Welcome To #TBT

Do you consider yourself to be a nostalgic person?

I know I do. I get super nostalgic when I look back at old at photos (hello stellar 90s fashion!) and listen to music from the good old days (hello 2000s pop punk and hello pretending to be Avril Lavigne and Ashlee Simpson while singing into my hairbrush in my bedroom!). Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, I have a tendency to remember (in good detail) most of the events that have occurred throughout my life - the good, the bad, the happy, and the sad.

I remember being a little kid, playfully unaware of the world turning around me. I remember my teenage years, filled with rebelliousness, love, and heartbreak. I remember ending my high school chapter in the spring of 2010 and moving into the dorms for my freshman year of college later that fall. I remember turning 21, eager to slide into my first bar for my first legal drink. I remember the sadness that came with 22, graduating from college, leaving behind some of the best friends I had ever known, and saying goodbye to my family and Wisconsin to move across the country with Alex to start my life as a young adult. But I also remember the excitement of 22, exploring new places with Alex and having to learn to adjust to the new found freedom that came along with being free from school and homework and late night studying for the first time... ever.

Memory lane is such a fun place to explore. It’s an amalgamation of happy and hard times that I love to reminisce about. And so… I decided that I want to devote my Thursday blog posts to my memories.

Today’s blog and first throwback memory is brought to you by one of my all-time favorite photos. I remember when I came across this photo in our old photo box; it instantly became one of my favorite photos ever! I don’t personally remember the moment, but it’s such a colorful, yet simple photo of young Jen, happy to be helping her dad rake leaves in the fall. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of being a little kid, when my only responsibility playing outside and helping Mom and Dad.

We tore down the old garage in this photo quite a while ago and built a newer, bigger one in its place. Seeing the old garage in this photo makes me remember its old creaky door that barely shut, the paint that chipped off the siding every time you rubbed your fingers against it, the gravel floor inside it, and the lack of an automatic garage door opener. You physically had to open the overhead garage door!

Someday, I want to recreate this photo as a canvas painting. I started on it a few years ago, but life got busy and I put the project on the back-burner. When I pick it back up and ultimately finish it, I’ll be sure to share the finished product!

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And for a music lover like me, TBT wouldn’t be complete without sharing a throwback album for you to listen to. I’ve been feeling Lana Del Rey’s 2012 album Born To Die this week.

What is your TBT moment of the week? Leave a comment below or share your throwback photo(s) with me on Instagram by using the hashtag #TBT and tagging me (@itsbcimjbrandl).

Enjoy!

JB