Noshtopia Phoenix

Turning Yucky Mobile Phone Food Pictures Into Beautiful Things With Picnik

 

Here's some of the bread that you get at St. Francis. So yummy that place.

I'm into month two of my six month iPhone food picture taking experiment, where I ditched my fancy Nikon DSLR for the iPhone to take all my food pictures. I love the convenience of the iPhone, but it's still only a 3 mega-pixel camera with no flash capability. I'm also not the type to take a picture and then straight upload. Oh no! The creative in me needs to do some prettying up of the photo before it hits any of my blogs, tweets or Facebook.

So, you know how you find a new software or application and just get so super excited about it that you just gotta tell everyone...or in my case blog about it. Well, let me share with you Picnik, an online photo-editing application that is a miracle maker in my book.

And no, they are not paying me or giving me anything for this review. I found Picnik on my own because I wanted something cheap and could do things like Photoshop because I can't afford Photoshop which I had on my laptop before I got the viruses and had to strip everything. Of course, I left my original Photoshop install CDs back in California.

I tried the free version of Picnik and dug it so much, I got the paid version because I wanted access to all the effects and I wanted to see NO ads. Yes, you have to pay to not see ads and I'm good with that because well Picnik is cheap, uh I mean, affordable. Let me tell you, for the price of a Starbucks coffee drink per month, this is one of the best deals you are going to find on the web. I can totally see why Google just acquired them.

In fact, I'll stop talking for a moment and just show you a simple Before/After example of some wine. (Note: Click on any of the photos to see a larger version.)

 
 

The original shot was taken on my iPhone 3GS in a private room at a menu tasting event at Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar. In the After picture, all I did was some cropping, added a vignette effect, and then used a cool effect called "focal soften" which gives you that hot clear spot where the wine glasses are and then soft fading out. The After photo feels warmer like you're at a nice steakhouse which Fleming's is.

Picnk also has a "frame" effect called "Before & After" which created the comparison shot you see here. They are thinking about bloggers {wink}.

Here's another example with steak and green beans that just blew me away. 

 

Big difference, huh? I feel like Picnik saved this "Before" mobile phone picture from photo yuckiness. The steak alone looks so much tastier. Looking at the "After" picture would you guess that it was taken with a cell phone? Photo experts might but not the average blog reader.

And again, it was very simple. In effects, I just boosted up the exposure, saturation, and contrast. I added some warmth in the "temperature" setting. Then I used the same "focal soften" effect. Voila! That's it.

Now check out this pistachio hot mess. (Again, click on the image to see a larger version. You'll really be able to appreciate the difference in the two photos when you see it large.)

 
 

Well? Oh yeah, rescue! Again, I boosted the exposure, saturation, and contrast. Made the photo more "warm" versus cool in the "temperature" effect. I went into "curves" to take away some of the blue, then added the "Matte" effect which adds that white glow on the edges of the photo, and to make the center pop even more, added the "focal soften" effect.

As you can see, I'm a huge fan of the "focal soften" effect. I really like how that effect just warms up the food and makes it feel inviting. The effect also adds some dramatic flair by making the viewer's eye go to the best part of the whole image.

There are a whole other bunch of effects on Picnik which can get pretty wild or goofy like stuff you see in scrapbooks...no offense. You can add holiday border themes like Easter or St. Patrick's. You can add "stickers." You can create collages, photo shows, and order prints. You can connect and get access to all your photos on major sites like Facebook, Flickr, and Photobucket.

But best, this app is easy, fun, and simple. I like all the presets to make instant changes, but also there is the flexibility to do some advanced stuff for those who are more fancy schmancy photo enthusiasts. Again, Picnik is no Photoshop, but it can do some pretty darn cool things much easier for us who like simple and are avid mobile device users.

From An Everyday Arizona Citizen: Before You Boycott Our State...

...I'm asking...no actually, respectfully imploring...that you stop for a moment and think about and consider this before you boycott our state.

People before politics.

The ones who will actually suffer from your boycott are the citizens, us the everyday people like me, of Arizona. The media and the other politicians across the nation keep focusing on the Arizona politicians who voted this bill in but what about the voice of the people here? Who in the media and in Washington is thinking about us because I can tell you from ground level that all my friends here are so against this bill. Thankfully, there are blogs and social networking sites where we the people can speak up and be heard.

