Filed In: FUN

Plant Chics

Hey ladies! You know that I rebranded and changed my Healthinista brand to Plant Chics!

So please head on over there so we can rock out with our broc out! I have an AH-MAZING Plant Chics Tribe Facebook group too! 

Love and lentils,
Marzia 

Radiant Woman Summit

Hey ladies!
 
I have an announcement that I’ve wanted to share with you for WEEKS now, but I was waiting until the right time. Now that everything is finally ironed out, I can share the good news with you.
 
I’m going to be a speaker on the Radiant Woman Summit hosted by Jessica Leigh: Step into your Power and Grace, Break Through Fear and Magnetically Attract the Life and Love You Want. I mean, seriously! The title alone says it all. But, for some more background, I’ll be discussing how to radiate healthy living from the inside out.
 
It’s 22 speakers (including me!) that will be dishing out amazing advice on how they overcame various fears in their life and business, as well as tips and advice on how you can do the same. Expect it to get raw and real, and I can promise you that attending will help you realize some serious breakthroughs.
 
If you’ve been feeling that what you want is out of your reach, and you’re afraid and unsure about how to get there…this summit is FOR YOU. This is that jolt your business needs, and the mindset work that will help you make 2018 a killer year for you and your business.
 
The cool part about this summit is that it’s entirely virtual and 100% free! That means that you’ll get access to all this amazing information FOR FREE, and you don’t have to change out of your yoga pants or put on makeup. That sounds like heaven to me.
 
Click here to sign up: https://radiantwomansummit.com/sign-up
 
Excited to to a part of this to help women fly!
Marzia

 

ROCK OUT WITH YOUR BROC OUT!

Rock out with your broc out!

Keynote Speaking

Tired of snoozefest keynote speakers? Well, get ready to rock out with your broc out! The Crudité Crew is here to plantspire you for your next event!

Jacque and Marzia, the founders of Crudité Crew, have brought a fun and fresh approach to health and wellness with their energetic pop culture language that will make you laugh, and re-evaluate your health.  Entertaining, shocking, and comedic, the Crudité Crew keeps your audience wanting more. They will motivate you to kale it when you walk out the door. 

Lettuce turnip the beet together! 

Jacque and Marzia

Why them?

Hiring the right health and wellness keynote speaker is an important decision for your company event. Jacque and Marzia have worked with leading global brands on custom keynotes and wellness programs. They are committed to helping people be the best versions of themselves and to live their happiest and healthiest lives.The Crudité Crew’s WTF (Where’s the Fiber) program has helped thousands of people not just survive, but to thrive in life. 

They take the most complex scientific data and turn it into mind- blowing habits that stick with people long term. They are known for their WTF Where’s the Fiber? one liner, which will be available as a book so everyone can have this priceless information. Fad diets provide temporary weight loss; the Crudité Crew focuses on a lifestyle that lasts forever. 

Let the Crudité Crew show you a system that works for life. They help break unhealthy habits and trigger new positive lifestyle changes. See why audiences everywhere love them so much!  Email: hello@cruditecrew to pump up your next event! 

WTF Where’s the Fiber Plant-based Program

Green thumb approved! You can be the green thumb by tending to the garden of your gut. This program feeds your gut the healthy bacteria it needs. 

This program is for you if you want to:
Lose weight and inflammation in your body
Have more energy
Heal your gut microbiome
Gain your health and life back
Learn to eat for life
Change your bloodwork
If you are ready to take the WTF Where’s the Fiber Challenge today go to www.wheresthefiber.com and join the Crudite Crew today! 

Rock out with your broc out!
Marzia 

BELOW DECK MED HITS BELOW THE BELT

AM I STILL VEGAN?
I am writing this blog because I have been getting hundreds of messages from family, friends, clients, and fans asking if I am still vegan after watching Below Deck Mediterranean that aired last night. They show a scene where someone else orders beef nachos and then the clip to me and it looks like I am eating the “beef nachos”. They even go so far and say I have an alter ego that claims I am vegan but I really eat meat. Not cool at all Below Deck Med! Yes, I am vegan. No, I did not eat meat. They needed a story line for the new chef this season and guess who was an easy target? Yep! The vegan girl!

