been better. All that I would have wished for was to have been able to stay longer! I knew that I wanted…
- Architecture, Arizona, Culture, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Explore with Cassie, Food, Latest News, Nature, Restaurants, Style, Travel
Relax, Reconnect and Repeat at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort in Arizona
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Once I moved across the country, I soon ended up living near Camelback Mountain in the trendy Arcadia section of Phoenix, Arizona as everyone said I would love it and they were right. I could see the telltale mountain from my farm casita rental. Shortly thereafter, I purchased property nearby. And big surprise, I ended up staying near Camelback and now have views of Papago Park and am kind of nestled in between both. I was also told (in new age land of Sedona of course) that Camelback is an amazing energy vortex mountain and wholeheartedly believe that. So when Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort…
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Cider Sparkles at Fairmount Park’s 3rd Annual CiderFest in Philadelphia, PA
Event signage hangs from fence posts at Cedar Grove. Photos, story by Sharon Kozden “It was a beautiful bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it.” – Diana Gabaldon It really was a day such as described in the above quote … uncannily so if you happened to be attending the third annual CiderFest at the Historic Houses of Fairmount Park. Having written about and photographed the inaugural event in 2017, I had missed 2018’s iteration but was glad to be back spending my Saturday afternoon between the hours of noon and 5 p.m. surrounded by folks ranging in interest level…
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Making Weekend Waves at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Heads up for one imposing casino resort. You’ll find an entire playground in that “Ocean.” “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.” – Erma Bombeck Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Happy first anniversary to Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort! You’ve done good. Matter of fact, better than good. You are, in this writer’s opinion (and as reviewed by many others), a smashing success. I know my casinos, empirically speaking, that is. Back in the day and thanks to an accumulated bounty of comps from her favorite Atlantic City casino, my mom and me would hop a Bieber bus from Coopersburg to…
