Looking Back At My 30 Things to Do During My 30's List

Well, I wasn't sure if I'd ever get back to this list.  But something was calling me to come on here and bring some closure to it... so here I am.

I had originally planned to do this blog post as a six months to go check in.  But since that came and went back months ago when I wasn't actively blogging, we're just going to wrap this up and move forward.  So now as a newly 40 year old, I'm officially saying goodbye to my 30's and my 30 Things to Do During My 30's List.

For those of you who are new here, ten years ago I decided to make a list of thirty things that I wanted to do during my 30's.  I decided to make this list after discovering that a lot of people make 30 things to do before turning 30 lists.  I didn't do it before I turned 30, so I decided to make one for while I was in my thirties.  Then, I kicked off my 30th year with a Rapunzel and Tangled themed birthday party.  Instead of turning 30 with dread like most people do, I chose to look at it as the next big adventure.  

Photo Source: Disney

Over the past ten years, I've had to make some tweaks to the original list.  There was my first revised list when my priorities changed.  Then, I checked in again at the halfway point.  My last revision and update was two years ago when I reached the 3/4 mark. After the coronavirus pandemic, there were a few things that didn't make sense to keep on the list.  But I wasn't too worried about it... a lot can happen in 10 years!

Here's the list for those of you who haven't seen it:

30 Things To Do During My 30's (Updated List):

1. Visit Disneyland During the 60th Anniversary 
2. Buy Our First House 
3. Go On Our First Disney Cruise
4. Get a Puppy
5. Have Kids
6. Attend a D23 Expo Convention
7. Take My Parents to Disneyland for the 1st Time
8. Go to Disney for Dapper Day
9. Ride a Horse
10. Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess
11. Go to 10 Different NHL Hockey Arenas to Watch the Sharks
12. Go on a Christmas Disney Cruise
13. Visit Walt Disney World During the 50th Anniversary
14. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
15. Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
16. Get Our House Organized and Decorated
17. Read a Book in French
18. Finish 5 Disney Races of Any Distance
19. Go to Aulani
20. Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
21. Swim with a Dolphin
22. Go on All of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in One Day
23. Reach Gold Level in Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club
24. Study French for 365 Days Straight
25. Travel Somewhere New
26. Sew Myself a Dress
27. Learn 10 New Crafting Techniques or Mediums
28. Go to Magic Kingdom on 10/1/2023 for the 100 Years of Disney Celebration
29. Launch Other Business Ideas
30. Take Nice Photographs at Walt Disney World for Our 10th Anniversary

I was originally planning to do three blog posts with a recap of 10 goals on each one.  My idea was that I could go into more detail about accomplishing each of the goals I was able to.  But right now, I simply don't have that in me.  A lot of these you've already heard about on here anyways... and I'm not going to get into the things that I didn't accomplish.  There are various reasons we didn't check some of these off... and I've become a lot more of a private person than I used to be a decade ago.

So without further ado, here are the simplified results of my list.

30 Things To Do During My 30's (Updated List):

1. Visit Disneyland During the 60th Anniversary ✅ 
2. Buy Our First House ✅  
3. Go On Our First Disney Cruise ✅ 
4. Get a Puppy ❌
5. Have Kids ❌
6. Attend a D23 Expo Convention ✅ 
7. Take My Parents to Disneyland for the 1st Time ✅ 
8. Go to Disney for Dapper Day ✅ 
9. Ride a Horse ❌
10. Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess ⚠️ (Work in Progress)
11. Go to 10 Different NHL Hockey Arenas to Watch the Sharks ⚠️ (WIP)
12. Go on a Christmas Disney Cruise ✅ 
13. Visit Walt Disney World During the 50th Anniversary ✅ 
14. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon ❌
15. Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party ✅ 
16. Get Our House Organized and Decorated ❌
17. Read a Book in French ❌
18. Finish 5 Disney Races of Any Distance ✅ 
19. Go to Aulani ❌
20. Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum ✅ 
21. Swim with a Dolphin ❌
22. Go on All of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in One Day ⚠️ (WIP)
23. Reach Gold Level in Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club ✅ 
24. Study French for 365 Days Straight ✅ 
25. Travel Somewhere New ✅ 
26. Sew Myself a Dress ❌
27. Learn 10 New Crafting Techniques or Mediums⚠️ (WIP)
28. Go to Magic Kingdom on 10/1/2023 for the 100 Years of Disney Celebration ❌
29. Launch Other Business Ideas ❌
30. Take Nice Photographs at Walt Disney World for Our 10th Anniversary ❌

