Carrie Bloomston shares her creativity aids, which help in her day job as an art teacher at Phoenix Country Day School and in her work with adults to reignite their childlike creative impulses.
Leah LeMoine, Author at PHOENIX magazine
The PHiXRead It: Carmen The Graphic Novel
Leah LeMoineJanuary 19, 2023
Perhaps more than any other opera, Georges Bizet’s Carmen lends itself to fanciful adaptations. In 1990 there was Carmen on Ice, starring skaters Katarina Witt and Brian Boitano. In 2001 there was Carmen: A Hip Hopera, starring Beyoncé Knowles. In 2022, Arizona Opera entered the fray with CARMEN: The Graphic Novel (Clover Press, $35). The 112-page narrative comic was funded by a Kickstarter campaign and is the brainchild of opera director and tenor Alek Shrader,...
Desert DigestFood & DrinkHappy Hour: The Bar – Gilbert
Leah LeMoineJanuary 17, 2023
THE SCENE When I walk into The Bar’s Gilbert location for a media happy hour, I’m struck by how chill it is. Yes, it’s a bar – The Bar, as its no-frills name downplays – but it’s not rowdy. It’s not kitschy or themed or projecting the forced party atmosphere of a bar where grown-ups try to act like college kids. It’s not a quiet, demure little watering hole, either. It occupies a sweet spot...
TravelHermosa Pagosa
Leah LeMoineJanuary 11, 2023
Healing hot springs anchor a wellness-minded retreat in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
LifestyleCollections Dept.: Frequently Stolen Items from Valley Bars and Restaurants
Leah LeMoineJanuary 9, 2023
We chatted with local restaurateurs about their most-stolen items.
The PHiXRead It: Trine Revelation
Leah LeMoineDecember 8, 2022
Fountain Hills journalist turned fantasy author C.K. Donnelly is back with Trine Revelation (Kibbe Creative Media, $28.95), the hotly anticipated third installment of The Kinderra Saga. Donnelly’s sprawling, heart-pounding epic is set in the mystical land of Kinderra and centers on Mirana Pinal, a teenage girl blessed with supernatural powers. We rejoin our young heroine after the battle-ravaged second book’s cliffhanger ending, which challenged her perception of the war and the myriad alliances within it....
The PHiXPhoestivus Returns to Downtown Phoenix for its 13th Year This December
Leah LeMoineDecember 5, 2022
Cross the secular December holiday Festivus – introduced to the popular consciousness in a 1997 Seinfeld episode – with Phoenix and you have Phoestivus, a wintertime market celebrating its 13th year in the Valley of the Sun. Like its namesake, Phoestivus offers an “airing of the grievances” and a Festivus pole, but our Phoenician fest also boasts local vendors (200 last year), art, crafts, food, beverages, Hipster Santa Claus and Phoestivus mascot Phreddie the Yeti....
The PHiXReal Estate Brokerage Transforms Remodeled Scottsdale Fire Station into New Headquarters
Leah LeMoineNovember 11, 2022
It reads like the setup for an HGTV series: Firehouse Reno, coming soon. But it’s reality – minus the TV – for Scottsdale real estate brokerage Diversified Partners, which is in the midst of remodeling the disused Scottsdale Fire Station No. 3 into its new, 7,500-square-foot headquarters. “As part of our ongoing commitment to being a great place to work, we’re excited to offer our team a new, modern, state-of-the-art workspace,” founder and CEO Walt...
FeaturesLifestyle2022 Local Gift Guide
Leah LeMoineNovember 1, 2022
We’ve got a local gift for everyone on your list, from a whiskey club and private chef dinners to museum memberships and pet portraits.
Desert DigestFood & Drink6 Local Dishes to Try This National Rice Month
Leah LeMoineSeptember 16, 2022
Celebrate National Rice Month this September with these local dishes. Chifa-Style Fried Rice Chinese and Peruvian cuisines meld in the fried rice ($25) at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess resort’s Toro Latin Restaurant & Rum Bar. It’s chockablock with meat and veg. scottsdaleprincess.com/toro Uzbek Plov A mound of golden rice with carrots and peas is topped with succulent chunks of beef ($14) in this dish at Café Chenar in North Phoenix. cafechenar.com Arancini How to improve upon...
The PHiXRead It: Chasing Trains in Cars
Leah LeMoineSeptember 14, 2022
“Everyone who works on trains knows they have personalities, they’re like people. They have their own mysteries,” wrote novelist Sam Starbuck. Phoenix photographer (and frequent PHOENIX contributor) Mark Lipczynski has spent most of his life pursuing these mysteries. In his recent photo book/zine, Chasing Trains in Cars ($20), Lipczynski corrals photographs he’s taken of trains during his 30 years of road trips across the U.S. “All of them demonstrate a dependence on transportation as a...
The PHiXThe Arizona State Fair Returns This September
Leah LeMoineSeptember 8, 2022
The days are getting shorter and the temperatures are slowly making their way back down to sane levels, so you know what that means: It’s time for the Arizona State Fair! The Valley’s harbinger of fall is back this year with more fun food, live music and adventurous activities than ever before. From rodeos and monster trucks to trapeze acts and hypnotists, there’s something to captivate everyone in your family or friend group. On the...
THE SCENE When I interviewed chef Jeremy Pacheco about his home fridge for our July/August issue, he perked up when we discussed his new restaurant, The Genuine. He enthused about the wood-fired oven, the locally sourced meat, the pasta and the veggies. “There will be something for everyone,” he said as we chatted across his kitchen counter. “A nice neighborhood hangout.” So, when I got an invitation to come in for a media happy hour...
The PHiXKlassy Kloset Boutique Offers Personal Styling and In-Home Shopping Services
Leah LeMoineJuly 22, 2022
Fashion is part of the fabric of the Swan family. Matriarch Tequilla met her husband when they were working at a clothing store in Milwaukee and her son started his own apparel brands after the family moved to Chandler. Now she and daughters Janet and Tara run Klassy Kloset Boutique, an online women’s retailer with personal styling and in-home shopping services. “I used to be an influencer for other brands,” Tara says. “I’m like, ‘Why...
After years of decay, these mid-century motor lodges are bouncing back. The Aloha A retro beach atmosphere permeates this 1950 property in Chandler, which reopened in May following a three-year renovation. alohaarizona.com Egyptian Motor Hotel A 1950s shrine to Egyptian kitsch in the Grand Avenue District, the Egyptian reopened this spring with a rock ’n’ roll vibe and modern Mexican pop-up from Chilte. egyptianmotorhotel.com High Country Motor Lodge Mountain vibes meet 1960s design meets an...