#but I have watched a 10 minute YouTube video on how to escape a kidnapping
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Wanna get drunk and feral in a local park with me?
#yes this is how you get kidnapped#but I have watched a 10 minute YouTube video on how to escape a kidnapping#so it’s all good
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I Can Do Anything I Want
Requested from no one.
Tom Holland x Male Reader
(Tom be looking sexy)
Warning: Violence, kidnapping, psychotic Tom, mention of nudity, all character are above the age of 18
Background: March 21st, 2030, 7:00 PM, you were getting ready to bunker down with your mom and dad. You hoped that nothing would happen tonight but someone decided to come in and give you a visit.
Tom is 20 and you are 18
M/n: Male name.
L/n: Last name.
F/n: Friend's name
Word count: 2900
I hope you enjoy it!! Sorry if it is bad! And there are probably many mistakes and grammar errors.
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DISCLAIMER: I MEAN NO OFFENSE, DISRESPECT, OR HARM TO ANY OF THESE CELEBRITIES! THIS IS JUST FICTION.
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MINORS DNI. FEMALE READERS… I’LL ALLOW YOU TO READ MY FICS BUT DO NOT FETISHIZE ANY OF MY STORIES
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You were sitting on the couch with your mom sitting on the left side, and your father on your right side. You were waiting for the announcement to come on. ‘It's almost 7:00 PM…” you thought to yourself. The holiday you hated the most was about to begin.
Just then the emergency broadcast came on with that ear-shattering sound. And the screen on the TV turns blue with the symbol of the NFFA in the background.
“This is not a test.”
“This is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the Annual Purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government.”
“Weapons of class 4 and lower have been authorized for use during the Purge. All other weapons are restricted.”
“Government officials of ranking 10 have been granted immunity from the Purge and shall not be harmed.”
“Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours.”
“Police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7 AM when the Purge concludes.”
“Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn.”
"May God be with you all.”
Then the air horn sirens blared meaning the Purge officially began. Your family has already set up defenses. You, of course, never participate. Your family put out blue flowers to show that they don’t want to participate but they support the purge.
You know your parents, they didn’t support this “holiday” at all. Come on now, 12 hours without any laws. Your parents spoke out against it.
Some (well most) Americans find the Purge to be successful. Unemployment rates plummeted down to 1 percent, crime rates decreased, and the economy was revived.
If you are wondering how this came into reality, it all started back in 2014.
(little history of how the Purge became a tradition in American society.)
In 2014, the United States was facing economic collapse, rising social unrest, and multiple wars. The economic collapse was worse than the Mortgage Crisis of 2008. Neighborhoods across the country were destroyed by an opioid epidemic.
Then a party was founded as a substitute for the Republicans and Democrats, they called themselves the New Founding Fathers of America or NFFA.
In 2016, the first experimental Purge took place and it proved to be successful. Then in 2017, the second experimental Purge began this time it was Nationwide.
Not long after that, the 28th amendment to the US constitution was ratified meaning that Purging is now an American right.
The Purge starts on March 21st at 7:00 PM and it ends at sunrise, March 22nd, 7:00 AM. all crime is legal for 12 hours, no killing high government officials, and don’t use explosives or bioweapons. Those who don’t follow the rules will be hanged.
This resulted in crime and unemployment rates dropping down 1 percent, government spending down 37 percent, and the GDP soared to 37.21 trillion dollars.
Still, many people disagreed with this because it was believed that the Purge was used as means of population control, and to decrease the poor population but they couldn’t do anything about it.
(little history lesson over. I just wanna include that part for those who have never seen the purge.)
We got off the couch and went to go do our own things. “Sweetie do wanna eat dinner?” my mom said, I smiled. “Yes please.” she smiled at me and went to go cook dinner. You went upstairs to chill in your room. Your window was boarded up but you could easily remove it when things go down.
————————————————————————————
Time skip (8:00 PM)
————————————————————————————
It's been one hour since commencement. You were up in your room just watching YouTube videos. Your mother was downstairs cooking Lasagna (or whatever your favorite dish is) your father was downstairs watching the news.
The news would keep up with things happening tonight. Were watching a live stream showing what was happening on the outside. Building on fire, people killing each other, and parties. All of this was caught on drones.
You would hear the occasional screams and gunfire in the area but you and your family were secure.
Then you heard banging on the front door. The door and windows were boarded up with wood planks. ‘Who is that?’ you thought, you were worried it was one of your bullies who decided tonight was the night they get to get rid of you.
You went downstairs to see your parents. They had fear in their eyes, then the door busted one. Three men wearing tuxedos with masks on walked in. then they pulled out their guns, that’s when you dashed and went up into your room.
Your parents tried to run but they were quickly gunned down. You could hear gunshots go off and their screams filled the house.
You locked your bedroom door and ran to the window to remove the wood plank blocking it. You could hear the footsteps coming up the stairs. One of them called out to you, “M/n⁓ where are you⁓? Come out from hiding… are you in your room?”
You recognized that deep British accent, it was Tom! Tom Holland from your class! ‘What did I do to him? I never did anything wrong to him!’ but that didn’t stop you from removing the plank. You jumped out the window and ran for it.
Tom busted through your door to see that you have escaped. He gritted his teeth and went downstairs to see his twin brothers sitting down on the couch with their masks off.
“So he got away?” the older twin said. “Yeah, he did. We’ll find him though. He isn’t stupid enough to go downtown. He’ll probably head to his friend's house.” Tom said a little anger that his precious lover had gone away.
“We already took care of his friends. But we couldn’t get to one of them.” The younger twin said, Tom nodded and went out to go find you.
(Btw Tom's parents live in the UK and they don’t know what he is doing. Tom’s brothers are just helping him catch you)
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Time skip (9:00 PM)
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You were running to your friend's house hoping they would help you. You had to be careful while running through the streets, there were purgers everywhere. The city of Los Angeles was crawling with them, especially in the downtown area.
Thankfully you took your phone with you to see what time it was. ‘9:00 PM.’ you turned off your but you made sure it was on silent mode so it wouldn't bring attention to you.
You had a little encounter with Purgers but they were quickly gunned down by a machine gun attached to the back of a car. You saw vehicles on fire, dead bodies, and an old lady just watching a body burn.
‘This is all crazy!’ you thought as you ran faster just to get off the streets but what you didn’t was that someone was following you.
After running for 30 minutes you finally arrived at one of your friend’s houses. You didn’t realize that their barricades were broken until you twisted the knob on the door.
You walked in to see the whole place trashed. You walked through the rooms to see F/N parents dead, lying on the floor. Their eyes were open, you see nothing in them. “Please don’t be dead…” you said putting your hand over your mouth as you tried not to cry out loud.