I think I did pretty good.  Some of the things I didn't accomplish were out of my control, and some of them just weren't high priorities anymore.  A few of them were works in progress, with me completing most- but not getting the entire list completed.  I'm happy with what I did accomplish!  Plus I had a ton of cool experiences that I wasn't expecting to do that definitely made up for the things I didn't do in my 30's.  Here's that fun list! 🙂

Other Cool Things That I Did In My 30's

- I Saw the San Jose Sharks Live in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 ✅ 

- I Saw Alan Menken in Concert (twice) at the 2017 D23 Expo ✅ 

- I Saw the Disney Princess Panel with the voices of Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), Ariel (Jodi Benson) and Belle (Paige O'Hara) at the D23 Expo ✅ 

- Eliot and I Took a Photo with the Descendants Cast at the 2017 D23 Expo  ✅ 

- I Was in Disneyland For It's Actual 62nd Birthday Celebration (in 2017) ✅ 

- I Celebrated My 33rd Birthday in Walt Disney World (in 2017) ✅ 

- Happily Ever Hatter's Explosion of 3D Printed Mouse Ears Created An Entirely New Genre & It Allowed Me to Quit My Job, Be My Own Boss & Work at Home Full Time ✅ 

- I Attended the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose ✅ 

- Eliot and I Touched the Stanley Cup During All-Star Game in San Jose ✅ 

- I Saw a Few of the Disney on Broadway Concerts at the Festival of the Arts ✅ 

- I Went to Tons of Regular Season Games at the Shark Tank and on Road Trips ✅ 

- I Went to the Sharks Western Conference Final in 2019 ✅ 

- I Saw the Disney Princess Concert of Broadway stars... twice! ✅ 

- I Saw Two of My Favorite Childhood Bands That I'd Never Seen Live (Backstreet Boys in Bangor, ME in July 2022 and Hanson at the 2023 Food and Wine Festival) ✅ 

- Eliot and I Met a Bunch of San Jose Sharks and Sharks Legends ✅ 

- I Met Disney Imagineer Joe Rhodes at the 2022 D23 Expo ✅ 

- Daddy and I Saw the Entire Cast of Frozen Get Inducted as Disney Legends ✅ 

- I Celebrated the End of my 30's Aboard the Disney Wish! ✅ 

All in all, my 30's were pretty good.  They weren't really what I was expecting when I first set out to make this list.  But even with those jaded visions of things not coming to pass, they were still good overall.  (And losing my Dad in my 30's was definitely not on my Bingo card...)  Now I'm ready to put my 30's behind me, and look ahead to the future and what exciting new experiences and things my 40's will bring!

And that's a wrap on my 30 Things to Do During My 30's List! °o°

It’s My 40th Birthday!!!

It’s My 40th Birthday today!!! ✨🎂🎈🎉🎁✨  

For years, I have dreamed about spending my 40th birthday on a Disney Cruise ship… And as soon as I saw all of the magical details about the Disney Wish, I knew I wanted to sail on it the next time Eliot and I cruised with Mickey Mouse. 🛳✨🐭 

The Disney Wish's Magical Highlights Include: 

✨ Rapunzel On the Stern 

✨ Cinderella Themed Grand Hall

✨ Enchanted Fairytale Themed Atrium

✨ The Shimmering Wishing Star Chandelier 

✨ Captain Minnie Mouse on the Bow

✨ Princess Themed Bedrooms

If you know me at all, then you know that it’s like this ship was made for me. 🛳  Back in July of 2022, I said on here that “I am 1000% obsessed with it and its design details. (The interior design and Disney nerd in me is singing like a choir of angels at its beauty.)  I can’t wait to set sail on her!”  And right now I am… ✨

Up until now, Eliot and I have only ever set sail on the Disney Dream.  And after all of those years DREAMing, my 40th birthday WISH has come true!!! 🛳🏝🌺✨🐭🌴

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes… ✨

Happy Monday!  I've gotten a little bit back into the flow with writing on here.  I'm not sure how long it will last, but I figured I might as well go with it.  Today, I've got some more magical news to share with you.  (If you're reading it here in real time, you'll be the first to know since I'm not sharing it on our social media until later on tonight!)

Also, this news is so magical that the day has finally come... I'm using emojis on my blog.  It's my little space on the internet, so I'm gonna do it.  Plus, if you follow me on social media, you already know how much I love my emojis.  Thus, in order to add a little bit of magic back into my life and blog, here they come in all their glory! ✨

Now onto the magical news... 

