Apparently, I Have a Lot to Say — MistMarie, Finally

Well. I started a blog.

In 2026.

Apparently, we’re doing that again.

I’m not entirely sure when I decided this was a good idea, but here we are, and I’ve already spent an unreasonable amount of time making everything pink and putting butterflies on things. So I guess I’m committed now.

If you know me, you probably aren’t surprised. I’ve always had a lot to say. I take too many pictures, get overly excited about the smallest things, and have a tendency to turn a simple outing into an entire adventure.

Sometimes those adventures are wonderful.

Sometimes I come home exhausted, wondering why I can’t just be a normal person who stays home occasionally.

And sometimes they’re both.

But I always have a story afterward.

So, Why Am I Here?

I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a while.

I love writing. I love photography. I love trying new places, finding little hidden gems, reading books, eating really good food, cooking, and making memories out of things that probably wouldn’t seem particularly exciting to anyone else.

I also love talking about all of it.

Probably too much.

The problem is that social media doesn’t really feel like the place for that anymore.

I don’t necessarily want to put every thought on Facebook, and I definitely don’t want to squeeze an entire story into a caption underneath twelve pictures that nobody asked to see.

Sometimes I want to explain why a particular day mattered to me. Sometimes I want to tell you about the best steak I’ve ever eaten. Sometimes I want to complain about something ridiculous, tell a story from years ago, or write about something that’s been weighing on my mind.

And sometimes I just want somewhere to put all the pictures I insist on taking.

So I bought a domain, started building a website, and decided to see what happens.

Very professional. Very well thought out.

Oh, and I Have Opinions.

If you’ve ever stumbled across one of my Google reviews, you probably already know this.

I review everything.

Restaurants, little shops, attractions, places we visit, and just about anywhere I have an experience worth talking about.

And I don’t mean just leaving five stars and calling it a day.

If somewhere has incredible food, wonderful service, or something that makes it special, I want people to know about it. Especially when it’s a small, locally owned business that deserves more attention.

There’s something really satisfying about finding a place you love and telling other people about it. Maybe someone discovers their new favorite restaurant because of a review I wrote. Maybe a small business gets a few extra customers. Maybe somebody avoids wasting their money on something that wasn’t worth it.

I like to think my excessive amount of commentary serves a purpose occasionally.

But I also believe in being honest.

If something is wonderful, I’ll tell you. If something is disappointing, I’ll probably tell you that, too. And if the food is amazing but the experience is a little weird, well, you’re getting the whole story.

That’s actually one of the things I’m most excited about sharing here.

I want to bring my reviews over from Google, expand on some of them, add more photographs, and give people a better look at the places I’ve visited.

Not just the big, popular places, either. I especially want to highlight the little local businesses that might otherwise get overlooked.

Good food, interesting places, hidden gems, and the occasional experience that leaves me wondering what on earth just happened.

I’m sure there will be plenty of those.

What Am I Going to Write About?

Honestly? Whatever I feel like.

That probably isn’t the answer you’re supposed to give when starting a blog, but I don’t particularly want to box myself into one subject.

Some days I might write about motherhood or family. Other days it’ll be an adventure, a restaurant, a book, a photograph, or something completely random that I haven’t stopped thinking about.

I’ll share reviews and recommendations, places worth visiting, and probably a few places I wouldn’t necessarily visit again.

I also love cooking, so expect recipes, kitchen experiments, and the occasional meal that turned out significantly better—or worse—than I anticipated.

I’m not promising to become some sort of professional food blogger. Sometimes I follow a recipe, sometimes I make things up as I go, and sometimes dinner is whatever I can throw together with what’s already in the refrigerator.

But if I make something good, I’ll probably want to share it.

And then there are my ideas.

Oh, the ideas.

I have a habit of coming up with things I want to create, businesses I want to start, projects I want to try, and adventures I somehow convince myself are completely reasonable.

Some of those ideas turn into something.

Some are still sitting in the back of my mind waiting for their moment.

And some probably should have stayed there in the first place.

But I love the process of dreaming something up and seeing where it goes. I want to share those experiences, too—the planning, the excitement, the things I learn, the mistakes I make, and hopefully a few successes along the way.

I’m sure there will be some funny stories.

There will probably be some sad ones, too.

And I can almost guarantee there will be a few situations where I was convinced something was going to be absolutely wonderful, only for everything to go spectacularly wrong.

Those tend to happen more often than I’d like to admit.

I want to remember the good things, but I don’t want to pretend everything is always good, either.

Life is messy. People are complicated. Plans fall apart. Sometimes you make wonderful memories on days that started out terribly, and sometimes a day you looked forward to for weeks ends up being a complete disaster.

That’s life, I guess.

Or, as the French say, c’est la vie.

See? The name makes sense now.

A Little About Me

I’m Misty Camp, although MistMarie has been my little corner-of-the-internet identity for a while now.

I like pretty things. Pink things, especially. Butterflies, flowers, rainbows, sparkles. All of it.

I also like things that are a little weird, a little spooky, or completely unexpected, so I suppose my personality is a bit of a mixed bag.

I can be sentimental about the smallest memory and sarcastic about just about everything else.

I have a habit of wanting to go everywhere, see everything, and try all the things, while simultaneously wishing I had more time to sit at home and do absolutely nothing.

Make that make sense.

I can’t.

But I’m working on it.

Anyway, Welcome.

I don’t know exactly what this blog will turn into.

Maybe it’ll become a wonderful collection of stories and memories. Maybe I’ll discover some amazing little businesses, share a few recipes worth keeping, or actually bring one of my many ideas to life.

Maybe I’ll look back at this first post someday and laugh at how seriously I took choosing the perfect shade of pink.

Probably all of the above.

Some posts will be available for anyone to read, and others will be part of MistMarie’s Reading Circle, where I’ll share more personal stories, photographs, adventures, and whatever else I get myself into.

Mostly, I just wanted a place that felt like mine. Somewhere I could write what I wanted, share what I loved, support places and people I believe in, and collect little pieces of my life without worrying about whether they belonged on somebody else’s news feed.

If you’ve made it this far, I’m glad you’re here.

And if you’re wondering whether I actually have enough to say to justify an entire website…

Well, I guess we’re about to find out.

C’est la vie.

— MistMarie 🦋