My Family

Family has always been the most important aspect of my life. So, I’d like to introduce you to the most important people in my life and tell the story of how we came to be.

My parents met back in 1979 at Bank of America in downtown San Jose, California. My mom was a receptionist. My dad was temporarily filling in as a training officer. When they first met, my dad always tells the story as “it was love at first sight”. And that’s when the flirting began.

My dad was only supposed to be there for a month. However, a month turned into five months. Unbeknownst to my mom, who was wondering why my dad wouldn’t just ask her out already, my dad was not comfortable asking my mom out while they both worked at the same office. So, on the very day that he found out his job there was complete and he would be leaving to go to his new job, he asked my mom out on a date. And the rest is history.

Thirteen months later, on June 21, 1980 my parents got married. 

Three and a half years later, they had my oldest sister, Emily.

Emily - 2 Years Old

Three and a half years after that, they had my other sister, Allison.

Allie

For seven years, it was just the four of them. My sisters jokingly still refer to my parents and themselves as the “original Ott family”.

But then, SURPISE! I came along. And it has just been the five of us for the past 17 years.

Caroline's Born

However, just recently, we added a boy to our family of many girls. My sister, Emily, got married last October! Now, my sister, Allie, and I are lucky enough to have the brother we had always wished we had, and my parents have the son they never had.

Ott/Hollister Wedding

So, we are a happy family of six! (Well, that is until Allie or I get married or Emily and Steve have children.)

I love each of them with every ounce of my heart.

How My Blog Came To Be

I love blogs. I love wedding blogs and becoming inspired for the one special day every little girl looks forward to. I love lifestyle blogs filled with happy families and fun adventures that fill me with joy. I love style blogs and seeing how different people express themselves through fashion. I love food blogs because I mean, who does not love food?!

So, I thought, why not start a blog of my own? And now, I’m doing just that.

Once I decided to start a blog of my own, I was faced with lots of questions that I didn’t have answers to. What type of blog did I want to create? What did I want the design of it to be? What would I write about? What was I going to name it?

Well, one night my sister, Emily, brought up a story from a few years back. And the story goes like this…

When I was about 10 years old, Emily and I decided to go out to breakfast one morning. She threw some clothes on and was ready, waiting for me downstairs within minutes. I, on the other hand, was rummedging through my jewelry box to find the perfect accessory to “tie my outfit together”. Unfortunately, I was not having any luck. 

Emily became increasingly impatient. She yelled up the stairs at me to hurry up. I told her I could not leave the house until I found something to “tie my outfit together”. It was important to me. But… Emily was hungry. And therefore, angry (or as she calls it..”hangry”). So, we ended up fighting over how she thought I already looked cute and did not need anything else to complete my outfit. But, I assured her I did. 

I, eventually, completely changed my outfit into one I was satisfied with and we went to breakfast. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, she was over the fact that I took forever deciding what to wear, and we were able to enjoy a delicious breakfast of Eggs Benedict and French Toast, just the two of us.

In this seemingly insignificant story, I found the answer to all of my questions concerning my blog. This story is about family (my sister and I), fashion (my struggle to find the perfect accessory to complete my outfit), and food (the Eggs Benedict and French Toast).

So, I decided my blog would be the kitchen sink type, meaning it won’t be subjected to only fashion or only food. Instead, it will be about all of the different aspects of my life that bring me joy. So here’s to celebrating just that!

Family, fashion, food and everything in between…It All “Ties Together”!