Our Level 3 Active Tribe with Below Deck Mediterranean Crew

Normally I would not care if you made fun of me being vegan or being healthy. I get made fun of being vegan on the daily. I have been living a plant-based lifestyle for close to 9 years now. Trust me, I can take it. I have thick skin, hell, I will even laugh with you. But when you “edit” me “eating meat” when I did not, that is where the laughing stops. Why do I care so much you ask? Because they edited me looking like a fake vegan for one. I don’t take that lightly. I have been living a meat-free lifestyle for 9 years now, I am certified plant-based nutrition coach, and my business is plant-based. I haven’t touched meat in 9 years, nor would I eat it on reality TV. They edited my personal belief system for entertainment purposes. Being vegan is my business, not just what I eat.

Goofing around in the galley with Chef Adam

Some of you are probably like well you signed up for a reality show, what did you think was going to happen? I get that. I really do. I signed up for it. I had an amazing time in Croatia, had a blast on the yacht, made new friends for life, and have great memories that will last a lifetime from that trip until the show aired and I saw that one scene. I was a little taken back they edited it that way. I know they needed drama with the charter guest to have content. I was an easy target. I wanted to write a different blog about my Croatia trip with Below Deck, but the overwhelming messages from you guys, I wanted to answer your question about that episode. You all had the same question. Are you still vegan? 

My nutritional profile and request

All the girls on the charter ate meat except me. A few girls were gluten-free. We are all health conscious in our different ways so making fun of our food in tolerances and beliefs was their story line. We all were cool with it. They knew I was vegan from my profile I gave them. Chef Adam made amazing vegan meals for me all charter or so I thought until I saw where he puts butter in the food. Was the butter really in mine too? Or was it for the other girls’ food? I guess we will never know from the editing they do.

My vegan meals that Chef Adam made for me

Overall I thought it was funny, except that little part that is totally false about me. I wanted to clear the air with everyone who reached out and asked about it after watching it. I don’t blame the crew at all. Captain Sandy, the crew, and the chef were awesome! I blame the people who edit the show.

An unforgettable trip with amazing women

There is still one more episode, not sure how they will edit me in that one either. Their editing skills are so great, you just never know. Tune into next Tuesday at 8 pm with me to find out on Bravo. I am just as curious as you are! I better brace myself.

Peace & Veggies,
Marzia

I GOT AN EYEBROW TRANSPLANT

WHY I GOT AN EYEBROW TRANSPLANT

I would have never thought in a million years I would be getting an eyebrow transplant. But as the saying goes, expect the unexpected! It was five or six years ago, I went in regularly to my Med Spa to get monthly facials. I loved my facials, chemicals peels, and microderms, but my aging skin was hormonal and out of control in my late 30’s. It didn’t matter what I did, I has cystic acne, my pores were getting larger, and my skin was super oily. I went to the dermatologist and they said it was hormones and there isn’t much you can do. They can treat it with meds (which I said no) or ride the wave of hormones out till they calm down. I decide to ride it out. I was vegan so I ate plant-based, took care of my skin, got 8 hours of sleep, changed my pillow case every night, changed my makeup to chemical-free, and the list goes on. Finally after some time, the hormonal skin battle was over. What I was left with was face craters, large pores, and uneven skin. There comes a point in a women’s life that you need more than a monthly facial to have great skin.

The lady who owned the Med Spa I went to told me about an aggressive skin laser that would solve all my skin problems. She said it was new to the Med Spa and she would give me half off in exchange to be her testimonial for her website. When I look back, I was desperate, so I said yes. Anything that would fix my current problem, I was all in. Being a fitness model, I was in front of people all the time, so my skin on my face was my insecurity.

I scheduled an appointment right away and brought my friend to film me. Since it was an aggressive laser, they gave me some drugs to make me sleepy. I was in and out of consciousness while they did the laser. My friend drove me home and put me to bed. When I woke up my face was on fire. My friend Shannon was there to watch me since my husband was out of town and she had a concerned look on her face as soon as I came out of my drug induced sleep.  

“What’s wrong?” I said.

“I am scared to tell you. Look at yourself in the mirror.” She said with eyes so wide I could see all her white around her iris.

Oh man, this can’t be good I thought. What did I do? I looked in the mirror and the first thing I saw was that my face was red and swollen. “Oh, that is normal she said. She said I would be red and puffy.”

