Endometriosis 💛🎗🌻

It’s been exactly 10 months (to the day) since I took this photo.  This girl didn’t know it at the time… but all these months later, it would mean a lot more to her than she ever imagined.  Sunflowers would take on an entirely different meaning & symbolism.  They would make her feel weak, while also making her feel strong.

I’ve been trying to figure out the best time and the best way to say this… but days, weeks, and months have passed and I’m not any closer to finding a way.  So I think it’s time that I just rip the bandaid off and say it.  I have Endometriosis. 🎗🌻

I’ve known something wasn’t right for a while now, but I didn’t have the words to describe it.  80 days ago, I went in for an MRI on my stomach.  A week and one day later, I went to the hospital again for an ultrasound to confirm the findings from the MRI. Both concluded there was plenty of evidence to support suspected endometriosis.  And more alarmingly, both showed a cyst larger than a baseball hanging out on/by my right ovary that needs to be evicted asap.

It’s taken these past two months just to find a doctor who was willing to work on me.  My new surgical gynecologist at our local hospital- nope, my case is too complex for him.  Our specialists who we assumed would be the answer- nope, this is all even above their scope.  After a near mental breakdown and some pleading, I was able to get them to refer me to someone… a minimally invasive surgical specialist down at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Eliot and I traveled down to MA to meet with him last week.  (I didn’t even have to wait the 5-6 months on their waiting list because my case was too high of a priority.)  But thankfully, not only was he amazing, but he validated everything I’ve been feeling- while confirming my endometriosis diagnosis and finally giving me a path forward… excision surgery to remove all of the endometriosis lesions and the giant cyst that’s taken up residence in my stomach.  For the first time in months, I saw a glimmer of hope. 

I know that I’ve mostly been off the radar for awhile.  I've been desperately trying to keep my social media accounts active... but I've exhausted most of my efforts on that.  To be totally honest, Melissa’s having a hell of a time taking care of Melissa right now.  

Endometriosis has sucked the life out of me… quite literally.  I’m not really ok physically, mentally or emotionally.  Coming to terms with the fact that I have a chronic illness that has no real cure has been a rough road to travel down… but I’m getting there.  I’m sore and I hurt constantly.  I can feel the cyst… and on days when I’m brave enough to look in a mirror, I can see where it resides.  

The mental gymnastics that I’ve been through on this journey is ridiculous.  Women's health is not taken as seriously as it should be.  I’m incredibly thankful that the past two months have gone as well as they have.  Because what is blatantly apparent to me now, is how long I’ve had these problems.  Events from the past 5+ years suddenly make sense.  Those two times that I had food poisoning after Christmas, while everyone else was fine?  Endometriosis.  All of the stomach pains, cramping and pain during my period, urination or bowel movements?  Endometriosis.  It’s been here all along, with quite literally all of the symptoms that come with it.  But it’s taken this long to get to the cause of my symptoms- and that would drive anyone crazy.

And the exhaustion that comes with endometriosis… it’s a special hell that I can’t even describe.  If I could spend all day, every day in bed, I would.  That’s just not who I am. Lately, I’ve taken to bursting into tears over the fact that I can’t do anything without it exhausting me.  Occasionally, I’ll have a day where I mostly feel fine, but a lot of the time I feel like a shell of the person I once was.  My schedule now revolves around days I shower and go out to do things, and days I stay in my pjs/loungewear and hang out on the couch at home.  If I schedule two “go out" days in a row… I pay for it.  And naps- those are the most glorious things in the world right now.  My bed is my greatest friend.

Honestly, it’s been awful.  And I hate myself for complaining because I know there are many people who have it so much worse than I do.  

Thankfully, I finally have some hope on the horizon… My surgery hasn't been scheduled yet, but I should be hearing from them any day now.  I am anticipating that sometime this summer we will be traveling down to Boston for my operation.