You slowly walked up the stairs and approached F/N’s room. There you saw it, F/N lying on the floor dead as well. You burst out crying but that ended when you heard a car pull up.
“Find him!” you knew who that was immediate. You couldn’t run anywhere because they were downstairs, and the window had steel as a barricade. So, you hid in F/n’s closet.
You knew they had a pile of clothing in the corner, so you buried yourself in their clothes. You heard their footsteps walking up the stairs, and them breaking down the door. Then you heard them in the room.
You could see a figure walking through a small hole in the clothing pile. You covered your mouth so you wouldn’t breathe too hard. “CLEAR!” the figure yelled and went back downstairs. You heard their conversation from downstairs because of how the walls were thin.
“I thought he would be here!” Tom yelled, and out of anger shots one of his own men. The twins and the other weren’t fazed by this. They knew Tom had a few screws loose.
Then you heard them leave but you didn’t believe they actually left so you decided to stay where you were for the 2 to 3 hours.
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Time skip (3:00 AM)
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While waiting you accidentally fell asleep (why? because of plot purposes and I'm the author)and you realized that it was 3:00 AM, 4 hours till the Purge ends. You thought you could stay here but then you smelt something burning.
You got out of the pile to see the room was on fire. ‘What?! How?’ you quickly got and ran before the roof caved in on you. The backdoor was barricaded but due to the fire, it melted the steel allowing you to escape. (is that possible?)
You were on the run again but before you left, you noticed a group of people watching the house burn. ‘Are those my teachers?’ The group was your teachers from different classes. You knew they didn’t like F/N at all.
‘What has this country become?’ if this keeps happening, if more innocent people keep dying, then the nation will become the “Nation of Murders.” you decided to ignore them and run.
But one of them saw you, “M/n? Is that you?” one of them yelled. You froze, ‘how did they--?’ you turned around to see them walking towards you. “Hey don't worry we ain’t kill you. You are our favorite student!”
You looked at them shocked. “Why are you out here? Aren’t you supposed to be with your parents?” you looked down and began to cry. They noticed and said they didn’t need to know.
“Do you wanna come with us? There’s a neighborhood block party.” you nodded and decided to go with them. ‘So I guess they kill the kids they hate.’ they then took you to one of the nearby parties.
But one of Tom’s men noticed and decided to alert the big boss.
(just to be clear, in the Purge series there isn’t a legal purge. Meaning that you can kill someone who is 18 or younger. Now that’s fucked up.)
You and the teachers arrived at the block party. You see everyone partying, some had creepy masks, and others were naked grinding against each other. You lost your teachers in the crowd so you decided to just hideout.
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Time skip (6:00 AM, one hour till the Purge ends.)
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(if you are wondering why Tom didn’t show up early, it's because he was busy doing something else….. Or maybe its because I was too lazy to put anything during that time skip)
You checked your phone and noticed it was 6:00 AM. ‘One more hour!’ you smiled as the night was finally coming to an end. The sun was rising in the distance but people were still partying. ‘I survived the night.’
You even began to party yourself in celebration of surviving. You had a couple of drinks but not enough to be completely drunk. You danced with some people. Overall you were having a good time
But that happiness was short-lived when the gunfire began to go off. People were screaming and tripping over each other as they tried to run away. You already knew who it was. Tom fucking Holland and his group arrived
He noticed you in the crowd and smirked as he can finally have you before the Purge ended. You ran away from the crowd to one of those large garbage containers. You hid behind them hoping Tom won’t find you.
You could still hear the screams of people and more gunfire further down the street. You creeped out from your hiding place and walked back to the street.
You were horrified by what you were seeing. Dead bodies everywhere, your teacher’s dead bodies, and some people you were dancing with. All dead.
Then you heard footsteps behind you, you turned around to see Tom there smiling sadistically at you. You admit he was kind of hot but that doesn’t matter right now. “Why are you doing this? I never did anything to you! And did you find me?! ”
(6:55 AM)
“Why’m I doing this? Well, it's because of M/n…… I love you M/n! You never did anything wrong. And how did I find you? Well, remember there's an app where you can track down certain people’s phones? Well, that’s how I found you, that and one of my men told me.” Tom sounded proud of what he just said.
(6:57 AM)
“I thought I could use this Purge night as a way to finally have you to myself! I hope you share the same feeling like me.” you couldn’t believe what you were hearing.
“Tom…. look, you’re a cute guy, hell I would probably have dated if you just came up to me like a normal person would. But no, you went ahead and killed everyone. You killed my family and friends, and you think I share the same feeling like you! No!” you yelled the tension was thick and Tom was angry.
(6:59 AM)
“I loved you! And they were getting in the way!--” Tom took a pause, “If I can’t have then no one will!” Tom charged at you with his knife. ‘What happened to his gun?’
But you quickly snapped out when he charged at you. You dodged his attack but he stabbed you in the arm. He was about to finish when…
(7:00 AM)
*INSERT SIREN NOISE*
The siren went off meaning the Purge had come to an end. Tom was still going to attack but was stopped when a voice came on, “Stop what you are doing! I repeat stop what you are doing! The Purge has concluded. If anyone does a crime, you will face the consequences.”
Tom stopped what he was doing and looked at you, “Next Purge, I’m going to get you.” Tom then got into his car and drove off.
You felt like you were going to faint from blood loss but then someone drove up to you. “Hey, okay?! Oh my God, we need to get you to the hospital!” they picked you up and carried you into the backseat, and drove you to the nearest hospital.
The radio was on and began to report on tonight’s events. “Just after 7:00 AM, March 22nd Pacific Standard, the Annual Purge was concluded. Reports are coming from all over the nation that this was the most participated Purge yet….
364 days until the next Purge...
THE GOOD ENDING
Bad Ending.
Time skip (6:00 AM, one hour till the Purge ends.)
You checked your phone and noticed it was 6:00 AM. ‘One more hour!’ you smiled as the night was finally coming to an end. The sun was rising in the distance but people were still partying. ‘I survived the night.’
You even began to party yourself in celebration of surviving. Yo had a couple of drinks but not enough to be completely drunk. You danced with some people. Overall you were having a good time
But that happiness was short-lived when the gunfire began to go off. People were screaming and tripping over each other as they tried to run away. You already knew who it was. Tom fucking Holland and his group arrived
He noticed you in the crowd and smirked as he can finally have you before the Purge ended. You ran away from the crowd to one of those large garbage containers. You hid behind them hoping Tom won’t find you.
You could still hear the screams of people and more gunfire further down the street. You creeped out from your hiding place and walked back to the street.
You were horrified by what you were seeing. Dead bodies everywhere, your teacher’s dead bodies, and some people you were dancing with. All dead.
Just then you felt something being injected into your neck. You passed out but before you completely passed out, you got a glimpse of who it was…. It was Tom.
