the lagniappe

In today's "du jour", wait, can you say, "today's du jour,"  eh all in a day jour!  *Ahem* In today's "du jour" I take you back to the future, you know that never made sense anyway right?  This is a time before the little lagniappe that was me came along, if you're wondering where I get it from:

 And this one clearly shows how NYC and working in "fashion" was in the cards for me.

 And here's what I can only hope to find one day!  Who knew my parents were stars of the big screen. 

Accidental Beauty Family Photo:  Then there's the part where I come in...highlights from this picture in the aftermath below. 

If  pictures are worth 1000 words then here's a few hundred to get you started on this one. 

Backstory -- First of all, how beautiful and tanned and slightly out of focus do my parent's look?  Then there's the obviousness of how the clarity of the picture is focused on chipmunk-cheeked, mullet-in-training, me in the background.  This was taken while our whoooole family was on a Caribbean cruise for my grandparents and my great-aunt's 50th Anniversaries. 

• I'm pretty sure the earring's I'm wearing were clip-ons. 
• I've likely just shoved my face full of whatever's in the bowl or about to projectile vomit based on the pose I'm frozen in time with. 
• Possibly worse is the face my great aunt, the one that looks great, is making in the fourth row back. 
• That woman in picture-left, third row, was one of a set of twins cruising with us as my Mom's cousin's guests, either her, or her twin sister (who could tell?) burned me on the arm with her cigarette at the pool. 
• I can't be sure if this lovely was taken before or after that incident. 
• Either way, I'll never forgive her for the burn incident, or was it the other one?
• The necklace my mom is wearing is the one she keeps saying, "You don't remember this?!?!  I wore it on the cruise!!" in slight distaste at the questioning person's lack of memory of what she wore on cruise "fancy" night 16 years ago, the nerve.

A very special thanks to my aunt "e" (known to some of you as aunt delaine) for supplying these wonderful journeys back in time.  In particular I don't think I've ever seen the one shot in front of the Rockefeller Christmas tree.  I love that my mom's entire outfit in that picture would be the height of fashion on the streets of NY today, my dad's maybe not so much.