Tuesday, December 31, 2024
There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow
Monday, December 30, 2024
2024 Goals and Year In Review- Transform & Emerge 🦋
It's been a while since I've done a year in review post. (I think the last time was all the way back in 2021...😳) Eliot and I were traveling to Walt Disney World for New Year's Eve of 2022 and I ran out of time. And I just stopped blogging all together after my Dad died in August of 2023. So now I'm back in what feels like uncharted territory.
After quite a few personal gut checks, I don't think I want to do a year in review like I have in the past. In years before, I would share highlights of each month with you, linking back to previous blog posts. There aren't many blog posts to link back to in 2024... and to be honest, I would rather forget a good portion of this year.
But something is calling me to write this post, and I believe that I've finally figured out why. I think it's because I learned a lot and grew a lot as a person. So here goes...
I'm going to to be 100% transparent, I spent the majority of 2024 pretty much miserable and wallowing in my own puddle of feelings. The emotions I've experienced vary from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows. It was a year of transition for me, as my family still had a lot of "firsts" to go through without my Dad. We had more birthdays, anniversaries and other holidays to navigate. For the most part, I'd like to think that I went through them with as much grace as I could muster.
I didn't share my 2024 goals or my words of the year at the beginning of 2024, but I still wrote some down. I knew 2024 was going to be a year filled with a lot of change, so I chose TRANSFORM and EMERGE for my 2024 Words of the Year. I've never chosen more than one word before, but I felt it was necessary this time. All I could picture was a butterfly. It starts out as one thing, and then transforms into something completely different. It's still the same little caterpillar that formed it's chrysalis, but it emerges as a butterfly, new and beautiful in it's own way. 🦋 This was what I hoped for myself.
And I honestly didn't think I was going to get there. I was running out of time... 2024 was rushing past me and the end of the year was sneaking up on me.
But Eliot's and my two week vacation, our trip to Walt Disney World, spending time in my favorite place, being surrounded in holiday magic and voyaging on the Disney Wish sparked something in me. I left for that trip a caterpillar, somehow I unknowingly put myself into a magical Disney chrysalis, and I returned home a butterfly. 🦋
I actually feel like me again. And it's been a long time since I've felt like myself.
The mental and emotional toll of the things I've experienced over the past two years would be a lot for anyone. And it's just an unfortunate part of life that I've experienced all the things that I have... right about at the same time. I know that there's still a lot of emotions and feelings left for me to navigate and process through. And that won't change... emotions and feelings are a never-ending and ever-evolving process.
But I feel like I've finally transformed and emerged into the new version of myself. The version who has been through some pretty intense stuff the past two years, but is ready and more equipped to take care of herself moving forward. 💖
So I guess if there's any goals that I'm glad I accomplished this year, it was this one. °o°
Sunday, December 29, 2024
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 |
- Visit Disneyland During the 60th Anniversary
- Buy Our First House
- Go On Our First Disney Cruise
- Get a Puppy
- Have Kids
- Attend a D23 Expo Convention
- Take My Parents to Disneyland for the 1st Time
- Go to Disney for Dapper Day
- Ride a Horse
- Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess
- Go to 10 Different NHL Hockey Arenas to Watch the Sharks
- Go on a Christmas Disney Cruise
- Visit Walt Disney World During the 50th Anniversary
- Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
- Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
- Get Our House Organized and Decorated
- Read a Book in French
- Finish 5 Disney Races of Any Distance
- Go to Aulani
- Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
- Swim with a Dolphin
- Go on All of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in One Day
- Reach Gold Level in Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club
- Study French for 365 Days Straight
- Travel Somewhere New
- Sew Myself a Dress
- Learn 10 New Crafting Techniques or Mediums
- Go to Magic Kingdom on 10/1/2023 for the 100 Years of Disney Celebration
- Launch Other Business Ideas
- Take Nice Photographs at Walt Disney World for Our 10th Anniversary
- Visit Disneyland During the 60th Anniversary ✅
- Buy Our First House ✅
- Go On Our First Disney Cruise ✅
Get a Puppy❌Have Kids❌- Attend a D23 Expo Convention ✅
- Take My Parents to Disneyland for the 1st Time ✅
- Go to Disney for Dapper Day ✅
Ride a Horse ❌- Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess ⚠️ (Work in Progress)
- Go to 10 Different NHL Hockey Arenas to Watch the Sharks ⚠️ (WIP)
- Go on a Christmas Disney Cruise ✅
- Visit Walt Disney World During the 50th Anniversary ✅
Ride in a Hot Air Balloon ❌- Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party ✅
Get Our House Organized and Decorated ❌Read a Book in French ❌- Finish 5 Disney Races of Any Distance ✅
Go to Aulani ❌- Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum ✅
Swim with a Dolphin ❌- Go on All of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in One Day ⚠️ (WIP)
- Reach Gold Level in Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club ✅
- Study French for 365 Days Straight ✅
- Travel Somewhere New ✅
Sew Myself a Dress❌- Learn 10 New Crafting Techniques or Mediums⚠️ (WIP)
Go to Magic Kingdom on 10/1/2023 for the 100 Years of Disney Celebration ❌Launch Other Business Ideas ❌Take Nice Photographs at Walt Disney World for Our 10th Anniversary ❌
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Santa’s Workshop Elves
Friday, December 6, 2024
It Was All Like a Dream... My Birthday Wish Come True. ✨
It's been about a week since Eliot and I got home and settled back into the "real world" after what was probably the most wonderful vacation I have ever taken. 💕
We've had a lot of magical memories at Walt Disney World, down in Florida and out at sea on Disney Cruises... but nothing like the wonder that was those two weeks. It was probably the longest vacation Eliot and I have ever taken, and this was definitely the longest trip that we've taken just the two of us.