“You're finally mine M/n. I’ll keep you forever…. No one will take us apart….”
PART TWO CAN BE FOUND HERE
#tom holland#x male reader#tom holland x male reader#the purge#violence#good ending#bad ending#kidnapping#psychotic tom holland#mention of nudity
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When You’re Ready Ch. 10
Pairing: Bryce Lahela x f! MC (Eleanor Bloom) x Ethan Ramsey.
Word Count: 5.3k (Sorry!!!)
Warning: Innuendos at the beginning, then, just angst and a bit of cursing.
A/N: Yes, I’m sorry. Today’s chapter is the longest I’ve done so far, but it’s worth it (at least to me) because is about my babyyyy. Things are going to get harder from now on, so I’m excited for the upcoming chapters!! I hope you enjoy the angst because there’s more to come. Hehe.
A/N2: I’m gonna post some One Shots for Kinktober, so I was wondering if anyone wants to be tagged? It will be BrycexEleanor and DrakexMC from The Royal Romance. I’ve never published anything for TRR but I’m planning to write something in the future. Meanwhile, I’ll exercise with some smut muahaha. So let me know if you wanna be tagged 😏
Taglist @utterlyinevitable @binny1985 @shanzay44 @choicesficwriterscreations @laiba-the-person @starrystarrytrouble @lahellacute @lucy-268 @aylamreads @cinnamonspongecake @romewritingshop @angela8756
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Chapter 10: Stay.
Funny you’re the broken one
But I’m the only one who needed saving.
“Is that Raf?”—Eleanor raised her head from Bryce’s chest and stared at the ceiling, trying to prick up her ear.
At the distance, it was heard a deep voice in the middle of a mix of laughter.
“Yeah, that’s totally him.”
“What is he doing here so early?”
“Early?”—He chuckled—"It’s midday, babe.”
“Midday?!”—She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and checked. It was 12.10.—"And how we slept through all morning?”
“We stayed up late, don’t you remember? I think we got here like 3 am and then you just couldn’t shut up about how mad you were because Ramsey is being irrational about the influencer girl.”
“Oh, right. Drunken rant.”—Her cheeks blushed—“I’m sorry”
“Why are you sorry?”
“For making you hear all this crap when probably I ranted all night at Donahue’s about it.”
“Actually, you were just pissed off that Ramsey was mad at you, but when we got here you said the real stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Like you think that Ramsey is suspecting about your relationship with me and he’s taking it on you. He’s mad because you went behind his back with the Gwyneth thing, obviously, but he has contained his rage for weeks, and now he’s just… exploding.”
“Oh, fuck, you’re right, I did say that—She covered her face with both hands—"God, I’m so stupid.”
“Why? I think you’re right. He’s been acting like an ass with me this whole time too, he looks at me like I’m a piece of garbage or something.”
“But it’s really unprofessional that he is taking a work issue to an extreme just because he is what? Jealous? Mad that I’m getting over him? It’s very inconsistent of him.”
“Yes, it is. Are you going to do something about it?”
“Like what?”
“Like talk to him, tell him to stop,, that he shouldn’t take it on you at work just because he’s jealous.”
“I… I don’t know, I wouldn’t like to mix things, maybe I’m wrong.”
“You’re not wrong, Elle. You can’t let him be this ass with you, much less affect your work.”
Bryce saw how her head inside was spinning around, and her hands tensed over his rib cage.
“Just think about it.”—He added, stroking her hair comfortingly—"Don’t think for a second this is your fault, ‘cause it’s not. He made his choice in the first place.”
“I know…”
Eleanor leaned on her elbow to look at him in the eyes, smiling faintly at him.
“Thank you for being so understanding”
Bryce smiled back and then caressed her cheek while his eyes were expressing tenderness and protection.
She nuzzled into his soft chest losing herself into the sweet scent from his neck.
“Let’s focus on something less stressing and boring instead”—She whispered, lovingly.
“Like what?”—He asked tantalizingly roaming his hands through her back.
“Like the fact that I’m finally waking up with you.”
“Aw, you woke up really sugary today, uh?”
“Don’t you like it?”—She asked seriously.
“I have sweet tooth just because of you.”
“Awwww”—Eleanor encircled her arms around his neck pulling him down to her lips.—“You’re saying I’m sugary, but you just gave me a diabetic coma.”
“And I am having constipation ‘cause you, Eleanor Bloom, are being too cheesy.”
She burst out laughing, resonating in the whole apartment.
“Bryce! You’re impossible.”
“And you are impopsicle, babe.”—Before she could retort anything, he caught her lips into his, his hands travelling slowly down her bum. He deepened the kiss the moment she opened her mouth in a sigh.
“Do we have time for a quickie before getting ready for the concert?”
“Is it me or you’re doubting about your timing skills?”
“No, I’m just asking for consent.”
“We are wasting precious seconds, Dr. Lahela.”
Both chuckled before Eleanor pushed him against the bed and climbed on top of him, the sheets falling and pooling behind her, exposing her bare body.
“Sweet, sweet cowgirl ride me till the end of the world if you want”
Eleanor laughed hard again.
“Yeehaw!”—She joked between laughs.
This time it took like two minutes to make her stop. It would have been more if it weren’t for Bryce, who replaced her laughs for other more improper exclamations that soon had to be hushed too.
By the time Bryce and Eleanor appeared in the living room, all their friends were ready for the Music Festival Eleanor had invited them, courtesy of her patient, Gwyneth Monroe. After a quick chat, they all headed to Cambridge, excited for the new adventure.
The group spent the afternoon eating, drinking, playing lawn games and, of course, enjoying the music. At some point, they split when Eleanor, Kyra, and Aurora decided to see an art exposition while Bryce, Elijah, and Jackie joined Sienna to see an indie band she had been fangirling all afternoon.
Once the group met again, an hour later, it didn’t take long for Bryce and Eleanor to get lost in the crowd, enjoying the music while savoring the moment alone in the open air.
The sun was about to set when Bryce felt his phone buzzing. As he pulled it out of his pocket the letters froze him. He ended the call and saw 10 missing calls and a lot of messages in the notification bar.
“Bryce, where are you?”
“I’m outside your apartment.”
“Bryce, please answer me! Are you at work?”
Eleanor stared at him worried, sensing his nervousness.
“Is everything alright?”
“I… I have to go.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Nothing, I just remembered tomorrow I have a really difficult surgery and I need to study up.”
“Okay.”—Her brows knitted, suspicious.
He kissed her quickly and turned to leave, but she caught his wrist before he could get lost in the crowd.
“Bryce!”
“What?”—He replied, trying to hide the fear that was invading him just right.
“If something wrong you can tell me, you know that, right?”
