Nostaligic.

Yes, the very word brings me back to "the good ol' days." Ew, I kinda don't like saying that. It's so old. Hence, nostalgia. But I have other things to get excited about when I think of the term. I came home for Labor Day Weekend to de-stress from all things New Ro. Plus, I really wanted to see my mama after God spent the whole week, and possibly a majority of the summer, laughing at me from above while sharing a bucket of fried chicken with the angels at my many just-my-luck occurrences (do I need to bring up my car again? don't think so..but there are some others that I haven't mentioned yet).

There are certain things I love coming back to in my microscopic state that I like to call home, or how I pronounce it, "haome": Delaware. The First State, that little diamond of a state with the home-grown roots of the south and the class and confidence of the north. If you lived here, you'd see how its complicated to consider Delaware a southern state or a northern state. To me, it sits smack dab in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic east coast of Amuuurica. I found a quote on a fellow Delawarian's Facebook profile that perfectly describes Delaware girls:

"The Delaware girl mystique is hard to describe. It’s a mix of that small town charm with some big city attitude. Delaware girls go to the beach, not the "shore," & we sleep just fine with sand in our beds. We are classy, not grungy, no matter how we dress or what music we listen to. We know good corn, tomatoes, & strawberries when we taste them, & they only come from local markets. At times, we are high maintenance but we also know how to relax. Delaware girls don’t pay tax; they love Wawa and Capriotti's. We drive on the highway with attitude but in towns with caution. We have the charm & grace of the south yet the wit and confidence of the north. Your true Mid-Atlantic girl, the perfect combination."

Ain't that just spiffy?! I think so. I think everyone should definitely visit Delaware, especially during the spring or summer. I would gladly be a lovely tour guide. Making sure to definitely hit up Wawa, Capriotti's, Newark for house parties, and Riiiiiiita's...

In and around my mouth. 

Yes, one of the things that gets me excited about coming home during the summer heat is Rita's Water Ice. It is majestic. Amazing water ice (if you don't know what that is, it's sugary goodness that is WAY better than a slushie from 7-11). And there custard is famazing (aka fucking amazing); if you have a cup of it and turn it over, it won't move! Ha so great. They make these things that I always get called Gelati. It's not like that other favorite of mine gelato..it's just an epic combo of water ice AND custard. This marriage of orgasmic taste starts with custard at the bottom of the cup a thick layer of water ice and then to top it all of MORE custard. Fuckin' fuck yeah.

Rita's has awesome flavors like: mango, blueberry (with REAL blueberries), cotton candy, Alex's Lemonade, Swedish Fish, Georgia Peach, Passion Fruit, Green Apple, Cranberry, Root Beer, along with many others. A new one I tried today was Tasty Kake's Butterscotch Krimpet flavor. Yah, I know. To be honest, it simply tasted like Vanillery goodness.
I'll never stop getting Rita's when I come home to visit (of course only when they close during the winter months, which forces loyal customers to stock up on quarts/gallons of their favorite flavors).

Rita's was definitely something I've been having since I was a little prosti-tot, maybe even before. There have been competitors, like Nick's Italian Water Ice next door with their flashy trailer that everyone could see blinding drivers on Kirkwood Highway in the '90s but it was no match for Rita's.

Another thing that takes me back to childhood favorites, and I'm sure a lot of old people like them too were Ritz Crackers. Okay, they're not really a favorite of mine but i just wanna say how they've changed. I was in a grocery store and I saw these things called Ritz Munchables. Half pretzel, half Ritz cracker. What the fuck? Like when can they combine the crunch of a pretzel with the buttery, flakiness of a Ritz cracker? I never knew such a thing would or could exist. Plus, a flavor like Spicy Chipotle Cheddar caught my eye; I had to try these little critters.

As the box said, it was pretzel on the outside, ritz cracker on the inside. But when i opened the box, i found these cute little ritzy disks sprinkled with chipotle flavoring. The first bite had me sigh. I was thinking i'd bite into a pretzel then a cracker. But all in all, a munchable is simply an over-baked Ritz cracker. They may have added some pretzel essence but i really feel like I'm biting into a longer baked Ritz disk with some spicy seasoning. BAM!

A new trend has me making me feel like a kid again...a stupid one at that. Sillybandz. Who knew someone could make millions by inventing different shaped pieces of rubber that babies can wear on their wrists then trade like Pokemon cards. But of course that didn't stop me from buying them for $1. C'mon, if they're that cheap then I'll definitely buy a bag. AND you get more than just 1! You get like 6 or 7 of them in a pack. It all started when I came back from Australia and all these COLLEGE STUDENT FRIENDS OF MINE (yea, i said it...what now biznatches?) were wearing them like sex bracelets...oh god, I hope i'm not giving them ideas. I'd totally corrupt this idea that was initially made for 5 year-olds.

After moving into my new apartment/house thing at school, I saw one in our bathroom. It was my best friend's. She tends to leave her shit in all places of someone's living space, especially when she's living there. Lucky me. It was a hot dog-shaped sillyband. She wasn't there and she wasn't wearing it, so BAM! I slapped that baby on. Of course, people asked me that infamous question: "What sillyband do you have?" Get off my back bitches it's all mine and no, i'm not trading this one for your stupid trumpet-shaped one.

I bought a bag of the Continent-shaped ones for $1 simply because I wanted the Australia-shaped one to wear. Lo and behold, I rocked that shit AND had an extra that I would give to my best friend, not only because she went as all but because i stole her hot dog. I'm not gonna give it back either :)

PS: If I had a third one, I'd give it to my other fellow Aussie lover Libby who experience OZ with us last semester. God, I miss it.