Family Photos: Goodbye, Summer!

Oh, hello there, September 1st…how’d you manage to sneak up on me so quickly? You’re a rather bittersweet day, aren’t you? Bittersweet and a little deceiving. You pretend that you’re just another day, but we both know what’s coming — we both well aware of the subtext that whispers in the changing winds, if you will. It’s a new song.

The song of fall.

I don’t know about you, friends, but I’m not prepared to say goodbye to the summer months. At all. My Facebook feed is already full of Pumpkin Spice talk and littered with the requisite leaf emoji, and it all makes me very sad and wistful. Wistful for yesterday, when it was still August and I could at least console myself by saying, “It’s still August and everyone knows that August is still summer, so…“

Well, I suppose I’ve got to face the harsh realities now. There’s no time left to deny that the seasons are a-changing! BUT!! At least I can comfort myself with these commemorative end-of-summer snapshots. At least I’ll always have the memories of Summer 2016, like my recent hair cut, above…my classic style, of course…

My mom captured her first day back at work, where she got caught in a monsoon of a rainstorm in the morning! Hello, 2016-2017 school year! What a way to kick things off…

Speaking of my mom, her green thumb endeavors were successful this year! She planted these glorious tomatoes and the joy on her face was, I think, even more delicious than the tomatoes themselves…

And these muffins?? A true sign we’re getting back into our breakfast routine. I’m not sure how my mom does it, but she ALWAYS manages to make them even more scrumptious every single time! I’m also back to my classic ham sandwich lunch while at the library…

Finally, no Family Photos would be complete without a couple shots of Harry and Stella, who never seem to let the changing seasons bother them. They’re probably the chillest cats in the entire universe!

Happy September, friends! Are you excited?? What do you have planned this month? Anything exciting?? Let’s chat in the comments!! xoxo

An Ode To Willy Wonka

We all remember when we saw Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory for the first time. The candy-coated world was the perfect playground for our childhood, full of excitement at every turn and an everlasting supply of Everlasting Gobstoppers.

I couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 when I was introduced to that wonderful world. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, and I immediately identified with Charlie Bucket. He was innocent, wide-eyed and curious about the world around him. I remember watching The Candyman scene on repeat as a gigantic smile formed across my face. There’s never been a movie character as happy as Charlie when he won that golden ticket and the life-changing tour of Willy Wonka’s factory. Charlie loved life and he loved his family, and in turn, we all loved him for that. He represented all the happiness in our little souls. A few of my favorite Wonka-isms…

–“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”

–“So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you.”

–“So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

–“If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it; want to change the world… there’s nothing to it.”

–“There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.”

So I was heartbroken over Gene Wilder’s death this week. The man who brought Mr. Wonka to life was a larger-than-life figure to a generation, bringing both adults and children such joy and happy memories. With him, anything was possible, any dream attainable and every star reachable.

Thank you, Mr. Wilder, for all the wonderful memories! You truly were one of a kind.


Were you obsessed with Willy Wonka as a kid? Did you have a favorite character? And, doesn’t the film just take you back to your childhood…every single time??? xoxo

Tuesday Tunes: Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet”

Editor’s Note: Song lyrics denoted in bold italics.

So I decided to take things in a relatively modern direction with today’s tune! Are you surprised? Well, you know me — I do like to shake things up every now and again! As I always say, a classic is never a bad choice, but there’s something to be said for embracing the hip and happening!

Anyway, we were cleaning over the weekend and this song came on Pandora. I hadn’t heard it in awhile and forgot just how much I liked it a few years ago. It had the sort of sing-song-y melody that would quickly give way to a little toe tapping and finger snapping fun. It reminded me of the innocent days of the ’50s when teens would meet at record hops and dance late into the night. I mean, I’m pretty sure that was a thing back then — that’s the decade I’ve always thought I belonged in, at least.

