Manhattan, New York City, Love!

Along the timeline of my childhood and into my adult years, I’ve lived in quite a few places. My life started in Key West, Florida and because of my father’s career in the military I’ve been as far west as Hawaii, north to Rhode Island, and east to well… Rhode Island. One of the stops, though, was a city without equal. I’m glad I was old enough to appreciate (for the most part, at least) living in New York City. It was only for 6 months and technically it was on Governors Island, but you get the point.

ferry to Manhattan, another to Staten Island for school, and back and forth I went

I literally had to walk to school in the snow UP HILL!! On top of that, I had to take two ferries and if I missed one, I basically missed a half day of school. Yikes. But as I look back, there are fond memories of a place I lived in for only half a year. Many years later as an adult, I visited New York a number of times and the city still fascinates me. It’s with that in mind that I wanted to make a design highlighting the city and its surrounding areas. One thing that came back to mind, and from living a lot of years in Florida I have an appreciation for water (lakes, ocean, etc), New York City has a LOT of water. I don’t know if I fully appreciated that back then. Maybe because the ocean there just felt different than what I’d been used to in Florida. Back to the design, though… lately I’ve been interested in maps. I made this design for a private beach in north Florida and then I thought, why not New York? That Florida coastline was hard to do so I was sure New York would be a pretty big project. Now that it’s finished, I love how it looks! I went with “Manhattan” as the title because I figure there are a million New York City shirts out there. Manhattan needs some love, too! Check it out on my Etsy site (OutoftheWilderness.Etsy.com) and a few screenshots below. If the city is special to you or someone you know, consider picking up a shirt or two and I hope you love the shirts as much as people love NYC!

  • Screenshot

-Out of the Wilderness

Us vs. Gnats in North Florida!

There’s a lot of chatter about the swarms of gnats in Tallahassee (and I’m assuming much of the southeast U.S.). I don’t even know if swarms is the right word. That sort of makes it sound like there might be some areas were there AREN’T gnats. But no. They’re everywhere. So it’s more like just one huge swarm encompassing the south as one effective unit of annoyance. I recorded a video a few days ago… just sitting in my truck with the windows down for a few minutes and there were soooo many gnats. Take a look…

There are some DIY suggestions for combatting the little flying monsters but if I were you, and this is what I literally did, I’d buy a personal fan. There are some inexpensive options out there but I went with the Torras COOLiFY handheld fan. And no, I am not being paid by Torras to promote their product… although, if they want to have a spokesperson, I’m available 😎. Here are a few pics of my newest gnat fighting fan.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Publix Puppet Commercial in 2026 – Pure Genius

In an age where there’s an AI video for EVERYthing– and even AI commercials (see: Coca-Cola)– and along with that, a certain and almost tangible level of AI-fatigue, Publix restores our faith in humanity– and puppetry– with a brand new commercial that’s as informative as it is adorable. Take a look…

Aren’t dogs just the best!? OK OK, cats are cool, too. The commercial did a wonderful job of endearing us to the pack of misfit dogs and throwing in a witty interaction with a cat, perched high above the dogs– right where it believes it should be. 🙄 This ad is a throwback to human ingenuity, using actual puppets and pleasant, rich voiceovers that sell the story as much as the visuals do. Perhaps this nod to old commercials is catching on since it wasn’t that long ago that Apple did an ad using the same type of puppet animation. Take a look at that one here. But let’s get back to where shopping is a pleasure– Publix. Another great commercial full of warmth, creativity, and humor. There’s a great article on the new Publix ad campaign; Read it here on Little Black Book Online. I read through it and that’s where I learned that the agency behind the creative side is also responsible for the Publix Merry Birthday commercial, another favorite of mine– especially as a person with a birthday near Christmas.

f I could pick 5 words to describe this commercial from Publix: Awesome. Refreshing. Funny. Impressive. Classic. I’d even venture to say it’s going to be the best commercial of 2026 and outshines any (if these are the standard for creativity) Super Bowl commercial I’ve seen in a very long time. Kudos Publix and everyone involved!

What do you think about it? Comment below…

-Out of the Wilderness

Open Mic Night Thursdays 7-10pm

Singing at an open mic night gives me as much anxiety as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. How about you? I can think of about a thousand things I’d rather do. Although, I’ll brag a little bit– against my nature I performed “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton on a karaoke night and I remember people singing along. Before you give me any kudos, I’ll also admit that it was about 3 years ago. I have mucho stage fright! But live music is the best. As a nod to performers and singers and music, I designed this shirt. Check it out in my Etsy shop– Out of the Wilderness. Hope you take a chance and pick one up so you can wear it to your next performance. 🙂

-Out of the Wilderness

American Idol Top 5: The Rise and Fall of Brooks

Last night we witnessed the elimination of a legitimate contender. Of course, by now everyone knows the winner will either be Hannah or Keyla. My money (even though I don’t bet anymore) is on Keyla. But early on my pick for the winner was Brooks.

He was quirky, charming, sweet, different. He performed songs that made a lot of us fall in love with his voice and the lyrics. Judges praised his peculiar sound, astounded as he drew us in with every note. What helped him a lot was song choice. Lyric-heavy, melodic, storytelling.

Then somewhere along the way he lost that angle. I noticed it when he picked “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus on the Disney-themed night. Something was off. Coincidentally, this was the same episode his relationship with another contestant came to light. Rae.

It was at this time in Brooks character arc that he went from those obscure ballads that drew us in from the first note to happy, soft songs. In other words, the beginning of the end.

The most recent episode featured contestants singing songs by Taylor Swift. I believe that if Brooks had done “Back to December,” he’d still be in the competition. It’s a song that is a little darker, sad, remorseful, right in the wheelhouse of a voice like Brooks’. He chose “Love Story” instead. A fluffy song not suitable for his voice. He dedicated it to Rae and the final nail was in the coffin.

I’m glad he found love with Rae but I hate the price he paid for it.

-Out of the Wilderness