🎶 A Dream is a Wish your heart makes… ✨ 

Those lyrics have always been near and dear to my heart.  But what I didn’t expect was for them to become the theme of my 40th Birthday Adventure.  That’s right, today I’m finally letting you all in on the secret that exactly three weeks from today, Eliot and I are boarding the Disney Wish for my magical birthday cruise!!! 🛳✨🐭⚓️

I’m not going to lie, I had started planning a birthday party for myself.  I had a fun theme, a Pinterest inspiration board and some great ideas, but it just never took off.  My heart knew that wasn’t really how I wanted to celebrate my milestone birthday.  What I’ve been dreaming about for years, was taking a Disney Cruise for my 40th.  But for various reasons, I never told anyone the true depth of that wish. ⭐️

Back in May, I finally confessed my dream to Eliot, and thankfully he was “on board” with it. 🛳  So Melissa’s Magical 40th Birthday Cruise Adventure began!  After that, I started looking at cruises… and the Disney Wish had a four night Christmas Cruise over my birthday.  It was like fate was calling out to me. ✨🛳🏝🐭🌴✨

And I haven’t looked back since.  In fact, those of you with eagle eyes might have figured it out since I’ve been dropping hints on social media for both Magically Melissa and Happily Ever Hatter for the past few months.  But I thought I would finally "spill the tea" and tell everyone today.  Only 21 more days until we set sail! ✨🛳 🐭✨

🎶 The Dream that you Wish will come true… 🛳🏝🌺✨🐭🌴

One Month Until the Most Magical of Birthdays!

Hello friends!  It's been 7 months since I last stopped by, so I thought it was time to pop in quickly.  Gosh, it's been so long since I regularly posted on here that I have to re-acclimate myself to the buttons for how to change the font and with how to upload a photo.  I guess it's high time I try to get over here more often... 

Since I last stopped by, the past few months have been a mix of highs and lows.  We made it through the one year anniversary of my Dad's death.  Now that we survived the year of "firsts" it feels like a giant burden has been lifted from my shoulders.

I've occasionally found myself wanting to pop over here.  Or I'll find myself "writing" a blog post in my head while in the shower.  Obviously, I haven't actually gotten over here to write anything down, but the desire has been there again... so that's something.

I did want to pop in to mark the occasion of some happy news today.  One month from today is my 40th birthday.  Usually, I would have probably done a whole big thing with it here... but I'm not sure if I'm mentally or emotionally there quite yet.  However, I did have some fun news to share with you all.

Turning 40 probably isn't something that most people get excited about... and I'll admit that I've had my moments and feelings about it.  But what I am most definitely looking forward to is my actual birthday.  Because when you turn 40, you might as well make it the magical milestone that it is.

So today I thought that I'd pop in to let you all in on a little secret, this photo of me with a Mickey balloon at Cinderella Castle celebrating my 33rd birthday won't be the only one in existence after next month because Eliot and I are going to Walt Disney World!!! °o° 

Mom's Birthday

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you... 

Today is my Mom's Birthday!  I thought I'd pop in here for a minute to celebrate.  We don't have any big plans for today.  Eliot and Jeremy are both working, and since Mom and Dad just came off of tax season two days ago, they are pretty much in rest and recovery mode.  I'm sure they will do something to celebrate, but it probably won't be anything too major since they're both still exhausted.

I called Mom a little bit ago, and we talked for about an hour.  She said she was pretty much content staying in her pajamas and hanging out at the house... but they might go into town for dinner later on and to get out of the house for a little bit.

Plus, Jeremy Eliot and I are supposed to see them in a couple of weeks, and again over Mother's Day weekend, so I'm sure we'll get a chance to celebrate Mom then.

Happy Birthday Mom!  I hope you have a great day!  °o°

Nana's First Birthday in Heaven

Today is a bittersweet day... it's Nana's birthday and the first one that we'll ever have to celebrate without her here with us.  But I wanted to make today as positive as I could.  

I had a huge Throwback Thursday post that I wanted to write about so many of the memories we have of Nana, but I've decided to wait to post it.  It's not done, and it's not something that I want to rush.  So you'll see it someday... but today isn't that day.

Instead, I'm honestly just trying to spend this day the best way I can... getting through it.  Eliot and I will be on our way down to Boston later today.  Then, we'll have a few days away from the house and the businesses.  We have got a lot of stuff planned to keep me busy and my mind elsewhere- and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

Happy First Birthday in Heaven Nana.  We miss you terribly, but I'm happy that you're with Papa again.  Have a slice of peanut butter frosted chocolate cake for me.  °o°

Melissa's 38th Birthday

Happy Birthday to me!!!  Happy Birthday to me!  Today, I'm 38 and feeling great!

Much like last year, having my birthday fall on a weekend tempted me into taking the weekend off for a quick getaway.  I went through a few different ideas (New York City, Springfield MA, San Jose for a few Sharks games, etc.), but with Eliot's and my supersized Walt Disney World trip coming up in 40 days, it really didn't make sense.