So today, thank you for taking a moment to listen to a resident of Arizona and not a politician. People before politics.

Because my heart is in such pain over this, for the first time in my 5 year blogging career, I'm talking politics on my blog not because I care about politics but because I care very much in fact about the people of Arizona and how we are going to suffer the financial and economic fallout of the very narrow minded and self-serving actions of certain politicians who currently have power in office.

The politicians who voted this unwise bill in will continue to pound their chests and keep fighting their position to the nation while in the meantime, the people and our families of Arizona will suffer economically as a result.

Who actually voted this bill into law?

The media has focused on the politicians and whatever inciting information they can get their hands on to make our state and everyone who lives here look evil. In your decision to boycott our state or not, please consider this information too:

The people, the citizens of Arizona, did not vote this bill into law. The politicians did. And when I say politicians, I'm not talking about leaders who think of the higher good for all concerned, I'm talking about politicians who are focused on agenda...and their own agenda to be specific. In this case, it was politics before people.

What this bill is actually about

In my opinion, and you can disagree with me, this bill is not about what is best for the people or state of Arizona, it is about frustration and a fight of power and control with the Obama administration. This is about politics and power not people. This is about ego not heart.

Yes, we have serious problems with the border, Yes, there were promises made to make immigration a priority. And yes, this is the best solution the current politicians of Arizona could come up with. Yes, it is all bad and frustrating, but this bill and boycotting the state are not the solutions to make a bad problem become better.

Gandhi fought a war with no guns. He's proven that humans can find peaceful solutions to really bad situations. I believe we can evolve and stop fighting ego against ego. I believe we can stop doing the same old thing and making this about who's right and who's wrong, and simply focus on what is the right thing to do for all concerned. No one will get everything they want and this immigration situation may never be ideal but I believe we can be rational and compromise.

Help us rather than punish us. Compassion before combating.

Within over a week this bill passed the House, the Senate, and was signed by the Governor. What say or influence did the people have in this process? Obviously, very little. Again, the people, the voting population of Arizona did not vote this bill into law, our politicians did, and as a citizen I can tell you that these politicians absolutely do not speak for me or the many, many others who live here.

So please, do remember to separate the people of Arizona from our politicians when saying that Arizona sucks. Because in this specific situation, I agree with you, our politicians totally suck on their problem-solving ability related to immigration and problems at the border. We the people who live here are doing what we can to get this bill overturned and get back some kind of power because this bill is wrong on so many levels, but mainly it is just wrong on a human level, on a heart level.

What we the people of Arizona need is not for you to boycott our state, and combat anger with anger but for you to help us find ways or spark ideas to get this bill overturned in a way that does not make innocent everyday people suffer in the process.

I get that you're all pissed and want to do something, I'm with you! If you gotta punish someone, punish the actions of the politicians not us the people. We're struggling to live right now, and boycotting is going to make it worse for us.

Please have some compassion for the people who live in our state. People before politics. If you say you're about humanity, than also think about the humanity of the everyday people who live here and how we are supposed to eat, pay rent and mortgages, buy gas and basically just live. I gotta believe that you also can't support actions to punish the people along with the politicians. I gotta believe that we as a nation and as a world can be way more creative and smarter than to fight this bill with economic starvation of the state because again by taking that route we are putting politics before people.

Why I a minority, female, small business owner love Arizona

I can share with you personally, I am feeling enormous pain in my heart because the people here are so warm and friendly. I moved here from California, Silicon Valley to be specific, and I can tell you that my experience here has been nothing short of wonderful and amazing. Moving to Phoenix is one of the best things I've done in my life. I've made more friends here in 6 months than I have in the last 3 years living in California.

As a single, minority female, small business owner related to social media and healthy living, I have also experienced more economic opportunity here than I did in Silicon Valley. Why? Because there is less competition and more opportunity. The cost of living is 1/2 of what I was paying before so my run rate is much longer and less stressful.

The people here actually care about you the person, not who's funding you, who's your power friends, or how your agenda can facilitate their agenda. And yeah, you get to wear shorts and t-shirts on Thanksgiving and Christmas day because it's 75 degrees, and the desert is beautiful with the red rocks and rich Orange sunsets.