“No, not that…look up…look above your eyes.” She said with a squeaky voice.

In that moment, my heart dropped when I looked at my forehead. My eyebrows were plum gone. Between my face being beet red, swollen like a tomato, and no eyebrows, I was sick to my stomach and in shock. I told myself and her that they were going to grow back, to ease my peace of mind in that moment.

The next day when I slept the drugs off, I looked at myself in the mirror and cried and cried. Or maybe I was detoxing from the drugs they gave me, who knows, but the reality was that I had did this to myself all because I wanted smooth skin. My insecurity grew worse than just bad skin, now I had no eyebrows.

I called the lady who owned the med spa who did my laser and cried about my eyebrows. I asked her why did she do that? She said she goes over everyone’s eyebrows with a laser and they will grow back. She said after my skin heals, she will give me Latisse. It seemed like eternity for my skin to heal. It was a long three weeks. She gave me a few bottles of Latisse. Bottle after bottle my hair never grew back. On top of that, the laser didn’t work for my skin either. So there I was crater face and no eyebrows. I looked worse than when I started. I had paid for this out of desperation. For a while I placed blame on her because I was so mad about the situation. But, in the end I had no one to really blame but me. I was even depressed about it for a long time after. It was very traumatic for me because they never grew back. I woke up every day with no eyebrows and cried every time I saw myself in the mirror. Eyebrows frame your face. I had never seen myself without eyebrows before.

What I was left with when she burned my brows off!

I had to learn to draw them in. It was an awful learning curve how to draw them in. I had to try to get the right shape and color. It took me years to get them down. And being a working fitness model, every time I went to get my make up done, the make up artist were a constant reminder of my eyebrows being gone. They would draw them the wrong shape and color every time. It was so different to see me with a million different eyebrow shapes over the years in magazines and TV. I finally had to tell them to let me draw my own in for the shoots. Then on shoots that we had to workout, I had no eyebrows at the end. I had sweated them off.

If you have no eyebrows or very thin ones, you know my pain. It takes 30-40 minutes to draw them in and shade them in every day. I have I have oily skin and drawn on eyebrows always melt off my face in the spring or summer time. If I have to get in water, forget about it, they are gone. Especially salt water in the ocean! Most adults look when my eyebrows are gone and stare, some don’t say anything, but kids (gotta love them!) always ask “How come you don’t have eyebrows?” Or “Why do you draw your eyebrows in with marker?”

Fast forward to today, here I am at 42 and still reminded of it daily. I was on my hunt on how to get my eyebrows back. I was an obsessed eyebrow hunting fool! In the end of my research, I had two choices-microblading or eyebrow transplant.

I almost did the whole microblading trend. I shopped around talking to many different microblading technicians, but one honest tech told me, they would look like 2 shiny tattoo’s on my forehead if I have oily skin. She said it looked best on people who have a little bit of hair. She told me not to get it. “Go for the eyebrow transplant you were talking about. You will be much happier with real hair than two tattoos on your forehead.” She said.

So microblading was out! Then began my search for the best eyebrow transplant doctor in Dallas. I went to six different doctors and interviewed them and they showed me there before and afters. Being such a perfectionist, I was still not 100% sold on anyone is Dallas because it was still so new and many of the Dallas doctors admitted they had only done 3 or 4 of them. I wasn’t just desperate for hair, but I wanted them to be an artist as well. If I was going to drop this kind of money on my eyebrows, they better be DAMN GOOD!

So I expanded my search outside of Dallas and Googled my butt off. Then one day I came across Marc Dauer MD in LA. All he does is hair restoration. He had so many AH-MAZING before and after eyebrow transplants floating on the internet. I immediately made a Skype interview to ask a million questions. After that Skype interview, I knew he was the doctor for me.

Not going to lie, it took me awhile to pull the trigger after our Skype call because I let fear hold me back. In all fairness, I had every right to be scared after them being burned off. Then one day, I decided to go for it. I put my deposit down and was counting down the days. I don’t know why I waited to so long, it was THE BEST THING I have ever done. It immediately restored my confidence the moment I left his office. I left my insecurity in his office that day and have not looked back.