My family was going to meet up with us in August like we did last year, but since we'll be going up to Trenton on Wednesday for Thanksgiving, I said it wasn't necessary.  It was a lot of travel for everyone to only have a meal together.  I've got a few things up my sleeve that Eliot and I can do anyways!  Nothing is 100% set in stone, but we have a direction to head in.  Whatever we end up doing, I'm sure it will be a great day!

ChEars to 38 being another wonderful year!  °o°

Fun Find: Mickey- The Story of a Mouse Trailer Video

94 years ago, Steamboat Willie premiered and with it came the screen debut of our favorite mouse.  In recent years, the Walt Disney company has declared November 18th "Mickey's Birthday" and has celebrated the day in various ways.  Today, they released a new documentary exclusively on Disney+ that tells the story of Mickey.

I honestly didn't even realize this was being released until I popped into our Disney+ account this morning to find something to watch while I was eating my breakfast.  I took a peek at the new releases knowing that Disenchanted came out today... then I saw the link for the Mickey documentary.  I had to know more so I found this trailer.

Eliot and I have learned a lot about Mickey and how he came to be.  There's a great exhibit about Mickey at the Walt Disney Family museum and we really enjoyed delving into the story of how Walt created him.  I love Disney's documentaries and I think this is the perfect way to celebrate Mickey's birthday today!  I'm not sure what time Eliot will finally be home from work, but I've found what we're watching tonight before bed!

If you're looking for something to watch this weekend, you can find Mickey: The Story of a Mouse now streaming over on Disney+.  I hope you enjoy this fun find!

Happy Birthday Mickey!!! (and Minnie!!!)  °o°

A Mixed Bag

Things have certainly been busy around here.  Honestly, I knew they'd be crazy, but I wasn't prepared for the onslaught that has been the past few weeks.  As usual, Eliot and I are keeping busy between our businesses, working on the house, every day life stuff and trying to fit some fun and relaxation in!

Thankfully, we've had a bit more time together to work on all of that than usual.  Eliot had six vacation days left over that he had to use in May.  We ended up tucking most of them around weekends, so he had three 4-day weekends spread throughout the month.  I wish I could say that we got some huge project done during them... or that we accomplished something spectacular, but we didn't.  We did however make a bit of progress with the businesses, and get a little bit of rest and relaxation in.

One highlight from his long weekends was Memorial Day weekend.  We added his last vacation day to the Tuesday following it.  We drove up to Trenton Saturday afternoon and spent the weekend visiting my parents, Nana and Jeremy.

The unfortunate part of the story is how most of my weekend was thrown off track with stomach problems.  I was in a world of pain on Sunday, so we didn't really do anything but hang out at home.  (And I took a nice long mid-afternoon nap.)  It was nice to relax and spend time with everyone, but I wasn't feeling 100% at all.  

I won't get into the details, because trust me, you don't want to know them... but I think it's safe to just say that I've been having digestive issues for a few weeks now.  Eliot and I bought groceries for me to make the rice bowls I had been enjoying during most of the pandemic.  But for some reason, things haven't gone well this time around.  My stomach hasn't been happy and it's caused a lot of pain, cramping and discomfort.  I've spent a good amount of time the past few weeks on the couch or laying in bed.  So it shouldn't have been a surprise to me when I was once again in bed over the weekend.

After spending most of the afternoon in bed feeling like I wasted a day, I attempted to make something of my evening. Sunday night, we had Chinese food from our favorite local place.  It's pretty much the only time I get Chinese food because I have high expectations due to their excellent quality.  (I tried for years to find a place in MA and I finally gave up.)  Thankfully, I was able to eat most of my dinner.  Then, we all gathered in the living room to watch the Boston Celtics game.  It was Game 7 against the Miami Heat and the winner would go to the NBA Finals!  It was a stressful game and the score was pretty close for a lot of it, but the Celtics pulled it off and won 100-96!!!

Thankfully, things with my stomach were better that Memorial Day Monday and I was ready to get out of the house and do something.  I wasn't up for any of the hikes or walks I had wanted to take, but I was able to go out.  Eliot and I ended up going over to the Jordan Pond House so we finally could get our popovers.  After not having them at all last summer, I was so excited to have some!

Eliot and I went over to the Jordan Pond House later in the day hoping that we'd miss the lunchtime rush.  When we first pulled in, we thought we were going to be turned away.  The parking lot was so full that people were parked on the grass.  (People are never parked on the grass.)  Eliot was ready to tell me to leave, but I said let's just see how long the wait is.  He popped out of the car and was back in a few minutes saying that the wait to get seated was only about 20-30 minutes.