Don't take to heart all the statistics the news is feeding you

This statistic and similar ones like it that has been widely used in the news that says to the effect, "Arizona Voters Favor Welcoming Immigration Policy, 64% Support New Immigration Law" is sourced primarily from Rasmussen Reports, a company that does public polling. The analytics geek in me always wants to know the source and specifics of any statistic I see especially when it's an alarming stat because stats can easily be manipulated to be made much worse than in actuality.

In their polls about this immigration law, Rasmussen publicly reveals the questions asked of the respondents and how many people they polled. In the latest poll about this immigration law where the claim that 64% of Arizona voters support this bill is actually 500 "Likely Voters"...yes only 500 Arizona citizens were polled by Rasmussen on 4/27/10.

So essentially, only 320 people who live in Arizona, who may or may not vote, support this bill, according to this poll. The city of Phoenix alone is 1.5 million people, and the 5th largest city in the U.S. 320 people does not represent the entire voting population nor the voice of the people of Arizona.

Is it time to boycott?

Thank you again for taking the time to read this, just one voice of an everyday person who lives in Arizona. If you choose to boycott our state, I may not like your decision but I can accept it. We can't change people only ourselves. But before you make that decision and take action, I ask you again to think about people before politics. The great leaders and people of our generation are the ones who will be able to affect change and transform people's hearts because they have transformed their own heart. Let's seek our hearts to give us the wisdom we need to make things right.

Enjoying a Cheesetastic Time at Petit Fromage and D’licious Dishes

 

Friend Kirti, @diyamarketing told me that we must absolutely go and visit Lara Hardwick at her artisan cheese and charcuterie shop Petit Fromage in Phoenix. Luckily for me, I can eat goat and sheep milk based cheeses because if I couldn't then going to an artisan cheese shop would have just been absolute torture as I so miss the cow milk cheeses especially extra sharp Cheddar and Gouda.

  

Petit Fromage is actually in a corner section of D’licious Dishes, a food co-op. I thought I was lost for a second because I saw the street address I got from Google, but on the outside of the building it said D’licious Dishes. In the window is a sign for Petit Fromage, so don't worry, you're not losing your mind. You might also see this very cute bike with a bunch of flowers in the basket parked out front.

 

I walk into the place and immediately, I'm loving the atmosphere. If I were to get into food but not ready to open a full on restaurant or store, I would totally do something like this food co-op. In fact, I can see this business model taking off to help independent and local food makers start off without breaking their backs opening a whole new place on their own.

So, Kirti and I take a seat at Lara's counter and she whips out a few selections of various goat and sheep cheeses. I think we ate about a total of seven different cheeses, and forgive me but I couldn't remember them all. But, what I do remember is how amazing a cheese can be made from the same milk like a goat but taste so differently.

I also really just enjoyed watching Lara cut all the cheeses and listening to her talk about cheese. This woman definitely knows cheese, and it's heartwarming for me to see people live their passions, and make a living doing it.

My two favorite cheeses of the day were sheep: a Pecorino Dolce and a Farmstead Manchego from Spain. I ended up buying a hunk of the Pecorino because I loved the smooth sweet flavor and I wanted to use the cheese on a pasta dish I was planning on making for dinner the next day.

 

After the cheese sampling, Kirti and I decide to get some lunch type foods at the main counter as you walk into the co-op. There are all kinds of heavenly foods in the glass case like these vegetable stuffed Portobellos.

 

And then this garlicy kale salad and a golden beets salad. If you're vegetarian or just in the mood for some really delicious looking vegetables D’licious Dishes sure has a plethora of choices. They also had these mini turkey meat loaf things which looked absolutely noshtastic and I'll have to get next time. Their menu also contains a plethora of sandwiches and green salads.

 

On this visit, I got a the chicken andouille sausage gumbo with a slice of Ciabatta bread...

 

...and a half pint of the Black Eyed Peas salad which was soaked in something tangy. I even ate some of this salad for breakfast the next day for some non-meat protein.