“Yeah.”
He smiled faintly and gave her one last kiss before walking out of the crowd.
He didn’t know how he reached the parking lot and got in the car, his hands were trembling and a knot of anxious had settled in his stomach. He pulled the phone out and called back.
“Bryce!”—He heard on the other end of the line—"God, I’ve been trying to reach you for hours, where are you?!”
“Keiki, what’s going on? How is that that you’re in Boston?”
“I’ll explain later, are you coming?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in forty.”
“Hurry up, I’m bored to death here.”
When he got to his floor, she found a tall girl in a red leather jacket sitting against his door, a backpack between her legs. He barely recognized her, even if he had seen dozens of pictures of her on her social networks. She was a teenager now, not the little girl that said goodbye to him with tears in her eyes when he left for college.
“Keiki”
“Bryce”—She said getting up from the floor. He opened the door a few moments later and both got in.
“Can you explain to me now what you are doing here?”
“Hey, bro, I’m glad to see you too.”—She ironized—“Thanks for the kind welcoming.”
“Keiki, please.”
“I ran away from home, okay?”
“You what?”
“I don’t wanna live there anymore.”
“Keiki, you can’t do that”
“Why not? You did it.”
“I went for college…”—He replied, feeling the guilt sharpening inside him.
“Yes, and then you never came back because you couldn’t stand our parents. It’s the same with me.”
“That doesn’t excuse that you escaped from home and underage. Do you have a plan? Or you’ll just wait until they come here to take you back and maybe they will report me for child kidnap?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Bryce. They wouldn’t that.”
“Still this isn’t right, Keiki. It could’ve happened something to you on your way here.”
“Yeah, but it would have been worth it if it means not spend another second in Maui.”
Bryce looked at her, intrigued. He couldn’t understand how things were bad for her if she had everything she wanted back in Hawai. A room the size of his apartment, all the clothes she wanted, and millions of things to do. But that was enough? He knew well it wasn’t.
“Can I stay with you?”
“Of course, Keiki, but you’ll go back tomorrow. Call mom to know if she can buy you a ticket flight back, I’m not sure I have the money for that.”
“Don’t you understand? I’m not coming back there, Bryce. Period.”
He shook his head and sighed. It was impossible to reason with her, and he knew it wouldn’t get anything by pushing her even more.
“Call her to let her know you’re here, then.”
“I bet she already knows.”
She seated on the couch, looking at him defiantly. He just ignored her act.
“Have you eaten something?”
“Some Doritos I bought around the corner.”
“What do you want to eat? I’m calling a delivery.”
“You don’t cook? I want real food, Bryce.”
“I’m a surgeon, not a chef, Keiki”
“Either way, you should know how to feed yourself by now, how you have survived all these years?”
“Take out.”
“Unbelievable”
Bryce didn’t know what to do. Maybe he could just watch a video on Youtube and cook something basic to save the day. Eleanor’s face popped in his mind, but he shook off the idea as soon as it emerged. Calling her would implicate to tell her the truth about his family and he wasn’t ready for that.
“Okay.”—He said after some deliberation—"I’ll go to the grocery store, so you have food for breakfast tomorrow and all that. Do you wanna go with me?”
“Nah, I’m tired, I think I’m gonna lay down a bit.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll be back in a bit.”
The moment he was out of the apartment, Bryce rubbed his hand across his face in exasperation. He didn’t know what to do, how to deal with his sister, and with the mistake he had been making all those years.
He always knew he shouldn’t have left her sister just like he did; never go back to Maui; call her just once in a while to finally only for her birthday. The guilt that has been accompanying him for ten years was materializing now in one of his worst fears: face his sister and deal with the consequences of his abandonment, the rage and the loneliness she might be feeling, all without prior notice.
He tried to clear his mind. At that moment he needed to stay calm to give Keiki the stability she had come to look for with him. He was the adult there, so he couldn’t let the feelings overwhelm him and make Keiki feel worse than she already was.
Once he regained calmness, Bryce made his way to the grocery store where he collected all the ingredients for a spaghetti recipe he read on the internet, plus some vegetables, fruits, bread, butter, bacon, eggs, cookies, Doritos, so Keiki would have something to have breakfast and eat while she was at his place.
When the doors of the elevator opened again on his floor, she found the silhouette of a woman with a black and golden dress on, talking to Keiki. He froze for a moment until both directed to him.
“Elle”
“Hi Bryce”—She looked at him surprised, while Keiki just eyed them, leaning in the door frame, arms crossed.—“What’s happening?”
“Let’s get inside and talk, okay?”
Keiki moved backwars to let Bryce and Eleanor in. He went straight to the kitchen and set the bags over the counter meticulously, like trying to gain some time before facing her. After a few moments, Bryce turned to Eleanor.
“Elle, this is my sister Keiki. She arrived today from Maui. She’s visiting.”
“Like hell. I told you I’m not planning to go back there, Bryce.”—She barked while she was flopping on the couch with the remote control in her hand.
“Hi Keiki, I’m Eleanor, nice to meet you”—She replied, giving a smile, even if she wasn’t looking at her.
“Yeah”—The girl just said, her eyes not moving from the TV.
Bryce just sighed, making evident his frustration. Eleanor looked at him worried and then pulled him to the kitchen.
“Can you explain to me now what’s happening? Why your sister ran away from home? Hell, I didn’t even know you had a sister, Bryce.”
Even if he wasn’t ready to talk about it, Bryce knew it wasn’t fair Eleanor didn’t know he had a sister, while she had talked about her family countless times.
“Elle, I…”—Now another fear was materializing: telling the truth about his family to someone from Boston. To the woman he loved, no less.—“To make a long story short, my family was a big deal in Hawaii. When I was in high school my dad went to jail for insider trading, and my mom only got off by testifying against him even though she was right there helping him the whole time.”
Eleanor gazed thoughtfully at him until she realized.
“Oh my god, Bryce… Your parents are The Lahelas? As in property tycoons turned white collars criminals The Lahelas?”
“That’s my family, and Keiki lives with them back in Hawaii. Dad got paroled a while ago for good behavior.”
Bryce saw as she remained in silence, surprise in her eyes. He couldn’t help but wince, waiting for the disappointed look, the disgust, the judgment. But nothing of it came. She instead tried to understand why Keiki was running away from home, what could have triggered that. She tried to convince him that this was not a simple rebellion as he was thinking. There was no judgment in her eyes or words. She just focused on Keiki and how to help him to deal with her.
Once Bryce felt less tense, he asked Eleanor to help him with dinner, which she accepted gladly. Half an hour later, the three of them enjoyed a plate of pasta that felt tastier as it was a result of collaborative work.
