The Coastal Closet features a curated summer fashion flat lay displayed on a tablet screen featuring an olive green sleeveless pants set, floral midi dress, white scalloped top, rose-violet capri pants, yellow floral swimsuit, woven shell tote, straw sun hat, sunglasses, jewelry, and summer accessories selected for Coastalpolitan's Summer In Bloom Coastal Closet Editor's Pick. Floral Swirl Midi Dress (Boston Proper) Rose-Violet Cropped Capri Pants (Halogen) Clear Vinyl Wedge Sandals (Zara) Scalloped Poplin Top (Lulus) Sage Green Linen Set (Urban Hollis) Yellow Floral One-Piece Swimsuit (Milly) Peach Woven Shell Tote (Jessica Johnson) Sardine Gold Amber Sunglasses (Bottega Veneta) Real Aces Eyeglass Chain (Ettika) Cora Ribbon Sun Hat (Tommy Bahama) Twist Drop Earrings (Boston Proper) Chunky Gold Bangle Set (Boston Proper) Brut Gold Cascade Collar Necklace (Alexis Bittar) Products featured are independently selected and not sponsored or paid promotions. Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

ckcollection.com Photos Courtesy of Nicole Thompson CK Collection 320 Fairhope Avenue Fairhope, AL 36532 (251) 990+9001 ckcollection.com Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

This year is unlike any other. In 2026, America turns 250 years old, and there is something profound about marking that milestone here, along the Gulf Coast, where history runs as deep as the water and the spirit of independence has always felt personal. Two and a half centuries of resilience, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of something worth building. When you think about it through the lens of the women in this issue, that story feels very familiar. Because women have always been part of that foundation. Not always credited. Not always centered. But present, steady, and shaping things in ways that lasted long after the moment passed. That is the America we are celebrating this issue. Radiant Strength is the theme we kept returning to as these pages came together, and it means something specific to us here. Not the kind of strength that needs to announce itself. Not the kind that performs. But the kind that moves quietly through a woman's life, showing up in the way she leads, the way she runs, the way she sets a table or draws a boundary or builds a business on her own terms. It is the same strength that has carried this country forward for 250 years, and it is alive and well right here on the Gulf Coast. You'll feel that strength most powerfully in our main editorial, "All American, No Toning It Down." The title says everything, and Joanna Olsen lives every word of it. Sitting across from her and hearing her story firsthand was one of those conversations that stays with you. She is every bit as warm, grounded, and boldly herself in person as she is on these pages, and I left that interview reminded of what it truly looks like to live without apology, to love this country openly, and to carry your pride like it belongs to you, because it does. That same strength runs through the story of a woman who gave years of her life to military service, and then faced a different kind of challenge on the other side of it. Through transition, quiet healing, and the particular grace of returning to the Gulf Coast, her journey reflects something we don't talk about enough: that coming home can be its own act of courage, and rediscovering yourself after a life of service takes a strength that looks nothing like what you left with. You'll find it in Cat Bradley, who runs toward the hardest things most of us would turn away from, and in Brooke Bullard and the quiet, consistent work being done at Anchorage Children's Home, where strength looks like showing up every single day for children who need someone steady. This issue also makes space for the softer truths. The friendships that outlast the ones we expected to keep. The tables we're choosing to gather around, smaller now, but fuller in the ways that matter. The days we don't document. The thoughts we never share. The roles we hold all at once, without apology or explanation. If you picked up our last issue, you met the Coastal Closet Editor's Pick for the first time, and we are so glad you responded the way you did. We are bringing it back in this issue, and if Michelle's selections reflect her signature elegance and refined eye, you'll find mine telling a slightly different story. My style has always been eclectic, and honestly, unpredictable. I can move from a worn-in pair of jeans to an evening gown without thinking twice about it, and somehow it all feels like me. That range is intentional. Style, like the women we feature, doesn't have to stay in one lane to be beautiful. And if you love Michelle's picks as much as we do, head over to the online magazine, where her Publisher's Pick is waiting for you on the blog. There is something happening among women right now. A quiet, collective exhale. A willingness to stop performing strength and simply be it. To say no without footnotes. To live in a way that belongs to them. Gulf Coast women have always understood that. There is something about living close to the water that teaches you not to fight the tide. You learn to read it. To move with it. To trust that what is meant to stay will stay, and what is ready to shift will find its way out naturally. As I worked through this issue, I kept coming back to one thought: 250 years in, and American women are still defining what freedom looks like on their own terms. Still building. Still showing up. Still refusing to tone it down. I think the proof is somewhere in these pages. I hope you find it, or recognize it, in your own reflection too. With warmth and gratitude, Nicole Thompson Editor-In-Chief & Art Director Coastalpolitan Magazine Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

