Travel • Lifestyle • Midlife Reinvention • Strong Enough to Start Again
Hey, I’m LaVerne Murphy — a sunshine-loving, gluten-sensitive, post–gallbladder-removal, hip-arthritis-managing, semi-retired woman figuring this stage of life out one honest day at a time… and sharing the journey as I go.
A few things about me:
- I’m an Independent Travel Advisor with Fora Travel Inc.
- I’m also a lifestyle blogger
- I’m learning to navigate eating after gallbladder removal
- I’m managing moderate hip arthritis (which affects my fitness journey)
- I live with SAD, so sunshine is more than just a preference — it’s survival
- I’m officially semi-retired, building a life with more freedom and less stress
- My husband and I are creating an off-grid summer home in Canada
- And the dream? Summers here. Winters abroad. Sunshine whenever possible.
This website is my central hub — a place where travel, wellness, lifestyle, and midlife reinvention live together. Everything is connected by one guiding theme in my life right now:
Strong Enough to Start Again
Because at 57, I’m starting again in my body, in my routines, in my health, in my work, and in the way I want to live the second half of my life.
If you’re here, maybe you’re starting again too.
🌴 Travel With LaVerne
Travel has always been where I feel most alive.
Give me sunshine, turquoise water, a quiet adults-only resort, and a book? I’m good.
I don’t push deals.
I don’t want to “sell” travel.
I want to share it.
My trips, my experiences, the resorts I love, the moments that made me breathe deeper, the places you’ve never heard of but absolutely should.
If someone wants me to help them plan a trip, amazing.
If not? Also amazing.
Travel is part of my life — not a pressure.
🔥 Ignite Lifestyle
Menopause hit me like a brick wall.
Gut issues? Surprise!
Food sensitivities? Add them to the list.
Energy swings? Check.
Mood changes? Check.
Trying to control my body with the same rules I used at 25? Hilarious.
So this page also follows my journey of:
- rebuilding my fitness (again)
- eating for low inflammation
- figuring out what my body needs NOW
- navigating SAD during Canadian winters
- creating a lifestyle where I can travel and feel GOOD doing it
And yes — sometimes it’s messy, sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes I just need a nap and a chamomile tea.
🌿 LaVerne Everyday
This is the “real life” part of my world — the daily things that make me me:
- gardening
- building our off-grid summer cabin
- cooking
- Costco runs
- morning routines
- life with SAD
- reorganizing things for no reason
- dreaming up winter travel plans
- spending time with my husband
- learning what semi-retired life feels like
It’s not curated.
It’s not perfect.
It’s just my life.
✨ What You’ll Find on This Website
- Travel inspiration, not pressure
- Lifestyle content for women 45+
- Fitness + health updates (real ones — not “bounce back” nonsense)
- Recipes that work for my very particular gut
- Our cabin build journey
- SAD survival content and how I manage it
- My “Strong Enough to Start Again” story as it unfolds in real time
- Blog posts that are honest, helpful, and sometimes a little funny
I want this to feel like you’re hanging out with a friend — not being sold to.
❤️ Where I Share the Most
Instagram | Facebook | Linktree
(Links are in the footer of every page.)
