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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…
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4KiX Bringing Custom Shoe Accessories to Sneakers Everywhere
Story and video by Cassie Hepler, submitted photos 4KiX is a unique accessories brand for sneakers and lace-up shoes that aims to inspire fun, spread happiness and celebrate diversity in all those who wear it. Designs are inspired by pop culture, street fashion and street art, positive messages, music, cultural icons from different decades, and even the hashtag culture of today’s digital age. When this unique brand reached out to work with Explore with Cassie, we liked this fun and funky fashion concept and felt it was a great fit for finding the unusual out of the ordinary! Please enjoy this inspirational Q&A with founder Nadine Hallak from Washington DC…
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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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Oscar Nominee Rian Johnson Cuts a Sharp Figure at Philadelphia Film Festival’s Knives Out Screening
Lights, Camera, Action … with a heavy on the lights! Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “We must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the doughnut hole has a hole in its center. It is not a doughnut hole, but a smaller doughnut with its own hole, and our doughnut is not holed at all!” – Benoit Blanc (Knives Out) The 2019 Philadelphia Film Festival (PFF) wrapped with yet another successful year (its 28th!) in the can. Running 11-days through October, the festival showcased 110 films at the Philadelphia Film Center. I had the distinct honor of attending the red-carpet premiere of the critically acclaimed Knives Out…
- Destinations, Education, Entertainment, Explore with Cassie, Food & Beverage, Latest News, Lifestyle
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…
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Order a Massage to Your Door with Soothe App
Story by Cassie Hepler Los Angeles, California based massage on demand company Soothe delivers a licensed, insured massage therapist to your house, office or hotel within 60 minutes! Soothe celebrated 5 years in August 2019 by rolling out Soothe Plus subscription service, plus a Soothe Stretch program for the workplace. Over the years, Soothe has given almost 1 million massages worldwide and is 70 markets across 4 countries, with over 13,000 background-checked therapists to boot. Not too shabby! Think of them as the Uber or Lyft of massage therapy. My lifestyle and travel blog ExplorewithCassie.com worked with Soothe app when they first rolled out and came to the Philadelphia, PA market.…
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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…