She learned to read a room before she learned to read the tide. Years of service will do that — sharpen you into someone who is always scanning, always prepared, always useful. The military gave her structure the way the shoreline gives the sea its edge: a clear line between what is ordered and what is wild. But eventually, even the most disciplined soldier has to learn to live in the open water. For many women veterans, that crossing — from uniform to civilian life — is one of the most disorienting journeys they’ll ever make. Two-thirds of women veterans report having trouble transitioning out of the military, with their largest challenges including navigating VA programs, finding employment, managing financial stress, and becoming socialized to civilian culture. The numbers are sobering. In 2024, the overall veteran unemployment rate was 3.0%, with women veterans experiencing a slightly higher rate of 3.5% compared to 2.9% for male veterans. And yet the data alone can’t capture what it actually feels like — that particular silence when no one is giving orders anymore, and you realize the next command has to come from yourself. The Gulf Coast, for some women, has become an answer to that silence. There is something about this particular strip of America — the Pensacola bays, the slow amber light over the sound, the way a salt breeze moves through sea oats with no urgency at all — that meets a veteran where she is. Not with noise. Not with ceremony. Just with presence. The water doesn’t ask what rank you held. The pelicans don’t require a resume. And slowly, almost without noticing, a woman who spent years running on adrenaline and duty begins to find a different rhythm. Along the Emerald Coast, that recalibration has found an unlikely but fitting form: a kayak paddle dipping into still water at sunrise. Heroes on the Water, a national nonprofit with a chapter rooted in the Emerald Coast and serving the communities surrounding Naval Air Station Pensacola and Eglin Air Force Base, provides no-cost therapeutic kayak fishing experiences to veterans, active-duty military members, first responders, and their families. There are no ranks on the water. No mission briefings. Just the weight of a rod in hand, the give of a current, and the particular quiet that settles over someone who has finally been given permission to simply be still. For women who spent years proving themselves in some of the most demanding institutions in the world, that stillness is not an absence — it is an arrival. This recalibration is not passive. It takes as much discipline as anything that came before — perhaps more. Trading the clarity of a mission for the ambiguity of a morning with no agenda is, for many service women, the hardest assignment of their careers. Research suggests that female veterans confront additional complexities during reintegration into civilian life beyond those faced by their male counterparts. The identity forged in service does not dissolve at separation. It must be renegotiated — piece by piece, dawn by dawn. But the Gulf Coast has a way of holding that process gently. Outdoor therapy and nature-based experiences have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression and decrease PTSD symptoms in veterans. There is science behind what the water already knows: that slowness is not weakness, and stillness is not surrender. The percentage of women veterans is expected to rise from 10 percent today to 14 percent by 2032. More women will make this crossing. More will need places — physical, emotional, geographical — where the discipline of service can soften into something sustainable. Where they can be both who they were trained to be and who they are becoming. The Gulf Coast is one such place. Not because it asks nothing of you, but because it asks something different: to notice, to breathe, to let the horizon be enough for today. For a woman shaped by service and now reshaping herself, that is not a small thing. That is everything. She came here with her boots still on. She’s learning, slowly, to take them off. Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

Welcome to Coastalpolitan's Coastal Glow Edit — our definitive summer beauty guide covering everything you need to look and feel your best from the shore to the city. Whether you're refreshing your skincare routine to stand up to the season's heat, building a makeup kit that stays put through the longest summer days, or protecting your hair from sun, salt, and humidity, we've done the work for you. Every product in this edit has been hand-selected by our editors for its performance, ingredients, and that undeniable summer-ready finish. Consider this your all-in-one resource for glowing skin, effortless makeup, and hair that actually behaves — no matter what summer has in store | SKINCARE Summer skin deserves serious care. Between the longer days, relentless heat, and extra time spent outdoors, your complexion faces some of its biggest challenges of the year — from excess oil and clogged pores to sun-induced dullness and accelerated signs of aging. This season, we've curated a lineup of editor-approved essentials that cover every step of a results-driven routine, so your skin stays clean, bright, and deeply nourished no matter what summer throws at it. | Makeup Summer makeup is all about working smarter, not harder. Heat, humidity, and long sun-soaked days demand a kit that can keep up — products that wear well, photograph beautifully, and actually improve your skin while you have them on. This season's picks strike that balance perfectly, blending skincare-grade ingredients with serious staying power for a complexion that looks effortless from morning golden hour straight through to sunset. | HAIRCARE Summer is arguably the harshest season for hair — UV exposure, saltwater, chlorine, and humidity can strip, frizz, and damage even the healthiest strands in a matter of weeks. This edit covers every step of a summer hair routine, from the shower to styling, with formulas built to protect, repair, and restore. Whether your hair is color-treated, heat-styled, or simply in need of some seasonal TLC, these picks will keep it looking and feeling its best all the way through Labor Day. *Products featured are independently selected and not sponsored or paid promotions. Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

