A Fake Interview for My Unwritten, Unpublished Book
It’s been said many times around here that some day I dream of writing novels. One in particular has been living with me for the past three years. I know ...
Blog
Time Log of a Travel Monday
This one goes out to all the people who know that I travel a lot for work but don’t really understand what my work is or what traveling for it ...
29 Tunes to 29
29. What a feeling. That phrase has been with me in a lot of different ways in the run-up to this year’s birthday. Things have been particularly emotional and delicate ...
![Windy City Doughnut Crawl [@ChicagoIL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/B96B91E7-9923-412F-BD82-45CB56B90ABA-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Windy City Doughnut Crawl [@ChicagoIL]")
Windy City Doughnut Crawl [@ChicagoIL]
Well, friends. It’s happened. We knew it wouldn’t last forever. We had to lose the alliteration some day, I just never imagined that it would be death by doughnut.
Why Am I Still Doing This?
Why hello again, dear reader. It’s so good to see you back. Or, perhaps, I am mistaken, and you’re new here. If so, then welcome in. Tales of Casstastrophe has ...
NaSenWriMo
On a daily basis throughout the month of May, I decided to focus on some concept, word, song, movie, visual, etcetera (and the brain association journey that it / they ...
Introducing: Rhythm & Syntax
Hello, friends. I have something new for you. Before we get to it, though, allow me a moment or two to talk about why this change is coming to Tales ...
![A Farewell Fit For A Queen (City) [@CharlotteNC]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016-08-13-04-08-37-2.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "A Farewell Fit For A Queen (City) [@CharlotteNC]")
A Farewell Fit For A Queen (City) [@CharlotteNC]
Surely, dear reader, you know by now what it is that I am about to tell you. If not from the title of this post, then from the clues that ...
![Learn a Book! – 202[1 Year Without A Gimmick]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/854d2c25-8d04-49b3-ab07-13558ab6218d.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Learn a Book! – 202[1 Year Without A Gimmick]")
Learn a Book! – 202[1 Year Without A Gimmick]
That’s right. You never thought you’d see this day, did you? 2021, otherwise known as The Year Without A Gimmick for my annual Learn a Book! series. We’ve come a ...
28 Practices of Patience at 28
Even if I have it now, doesn’t mean I’ll have it alwaysPatience is a funny noun, it’ll keep you waiting all day This is not a commentary on the past ...
![Voyages: Blue Ridge Parkway [@NorthCarolina]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/4.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Blue Ridge Parkway [@NorthCarolina]")
Voyages: Blue Ridge Parkway [@NorthCarolina]
What’s that? She hadn’t posted any Voyages since New York City in 2017, and now we have two in the span of 2 months? Has she quite lost her mind? ...
![Voyages: Biltmore Estate [@NorthCarolina]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3.jpeg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Biltmore Estate [@NorthCarolina]")
Voyages: Biltmore Estate [@NorthCarolina]
Over four years of living down here in North Carolina, and I finally made the trip out west to visit Biltmore. Of course, I am writing this post a few ...
Real Moments: The Speed of Time
“But I also learned that it’s possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems, and that in time, the grief… lessens. It may not ever go away completely, ...
![Learn a Book! – 20[20 From To-Be-Read]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-02-23-08.47.40-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Learn a Book! – 20[20 From To-Be-Read]")
Learn a Book! – 20[20 From To-Be-Read]
Another year, another witty gimmick gone half-made. Last year apparently I promised to read 30 books and then proceeded to immediately forget that and, for the rest of the year, ...
27 Delays To 27
There was an idea for this year’s post in my annual birthday series that wasn’t what this post is now. Try as I might to write that original idea, it ...
Recent Reads – Halloween Edition 2019
So, you’re telling me the season for spook is over? Think again, buddies. Some people leave Christmas decorations up until after New Year’s. Others leave Halloween decorations up until after ...
Real Moments: Growing On Without You
Editor’s Note: This was written to be published last year but, alas, it was not. The why is because many things were happening. Many changes, many adjustments, many repressed, many ...
Learn a Book! – 30 in 2019
We’re going (going) back (back) to simple (simple). Look. The past few years I’ve been all talk, no read. I set these kitschy challenges for myself (that I adore! oh, ...
26 Places to Commemorate 26
I wanted to kick this off with the phrase “another year around the moon” but then I got really stressed that I’ve used it in all of my other annual ...
9 Lessons to Lead Through 2019
Hello, friends. Have you missed me? Okay, very well. But have you missed me like I’ve missed me? Doubtful. I hadn’t realized that this post was something lingering around in my ...
