A few months ago, I reached out to an old friend to catch up and ask her a few business-related questions. In the initial text message, I invited her for coffee, thinking she still lived a few towns over. But I was surprised to learn that she and her husband had moved to Florida.

This is not the first of my friends to move there permanently or on a semi-perm basis. I have friends whose parents moved to Florida, but the parents are in their 70s and 80s. I once heard a comedian joke that it’s in the Torah to move to Florida after a certain age. So, I understood why they made aliyah.

(For those who don’t know, the phrase making aliyah refers to moving to Israel, not Florida. 😉 )

Anyway, today, a friend and I discussed how many of our mutual friends have made this move. She asked me what my feelings were about moving to Florida. So, here are my thoughts.

Pro: I’m a Disney adult and love to visit the parks for the rides, restaurants, and various concerts and festivals.
Con: I’d spend all my hard-earned money there and never vacation anywhere else.

Pro: The Phillies are in Clearwater, Florida, for spring training for a glorious six weeks out of the year. I went to spring training with Andrew one year and had the best time.
Con: The money I don’t spend in the Disney Parks would be spent on baseball games.

Pro: I love getting away from here and sitting in the Florida sunshine for a while. Let’s face it. It’s nice to wear shorts in the wintertime. I also love the palm trees!
Con: I get grumpy in the sweltering heat. I don’t think I could take it year-round.

More Cons:

• I’m not a fan of alligators or bugs.
• I would be too far away from my family and friends unless they came with me.
• I don’t want to live in or near a tourist trap—even if we are near Mickey Mouse.

The bottom line is that Florida is a great place to visit. We always enjoy our time there, but I don’t think I’d like to live there full-time. For my friends who have made it their permanent home state, I miss you. And I am still 100% jealous of how close you are to the parks and the beaches and the fun. When I see your Facebook posts, I so wish I was having dinner at EPCOT with you or sitting outside without my heavy coat.

I promise that I’m not throwing you any shade—unless you need to get out of the Florida heat.

XO,

Elisa

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Before I fall asleep on Saturday nights, I like to watch SNL’s cold open and the host’s monologue. Afterward, I may make it to Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che, but otherwise, I’ll be asleep before midnight.

Earlier in the day, I looked to see who this week’s host was. It was Jacob Elordi.

Who?! 

I haven’t seen his movie Saltburn or any of his other films. In his monologue, he said he wasn’t good at public speaking (true!), so he took questions from the audience. One person asked him which he preferred, old Elvis or new Elvis.

That’s how I learned he was in a movie about Elvis.

A few weeks ago, I watched the Golden Globes award ceremony. I didn’t care who won the awards. I was in it for the fashion. Since COVID, I haven’t been to the movies much. Because of this, I really have no idea who these people are or what roles they played. Most of them are the same age as my children. Many have been in a Marvel movie that I haven’t seen (nor want to see).

I text photos of the dresses to my sister so we can proclaim our non-expert opinions. Our rating system goes from “GORGEOUS” to “YIKES!”

But the entire time I’m looking at the dresses, I ask myself the same question.

Who is that? 

I’m not entirely hopeless. I saw the Barbie movie. I know who Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, and Dua Lipa are.

And, of course, Ryan Gosling. I never have to ask who he is when I see him on a red carpet or elsewhere.

But unless they are over 40, I usually ask the same question.

Who?!

Still, this doesn’t affect my role as an honorary member of the fashion police. Since I have no opinion of their acting, my judgment calls are 100% unbiased. I also love to compare notes with the experts Tom & Lorenzo: Fabulous and Opinionated to get their take. They are also hilarious!

Not knowing these people also doesn’t ruin SNL for me. The writing on the show does that on its own.

Please tell me I’m not alone here.

XO,

Elisa

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