Even if Keiki was hesitant to talk at first, the food put her in such a good mood that Eleanor got her to chat a bit with her, Bryce observing the exchange with admiration. From the answers, Eleanor could tell Keiki was a smart girl and mature for her age; she had a hot temper but the same self-assurance Bryce had, even the same smirks and looks.
“Thanks for dinner, Eleanor. .”—Keiki said before going to sleep.—"Good to know I won’t starve to death my first night here.”
“You’re welcome. It was nice to meet you, Keiki.”
She smiled at her and then got to the room.
Eleanor and Bryce stood in silence for a bit, none of then sure who had to speak first.
“Bryce, why you never told me? This is big.”—Eleanor finally said, standing in front of him, concerned.
“I know… I just…I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Of you judging me.”
“Judge you? How could I judge you, Bryce?”
“Because it has always been like this. People know me and it’s okay at first, but then, when they know that I’m the son of a criminal, they assure me it’s okay but they never look at me the same, never treat me the same. They look at me like I’m about to do something, or like I’m a professional liar and I’m trying to cheat on them.”
“Bryce..”—She whispered, cupping his cheeks, her eyes full of sadness.
“I wanted to start from scratch here, no one knowing about my parents, no one judging me for that, just focusing on what I am, on how hard I worked to be at Edenbrook and be known for that.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”—She said as he took him in her arms, embracing him tightly.
They stayed in silence for a while.
“How could you ever think that I would judge you, that I would treat you like that? I would never, Bryce. Never.”
“I know but some part of me thought you would.”
“Now I understand why you always changed the topic when I asked you.”
He nodded.
“But now you know you can trust me, right? Whatever you need, I’ll have your back.”
“I know, but… it’s not that simple, Eleanor. Since high school, people have seen me as a disease the moment they know I’m a Lahela, so I’ve never had anyone to trust about what I felt or just tell…stuff… the stress, the sadness… the things friends share. I never needed anyone to deal with problems, I could do it on my own until… until I met you, but I’ve ignored the feeling because I don’t wanna hold on to you, I’m scared that you’ll go away and I’ll lose the one person I trusted.”
“Why would I go?”
“Because nothing’s settled between us. There’s still the possibility that you’ll go with Ramsey or simply break up with me because you don’t want me anymore.”
“Bryce, we’ve been together for two whole months, I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
“Yeah, that’s what you say now, but you still want our relationship to be a secret because you don’t want Ramsey to know and make it a reality, because some part of you don’t want it to be true.”
“How can you say that?”
“Don’t be hypocrite Eleanor, please. I’m not stupid.”—Bryce retorted, hurt. She had never seen him this serious and cold.
“It’s not like that. And I don’t get where you’re going with this.”
“My point is, Eleanor, that I want to trust you, I really do want to tell you what is happening inside my head, but I can’t if the one person I can trust maybe won’t be here with me in two months or in a year. It doesn’t work like that with me. I have to keep on my own as always.”
“Bryce, no matter what, I’ll always be here for you, even if things turn out different-”
“No, Eleanor”—He interrupted—“Please don’t do this. Don’t be this selfish, thinking that if we end up things, we could go back to what we were. If I hold on you, I don’t know how I’ll deal with losing you or be away from you while I heal.”
“Bryce… Don’t be afraid, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith…”
“Don’t you think I haven’t taken enough leaps, Eleanor? I showed my feelings for you, I told you I loved you even before we were dating. You’re the only person I’ve done that with, and yet there is always a possibility that you won’t feel the same ever. And what about you? Yeah, you took a leap when you started dating me, but you can’t take a leap in leaving Ramsey in the past, tell him the truth, scrub all over his face that you moved on, because your ego is terrified that you weren’t enough to heal him. So, don’t dare to tell me that I should take a leap.”
He turned around and sat on the couch, both hands over his hair.
Eleanor looked at him, seeing the real Bryce for the first time. The Bryce that feels in pain, angry, annoyed, frustrated. Vulnerable. Human. The side she had never seen in him and she always wanted to know.
She took a few steps towards him and squatted down to face him.
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to push you —She murmured—”I just want you to know that I’m here for you if you need me, okay?”
“I know, but I don’t think I’m ready for this, Eleanor. This is too much, and I need to deal with this on my own, that’s how I know best.”
“I understand.—She said softly, while taking his hands on hers.
The moment he felt his touch, his eyes threatened with tears and a knot ached in his throat. He pulled away from her grip.
“I… uh… I need you to go, Eleanor. I want to be alone.”
“Of course”—She replied, standing up.
Once she collected her things she went to the door.
“Whatever you decide, just remember that I want the best for you, Bryce. I know we are in a complicated situation right now, but I’m doing my best to end this hell soon.”
And she left.
Bryce stood unmoved on the couch recounting the events of the past hours as the tears streamed down his face.
His biggest fears had occurred, and now he was feeling the incessant need of trusting Eleanor, tell her all the pain that was buried in his heart, but he just couldn’t. Just like his issues about his parents, he had been burying the thoughts about Eleanor not wanting to confront Ethan about their relationship. He knew she still loved him and couldn’t blame her for that, but it was hurting him more than he thought, and he had just ignored his feelings and not said anything to her because if he opened up to Eleanor, even for one single thing, it would be like to open the pandora box, and he wasn’t ready to let all go.
Things were difficult in the next days. Keiki was absolutely decided to stay with him, especially since his parents didn’t reach him or Keiki to make her come back to Maui, and he still didn’t know how to deal with Keiki, because at any try of conversation, they ended up fighting or she ignoring his tries to be friendly.
The frustration and guilty were getting bigger and bigger.
He didn’t speak to Eleanor, and barely spend time with the rest of his friends. He just locked in on himself, focusing on working hard, and go straight home to be with Keiki even if they didn’t say anything or just argued. She was alone all day so she needed some company, and he really wanted to understand her, bonding with her and be like they were before, o maybe not like before, but he wanted to be her brother again.
However, soon he realized that he had been too harsh with Eleanor. Even if she was still in love with Ethan and didn’t want to make it official, it was all within their agreement. And more importantly, she had always been very respectful of their relationship, because she had only eyes and time for Bryce, and even if she wasn’t ready to commit, to tell the truth to Ethan and stop loving him, she was all in the relationship with him. He was her priority, he sensed that. He knew it. Because she had been refusing any contact with Ethan since he was back. When Bryce assumed that Eleanor had kissed him the night she stayed at Donahue’s, the reality was different. And Ethan’s behavior the past weeks was proof of that. So, he felt bad for reacting that way. She didn’t deserve it when she only wanted to help.
*
Bryce was walking by the fourth floor, expecting to find Eleanor there, when he heard heated voices inside an empty room.
“This anger you have against me is about something else and I won’t allow it, Ethan.”
