Sara and Melissa Talk About...Things We Love

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are finishing up our fifth year!

This month, we are keeping it fun and positive, by just talking about the things we love, which can refer to people, places, objects, experiences, etc. A great way to close out the year!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Melissa Amster:

There are plenty of things that I love, so I will try not to make this into an entire novel and just narrow it down to ten. I'm taking books out of the equation, since that's a given or this blog wouldn't be here right now!

1. My husband. We've been married almost 21 years and are thankfully still happy together.

2. My kids. I love them equally and could never, ever pick a favorite. They each have traits that make them special and it's been amazing seeing them grow into the remarkable teenagers they are. They also get along with each other, which is so wonderful!

July 2024

3. My family, as in my parents, sister, and nephew, as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Even though we live far apart, we find ways to stay close.

4. My in-laws. I'm lucky to have in-laws I get along with. I'm especially close with my mother-in-law. 

5. My friends. I don't know where I'd be without them, whether I've known them all my life or just met them a few years ago. I treasure the friendships I have!

6. Musical theater. I love seeing shows on Broadway, on tour, and in local professional productions. I obviously love seeing my kids perform in musicals at school and camp. (They all love musicals, so it's really nice to share that with them.) I primarily listen to show tunes when I'm driving or doing chores.

7. Being Jewish. While it's been harder to be Jewish over the past year or so, it's also made me love it even more, if that makes sense. There are ways to find Jewish joy and I've seen a lot of it around. I will be participating in the #JewishBookstagramTour later this month (@mel_thebookfairy) and am excited to talk about what brings me #JewishJoy over there!

8. Humor. Give me a reason to laugh and it just brightens my day. I love seeing funny videos and memes, hearing a good joke (or pun), sharing inside jokes with my family and friends, watching comedic TV shows and films, etc.

9. My job. I've been doing book publicity work for the past few years and I'm really enjoying it. I've taken on some new responsibilities that go along with my job and have learned so much. I really feel like I'm in my groove. I also like the people I work with and feel valued there.

10. Baking challah and desserts. Enough said, right?!? Obviously, getting to eat the final product is the best part! I have been trying out some new recipes that I found to keep things interesting, too. 

Round challahs I made for Rosh Hashanah

Sara Steven:

Some of the things that I love:

1. My family–but, that is a given. This photo is from my older son's high school graduation last year. My parents and mother-in-law are there too.

2. Being outdoors: I love the great outdoors, even if that means going for a long walk around my neighborhood, running on the wash trail by my house, or gardening in my backyard. I don’t feel like I’ve had a good day if I haven’t managed to get outside at some point. 

3. The smell of the desert after it rains: This ties in with being outdoors–there is a specific smell that comes from cacti and sagebrush after it rains in the desert. I’m sure the sandy terrain and gravel comes into play, too, creating the perfect aroma.

4. Theaters with dine-in options: I love the Majestic theater in Gilbert, Arizona. What can be better than getting to watch a movie in the theater, recline the seat, and have food delivered to you–not just popcorn and boxes of candy and hot dogs but an actual meal! When I saw Barbie at the Majestic, they had the most delicious Barbie bites offered up for an appetizer. It was this cream cheese corn thing and I couldn’t get enough of them, and the best thing of all–I didn’t have to cook or prepare anything.

5. Inside jokes: Sharing inside jokes with family and friends is a lot of fun. Melissa and I have a lot of inside jokes, too, which often shows in the gifts we give one another for birthdays and holidays. This one is a tie back to our 90 Day Fiancé viewing days:

6. Yoga: Yoga centers me. I’ve been doing it for the last decade and it’s become an integral part of my life. Lately, I do yoga as a means of physical therapy, to help with some issues I have with compressed discs and neck and back pain, and it really helps a lot. Hot yoga is my go-to.

7. Starbucks: I’ve had friends who were super into Starbucks and I remember scoffing when they’d pull up their Starbucks apps, but now I’m that person with the app. My husband has the app on his phone, too, for me. I love (I’m obsessed) with Starbucks. My day doesn’t feel complete without a tall hot chai, or after hot yoga, I indulge with a venti strawberry acai refresher. When I’m feeling a little saucy and need some caffeine, I’ll add a shot of blonde to my chai to make a dirty chai–something I’ve recently discovered and I swear it tastes like a slice of tiramisu.  

What are some things that YOU love?

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It's a Small World for Sara and Melissa

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are currently in our fifth year!

This month, we are talking about small world coincidences we've experienced. 

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Melissa Amster:

I'm phoning it in again, as I have a busy week with Passover prep ahead. I wrote about this at my personal blog 11 years ago this month! 

In the past, I had been told about some really cool small world instances and was almost jealous of how wild the experience must have been. The first time I met my mother-in-law (when I had been dating my husband for a couple of months), she had gone to a Judaica store in West Rogers Park (an area of Chicago) and had a conversation with the cashier that led to her finding out that he was my brother-in-law's college roommate. And better yet, the same guy showed up at our family friends' house a few weeks later. I wanted a story like that for myself!

Shortly after I started my first job after moving to the DC area fifteen years ago, we had a holiday party that involved a tour of the White House. I had only been at this job for a few weeks and was still getting to know everyone. At the end of the tour, we were standing by the doors and complaining how cold it was outside. One of the women mentioned how the cold didn't bother her because she was from Cleveland. I asked her what part of Cleveland, since my husband also grew up there. She named the town and it turned out to be the same town where he grew up and went to high school. I imparted this bit of information to her and she asked his name. I told her she probably wouldn't know him since she was a few years younger. She said "try me." So, I told her his name. Then came the real kicker....she responded "I went to prom with him."