We decided to stay and walked down to the pond to take a few photos and admire the view while we were waiting.  We weren't even 15 minutes into the wait when our pager went off.  Back up the hill we went to get seated!

We thoroughly enjoyed the popovers.  I couldn't eat more than four with my stomach issues, but Eliot somehow put back six of them.  We also were able to take six home for Mom, Dad and Nana to share.  Our waiter said they don't usually do take out orders since they need to be served fresh, but our telling him that we're local and we know they won't be as good as they would be fresh made him agree to it anyways.  (He also gave us two popovers for free as a local discount!)

Eliot and I returned to Mom and Dad's house with the popovers.  After visiting for a minute and dropping those off, we headed back into town to play mini golf at Pirates Cove.  Eliot and I did the "easy" course this time since it was less crowded... and I actually won!  (I never beat him.)  I also got a hole in one on the #2 hole which was what they spun on the ship wheel so I won a token for a free game!  After that, we drove into Bar Harbor long enough to take a quick pass through town.  Things were a lot more quiet Memorial Day since a lot of people had left to go home.

The following day, Eliot and I left Trenton in the early afternoon to head south.  It took us twice as long to get home as it should have, but we stopped a few times.  We stopped in Bangor at the Chipotle for lunch and ate out in the truck.  I got out at the Bangor Hobby Lobby to use the restroom, stretch my legs and poke around.  We were also able to find the Mickey door mat I wanted!  Then, we drove south.  Eliot went into most of the Walmarts along the way looking for supplies for our business.  I got out with him at the Augusta store since I needed to use the restroom, but other than that I stayed in the car until we got home as I still wasn't feeling 100%.

Since then, Eliot and I have kept busy alternating between watching hockey and basketball while we're working on orders at night.  His home team the Golden State Warriors also made it to the NBA Finals, so now we're rooting against each other during each basketball game.  It's been interesting, but neither one of us is a huge NBA fan.  My family however, are huge Boston Celtics fans, so I'd really love for them to win the championship for Jeremy and Daddy!  Go Celtics!

As for the NHL playoffs, I'm rooting for the Colorado Avalanche at this point.  They clinched their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals last Monday after sweeping the Edmonton Oilers.  Neither Eliot nor I are huge fans of Colorado, but I really don't have any reason not to like them except that they're really good.  We had the best time at the Colorado vs Sharks game that we went to a few years ago with Eliot's family.  And I'd feel good about them winning the cup.  I guess we'll see how that goes over the next few weeks! 

The only other exciting thing happening here was Eliot's Birthday last Thursday and us going back up to Portland yesterday.  We had an enjoyable evening for Eliot's birthday, although I still wasn't feeling great.  Thankfully, my meal from Texas Roadhouse heats back up well, so I was able to enjoy the rest the following day for lunch!  We also went to Spectrum and Best Buy while we were in town.  Eliot has been wanting to get a new phone, but we realized on Thursday that it wasn't going to happen that night... which is what prompted the trip back up there yesterday.  And that was a nightmare.

What was only supposed to take about an hour became a 3+ hour debacle.  I was out in the truck starving since we hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch.  Eliot's appointment with Best Buy was from 3:00-4:00 pm, but when he got there they didn't even know he was coming.  Then, he wasn't authorized to make changes on the account.  He went to T-Mobile, found out he was on the account and Best Buy still couldn't do anything since his mother was "in charge"... she isn't even active on the account since she has a phone from work.  (Clearly, Best Buy needs to update their system.)  It was a disaster.

On the plus side, once I gave up and left Eliot at the mall, I got to go over to Joann Fabrics and poke around for a little bit to kill time.  I didn't leave with anything other than a candy bar (basically to make sure that I didn't pass out on my drive back to the mall to get Eliot) but I did enjoy looking through the fabrics!  And after I picked him up, we went out to dinner at Chili's and I got the Mexican bowl that I love!

Today, we're lying low at the house.  Eliot's going to mow the front lawn later and I'm working on some business stuff.  We're planning to watch a new Hallmark movie that we recorded last weekend and to relax a bit before another busy week!

It's been a mixed bag the past few weeks, but hopefully things will keep looking up now that my stomach has been doing a little better.  I'm anxious and excited to get back to working on the house and my organizing... and working on my business projects!  °o°

Eliot and Donald's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my favorite person in the entire world!!!  Donald Duck!  No, I'm just kidding.  I meant my husband Eliot!  (He he!)  Today is Eliot's 34th birthday!

I basically share this same photo every year but it was so much fun to be at Disneyland on Eliot and Donald's shared birthday back in 2016.  As you can see, Donald was so thrilled with the matching celebration birthday button Eliot grabbed for him.

