You know the saying, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone"? Cliche as it is, I've never felt the truth of that sentiment so profoundly as I have these last few months... And for a place I used to curse for its heat.

I left Phoenix at the beginning of the year, moving across the country to D.C. for my husband's job. Though I've been enjoying exploring a new city – the free museums, new restaurants and new culture have been perks – there isn't a day that goes by without me missing the warm spring months of my old desert home.

Upward Projects boss Lauren Bailey (Postino WineCafe, Federal Pizza and more) isn't normally a fan of what she calls "tourist-y Mexico," which is why she had reservations about a solo tour of Tulum on the country's Yucatan Peninsula. But she went anyway on the recommendation of foodie friend Aaron Chamberlin (St. Francis, Phoenix Public Market Café), and had her mind positively blown. "It's got this really amazing vibe to it," she says. "They call it eco chic. It's very bohemian, it's got a ton of art and it's got this amazing energy."

For the 14th year, the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival will run concurrently with the Phoenix Film Festival at Harkins Scottsdale 101. This year, both fests have expanded from 8 to 11 days, starting this Thursday, April 5. PHOENIX magazine had a chance to chat with IHSFF Director Monte Yazzie about what's new this year in the world of the cinematically scary and strange.*

The U.S.-Mexico border is always a hot topic. But these days, it seems more people than ever before have an opinion on "The Wall," or whether our borders need to be more open or more secure. Of course, most people come to these opinions via rogue social media posts rather than real-life experience living on the line. Omar Pimienta is not one of those people. The poet lives on the Tijuana/San Diego border, an experience he documents in his book "Album of Fences," which his friend and fellow poet Jose Antonio Villarán recently translated into English.

As editors of a city lifestyle magazine with a travel section that covers locales far beyond our beloved Phoenix Valley, you can imagine that we get pitched a lot about new and exciting travel offers around the country. Of course, we can't fit everything into a 200-page monthly magazine that only allots five of those pages to regional travel. Sigh... 'tis the nature of publishing.

But it pains us too much to kill all of our darlings. So each month, we scrape a few travel tidbits off the cutting room floor and bring you Travel Bag Bites – bite-sized travel-related goodies (special offers, activities and deals) to snack on while planning your next great escape.

Local author Amy Trueblood straps on her helmet and gets a bit daring with her debut young adult novel, “Nothing But Sky.” It features 18-year-old Grace Lafferty, a wing walker who stuns the crowds with dangerous acrobatics in the sky. The novel follows her chase to get to the 1922 World Aviation Expo until a stunt goes wrong. PHOENIX had the chance to talk to Trueblood before her novel came out on March 27.

Trueblood will be at Changing Hands in Tempe on March 31 at 4 p.m. for her book launch. For more information, go here.

There's more to Quartzsite than the annual Quartzsite Improvement Association Pow Wow Gem & Mineral Show held every winter. Next time you're road-tripping west, make a pit stop for these attractions.

Besides being home to some of the Valley's top restaurants, the Farm at South Mountain is a dynamic spot that hosts a variety of classes ranging from yoga to painting. One of its recurring classes is the Cheese Course 101. (A word to all the aspiring cheese mongers out there: alas, you won't learn how to make cheese. Basically, you learn how to eat it. As if there was a wrong way...)

When chef Rich Hinojosa first visited Las Vegas with his family at age 13, he was not old enough to take in all that Sin City had to offer, namely: gambling, boozing and fine dining. As a full-grown culinarian, the executive chef and co-owner of CRUjiente Tacos now makes regular runs to check out the "fun stuff going on in Vegas for restaurants." From Chinatown to downtown, Hinojosa shares his favorite hot spots and up-and-comers.

A little awkward, like any 14-year-old's coming-of-age story, Saturday Church is an original, heartfelt musical of Ulysses' odyssey to self acceptance – like many of the films at the ninth annual Desperado Film Festival.