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Along with Valentine’s Day, today is Arizona’s 100th birthday. On Feb. 14th, 1912, Arizona received its statehood. While our great state has been getting a lot of negative press lately, I can confidently say that living here is absolutely wonderful. I’ve lived in the Phoenix area for almost 25 years and I’ve never questioned it.

The heat (and yes, it’s a dry heat) is comforting for me; summertime is my favorite time of year. The desert landscapes are beautiful and the sunsets are unbelievable. The art and design communities are blossoming, we have unique and tasty restaurants, and the broad range of terrain is surprising for many. Just two hours from the desert valley of Phoenix is the snowy mountain town of Flagstaff. I’ve traveled a lot in my short life and no place (even Paris) has felt quite as nice as Arizona. Plus, we have the Grand Canyon, Steve Nash, and plenty of scorpion lollipops.

Happy birthday, Arizona. Here’s to another 100.

Loving these hand-drawn Star Wars posters by Christopher Lee. He captures the key characters and scenes from each film in charming illustration. While Return of the Jedi is my favorite of the three, I think the original film’s poster is my favorite. And at only $35 each, it won’t break the bank to order all of them.

I’ve been a pop music fan as long as I can remember. When I was 7 my dad took me to Sam Goody where I picked out two of my first CDs. The first was the soundtrack to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and the second was the soundtrack to The Bodyguard. I didn’t particularly love the film at that age, but boy did I love Whitney Houston. Her powerful, soulful vocals got me hooked on sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs music. Her version of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You is iconic, legendary, and has become a litmus test for every diva singer to participate in a television singing competition. (Remember the Taiwanese kid?)

When I was in third grade, my teacher Miss Leitzen created an end of the year slideshow set to touching background music like Dionne Warwick’s That’s What Friends Are For and Whitney’s The Greatest Love Of All. Even now, that song makes me tear up, remembering all the potential we knew we had. Whitney Houston’s voice was powerfully distinct, incomparable to many for several decades. With a surprisingly short discography list, she’s the most awarded female artist of all time and the 4th best-selling female artist in the United States. And although the end of her life and career was turbulent, she left us with some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded that I’ll be singing for the rest of my life.

As if CanvasPop wasn’t cool enough, now they’re offering your Instagram photos printed on canvas for a surprisingly affordable price. Instagram turns your ordinary photos into fun, filtered pieces and now you can turn them into one-of-a-kind art for your home. I just ordered a few of my Instagram photos and I can’t wait to see how they turn out!