Birthdays not celebrated at Disney seem to pale in comparison to those celebrated at Disney parks, but we're still trying to make today special for Eliot!  His Mom is actually at Disneyland today, so I guess we're kind of there in spirit at least!

It could be worse.  We're not celebrating Eliot's birthday in quarantine this year.  Plus, he was originally going to be gone this entire week on a business trip in Pittsburg, PA; so I'm just glad to have him home here in Maine!

Back in this part of the country, the weather is warming up for the most part.  Today is actually a bit cooler than it has been, but that's fine with us.  We still haven't gotten our air conditioners out yet... so cool is cool with me!  

We're not sure what we're going to do for his birthday tonight, but he should be leaving work earlier than usual so that gives us options!  Some of the big wigs from corporate have been at his work this week, and he stayed three hours late on Tuesday.  It's not really beach weather, so we might head up to Portland to have dinner.  He mentioned going to Texas Roadhouse so that might be where we end up!

No matter what we end up doing today, I hope it will be a special day for Eliot!

I hope you have a Happy Birthday babe!  I love you!!!  °o°

Welcoming June With Happy Feels

Happy Wednesday and Happy June friends!!!  Today is a special day as it's my Dad's birthday and the first day of Pride Month!  I'm feeling all sorts of happy feels! 

June is typically a busy and fun month for us.  Eliot's birthday is in eight days.  Father's Day falls a few days later... although, this year we probably won't be getting together with my family as my parents should be away on a much deserved and well-earned vacation!  (We should see them on their way through southern Maine though!)  Eliot and I also have our annual physical exams mid-month.  (Not so fun, but necessary.)

I also love June because it's the month for rainbow everything.  You guys know that I love bright colors and rainbows... and I look forward to Pride Month every year.  I love supporting our LGBTQIA+ friends as a proud ally.  I also love to see the new rainbow merchandise that Disney and all of our favorite companies produce.  A lot of people give companies a hard time for trying to "profit" off of Pride, but most of the companies that I'm purchasing from are donating their proceeds to organizations that help the LGBTQIA+ community.  I love the bright rainbow stuff that's available this month!

Finally, there's one more thing that I'm really looking forward to this month... and that's the First Day of Summer!!!  The weather here in Maine is warming up and with it so are my daydreams about summer, and sun, and all things hot.  I'm looking forward to a fun and hopefully productive summer.  We've got a lot of things in motion, but I also have quite a list of ideas for us to do in order to have some fun in the sun!

It's sure to be a crazy fun one!  Welcome June!!!  °o°

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!!  

Not gonna lie... today is pretty bittersweet for me.  I was supposed to be in Trenton the past few days helping my parents (at the end of tax season) and visiting with them, Jeremy and Nana.  Instead, I've been staying closer to home after one of Eliot's co-workers tested positive for COVID a week ago.  I decided it was best to be safe rather than sorry... still it stinks and I'm left feeling very disappointed.

We haven't been together for my Mom's birthday in quite a few years at this point.  In fact, I think the last time was probably back in 2014 when Easter was really late and it fell on Mom's birthday.  That was eight years ago... so yeah, it's been a while.

We didn't really have any big plans.  Mom was hoping to go up to Bangor.  She and Nana were thinking about getting haircuts.  Then, we were supposed to go out to lunch before Jeremy and I headed south.  Instead, Jeremy headed south while Mom decided that she wanted to stay home and relax.  After the craziness of tax season ending yesterday, she and Dad needed a break and a day to sit back and catch their breaths!

I'm happy that Mom gets to do what she wants for her birthday.  It's been a rough few years and it could be worse.  Two years ago, we were in the middle of the uncertainty of the pandemic; Mom was having a bunch of surgeries and trying her best to recover in between them.  Two years later, we're a world away from that.  Now we're planning a family trip across the country later this year to visit California.  I'm sure this birthday will be a lot better knowing that we have so much to look forward to! 

I wish I could have been there to celebrate in person, but I'm sending all of my love to Trenton today.  At least I know that Eliot and I will see them sooner than later now that tax season is finally over!  In fact, we will probably have a mini celebration for both my Mom and Nana's birthdays at the end of the month.  Mom, Dad Nana and Jeremy are coming to Portland for an event we're all attending on April 30th so I'm excited for that!

Happy Birthday Mom!  I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you, but I'd rather know that you're safe.  We'll have so much to celebrate this year.  °o°

A Bibbidi Bobbidi Birthday

Happy Bibbidi Bobbidi Birthday to my Nana!!!  

