“This is Lucille- and she. is. awesome.” Me as Negan for ‘Walker Stalker: Boston’! 7/30/16

Oh, July- you had me worried for a second there. I was really, REALLY concerned that despite my best efforts- you were going to turn into “June 2016: Part II” and be something I looked back on at some point in the future with sadness and maybe a little anger. I was worried you were going to carry on my baggage from my breakup last month and just toss it everywhere- maybe even into the month of August, too.

… But you surprised me in the most pleasant of ways and ended up being a wonderful, fun, and most important of all- empowering– month for me. I can’t thank the stars and the cosmos enough for showing me some mercy and giving me the strength and clarity I so desperately needed (with the help of good friends, good music, and new and unexpected opportunities!) to get me through my rough patch and give me a renewed sense of purpose and optimism.

Not that long ago, I’d written about my mini-epiphany following a lovely couple of days spent in Connecticut where I caught up with beloved friends and watched The Killers put on one hell of a show- an experience that recharged me after I’d been running on empty for what felt like so long.

Well, in the days that followed- while I was still on cloud nine- I was contacted about new and potential prospects for me on the opposite coast (specifically Las Vegas and San Diego.) I’m currently looking into each of them, doing my usual weighing of the pros and cons before I take any kind of step forward in either direction. I don’t want to get ahead of myself- but I’m undeniably excited. I’d put off the idea of moving anywhere near the West Coast anytime soon since I felt tethered here in Massachusetts- but now that I’m feeling liberated (and have the unyielding support of my friends and family who only want to see me happy and successful)– it’s nice to know that it could actually happen, after all.

Legally Brunette?

I also pulled an unexpected move in recent days to celebrate the changes in my life and went back to brunette- dying my hair a lovely chocolate color. I don’t know how many of you have seen the first “Sex and the City” movie (I LOVE IT) where Carrie, post-being left jilted at the altar- dyes her trademark blonde hair considerably darker- but I can assure you that’s what I felt like when I was leaving the salon. I kept doing double-takes at my reflection. I didn’t recognize myself at first!

I don’t know what the new hair color is going to do for the “Legally Redhead” name (I mean, there are still some red highlights in there, so, technically…?) but I’m not going to stress about it too much right now. I like the way it looks and that’s all that matters to me.

To finish giving July a much-deserved sweet send-off- I’ll be heading over to the House of Blues tonight to check out a gig by The Last Shadow Puppets. This comes right after I spent yesterday at The Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel for the annual “Fan Fest/Walker Stalker” convention where I finally got the chance to show off my completed Negan costume. Although I was looking, I didn’t see any other women dressed as the character (but if any ladies were there and dressed as Negan- I want to see how great you looked!) but I did see quite a few men and boys swinging their Lucilles around. It was fun- whenever any of us would run into each other- we’d tap our bats together. It sort of became an unofficial handshake or high-five throughout the day.

The definitive highlight of my afternoon was finally meeting David Morrissey. I’ve been a big fan of his prior to ‘The Walking Dead’ but he’d never attended a convention anywhere around here before. He was an absolute sweetheart (and very tall!) and it was an honor to get to pose with him and speak with him about his extensive and impressive body of work.

And we all know how much I love Josh McDermitt. It’s always a party whenever that guy is around. I was going to take a photo of me using my Lucille prop with him- but he sort of turned the tables on that one- as evidenced above.

Speaking of photos- I was completely STUNNED at the amount of people who stopped me to request a photo with me (specifically me looking like I was about to bash their heads in with my bat.) It was seriously so much fun and I hope that everyone enjoyed their pictures as much as I enjoyed posing for them! I’m really looking forward to bringing the costume back for August’s Boston Comic-Con. It’s definitely one of my favorites I’ve put together over the years!

Apart from BCC- what else do I have planned for August? Well, it’s the last full month of the Summer before we slip into the Fall (and I reach maximum power since it’s my favorite season)– so I’d like to try and spend as much time as possible outdoors- in the sun and on the beach. I have a few more Summer-esque recipes to share, a giveaway to commemorate the wind-down of the season, and a couple of day trips/weekends out of state scheduled that should be fun to document and share with everyone.

Cheers to an incredible and much-needed month that was, and to even better and brighter days in August!

xx