This year April 22 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and for many the celebration is starting this weekend. If you happen to be in southern California, stop by Santa Barbara’s Earth Day Fest today and tomorrow.

Besides music, eco gadgets and the Green car show, on Sunday Avatar director James Cameron will be there to receive Santa Barbara’s Earth Day Hero award. info

Five easy ways to be green
Here’s a short list of things you can do that will make a big impact. list

When replacing household items look for eco-efficient options — you’ll be amazed at how little things like replacing a leaky faucet or using an energy efficient bulb can make a big difference.

Other Fun
Disney Nature’s Oceans is opening at theaters this Thursday on Earth Day and if you watch during the first week a donation will be made to help preserve coral reefs. Oceans trailer

The Avator DVD is also being released on Earth Day. Why not host an Avatar “wish it were 3D” movie night with your girlfriends? Hand out goofy glasses to viewers and pretend its 3D! where to buy

Whatever you do, try to take a moment and marvel at what a gorgeous planet we live on.

What to try out a spa, but don’t want to spend too much? Spa Week is your chance to try out spa services for $50 — less than half of what services normally cost. Spa Week runs from April 12 -18. For a full list of participating day and resort spas in your area go to spaweek.com.

Appointments are going fast, so book now if you’re interested!

Via: Spa Week

Since Tucson is home to two destination spas we had to include a visit to at least one during our weekend visit. We’d all booked a Spa Day Pass at Canyon Ranch which included a 50 minute spa service, lunch and unlimited access to Canyon Ranch’s fitness classes and activities. Established over 30 years ago in Tucson, Canyon Ranch was one of the first destination spas in the US. Now with several locations around the country it’s a regular on Travel & Leisure’s Top 10 Destination Spa list.

On Saturday after a quick check-in, we found ourselves at Canyon Ranch’s hiking center. Outfitted with a pair of high-powered Bushnell binoculars and a day pack, we headed out for an early morning bird watching walk. It was a gorgeous Arizona spring day and the birds didn’t disappoint us. We almost immediately spotted our first Gila woodpecker in a towering saguaro cactus, followed by iridescent hummingbirds, cactus wren, quail and many others.

With the spa offering over 40 fitness activities a day there was plenty to choose from. We tried a sampling of yoga, zumba, world beat with live drummers, foot fitness, stretch class and hiking. Between classes, massages and facials we had a leisurely lunch at the pool-side café.

People go to destination spas for different reasons – all out pampering, meditation, relaxation and fitness. At Canyon Ranch the focus is on exercise/fitness and – if you can afford it - it’s a great place to kick-start a change to a more active lifestyle.

“Would anybody else like another scone?” My three sisters and I had just checked into the Arizona Inn in Tucson, and were relaxing in the library with afternoon tea. A novel experience, compared to our normally hectic daily routines. With one of us celebrating a milestone birthday, we’d opted for a weekend at a luxury hotel with a spa day at Canyon Ranch.

Opened in 1930, Arizona Inn has a fascinating history with beautiful architecture and gorgeous flower-filled landscaping. We stayed in a generously-sized casita with its own private porch, grassy yard and outdoor lounge area. The inn has about 100 private casitas, each different and tucked away across the inn’s 14 acres. After tea we headed to the pool to soak up some perfect 75 degrees-in-March weather. The inn has had so many movie stars stay there that their DVD library is comprised only of movies featuring past guests. Stars like Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, Clark Gable and Gary Cooper.

For dinner we headed just up the road to Guadalajara’s for margaritas and Mexican food. This place is fun but extremely popular so be prepared to wait at least an hour on weekend nights.

Returning to our place via the light-scaped paths, we saw that our beds had been turned-down and signature chocolates placed on each pillow. I could definitely get used to this!

The Arizona Inn is a gem - although expensive, you can share the cost with your girlfriends.

Other unique hotels: The Del, Huntington, Empress

The Shores Resort & Spa is offering luxury front row seats to the last-ever night launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor on February 7, 2010 at 4:39am. Guests of The Shores Resort, which is located 70 miles from the Kennedy Space Center, will have shoreline seats and enjoy the following perks for the blast off:

• - Overnight deluxe accommodations
• - “Shores Coffee”, a variation on Irish Coffee or “Shores Hot Chocolate”
• - “S’Mores at Four” at oceanside fire pits
• - Breakfast treats, including Tang
• - Champagne toast at launch
• - Memento photo

The “Shuttle Launch” package starts at $169 per room.

To reserve visit The Shores Resort & Spa website.

From now until January, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are offering a holiday gift of free wifi at 47 airports around the country. Flight delays seem to happen more often during the holidays, so on the off chance that your flight gets delayed, you can at least stay connected.

I ran across a handy wifi guide for airports on the Kayak site and was surprised how many of the smaller airports already offer free wifi year round. Very few of the major airports offer free wifi – so its nice that the big three search giants corrected this Scrooge-like behavior by the airports with their free holiday wifi promotion. Happy holiday travels!

Airport wifi guide

On Veteran’s Day (Wednesday, November 11), Cosmo will drive around New York City collecting kisses for our boys overseas. Participants can kiss a postcard with Maybelline-provided ColorSensational lipstick, and then add a note of support to a deployed soldier.

For every kiss, Cosmo and Maybelline will donate $1 to the USO organization.

Via: Cosmo

If you haven’t already booked your flights for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, you may want to do it soon. There are fewer flights offered this year, so holiday ticket prices are going up fast. Just within the last week Thanksgiving airfares have increased by 10%.

For those of you who still need tickets, here are some tips for getting the best Thanksgiving fares.

Via: NYTimes