September 2016 - Pura Vida Sometimes

Fire Your Assistant, Get These Apps

September 25, 2016 No Comments

Okay, so most of us don’t have an assistant, but now you don’t need one. There has been a surge in user-friendly, efficient apps that will take your work to the next level. Granted, I’m a technophile with millennial tendencies, but I believe these are user-friendly even for those that are dubious of the wonders of the web. Some are even technological ego-strokers, and let’s be honest – that’s a great motivator. Our goal in life should be to work smarter and play harder, and these apps help get us there. The following list of apps consistently makes me look […]

children, family, parenting, toddler

Survive Those Toddler Tantrums

September 20, 2016 No Comments

Survive Toddler Tantrums - Pura Vida Sometimes

In the last few years, with lessons I learned from my very patient husband, seasoned parents, and trial and error, I’ve become a far more patient person, who is actually pretty good at negotiating with toddlers. I think back to a day sometime in my late 20s. I was standing in line at Victoria’s Secret about to spend loads of money on things I didn’t need, when a mother about my age and her toddler got in line behind me. Cue eyeroll. The kind started wailing like a police siren, and the exasperated mother who wanted to update her wardrobe with […]

beauty

Beautycounter & Clean for the Masses

September 15, 2016 No Comments

Monday was the launch of a 9-week limited engagement between Beautycounter and Target stores. I think I was aptly targeted, so to speak, for an ad about the rollout. Like any good introvert and working mother, I usually shop online and ship for free with my Target REDcard, but I wanted to check out what Beautycounter had going on so I went on my lunch hour. As a marketer and someone experiencing the brand for the first time, I’ve been thoroughly impressed, and in the store, Beautycounter had a glorious endcap. There in the aisle, I started chatting up a single […]

Cornerstone, travel

Have Passport – F Your Rules

September 11, 2016 No Comments

When I was literally 18 and a day, I traveled overseas for the first time. It was an amazing, illuminating experience – all that I’d hoped it would be, in most ways – but a couple of days into the trip I broke the travel rules and was labeled a delinquent and punished for the remainder of our travels. In hindsight, do I feel bad about what I did? Nope. I was invited to be part of a musical ambassador program, for high school musicians (or in my case, recent graduates) in which we traveled to seven countries in two […]

family, travel

Learning to See Through a Child’s Eyes

September 8, 2016 No Comments

Over the long holiday weekend, we decided to escape the triple-digit heat in the Valley of the Sun and retreat to the pines, filling our lungs with clean air and disconnecting, if only for a few days. Excitedly anticipating a poor network connection, and being too Type A to not to have an agenda, my main business item was to clear out the photos in my iPhone. Easy enough – my idea of relaxing. I also had a list of attractions in the area to visit if the fancy struck us, to make the best use of our limited fun […]