Thank you to everyone who supported me on my journey and watched it live on Snapchat. Here are all the questions you asked about it.

What is an eyebrow transplant? (Main questions you guys asked!)

It is the same procedure like hair restoration on your head but they do it to your eyebrows. They take hair from the back of your head they call this the “donor hair” and this permanent hair is harvested in the form of a narrow strip of hair, which is then meticulously cut up under microscopic magnification to produce hundreds of tiny follicular unit grafts of 1-3 hairs each. They personally put around 325-350 hairs in each of my eyebrows.

They took the hair from the back of my head.
My hair from my head for eyebrows.

How long did your eyebrow transplant take?

They told me it would take about 5-7 hours. Mine personally was around six hours.  It was not bad at all. The time passed by really fast because I slept off and on throughout procedure. You can listen to your favorite TV show or listen to music. I listened to music and dozed off. When I woke up to check the progress, I was on snap chat showing everyone the play by play of it.

Did it hurt?

No. They numbed the back of my head where they took my donor hair and they numbed my forehead where they put the grafts. They gave me valium to relax me during the procedure. It did sting when they pricked the back of my head to numb me, but not anything I could not handle, I still think a paper cut is worse pain than that anyday!

Right after I got them done that day.

Who did your eyebrow transplant?

After years of research, I found Dr. Marc Dauer on Google, he is a leading hair and eyebrow restoration doctor in the world for men and women. A third of his practice is eyebrows. They do 1 to 2 eyebrow transplants a day. Not only does he have an impressive resume, his before and after pictures speak volumes. They are AH-MAZING! I talked to two of his technicians; one of them had been with him for 17 years and the other 10 years. They love what they do! The office staff was super friendly from the phone calls, emails, and the day I got the procedure done.

Getting my check up the day after.
Dr. Marc Dauer is such an AH-MAZING doctor to work with! Here I am the day after very swollen, but happy to have brows!

What is the downtime?

They told me 3-5 days of swelling and it was exactly that. The day I got them done was it was swollen, but the day after was probably the worse of it. I was bruised and swollen that it looked like I got an eyelid surgery. I actually did not care because I had eyebrows! I snapped the whole day by day healing process. Day two it looked better. By day five, I was back to normal, just needed a little make up to cover the diminishing yellow bruising. So glad I am my own boss and make up my own schedule, I was still doing writing projects and doing client calls. By day five, I had a big event, I just wore a hat. No one knew except those who followed me on social media.

Nothing that a hat can’t fix!

What is the healing process?

I am 7 days out now from my procedure and it has started to scab over. When the scabs fall off, then it will look like my “old eyebrows” (with no hair) till the transplant hair starts to grow. It will take 3-4 months for the transplant hair to grow out. By 8-12 months, I will have full eyebrow hair again. You can go for “touch up” a year later to get more hair to shape them or add more to make it thicker. He said that only 20% of them come back for more hair. That means 80% are happy with what he did the first time.

Some of his eyebrow transplant before and afters.

How much did it cost?

It cost $7000. Yep, not cheap. But when it comes to gaining your confidence back, it is PRICELESS!

To learn more about Marc Dauer go here.

To watch a video on the procedure, go here.

Again, thank you for all your love and support, I will be posting and giving daily updates on Snapchat. Snap name: marzia_prince.
Can you believe this is the only place I WANT my hair to grow? LOL! (Besides my head.)

Time to grow,
Marzia

 

I’M NOT THE BETTING KIND

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I don’t like to bet or gamble, but come this Jan 9th I am betting on a whole new me. I am super excited to announce that Beachbody is going to have a Health Bet. The pot is going to be around $3 million dollars! Yep, you read that right! That is a HUGE pot. Now what does that mean for you and me? It means if we follow a few simple guidelines and check in, then we get to split the pot! The Health Bet begins Jan 9th through Feb 5th. Only 30 days to help you start the 2017 New Year’s off right. This health bet is all about accountability and consistency!

