Drumroll please…It’s our Scoop Factory Scoopstakes Grand Finale with one grand prize winner scooping up an awesome New Year’s Eve prize pack today including a one night’s stay at the Montelucia Resort & Spa, 2 tickets to the New Year’s Eve party of the year at the Montelucia, plus his & her Remix Watches and his & her cuts from Michelle at Boujis Salon so you can look fabulous for your big night out!

First, you’re staying in style at the Montelucia Resort & Spa. Montelucia Resort & Spa is a top-rated luxury Scottsdale hotel, inspired by the rich history, culture and architecture of Spain’s Andalusia region. Nestled at the foot of picturesque Camelback Mountain, this extraordinary Scottsdale resort’s premier location offers a tranquil escape from the city with stunning views, breathtaking sunsets, and effortless access to golf, recreation, nightlife, arts and entertainment.

Plus 2 tickets to the 4th annual New Years Eve Party at Montelucia Resort & Spa, brought to you in partnership with the Mansion Group. Toast to 2012 and all the possibilities the new year brings. Live entertainment begins at 8:00 p.m. as a DJ XXXclusive begins spinning your favorite music and continues with a performance by Radio Junket at 9:30 p.m.

Remix Watches, the modern watch reminiscent of the 80′s Swatch-watch, are fun to mix-n-match with interchangeable bands and faces, bright colors and a brightly-colored LED lighted faces, making for a personal wrist-disco for fist-pumpers.

Michelle Keoghan of Boujis Salon is an internationally trained hair stylist now based in Scottsdale. The fashion-forward team of stylists, skin care specialists and nail technicians at Boujis have a strong reputation for excellence in personal care and cutting-edge trends to make sure you always look and feel your best.

Sounds awesome!! So, you wanna win the Grand Finale prize pack? Simply mail a $500 check to Kira…kidding. KIDDING!

Wanna win this completely FREE Grand Finale prize pack?? Comment to this post “Happy New Year!” and one lucky, random winner will be selected and announced TODAY in our Scoopstakes winner round up at 3:00 p.m. That’s right – at 3:00 p.m. TODAY so hurry and get your comments in before then! Good luck!

One more day until our Grand Prize tomorrow featuring for a one night stay at the Montelucia Resort & Spa on New Year’s Eve, 2 tickets to the Montelucia’s NYE party featuring music by Radio Junket and DJ XXXclusive plus his & hers Remix Watches plus his & hers haircuts by Michelle at Boujis Salon so you’ll be looking hot for your big night out! Today, take a break from the holiday stress with our relax and repolish prize pack including a 2 week pass to Blissful Yoga + a mani / pedi from 20 Nail Lounge.

20 Lounge Boutique Nail Bar is a hip Scottsdale neighborhood beauty bar that offers nail services, professional waxing and facial treatments at affordable prices. Today’s Scoopstakes winner will receive:

The 20 Mani – Nail perfection in 30 minutes: soak, shape, cuticle care, buff, massage and polish.  (valued at $20)
The 20 Pedi – Picture perfect toes: soak, shape, cuticle care, buff, massage and polish. (valued at $30)

Blissful Yoga boasts 17 different types of yoga classes on the schedule (who knew?). They even offer 200 and 500 hour training programs for those interested in becoming certified with the zen ways.

So wanna win the “Relax and Repolish” prize pack? Tweet or post to our Facebook wall your holiday greetings and one lucky random winner will be announced in our Scoopstakes winner roundup Friday, December 16 at 3:00 p.m.

Today’s prize pack will blow you away! We’re giving away a gift certificate for a Hot Air Expedition + a gift certificate to get your hair did at DryBar in Scottsdale.

Phoenix Hot Air Balloon rides by Hot Air Expeditions have been a favorite of tourists and native Arizonans for many years. Our hot air balloon rides in the beautiful Arizona desert will be awe inspiring whether it is your first time or you are a repeat flyer. The Hot Air Expedition excursions are perfect for corporate outings, birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions of all kinds. Get carried away from the launch site or call to arrange a pick up from your home or resort.

The DryBar in Scottsdale is Scottsdale’s premier “blow dry bar” featuring fantastic hair styles with no cuts, no color, just blowouts. The DryBar believes everyone looks better after a blow out and offers an affordable salon option for an amazing hairstyle.

So are you full of hot air? Wanna win this prize pack of one Hot Air Expedition + a blowout at DryBar? Simply comment on this post, “Blow Me Away,” and one lucky, random winner will be announced Friday in our Scoopstakes winner roundup at 3:00 p.m.

We’re back with week two of our 3rd Annual Scoop Factory Scoopstakes and a new flurry of freebies until Friday’s final Grand Prize drawing for a one night stay at the Montelucia Resort & Spa on New Year’s Eve, 2 tickets to the Montelucia’s NYE party featuring music by Radio Junket and DJ XXXclusive plus his & hers Remix Watches plus his & hers haircuts by Michelle at Boujis Salon so you’ll be looking hot for your big night out! Last week’s winners can be found by clicking here in case you missed. Today’s prize includes a free month of unlimited classes to The Dailey Method + $100 Fascinations gift card.

Today’s prize pack starts with one month free of unlimited classes to The Dailey Method in Scottsdale plus a super cool pair of TDM tread socks. The Dailey Method is a system of strengthening and stretching all the major muscle groups in the body. Mixing ballet barre moves, core conditioning, stretching and orthopedic exercises, The Daily Method’s controlled movements are focused, effective and safe. Each exercise is followed by a series of stretches to develop sculpted muscles. The entire body is constantly working throughout the one-hour class, and doing The Dailey daily will transform your posture and body. If you’ve been too naughty this season with too many holiday cookies or cocktails, be nice to your body with this gift of health valued at over $180.

