Peace, Love, and Cupcakes

09/01/2026

Hi everyone.

Am I the only one who is in shock that it’s September? Summer went by a little too quickly for my liking, but then it again, it always does. *sigh*

There are a few reasons for my post today.

First, to everyone still waiting on their Jersey Shore treasures: thank you endlessly for your patience with me. Our last days in Atlantic City became chaotic very quickly when we had to unexpectedly pack up and leave the inlet while literally in the middle of sorting shells and packing orders. We then went almost immediately into very long workdays, and more time has now gone by than I ever intended. But your orders ARE coming. Your shells are safe. I haven’t forgotten a single one of you, and I’m incredibly grateful for the grace you’ve given me.

That brings me to the next thing I need to talk about. I hadn’t planned on sharing the work part yet but it feels necessary now.

We intentionally did not publicly announce that we were back in New York or that we were working the State Fair. There were several reasons for that, but one especially important one: Belle got her first job this year. 🥹 She is working alongside us, earning her own money, having a coming of age experience that belongs solely to her. Given what our family has experienced over the last year, we wanted to allow her to do that without strangers from the internet knowing exactly where she could be found.

Unfortunately, that choice was taken away from us.

Someone reported online that they had seen Chris working at the Fair. A post from my personal page about Belle working was then shared into the Reddit community devoted to discussing our family, and our whereabouts and Belle’s employment were publicly discussed there. I shouldn’t have to explain why that concerns me.

This has crossed yet another line. Every day these people seem to stoop to a new low but this is something else entirely. This isn’t just snark or gossip or “mean girl” antics. These sick people gathered in a public forum, and discussed the physical location of my minor child after her parents deliberately chose not to disclose it.

Please do not approach Belle because you recognize her from the internet. Please do not photograph her, question her, confront her, discuss Reddit with her, or attempt to interact with her while she’s working or on break. She is fifteen years old. She deserves to go to her first job without wondering whether one of the adults who spends their time discussing her family online is watching her in real life.

I am documenting what is happening. I’m not interested in having a public argument about it, and I won’t be engaging in one. I am simply putting on record that we intentionally withheld our location, our location was nevertheless discovered and published, and information identifying our minor daughter’s workplace was subsequently circulated and discussed.

And now, because I refuse to allow ugliness to have the final word here…

Look who we found. 🥹

Our sweet Arty.

We ran into him at the Fair and he cried when he saw us. He told us how much he misses the bakery because it was somewhere he felt safe, and because so many people aren’t kind to him. He asked me why people are horrible. I just shook my head and told him that I wished I knew but to not let the horrible ones make him lose sight of all the good ones out there. We made sure he had something to eat and drink, hugged him again, and got back to work. I thought later that night about how his face lit up when he saw us and it comforted me more than I can fully explain. It’s hard to feel so powerless while an entire group of people attempt to destroy our characters, rewrite history, and erase the legacy that we built here. But then Arty comes along and cries tears of joy at the sight of our faces, tells us he loves us, and with that he gives me the greatest gift - the realization that our legacy lives on. Nobody can rewrite that, try as they may. ✨

I love you guys. Thank you for being my constant reminder to not lose sight of all the good ones out there. You are the good ones out there, and I’m so grateful you’re here. 🫶🏼

09/01/2026

08/26/2026

Funny how you always try and demand “receipts” from me, yet never require the same from any of the anonymous posters who come on there and lie about us day after day. But I digress…

your receipts are in the comments. 😘🖕🏼

08/25/2026

I took this recently at the Hard Rock, and couldn’t believe they’d insult Dolly by putting her outfit on a mannequin with A cups. The audacity, right?! 😂

In all seriousness, I’m a wreck over here.

I fell in love with Dolly Parton when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, watching The Best Little Wh******se in Texas at my Gramma’s house. There she was, Miss Mona. I was completely mesmerized. And I’m not sure I ever stopped being that little girl, staring at her in awe. So much of what I love and who I am can probably be traced back to Dolly in one way or another — big hair and pretty things, rhinestones and musicals, unapologetic femininity, country music, Appalachia, and the South (while knowing that loving a genre or a place doesn’t mean excusing its uglier parts), and yes, big b***s. 🤭

Dolly taught me (and so many others) that you could be glamorous and generous. Funny and wise. Soft and strong. You could come from very little, build something extraordinary, and spend your life reaching back to lift other people up.

And oh, the music.

I’ve known Hard Candy Christmas by heart since I was a little girl. I couldn’t have understood those words then the way I eventually would. That song has carried me through some of the hardest seasons of my life, and one line in particular became something of a motto:

“I’m barely getting through tomorrow, but still I won’t let sorrow bring me way down.”

There have been plenty of times when barely getting through tomorrow was about all I could manage. But I did. I do. I will. “Me? I’ll be just fine and dandy…” 🫶🏼

The world really did not need one less good human in it today. But I find comfort in knowing that there are still a whole lot of us here who are better ones because of her.

Thank you for the music, the laughter, the sparkle, the books that inspired generations of reading lovers, the generosity, the humanity, and for showing a little girl all those years ago that there were a million beautiful ways to be a woman. I will always love you.

Long live Dolly.

🫶🏼✨🦋

08/25/2026

I would sincerely love to know what makes any of you weirdo, stalker freaks think that you know all the details of my families existence based on what I choose to share here on this page. Don’t you think that after everything you have put us through and all your sick behavior that I am more mindful of what details of my life I decide to publicly share? I could sit here and list all of the things you have done but I think this one thing is enough to get my point across - you have literally tried to lure my minor child away from us and into your custody. YOU ARE A GROUP OF SICK, DEEPLY DISTURBED INDIVIDUALS. The tiny glimpses of our life that I share here now is exactly that, tiny glimpses. You have no clue what our lived reality is. You have no clue what my children’s emotional state is. You have no clue what my husbands day to day existence consists of. YOU HAVE NO CLUE.

Please get lives of your own. Please get some serious help. Please please please. You are all unwell and I want to hate you but I actually just feel so sad for you.

08/21/2026

Hi guys.

I need to take a minute to apologize for the delay in shipping out some of the things you may have ordered from What The Tide Brought In. Not only was our entire cleaning/sorting/selecting/packaging process and set up disrupted abruptly, but our daily life and our families overall existence on this entire island was as well, and it has left us stressed and scrambling. Without offering up details to those who aren’t entitled to them, I will just say that the last few days have relentlessly tested us all, reducing each of us to tears at one point or another. But our spirits aren’t easily broken so we’re still smiling even through the frustration, uncertainty, and especially through every attempt at breaking them. It’s not happening. We’re too rooted in our gratitude, in our joy, in our love for each other and for life itself. And since grateful hearts are magnets for miracles, I’m going to trust that ours is on the way because man do we need one right now. 🤞🏼✨

Who am I kidding though? I sound greedy saying that. Because the truth is, this entire six weeks has been a miracle. An abundance of miracles, really. What started as a headache and heartbreak became one of the best summers any of us has ever known. I think Bob Ross would call this a happy accident if there ever was one. We found a home here, we found our people, we found parts of ourselves that we lost somewhere along the way, and discovered some new parts too. I’m not sure that any of us feel ready to leave, but it’s time. Regardless of the how’s or the why’s or the wtf’s - everything, every single thing points to it being time. It’s almost like the universe orchestrated it - miracles, mishaps, and meddling menaces alike. Difficult to explain if you’re not well versed in woo woo but trust and believe me when I say this…

We are guided and protected. We are on the right path. And maybe not today or tomorrow - but every little thing is gonna be alright. 🧿🕉️

I love you all. 🫶🏼