What are the odds that I'd get a job in Maryland working with my husband's prom date from high school in Cleveland?!? They obviously hadn't been in touch in a long time and I don't think she knew my last name prior to the conversation, so the topic probably wouldn't have come up if we didn't have this excuse to talk about it.

When I first told my husband about how this woman and I work together and how I found out that she knew him as more than someone in her yearbook, he told me that it was the small world story to top all small world stories. I dare you to come up with something better than this!

Sara Steven:

When I think of the phrase, “small world coincidences,” I immediately think of two things: the earworm song, “It’s a Small World (After All),” and the uniquely uncanny way that the universe can remind you of just how minute our world can really be.

I’ve had moments in time that I would consider small world coincidences. Technically, meeting Melissa could be considered a small world moment–years ago, she met and befriended my husband after communicating through an online chat board and commiserating over their shared love of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and then many years later, Melissa and I started chatting ourselves and we haven’t stopped talking in roughly fifteen years! 

Some other interesting coincidental moments:

* In 2016, I went hiking with a friend of mine to the top of Camelback Mountain, and on our way back down, we followed behind a man who looked familiar to me–he later turned out to be a former resident at an apartment community I used to work for in Nebraska! I hadn’t worked for the property since 2005, so imagine my surprise at seeing him in Phoenix, Arizona. He said he was in town visiting family. He also said he remembered me, but maybe he was being polite.

* I joined an October 2010 baby board chat group on Babycenter.com after my youngest son was born. About a year into meeting and chatting with the other women in the group, someone suggested we all tell a little more about ourselves and where we lived. I noticed that one person had written, “Bellevue, Nebraska,” which is where I lived at that time. I messaged her privately to find out more, and it turned out she lived five minutes away from me! We decided to meet up for a playdate for our two babies, which quickly turned into a friendship.

* The friend I had hiked Camelback with–we’re nine days apart in age. I found out that her first car had been a 1996 Hyundai Accent. Purple. Just like mine had been! We also had the same purse when we first met, but hers was brown and mine was green.

* An ex-boyfriend (later turned husband) had walked into the roller rink my dad worked for when I was eighteen years old. My sister sat next to me on a wall bench, putting on her roller skates when I saw him stroll in with rollerblades dangling from around his neck. I jabbed my sister’s side a bit with my elbow and quietly said, “I’m going to marry that guy someday,” and her response was to laugh at me and tell me how idiotic I was. Later after the session had started, the mystery man and I had started a conversation. We both felt as though we’d seen each other before, so we began narrowing down the places we might have met, quickly throwing in random schools. We discovered we’d gone to the same elementary school our sixth grade year, we were in the same class, and when he asked for my name and I gave it to him, his eyes lit up and he said, “You’re Lizard Lady!”

(We’d had a “bring your pet to school” day during the spring of sixth grade, and I decided to bring a couple of pet blue belly lizards from home. Someone had taken a photo of me with both lizards crawling up my shirt for the school yearbook, and the rest is history.)

Do you have any small world stories to share? We'd love to hear them!

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Sara and Melissa Talk About...First Dates

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are currently in our fifth year!

This month, we are talking about the first dates we've ever been on. 

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Sara Steven:

I went on my first date ever when I was fifteen years old. My best friend at the time had decided it was in my best interest to go on a blind date she’d set up with her boyfriend’s coworker, and let me know about it the morning of the date. 

It was before the days of easy cell phone texts and conversations. I had to come up with a story for my dad as to why I wouldn’t be home after school–I’d simply tell him I planned on going home with my best friend and spend the rest of the afternoon with her. I waited until our lunch break, then used a pay phone located blocks away on a street corner, the lie believable–to my dad at least. 

Not once did my dad question the validity of my story. I never questioned the safety behind making any sort of plan with a guy I had only seen a few times from a car window, watching him pump gas for customers at the gas station he worked for. I’d heard good things about him. That he was a year older. That he went to our rival high school. My best friend said he was “preppy,” and I’m still not sure if that was meant to be an attractive quality or not.

What I focused on was that I’d actually get to go on a date…with a cute guy! A cute guy who pulled up to the front of the school and parked like he belonged there, his black Nissan Sentra gleaming in the spring sunshine. It looked like he’d just had it washed. He slid out and opened the passenger door for me, the smell of Cool Water strong, his dark brown hair stiff with hairgel. After we’d buckled in, he pulled slowly away from the curb, the yellow vanilla tree air freshener bouncing in time with the Spice Girls. 

We didn’t say a word to each other the entire way to the movie theater. I watched his hand maneuver the stick shift, and at stop lights, it would rest comfortably on his Levi jeaned knee. I found the skill fascinating. When I thought he wasn’t looking, I’d sneak glances at his profile, serious yet fragile, maybe feeling as nervous as I felt. 

He paid for my movie ticket. I thought that was chivalrous. But when it came time to order snacks at the concession stand, I wouldn’t let him pay for my popcorn or fountain drink. It felt like too much of a commitment for two people who had just officially met one another. 

I’m not sure why we chose Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. It might have been the only movie two underage teenagers could watch at the time slot available to us. And I barely remember the movie. I was so high on nervous energy. Wondering if he’d reach over and hold my hand, which was purely based on the romantic movies and television shows I had seen at the time. I’d look over from time to time, watching him watch the movie. Listening to his laugh. Feeling stiff and awkward sitting next to him, this practical stranger. 

