Living It Up! Editor's Blog

March 2011

I love St. Patrick's Day. It is one of my favorite holidays  and I am not even Irish -- although I married a man who is part Irish (you can tell by his red beard). I think I love St. Patrick's Day because it's all about the green. And come March I need some green in my life. And so while we didn't focus on St. Paddy's Day this March issue we do encourage you to Think Green.

We are also bringing you what I consider a chance to get a little bit of the pot at the end of the rainbow with our gardening giveaway in  our Deal Diva section. You can win $20 gift certificate to a nursery in your area.

Our parenting story in our Live Section talks about ways to get your kids outside and our Taste section has a great article on how to start your own garden.

So go get your green on this month. Shake off winter and get ready for spring.

May it be a lucky month

Rachelle Hughes.

 

 

 

December 2010

Every month I think "How am I going to pull this magazine off?" And somehow, it always manages to happen. I love our December issue. It is beautiful and varied and has so much to offer. I have a wonderful support team of writers, photographers, readers, computer gurus, and graphic designer. They are phenomenal. And that is why every month we pull this magazine into something beautiful.

This month we have a whole slew of supportive businesses bringing you some of the best giveaways in Southern Utah. Starting December 11th you can enter daily to win one of our great prizes in our Deal Diva section. I am giddy with delight at the stuff Alive! gets to give its readers. So register with Alive! (it's free) and get ready to enter daily to win.

Many of my best holiday memories are connected to delicious food. And so, of course, we had to bring you an amazing Taste section this month. We have (my favorite) a story on gingerbread houses with a great photo gallery of ideas, entertaining tips from caterers and a traditional family recipe for homemade donuts. We hope you will find some new ideas to enhance your Christmas memories this season.

Please take a look at our site we hope it brings you holiday cheer and inspiration this month.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Alive! Utah

Building a gingerbread house always

 

November 2010

I find great satisfaction in the idea of Thansgiving. As the year winds to a close we look back over the passing months and find gratitude. In so doing we feel moved upon to give back.

Southern Utah is notoriously great at giving back to its community. Every day people and organizations find ways to make their community better. I love Utah South for this reason. And so this month we tried to find stories that epitomized this virtue. In Explore we hear the story of how the local service projects of the Lions Club reached out to touch people across the world.

In our Discuss section we rounded up good deeds in progress and good deeds done. Find out ways you can help.

And our featured business of the month is Anderton Orthodontics a business that takes great pleasure in giving back to its patients and the community. Plus they are a ton of fun.

There is as always a ton more in this issue. We have some fun photo galleries including a hunter's gallery and fall photo gallery in Explore.

And we have a great how to for all our crafters out there. Check out the how to make an Autumn Rag Rug, if you are feeling your crafty provident living side this fall.

Perhaps the most exciting thing on our site this month is all the videos. We have tons of them. Our featured trail shows videos of Birch Hollow Rappel. Our applaud section introduces you to the performances of some lady cowboy poets and our getting to know you section is a video tour all about getting to know our site. Thanks CTV12 for that amazing video.

Enjoy.

 

October 2010

I took a few moments today to drive to Paragonah to the pumpkin patch with my girls and some of my friends and their kids. My daughters and I got a little greedy with the pumpkins, but in our defense there were so many beautiful plump harbingers of fall ripe for the picking. I love fall and October is my favorite fall month. I love harvest time and apples and pumpkins and halloween. I love bundling up in a sweater on crisp mornings and I love the russet, gold and auburn color of fall. So obviously our October issue is all about fall.

Halloween is coming and we want to help you get in the eery, playful mood of this holiday.

Discover the history of Southern Utah's abondoned ghost towns and graveyards in our Feature this month

Visit our parenting article for some inexpensive costume ideas and a how to make a tutu.

Win an amazing Halloween Carols CD in our Deal Diva blog.

Apple Harvest equals Apple Pie in our Taste section this month

And don't miss the colorful paintings of Fiona Phillips and her glamorous work in our Applaud section.

This is a photo heavy issue make sure you check out the Fall Photos gallery in Explore. We are accepting submissions for this gallery. Email editor@aliveutah.com with your fall photos.

As always look around and Happy Hauntings and Fall Fun this month.

 

September 2010

We took a small break in August. Yes, we were off celebrating summer but we were also planning -- planning for our best issue yet. I am literally overflowing with giddy anticipation to share all the fantastic stories and features we have for you this month.

The bell has rung and kids from preschool to college are back in school. So of course, we decided we needed some back to school stories to get Southern Utah back in the swing of a more scheduled life.

Abbey Kyhl photographs some of Southern Utah's best dressed students in Back To School -- Southern Utah Style

A few tween makeup tips aid parents in the makeup battle in our story Tween Makeup Tips -- Beautiful Boundaries

For our mom's needing a sense of humor as they get ready to take on PROJECTS, read our Giggle section this month.

There are lots more but I am going to let you do your own research.

Every month we feature one of Southern Utah's communities. This month we feature Cedar City -The good, the beautiful and even some of the ugly in our Feature and our Discuss sections.

I could go on and on. There really is a little something for everyone in this issue. Go explore and make sure you check out these treasures.

A GIVEAWAY for a sandwich a day for the rest of the year from Gondolfo's.

An ancient trail in Escalante.

An interview with two baseball greats Mitch Talbot and little leaguer Zach Brinkerhoff. Their stories are amazing and inspiring.

We hope you enjoy the issue. Join our site and comment in our forums about what you want to see in the upcoming months. And check back later in the month. We always like to throw a few mid month surprises in there.

Rachelle Hughes - Editor

July 2010

July is the best month of summer. Don't you agree? We get to celebrate our patriotism to our country and our state this month, two times. I love July. It is a month for families and water and memories. We hope you will read our articles on veterans and soldiers in our Discuss and Getting to Know You sections.

We are also thinking of ways to cool off and have some absolutely tasty ways to make homemade ice cream in our Taste section. Our writer Amy Rigby takes us on a fantastic hike with a refreshing waterfall and wading pool as its destination in our Vitalize section. And we let you know about the swim teams for youth in several areas of Southern Utah.

Finally, summer theater has arrived and we have plenty of characters taking our stages. We would like to introduce you to a few characters in our Applaud section.

Hidden Gems: Read our Smash Burger vs. In-N-Out review and weigh in on your favorite burger with our poll found in our Taste section.

Play hard!

 

 

Southern Utah is finally living up to its sunny warm name. Summer is here and I am ready to play in the sun, dig in the dirt, hike the mountains and get some good Utah Shakespearean Festival plays under my belt.

June is a busy month in Southern Utah and we tried our best to bring you some diversity. We pay homage to fatherhood with an essay by Amy Rigby on the lessons she learned from working with her Father one summer. Make sure you check out one dedicated Dad -- Casey McClellan, Director of the Utah Summer Games in our Getting to Know You Section.

Summer is also the time for weddings and this month we honor the June bride by offering a few suggestions for bridesmaid gifts and ways to honor traditions. Next month we will continue our series of wedding articles with a bright and vivid piece on Wedding Accessories.

Of course we always have a few hidden gems. This month check out the article on the Red Dirt little league baseball team heading to the famed Cooperstown this month in our Explore section.

We hope you enjoy the issue and check back throughout the month. We will be adding a few more features as the month goes on.