To be honest, I’m terrified of having another surgery.  This one is a minimally invasive laparoscopy, but it’s still on my stomach.  My recovery will be more extensive than my knee surgery years ago.  Plus, there’s no way of knowing what stage of endometriosis you have until they’re inside of you looking for it and seeing just how bad things are.  (Endometriosis is usually only diagnosed through exploratory surgery.)  My imaging already shows enough that they’ve confidently diagnosed me without the initial surgery.  So now I’m scared of what they’ll actually find.  It's very overwhelming to me... but the good news is that I’m confident my doctor will be able to remove it.

So this is what my life looks like right now.  I'd like to tell you that I'll be on here more often, but right now I simply don't know what the future holds.  I will try to keep you updated though... whether it's here or on my social media accounts.  Mostly, I’m really hoping that sooner than later, I’m going to feel a lot more like me again.  

Finally, I’d like to send out a special thank you to my Mom for spending many days listening to me whine, complain, breakdown and cry throughout this entire frustrating process.  And an even bigger thank you to Eliot for quite literally picking me up when I’ve fallen, driving me around everywhere (since I can’t seem to stay awake), taking me to appointments, holding me tight (but not too tight) when I cry, and for standing beside me holding my hand through everything. 

Here's hoping that my future looks much brighter. 💛🎗🌻

It's National Melissa Day ✨💖✨

Happy National Melissa Day!!!  ✨💖✨ 

Yup, that’s right… apparently my fellow Melissas and I have our own day!?! 🤣 Honestly, I didn't believe it at first.  I had randomly stumbled across a Facebook post that said "Happy National Melissa Day" a day after it had passed last year.  At the time, I looked it up online... and lo and behold, there it was.  It was a real thing!  So now that I know this random holiday exists... I intend to make sure that I remember to celebrate!!! 💕👑✨

I knew that the day was off to a good start when Eliot brought inside our mail before leaving for work.  The personalized Baublebar necklace that I'd bought a few weeks ago during their spring sale had arrived... a gold bubble necklace with my name and Mickey.

And since today is literally all about celebrating the Melissas in our lives, I decided that I would celebrate me by taking the day off from doing normal stuff. 💕 Things here have kind of been a hot mess lately... and I'm usually desperately trying to make it through my never ending to do list.  Instead of stressing about checking things off... I tried to spend some time this afternoon doing a few creative things I’ve been putting off. 🎨 

I've bought a lot of new beads and jewelry making supplies over the past few months, so I took a little bit of time today to sit down to organize them and put them all together into a bucket.  Then, I cracked open the colorful letter beads and strung together a few words and phrases to make into bracelets- including my name... because it is National Melissa Day after all. 😉 I had visions of actually making the friendship bracelets today, but I'll probably need to put the beads into containers before I can tackle that.  Still, this afternoon was very relaxing and creatively gratifying for me.

Hopefully I can carve out some more creative time for myself in the near future.  I see a lot of creativity, happiness and new friendship bracelets in my future… °o°

Happy First Day of Spring! 🌸

Happy First Day of Spring!!! 🌸🌿🌼🌐🌸🌳

I can't believe that it's already been a month since my last post.  I had no intention of waiting so long to visit back here, but things suddenly got very busy very quickly.  

Thankfully, it's been good things for the most part.  Between hockey season and tucking in a few ski trips for Eliot, the past month has flown right by us!  I actually had a few merchandise posts that I've been wanting to post for weeks... At this point, they seem kind of pointless but I might share them anyways since they were important to me.

Anyways, I wanted to drop by for a quick visit in honor of the first day of spring!  The snow in our yard has disappeared quickly over the last week, with days regularly in the 40's and 50's.  I'm looking forward to everything turning green again.  We've still got a bit of time before that happens, but I'm sure it'll be here before I know it!

In the meantime, Eliot and I will be busy with spring cleaning and organizing in the house.  We've also got a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with the businesses.  But once more of that is done, we can get some things done outside!  I'm definitely looking forward to warmer days, sunshine, flowers and spending time outside!

