the one where I got married!

well hello hello! you may or may not have noticed, i’ve taken quite the hiatus from posting. those of you who have been married know that planning a wedding can be so stressful. for me, i already had enough outside of wedding planning that was stressing me out, so i really wanted to keep my wedding as minimal and stress-free as possible. in fact, my now-husband and i decided to go to our local courthouse and bring along my childhood best friend as our witness. no family, no additional friends; just the three of us. afterwards, we went out for a quick lunch, then went home and relaxed for a bit. it was so chill! not to worry; i still bought the dress, he wore a tux, and around sunset time, we had professional pictures taken at the beautiful Lake Tahoe.

now for honesty hour: i absolutely hated my dress and spent the majority of the day internally spiraling despite everyone sweetly fawning over me. i was convinced (and still am) that that’s simply what you do for the bride on her special day regardless of whether or not she really looks beautiful or not. nonetheless, i know i have a tendency to get really in my head, so i tried so hard to be as present and in the moment as possible. can i be so honest, though? I’ve actually never felt more self-conscious or insecure than my wedding day. the dress was not flattering, my hair was flat, and my makeup didn’t turn out how i wanted. plus, i ordered my dress online, and while i did do custom sizing, the top fit horribly in the chest and I honestly hated the way most of our pictures turned out. now don’t get me wrong, our photographer was incredible! if for some reason Sarah is reading this, shoutout to you girl, you’re a queen. I’d recommend her to anyone and everyone. but it was a mix of me feeling self conscious, not loving my dress, hair, or my makeup, and overall not being at my optimal weight for my wedding that really stuck the final nail in the coffin.

despite my wonderful husband sweetly reassuring me how gorgeous I looked all day, I couldn’t wait to take off that dress, make up, and wash out the hairspray. it was all just so unlike me. I once listed to a podcast of Emma Chamberlain where she said she’d rather be underdressed than overdressed and I have never related to something more. granted, I know it was my wedding day and I couldn’t possibly be “overdressed.” BUT - I absolutely hated the attention, even though it was all positive and exciting. the stares, congratulations, people telling me how beautiful I looked, it made my kneecaps sweat and my chest hurt. I just kept thinking, “UGH! please, look at my husband, or my best friend, don’t they look great?? They’re both dressed up too!” Or, “let’s talk about the weather!” I have never wanted to be more invisible than in that moment.

listen, there are plenty of people who wait for their wedding day to walk down the isle to have tons of people look at them and fawn over them, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. but that is quite literally my worst nightmare. i’d rather be lost in the crowd somewhere, invisible to everyone else, besides maybe to my husband.

i can’t be too negative, though. the day was truly a beautiful and memorable day, and most importantly - i married the absolute love of my life and that is ALL that matters to me. plus, there are some great pictures that we really do cherish, and perhaps one day i’ll look back on them with kinder eyes (my man looks fantastic by the way, i look very kindly at him LOL, just a bit harshly at myself) but i wouldn’t be me if i gave you only the highlight version.

i am especially excited to change my last name, and to share all of the wonderful things that have happened since being married, moving in with my husband, and all of the things I’ve learned (now that I’m obviously a marriage expert). but that will be for another day.

until next time,

Cassidy BRYANT !!!

xoxo

thanks, hilary duff <3

hellooooo friends. hopefully you didn’t forget about your favorite micro blogger! it’s been a rough month and a half, to say the least, which is why I’ve been gone from here for a bit. I caught a weird virus that hasn’t seemed to go away, I’m trying to overcome an autoimmune flare, and honestly, my mental health has just been in the gutter. BUT - I’m finally feeling a little more like myself this morning thanks to Hilary Duff’s new album, “luck… or something.” She is such a queen. Always has been, always will be. She’s also drop-dead gorgeous. I’ve basically slept through the past day (let’s be real, I’ve been spending most of my days off sleeping or laying around, thank you depression) but I put on my headphones, pressed play, opened my windows, myself a cup of coffee, lit a candle, and now I’m kind of vibing. I would highly recommend. she is so honest through her music, but in a gentle and easy-to-digest way. her sound is so unique, too. okay, you get it! go listen.

next - let’s chitty chat about mental health for a sec. I’ve always dealt with severe anxiety and depression, amongst other things (OCD + CPTSD, I’m really the whole package lol), and while I do my best to keep it pretty well managed through therapy, medication, and lifestyle, I’ve learned that sometimes what I really need is to allow myself to stop fighting so hard and rest. let’s be clear - this doesn’t mean letting myself go or stopping my medication or not going to my necessary appointments. but this just means that I give myself permission to say no to other people without feeling guilty. I am such a people pleaser, and I hate the idea of disappointing anyone, so I often overbook myself and end up more exhausted. I tend to not have a lot of social battery to begin with, so saying yes too often is usually not the best thing for me. sometimes getting out of the house and seeing a friend(s) is good for me, but other times, I need to listen to my body and rest. I’ve learned, if that means I’m not part of all of the group hangs or social events, then so be it. the peace in my mind and body comes first. I don’t know if this will help anyone, but even if it means one person knows they’re not alone, that’s why I’m sharing.

it’s important to know when to get back up, too. I often fall into a pattern of rest and it’s harder to know if I’m helping myself or delaying my progress. it’s a balance. so what I tend to do is give myself a soft timeline, then give myself small, attainable goals. for example, I’ll tell myself, “you can clear your calendar for today, order dinner in, and watch this Netflix series, but tomorrow, you have to shower, do some light stretches, and take the trash out and feel the fresh air on your face.” Am I always successful? No way. But, it helps. I’m not a professional, but I’ve been given looooots of professional advice over the years and these things tend to help.

be gentle with yourself friends, life is so hard sometimes. but there is so much good in each day, too. you’re stronger than you think you are. take care of yourself.

never be afraid to reach out for help if you need it. it really is half the battle. thank you for reading, and be well.

cass <3

avatar fans?? I SEE YOU.