“What do you mean by ‘something else’?”
“Not work-related. You have been an ass to me for weeks, and whatever might be your reason, you’re being unprofessional and you’re exactly what you wanted to avoid.”
Then, absolute silence.
If Bryce was right, Eleanor was confronting Ethan about his behavior in the past weeks. She didn’t address the problem openly, but it was clearly a step he thought she wouldn’t take so soon.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”—She said when she ran into him, not cathing it was him at first.—"Bryce? Hi”
“Eleanor”—They stared in silence for a moment—"I was looking for you. What time does your shift end?”
Bryce saw the brief moment Ethan passed behind Eleanor, his face impassive and cold as steel, ignoring their existence completely.
“Half an hour, I’m doing my final round. Why?”
“I need to speak to you, meet me in the atrium as always?”
“Okay, yeah.”—Her cheeks flushed and couldn’t help but look at him with hope.
“See ya later, then.”
He waited in their usual spot and finally, fifteen minutes later, she appeared.
“I’m so sorry, I had to run new tests for a patient, and it took me ages.”
“Don’t worry, I’m glad you’re here.”
“So…”
“Let’s go to my car, we can talk there.”
“Okay.
Once both got in the car, they looked at each other until Bryce broke the silence.
“Elle, I want to apologize. I realized I was too unfair with you the other day. I know you were trying to help and I just took it on you, because I was frustrated with the situation and I didn’t know how to deal with it, let alone with another person offering help.”
“It’s okay, Bryce, it’s me who should apologize. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”
“No, you were trying to help me, and I thank you for that. But I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that about Ramsey. You have been very respectful to our relationship, I want you to know that. I really appreciate it, babe. It’s just that sometimes this is… hard.”
“Bryce, listen, you were right, you don’t have to apologize for telling me the truth. I am afraid, and sadly I still have feelings for Ethan and I don’t want to hurt him, but I don’t want to hurt you either, so it’s all so complicated.”
“I know, Elle, I know, that’s why I shouldn’t have been so rude. By no means you have been unfair or mean to me. It’s just that this is getting a bit hard for me, that’s all, especially now that I’m dealing with something big in my life and I want to hold on to you… But I’m terrified to do so.”
Eleanor rested her hands over his.
“Look, I know I can’t promise you we will be together forever, but I want you to know that our relationship it’s the most important thing to me now, and I’ll do whatever I can to take care of us. We are still in this difficult process until things are clear inside my head, but right now I want to be here for you, I want to help you with your sister and with whatever you need. Just say the word, okay?”
He smiled thankfully and then nodded.
“Truce?”—She said, offering her hand.
“Truce”—He agreed, but instead of taking her hand, he kissed her sweetly in the lips.
Eleanor giggled against him.
“God, I missed you so much.”—He sighed, parting from her just a brief moment, to keep kissing her for another couple of seconds.
“Me too. These days have been a real nightmare without you. How are you dealing with Keiki?”
“Not so well, actually. That’s why I wanted to ask you if you would like to go home with me tonight. I haven’t been able to talk with Keiki, and if you there with me, maybe I’ll understand her better. I don’t wanna fight with her anymore.”
Eleanor smiled warmly at him.
“This means that you’re letting me in?”
Bryce had made his decision but couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
“Yes. I want you with me in all this, Elle.”
“You won’t regret it. I promise.”
When they get home a delicious smell invaded their nostrils. Keiki was in the kitchen apparently frying some beef.
“Hey Keiki”—They both greeted.
“Hey. Eleanor, I didn’t know you were coming. I hope I’m doing enough food for the three of us.”
“We’ll make it work”—Bryce said, hopeful.
“If not, Bryce, you can call a delivery just as you like.”
“Haha, always so loving, sis. Whatcha doing?”
“Mongolian beef, I found an easy recipe on Instagram and here I am.”
“You need any help?”
“Umh, maybe with the rice, I have to chop the scallions and then have an eye on the beef.”
“Sure.”
They both washed their hands and then Eleanor taught Bryce how to cook rice while suggesting topics to talk. Some were delicate and Keiki reacted badly, but after every scowl Eleanor gave to Bryce, he tried to act more empathetic, listening to her before judging.
Once the dinner was served, the three seated with smiled on her faces.
“Keiki, this is great!”—Eleanor praised after giving the first taste to her plate.—“You had cooked before?”
“Yeah, a couple of times, but it’s not that I have the chance to do it often when you have people who cook for you”—She replied, a bit embarrassed.
“And what do you like to do? Reading? Singing? Playing an instrument? Skateboarding?”
“I like drawing, reading, and sometimes taking pictures.”
“That’s great. Boston has such beautiful places to do it.”
“Yeah, that’s true. I’ve took some really nice. ”
“You must show me them after dinner, okay?”
“Sure”
“ And what about your friends? You are not missing them now that you’re here?”
“Nah, I don’t have actual friends there, they all hate me.”
“Why they hate you?”—Bryce asked, brows furrowed.
That was the moment Bryce had been waiting since her sister got there, because with that question, Keiki let everything out.
Bryce finally knew the motives that made her leave home and fly all over the Pacific Ocean and to the other side of the country to be with him, even if they hadn’t seen each other in ten years.
And it happened that her sister was living the same hell he lived. Her classmates hated her for what his parents did, and of course, they hadn’t done anything to protect her. They only cared about their reputation.
The mistake he kept making for ten years had led to this. Her sister suffering from loneliness, abandonment, bullying. Just like he did.
“Keiki I’m …. I’m sorry I didn’t call more. I should have been looking out for you.”—Bryce finally said.
“It’s not like you could have done anything from all the way over here.”
“I could, Keiki. I should have tried, I should have done better, I should have stood in front of mom and dad if you needed me to. And I didn’t. I let this happened. But I’m gonna do better, starting from today.”
Bryce got up from the chair and opened his arms, inviting her sister to do the same. After a few moments of staring at him, she finally stood up and threw herself into his arms.
“I’m sorry I was a jerk when I turned up. And like… every day since.”—She apologized, complete sincerity in her eyes.
“The only jerk here is me. You can stay with me for as long as you need, okay? We’ll figure it out.”
“Thanks, Bryce.”
“I’m sorry, Keiki. Truly.”
“Bryce, it’s okay. I’m happy that I can count on you.”
“Always.”
The three chatted on the couch until Eleanor started to feel sleepy. She and Bryce said goodnight to Keiki, who had given his bed back a couple days ago as she found out the couch really comfy and his brother needed proper rest more than her.
When they locked in the room, Bryce pulled Eleanor to his chest gently, resting his forehead into hers.
“Thank you for doing this.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“All the right questions, and all those scowls and deadly glares that meant ‘stop screwing it up, Bryce’ is doing nothing? Really?”