Afterwards, he drove us to a park located close to where my best friend lived. We climbed up a rusty old monkey bar tower, finding a way to sit on the top, legs dangling. We talked about our lives–I learned that his parents divorced when he was a baby, and that he had two older sisters who were years ahead of him, often treating him like he was a baby, even though he was sixteen. I felt a kinship, considering my parents had also divorced when I was young, my own siblings like children to me due to my constant need to protect them and take care of them. 

He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, regardless: his future college plans included becoming a civil engineer. I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I felt like he had it all together. Like he was so much more mature than I could ever be. 

By the end of the conversation, after we climbed back down to earth, we both agreed that we wanted to officially become girlfriend and boyfriend. At some point, before the park, we scored some mint chewing gum–I vaguely remember he kept a pack in his middle console in the Sentra. He turned his head to the right, the gum flying out of his mouth and landing on the warm ground by his feet. I looked to my left, repeating the process, playing follow the leader.

I received my first kiss that late afternoon. It was the worst kiss I’ve ever received. It was wet and sloshy, our lips mismatched and novice, the new budding relationship sealed with something so slithery, but I felt exhilarated. I didn’t even care about the saliva dribble. 

The kissing got a lot better. But we dated for roughly a year before we broke up. And even after we broke up, there were a few times we’d entertained the idea of getting back together, maybe because of the familiarity of it. The “preppy” boy spent a lot of time with me and my dad during that time, and the civil engineer dream had turned into a need to get into wildlife and fisheries, an inspiration he’d picked up after fishing the West and learning the ropes from my dad. 

He lives off the grid now in Washington state, happily married to a beautiful woman. They have four kids. The preppy boy image is long gone, replaced by flannel and beard. He received his masters in wildlife and fisheries and has made a life from that passion, and I bet he hasn’t used a yellow vanilla tree air freshener since 1994. But maybe he still wears Cool Water. I can’t say for sure.  

Melissa Amster:        

I'm phoning it in this month since I talked about this at my personal blog a long time ago. And thankfully I've met someone truly special since then and am now married 20 years. (So yeah, I've had much better dates since the one I'm sharing here.)

When I was a freshman in high school, one of my friends decided to introduce me to a guy she was friends with, as we’re both Jewish. I was looking to go to the BBYO (B'nai Brith Youth Organization) Invite dance, so I took her up on the…um…opportunity. The guy called me and we seemed to get along pretty well by phone. He asked if I wanted to go to the Invite dance with him, even though he wasn’t in BBYO (apparently, he knew about it anyway). We made plans to meet up ahead of time for a date. We were going to see Sleeping with the Enemy. (How fitting, even though I never would have considered sleeping with him. Yuck!)

So the first time we met in person was to see this movie. It was so incredibly awkward from the get-go. I didn’t find him all that attractive. He looked like an ugly version of Edward Furlong in his Terminator 2 days, even though that movie hadn’t come out yet and I wouldn’t make the analogy till I saw it later that summer. Then I had to suffer through watching this movie with him, considering that he kept trying to put his hands on my legs and it was super uncomfortable. 

After the movie, we were waiting for our parents to pick us up, so we walked around the record store next to the theater. I swear some girls who knew him from school were giving me pitying looks. I should have called off the dance plans right there! Of course, I didn’t do that yet and ended up kicking myself for waiting on it. 

A few days later, after already buying a dress for the dance, I found out that he was also talking to another friend of mine, trying to hook up with her, and telling her I was a prude for not letting him touch my leg at the movie theater. (Okay, so I was a prude, but if the date had been with my crush at the time, I would have not had a problem with roving hands, so-to-speak.) I was pissed off about this and called him later, telling him I no longer would be attending the dance with him. (I found out that he had only asked me to go with him so he could hook up with someone else there. I feel sorry for whomever that someone else was.)

Instead of going to the dance, I hung out with some other girls from my BBG group at one of their houses. I found out from several other girls that he asked them to the dance too, but they rejected his offer right away. That made me feel soooo much better about myself...NOT!

Around this same time, I had become close with a friend I had met at a NFTY (National Federation of Temple Youth) retreat and making fun of him became an inside joke between us. Given that his last name had the word “ass” in it, you can imagine we had a field day. We made fun of other things about him, which went as far as making up embarrassing diseases for him and then making up songs about such diseases. We also added words to his last name to make it funnier. I think humor helped a lot in this situation and allowed me to feel better about things right away. In the meantime, he ruined my enjoyment of Sleeping with the Enemy (it would have been a good movie if I had seen it with some female friends or even my family). I also was less trusting of guys throughout high school, even going as far as being mean to guys after they gave the impression that they were interested in me.

Looking back on it now, if social media had been around during my freshman year of high school, I would have had a field day ripping this guy to shreds and also lamenting about the situation in a dramatic way. 

I've been on some other lame dates during my single days, but this one will always take the cake!

Tell us about your first date ever.

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Sara and Melissa Talk About...Winter Break

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This is the start of our fifth year!

This month, we are talking about what we did over winter break. 

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Sara Steven:

Both my sons were out of school for the holidays. The eighteen year old, who attends Arizona State University, was on break from classes and not due to return until January. The thirteen-year-old was on his two week winter break from middle school. Usually during the break, we try to make a concrete plan which might include a short trip to Sedona or Flagstaff, but given the older boy’s work schedule and the time he spends with his girlfriend, and the younger boy’s playdates and sleepovers, on top of the fact that I had work and my husband did, too, we had to make some alternate plans. 