You’ll also receive a $100 gift card courtesy of Fascinations. With a selection of bath & body products, jewelry and accessories and of course, plenty of special products to “accessorize your love life,” this gift is perfect for the naughty or nice.

Wanna win today’s prize of one month of The Dailey Method classes + $100 to Fascinations? Simply post to the Desert Living Today Facebook wall “I’m Nice!” and one lucky random winner will be announced Friday, December 16 in our Scoopstakes winner roundup at 3:00 p.m.

Congratulations to the following random winners of our 3rd Annual Scoop Factory Scoopstakes Week One presented by Biltmore Fashion Park Week. We’ll be contacting you soon on how to collect your prize. 

Keep reading next week for WEEK TWO’s flurry of freebies with our Grand Prize featuring a one night stay at the Montelucia Resort & Spa on New Year’s Eve, 2 tickets to the Montelucia’s NYE party featuring music by Radio Junket and DJ XXXclusive plus his & hers Remix Watches plus his & hers haircuts by Michelle at Boujis Salon so you’ll be looking hot for your big night out! »READ MORE

Today’s Scoop Factory giveaway is fun for the whole family, and the freebies keep-a-comin’ through December 16!

It’s the season for holiday gatherings, decorations, lights and one of our favorites, ZooLights. The annual holiday tradition is in its 20th year lighting up the Phoenix Zoo with 3.5 million lights and more than 600 glittering displays powered with SRP EarthWise energy. New this year is a gigantic 3D praying mantis and the “Music in Motion” dancing tree show alongside old favorites like Jengo the talking giraffe. Back for a second year is the first simulated snow tubing in the Southwest, the 160-foot long Polar Slides! And mark your calendar to ring in the new year with the first ever Zoo Year’s Eve event with ZooLights open until 12:30 a.m. December 31st.

Sweeten up your season with one dozen holiday cupcakes from Sprinkles in Scottsdale. Sprinkles Cupcakes are handcrafted from the finest ingredients, including sweet cream butter, bittersweet Belgian chocolate, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, fresh bananas and carrots, real strawberries and natural citrus zests.

To win tickets to ZooLights + one dozen Sprinkles Cupcakes, simply comment on this post your holiday greetings and one lucky random winner will be announced Friday in our Scoop Factory Scoopstakes round up.

Get ready for a flurry of freebies because Scoop Factory’s annual Scoopstakes is back, December 5 – December 16, presented this year by Biltmore Fashion Park! What’s a Scoopstakes, you ask? It’s our way of saying “thank you” to our subscribers for being so darned awesome. But wait, what’s a Scoop Factory? It’s our FREE daily magazine that delivers the latest in local dining, style, design news, as well as insider tips and exclusive events. You can’t win if you don’t Scoop, so sign up today here!

For 10 full days from Monday, December 5 – Friday, December 16, we’ll be giving away AMAZING prize packages to top local restaurants, boutiques, salons, resorts and more. Want your chance to win? Simply sign up for our FREE email publication at www.scoopfactory.com, and we’ll deliver daily Scoops of how to win right to your email inbox. Prize packs and conditions of entry will vary in each Scoop, but one thing is for sure, if you don’t Scoop you can’t win. And if your friends are signed up, they can’t win and share with you! Here’s a sneak peek at the goodies we’re throwin’ your way, but shhhh … you didn’t hear it from us! »READ MORE

Before we get to the winner of our Valentine’s Day Scoopstakes, including  a romantic dinner á deux at Roka Akor, we wanted to thank all of our readers who took the time to comment. It’s always great hearing from our readers for any reason other than to point out our many typos. With that said, click read more to see our winner.

But first, a few of our fav runners-up …

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

Scoop Factory is still dishing up daily freebies, like this fab Neiman Marcus prize package. (Sadly, the walk-in gingerbread house is not included):

Now celebrating its 50th Anniversary, Neiman Marcus’ “The Christmas Book” is an ode to seriously-over-the-top gift giving. Are you looking for a $1.5M pool sculpture designed by famed blown-glass artist, Dale Chihuly? Or maybe a customizable cupcake car tricked out with your favorite toppings (it’s just as silly as it sounds). Or why not spoil the little ones with your basic walk-in Edible Gingerbread Playhouse (pictured), a $15,000 munchable manor handcrafted of 381 lbs. of gourmet gingerbread and 517 lbs. of royal icing by those crazed confectioners at Dylan’s Candy Bar? For realsies! »READ MORE

Scoop Factory says the weekend forecast calls for plenty of wacky fun with a slight chance of a karaoke-style train crash:

What do futuristic cars, super-trippy kid’s shows and a live performance by an infamous American Idol reject all have in common? We’re not really sure, but all we can say is, TGI Weekend Guide. Let’s get this party started over in Tempe, where they’re hosting a way-cool arts festival that’s anything but hoity-toity. Named the Tempe Festival of the Arts, this three-day alfresco affair will feature more than 400 booths lining Mill Avenue and the surrounding streets. Meanwhile, there will be plenty of live entertainment on the Fall Jazz Stage, as well as roving performers such as jugglers, magicians, stilt walkers, face painters and even psychics.

»READ MORE