Okay people: if you are guilty of being one of those people that does not appreciate the cinematic PERFECTION that is Avatar by James Cameron….. allow me to invite you to open your gosh dang eyeballs, purchase a Disney+ subscription right now, pick out your favorite movie snacks, and dive into the world of Pandora. Is each movie long? Yes, and?? I can promise you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time, and every single second is worth watching. How many hours do you spend mindlessly scrolling on your phone? Not judging you, buuuut if you have the time to do that, you can watch Avatar ;) Also, hello there’s a pause button now! Who says you have to watch it all in one sitting? Moral of the story - WATCH. IT. There is a reason this series has been voted #1 worldwide!!!

How do you know Avatar is for you? Well, as a true fan since 2009, I can confidently say that Avatar has a little bit of everything for everybody. But! You do have to enjoy some action. With that being said, every person I’ve ever convinced to watch this series have become real fans themselves. There’s themes of indigenous people protecting their sacred lands, there’s a blending of culture among the Na’Vi and their enemy (and other clans), there’s romance, there’s war, there’s survival, there’s tragedy, there’s loss, there’s love, and there’s relatability and even comedic relief in simplistic moments of family arguments between the Sully’s. I mean, there’s truly nothing this series leaves out.

Plus, the CGI animation is SO GOOD. The colors, unique creatures and their abilities, and the bioluminescent atmosphere alone is truly extraordinary. It really is the most creative, beautiful, and remarkable storyline that is unpredictable and has you watching every detail. And the music??? SO GOOD. I’ve watched the first and second movie countless times, and the third movie twice in theaters already LOL.

The Way of the Water is my all-time favorite movie so far. I think in another life, I was a fish.

Do you guys love this movie as much as I do??? I must know!!!

Until next time,

Cassidy Sully

hahahaha jk. sorta ;) would love to see what my avatar looks like tho!! would also love to live in Pandora TBH. Okay bye!!

let’s not go home for the holidays

well hello again, readers! it’s been a few weeks, and let’s just say, I’m happy the holidays are behind us. Not because I didn’t have a good holiday or make any happy memories (the most notable being that I got engaged!! holla!), but overall - the holidays in general have just felt so heavy the last few years in particular. If I really think about it, though, there was always a similar heaviness around holidays and perhaps I wasn’t able to pinpoint the cause until now. Don’t get me wrong, I have many special and happy childhood memories, especially when it comes to holidays, birthdays, and family get-togethers. My mom, in particular, always worked so hard to host elaborate parties for our huge family and made it her mission to make these events special. When I say there’s a heaviness, I think so many people get blinded by the tangible parts of holidays and forget the meaning of them all together. It’s the shift in energy when a family member says something that someone else doesn’t like, and now there’s tension. It’s the chaos in getting the house and food and decorations ready before fifty people you don’t really ever talk to come over for this one meal. It’s the twenty questions from these people you only see for these specific gatherings who ask so many meaningless questions because they don’t know anything about you, and it’s not like you’re going to walk away from the conversation changed. You’ll have the same conversation with the same people at the same time, next year. It’s so overstimulating, and despite how much I care about anyone involved, I leave feeling drained. I show up partly because I do love and care about my family members, but I also don’t feel like it’s fair to myself to show up only out of obligation. So what’s the point of putting myself through that? Personally, I’d much rather kick back, order a pizza or make an easy dinner at home and play board games with people that I consistently maintain a relationship with in my normal life. People that energize me, not drain me. Easy-going, stress-free people that are looking for the same outcome as me - peace and laughter. I know so many people will relate to this, and it’s very hard to say no to your family when you’ve grown up as a people pleaser. The reality is, you might get a lot of pushback, some emotional responses, and some people may even cut you off because of it (which is so dramatic). But in 2026, we’re living for us - not for anyone else. That’s my holiday Ted-Talk, thanks for joining! I sincerely hope you have a safe, happy, and healthy new year!!

& most importantly, remember that you don’t owe anyone anything. Your time and energy is valuable. Spend it wisely.

much love,

Cass

I’m already overthinking this.

If you’ve made it here, it means a couple things. One, it means I’ve successfully mustered up the courage to click “publish.” Second, you will now be subjected to random, silly, vulnerable, potentially deep thoughts that buzz around in my brain. Maybe one day I will also be brave enough to share stories about my past in hopes of encouraging readers. Third, and lastly, I have this lovely habit of over-analyzing myself, especially in social settings and speaking about myself in general. So! This is blog will also serve as a little self-challenge and hopefully I no longer struggle with that down the road. Why do you benefit from this? If you choose to make a pit-stop here throughout your day, I hope my little blogs can bring you a laugh, a smile, or simply something you can relate to. I’m so happy you’re here, and I hope you stay. Okay friends, well it’s currently 11:10pm and I need a snack. Bye bye for now!