And it couldn't have come at a better time. Now that we're home, we're 100% focused on getting through holiday orders for both of our shops. Then, we'll have the holiday season. Before we know it, we'll be at New Years and another year will start. So this break from our everyday lives was at the perfect time.
I still haven’t been able to process everything and how much I really needed this. 💖
2024 has been a rough year for me, full of a lot of transitions and personal heartbreak. I've had a lot of stuff to process, and I desperately needed some magic in my life. It was like my soul was calling out to the only place it knew I could get filled back up.
And filled up it was. It feels like the magic brought me back to life again. ✨
I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to put the feeling that I have into words. But I am so thankful for our magical trip and for getting to spend two weeks with my favorite person at some of my favorite places in the entire world! ✨🏰🌳🎥🌐🛳🏝🐭✨
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
It’s My 40th Birthday!!!
It’s My 40th Birthday today!!! ✨🎂🎈🎉🎁✨
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
A Fantasmic 40th Celebration Begins
Happy Birthday Fantasia! ✨❤️🐭💙✨
It’s a great day to celebrate magic because this afternoon, Eliot and I left Maine to travel down to Florida for my Fantasmic 40th Birthday Celebration! 🎂
If you've been following along with me on social media (Facebook or Instagram) you know how excited I have been about this upcoming trip. I've literally been counting down and looking forward to this for months. But what I haven't really gotten into on social media was how much I deeply need this trip for my soul.
Actually, the past few trips we have taken to Disney been all been much needed. In March of 2022, Eliot and I went to Disneyland, our first Disney trip after the COVID pandemic. A few months later in September 2022, we took another trip to Disneyland for the D23 Expo... this time with my brother and parents- it was Mom & Dad's first time at Disneyland. (It was amazing, but it ended up being our last family vacation together.)
Then came the worst year of my life... 2023. Eliot and I actually rang in the 2022-2023 New Year at Walt Disney World. I thought starting the year at the Magic Kingdom would make it magical... but it was just a lifeline. Because when we left Maine, we knew Nana wasn't doing well and she ended up dying that week while we were at Disney.
Our next trip to Disney was in the fall of 2023, it was supposed to be our first trip as a family without Nana. It was already weighing heavily on all of us. Then Daddy died in August. Then it was only four of us... and we were all left broken hearted. Then, days before we were supposed to leave on our trip, the shooting in Lewiston happened. At that point, we were all ready for an escape from the real world. It was a very hard trip, but it came at a time when I so desperately needed it.
No matter what... somehow the magic is always a balm for my soul.
I desperately need a break right now... from my everyday life, from our businesses, from judgement and pressure, from our house (which is a mess right now) and from the things that are weighing heavily on my heart right now. Looking forward to this trip is literally what's gotten me through a few of the tougher days.
In fact, Eliot and I actually just added two more days to our trip last week. Yup, that's right. We changed our flights home from Tuesday to Thanksgiving Day. My heart was telling me to stay longer, and after Eliot and I looked at our plans and did some "Disney math" it made more sense. So we're staying for an extra two days of magic.
So Eliot and I are officially off on another adventure... this time to Florida, the Most Magical Place on Earth and setting sail aboard the Disney Wish!
Watch out world... Melissa’s 40th Birthday Celebration begins now!!! ✨🎂🎉✨
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Happy Halloween!
Hello Ghosts and Ghouls! I just wanted to pop in to wish you all a Happy Halloween!