“A clear no is, weirdly, an act of generosity. It tells people exactly where you stand.” I used to be really good at yes. Yes to the last-minute favor. Yes, to the committee nobody else wanted to join. Yes to the friend who needed a ride at 6 am, even though I had an early meeting and hadn’t slept well. I’d say yes and then spend the next hour composing a resentful internal monologue in the shower. Sound familiar? Here’s what nobody tells you when you’re growing up, people-pleasing your way through life: yes isn’t always kind. Sometimes it’s just easier. Easier than the awkward pause. Easier than watching someone’s face fall. Easier than explaining yourself to someone who might push back. So you say yes, and you smile, and you quietly add one more thing to the pile. The turning point for me — and for a lot of women I know — wasn’t dramatic. It was more like a slow realization. I was overcommitted, under-rested, and vaguely annoyed at everyone around me, which is usually a sign that I was the problem. Not them. Me. I was the one who kept saying yes. So I started practicing no. Not the apologetic kind — “I’m so sorry, I just have so much going on right now, I wish I could, maybe next time?” That’s not a no. That’s a yes, wearing a disguise. I mean a real no. Short. Warm, but firm. “That doesn’t work for me.” Full stop. The first few times felt borderline rude. Like I’d forgotten a social rule. But something interesting happened: people respected it. Not all of them, right away — but the ones who mattered did. And the ones who kept pushing? That was useful information too. A clear no is, weirdly, an act of generosity. It tells people exactly where you stand. It saves everyone the slow bleed of a reluctant yes. And it leaves your actual yeses meaning something — because when you say yes, people know you mean it. You don’t owe anyone a paragraph. Your time is not a negotiation. And the more you practice saying no like you believe that, the more you actually will. THE SHIFT LOOKS LIKE THIS Moving from I’m so sorry, I just have so much going on right now,” to a simple, warm, “That doesn’t work for me,” and meaning it completely. WHAT YOU”RE REALLY PROTECTING Moving from I’m so sorry, I just have so much going on right now,” to a simple, warm, “That doesn’t work for me,” and meaning it completely. Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

The morning begins, as the best ones here do, over coffee. Before the boutique’s lights come on, the Malone women gather at a breakfast spot along 30A — that ribbon of white sand and slow living on Florida’s Emerald Coast — to map the day ahead. “No two days are exactly the same,” Karen says, and she means it as gratitude. What they’ve built is a boutique, though that word undersells it — it is a portrait of a family growing something by hand. Karen is the heart of the store, merchandising and greeting, making sure every corner feels warm. “I never wanted it to feel transactional,” she explains. “I wanted customers to walk in and feel like they were part of something.” That instinct drew her to 30A, where people value individuality and the experience matters as much as the thing itself. The daughters carry the brand into rooms their mother can’t reach. Caitlin, the eldest, is the architecture behind the scenes — the website, the Shopify backbone, the apps — the quiet consistency that keeps a small business from buckling under its own ambition. Lauren, the youngest, is its voice and pulse, shaping the social presence, the hiring, the culture. Their father, Karen adds, is the steady current beneath it all. Working as a family means the hard days land differently. “There are slow days, long hours, seasons where you question everything,” Karen admits. “Building a business as a family means you carry the emotional side of it too.” What pulls them through is unfashionably simple: consistency, faith, showing up. And the locals, she insists, are the true heart of it all — the ones they greet by name, who feel at home long after the crowds thin. Ask what success looks like now, and the answer has quietly changed shape. “It’s become so much more than sales or numbers,” Karen says. Some days it’s a full store and happy faces; other days it’s simply getting through the hard moments together and still believing. “It’s sitting down after a long day, exhausted but proud, knowing we gave it everything we had.” There is, already, a next generation watching — a ten-month-old granddaughter underfoot, a grandson on the way. Karen doesn’t presume they’ll inherit the storefront. She hopes they inherit the rest: the hard work and kindness, the creativity and integrity, the understanding that a life can be built around passion, family, and community. Photos Provided by Frankly My Dear Boutique Frankly My Dear Boutique 8678.787.0913 3723 E. County Hwy 30A #2 Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