We always have family and friends gather at our house for Christmas. Preparing for that took up a chunk of the winter break, but it felt a lot less stressful, considering many of the side dishes or meals I usually prepare on top of the turkey and other fixings had been delegated to other people. That has never happened before! It was a very relaxing day for me. I actually had time to sit outside in the Arizona sunshine with my friends and have meaningful conversations, instead of getting stuck cooking (and cleaning) in the kitchen.

A few days later, the eighteen year old suggested we see Godzilla Minus One in theaters. He’d already seen it, and when he really enjoys a movie, he’s prone to see it multiple times. (I think I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s seen Oppenheimer.) I wasn’t really feeling it, but given how rare it is for all of us to have availability at the same time, I jumped at the chance to spend a family day with him and our younger son, and my husband. Before the movie, we had dinner at IHOP. It was the one place we could all agree on. The thirteen year old thought it would be funny to take photos of us, then use one of his apps on his phone that converts the photos into hilarious images and videos. The eighteen year old cracked jokes and made sure to pick on me a little bit, which is a major way he shows affection. The food wasn’t super great, but the company was pretty amazing. And you know what? I enjoyed the movie. 

My favorite time over the winter break, though, was New Year’s Eve. I was shocked to discover that my sons had decided to make plans that involved staying in and spending time as a family! I feel like quality time together, just the four of us, has become so rare. I made a charcuterie board, per the older son’s request. (He’s so fancy like that.) 

We played Jackbox games together, up until about ten minutes before the ball was set to drop at midnight on tv. When that happened, I kissed my husband, then gave my sons humongous hugs to ring in 2024. We ran outside to catch glimpses of various fireworks that were going off in the night sky, but we were all pretty loopy by then, considering how late it was. Even so, once we headed back into the house, the kids decided to pull up Youtube and watch something called Skibidi Toilet, a super annoying animated web series that continuously played on repeat until I couldn’t stand it anymore and dragged myself off to bed at around one in the morning. The boys promised to go to bed shortly after, but I doubt that happened. 

Our usual plans of travel didn’t pan out, but I appreciate how relaxing and calm our winter break had been. Plus, what I have grown accustomed to in the past, with always traveling as a foursome, has parlayed into snippets of time where we can gather together and get what time we can, before life and its responsibilities and commitments get in the way. It’s made me even more appreciative of that precious time together. It was a nice way for us to spend the break.

Melissa Amster:

Winter break started the weekend leading up to Christmas. So we decided to take the kids on a road trip to the Chicago suburbs to visit my family and a couple of friends. We were only there for a couple of days, so we didn't tell a lot of people about our visit and made plans with people we hadn't spent time with in a while. The main focus was my family though, especially my sixteen-month-old nephew. 

We left right after Shabbat and stayed overnight in Cleveland. We arrived to the hotel pretty late, so we mainly just crashed there for the night before the next part of our trip, which was going the rest of the way to the Chicago suburbs. When we finally made it there, we spent the evening at my sister's house and had dinner there. It was a relaxing evening overall and we enjoyed catching up with everyone. My nephew is walking all over the place and says very few words right now, but his favorite one is "cracker." And it's so cute to hear him say it! He also makes duck faces and has the best laugh.

Super cute!!!

Monday, we met up with Tracey (my best friend, who also used to blog for CLC) and her husband and their adorable baby boy (whom I also consider a nephew, as she and I are that close). We had brunch with them and then hung out at my sister's house so the babies could play together. (It's mostly parallel play since they're about seven months apart.) Later, we met up with my family for dinner. Although it was Christmas, there were a few places open. We went to my parents' house afterward and got to see some of my cousins, one who just turned 23 the day before. (I feel so old!)

Tuesday, we met up with my husband's cousins for brunch, as he hadn't had a chance to see them in a while. It was nice catching up with them. My parents were there too, as they're friends with his cousins. Then we went to my parents' house again to spend more time with them, and my sister and nephew, before heading to dinner to meet a friend we hadn't seen since 2017. This is someone I'm also really close with and we have a lot of common interests. She also supports my kids' theater interests and she's genuinely kind and down-to-earth. We spent over two hours talking at the restaurant. 

Wednesday, we headed back to Cleveland and stayed at the same hotel we stayed at on Saturday night. Honestly, if I had known what the hotel was going to be like, I would have picked a different one, but it was too late to cancel without incurring a fee. Having said that, the toilet paper was in this weird spot at the bottom of the bathroom cabinet. We went to our favorite Kosher dairy restaurant in Cleveland for dinner, which was nice, and had way too many cheese fries. Unfortunately, our favorite frozen custard place was closed for the winter. 

We had to do some sort of gymnastics to reach this.

On Thursday, we drove to Pittsburgh and met up with another close friend of mine (we go back over 30 years) who moved there in 2022. We try to see him whenever we're out that way or passing through. Then we headed back home. The rest of the week was uneventful and then on Saturday I discovered that I had Covid. This was my first time with it and it really just felt like a cold. I only realized it may be something more when I couldn't smell or taste my normally strong cinnamon tea. So I spent New Year's Eve and the next few days in my room binge watching High School Musical: the Musical: the Series. If you're a musical theater geek like me, you'll love this show. That was coupled with the novel Cut Loose by Ali Stroker, which I really enjoyed. And in more bookish news, I finally saw One True Loves, which is based on the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid. You can see my review at the link.

And that was my winter break.

What did you do over the winter holidays?