![Queen City Caffeine Crawl [@CharlotteNC]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-09-23-12-21-23-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Queen City Caffeine Crawl [@CharlotteNC]")
Queen City Caffeine Crawl [@CharlotteNC]
I’ve done it before and I’m doing it again – this time on the opposite side of the Atlantic, and this time with a Queen City caffeine theme.
3 years to 50!?
I’ve had many words to say about inconsequential things, and inconsequential words to say about many things. Somehow that got us to 50 complete packages of things published on this here ...
Real Moments: Three Dreams
730 days without you, at the date. An eerie parallel to your age.
25 Wants From Life After 25
25 is a moment. It took me quite a few moons to get to this age.
This is the first birthday that I’ve actually looked forward to, felt excited about, etc. ...
![Learn a Book! – 20[18 Authors]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-01-06-07-21-48-3-copy.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Learn a Book! – 20[18 Authors]")
Learn a Book! – 20[18 Authors]
2018 is the year of the people… who wrote books.
Believe it or not, I came up with the idea for this year’s annual reading challenge back in early 2016… two ...
Recent Reads – Halloween Edition 2017
Bookstores should offer human horse blinders at the front door, right next to the plastic shopping baskets. We’re all either the type of person who needs the former or the ...
![Voyages: New York City [@NYNY]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2017-08-11-09-29-34-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: New York City [@NYNY]")
Voyages: New York City [@NYNY]
Remember when my Voyages used to feature little-to-no words? Yeah, me neither. Work commitments recently packed me up and sent me off to the Big Apple for a week. New ...
Real Moments: Lost
“Are you okay, Cassie? You look a little lost.” These are actual words that someone spoke to me just a few days ago, seemingly out of nowhere. There I was ...
Follies & Fixations: July 2017
Yikes, when was the last time we did a Follies & Fixations around here? Unfortunately for all of us, I’ve been running a little low on Follies lately. Thankfully, I’ve ...
Learn Stuff: 10 Tips for Making Moves
Making moves is not easy.
![Learn a Book! – 20[Seven Teen Series]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-03-24-04-04-59-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Learn a Book! – 20[Seven Teen Series]")
Learn a Book! – 20[Seven Teen Series]
One of these years I’m going to run out of gimmicks.
This is not that year.
24 Lessons Learned To Get To 24
New year, new… just about nothing else. The planets have been a-turning and once again, I’m faced with the internal dilemma of tacking another year onto my young age. As ...
Real Moments: On Remembrance
First and foremost, this is for you. Not for them. I don’t need to tell you that I miss you, but I do need to say that I’m sorry. ...
![Voyages: Into Twilight [@ForksWA]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-09-10-07-10-13-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Into Twilight [@ForksWA]")
Voyages: Into Twilight [@ForksWA]
About three things I was absolutely positive. And “I love Forks” was every single one of them.
![Voyages: The Emerald City [@SeattleWA]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-09-10-01-21-20-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: The Emerald City [@SeattleWA]")
Voyages: The Emerald City [@SeattleWA]
Baby’s first trip out West! That’s right. Until this year, the furthest west I had ever been in my life was probably Pennsylvania. But my best friend (the one who ...
Voyages: Hickory & Blowing Rock [@NorthCarolina]
Last weekend I had a hankering to get away from the city. My usual preference would be to go to the ocean but that trip is more of a commitment ...
Real Moments: Tales Turns One!
It’s been one whole year since I started Tales of Casstastrophe and look how far we’ve come! From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Recent Reads – July 2016
A week or so prior to moving, my mother instituted a ban on my buying any more books until after my arrival in North Carolina. I know. “You’ve got a ton you ...
6-in-6: My Halfway Bucket List
My beginning half of 2016 was pretty action packed, but as I settle into a new home and a more routine life (at least for a little while) I wanted ...
![Voyages: The French Quarter [@NewOrleansLA]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-06-16-12-54-33-2.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: The French Quarter [@NewOrleansLA]")
Voyages: The French Quarter [@NewOrleansLA]
This was an adventure literally 5 years in the making. Since we met, my best friend Robin and I have been wanting to go down to New Orleans, Louisiana. Last ...
Learn Stuff: My First Mile In A While
So… let’s take a moment to be very real with each other. I’m not physically fit. Once I hit 22 my body started giving me warning signs about my physical ...
