How It All Began​

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People love to say the digital space is saturated. Too many blogs, too many influencers, too many voices all shouting at once. And maybe that is true. But I could never shake the feeling that there were still so many stories waiting to be told, especially the ones tucked inside family-owned restaurants, neighborhood gems, independent hotels, tiny tasting rooms, candlelit bars, busy kitchens, and places we may have passed a hundred times without ever really seeing them through the right lens.

 

That is why I created EatLoveTravelPlay™ Magazine. Not because the world needed another lifestyle brand, but because I knew it needed this one. A place where we could celebrate the magic in the everyday, the flavor in the small moments, and the joy of discovering, or rediscovering, what makes life feel deliciously worth living.

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For me, food has never been just food. It is memory, migration, family, history, identity, comfort, curiosity, and connection all folded into one bite. Maybe that comes from the anthropology student in me, the girl who has always wanted to understand the people behind the culture. Maybe it comes from the Radio and Television kid who loved storytelling before I even realized that was the thread tying so much of my life together. Or maybe it comes from the time I spent in and around family restaurants, watching the way hospitality becomes its own language when it is done with heart.

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I have worn a few culinary hats along the way. I spent time in culinary school, earned WSET and Sommelier certifications, had a catering business, cooked, served, studied, tasted, paired, poured, hosted, and learned from the kind of people who make food feel like more than a meal. And now, in this chapter, I get to experience it all through one of my favorite roles yet: as a consumer, admirer, storyteller, and deeply curious lover of cuisines, culture, and the people who bring them to life.

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This magazine is not just about eating well, traveling far, or having fun, though we absolutely do all of that. It is about perspective. It is about noticing the details that turn an ordinary night into something memorable: the way a candlelit bar can feel like a reset button, how one perfect bite can turn into a core memory, or how a place becomes unforgettable because of the people who made you feel welcome there.

 

And yes, sometimes it is also about a splash of Prosecco.

 

A Second Act Worth Savoring

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I started EatLoveTravelPlay as I was getting ready to turn 50, and let me tell you, this season of life is wildly underrated.

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Somewhere along the way, I found myself surrounded by a beautiful tribe of humans who, like me, love sipping bubbles on patios, feel completely at home wandering through Tuscan gardens with an Aperol in hand, and know the sacred value of a 5 o’clock dinner reservation. We have raised kids, built careers, navigated heartbreaks and breakthroughs, reinvented ourselves more than once, and learned that joy is not something you wait for. It is something you make room for.

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This chapter feels different. It feels less like chasing and more like choosing. Choosing the trip. Choosing the dinner. Choosing the people who make you laugh until your face hurts. Choosing the restaurant you have driven past twenty times and finally deciding tonight is the night. Choosing to make life feel full, not because it is perfect, but because it is yours.

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Starting this magazine was not part of some master plan. It was a leap of heart. I did not wake up one day and decide to be a digital publisher. I just kept sharing what I loved: local spots, travel tales, cocktails that made me smile, people who inspired me, and experiences that deserved more than a quick scroll. Somewhere along the way, this community started growing. You showed up. You read. You cheered. You said, “More, please.”

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So I kept going.

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The Plot Twist

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Here is the part most people do not expect. I have WSET and Sommelier certifications, which means I have spent real time learning how to taste intentionally, decode notes, understand structure, think about pairings, and tell the story inside a glass. But my curiosity did what it always does. It wandered.

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The more I leaned into flavor, the more I realized scent works in a remarkably similar way. Fragrance has notes. Cocktails have notes. Wine has notes. Spirits have notes. A great meal has rhythm, texture, balance, and mood. So does a great scent. And just like the right pairing can elevate a dish, the right fragrance can set the entire tone of a night before the first sip ever hits your lips.

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That is how Sniff & Sip was born, a series where I blend two worlds I love: fragrance and cocktails, wine, and spirits. I bring you along with me as a Scent Somm, not from a place of technical perfection, but from the joyful, curious, consumer side of the table.

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I am not here to be a technical fragrance critic. I am not going to obsess over atomizers and batch codes. I am Team Consumer, always. I care about how a scent feels, where it belongs, what it reminds you of, and what you should order when you wear it. Does it belong at brunch? In a velvet hotel bar? On a slow Sunday morning? Packed in your suitcase for a trip you booked because your soul needed a little scenery change?

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Think of it as matching your fragrance to your moment: your date night, your brunch, your solo hotel bar era, your “I need a win” Wednesday, or your main character vacation dinner where the lighting is perfect and you absolutely ordered the second cocktail.

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Why EatLoveTravelPlay?

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Because those four little words really are the heart of everything.

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Eat is where so many of the best stories begin. From street food to fine dining, I believe every bite tells us something about place, memory, people, and culture. If there is a cheese plate, we are ordering it. If there is a secret menu, we are asking for it. Food is comfort and curiosity wrapped in a napkin.

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Love is the reason this exists at all. Love for local businesses, for the humans behind the hustle, for the places that feed our souls, and for the people who show us the way. It is the part of the story that reminds us hospitality is never just service. At its best, it is care.

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Travel does not always require a boarding pass, although we will happily take one. Sometimes travel is a long-haul flight, a passport stamp, and a table overlooking the sea. Sometimes it is driving across town for dinner and feeling, for a few hours, like you have been transported somewhere else entirely. Either way, we travel with eyes wide open and hearts even wider.

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Play is the joy we refuse to outgrow. It is the laughter, the detours, the “why not?” moments, and the plans that go sideways but turn into the best stories. Life is too short not to dance barefoot, try the cocktail with the chili rim, order dessert, wander the market, or book the trip just because.

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So What Is EatLoveTravelPlay Really?

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At its heart, EatLoveTravelPlay™ is part guide, part diary, and part love letter to life. It is where we shine a light on the makers, bakers, chefs, bartenders, hoteliers, travelers, and storytellers who make the world feel more interesting, more flavorful, and more connected.

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It is where we champion small businesses, celebrate culture through food and travel, share the good stuff, and invite you to come along for the ride, from Arizona to anywhere the story takes us. Sometimes that means a neighborhood restaurant with a dish you cannot stop thinking about. Sometimes it means a boutique hotel that feels like a secret. Sometimes it means a cocktail, a perfume, a city, a view, or a conversation that lingers long after the moment has passed.

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Whether you are here for the local gems, the big adventures, the little luxuries, the food stories, the travel inspiration, or the newest Sniff This, Sip That pairing, we see you.

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You have found your people: the ones who are old enough to know better, but still young enough at heart to chase the next great story.

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So let’s eat with gusto. Love like we mean it. Travel with curiosity. And play like nobody’s watching.

 

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Welcome to EatLoveTravelPlay.

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Krista Carpenter-Beasley

Founder & Chief Joy Finder | EatLoveTravelPlay™
Eat with heart. Love with intention. Travel with curiosity. Play with joy.