What is UP, my people?! I’m Olivia, a 31-year-old Southern California native who now calls the Bay Area home. After working as a Speech Pathologist, I followed my passion for storytelling and food, transitioning to become a full-time content creator. Using food as my canvas, I love connecting funny and thoughtful stories from my life and Cuban-American upbringing, embodying the belief that sharing is at the heart of everything I do. As a self-proclaimed recipe enthusiast and home chef (read: absolute mess in the kitchen), I'm on a mission to make cooking and mixology approachable yet beautiful. A few things to know about me: I’m loud, independent, and reinventing myself every day.

What is On The Rocks?

Welcome to my chatty, unapologetic, constantly-in-flux corner of the internet. On The Rocks was built out of my dedication to living authentically, embracing every flaw along the way. Think of it as a virtual love letter from me to you 💌

Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month you’ll receive a little note in your inbox, rounding up recipe creations i’ve posted to social media and sharing a few links to things i’m loving. The issue will be called Simple Pleasures. In addition, paying subscribers get access to the Gentle Reminder issue, which will appear in your inbox every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. This is where you can expect exclusive recipes, unfiltered thoughts, journal prompts, and even more links to things i’m loving. Paid subscribers will also receive access to monthly audio message Q+A’s, travel guides, inspiring interviews and general! goodness! galore!

Let's connect, laugh, and maybe even share a few tears along the way.

Why Should You Pay for It?

A Substack allows me to continue creating helpful and inspiring content while also giving me the space to elaborate on topics outside of what you see on Instagram. Substack is a place where I can do this and stay true to my value of privacy. My goal here is to connect with a smaller, more intimate audience—building a space where vulnerability is welcome and we all feel supported.

I don’t expect everyone to pay for my Substack. (There are a lot of these popping up everywhere, I get it.) But I do want everyone interested to be able to access this content. That’s why I’ve set my subscription cost to as low as it can go—$5/month or $50 for the year.

Let’s math it: $50 spent annually is $4.10/month—somewhere around what you’d pay for a standard latte. I like to think of this as a comparable equivalent: it’s an experience that brings a little inspiration, warmth, and community to your day. The difference? You can always come back to this Substack for more.

—Of course, if this isn’t feasible and the cost is keeping you from being able to enjoy the content, let’s chat. Send me an email and we can figure out a plan :)

if you’re wondering who designed my logo, it was a combo of two insanely talented people! doodle by Jenna Dayan Serna and graphics by Eli Block -

i’m so excited you’re here! x Liv