Follies & Fixations: May 2016
“The Kingkiller Chronicles” by Patrick Rothfuss… on second thought, also just Patrick Rothfuss Raise your hand if you’re over A Song of Ice and Fire. Okay, maybe not over but ...
Real Moments: From Gardening to Glasgow to Graduation!
The most perfect of white camellias – which I cannot take the credit for finding. Tony, the head gardener at Inish Beg, discovered this beautiful botanical gem buried back behind ...
Inch by Inch, Row by Row: Life Lessons from the Garden
Almost 2 months ago when I told my family I would be leaving to go work outside on an estate in Ireland for a little while, they were incredulous. To ...
![Books I Brought Abroad [@WestCorkIRL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2016-03-19-01-13-49-1-edit.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Books I Brought Abroad [@WestCorkIRL]")
Books I Brought Abroad [@WestCorkIRL]
Travel Tip: figure out if your hosts used to own a bookshop in London and therefore have MASSES of reading options available for your perusal before you travel… Packing to ...
![Voyages: Welcome to Inish Beg! – Part II [@WestCorkIRL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2016-03-03-05-09-44-2.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Welcome to Inish Beg! – Part II [@WestCorkIRL]")
Voyages: Welcome to Inish Beg! – Part II [@WestCorkIRL]
The local West Corkonians joke about how everyone is always ready to talk about the weather here, but I love it and I feel like I fit right in with ...
![Café Cake Crawl – Skibbereen Edition [@WestCorkIRL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2016-03-05-03-11-30-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Café Cake Crawl – Skibbereen Edition [@WestCorkIRL]")
Café Cake Crawl – Skibbereen Edition [@WestCorkIRL]
We all know how a bar / pub crawl works. It’s a feat of stamina, of endurance, and in the end mostly of regret. You might be wondering how I came ...
![Voyages: Skibbereen & Baltimore [@WestCorkIRL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-28-09-53-00-2.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Skibbereen & Baltimore [@WestCorkIRL]")
Voyages: Skibbereen & Baltimore [@WestCorkIRL]
The streets of Skibbereen were bustling on Saturday morning, with locals milling about the farmers market and meeting up with each other in cafes and restaurants. You better believe that ...
![A List of Cooking Tips For A Novice Like Me [@WestCorkIRL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-28-02-20-01-2.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "A List of Cooking Tips For A Novice Like Me [@WestCorkIRL]")
A List of Cooking Tips For A Novice Like Me [@WestCorkIRL]
Go ahead and ask anyone who knows me and they’ll happily laugh in your face if you ask them about my past baking escapades. Nutella chocolate chip cookies? Apparently adding ...
![Voyages: Welcome to Inish Beg! – Part I [@WestCorkIRL]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-21-02-43-52-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Welcome to Inish Beg! – Part I [@WestCorkIRL]")
Voyages: Welcome to Inish Beg! – Part I [@WestCorkIRL]
Apparently the Wild Atlantic Way is a 2,500 km drive along Ireland’s West Coast and these signs mark popular spots to stop and take in the scenery! Doing the whole ...
Real Moments: Shipping Up to… Ireland!
My Essentials: new Helly Hansen jacket & Timberland hiking boots (thanks Mama!), more heavy sweaters than anyone really needs, the camera I rarely find an excuse to use, and a ...
Learn Stuff: Luke’s (Chicory Nutmeg) Coffee
Lorelai: Mmm. Luke, that is an exceptionally good batch of coffee.Luke: Year?Lorelai: Hello!Luke: I added a little nutmeg. There aren’t many things held most dear to this here heart of ...
23 Thoughts On Turning 23
Thanks for having me, 23. I’m super excited to be here. 1) Stop rounding up your age before you get there. You’ve got all of next year to be that ...
Follies & Fixations: January 2016
“Cassie” for every day, “My Pearl” for Sundays, and “Cross-stitching Goddess Divine” but only on very special occasions. Mama Bear’s Homemade Knitwear My mom is crafty! You could go back ...
![Learn a Book! – 20[16k]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2015-12-29-04-01-48-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Learn a Book! – 20[16k]")
Learn a Book! – 20[16k]
“Seize the moments of happiness, make them love you, fall in love yourself! That is the only real thing in this world – the rest is all nonsense.” – Leo ...
![A Hometown Holiday [@NewportRI]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-12-27-01-45-55-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "A Hometown Holiday [@NewportRI]")
A Hometown Holiday [@NewportRI]
Iconic Giraffe Tree Makes Fashion Statement – Newport Daily News headline, probably Sitting by the fire playing board games. Curled up on the couch watching movies. Waking up groggy after late ...