And then, the song popped in my head again yesterday when I was writing to the future Mr. Melissa Blake and something just sort of…clicked? Yes, clicked is definitely the right word. Something just suddenly made sense…

Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet”
From Crazy Love

That Mr. Buble — he’s a charming one, isn’t he? Filling my head with all sorts of notions and visions of rainbows and candy and unicorns flying on puffy white clouds. He makes me start to feel like anything is possible and that maybe — just maybe — nothing is ever truly out of reach for any of us.

I’m not surprised
Not everything lasts
I’ve broken my heart so many times
I stopped keepin’ track
Talk myself in
I talk myself out
I get all worked up
Then I let myself down

I’ll be the first to admit that I can get jaded sometimes. And really, in today’s world, that’s not such a hard thing to do. Heck, sometimes it gets to be so overwhelming that all you want to do is get under the covers for an extended long winter’s nap. Yes, I do have a pretty big tendency of getting myself all sorts of worked up when it comes to matters of the heart — maybe that’s just the curse of being human? — and I can over-analyze with the best of them. On second thought, I can over-analyze BETTER than the best of them! After all, it seems to just come naturally to me. Dare I say that I’ve got it down to an art and half the time, I don’t even know I’m doing it.

Of course, though, I tend to tire myself out to the point where I can’t even see straight. My head gets a-whirling and a-twirling and everything seems to be moving 100 miles a minute. It’s seriously that bad!


And I know someday that it’ll all turn out
You’ll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, that I’ll give so much more than I get
I just haven’t met you yet

And then, like the clouds parting after a fierce storm, these words resonate in my soul. They make me feel better. They make me believe in love, in a world where there could be something as unrealistic as The One. Swiftly enough, my jaded edges are made smooth. I believe in love, sure, but these words make me feel like it’s actually possible, you know? Maybe this whole world isn’t just some twisted cosmic joke played on the love lorn.

I might have to wait
I’ll never give up
I guess it’s half timing
And the other half’s luck
Wherever you are
Whenever it’s right
You come out of nowhere and into my

Some people might not agree, but I like the idea that The One could pop up when you least expect it. He could be the guy I walk past in the grocery store. He could be the person sitting next to me on the bus. He could even be the waiter at the random restaurant you go to on a whim. The whole point is that even though you don’t see him now, that doesn’t mean he’s not out there. It just means you haven’t met him yet.

That’s really a beautiful thing when you think about it, isn’t it? Maybe in the end, that’s how love should be. A beautiful, surprising journey. Thanks, Mr. Buble!! xoxo

Do or Don’t: Heartbeat Ring For Bae…

Picture this: It’s been a LONG day and you’re so exhausted that you can’t even see straight. You’re worn out and all you really want to do is talk to your significant other. The only problem? They’re thousands of miles away. But wait!!! You’ve got the next best thing to hearing their voice…

Their actual heartbeat, of course!!
Say hello to Touch rings, the newest high-tech gadget to keep your love alive, long distance, be damned! Created by The Touch, these little rings can be synced via your phone; one tap and you can immediately feel another person’s pulse in real time.
Whhhaaattt?? Did someone just say real time? Yup, it’s as simple as that. A connection is only a tap away!
I don’t quite know what to make of these. I mean, it’s kind of a sweet idea…but it’s equally kind of creepy, you know? Being able to feel someone’s heartbeat on your finger in real time? It sounds like some sort of futuristic alien technology — or, at the very least, a New Age-y form of Fatal Attraction just waiting to happen. I’m not sure I’d even want to find out; to be that connected to someone? That’s just sort of scary, if you ask me! Some things should just be private — and one’s heartbeat should probably be one of those things. Oh, and not to mention the hefty price tag. For almost $300, I could get medical imaging of my heart or record my heartbeat on a CD.
What’s your verdict, friends? Is this a do or a BIG don’t? Could you ever see yourself getting one?? I’m not the only one who thinks this is uber creepy, right? Or maybe I’m just getting cynical in my old age…?? xoxo