Oftentimes, we reminisce about our memories, remembering their faces, their laughter, the way the sun set, the happiness of it all, the small moments that make a lifetime worth having. This universal experience is precisely why it’s important to capture those moments, so that we can eternally recollect our favorite or even visualize our deepest fantasies. Artist Irina Roberts knows this well. Inspired by creating pieces that will forever bring happiness and art that turns off everyday distractions, Roberts delivers paintings that showcase the world for how truly inspiring it is in ways that are relatable to the everyday person. Anyone who witnesses Roberts’ pieces could certainly find something within them that sparks memory, entices their thoughts, and evokes a familiar emotion. The artist has a way of blending the intricacy of human feelings and remembering into works full of color, full of life, and full of remembrance. Pictured on Roberts’ online gallery you’ll see that familiar beach view that makes you miss your very first coastal trip where you dipped your feet in the salty water for the very first time, you’ll see a similar silhouette that reminds you of your very first love and the time you two strolled along the beach, and perhaps you’ll find joy in the pet portraits that happen to look like your beloved four legged friend playing fetch with you while waves crashed onshore. As a coastal artist, Roberts captures the essence of living by the bay with sand on your skin and salt in the air. She highlights the beauty of living in a coastal town with its charming creatures, mystical sea life, and snapshots into beach life and the people who lead it. Art enthusiasts can expect to recognize her works by the techniques she uses as a self-taught artist. Those who view her works can witness the deep blending of ocean blue, the combination of bright tones and hues, along with the soft glow of life itself. Irina Roberts’ mission is to evoke happiness in the home. Some of Roberts’ commission works display this as her clients proclaim their utmost gratitude and positive opinions on the pieces. Roberts has stated that over time her style has changed, but that she now appreciates the power of color and is not afraid to let it take over in her recent works. Photos by Irina Roberts' Art and Google Images Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

She used to count chairs before counting conversations. The bigger the room, the better — or so she believed. But somewhere between the noise and the nametags, she began to feel invisible in the very spaces meant to bring her together. She would drive home full of people and empty of anything real. So she pulled back. She set a smaller table. Across the country, women of faith are quietly making the same decision. They are stepping away from large, performance-driven gatherings and leaning into something more tender: an intentional circle of four, six, maybe eight — where the bread is passed slowly, candles are actually lit, and prayers are spoken aloud without embarrassment. Where someone asks how you really are and waits long enough to hear the true answer. “When you can see every face at the table, you actually have to show up with yours.” The symbolism of the table is ancient and sacred. In scripture, Jesus fed thousands — but he also sat quietly with twelve. He broke bread in upper rooms, in borrowed homes, beside still water. It is at the smaller table that the harder questions are asked and held without rushing toward resolution. Women speak of marriages straining under silence, of grief that has no tidy ending, of faith that flickers but refuses to go out. These are not conversations for a crowd. A crowd cannot hold them. What is emerging is not a rejection of community but a refinement of it. Women are not withdrawing from faith — they are protecting it. They are choosing rooms where vulnerability is the entry fee, and consistency is the covenant. Where someone notices when you haven’t shown up. The smaller table demands presence in a way a conference hall never could. You cannot scroll through it, perform for it, or slip out early before anyone notices you’ve gone. There is a particular kind of grace that only forms in close quarters. It is unhurried. It smells like coffee and something baked. It sounds like laughter interrupted by honesty. It looks like two women lingering at the door long after they said their goodbyes, because the conversation finally got to the real thing. And something holy is happening there. Roots are forming between women who once only waved from pews. The smaller the table, it turns out, the more room there is to truly belong. Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