Forewarn the Madness: A Look Back @ 2015
Mid-December. The point in time where we, as a collective society, begin drafting up our resolutions for the coming new year. Oftentimes they’re about the things we didn’t do, the aspirations, ...
Learn Stuff: The Attention Span Experiment
With finals week looming around the corner, I’ve been trying out any and all ways of improving my ability to get work done and help myself with the push to ...
![Voyages: Kancamagus Highway [@NewHampshire]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/3.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Kancamagus Highway [@NewHampshire]")
Voyages: Kancamagus Highway [@NewHampshire]
It was Christmas Day. 2006. I unwrapped a gift from a dear aunt of mine and found a framed picture of a sign for a highway called Kancamagus. My fascination ...
Follies & Fixations: November 2015
Ceramic Hedgehog Pals Technically it’s a salt and pepper shaker but I named mine Autumn and she sits as a little figurine on my bedside table. If I can’t have ...
Real Moments: “To Everything Its Proper Time And Place And Turn.”
“The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.” Life events are difficult. When I was a kid, an imagination was something I developed to pass the ...
![My Senior Semester Beantown Bucket List [@BostonMA]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-09-20-12-16-24-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "My Senior Semester Beantown Bucket List [@BostonMA]")
My Senior Semester Beantown Bucket List [@BostonMA]
The Ell Hall Husky @ Northeastern University I’ve spent the last 4+ years of my life working towards one of those diploma things and now I’m left with mere months ...
Follies & Fixations: September 2015
Basically: my favorites! I want to share these with you all on a monthly basis and hopefully you find something you want to try out too. Be it experiences, products, ...
![To England, With Love: A Send-Off To Summer [@CambridgeUK]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2015-09-05-06-40-22-1-copy.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "To England, With Love: A Send-Off To Summer [@CambridgeUK]")
To England, With Love: A Send-Off To Summer [@CambridgeUK]
“And then she recalled weeks that had flown past and afternoons that had lasted for ever. Some minutes had lasted hours, some hours had gone past so quickly she hadn’t ...
![Voyages: Scotland’s National Book Town [@WigtownUK]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2015-08-30-11-19-35-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Scotland’s National Book Town [@WigtownUK]")
Voyages: Scotland’s National Book Town [@WigtownUK]
One evening in the beginning of the summer, on a bus back from London, I got into a conversation with a friend of mine about books. It wasn’t long before ...
![Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, And An English Barrister Walk Into A Bar… [@CambridgeUK]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2015-08-16-04-04-15-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, And An English Barrister Walk Into A Bar… [@CambridgeUK]")
Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, And An English Barrister Walk Into A Bar… [@CambridgeUK]
A beautiful stained glass window in the Museum of London. “Dieu et Mon Droit” is the motto of the United Kingdom outside of Scotland. Contrary to popular belief, I’m doing ...
![Voyages: Pembroke and King’s Colleges [@CambridgeUK]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2015-08-09-02-46-11-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Pembroke and King’s Colleges [@CambridgeUK]")
Voyages: Pembroke and King’s Colleges [@CambridgeUK]
I didn’t intend for this blog to be as photo-heavy as I feel like it’s becoming, but unfortunately I can’t think of anything else to share with you today! I’ve ...
Learn a Book! – 30 in 2015
Remember the good ol’ elementary school days where you had to read 25 books over the course of a school year? Which was a big freaking deal? Well, now I’m an ...
![Voyages: Anglesey Abbey [@CambridgeUK]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2015-07-19-11-05-00-1.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "Voyages: Anglesey Abbey [@CambridgeUK]")
Voyages: Anglesey Abbey [@CambridgeUK]
I formally declare myself lovingly obsessed with Anglesey Abbey. On Saturday I took a trip with a small group of darlings to this Jacobean-style country house in the nearby village of Lode. ...
![£5 Worth of Local Drinking Tips [@CambridgeUK]](https://i0.wp.com/talesofcasstastrophe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2015-07-11-02-35-52-12.jpg?resize=700%2C700&ssl=1 "£5 Worth of Local Drinking Tips [@CambridgeUK]")
£5 Worth of Local Drinking Tips [@CambridgeUK]
Last weekend I went to London and I paid £5 for a nothing-special beer, which hurt my heart. Granted, now I get to say that I’ve had a pint on ...
Why Am I Doing This?
In this post I am not going to go on about being a millennial. Or about what it means to grow up in the digital age / information era. I am ...