“Ah, well. It was minimal. You did the hard job here, you get your sister to talk, and you listened to her and empathized with her. You apologized. You were the support she was looking for. You did it amazing, Bryce. Not me. I’m so proud of you.”
“This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”—He kissed her in the lips, giving her the sweetest smile she had even seen in him, it made her stomach flutter.
“Good things happen when you trust people, you see?”
“Only with you.”
“I know. And I won’t let you down.”
___
#bryce lahela#bryce lahela x mc#choices#playchoices#open heart#bryce x mc#bryce x casey#choices fanfiction#open heart choices#open heart fanfiction#oh choices#choices stories you play#oh fanfic#fanfic#ethan ramsey#ethan x mc#ethan x casey#ethan x f!mc
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Super Mario Bros. (1993)
Thanks to the awesome people who donated to Extra Life (you still can, btw!) y'all will now be treated to a retrospective on the 1993 classic movie, Super Mario Bros. When I took on this milestone, the first (and only) person I messaged for ideas on terrible (but wonderful) films based on video games was my friend Max, who has a history of viewing and talking about bad movies. He suggested this, and while I was aware of this magnificent piece of cinema history, I had not had the pleasure of viewing it myself. He hooked me up with a copy, and to say this film lived up to my expectations would be an understatement.
I couldn’t help but be charmed by this movie. It is filled with so many questionable creative choices that were fucking ridiculous. Mario and Luigi not being blood related? Sure. Cheesy Italian accents replaced with a New York ones? Yeah, why not? Having all the enemies in Super Mario Bros. be canonically dinosaurs? I mean... It's a choice informed by the great media dino wave of 1993, but whatever. Yoshi is a dinosaur, if we want to extend that to goombas and Koopa for whatever reason, I'm down. Having these dinosaurs live underneath New York City in a parallel dimension? It's based on a video game, why the fuck not? Everything is so goddamn bonkers.
The opening credits roll, and we’re told that 65 million years ago, a meteor created said underground parallel universe dinosaur land. We witness a human-looking woman, who is really a dinosaur, leaving an egg baby on a church doorstep. Don’t think about it too hard, the logistics of a human giving birth to an egg that size are just... it’s gross to think about.
We’re then introduced to the titular characters, Mario Mario and Luigi Mario. Yes, their last names are Mario. Making them the Mario brothers. Because this movie is interested in answering the important questions. Mario is the owner of a failing plumbing business, while Luigi is a conspiracy theorist who would have really enjoyed modern-day YouTube.
While they’re out trying to find work, they run into Miss Amy March herself, Daisy, who is an archeologist in charge of digging up dinosaur bones from a New York City construction site. She’s being forced off the property by the mob, who apparently are annoyed that a blonde lady in cargo shorts is coming between them and whatever the fuck they’re building.
They try and intimidate her, she storms off to use a payphone to call for security, and is almost picked up by two inconspicuous bozos in a cab who apparently are stealing Brooklyn women off the street for no reason. Their plan is quickly thwarted by a random moving pane of glass.
Instead, Daisy runs right into Luigi, who forgets how to human once he sees her pretty face. He asks her on a date, where she reveals even more exposition. She believes the meteor that destroyed the dinosaurs landed in New York City. Oh, and also, she’s the abandoned egg baby. Luigi is also an orphan, and this shared trauma apparently gets them both hot and bothered. They wander off to the dig site, because an underground pit attached to a sewer is so romantic, and it is also where Daisy feels the most comfortable.
What if we made out at the bone pit?
Their touching moment is cut short when the mob sabotages the plumbing in the sewer and water starts flooding the area. They run to get Mario, because he is a plumber, to fix the pipes, which is so fucking clutch, I love it so much.
While the Mario brothers are distracted, Daisy is captured by the weirdo twins and dragged into the alternate dinosaur universe. Mario and Luigi follow, and we’re treated to the most fucking amazing transition scene of Bob Hoskins spinning wildly through colorful rocks.
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Turns out, parallel dinosaur world, or Dinohattan, is fucking lit as hell. I am convinced that Futurama based their sewer city on this movie.
King Koopa, who is a dinosaur with badly bleached hair gelled back in an effort to look like Michael Douglas in Wall Street, has taken over Dinohattan. He is the one who asked the goons to kidnap Daisy, because of the tacky crystal necklace she wears. Apparently, it is a piece of the meteorite that crashed into earth, and once he puts the piece back into the original space rock, the dinosaur world will merge with the mammal world after 65 million years of his people being sequestered underground, and Koopa will have endless resources at his disposal. Also, Daisy is a princess, and her dad is a giant fungus taking over the city, so that’s totally normal and not at all weird.
Problem is, the two idiots he sent to grab her didn’t think to check if she was wearing the necklace. Turns out, Luigi has the necklace, or had the necklace, as they are quickly mugged by a granny, who is then robbed by a lady with a bright red spiky latex coat and springy robot feet. The brothers are then arrested by the dinocops and are grilled by Koopa for the whereabouts of the rock. When they play dumb he uh... reacts in a proportionate way.
I am not even going to attempt to explain the devo process... It is a combination of insane and fucking disgusting. Whoever in the costuming department looked at the cute fucking mushroom Goombas in the video game and decided to translate them into this scaly, jagged-teethed nightmare fuel deserves to be committed.
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Also, there’s only one lizard king, and that’s Jim Morrison, so back off, buddy.
What is hilarious to me is this is the story the screenwriters came up with. Super Mario, as a video game, doesn’t have much lore, right? You slide down pipes, you jump on mushrooms, and you save the princess from a spiky turtle. They took that game and created... This. A parallel underground dinosaur universe that has a sentient fungus as a king, taken over by a human-like t-rex that devolves other lizards into tiny-headed night paralysis demons.
The middle of this movie alternates between a slog of expositional scenes about Daisy being a princess, and pretty entertaining action scenes of the Mario brothers running from Goombas while trying to find and save Daisy. Mario and Luigi steal a cop car and drive it off a cliff Thelma and Louise-style; They cosplay as Ketchup and Mustard to steal the necklace back from Big Burtha while asking her to stomp on them; They jump off a bridge into a garbage truck; They break the pipes in Koopa’s building to freeze everything, and get past an elevator full of Goombas by making them dance.
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Watching Daisy damsel-in-distress-it in Koopa’s high rise office building and fend off advances by a long-tongued dude who devolved her father into a mushroom was pretty boring and disturbing. Alternatively, witnessing Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo pretend to jump on giant sheets of fungus really sold this movie for me. It succeeds when it tries to be ridiculous and fun, and fall flat when it attempts to integrate any sort of drama that I’m assuming was added to make this story more appealing to adults.