 

Now, the most mouth watering thing I see up front in the sweets section are theses S'Mores sticks. OMG! They looked so good and I came *this close* to buying one, but I refrained because I knew I was going to have dessert at night, and because I'm sugar weaning, I can only do one sugary dessert a day not two. Besides, it gives me another reason to come back. 

 

And speaking of some more sweets, these chocolate dipped rice krispy treats also caught my sweet-tooth. Mouth-watering ay!

 

On the right side of the co-op is a lovely seating area with walls of wines. This place would actually be a cool hangout for a first date as it is casual yet has so many interesting things going on. If the date goes bad you can still eat good and scoot early, but if the date turns into one of those, I could spend hours with you, then you could most definitely do that here at the D’licious Dishes.

If you see Lara at Petit Fromage, do say hi to her as she is so friendly and warm. You'll definitely learn about cheese from her!

Picture: The Rays at Sola Coffee

Had a great time hanging out with @loribryan at Sola Coffee this morning. She leaves but I stay to blog. I notice the sun rays streaming over my cup of rice milk latte. It feels like a divine presence is here :)

Blog posted here.

Tasting New Noshy Bites At Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar

 

Last week, the folks at Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar held a tasting menu event at their Chandler location to showcase some of their newest menu selections. But before I get to what we ate, I just want to say a big huge thank you to them for letting me bring my parents to the event. Now it probably doesn't seem like that big of deal, but to me it was because it was a chance for my parents to see some of what I do as a food blogger/social media persona because they are proud of me, but they don't really know...exactly...what it is I do. Now, they got to not just see but partake.

To sum it all up, dad said at the end of the evening, "Boy, you get to do some really fun and neat stuff. I'm impressed." This is happy news to my ears coming from my dad who explains what I do for living as, "Oh, she does that blog stuff."

Before we go on to the yummy foods, as a quick side note and interesting factoid, the Corporate Executive chef of Fleming's, Russell Skall is based here in Phoenix metro and he heads the menu development of all the Fleming's nationwide, which is 28 states. Chef Russell evens tweets @RussellOnSteak. Marian Jansen op de Haar is Fleming's National Wine Director and she is the one who heads wine management, and yes, she tweets too @MarianOnWine. Pretty coolio!

Let's nosh...

We start off the event with a glass of Simonnet-Febvre Cremant De Bourgogne Brut which indeed is a mouthful to say but it was quite delicious in my mouth. I have to say of all the drinks we had that night, this Brut was my favorite mostly because it's sweet.

 


With the Brut, there is a cheese and fruit platter with things like a Sage Derby, Guinness Cheddar, Gouda, and some Goat cheese as a special for me since I can't eat the cow milk based cheeses.

 

Before we get to the tastings, Candy the Wine Manager gives us a little lesson and demo about the wines at Fleming's and the wines we'll be sampling during the evening. Besides the Brut, we got to taste a 2007 Sanford Chardonnay from Santa Barbara County, and a 2006 Frog's Leap Merlot from Rutherford, CA. Frog's Leap by the way is owned by actor Robin Williams' brother John, and prides itself on sustainable farming and growing their grapes organically which is a big thumbs up in my book.

 

First up are these Lump Crab Louis Wraps in butter lettuce, with avocado, bacon, egg, tomato, and chives. I picked the eggs out, but this by far was my favorite of the evening. It was fun to roll up the wraps and eat them with your fingers. These wraps were so delicious I could have eaten just those.

 

Here we have a Roasted Mushroom Ravioli with Portobello and Shiitake mushrooms in a Porcini butter sauce. What's cool about these ravioli is that you can also order them vegan style. They will use a vegetable stock instead of butter.

Here's a sampling of the Peppercorn Steak which is a Prime New York Strip with cracked black and white peppercorns. On the side is Sauteed French Green Beans with Shiitake mushrooms and Porcini essence.

 

The steak was tender and tasty but the break out star for me was the Flemings F-17 sauce which is absolutely awesome. I love it...can you tell! In fact, I think they should bottle the F-17 and sell it on its own. I like the sauce because it has an intriguing combo of sweet and tangy, and on the peppercorn steak it helps cool down the pepper.

  

For sides besides the French Green Beans, there is also the Roasted Baby Carrots tossed with golden raisins and toasted California mission almonds. I really enjoyed the raisins as a way to jazz up the carrots because as you know, I'm not a fan of plain baby carrots....reminds me of dieting. These carrots however, are delicious.

