blumoonfiction-blog

[blumoonfiction-blog]

The Writer's Room: A Blu Moon Fiction Craft Series

Featuring Mara Brock Akil – On Space, Ritual, and the Sacred Act of Writing At Blu Moon Fiction, storytelling isn’t just the heart of what we do—it’s our ritual, our resistance, and our reclamation. That’s why we’re launching The Writer’s Room, a new series curated by Noel Bleu that explores the art and soul of writing through the voices of iconic storytellers across literature, film, and…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

IRL: 💥 Oscar, Tragedy, and the Runaway Cart: Gilded Age Drama Meets Real-Life Chaos

I was watching the newest episode of The Gilded Age—still low-key annoyed at Marian for calling off her engagement like it’s a hobby—and giving Jack a polite clap for being kicked out of the Van Rhyn house because he’s apparently too successful now. Capitalism is weird. Anyway, I had just scribbled the “O” in Oscar Van Rhyn’s name—trying once again to decode his sexuality, his motives, and why…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

Fake-Out Takeout: How I Fed My Kid (and My Soul) Using Only Pantry Staples

🥡 When He Wants Chinese Food, But the Budget Says Otherwise… Cairo wanted Chinese food.He was demanding — the greasy bag, the soy sauce packets, the chopsticks, the whole vibe.And listen, I get it. There’s something so deeply comforting about warm fried rice, sticky chicken, and broccoli so green it makes you feel like you did something healthy even when everything’s smothered in sauce. But I…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🌿 Resurrection Garden: The One Who Lived

Earlier this month — or maybe it was late last month, the days have been blurring together — I noticed something that made my heart drop a little. Everything in the backyard?Crispy. Not struggling. Not salvageable.Just… scorched.Singed like the Philly sun had personal beef with my garden and showed up to handle it. The peas and green beans, which had been so generous with their little…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🌿 Backyard Homestead Update | Philly Edition

The garden is vibing hard out here in West Philly, y’all 🌞 Every time I step into the backyard, I feel like I’m walking through a living vision board. Green everywhere, color slowly creeping in, and a peace that only comes from watching something grow — even in the chaos. Here’s the latest from the Garden of Bleu: Backyard Edition. 💚 Mint Condition The mint is officially the queen of the…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🌿 Philly Homestead Diaries – First Harvest, Sidewalk Tea & a Garden Snack

Today was one of those garden days that felt both soft and strong — where every little task, every bloom, came with a quiet kind of power. The kind of day that reminds you how sacred slow, intentional living can be. How tending to soil and self, even in the middle of the city, can feel like ritual. I brewed my first ever compost tea, and you can’t tell me nothing now! I felt like a witchy urban…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🌸 Spring Babies Are Thriving!

Things are blooming in the Garden of Bleu, and our spring babies are officially thriving 🌿💁🏾‍♀️ The kale and marigolds have started sprouting, mint is clearly trying to take over the entire porch (she’s in her dominant plant era), and the bees have already claimed our new hyacinth like it’s the hottest brunch spot in town. 🌞 Today’s Garden To-Do List: ✔️ Transplanted the mint + broccoli into…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🌼 Welcome to the Garden of Bleu

House of Bleu Welcome to the Garden of Bleu — where soft life meets soil, and every plant has a story. What started as a few seed packets from Dollar Tree and some porchside daydreaming has officially turned into a full-blown botanical affair. Between the Miracle-Gro soil, coconut coir, and a whole lot of trial and error (plus squirrel drama), this little West Philly garden has grown into a…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🌱 Springtime with Cairo: Our First Garden Day

House Of Bleu For weeks—months, honestly—Cairo had been asking me when we could plant flowers. He’s my little green-thumbed baby, always curious, always watching the world wake up. But as much as I wanted to dive in with him, we had to wait. So we had “the seasons talk”—you know the one. The “gardens need patience, timing, and don’t really enjoy the snow or biting cold of winter” kind of talk.…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

📚 Read Every Day with Me This August – For a Cause That Matters 💙

Heeey internet besties!It’s ya girl Noel Bleu, and I’m doing something a little different this August — but also so very me.All month long, I’ll be reading every single day as part of the Read Every Day Challenge to raise funds for the American Cancer Society (ACS). My goal? To raise $250 by August 31 and help ACS continue their life-saving research, support, and outreach.This campaign is close…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

A Newspaper on My Doorstep

By: Noel Bleu Today I read a newspaper—a sentence I’m sure very few people can say these days. My mother can’t even recall the last time she read one. And honestly? Neither could I. So imagine my surprise when I found one last night, as I was returning home with Cairo—the sun setting behind the tops of houses. My son dashed up the steps ahead of me, pausing just long enough to check on our…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

#ShowsWeLove: The Wire (Season One)

I grew up a child of the ’90s and early 2000s in West Philadelphia, where the sounds of sirens, summer cookouts, and occasional gunshots weren’t a movie scene—they were the soundtrack to real life. My family lived comfortably enough to avoid the worst, but I grew up “hood adjacent,” close enough to witness the slow drag of addiction, the glint of handcuffs, and the makeshift memorials on street…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

🎥 The Hunger Games Eras As American History: A Deep Dive

From Lucy Gray to Katniss Everdeen — how each Games era mirrors real-world American struggle and spectacle. Reading Between the Ruins From the moment readers were introduced to the Hunger Games, it was clear that Panem was not simply a dystopian landscape built for spectacle—it was a reflection. Suzanne Collins didn’t just imagine a bleak future for entertainment’s sake; she constructed a…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

Bleu's Reviews: Sunrise On the Reaping - The Reaping That Sparked Rebellion

Suzanne Collins returns to Panem in Sunrise on the Reaping, but this time through the eyes of the man who would become mentor to the Girl on Fire. This isn’t just Haymitch Abernathy’s origin story—it’s a tragic exploration of what it means to be a rebel in a system designed to crush rebellion. Through the brutal lens of the 50th Hunger Games, we get an intimate, harrowing portrait of the boy who…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

Power Shifts and Secret Love: The Gilded Age Season 3 Premiere!

Season 3 of The Gilded Age is back—and thank God it is! Last season gave us broken engagements, upgraded clocks, stolen kisses, and even more stolen money. Somebody died, Peggy finally reconciled with her father, Bertha locked down a Duke like it was a stock option, and the war of the Opera Houses finally found its winner. But after all of that… we open season 3 in Arizona? What the heck is going…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

#ShowsWeLove: The Green Mile

I didn’t plan to watch The Green Mile this week. It started, as so many things do, with a YouTube rabbit hole. I stumbled on character breakdowns for Percy, John Coffey, and yes, even Mr. Jingles the mouse, and found myself realizing I had never actually watched the film all the way through. Not really. Not from start to finish. So I did. And I was not disappointed. Watching The Green Mile in…

[blumoonfiction-blog]

📚 The Grift by Clay Cane – A Lesson in Loyalty, Liberation, and Lies

“All skinfolk ain’t kinfolk.” — Zora Neale Hurston 🕳️ Introduction – From YouTube Spiral to Political AwakeningSometime in mid-April, I found myself in a familiar place: deep in a YouTube rabbit hole. I was watching everything from political commentators and comedians dragging the GOP to viral clips of regretful Trump voters realizing his policies were directly hurting their families.Then came…