Today, the matriarch of my Mom's side of the family turns 89!  Unfortunately, we won't be able to see her today.  But I am looking forward to seeing her a few days from now when I go up to Mom and Dad's house to help out the last few days of tax season!

Nana has always been a big part of our lives.  Jeremy and I stayed with Nana and Papa often as children.  Whenever my Dad had an accounting seminar in Portland, Nana and Papa would stay over with Jeremy and me to take care of us while our parents were away.  When I was in middle school, Nana and Papa moved in with us each fall and stayed with us through Christmas.  Then, they usually went to Florida and returned in early April and stayed with my family until it was warm enough to open their camp for the summer.  Then, we'd do it all over again.  Nana and Papa stayed at our house with us often, and they became a second set of parents to Jeremy and me.

I've always considered Nana to be my very own Fairy Godmother.  When I was a kid, Nana would help make our Halloween costumes.  I remember helping her with the M&Ms costumes my entire family wore when I was in 6th grade.  She also made some clothing for my American Girl dolls.  Last summer, I told you about the Harry Potter wizard robes that Nana made me for the book release party. 

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Another really memorable outfit Nana made me was my Princess Jasmine dress for our Spring Disney Concert in elementary school.  I was so excited to have a Princess Jasmine dress of my own.  I was completely obsessed with Aladdin and her purple dress with the pink overlay.  I remember going up to Joann Fabrics with my Mom and Nana to pick out the material for my dress.  I was so excited when she finished it.  To this day, I still smile every time I see Princess Jasmine in that purple dress.

When I was in high school, I asked Nana to make my prom dress because I wanted something that no one else would have.  (She made my Mom's wedding dress... so I knew she could do it!)  I picked out a pattern of a princess style gown and Nana made me a gorgeous pastel green dress.  She'd never made anything with boning or a corset style, but she pushed through it like a rock-star and I looked like a fairytale princess.

Through the years, Nana has also helped my friends with their sewing needs.  My best friend Katie had Nana make small changes to a few dresses.  Eliot's had Nana fix a few pairs of pants that have needed to be hemmed or fixed.  (This was before I knew how to sew... I help him with them now!)  I'm pretty sure Eliot's sister Sara had a few last minute changes on her bridesmaid gown in the days leading up to our wedding.

Thus, it's no surprise that the scene in Cinderella where the mice are helping to make Cinderella's pink dress always reminds me of my Nana.  The book with the pattern, and the thread, needles, yarn, sewing basket, scissors and ribbon all over the place always remind me of Nana's sewing box and going through it as a little girl.  I'll never see that scene and not think of my grandmother.  

I've always been obsessed with that scene... and I'm not alone.  In recent years, there have been more products available with Cinderella's pink dress.  It's always popular and it usually sells out pretty quickly!  I've found a few dresses, a skirt, and Loungefly bags that all have nods to this scene.  And I have quite a bit of that merchandise.

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Someday, I'd love to have a small sewing room that's themed to that scene.  I've slowly been collecting stuff to put in it.  I have some Cinderella plush dolls and some small artwork postcards.  I have a bunch of Pinterest pins for inspiration.  I also just got that gorgeous painting from Disneyland!  One of the most treasured things in it will be my Nana's sewing machine.  (Nana wants me to have it.)  I might never know how to use it properly, but it will always have a special place in my sewing space!

Even though it's the mice who make Cinderella's pink dress, it's the Fairy Godmother who puts Cinderella back together again after her evil stepmother tears her apart.

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Nana's always been there for me like the Fairy Godmother.  She's not there all the time, but she's always been there whenever I needed her.  I can remember many trips to Friendly's with my Mom and Nana after a rough day at school or when I was having issues with friends.  Mom and Nana always cheered me up and made me whole again.

Naturally, when Eliot and I were planning our fairytale Disney Wedding, I wanted to acknowledge Nana as my Fairy Godmother.  I got all of my bridesmaids shirts with "bridesmaid" or "maid of honor" in sparkly rhinestones.  I also got one for my Mom and Nori with mother of the bride and groom, and I wanted Nana to have one as well.  I could have put "Nana" on it, but instead, I asked that the seller give me one that said "Fairy Godmother" because I thought it was more fitting.

If I see Fairy Godmother merchandise, I always try to buy it for Nana.  A few years ago, I got her a mug from Hallmark with the Fairy Godmother on it.  Eliot and I gave her a Funko Pop another year.  Last Christmas, I found a Fairy Godmother Cakeworthy flannel shirt on Shop Disney.  (I'm annoyed with myself that I waited too long to order one for myself and it sold out!  Hopefully, Cakeworthy will release it on their site!)  I have a few things up my sleeve for my Nana's birthday gift.  Hopefully they all come together so I can give everything to her when I go home for tax season!

