Welcome to Merri, a lifestyle blog about how life should be as we age with informative, entertaining, and engaging content. It is a guide to modern aging rooted in health and happiness. I’m on a mission to retire the phrase “anti-aging” and flip the idea of aging on its head and make it the happiest phase of life.
My Southern mom named me Merri Beth (pronounced Bay-eth) but as a pre-teen with a deep Southern drawl who moved to a Northern state in the angst-ridden middle school years, I knew I needed to drop my double name and my accent. This was also about the time I told my mom we needed to stop buying my clothes at Montgomery Ward (IYKYK) and start shopping at The Gap. So now I’m just Beth, but Merri is how I live my life.
Me: I live in St. Augustine, Florida with my husband, foster failure dog, Tito, and 20-year-old rescue cat, Ollie.
Career: I spent the past 35 years as a public relations professional so I’m using those storytelling skills to share information and inspiration so we can all age merrily and love this period of life. I started my first blog in 2004 when we moved to Milan, Italy with our two young children as a way to document our journey so I consider myself an OG blogger.
Family: I have a supportive husband who continually rolls his eyes every time I tell him we’re implementing a new health strategy (he also does it when I book a new vacation). I raised two amazing kids who are now off on their own but call me every single day (yes, we’re that close of a family). I was a caregiver for my mother (my best friend) who suffered a debilitating brain aneurysm and I learned SO much about being the dreaded bologna in the sandwich generation.
Hobbies: I love to cook, garden, and travel (I don’t just love it, I’m a bit addicted to it). I am an extroverted introvert so I won’t answer your call and it may take me a few days to respond to your text. I often make plans and cancel them. And I’ve been known to live on my couch in my pajamas for days.
Passion: I am a fierce advocate for animal welfare. I serve as a District Captain for the ASPCA helping to push legislative efforts in Florida, volunteer at the local animal shelter socializing cats, and I volunteer for two local rescues.
Authenticity: I’m a fervent reader, researcher, and seeker so this is a space where I’ll share my found knowledge, experiences, favorite products and places, to cut through the generalist and cluttered content to help you design your own independent life and do the things that work for you. I’m reading all the self-help books, trying out all those Instagram product promotions, and listening to the health gurus on podcasts to drill it all down into usable tips and tools.
My core pillars and what you can learn from me:
Travel – how to travel to experiences and not places. I’ll cover everything from budgeting for trips to sharing my OCD trip planning secrets to highlights on great places to visit.
Wellness – remember my opposition to that “anti-aging” mantra? I’ll share some of the products and solutions I’ve personally discovered that really make a difference in feeling great at any age. I’ll cut through that clutter of all those out there hawking supplements and get-healthy-quick mumbo jumbo. I commit to be honest and transparent in my reviews and will fully disclose any freebies.
Purpose – as we settle into this second season of life, it’s important – no, it’s CRITICAL – that we all find a purpose and an enthusiasm for waking up everyday.
Happiness – THIS is what it’s all about people! Our time on this earth is finite so if you’re not loving your life and living every day with joy, you’re missing out on the best phase of life!