Happy Spring Everyone!!!  °o°

Cinderella's 75th Anniversary ✨

Today is the 75th Anniversary of Disney's Cinderella!!! 💖  

As many of you already know, Cinderella has meant so much to me through the years.  It's the first thing I think of when someone talks about your classic fairytale.  It's a story filled with wishes, dreams and ends with a fairytale romance.  Disney has produced many classic stories... but none of them have impacted me as much as Cinderella.

Fairy Godmother will forever remind me of my Nana and I'm not even sure why.  Nana meant so much to me.  She was like a second mother, but somewhere in my mind, that equated to a fairy godmother.  She was there when I needed her.  She listened when I needed someone to talk to.  She always knew how to make my day a bit brighter.  So maybe the reason they're the same in my mind is that my Nana was magic to me.

One of the main reasons that I always wanted to learn how to sew was from the scene with Cinderella's mice and bird friends making her pink dress.  I remember being in awe when my Nana showed me her sewing basket filled with stuff just like in the movie.  One day, my Grammie gave me my very own sewing basket filled with my first sewing supplies taken right off the store shelves of Dad's family's store.  I treasured that box... and to this day I've never used the supplies in it because they're so special.  Flash forward to today where both Eliot and I are taking adult ed sewing classes together.  I still haven't made myself a dress (yet) but it's on the list!  Hopefully someday... 

Eliot's and my Disney Wedding is obviously the pillar of my Cinderella dreams.  Our Disney Fairy Tale Wedding was literally that... a storybook fairytale come true.  There were so many little touches that we pulled from Cinderella- riding in the carriage, Major Domo with our wedding rings in the slipper, the pumpkin coach graphic, glass slipper place card holders, taking photos at Cinderella Castle... the entire thing was so magical and I’m forever grateful to have experienced my very own real life fairytale. ✨🏰✨ 

Finally, most recently 'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes' has been extra special to me... especially the part where it says, "Have faith in your dreams and someday, Your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, If you keep on believing, The dream that you wish will come true." 🌈  It's no secret that the past few years haven't been that easy on me.  But this passage of the lyrics reminds me of all the hopes and dreams that I had as a little girl and all the ones I still have.  On the harder days, it always gives me the strength to keep dreaming and believing.

Happy 75th Cinderella.  Thank you for being so special to me.  °o°

Small Shop Saturday: Seam Boat Willie Festival of the Arts Collection 🎨

Happy Saturday Everyone!  

Today I'm bringing back another blog segment.  It's been forever since I've done a Small Shop Saturday post.  These complication posts can take so much time between finding the products, writing and adding links to everything... but it's so satisfying once it's finished!  However, instead of doing the giant Valentine's Day drop with multiple shops that I was originally planning on doing, I've decided to focus on one small shop and the collection they just had available to order.

I've been following Seam Boat Willie for a few years now.  Casey and Chris make the most amazing jewelry in small batches.  They 3D model and cast their pieces in sterling silver at their studio in Utah.  Most of their products are released as part of a small themed collection.  Then the jewelry is made to order and will ship in a few weeks.

I'm so excited that I just placed my first order a few days ago!  I've been waiting very patiently for the Festival of the Arts collection to make it's return.  After two years, it was finally back and I knew I had to grab a few pieces!  Art and jewelry are both so special to me... so I knew I had to order a few special pieces while they were available!

Let's take a look at the Seam Boat Willie Festival of the Arts collection!