This is also a little bit of a Throwback Thursday post. This time last year, Eliot and I were actually down at Walt Disney World with my mother and brother for Halloween. I bought our tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party months in advance so we could celebrate Halloween Night with Mickey Mouse and friends.
It was obviously a bittersweet trip for all of us since my Dad was supposed to be with us. We debated cancelling the entire thing after he died, but we all knew that we would probably need a little bit of magic at that point. It was a pretty good night overall. We missed Daddy so much, but we knew he would want us to have fun.
The photo from above was from when we first entered the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Eliot and I made new mouse ears specifically for the event. I wore my new Torrid candy corn dress and the light up Mickey pumpkin earrings I ordered from another small shop. We spent the evening getting a little candy, taking photos with some of the characters, and watching the parade and fireworks!
This year we don't have any big plans, but I'm sure I'll still find a way to celebrete!
Happy Halloween!!! 🎃🦇👻🕷 I hope you have a spooktacular day!!! °o°
Monday, October 28, 2024
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!)
Friday, October 25, 2024
Fun Find: San Jose Sharks Pixar Night
Hello again everyone and happy Friday!!! (Two posts in one week... who dis?) I just couldn't help myself, I had to pop in again quickly. I haven't done a Fun Find Friday post in forever... but I had something that I couldn't help but share with you all.
This past Sunday Night, two of our worlds collided when the San Jose Sharks had an official "Pixar Night" during their home game against the Colorado Avalanche!
![]() |
Photo Source |
Naturally, you're all probably assuming that we went to it... but sadly we didn't. Eliot and I both really wish we could have gone out to San Jose for it, but with my big birthday trip coming up, it wasn't in the cards. However, because of how much we both love Disney, Pixar and the San Jose Sharks, I still wanted to share the details with you!
![]() |
Photo Source |
You're probably wondering why the Sharks had a Pixar Night. (To my knowledge, the Sharks are the only NHL team hosting one.) It appears that the evening was officially sponsored by Disney and Pixar as an Inside Out 2 Promotional event to coincide with the release of the movie on Disney+. Since hockey plays such an integral roll in Riley's world, it seems fitting that they chose an NHL game to host this promotion!
![]() |
Photo Source: San Jose Sharks Newsletter Email |
As if all that wasn't already cool enough, one of Eliot's and my all time favorite Disney artists, Jerrod Maruyama, created all of the artwork and marketing for the evening!
![]() |
Photo Source |
For most of the marketing, they used an Inside Out Pixar poster with the nine emotions. But if you look closely, you'll also notice a re-design of Sharkie!
Note: As soon as I saw the Sharks email about Pixar Night, I remember thinking that the artwork style looked familiar... I think my intuition had put two and two together that it was designed by Jerrod but my cognitive thoughts hadn't gotten there quite yet.
![]() |
Photo Source |
Jerrod even dropped the puck for the ceremonial puck toss before the game!
They also created Sharkie Pins with his artwork. Apparently, the lines to get the pin were ridiculously long, but Eliot's parents were able to get us one!
![]() |
Photo Source |
I also have to share a fun fact about why I think it was appropriate that the Sharks were the NHL team who hosted the event. Our very own Sharks announcer, Randy Hahn, has made a cameo in both Inside Out and Inside Out 2 as a hockey announcer! In addition to that, Kendall Coyne Schofield (a professional women's hockey player who plays for Team USA) is also in Inside Out 2 as a hockey announcer and she has worked on the Sharks network along with Randy! How cool is that?!?!
![]() |
Photo Source |
Throughout the evening, I enjoyed hearing Pixar music on the broadcast. We obviously didn't get the full game experience, so I missed whatever they did during commercial breaks or intermission, but it was fun to hear it sprinkled in during short stoppages in play. I caught three definite Pixar songs, Un Poco Loco (from Coco), You've Got a Friend in Me (from Toy Story), and Nobody Like U (from Turning Red).
![]() |
Photo Source |
After the event was over, Eliot and I noticed Sharkie had posted more images of himself as all of the emotions! (I didn't think this night could get any cooler... but it did.)
It looks like it was a really fun night! Hopefully, this will be the first of many official Pixar Nights at the Shark Tank! Eliot and I would love to attend one! °o°
Sunday, October 20, 2024
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°
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Completely Broken
Hi Friends, it’s been a while.
I wish I could say that I’ve been missing in action because I’ve been off living this wonderful life and I’ve been far too busy doing magical things to write. But that’s not the reason I haven’t been around. I honestly haven’t been able to figure out how to even put everything into words, but I think it’s time that I stop by and check in. After months of debating how (and when) to explain my extended absence, I think I've settled on the fact that direct is best. So here goes...