Life seems to come in seasons, each one carrying something new while quietly asking us to let something else go.
Lately, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the season I’m in now. My days are full in the best kind of way. I’m raising my son and two bonus kiddos, building a life with a wonderful man, chasing dreams I’ve carried for years, and learning that somewhere in the middle of caring for everyone else, there’s still a version of me waiting to be discovered.
I grew up in California, where the coast was never far away and the ocean always felt like home. More recently, life carried our family north to Washington with my partner’s military career. It’s been an adventure learning a new place, settling into a different rhythm, and creating traditions that feel like ours. While California will always hold a piece of my heart, we’re learning that home can be something you create. It’s through the people around your table, the memories you make, and the traditions you carry with you.
I also grew up in a Portuguese family, where loving someone usually meant feeding them. Food was at the center of everything. We cooked when we celebrated, gathered around the table to reconnect, and rarely let anyone leave without eating something first. That tradition has followed me into my own home. I love making meals for my family, trying new recipes, and finding little reasons to gather everyone around the table. To me, food has never been just food. It’s comfort, and one of the simplest ways I know how to say, I love you.
Writing has always been another part of who I am. I followed that love to UCLA, where I earned my degree in English, and eventually found myself drawn to another kind of storytelling. The stories we carry about ourselves and the experiences that shape us. I’m now pursuing my master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy, with the hope of someday helping people navigate some of their own changing seasons.
Along the way, I also fell in love with fitness and nutrition and became a personal trainer. It began as an interest in health and wellness and grew into a passion for helping women and mothers reclaim their health. It’s not simply about how we look or what we eat, but how we care for our bodies, our minds, our relationships, and the spaces we call home.
And now, at 33, I’m finding myself in a season I didn’t necessarily expect: getting to know myself again.
I’m rediscovering my style. Trying new hobbies simply because they sound fun. Creating a home that feels peaceful and comforting. Moving my body because I appreciate what it can do. Planning adventures and traditions for our family. Cooking the foods that connect me to where I came from. Writing because I’ve missed it.
And slowly, I’m realizing that finding yourself isn’t something you do once. We are allowed to keep becoming which is what Monarch Tides is about.
It’s a place for motherhood and womanhood, food and family, wellness and movement, home and style, traditions and adventures, and the messy, beautiful process of figuring things out along the way. Maybe you’re in a season of becoming, too.
I’m excited too share this journey with you!
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