I didn't get good pictures of these dishes, but there is also a Tillamook Bay Petrale Sole that comes with crab beignettes, and a Sanford Chard. The crab beignettes were interesting. I like the crab but the breading was a bit heavy for me. And there is the Fleming's version of Niçoise salad where they use a nice hunk of pan seared salmon and two deviled eggs. I really wish I could have gotten a picture of that dish because the plate presentation of it was beautiful.

We got a chance to chat with Chef Michael, the head chef at the Chandler restaurant. He's a very nice man, and he did share with me two very cool Noshtopia loving things. First, there are allergy specific menus for those of us with food allergies like dairy-free, peanut-free, seafood-free, and gluten-free. Yay! So be sure to ask for those special menus if you're like me and have the allergies.

As well, they can take items on the regular menu and tweak them to accommodate allergies or preferences. And really cool, at every Fleming's, they have their main menu in Braille for the blind. I've almost never heard of that, so in my book, thinking about that detail is pretty impressive.

Next time you go to Fleming's, check out the new menu items, and if you like crab, definitely get the Crab Louis Wraps because they are light and friendly for those who are carb conscious or gluten-free.

Note: All pictures were taken with an iPhone 3GS in a faintly lit private room at Flemings, and thanks to the photo-editing miracles of Picnik, I was able to get the pics to turn out much nicer than I expected.

A Peek Inside Mom's Lumpia

 

For those not acquainted with Filipino food, lumpia is our version of an egg roll...which fortunately for me has no egg in it so I can eat it. My mom's version is one of the best you'll ever try, and I'm not saying that just because she's my mom.

Everyone who has ever eaten her lumpia has loved it and cannot just eat one. Whenever I have hosted dinner parties, everyone always asks if I'll have any of mom's lumpia. Often, mom will give me a bunch of frozen ones to keep on hand to use as such occasions.

When my folks came to visit last week, mom actually packed some of her freshly made lumpia in her suitcase. Oh how she loves me and knows me so well! Luckily, the lumpias were frozen and the flight from the SF Bay Area is short.

Lumpia comes in two basic manners: either fresh or fried. For the fried version, there are multiple ways to make lumpia. One common is Shanghai style which is basically just ground meat like pork rolled up in a lumpia wrapper. And the other common style is a meat, veggie, seafood combination rolled up in the lumpia wrapper. My mom makes the second kind, and here's a peek in the delicious middle.

 

As for her recipe, I will post it one day, but I've tried to make it and it just cannot come close to how she makes it. Why? Mom (like all mom's do, I believe) has one ingredient that you can't get anywhere, and this is that special mom dust. You know what I'm talking about. It's that magical pinch of something that only the mom or dad has that makes the dish so much better than everyone else using the exact same ingredients.

For now, we'll just enjoy eating the lumpia for as long as we can!

Power of Divine Essence Macarons

Normally, I'd wait until I got to my laptop before doing a post. But today, I got so excited about these macarons at Essence Bakery in Tempe that I couldn't wait to share.

So, I'm tap blogging this post on my iPhone while I sit on the patio here at Essence on this beautiful Phoenix Spring day enjoying an organic drip coffee with soy milk, and two macarons: Pumpkin Spice and French chocolate.

To sum up the macarons in 3 letters: OMG!

That's it. Simply divine noshtastic. It was worth the drive all the way from Nordale. The macarons have dairy in them but I'm going to partake because my sweet tooth is raging today and instead of fighting it, I'm just gonna flow with the tide, metaphorically.

This morning, a friend on Facebook recommended I check out their fanpage, so I did, and being the sweetaholic that I am, the first thing I check out is the dessert menu. I see these gorgeous pictures of macarons and I start drooling so I get out of bed, get dressed, and haul myself down to Tempe. I was planning on hanging out at a cafe to read a book anyway, so I thought I'd try a new place.

I have to say that I'm happy I came to Essence Bakery. One super cool thing about their macaron choices is that they a few organic ones as well. Nice! Next time I'll try the food as the breakfast and lunch menu look delicious. For now, I'm in cakey macaron heaven. Please enjoy the pictures and come get a macaron.