Mario and Luigi eventually find Daisy, and she introduces them to her father - a giant dripping blob suspended from the ceiling. Luigi wants in her pants badly enough that he pretends this is a reasonable thing to do. Mario heads further into the building to free the other ladies kidnapped by tweedle dee and tweedle dum that they initially thought were Daisy, but weren’t. The newly assembled group are able to escape by sliding down the frozen pipes on a mattress before they are green-screen launched out of the pipe and back into the greater Dinohattan area.
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The amount of times Mario and Luigi use their plumbing skills to overcome obstacles may be my favorite part of this movie. The plot goes out of its way to justify a really bizarre character trait for the original game.
Anyway, the end of this movie comes at you fast. First, the sentient fungus king gives Mario and Luigi a bomb, and they decide to wind it up and aim it at Koopa. This takes about 10 minutes of screen time to matter again.
Koopa’s second-in-command tries to merge Daisy’s stolen necklace with the meteor, and instead gets skeletoned to bits, prompting the best line delivery reaction from Daisy, a deadpan “Yikes”.
Because the necklace has now been returned to its resting place, the worlds start to merge Infinity War style.
“Mr. Koopa, I don’t feel so good.”
Koopa and Mario end up back in Manhattan, and Koopa just starts shooting his devo guns at human mobsters, turning them back into primates, and giving their wardrobe a whole new literal definition of monkey suit.
Luigi uses his super plumbing powers to drill the necklace back out of the meteor, separating the worlds again. The bomb finally goes off, they devo Koopa into slime, and the citizens celebrate by immediately painting over his ever-prevalent propaganda.
The king evolves back into a mushroom person or something, and Daisy stays in Dinohattan to get to know her father better. Mario and Luigi return to their lives in Brooklyn as plumbers, and their heroic acts make them conspiracy community famous, as they now refer to our heroes as the Super Mario Brothers. Roll Credits.
Except not, because Daisy returns to ask for the help of a couple of great plumbers, setting up a sequel that will never, ever happen because there is no god and we’re not allowed to feel joy.
Honestly, Super Mario Bros. is great. It owned every bold plot and visual choice it made, and I have to respect it. I could listen to John Leguizamo say Mario like 700 more times. Y’all are missing out if you think you’re too cool to watch this movie.
I’ll be back to musical reviews later this month. I have a few seasonally appropriate movies in my big red sack waiting to be placed under the tree... Yes, I meant to phrase it that way.
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#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) published first on https://ssmattress.tumblr.com/
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Text
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) published first on https://novaformmattressreview.tumblr.com/
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Text
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) published first on https://landscapingmates.blogspot.com
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Text
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
0 notes
Text
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) published first on https://ssmattress.tumblr.com/
0 notes
Text
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) published first on https://ssmattress.tumblr.com/
0 notes
Text
#136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money)
This week we’re talking to Joyful author and expert Ingrid Fetell Lee about some simple ways to inject joy into your home without breaking the bank. She also explains why joy is easier to achieve than happiness – and how seeking it at home can actually help you unlock your decor style. Plus Sherry marked her recent birthday by getting a long-awaited tattoo (actually, two of them!) so she’s explaining the meaning behind them, how much it hurt, and what finally convinced her to go for it. We also share our latest escape room attempt, how we’re battling car clutter, and a BIG change to the podcast that you won’t want to miss.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify – or listen to it below! Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
That’s a little birthday decor the kids and I surprised Sherry when she turned 37 last month (phew, we’re finally the same age again). But while we don’t have pictures to share of our Escape Room escapades (photography isn’t allowed, and you know we’re rule followers), you can hear more about our first experience with one in Episode #43.
If you’re local, the place we go is Escape Room RVA. They also run the VR version where you get “kidnapped” to Warehouse 29 AND the kid-friendly version at Stony Point called Gnome & Raven.
And if you missed the “unveiling” on Instagram, here are the tattoos Sherry got for her birthday (thanks to the talented Amy Black).
As Sherry described in the episode, the 7-leafed laurel is because 7 is a significant number in our relationship and family, and the letter “V” is for two important women in her life, her grandma Victoria and great-grandma Vincenza.
There are more photos and details in these archived Instagram Stories too.
New Intro Song
And now, for the MUCH AWAITED DEBUT of our new podcast intro song in video form. This is a must watch (especially if you’ve followed us for a while):
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And below you can catch some of our previous forays into hip hop stardom. Here’s the original rap from waaaay back in 2013:
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And this is the follow-up we premiered the following year, under the guise of a “DIY Craft Challenge.” This one was filmed when Sherry was just few weeks away from giving birth to our son in 2014.
NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may need to click through the post for the embedded video to show. You can also watch here on YouTube.
And if you wanna see all of our previous non-musical April Fool’s posts, here are our last ten years (10!) of foolishness.
2018 – Our beach house workout video
2017 – The launch of our novelty sock line
2016 – An app for swapping out decor items
2015 – Alexa for home decorating
2014 – A household crafting challenge (or is it?)
2013 – “Hush” – our debut music video
2012 – A totally reasonable toilet purchase
2011 – Burger’s very own playroom
2010 – A super classy curb appeal upgrade
2009 – The purrfect light fixtures
Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful
If you missed our previous discussion of Ingrid’s book, Joyful, you can hear it in Episode #130.
And as we mentioned, you can find a lot more info & tools (worksheets!) on Ingrid’s website: Aesthetics of Joy – including the Resources section, which features videos, worksheets, and more.
Below are some peeks into the cottage she described in the episode, and you can see more (as well as read about how she brought joy into this house) on here on RealSimple.com.
Speaking of colorful books, we talk more about decorating with books (including color coding & facing them backward) in Episode #127 and Episode #85.
You can also hear about Sherry’s closet in this closet tour post and in Episode #115.
We’re Digging
I will not show you a picture of our messy car, but here’s the mini trashcan we got to help us keep the inside a little neater. It’s all about having a system that you can stick to, right? So for under $10 we went for it. We got the all black one (surprise) and we store it in the passenger side door’s cup holder.
And if you’ve got an iPhone, you can find the “Do Not Disturb” options right near the top of your Settings. You can see how we have ours scheduled for nighttime hours, and how it still allows calls from our “Favorite” contacts to break through – and how “Repeated Calls” can help anyone get through if they call twice within three minutes.
If you’re looking for something we’ve dug in a past episode, but don’t remember which show notes to click into, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from all of our past episodes. You can also see all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
And lastly, a big thank you to Cree LED Light Bulbs for sponsoring this episode. Find out why better lighting matters at CreeBulb.com and learn more about why they’ve become our go-to bulb in our light bulb resource post.
Thanks for listening, guys!
*This post contains affiliate links*
The post #136: Maximizing House Joy (For Minimal Money) appeared first on Young House Love.
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