bb-bet-2As your coach, I will help you pick the challenge pack that is right for you. Once you get your challenge pack, download My Challenge Tracker at the app store. I will then add you to my private group so you can start checking in. The guidelines are quite simple…
1. Check in with 3 workout pics a week (Before, during, or after workout.)
2. Check in with 5 Shakeology pics a week (The logged photos can be of your Shakeology on its own, your Shakeology preparation on its own, or of you preparing or consuming it.)
3. After 4 weeks, we get a piece of the pie!
bb-bet-4What is Shakeology?
Packed with 70 globally sourced superfood ingredients!
*Proteins and fiber – to help reduce hunger and food cravings.
*Antioxidants, Phytonutrients, Vitamins, and Minerals – to help fight free radical damage and help support a healthy immune system.
*Adaptogen Herbs – traditionally used to help the body adapt and respond to the effects of stress.
*Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Digestive Enzymes – to help nutrient absorption and support regularity and healthy digestion.
*Whole food nutrition to feed your body at a cellular level.
Drink one a day for breakfast, snack, or a post-workout smoothie for this challenge.
bb-betHow do you like to workout? Strength training? Yoga? HIIT? Dance? MMA style? Pick your favorite way to workout during this challenge for 4 weeks.I personally love the 21 Day Fix Extreme and Hammer & Chisel. I love an athletic fit look and these 2 programs are great for those that like to lift and want more muscle mass.
bb-bet-3Throw away the scale and replace it with a selfie. A reflection speaks way more than gravity! What does your reflection look like? Some people gamble with their health everyday by eating unhealthy foods/drinks, not working out, being negative, not getting enough sleep, not enough water, and many more countless unhealthy lifestyle behaviors which lead to disease over time. Why not bet on a healthy new you this coming year!?

Who’s ready to place your bet?

You can go to www.beachbodycoach.com/healthinista or email me at for me to coach you for this amazing New Year!

I can’t wait for your transformation!
Marzia

 

 

MY FORWARD LIFE

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“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” By Henry Ford

I just love this quote and it has always been in my top favorite five. I feel like this quote is fitting for this blog. We all have a gift to share with the world at the right time when we are ready and we can’t do it alone. We need each other to grow and when you have the right people help you along the way to share your gift, we all become successful.

I had the honor to speak at the Glow and Lead conference by My Forward Life this year with an amazing panel of women entrepreneurs. We had a casual and informal Q&A style interaction with the audience and shared our own personal stories of struggles, successes, and leadership tips. I shared this panel with the amazing Sabrina Harrison, Owner of Mint Dentistry, the hippest most luxurious dentist offices all over DFW metroplex, and powerhouse Iesha Goree, the founder of The Amadi Guess Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide children from underserved communities access to nutritious meals.

From left to right: Me, Iesha Goree, and Sabrina Harrison
From left to right: Me, Iesha Goree, and Sabrina Harrison

The night kicked off with the cosmetologist doing hair, make up, and massages for the guest at the Aveda Institute in Dallas. The top service of the night was putting in pink hair extensions. I even rocked two pink streaks in my hair too. Why was pink hair all the rage? Well one, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and two the Aveda Institute has a program that is called Give To Give, a project created to raise fund for Breast Cancer Awareness while matching your dollars in service for breast cancer patients and survivors, as well as DFW oncologist nurses and caregivers. The money from the pink hair extensions went to this beautiful cause.
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img_3482I had a blast getting to know different women all over the DFW metroplex. We took professional pics on the Aveda red carpet and casual selfies like we have known each other for years. It was such a great place to meet new people and learn about each other’s business.
img_3483After the meet and greet, the panel Q&A begin. The event was hosted by comedienne Jasmin Ellis who kept the energy of the room fun and of course, funny! She asked us a series of questions. It was the same question to all of us and we shared the good, the bad, and the beautiful of our personal lives and business.

img_3487After the panel was over, I felt like we were more connected than ever before. I got to know the panel of amazing women better and was inspired by their stories myself. Everyone was exchanging numbers and was looking forward to the next meeting of the minds.

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What is My Forward Life?

My Forward Life is an events and social platform with a mission to connect fun, fearless and fabulous women to new ideas, new places and to one another in a meaningful way. It was created by Jasmin Brand who is a powerhouse in the marketing and branding world. Her goal was to build a community that connected professional women to new faces, new places and new ideas. Since its inception, My Forward Life has connected thousands of Dallas’ brightest women with one another and plans to expand to other cities in 2017.
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When is the next My Forward Life event?

You can read more about the next few events here.

I hope to see you guys at one of their empowering events soon!