Independence Day Bike Parade And Celebration July 3, 2026 | 2:00 PM Free Event Marina Park, 238 Watercolor Blvd. Santa Rosa Beach, FL 4th of July Dinner Cruise July 4, 2026 | 6:00 PM Tickets $35-$165 SunQuest Cruises Solaris Yacht Miramar Beach, FL Pensacola Beach 4th of July Fireworks July 4, 2026 | 9:00 PM Free Event Santa Rosa Sound / PB Boardwalk Pensacola Beach, FL Watermelon Festival at Props Brewery Hammock Back July 16-19, 2026 | 3:00 PM Free Event 1700 Great Hammock Bend Freeport, FL Paint & Sip at St. Andrews Park July 25, 2026 | 6:00 {M Tickets $35+ 4607 State Park Ln Panama City, FL Running of the Bulls Pensacola July 25 | 9:00 AM Pricing Varies Seville Quarter Pensacola, FL JUne 2026 Events More events may be added as the season unfolds. Be sure to explore our June 2026 events! Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan

More than thirty years ago, after a traumatic loss, I was given a poem by Losi A. Cheney titled People Touch Our Lives. It became an anchor during a time when my world felt unrecognizable. Today, that poem still hangs in one of the sacred spaces of my home — a reminder of how profoundly we are shaped by the people who move in and out of our lives. Cheney writes that people cross our paths with both love and carelessness, leaving marks that linger long after they’ve gone. Some departures bring relief, others leave a hollow ache. Yet each person — whether they stay for a moment, a season, of a lifetime — contributes a piece to the mosaic of who we are. TheChangingLandscapeofWomen’sFriendships As women, our relationships often mirror the stages of our lives. Research consistently shows that connection is essential to emotional well-being, especially as we navigate transitions. Friendships formed in adolescence and early adulthood — high school, college, early career, the years of raising children — often feel foundational. These are the people who witnessed our becoming. But even the most meaningful friendships can shift. Timing, proximity, and the natural evolution of our lives all play a role. Some friends remain lifelong companions; others drift as we grow in different directions. Their absence doesn’t diminish their importance. They contributed bits and pieces that helped shape the women we are today. This is the heart of the poem — and the heart of our lived experience. SeekingNewConnectionsinNewSeasons Just as we outgrow certain roles, we also outgrow certain relationships. This isn’t failure; it’s growth. Each new season of life invites new people who meet us where we are now. Healthy emotional balance requires openness to these new connections. The qualities that sustain meaningful friendships in midlife — loyalty, presence, consistency, and emotional safety — become more essential as our responsibilities deepen and our time becomes precious. TheRoleofForgiveness Where there is vulnerability, there will be misunderstanding. Even the closest friendships experience moments of hurt. When this happens, it’s important to pause, reflect, and — when possible — repair. Sometimes that means talking with a trusted partner or therapist to understand our own part in the conflict. Sometimes it means offering grace. And sometimes it means accepting that a friendship has reached its natural end. BecomingaLoyalFriendtoOurselves Perhaps the most transformative lesson is this: the qualities we seek in others must also be cultivated within ourselves. Loyalty. Patience. Gentleness. Presence. Consistency. Emotional Safety. We are, after all, the one friend we carry through every season. As we honor the bits and pieces we’ve gathered from those who have touched our lives, we also honor the ongoing work of becoming whole. Friendships — past, present, and future — are part of that lifelong journey toward emotional health and growth. intimacy. DIAL 988 24/7 LIFELINE MENTAL HEALTH About The Author Bonnie Bucco is a Pensacola native with a longstanding career dedicated to supporting individuals and families across the lifespan. She earned her BA in Psychology from Clemson University before continuing her graduate studies in Expressive Art Therapy, receiving her MA from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bonnie began her counseling career in Tampa, Florida, working in community mental health, and went on to earn national and state credentials, including National Board Certified Counselor and Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor, as well as LMHC supervisor certification. After returning to Pensacola in 2005, Bonnie continued to build a diverse and impactful practice, providing therapeutic services across a wide range of settings and working with clients ages 4 to 88. She later earned an Education Specialist degree and became certified in School Counseling and Elementary Education. Today, she maintains a private practice in downtown Pensacola and is also a Certified Grief Counselor. Her clinical specialties include child development, family systems, parenting and co-parenting, mood disorders, trauma, and grief. Bonnie’s integrative approach draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Art Therapy, and Mindfulness, with a focus on healing, growth, and strengthening relationships for individuals, couples, and families. Bonnie Bucco, LMHC Coastalpolitan Magazine | 2026 FEB-MAR FOLLOW US @coastalpolitan