When my Mum was a little girl she would regularly spend every precious cent she had on a bag of lollies and I loved when she shared these stories with me as she’d go into delicious, delectable detail.
She painted such a bright picture in my mind of just how much joy this experience brought her.
She’d describe her excited walk to the local milk bar and then she’d stand looking up at the counter filled with colourful sugary delights and slowly…
ever
so
slowly
she’d select her favourite treats and watch as the milk bar owner packed them all tightly into a little white paper bag before handing them down to her.
And every time she told me this story, she’d stop to laugh at this point as she admitted that hardly any of those lollies would make it all the way home.
Clearly for those particular lollies it was more about the journey than the destination.
I definitely inherited every little piece of Mum’s lollie-loving DNA as I was exactly the same as a little girl. And I followed her footsteps by walking to the local milk bar more times than I can count.
She painted such a bright picture in my mind of just how much joy this experience brought her.
She’d describe her excited walk to the local milk bar and then she’d stand looking up at the counter filled with colourful sugary delights and slowly…
ever
so
slowly
she’d select her favourite treats and watch as the milk bar owner packed them all tightly into a little white paper bag before handing them down to her.
And every time she told me this story, she’d stop to laugh at this point as she admitted that hardly any of those lollies would make it all the way home.
Clearly for those particular lollies it was more about the journey than the destination.
I definitely inherited every little piece of Mum’s lollie-loving DNA as I was exactly the same as a little girl. And I followed her footsteps by walking to the local milk bar more times than I can count.
Your typical Melbourne Milk Bar (aka real estate filled with lollies). Image www.concreteplayground.com
I can still remember the feel and weight of one of those little bags of lollies in my hand.
It’s a shame those Very Expensive lolly stands they have at shopping centres and movie theatres these days don’t use Little White Paper Bags. Plastic bags just aren’t the same. At all.
It’s a shame those Very Expensive lolly stands they have at shopping centres and movie theatres these days don’t use Little White Paper Bags. Plastic bags just aren’t the same. At all.
Little White Paper Bags patiently awaiting their sweet-filled fate
It'll come as no surprise to hear that one of my favourite movies as a child was ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. It was such a fantastical adventure into what I sincerely hoped was a real chocolate factory because I longed to win a competition to visit it myself. I so badly wanted one of those golden tickets so I could meet the Oompa-Loompas.
So you can imagine how excited I was when Mum told me she once worked in a chocolate factory. I figured that had to be The Best Job In The World!!!
Remember when Lucy and Ethel worked in a chocolate factory? Soooooo funny!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NPzLBSBzPI
I remember being out to dinner with friends when I was in my twenties and somehow we started talking about Willy Wonka and none of us could remember Charlie’s surname so I started going from table to table in the restaurant asking random strangers if they knew what his name was. Ah, finding the answers to questions was so much more creative and interactive prior to the invention of Google wasn't it? (Remember that night Ann? So Much Fun and I met so many lovely strangers who all had the opportunity to revisit their childhood, whether they wanted to or not... haha!)
So you can imagine how excited I was when Mum told me she once worked in a chocolate factory. I figured that had to be The Best Job In The World!!!
Remember when Lucy and Ethel worked in a chocolate factory? Soooooo funny!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NPzLBSBzPI
I remember being out to dinner with friends when I was in my twenties and somehow we started talking about Willy Wonka and none of us could remember Charlie’s surname so I started going from table to table in the restaurant asking random strangers if they knew what his name was. Ah, finding the answers to questions was so much more creative and interactive prior to the invention of Google wasn't it? (Remember that night Ann? So Much Fun and I met so many lovely strangers who all had the opportunity to revisit their childhood, whether they wanted to or not... haha!)
My love of sugary treats knew no bounds and most of my pocket money was spent on lollies, just as Mum’s had been a few decades earlier.
Although when I Fell Deeply Head Over Heels in Love With Books, I started keeping some of my pocket money to spend on those too.