Something Sweet While The Laptop Is In The Hospital

Turns out my laptop caught a whole bunch of nasty viruses so it's at the computer hospital getting a complete do-over. I did this post on my iPhone. Before I took the laptop in, I noshed on some chocolate Pocky. Gotta love this Japanese sweet treat, so please enjoy until I can get to regular laptop blogging :)

Noshing On Some Filipino Desserts With The 'Rents

I thought today I'd introduce you to some Filipino desserts, a few of my favorites in particular. First, here we have some mango juice which I was happy to see only had only cane sugar and no HFCS. In the hotels in the Philippines, they serve fresh mango juice along side orange and apple, and if you've never had fresh mango juice, oh my, go and juice some mangos right now. It's fabulous!

I picked up my parents at the airport yesterday, and it's about noon time and of course, they want to eat because if you know anything about Filipino parents, it's all about the food. So, I suggest that we go to Jeepney Bistro and get some Filipino food because I haven't had any for a couple months now.

 

I also wanted dad to try Jeepney's adobo because I told him it was better than his. Dad tried the adobo and he thought it was good but of course, it isn't better than his {wink}. He thinks the heat is messing with my mind.

Eating at Jeepney Bistro this time around, we got desserts because one of my weaknesses is Filipino dessert. I'm not supposed to eat most of it because there's milk, cheese, and eggs in them. I'm more reactive to eggs so I stay clear of those as humanly possible, but milk is something I'll make exceptions for like these two.

 

First up, mom is craving Halo Halo which is basically a bunch of exotic fruits, shaved ice, and condensed milk. Fun factoid: In episode 7 of season 4 of Top Chef, for the dessert Quick Fire challenge Dale Talde made Halo Halo - albeit a more Americanized version.

In Jeepney's version, besides fruits they also add two scoops of Ube ice cream. I am amazed at the ginormous size of this Halo Halo, it's practically movie theater popcorn bucket size. I put a water bottle next to it to show you scale.

The fruits in there are things like palm fruit, macapuno (coconut flesh), jackfruit, plantains, red mung beans, and corn. I know it sounds weird to have veggies in a dessert but it really is delicious.

 

Here we have Biko one of my favorites because its basically sweet rice with coconut. This Biko had sweet rice, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, and toasted coconut shavings. This is a great dessert for me because it has no dairy, oh and a bonus it's gluten free.

Do check out the desserts when noshing at Jeepney Bistro. The place gets thumbs up from my parents.

Did This Cultural Creative Make A Mistake Moving To Phoenix?

 

Sunday marks my official 6 months as a Phoenix resident. This week Arizona's House of Representatives passed an immigration bill that makes it a crime to be in the US illegally. The police here would have the right to ask anyone they "suspect" is illegal for documentation proving that they are in the US legally.

Basically it's racial profiling because really what non-stereotypical clues would you look for in someone you "suspect" of being illegal. It's not like you can see some big bulge in a pocket or catch a certain twitch in the eye that says, "Hey, I'm illegal!" What does the "I'm an illegal" walk of guilt look like?

Some of my friends wonder out loud

Some of my friends back in the San Francisco Bay Area where I used to live asked me what kind of gun-carrying backward state did I move to. For a moment, I started to wonder too because technically under this new bill if passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, I could get pulled over if I look suspicious to a cop for whatever reason and get randomly asked for my papers since I'm Asian and could be an immigrant. I would be very pissed if that happened.

How could you tell by looking at me that I was illegal or that I was born in Connecticut, and have lived in this country my entire life like any other white American? Would my Canadian or European friends ever be "suspected" of being illegals because they too could have ditched out on their Visas or skipped the border. I realize the intent behind this bill is to target those from Mexico, but the bill is written as a general statement to anyone who is illegally here in the US, so technically anyone could be deemed suspect.

Indeed, the news of this bill un-nerves me because it could personally affect me, but mainly it is just wrong on all kinds of levels. I get that there is a very big and serious problem in this state dealing with the border and illegals, but a law like this isn't going to fix the problem, and in my opinion is going to make things worse. I would really hate to be a cop right now because they are being put in a really bad place.

Are we helping or hurting our state?

