I spent every summer of my life in the Rockaways, a barrier island that’s part of NYC. That’s where my parents met, fell in love, married, had babies, and lived year-round, before my dad got transferred to Chicago, right before I was born. And that’s where Mi Ola is headquartered.

It’s a cool little area, and its fortunes and neighborhoods have had their ups and downs. The most recent “down” was that most of the area was pretty decimated by Hurricane Sandy. Luckily the area is slowly recovering, and some great new stuff is happening!

Enter the PLAYLAND MOTEL. Opening as we speak, this new boutique hotel has 12 rooms, 3 bars, 2 restaurants and a huge indoor/outdoor bar and boutique. Playland also is one of the only fully licensed outdoor areas in the Rockaways, and will be home to great summer events.

Each of the motel roms are a piece of art. Really. Playland asked 12 artists connected to art, design, or surfing to design 1 room to support the Rockaway community after the devastation of hurricane Sandy.

It’s very cool! I know I’m going there on Thursday… and hoping to arrange a Mi Ola fashion event sometime this summer!

Check it out.

We all know the typical magazines you bring to the beach… but let’s mix it up a bit. You can get a cool indie perspective on your life and still veg out successfully! Here’s what we recommend when you’re taking a break from the waves.

These are 2 more independent magazines we LOVE. Full disclosure: We’re superfans and are hoping they’ll love Mi Ola as much as we love them - soon!

Foam Magazine

Foam Magazine covers surfing, fashion, music and culture and brings together how the surf culture has influenced so much in our every day world. Foam talks to you like your the fabulous surfer girl who travels around the world, soaking up culture and saltwater from every spot. Try it! You’ll Like it! And you’ll definitely learn about new brands, bands and events that you wouldn’t read about in the magazines above.

Salted

WHOA… Salted Magazine covers the best female surfers in the world, with a very different viewpoint from when this was folded into a part of Surfer Magazine. Most surf magazines are a mix of Bra culture and great photography… not so with Salted. Headed by Janna Irons, a part of the Surfer staff, and a part of the Irons family, she covers women’s surfing with respect, and still has a lot of fun.