Although when I Fell Deeply Head Over Heels in Love With Books, I started keeping some of my pocket money to spend on those too.
Image from www.aclutteredmind.com
It was such a delicious love triangle. Books, Lollies and Me.
And I was similar to Mum as I don’t think the concept of ‘save some for later’ ever resonated with me.
Not when it came to lollies or money. I ate them as soon as they were in my possession and I spent it as soon as I received it.
Save Some For Later.
It’s such a foreign concept.
I just don’t get it and I agree with Ross.
And I was similar to Mum as I don’t think the concept of ‘save some for later’ ever resonated with me.
Not when it came to lollies or money. I ate them as soon as they were in my possession and I spent it as soon as I received it.
Save Some For Later.
It’s such a foreign concept.
I just don’t get it and I agree with Ross.
Image from www.gifrific.com
Growing up, there were two BIG lollie and chocolate-related events in life.
Easter and the Royal Melbourne Show.
Easter and the Royal Melbourne Show.
Bertie Beetle Show Bags were the best! Image: www.heraldsun.com.au
One family tradition I remember vividly is our trip to the Royal Melbourne Show in September each year. We went on rides, ate fairy floss, got lost in the crowds on occasion and without fail, my brother and I came home with a ridiculous amount of show bags in our possession. We’d sit on the floor in the living room counting our plentiful stash of sweet treats and trinkets. What joy those family excursions brought us. Not just because of the things we received but because Dad worked shift work so a day out with both of our parents was Extra Special.
The Easter Bunny was a very generous visitor in our house and getting a Humpty Dumpty was the pinnacle of Easter treats. I still buy a Humpty Dumpty every year as it takes me right back to my childhood.
The Easter Bunny was a very generous visitor in our house and getting a Humpty Dumpty was the pinnacle of Easter treats. I still buy a Humpty Dumpty every year as it takes me right back to my childhood.
Humpty Dumpty circa 2016. Don't fall Humpty!
My brother is the total opposite of Mum and I when it comes to sweets.
Mum and Dad would obviously give us the same amount of Easter Eggs or buy us the same amount of show bags but without fail, I would eat all my sweet treats within a couple of days and he would still have his a few weeks later.
Oh, the torture of seeing his little piles of Easter Eggs in the fridge after I’d eaten all of mine. Eventually I’d beg him for one of course, which would delight him as he knew he could get me to do something to earn one of his eggs!
Childhood can be rough to navigate when you have a big brother who knows all your weaknesses.
Mum and Dad would obviously give us the same amount of Easter Eggs or buy us the same amount of show bags but without fail, I would eat all my sweet treats within a couple of days and he would still have his a few weeks later.
Oh, the torture of seeing his little piles of Easter Eggs in the fridge after I’d eaten all of mine. Eventually I’d beg him for one of course, which would delight him as he knew he could get me to do something to earn one of his eggs!
Childhood can be rough to navigate when you have a big brother who knows all your weaknesses.
Check out how happy he is to be holding the chocolate… and how grumpy I am that I don’t have any. Not happy Jan.
This photo was taken on my brother’s birthday but I’m sure I wouldn’t have understood why I didn’t get a block of chocolate as well. I loved it more afterall. Surely that's a good enough reason?
I remember Mum telling me this photo was taken on a really hot day in Perth and David’s chocolate melted by the time we got back to the car from this lookout.
Which is, of course, a pretty solid reason to always eat chocolate Right Away!!! The risk of the Melty Monster getting his hands on it is way too great.
So the challenge I set myself for the month of February was to not eat any chocolate, lollies or ice-cream for Twenty-Nine entire days (and yes, I did choose February to do this particular challenge as it’s the shortest month of the year).
I was not to eat one single mouthful.
I remember Mum telling me this photo was taken on a really hot day in Perth and David’s chocolate melted by the time we got back to the car from this lookout.
Which is, of course, a pretty solid reason to always eat chocolate Right Away!!! The risk of the Melty Monster getting his hands on it is way too great.
