Featured blog: Goldfishkiss.com by Rebekah Steen

I have been a longtime admirer of Rebekah Steen’s blog, goldfishkiss.com. I can remember sitting at my desk in downtown Toronto, watching a blizzard pass by my window, feeling my skin get tighter and drier by the second, wishing I could whisk myself to the sunny Hawaiian beaches she frequently posted herself on.

Lovin’ life on Hawaii!

Fast forward a year and a half, and here I am now on Rarotonga and still swooning over her blog – but this time as a fellow island girl, and no longer someone who is snow-covered and shivering! Her creativity, passion for all things beach-related, health-consciousness and optimistic outlook on life come through on her blog and I knew I had to showcase what inspired me to start Paradise Revealed. Not to mention her workouts and DIY’s are amazing!

I decided to contact Rebekah to see if I could write about goldfishkiss.com and ask her a few questions so we can get to know her a bit better here below the equator. Amazingly she wrote back within the day and was so warm, that I’ve now offered our house for her and her husband to stay should they ever come to the Cookies – and I mean that Rebekah!

Here’s what Rebekah had to say…

PR: Goldfishkiss.com is amazing and a true inspiration for me, there is so much about it I love. What inspires you?

RS: First off, thank you so much for the compliment! I think being an inspiration is one of the best things you can be, in any shape or form. Really, I am so flattered.

 

A lot of different things seem to inspire me…and ironically none of them are really on the computer. Travel, and just the idea of traveling and seeing the world gets my mind whirling. Adventures (near and far), breaking the daily routine, hearing stories of people doing amazing things at any age, a bunch of books, and of course the beach and coastline. Something about the ocean and everything that’s in or around it makes my mind feel like it has butterflies. Ok and art, I’ve always loved art, seeing an amazing painting can make you see things differently. It’s crazy like that!

 

PR: Do you ever get ‘blogger’s block’ and how do you overcome it?

 

RS: All the time. But usually it’s because I’m doing a bunch of things to make people & companies happy, or I am worrying about stupid things I shouldn’t worry about, like traffic, or whether or not someone will like the post, yadda yadda. The best thing I do, is to forget about all that, and do a post I would love to do, even if I knew no one would see it. Those tend to be my favorite ones too. A lot of the times it’s a random picture, or writing, a painting, or a playlist.

 

PR: You recently moved to Seattle, which is a big change from island life! I just went through culture shock moving to Rarotonga, how are you dealing with the move away from Hawaii? What do you miss the most? What’s helping you get through it? Do you see the blog changing now that you’ve moved, or will you keep the island vibe going?

 

RS: It has been a HUGE change. And although I didn’t really write about it on the blog, it was a really hard one too. I loved Hawaii so much, and I was definitely on an emotional roller coaster…and a bit of a wreck at times. But I’m learning to love Seattle and be positive about it all. I love the Washington and Oregon coasts, the surfing is still fun, roadtrips rock, and I joined an Outrigger team that has a lot of people who lived in Hawaii on it. That’s all helping for sure.

 

I think the big key has been to not compare Seattle to Hawaii. They are totally different and beautiful in their own ways.

 

But I do miss the smell of Hawaii, the warm water, the sand, plumerias I can put in my hair, palm trees, beach BBQ’s with my husband at sunset, and being able to surf almost every day…so much it hurts.

 

As for the blog. Thankfully it’s evolved to be more about my life, adventures, style, and art. I am a beach bum at heart so it will always have that vibe….just a little less sunlight and paradise beach pics in between visits back to Hawaii and in the summer. And I get to wear more clothing 🙂

 

PR: If you had to, what one swimwear line would you take with you to a desert island?

 

RS: Oh man, hardest questions ever. There are SO MANY swimwear lines out there, and they are amazing. I’d have to say Ola Feroz though. I’ve gotten to know the designer, Jess, and she is just such a sweet, humble, and genuine gal. She also takes such pride in making each of her suits…that make me feel like a million bucks. Her suits and my body get along rather well. There are great ones for surfing, as well as ones for lazy, sandy beach days. And they make your bum look great. Which is essential on a deserted island 🙂

 

PR: Your blog really gives me the sense that your life is amazing and bathed in sunshine 24/7. How do you deal with people’s jealousy of you and your life as portrayed on goldfishkiss.com?

 

I must be a magician! Don’t worry, the blog can be misleading 🙂 My life is definitely not bathed in sunshine 24/7, even when I lived in Hawaii.  But I’ve made it a priority to try and get out, be active, and make it fun, regardless of where I am living. So hopefully it’s catching on! I’m not really one for sitting and sulking and wishing my life were different. Thankfully, the blog really has an amazing group of positive followers, who I am so grateful for! I really haven’t dealt with any mean jealousy, which is quite a relief. Mainly it’s people asking how I got where I did, and advice on school, careers and life, which is so hard to answer…so, maybe I should just write a book!

 

There is so much negativity on the internet, I am really proud of the positive/lighthearted environment on Goldfish kiss.  I just try to find the beauty or “beachiness” in little things all around me, and I hope it’s contagious.

 

Meitaki Maata, Rebekah and Kia Manuia in your new home in Seattle!