My two cents, this law will not help the reputation of our state, but instead hinder it. Those for the passing of the bill will argue that it shows we're being tough and not taking it anymore. In reality, it shows that we think the only solution to the immigration issues is through force. Is force really the only solution? 

Gandhi fought a war with the British and won without any guns. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired people to look at their humanity and see beyond color. We may not have great leaders like those two here in Arizona, but I'd like to think we can be level-minded, and can collectively figure out something more rational and neutral to solve our problems here without force. I realize that I'm being idealistic in a state where it is legal to carry a gun into a bar, but again America was built on and thrives on dreams.

The news of this bill is creating PR for our state that is painting a really ugly one-sided picture of really a beautiful and friendly place. In my 6 months here, I'm still happily amazed at how friendly everyone I've met here is. In fact, I've made more friends here in 6 months than I have in the last 3 years in California. Here I see plenty of opportunity.

The awesomeness that is Arizona

 

There is a reason Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the US and one built mainly because of people moving here. It's rare to meet a native born and raised here. Not all is backward and effed up in Arizona or else no one would move here. In fact, [via CNNMoney], here are the top 7 states in the US that people are leaving more than coming in and Arizona is not on that list. California, my former home state, is #1.

In the bigger scheme of things, Arizona is no different than any other state in the US that has problems and has leaders that are making ridiculous decisions. Yeah, this bill is a doozie, but we can equally point the finger to any other state who's done backward things.

Let's remember we have democracy here and if we put those leaders in, we can take them out and put new ones in. We as a people here can take action and say no to this kind of behavior from our leadership. This bill hasn't passed the Senate nor has it been signed by the governor yet, so there is still a chance to put the major squeeze on and get this bill denied. I say we do that. How is the next question.

I made the best decision for me 

 

Me, a cultural creative, left California for a multitude of reasons, and even though there are things and ideologies I don't agree with or support here in Arizona, I am still glad I moved here. At the end of the year, we'll see, but for now I'll focus on why I came here to Phoenix in the first place and what I enjoy:

• I love the beauty of the desert and the magnificence of the mountains.

• There is plenty of wide open space, and the traffic here is minor compared to California. You can turn left almost everywhere, and "expensive" parking downtown is $12. In SF, you'd easily pay $35 for downtown parking.

• The cost of living is 1/3 that of the Bay Area...at least what I was paying. I have almost all the same stores and quality of life I had back there without the stress of having to work to live. I get to have a life here, and can buy a house as a single person. There is no way I could afford to buy a home on my own in the Bay Area without breaking myself working to afford anything decent. I don't have the culture of San Francisco nor the multitude of food options the Bay Area provided, but there are plenty of great places to eat here and it's expanding as more culture creatives and city folks move here.

• It doesn't snow here unless you go to the outer parts of the state, and it's Spring weather on Thanksgiving and Christmas day. This year I wore shorts while I was cutting the Thanksgiving turkey. When it rains here, it's not freezing cold and doesn't last long. Yeah, it gets Africa hot here in the summer, but I'd rather deal with the heat and wear shorts, then have to shovel snow, drive in ice and dress for the freezing cold.

• The social media community is very supportive and growing, and everyone I've met has been very open. This is key for me since I am a professional blogger and publisher of content.

• The New York Times is going to be opening a bureau in Phoenix later this year. This is really exciting from a journalism standpoint. The NYTimes could have easily put a bureau in much bigger media cities on the west like LA, SF, or Seattle, but chose our Phoenix.

• Because I'm into health and wellness, Dr. Andrew Weil is based here and is part of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at The University of Arizona. The Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine is one of the top 5 Naturopathic Schools in the US and Canada. The Mayo Clinic has their west coast facility based here.

• It's spa and resort mecca in Arizona. In fact, one of Oprah's favorite spa resorts in the US is Miraval in Tucson.

• If you're into sports, we have six professional teams including women's NBA, Spring training for several MLB teams, college sports, and golf up the ying yang.

• I'll say it again, people are really friendly here. As my friend @bmok, another California transplant, would say, it's a big town with small town warmth.

Arizona, thank you for being a wonderful place for so many of us. Can we please now find a more neutral solution to our immigration issues besides this bill?