Pack Perfect for Paradise

Overpacking for vacation is a terrible habit that I have because I am a woman that likes to have her options. I put myself on a mission to create the perfect styling guide to pack for the Florida weekend escape, so I could pack light but still have some style choices. I admittedly have a […]

Care for Your Kini

Bikini Season never ends in Florida, and I live by the mantra “Life is too short for cheap bikinis.” Since swimwear tends to be my Florida uniform, I usually opt for buying quality swimwear instead of cheap, fast-fashion bikinis. It is worth the price for luxury swimwear, I notice the difference in quality, construction and […]

Saving Face at Bella Reina

I turned 32 a week ago, and as I work my way well into my third decade I’m trying to fight off the aging process in the most graceful ways. I’ve been trying to save face as my mug has some battle wounds from my sun worshiping Florida lifestyle. On my birthday, I was treated […]

Pseudo-Sunkissed with COOLA

What better way to close Skin Cancer Awareness Month than share a product that can make you pseudo-sunkissed? Being a fair, freckled sun worshipper, I have beat up my skin a lot. I have the deepest regret of the backyard sessions with the baby oil and a Seventeen magazine. That early 2000 teenage starter kit […]

Active Wear for Waterwomen

When it comes to yoga pants, I consider myself a connoisseur. I spend a good portion of my life in yoga pants, to the point where my neighbors look at me strangely when they see me wearing “actual clothes.” I’m a lycra loving fool, but as I have been expeditiously discovering the environmental impacts of […]

Vakano Vibes

Some hoard spoons, coffee cups with coordinates, or postcards with points of interest. I accumulate bracelets from my travels, or any day of significance. My wrist is often a collection of stories with each piece of arm candy: the pineapple cotton bracelet I got the day I adopted my cat, Pilar Pina Colada; the braided […]

Essentials for Adult Spring Breakers

You need a break! Spring Break once was a holiday reserved for college students but I truly never craved a break when I was an undergrad. However, as an adult I think it is important to take a breather and enjoy the beautiful weather Florida has to offer every March. I partook in SB 2018 […]

Bee Conscious with Nectar Sunglasses

I scored a pair of Nectar sunglasses, and aside from Nectar being a great brand with the mission to repopulate bees, it replaced a very shady product that I had been using. I hate to be a buzz kill, but I’m about to convince you to retire your Ray Bans and switch to The Sweet […]

COOLA, Calm + Protected

Many know how passionate I am about reef conservation. Our coral reef ecosystems are the backbone of Florida’s largest industry: tourism, not citrus like you maybe thought. I have worked as an independent ocean researcher in Florida and Australia, and when I was a teacher I even grew coral fragments with my students. I am […]

Jupiter Jungle Paddling

I have been a paddler for 11 years. I always wanted to surf, but growing up on the gulf coast of Florida we were rarely blessed with waves. When SUP boards hit Florida around 2007, I went to the one surf shop that had them and just threw $1200 my AmEx card. I remember my […]