Until then…glow and lead my friends!
Marzia

Photography by Followwell Photography

 

COME HANG WITH ME DALLAS AND FLORIDA

glow-summit-event glow-summit fit-expo

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I have two fun events I will be speaking at this week. One is in Dallas this Thursday night at the Aveda Institute where I am honored to share my business and success strategies with you and the other one is in Florida at the Fit Expo! Looking forward to meeting y,all!

Glow Summit: Aveda Institute Dallas
Description: 3 amazing sessions. 3 fab venues. 12 unforgettable speakers.
Join us next Thursday for self discovery, beauty, career, and success strategy from amazing entrepreneur leaders.
Date: Oct 6, 2016
Time: 7 pm
Discount: $5 off when you put Marzia in the promo code
Website: www.myforwardlife.com

The Fit Expo: Fort Lauderdale Convention Center
Description:
Date: Oct 8-9, 2016
Time: 10 am-6 pm
Discount: $10 off when you print this coupon off
Website: www.thefitexpo.com

See you there!
Marzia

GOODBYE 41 AND HELLO 42!

bday-blog5Happy birthday to me! 41 has been so good to me and I can’t wait to see what 42 has in store. The older I get, the better life gets. Not sure who said aging was a bad thing? I can’t speak for everyone, but I love getting older.
I feel more confident in my own skin and I definitely make better life choices, well…at least most of the time.
bday-blog3I started off this month with a pool party one of my virgo bestie’s Amanda. We usually are eating healthy and working out in the gym but birthday month calls for extra fun festivites. We had a blast floating around in fun pool floats, drinking rose, snacking on doughnuts, chowing on pizza all in matching one piece bathing suits.  When we get together, we are total teenagers. You have to have those friends where you giggle about nothing for hours and it is so much fun. Amanda is my fun ride or die friend.
bday-blog2She is always game for a good time. It doesn’t matter if we are in Vegas working together, flying off to Florida to compete, or in my backyard, we are the party! Talk about shenanigans…oh boy!
bday-blog1Did I tell you pizza is her favorite food? Oh yes! When she is not eating healthy, she is smashing in the pizza. It was only fitting to get her that suit!
bday-blog4After sliding off the floats a few times into the pool, we knew we needed to call it a night. Maybe it was the rose? Whatever is was, we knew that birthday binge fest was checked off our list and in the books. We had a blast and was looking forward till the next time we can get goofy together again. I love this time of year not only because it is my birthday, but because you can still wear a bathing suit here in Texas at this time of year. Summer is extra long here in Texas.

42 is already starting off great!

Unicorn float
Doughnut float
Rose gold sunglasses
Blue mirror sunglasses
Squad suit
Pizza suit

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND ALL THE VIRGOS OUT THERE!
Marzia

 

I STILL DO

The kiss right after we said our renewal vows. I love this pic!
The kiss right after we said our renewal vows. I love this pic!

My husband and I had the honor to vacation on the fantasy island of Bora Bora this month and we renewed our 10 year wedding vows on the breathtaking turquoise beaches while staying in one of the over the water huts. We lived a 9 day dream come true for both Keith and I. I want to share with you my journey.

Being a hopeless romantic, I wanted to renew our wedding vows for our 10 year. I had been throwing out hints for the past couple years to my hubby that we should go somewhere super romantic like those uber cool Instagram travel accounts that I follow, where I drool over dream vacations from all over the world. (When I dream big, I dream really BIG!) So I scrolled away on dream vacays on IG till I found the perfect places.

Four Season's Bora Bora
Four Season’s Bora Bora, We stayed at the very end bungalow, best view!

We narrowed it down to three locations when we did our search-Bora Bora, Santorini in Greece, and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. It was so hard to pick just one because they all looked really dreamy and let’s get real, I could see myself in all these locations saying “I do” again. In the end of our long research, the huts over the water in Bora Bora won!

Now was the fun part, all the planning! I had three friends stay at the Four Seasons in Bora Bora and gave us glowing reviews that we couldn’t say no to those great testimonials. We booked our vacay last year because April is a busy month for weddings, honeymoons, and vacations. Our wedding anniversary date is April 8th. We tried to get that week but it was a popular month. So we went with the last week of April/beginning of May.