First up, we have these Festival of the Arts charms... I love all of them and how well they coordinate with each other!!!  And look at those details!!! 🌐🌈💡🎨🖌️

Returning this year were the 1982 Necklaces textured like our Spaceship Earth.  I love these and how simple they are... only a Disney fan would immediately spot it. 🌐

The 1982 Ring also made it's return and I had to get one! 🌐

The Fig Necklace is modeled after our favorite purple pigmented dragon Figment!  The details on this design are absolutely insane... it's incredible! 💡

There's also Fig Ring for people who want to carry one little spark everywhere. 💡

There's an Imagination Necklace for those of us hoping to light that little spark! 🌈

Here's the Paint Palette Necklace that I've been dreaming about for over two years! 🎨 And I'm not joking... I totally kicked myself when I missed this last time around.  I'm obsessed with Mickey paint palettes and this is something I would wear all the time.  (Thankfully, this time I bought it, and it will be on it's way home to be with me soon!)

Naturally, I also had to have a Paintbrush Necklace to go with my paint palette! 🖌️

This Paintbrush Ring also needed a loving home... so I was happy to provide it one! 🖌️ But in all seriousness, this was another design I was kicking myself over not getting last time.  I love this ring and I'm obsessed with how it swirls around your finger.

And that's all for the Festival of the Arts collection for this year!  Unfortunately, it's been another rough week... so by the time this is posting, the collection will have returned to the vault.  But there's so much more!  If art isn't your thing, Seam Boat Willie also makes jewelry for Disney foods, Star Wars and they have a huge Halloween collection!

If you're interested in following Seam Boat Willie, check out their website, or follow them on their Facebook page or Instagram.  I love to watch their stories to see what they're working on behind the scenes and how the jewelry is made.  It's so fascinating to me!

I cannot wait for my jewelry to arrive!  I've wanted these for so long and I'm so excited about adding these special pieces to my collection!  I'm a little sad that they didn't have the Mickey paint palette ring again this drop, but I'm hopeful that I'll have one someday!  In the meantime, I'll definitely be cherishing these special pieces!  °o°

Please Note: Eliot and I are not affiliated with any of the shops I share (other than our own Happily Ever Hatter and Snowblade Creations Etsy shops) and we will not earn anything if you purchase something from this post.  I just wanted to spread a little bit of magical good will by sharing some stuff that I love!  I know how much it means to small shops for their stuff to be shared.

All of these photos belong to the shop in which I've shared them from.  If you link photos from this post, please attach them to their corresponding shop!

Magical Merchandise: Disney American Girl Dolls

Happy Monday Friends!  It has been SO long since I've done a post about Disney merchandise.  Although I've saved photos of products here and there over the past year and a half, there's absolutely no way that I'll ever get "caught up" with them.  But I would like to get back into posting about merchandise more regularly.  So today I've made a special selection to get back into my Magical Merchandise Monday blog segment.

I believe I've briefly told you about my obsession with American Girl Dolls when I was younger.  Felicity was my absolute favorite, but I also had Samantha and a doll that looked like me.  I would spend hours pouring over the catalog when it arrived in the mail.  I always loved the little miniature foods and accessories.  Even as I grew older, my American Girl Dolls were very special to me, and I've taken extra care of them.

So you can imagine my surprise when one day, I opened my email inbox to discover that American Girl was making Disney Princess dolls!  It's like a dream come true!

In July of 2023, AG released three limited edition American Girl Doll Collector Series dolls to coincide with Disney's 100th anniversary celebration.  (I had every intention of posting about the dolls on here... and then a few weeks later my world came crashing down.)  The first three dolls released were Rapunzel, Belle and Jasmine.  Swarovski partnered with AG for the collector dolls and they had tons of sparkle and details on their outfits.  The dolls were limited to 4,000 of each design and they retailed for $300.

At the time, I remember thinking that $300 was a little more expensive than what I would want to spend on one of them.  But looking back, I wish I had splurged and gotten Rapunzel.  The intricate details on her dress are absolutely stunning!

But thankfully, I didn't totally miss out as this was only the beginning of the Disney and American Girl collaboration.  Since the original collector series, AG has also made more standard play dolls for little girls.  So when I saw these... I knew I had to get them.

In February of 2024, they released the first general dolls: Tiana, Ariel and Cinderella... along with other outfits and accessory packs (with sidekicks!) for each of them.