So the challenge I set myself for the month of February was to not eat any chocolate, lollies or ice-cream for Twenty-Nine entire days (and yes, I did choose February to do this particular challenge as it’s the shortest month of the year).
I was not to eat one single mouthful.
Image from www.debbieohi.com
And I did it so easily I was shocked!
Absolutely shocked.
As you now know, I’ve had a life-long love affair with All Things Sweet so I honestly thought this would be a really difficult thing to do for an entire month.
Twenty-nine days.
Six hundred and ninety-six hours.
Forty-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty seconds.
A really REALLY long time.
So why was it so easy?
Because it was short-term.
So my brain and body knew they would get to enjoy these treats again in the near future.
It’s a simple as that.
Had I said ‘I’m giving up sugar forever’
or
‘I’m never going to eat a bag of lollies ever again for the rest of my life’
I would have failed within the first few days.
But I went Twenty-Nine whole days and not only did I do it easily, I also didn’t really miss it.
I even had a block of Lindt chocolate in the fridge The Entire Time which went untouched.
I did glance at it adoringly on occasion though.
So have I gone back to my wicked chocolate, lolly and ice-cream eating ways in March? Oh course I have! I’m nibbling on a Humpty Dumpty as I type this (yep, the one in the photo above… thanks for your yumminess HD. You've now lovingly fulfilled your mission in life to be adored, appreciated and devoured).
The Easter Bunny has always managed to keep track of where I’m living no matter how often I move. He's very clever like that.
And the other reason why I’m eating Sweet Treats again is because I’m my mother’s daughter through and through.
Absolutely shocked.
As you now know, I’ve had a life-long love affair with All Things Sweet so I honestly thought this would be a really difficult thing to do for an entire month.
Twenty-nine days.
Six hundred and ninety-six hours.
Forty-one thousand, seven hundred and sixty seconds.
A really REALLY long time.
So why was it so easy?
Because it was short-term.
So my brain and body knew they would get to enjoy these treats again in the near future.
It’s a simple as that.
Had I said ‘I’m giving up sugar forever’
or
‘I’m never going to eat a bag of lollies ever again for the rest of my life’
I would have failed within the first few days.
But I went Twenty-Nine whole days and not only did I do it easily, I also didn’t really miss it.
I even had a block of Lindt chocolate in the fridge The Entire Time which went untouched.
I did glance at it adoringly on occasion though.
So have I gone back to my wicked chocolate, lolly and ice-cream eating ways in March? Oh course I have! I’m nibbling on a Humpty Dumpty as I type this (yep, the one in the photo above… thanks for your yumminess HD. You've now lovingly fulfilled your mission in life to be adored, appreciated and devoured).
The Easter Bunny has always managed to keep track of where I’m living no matter how often I move. He's very clever like that.
And the other reason why I’m eating Sweet Treats again is because I’m my mother’s daughter through and through.
We even wore hats that resembled white paper lolly bags!
One of my favourite books, ‘The Lady and the Chocolate’ by Edward Monkton always reminds me that we’re doing a wonderful service by eating chocolate… take a look at this short clip about the book.
You’ll never feel guilty about eating chocolate again. I promise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbI7UD8mt8I
See, what a happy story that is.
By the way, his surname was Bucket… Charlie Bucket. Just in case you were curious and haven’t gotten around to Googling it yet.
Joyful hugs,
Karen xo
‘People are like M&Ms. They come in a variety of colors, they're hard on the outside, and full of obscene yumminess on the inside.’ Michael Makai
You’ll never feel guilty about eating chocolate again. I promise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbI7UD8mt8I
See, what a happy story that is.
By the way, his surname was Bucket… Charlie Bucket. Just in case you were curious and haven’t gotten around to Googling it yet.
Joyful hugs,
Karen xo
‘People are like M&Ms. They come in a variety of colors, they're hard on the outside, and full of obscene yumminess on the inside.’ Michael Makai
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