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Sara and Melissa Talk About...Barbie

We've been running a column series (for over three years now!) to get more personal with our readers. This month, we are talking about Barbie. Since the movie came in really strong at its release a few weeks ago and is still all over social media, it made us think of our own experiences with the iconic doll. For fun, check out which Barbie was popular the year you were born. (If you were born before Barbie's existence, we'd love to hear what things were like when she first came onto the scene.)

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Melissa Amster:

Barbie was such an integral part of my childhood. My sister and I spent hours in the basement playing with our collection of Barbies and coming up with all sorts of stories for them. The earliest memory I have is creating villains in the Barbie universe. Ballerina Barbie was Jessica and then she had two sidekicks named Margo and Luigi. (Luigi was female. I don't know how my sister and I came up with that name either.) It's strange that I can remember these names but can't remember my passwords or why I went into a room. 

Courtesy of Good Housekeeping

When I became obsessed with Back to the Future, I acted it out with my Barbies and Kens. The Barbie pink Corvette doubled as the DeLorean. Peaches 'n Cream Barbie was Lorraine because she had the best dress for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. 

Courtesy of Fashion Doll Guide

When I got Tracy and Todd, it was around the time my aunt and uncle got married, so I had wedding fever at nine years of age. I would stage weddings on my dresser, since it looked fancy. They always walked down the aisle to "Saving All My Love" by Whitney Houston. As an adult, I learned that song was about an affair. Oops!

Courtesy of Barbie Wiki

I gave my Barbies and Kens different names so they would be individuals. I liked having control over what each Barbie or Ken would be named. If they came with different names, I obviously kept those. (I loved Barbie's friend Miko with the long dark hair.) If I had multiple dolls with the same name, I changed it for one of them. Like I had two Dereks (from Barbie and the Rockers), so one of them was changed to Jimmy. I think I named Dream Date Barbie Diane. I also named one of the Skippers Sari (like Sara, but with an "ee" sound at the end) because my babysitter's sister had that name and I thought it sounded unique. 

As I outgrew Barbies, I still found a way to keep them at the top of my mind, thanks to a friend with whom I shared a wacky sense of humor. Shortly after we became friends during our freshman year of high school, we decided to come up with all sorts of Barbies and Kens that were not yet on the market. Our ideas got pretty bizarre, but we'd send each other drawings and descriptions of each Barbie and Ken we came up with. Seeing one of the humans in the movie coming up with strange Barbie ideas made me think of how we would do that. My favorite, and the one that still cracks me up, is Chicken McNugget Ken. Don't ask. Seriously. :)

I finally got a chance to see the movie this past weekend and it was a lot of fun. It also felt nostalgic in some ways. I appreciated the messages that empowered females, especially from America Ferrera's big speech. I also loved how meta it was. For the most part, it doesn't take itself too serious or anything and that's what makes it even more enjoyable. It also reminded me that I had a few "weird" Barbies when I was growing up, thanks to the use of scissors, markers, and even some nail polish remover. 

My daughter's collection. She even has a "weird" Barbie.

Sara Steven:

**Post contains some light spoilers for the Barbie movie**

I’ll be honest–I didn’t know what to expect from the Barbie movie. When I’d first heard that there would even be a Barbie movie, I wasn’t instantly drawn to wanting to see it. I figured it might be tailored for the younger crowd or so filled with sugary-pop fluff that I’d quickly lose interest. Seeing the movie in a theater was never on my agenda.

It’s not as though I was never a fan of Barbie. Growing up, I was like most young children in the eighties – I loved to imagine what life would be like if I could step into the tiny heel-lifted feet of my Barbie, often playing pretend with friends of mine. I had two Barbies from the Barbie and the Rockers line and loved the cassette tape included in my recognizable Barbie box. To this day, I can still remember their theme song, “Barbie and the Rockers”, and the song “Born With a Mic in Our Hands”. I’d pop the tape into my boom box and we’d listen and sing along while moving our Barbie’s akimbo arms, allowing her to shake and move.

Courtesy of Pinterest

As we grew, we’d branch out and create sensational dialogue. Our Barbies were demon-possessed or had to suffer with ghosts or vampires, our movie influences of classic eighties horror films like The Lost Boys and Poltergeist or anything from Stephen King became the backdrop for our verbal screenplays. We’d cut their hair and become freelance artists with our Barbies, much like with the Weird Barbie character portrayed by Kate McKinnon in the movie. It felt like one of the last steps in the process of growing up with and bonding, then outgrowing our Barbies. 

My young adult son had made plans to partake in "Barbenheimer" with a few friends of his, the biggest draw for him being Oppenheimer. He felt he could suffer along and watch the Barbie movie, too, but it turned out that he absolutely loved it. When he arrived home and filled me in on how great it was and that he recommended I see it in theaters, I decided to take the chance. My husband was a good sport about it and joined me, I think more out of curiosity on his end than anything else. 

I had imagined if they’d ever make a Barbie movie, it would look and feel more like the music video from the song, “Barbie Girl,” by Aqua. A cute, quirky, pink-infused experience. And while all of that is true of the film, I was surprised by the emotional depth, the reflection I still feel weeks after, on top of the fun yet heart-wrenching nostalgia that engulfed me while enjoying the Barbie Bites snack I’d purchased at my local Majestic.