In July of 2024, they released limited edition versions of Anna and Elsa as part of their Frozen American Girl Doll Collector Series dolls.

In August 2024, I was pleased to see that Rapunzel was back, but it was a simpler version of the doll instead of the Swarovski collector design.  However, I didn't care because I knew she would be mine someday.  She also had accessories with her release.  The only disappointing part of her release is that Rapunzel didn't come with another dress option like the original three general dolls did.

Back in November they released Moana to coincide with the release of Moana 2 in theaters.  The doll is beautiful, but Pua and Hei Hei really steal the show!

And this was where I thought today's posts about new Disney American Girl Dolls was going to end... but I happened to check my email less than 5 minutes before I had this post scheduled to go live at 2:30 PM and they have literally just released a general Belle doll.  (Talk about some good timing!)  So after a few quick adjustments and additions to my post, here's what the Belle doll released today looks like!

Aren't these adorable?!?!?  I'm obsessed... and I'm confident that American Girl will be releasing more of the Disney Princesses as time passes.  I can't wait to see who is next and what other outfits, accessories and side kicks she'll have available!

The reason I picked this for my first Magical Merchandise Monday post back, is that I am now the very proud owner of two of these Disney dolls.  For Christmas this year, I asked Santa for a lot of smaller paints and crafting supplies... but my "big items" were Rapunzel and Cinderella.  So Christmas morning, I was transported back in time 30 years as I delicately opened Rapunzel (from my Mom) and Cinderella (from Jeremy).

The dolls are so beautiful.  I won't lie, even though I knew what they were when I was opening them, it still made me a little bit teary eyed.  It brought me back to being a kid and feeling all of the wonder when I first opened Felicity and Samantha.  And the two accessory packs I got took my breath away.  Rapunzel's little paint set is perfection, and Cinderella's pink dress tugged at my heartstrings.  That scene of the mice and birds making her pink dress will always remind me of my Nana.

It's safe the say that American Girl has knocked it out of the park on these Disney dolls.  I am so happy they have partnered with Disney to bring these dolls to the current generation of little girls... and to those of us "big girls" who are still young at heart.  °o°

All photos are from the American Girl website, their facebook page or from marketing emails they sent me.  For more information, please visit their website.  (I also used American Girl Fandom Wiki to research information in this post.)

February Focus ✨

Happy February Everyone! 💕

The first month of 2025 is in the books... and as usual, it flew right by me.

This week started out a little shaky... literally.  (Maine had a 3.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday that I definitely felt!)  But thankfully, it's taken a turn for the better.  I started the week feeling completely defeated and now I feel like I could take on the world. 

This year, I've definitely got my goal getter cap on and it feels like I'm a woman on a mission.  However if I'm going to get anything done, I've gotta get working on smaller goals in order to achieve the bigger things that I've got my sights set on.

Some of those smaller goals started this past week.  It's no secret that Eliot and I have been working behind the scenes on new business ideas.  This week, the groundwork for one of my newer ideas was laid out.  Accounts have been set up, the design process has started, supply lists have been made, and most exciting for me, product and sample brainstorming has begun!  I see a lot of fun happening over the coming weeks. 💖

I also see a lot of cleaning and organizing (both mentally and physically) in my future.  There are gonna be a lot of lists... and there's probably not going to be as much time for other things.  I'm committed to my 2025 goals and what I want for myself this year.  However, I want to assure you that I am still planning to continue posting on here more often.  I'm just not sure how often and how in depth the posts will be.  But I've already got 5 posts up for January and today will be post six.  Considering that I only had 12 posts for all of last year, I'm already halfway to that number and off to a good start!

That makes me feel really good, because my January was kind of a hot mess and all over the place.  I'm in that weird place where I simultaneously feel like I got a ton of stuff done, and also nothing done.  So I'll be trying to take February to re-focus and get myself set up for the rest of the year. ✨ 

It's time to get my February Focus on!  °o°