Chic on the Cheap | Connecticut based style blogger on a budget, by Lydia Abate: Pura Vida

How often have I mentioned that the days and weeks pass by in a blur, from morning alarms to staring begrudgingly at the clock as it reaches midnight, marveling at how we've seemingly leapt over the last ten months in a single bound. When was the last time I savored my morning coffee, or didn't feel like spending more than ten minutes taking outfit photos was inconveniencing the person helping me behind the camera?

Lately around me I am being reminded that I need to spend time each day remembering all that I have to be grateful for, a family, a home, a job, grocery stores filled with food that I can afford, the internet, and all the multitudes of things that not everyone has and I often take for granted.

Pura Vida Bracelets started out humbly, two friends visiting Costa Rica came across two locals living in poverty and making friendship bracelets. They requested they make them 400 bracelets, took them home to California and sold them in a local boutique. The bracelets sold so well that a business was born, and now the handmade bracelets give jobs to over 100 Costa Ricans. Furthermore the company has partnered with over 190 different charities and is a member of 1% for the planet, which means every year they donate 1% of their net revenue to environmental organizations.

The Costa Rican philosophy of living a 'pure life' is what these bracelets represent, and while it might be the tiniest reminder, sometimes just one little talisman is all you need to remember to take a deep breath and appreciate life.