I don’t easily get teary-eyed while watching a film. Yet it happened several times during Barbie. When Margot Robbie (Barbie) is sitting on the bench next to an elderly woman, then tells the woman, “You’re beautiful,” it was such a touching, lovely moment. And who didn’t fight back tears during America Ferrera’s (Gloria) monologue about the trials of being a woman. At one point during her speech, I leaned over to my husband and said, “Yep, pretty much.” Gloria’s relationship with her daughter mirrored my own, considering how much I miss the days when my two sons were younger, when life seemed so much easier. When they thought that everything I did was amazing and wonderful. Before they realized I’m just a fallible human, and nowhere near perfect.

Barbie realizes that, too. It might seem easier to be perfect, and she might miss the ease of that life, but it’s better to experience a real life full of mistakes and complications, because it means a whole range of emotion and feeling. I love that my children know the real me too. I think we can form tighter bonds when we can be ourselves. 

My husband still talks about the film. He said it made him question his own choices and the type of relationship we have. I liked how towards the end of the film, Barbie lets Ken (Ryan Gosling) know that she appreciates him and apologizes for the times she may have taken him for granted, and in turn, he also apologizes to her. Amidst all of that are the multiple Barbies and Kens that we’ve seen over the years. And the Alan doll, portrayed by Michael Cera. I tried to zero in on all of the different characters I remembered playing with while I was growing up, even if they were never my own personal Barbies. Overall, I’m really glad I decided to take a chance on Barbie. I think, much like what Barbie did for me when I was a child, it changed my perception of the world, for the better.             

Share your Barbie memories with us!

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Spotlight and Giveaway: Funny Guy

We're pleased to feature Emma Barry's latest novel, Funny Guy, which is releasing next week. Thanks to Kaye Publicity, we have one copy, along with a copy of Chick Magnet (which we featured in January) to give away!

Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.

At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country—and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.

But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support—and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her.

Except he is.

Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

“This ingenious friends-to-lovers romance …[is] a fresh take on a favorite trope that perfectly marries humor and heartache.” 
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Emma Barry is a teacher, novelist, recovering academic, and former political staffer. She lives with her high school sweetheart and a menagerie of pets and children in Virginia, and she occasionally finds time to read and write. 

Visit Emma online:
Website * Twitter * Instagram

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends May 14th at midnight EST.

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Sara and Melissa Talk About...Starbucks

We've been running a column series (for over two years now!) to get more personal with our readers. This month, we're talking about Starbucks. We both enjoy getting drinks from Starbucks, as do our kids. Melissa even got Sara a Starbucks gift card as a college graduation gift and we call ourselves Basic Bs whenever we get something from Starbucks and report back to each other about it. Coffee shops feature a lot in chick lit novels, so this is relevant to our blog, as well!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.

Sara Steven:

Hi there. My name is Sara, and I’ve got a problem. 

I’m a Starbucks addict.

It wasn’t always that way for me. I never understood it when friends would talk about their Starbucks apps. I couldn’t even fathom putting anything Starbucks-related onto my phone, let alone use an app to attempt to achieve coveted stars. I’d buy Starbucks gift cards, but it was always for my oldest son who is a self-professed Starbucks #basicB, and I’d roll my eyes when he’d beg me to take him through the drive-thru.

I’m trying to pinpoint the exact moment it changed for me. Maybe it was the discovery of their chai tea lattes–I get mine tall, hot, with no water added. And then there are the cheese and fruit and PB & jelly protein boxes that seem to pair nicely with my drink. My latest find is their grilled cheese sandwiches, and I’m not even a fan of sourdough bread ordinarily. Yet I like it! I joke and say that the key to anything from Starbucks is that the food and drink must be laced with something that causes an immediate addiction, and maybe I’m not far off from that assumption. All I know is, I need it. I want it. I gotta have it!

Now I’m just another Starbucks convert who deftly flashes her cell phone screen at the barista at the window, eager to collect the two for one stars–or more stars than that, depending. Sometimes they offer various specials and deals and I can really stack up those points in order to score some tasty freebies. (Yes, I realize they’re not really “free” since I had to pay for the merchandise in order to qualify for anything “free,” but let me live in my ignorance, please.) When my son says, “Mom, let’s go to Starbucks,” I rarely hesitate. I don’t even feel the guilt. It’s too easy when there’s a Starbucks located within our grocery stores and on nearly every corner. 

Like other Starbucks addicts, I think I can break the routine and live without my Starbucks. I tell myself I can go without my latte for one day. Or if I succumb to the temptation, that I deserve my drink. I earned it. 

And now with all of this reflection, I’m seriously craving my chai tea right about now…  

Melissa Amster:

My younger son is a barista...at our house. He loves Starbucks' Frappuccinos so much that he is now making them at home. My husband even got this Starbucks brand flavored creamer from Costco to assist in these efforts. He enjoys making them on his own and they look close to the real thing (at least the Vanilla Bean Crème kind). 

He's not the only kid in my house who is addicted to Starbucks. My older son and daughter love their strawberry açaí refresher and usually get that every time we go there. Sometimes my daughter will get a Frappuccino instead, if there's a new flavor that interests her. I'm mainly a fair weather friend when it comes to Starbucks...and that fair weather is usually the winter, when I can get hot cocoa, preferably with peppermint. Sometimes I'll get an iced tea during the summer and I am always glad to enjoy one of their delicious chocolate chip cookies, especially when they are warmed up. However, I frequent Starbucks in the winter. It may or may not be because of their festive holiday cups. ;)

I really like the atmosphere of Starbucks. The low lighting and soft music just add to the ambience and it feels so cozy every time. The baristas are always so friendly and courteous, as well.

