As a lifelong nerd, I’ve loved visiting the local ren faire wherever I’ve lived since my early teens. Here in AZ, we’re blessed with beautiful weather and an early ren faire season, in contrast to most states’ summers. I’ve been to the Arizona Renaissance Festival every year for the past four, so I felt like it was time to share my tips and tricks for … Continue reading My Arizona Renaissance Festival Guide
This is self-explanatory. It’s not for just plain great food and/or service (although they’re all solid recommendations). Here’s my list of places I would recommend for more unusual reasons. Nino’s Greek Café: for their cherry coke from the fountain (it is the best ever, I swear) and their outdoor cat Kings Beer & Liquor: for letting people bring food into the bar area and the … Continue reading Places I love for the weirdest reasons
Usually I recommend places to eat or drink, but with everything going on in the world right now, I wanted to share my favorite places to relax and engage in self-care. Most of these are free, or low-cost. If your New Year’s resolution is to be more mindful or check out new places in your community, these are some starting points. Phoenix Cat Cafe If … Continue reading Best Phoenix Places to Relax
I’ve been seeing people forecast their trends for next year—protein will be supplanted by fiber, lab-grown meat, etc. Just for fun (and bragging rights if I get some of these right), here’s my predictions. Hojicha, matcha’s nutty, toasted sister, will grow in popularity. It’s already being offered more places in Phoenix, and that will increase in the next year. Cold foam on coffee and tea … Continue reading 2026 Food Trends Forecast
After having family come and go in the holidays, I was inspired to collect my favorite activities for out-of-towners around this time last year. This sat in my post drafts for too long, but as the weather’s cooling down, I felt I had to polish it up and share. Here’s what I would recommend to experience Phoenix if you’re here just for a weekend. You’re … Continue reading One Weekend in Phoenix
There are many spots to get a little spooky this October, but these are my favorites. Scottsdale offers a lot of additional options, but I think Phoenix businesses outshine anything there in terms of balanced drinks and reasonable prices. Bitter & Twisted Their menu doesn’t have too many seasonal changes, but it doesn’t need it. Their creative options and great presentation are consistent. This year, … Continue reading Where to Halloween in Phoenix
There are a bunch of places that do karaoke in Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs. With this list, you can fully go out every night of the week and hit up somewhere different. Everything on this list is an open environment, for karaoke in a bar setting. I’ve listed a couple private room rental karaoke places at the end, but that’s not the focus of this … Continue reading Where to sing karaoke in the valley
You may or may not be familiar with the concept of “voting with your dollar,” but it’s something I believe in. The valley provides plenty of opportunities to do this— to support not just local businesses, but specific causes they align with. This is a list of a couple ways I like to do that. For instance, the only thing that makes a cupcake from … Continue reading Supporting Socially Conscious Businesses
If you’re looking to shop for last-minute Christmas gifts, here are my (admittedly last-minute) recommendations. Local shopping Changing Hands is an independent bookstore with Mesa and midtown Phoenix locations. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, they can order it in, and they have other cute products besides just books. Their loyalty card and the First Draft coffee shop/bar inside the Phoenix store are … Continue reading Grace’s gift giving guide 2024
Compared to Phoenix and Flagstaff, Sedona and nearby Cottonwood are for an older, more established crowd. Sedona is also especially beautiful just to drive through, even if you aren’t planning to stop for much. If you’re looking to feel like you’re in the movie Cars, this is the place. Food While these places can be on the pricier end, the area is a unique dining … Continue reading Weekend trip inspiration: Cottonwood & Sedona
Grace Gets Food 