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I wish I could have been there in person today, but I'm definitely looking forward to celebrating Nana's birthday with her in person later on this month!  My grandmother is very special to me, and I hope she knows how much she means to me, and to all of us!

Happy Birthday Nana!!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!!!  °o°

Happy Birthday Jeremy

Happy 35th Birthday to my (not so) little brother Jeremy!!!

As I mentioned yesterday, Jeremy was up this weekend visiting Eliot and me for his birthday weekend.  We've been keeping an eye on the weather, and luckily the storm we've been watching went in another direction!  Jeremy was able to drive up yesterday afternoon as we originally planned.  Then this afternoon, Mom, Dad and Nana were able to drive down to meet up with us for an early dinner.

Yesterday, Jeremy arrived at our house later in the afternoon.  After getting settled, we drove up to Portland to do a little bit of shopping.  The guys wanted to check Target, so we went there first.  Then, we went to Walmart and picked up a few groceries.  Jeremy called Pat's Pizza to order the food when we got back in the truck.  While we waited for it to get cooked, Eliot ran into Michael's to get some paint that we'd run out of.  Then, we got the pizza, and McDonald's for Eliot, on the ride home.

We decided to spend the evening watching a movie on Disney+.  Jeremy and I both still hadn't seen Raya and the Last Dragon so Jeremy picked that one.  (Eliot and I were supposed to watch it together, but he watched it a few weeks ago.)  Jeremy and I settled in on the couch with our pizzas and the movie.  Eliot sat on the chair and dozed during part of the movie, but caught most of it.  It was a great movie and we all really enjoyed it.  After that, the Sharks game was just about to start.  Jeremy went up to bed and Eliot and I watched most of the game before calling it a night.

This morning, we slept in and had a lazy Sunday.  I wished Jeremy a Happy Birthday when I got out of bed.  Eliot decided to go to our town hall to get some free dirt and salt for our driveway and Jeremy went with him.  They returned with dirt and breakfast from Dunkin Donuts.  Eliot went to work putting dirt and salt on the driveway while Jeremy and I took turns showering.  Then, the three of us hung out for a little bit until we had to leave to meet up with Mom, Dad and Nana.

We met them at Friendly's at 4:00 and enjoyed an early dinner.  It was good to catch up with everyone.  We also had a few good laughs.  (Nana unknowingly put two pairs of glasses on and couldn't figure out why she was having such a hard time reading the menu.)  Nana complemented my polka dot outfit and Mom pointed out the belt that they had gotten me to Dad.  After dinner, all of us enjoyed some ice cream (except the birthday boy who had a slice of cake I'd given him to take home).  Eliot got the last of the peppermint ice cream and he was happy as a clam that they still had some.  While I enjoyed a cookie dough sundae that was really good!

After we left the restaurant, we had a mini party for Jeremy in the parking lot.  Dad pulled their car over to ours and Jeremy opened his presents there.  (I kept joking that we were having a party under the Party City sign.)  We were all planning to leave from there, but Dad asked if we wanted to go to Home Depot for N95 face masks.  We all paraded over there in three cars.  The guys went inside while I sat in the car with Mom and Nana.  Before we knew it, they were back with three packs of face masks and a giant packages of Bounty paper towels.  After distributing the paper towels and face masks to Jeremy and Eliot, we all said goodbye to each other and parted ways.

Eliot and I headed out to do a little bit of shopping before going home.  Ironically, we got behind a car at the traffic light that was red with white polka dots and had a Minnie Mouse inspired license plate.  There were Disney stickers on the back and the license plate cover said "if I get a ticket, I hope it's to Disney World!"  Eliot and I both got a chuckle out of it since it was National Polka Dot Day Saturday and I was currently wearing my polka dot Minnie Mouse outfit!

We continued driving towards Michael's.  When Eliot was there last night, he saw that they'd just gotten a bunch of pallets of new Christmas stuff.  It was all on sale since the holiday is over and it arrived late.  Eliot really wanted me to see everything.  We poked around for a bit and bought a few treasures for the house.  I also got a few flowers for the business and supplies for some crafts!  Then, we made a few quick stops at Lowes and Walmart for containers before finally heading home.

It was a pretty low-key weekend, but it was a nice one.  Jeremy enjoyed his birthday and getting away for an overnight visit.  It was also nice to see Mom, Dad and Nana before the craziness of tax season begins.  We're not sure when we'll see them again, so this was a nice chance to get together before then!  Most importantly, it was nice to be able to get everyone together for Jeremy's birthday!

Happy Birthday Jeremy!!!  I'm glad we were able to get together to celebrate you!  °o°