My only complaint about Starbucks is that when they have kiosks in Target or Safeway, they don't work with the app and you can't get points on purchases at those locations. (The points that I usually use toward the aforementioned chocolate chip cookies.) I only go to these locations if I'm desperate for hot cocoa, now that I have had the experience of not being able to get points. (I hope Starbucks corporate is reading this post...) #FirstWorldProblems

One last thing: I heard this song at a show the other night and thought all you Starbucks lovers might appreciate it.

 

Do you like Starbucks? If so, what is your go-to beverage?

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Spotlight: The Most Likely Club

Today we are pleased to be celebrating the publication of Elyssa Friedland's latest novel, The Most Likely Club. Melissa says it is sure to delight fans of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. You can see her review here. It's the perfect back-to-school read, so definitely add it to your TBR!

In 1997, grunge is king, Titanic is a blockbuster (and Blockbuster still exists), and Thursday nights are for Friends. In Bellport, Connecticut, four best friends and high school seniors are ready to light the world on fire. Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdhury, Tara Taylor, and Suki Hammer are going places. Their yearbook superlatives confirm it: Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400.

Fast forward twenty-five years and nothing has gone according to plan as the women regroup at their dreaded high school reunion. When a forgotten classmate emerges at the reunion with a surprising announcement, the friends dig out the yearbook and rethink their younger selves. Is it too late to make their dreams come true? Fueled by nostalgia and one too many drinks, they form a pact to push through their middle-aged angst to bring their teenage aspirations to fruition, dubbing themselves the “Most Likely Girls.”

Through the ensuing highs and lows, they are reminded of the enduring bonds of friendship, the ways our childhood dreams both sustain and surprise us — and why it’s deeply uncool to peak in high school. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

“A hilarious, delectable, and much-needed time machine back to the nineties.”
—Jo Piazza, bestselling co-author of We Are Not Like Them

“Endearing and immensely readable, Elyssa's Friedland's The Most Likely Club is an ode to female friendship, second chances, and the people who are 'Most Likely' to love us the most.”
—Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestseller of The Last Thing He Told Me

“Elyssa Friedland writes with heart, depth and humor in this story of four friends exploring what they wanted in high school, and what they have today. Utterly delightful and uplifting!”
—New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins

Photo by Brian Marcus

Elyssa Friedland is the author of five novels and a forthcoming picture book. She attended Yale University, where she served as managing editor of the Yale Daily News, and is a graduate of Columbia Law School. She worked as an associate at a major firm before turning to writing full-time. She teaches an undergraduate course at Yale called Contemporary Novel Writing. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, LitHub, POPSUGAR, RealSimple.com, Bustle, Modern Bride, New York magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, CBS MarketWatch.com, Yale Alumni Magazine, and more. Elyssa resides in New York City with her husband, three children and puppy.

LAST SUMMER AT THE GOLDEN HOTEL was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick and a Book of the Month selection. It was the OneBook, One Hadassah selection for August 2022 and is currently in its 5th printing. THE FLOATING FELDMANS was a People Magazine “People Pick” and a “SkimmReads” selection and was praised by Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and more. THE INTERMISSION was praised by The Wall Street Journal, SheReads, PureWow, POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles and featured in USA Today. Her debut novel, LOVE AND MISS COMMUNICATION, was a “best book” in Cosmopolitan, Glamour and InStyle magazines. THE MOST LIKELY CLUB, her fifth novel, will be on sale 9/6/22. THE MUSEUM OF LOST TEETH, her first picture book, will be published in February 2023. She is also a co-author of FIRST STREET, a serialized novel available in electronic and audio formats about four ambitious lawyers clerking at the Supreme Court.

Elyssa loves wine, ice cream, Forensic Files, and texting her friends obsessively. (Bio courtesy of Elyssa's website.)

Visit Elyssa online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

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Sara and Melissa talk about...90 Day Fiancé

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This month we're talking about the reality television series 90 Day Fiancé, just to change things up a bit!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.

Melissa Amster:

Back in 2018, a friend of mine kept talking about 90 Day Fiancé, so I decided to give it a try. I'm not much of a reality TV watcher, so this was a step outside of my comfort zone. However, it did sound interesting. I started from the very beginning and binge-watched until I was caught up to the current season. The next time I met up with my friend, we definitely had a lot to talk about! 

A while back, some friends from college had sent me an article saying that a mutual acquaintance was on a reality show. I kind of dismissed it at the time, but then I saw this person on 90 Day Fiancé and it all came back to me. I might not have even known it was them if my friends hadn't told me in advance. This person wouldn't even remember me anyway, so I never contacted them about it. Small world, though!

I got Sara into this show, and sometimes our correspondence delves into what is happening on the episodes. We even watch the "Tell All" episodes together and comment on everything that is happening. We first did this by text, but now I Skype with her and watch it on her TV through the computer screen. We have a lot of inside jokes now, thanks to this show. I even gave her a magnet based on one of the notorious individuals. 

Anyway, in case you were wondering, 90 Day Fiancé is about these couples in extremely long distance relationships, where they decide to get married and the person from another country gets a K-1 Visa to come to the US. Once they arrive, they have 90 days to get married or the person from the other country has to go back. However, this isn't all hearts and flowers. There is a lot of drama. The show thrives on all the drama! Whether it's due to potential catfishing, mama's boys whose mothers are intent on coming between them and their betrothed, money issues (especially when the in-laws are asking for ridiculous amounts of it), infidelity, large age differences, religious differences, etc., there's always someone crying by the end of each episode. 90 Day Fiancé has a lot of spin-offs, the biggest being The Other Way and Before the 90 Days. In both shows, the American goes to another country to be with the one they love. On The Other Way, it's to move there permanently. On Before the 90 Days, it's to hopefully get engaged so they can move onto the regular show with the K-1 Visa.