Had the best time ever in Bora Bora!
Had the best time ever in Bora Bora!

April 29th couldn’t come fast enough this year. It seemed like a long 2016 just waiting for this tropical paradise to come and guess what? It was! Where have you been all my life Bora Bora? A bucket list of dreams I can’t wait to check off! Then the day came and we were more than ready to go. Dreams, romance, adventure, and love awaited us on this dreamy vacation.

The first day we arrived at 11 am and our rooms weren’t ready till 3 pm so we walked around the resort and got a massage. (You will need one after a 12 hour plane ride.) We got a 2 hour couples massage and unwinded from the flight. After our massage, we were so excited to check out our bungalow. Just the walk to the over the bungalow was super exciting! It was the very last one on the end. It was everything we imagined and more!  As we wizzed through the room to see the layout, we couldn’t wait to see our balcony, the views just blew us away. Mount Otemanu looked like a back drop to a movie set. It did not seem real. Another thing we couldn’t wait to do was jump off the back of our bungalow first thing in the morning. We had so many things to check off our bucket list, we couldn’t wait to get through the list.

 

We jumped off the hut every sunset together!
We jumped off the hut every sunset together!
And we dived...
And we dived…

The food was amazing! All fresh unprocessed foods! I got fresh pressed juices, fresh fruits, salads, and more. It catered to vegans and gluten-free peeps (like myself) and I was in plant-based heaven! Between the breathtaking nature back drop and the food, I was living it up. They had a great gym too! I jet skied, snorkeled, kayaked, paddle boarded, and swam for the most part everyday. Besides some champagne, wine, and margaritas to toast this festive trip, I did pretty good being healthy. The sun and the beach calls to my soul and fills me up. I just can’t get enough. I love being healthy in a big city, but the beach naturally encourages my soul to do it. The beach grounds me every time I go and makes my heart full.

We danced all over the island!
We danced all over the island!

This was such an amazing trip to reconnect with my husband, re-evaluate our personal/professional goals, and get inspired going forward. I have so much to give and have so much to live for.

Love when he dips me!
Love when he dips me!

At the end of trip waiting at the airport, my husband asked me what my favorite part of our trip was. I answered, “EVERYTHING! Can we live there?” My three favorite things were renewing our vows, swimming with the sharks, and sleeping in the over the water bungalows. All three things were very thrilling for me, so special, and are what dreams are made of. My husband spoils me and I am so grateful to have such a thoughtful loving husband who helps me live out my dreams.

When we renewed our vows on the beach, I couldn’t get past the second line without crying for joy. My heart was happy. I had to bring my vows on paper so I didn’t forget them because I was all nervous. (Love that I still get nervous with him and I have been with him for 13 years!) In this pic, I love the way he looks at me as I am crying saying our new vows for the next 10 years. He was pretty choked up. Shhh!! Don’t tell him I said that. Love, love, love my husband! I said “I still do”! Until the next 10 years Keith!

Love the way he looks at me!
Love the way he looks at me!

I want to say thank you for all your beautiful comments and post that you guys reached out to me on my social media. I adore them! Thank you for sharing a special moment in my life.

Here are some fun tips if you ever decided to go to Bora Bora!

Fun tips for Bora Bora

  1. If you get an over the water bungalow, request one at the far end of the dock so you have the best views of Mount Otemanu. It was my favorite view every morning when I woke up and before I went to bed. Did you know that Mount Oteman is 3 million years old and used to be an active volcano? I know! Crazy, huh!?
  2. You have to do the shark and stingray tour! That was my highlight of the trip (besides renewing my vows). We did the full day and it was AWESOME! We snorkeled at 3 different locations in the lagoon and then they prepared us a traditional Polynesian lunch on a private island.
  3. There is so much to do there that we didn’t get all that we wanted to do. We did 4 days of water excursions, and the rest on the beach, pool, and spa. It was all necessary on this vacay. I could have stayed another week. I wanted to do the ATV tour on the land, but it was booked. Maybe next time!
  4. Some people say you must go once in your life, I recommend twice! LOL! We will be going back, it is now my favorite place on earth. Love the Polynesian culture and this island. They make you feel so welcome and it is so special.

Love and lunges,
Marzia

Photography by Kim Akrich