Jaime’s Local Love: Sparkle Monster

Stacy Marshall of Sparkle Monster creates statement-piece jewelry by bringing digital designs to life! Using laser cut acrylic, she elevates the everyday fashion aesthetic into something more fun and whimsical. Several themes can be found in her jewelry collections such as pop culture, kawaii, retro, and kitsch. Her work often refers to a world where light-heartedness rules.

Her colorful and detailed jewelry pieces can be found on Etsy, Amazon, and at local vendor shows. Using her background from The University of Arizona (Bachelor of Fine Arts), she creates her acrylic jewelry in her home studio where the process begins with a digital design and ends with the hand assembly of each piece.

For more information visit: www.SparkleMonster.com and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glitterpunkcouture/

Piefection

This is the busiest time of year for pies! The folks at Piefection are working to make thousands of pies for Thanksgiving dinner.

For more information: https://www.piefectionaz.com/

Piefection: 6731 E Brown Rd, Mesa, AZ 85205

Turkey Plumbing Tips from Donley Service Center

Donley Service Center is here to share tips on what you should and shouldn’t throw down the drain, so you don’t have to call a plumber this Thanksgiving!

Do’s:

• Before you begin cooking run the garbage disposal while putting ice cubes through it. The ice cubes will sharpen the blades.
• We also suggest quartering a lemon and sending it down the hatch as well to give it a lemony–fresh essence.

Don’ts:

• The biggest no–no is putting potato skins down the drain as the skins will quickly clog
• the pipe.
• Second, the little stickers found on fruits and vegetables often slide off and end up in the drain. That can cause big backups too.
• Finally, be careful about how much you put down the disposal. If you’re scraping everything off your plate into the disposal, you’re going to have problems.

Donley Service Center is available before, during and after all holidays. Water Heaters, video drain inspections, leaks, water softeners, reverse osmosis systems, toilets, faucets, re-piping. For more information visit: www.donleyservice.com or call 602-870-6840 anytime, 24/7, to schedule an appointment or for emergency service.

Tara at the Movies: Knives Out

Daniel Craig trades in James Bond to play a southern private investigator with a great drawl…. while trying to figure out who killed the family patriarch on the eve of his 85th birthday.

For more information on the movie: https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/knives-out

For more information on Tara reviews and interviews visit: https://www.harkins.com/behind-screens

Convergence Ballet presents The Nutcracker Swing

The story of The Nutcracker is a timeless holiday favorite. Convergence Ballet presents a twist on the holiday classic with The Nutcracker Swing featuring the original Tchaikovsky score as well as pieces from Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Sweet, giving audiences the opportunity to see it again, but for the first time.

Performances will be held Friday November 29 at 7:00 PM and Saturday November 20 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM at the new Madison Center for the Arts located at 5601 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ 85016. Tickets are $29 for adults, $19 for children and students and are available online (www.themadison.shovation.com) or by calling (602) 664-7777.

For more information on the Convergence Ballet, visit: www.convergenceballet.org

Convergence Ballet 2326 E Indian School Rd Phoenix, AZ 85016

A Greener Holiday Season: Tips for Reducing Waste and Recycling Right through the Holidays

American’s throw away 25 percent more trash during the Thanksgiving to News Year’s holidays compared to other times of the year. This extra waste amounts to about 1 million extra tons per week.

The holidays are a time of giving and gathering. Reducing waste and recycling during the season are easy ways to demonstrate kindness to the environment and the communities we call home.

• Tips for reducing holiday waste
  • RECYCLING RIGHT: Image of the top six key items to recycle in curbside recycling with Waste Management. CLEAN Beverage Cans, Food Cans, Cardboard, Plastic Water Bottles, Plastic Milk Jugs, Colored Plastic Detergent bottles. (Always check with your city for a list of specific items accepted.)
  • GIFT GIVING:
    • Homemade gifts
    • Gifts-of-Service (such as a certificate for chores or an IOU for a holiday piano recital.)
    • Gifts MADE from recycled materials.
  • ECO FRIENDLY GIFTS
    • Mason jar containing homemade gift and tag
    • Wine hostess/host gift.
    • Glass Vase made from recycled wine bottle by Refresh Glass https://refreshglass.com/ a local Tempe company.
  • GIFT WRAPPING:
    • Reuse boxes, ribbons and gift bags saved from last year. Utilize reusable containers such as tins, baskets and mason jars
    • Wrap gifts with eco-friendly material such as newspaper, old maps, sheet music, fabric or plain brown paper.
    • Use natural elements, like pine cones or sprigs of rosemary/pine to decorate.
    • Save time and resources. Hide unwrapped gifts around the house and make it a game to find the gifts.
  • DECORATING
    • Reuse. Reuse. Reuse. Pull out the decorations from past years.
      • ECO HOLIDAY MINI TREE – Tabletop-sized LIVE tree (plantable rosemary) decorated with DIY garland and ornaments made from reused/recycled materials. (EX: soda pop cans and seed paper ornaments, popcorn garland, etc.)
    • If looking for fun holiday projects for the kids, make a wreath or ornaments by reusing materials you have around the house.
      • ECO WREATH – Made from used plastic grocery bags.
  • ENTERTAINING
    • No. 1 tip is to eliminate all single-use plastics.
      • REUSABLE FLATWARE – set an eclectic table with a mixture of flatware, rather than disposable plastics
      • ECO TABLE SETTING – examples of disposable plates, cups, utensils that are made from earth-friendly materials
  • Set out a labeled recycling bin to collect clean bottles and cans during your holiday parties– to help your guests to know where to dispose of recyclables, including examples of typical holiday items that can be recycled.
• Reducing waste and Recycling Right are both good gifts for the environment
• Recycling remains an important component in protecting our environment. During the holidays, recycling rules are no different than the rest of the year. The ONLY materials that should be put into curbside recycling are: 1) clean METAL CANS, 2) PLASTICS shaped like bottles/jugs/tubs, 3) CARDBOARD, 4) PAPER and 5) in some communities GLASS is recyclable.

For more information about recycling visit www.wm.com/RecycleRight