There are some couples who really put an effort into their relationship and didn't make it a media circus. I'd like to give a shout-out to the following couples, in honor of Valentine's Day and keeping it real: 

• Loren and Alexei (Side note: My best friend sent me a Cameo from Loren for my birthday last year. It was so nice!)
• Alan and Kirlyam
• Kenneth and Armando (The first gay male couple!)
• Brett and Daya
• Kyle and Noon
• Amy and Danny

If you either watch 90 Day Fiancé and want something to read while waiting between seasons (or episodes) or you don't watch yet and want a taste of what it's like when two people come from different worlds, try out these books:

• Wrapped Up in You by Carole Matthews
• Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles
• Beshert by Erin Gordon
• The Marriage Code by Brooke Burroughs
• Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim
• Where Jasmine Blooms by Holly S. Warah
• Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter (even though it's just in Hawaii, it's about a woman who meets a much younger man while on vacation, and there's still long distance and similar drama involved.)

If you have other book recommendations along these lines, I'd love to hear them!

Sara Steven:

When the original seasons of 90 Day Fiancé had first aired, I had no desire to see any of them. It had nothing to do with a lack of interest where reality television is concerned, because I really enjoy reality T.V. I love Dancing with the Stars and Survivor and the real guilty pleasure shows that I don’t often talk about, like the Teen Mom franchise and America’s Next Top Model when that was still a thing. So, you’d think that the 90 Day episodes would have fit right in.

My initial hesitation stemmed from the concept of the show; random individuals, seeking love from other random individuals in other countries. I didn’t see the potential enjoyment that could come from watching unlikely duos, at times having never met in person before, using online dating sites or video chat or email or the old standby, cell phones and telephone calls in order to communicate with one another, each with a pressing need to potentially marry due to a K-1 Visa. 

Melissa would often talk about the couples from the show, and she’d gently nudge me into seeing even one episode, just to see what I would think. Well, fast forward a few years, and my fifteen year-old son placed this image of Big Ed as my screensaver on my phone a while back, and it’s still there. I think that means I’m pretty much committed to the 90 Day Fiancé franchise.

In fact, when I decided to take the plunge into relationship disasters and oddly eccentric couples, not to mention their overbearing parents--I’m talking to you, Ron and Betty--I never really knew just how deep I’d get into it. The original series. The Happily Ever After series. Before the 90 Days and The Other Way and Strikes Back, too. But I do have my limits, as in, I won’t ever watch The Family Chantel or Darcey and Stacey, because let’s face it, I have to have some limits, somewhere. But overall, I’ve really enjoyed watching couples either fall madly in love and live wonderful lives together which, I know, is hard to believe, but it really does happen. And, I’ve enjoyed watching the shenanigans of other couples (or, sometimes, a man and his mother, as with Colt and Debbie) when the relationship doesn’t work out, and drama ensues. 

It’s also been a lot of fun to share tidbits and thoughts with Melissa, my partner in crime, when we watch the Tell Alls together, the season’s final end and where most of the chaos collects, considering it’s basically a room full of all of the couples from the season hashing everything out that had happened over the last several months, picking sides and at times, nearly coming to blows (or weird body jerk movements, as with Asuelu when he gets angry) or storming off the set into a fit of mass hysterics. Most of the time, you love to hate them, and hate to love them; the 90 Day Fiancé couples.

Here are a few of my favorites over the years. Whether it’s for the good or the bad, it has been entertaining and engaging.

Paul and Karine, season one, Before the 90 Days: One of the side effects of watching 90 Day Fiancé means having a spouse who has walked into the room and has seen some of the show, too. My husband hates to admit it, but he knows the majority of the couples, just as much as I do. Watching Paul run away or talk about poop water, well, it’s been fun. Watching my husband replicate the run? That’s been even more fun.

From TV Fanatic

Asuelu and Kalani, season six, 90 Day Fiancé: Asuelu hooked me in when he danced for Kalani at the airport. He later solidified his place in 90 Day Fiancé history when he got so mad at his season’s Tell All, that he...

  
Big Ed, season four, Before the 90 Days: Ed and Rosemarie didn’t work out. But Ed left behind so many Edisms and memes and gifs, it’s hard to keep up. He takes it all with a grain of salt and seems to manage to handle all of it with a great sense of humor, witnessed on his Strikes Back season.

Alan and Kirlyam, season one, 90 Day Fiancé : Proof that couples CAN make it work. They are by far one of the cutest couples from any season.

Jorge and Anfisa, season four, 90 Day Fiancé: To this day, Melissa and I will exchange gifs or memes referencing Anfisa and her magical eye roll. She provided a lot of explosive moments for her season.

Elizabeth and Andrrrrrrrrrrei, season five, 90 Day Fiancé: He acts like he’s the man of the house, but we all know it’s really Elizabeth who wears the pants. While Chantel’s season created The Family Chantel based on her own familial drama, I might actually watch a series where Elizabeth’s family takes center stage, given the chaos they bring into this couple’s world. 

Colt(ee) and Larissa, season six, 90 Day Fiancé: There has been a ton of drama surrounding this couple; on again, off again, arrests, potential deportation. But the real couple of the show would be Colt (or as Larissa refers to him, “Coltee”) and his mother, Debbie.

From imgflip.com

If you watch 90 Day Fiancé and all of the franchises, who are your favorite couples?