More retro love.

Ah, the wonders of the internet...

More trips down memory lane with the help of Google images!

My first grade lunch box:

A random toy I loved, yet another example of the rarest of occasions when my mom relented and purchased something for me spur-of-the-moment; and they are selling these again! I am totally getting one:


Another favorite item, I just loved this little set.

Of course Cabbage Patch Kids were the ultimate toy.

And no, my parents wouldn't dream of standing in line or paying an exorbitant amount to secure one for me just because I wanted one so badly. Instead, they gave me $1 and let me purchase a raffle ticket for one being sold at our neighborhood bazaar. Guess who won? ME! I cried literal tears of joy! Mine looks just like this only his jumpsuit is orange. (Yes I still have him, are you kidding me?) The name on his birth certificate was "Amery Delmar." Blech. I changed it to "Ricky," after this guy:

(I would like to point out that I must have had a good eye, because 25 years later he is still hot.)

Of course my husband still has all of these toys (our kids have all played with them and we will hang onto them indefinitely). My brother had a lot of those too, and we had these...I think I liked them not only for the characters but also because they had different color groupings (am I hardwired for the rainbow thing?)

My 90 year-old grandma still calls me "her little Strawberry Shortcake" when she saw this toy of mine and declared it was very cute:

And, I used to pretend that these guys lived in my backyard. The recent movie creeps me out...I like the 80's version better.

So what were your favorites? I know I have probably only just scratched the surface and could probably come up with pages and pages of retro loves. Though as fun as it is to search for these things, there is a sad little part of me that cringes when I typically have to type the word "vintage" before my search item. Hmph.

Retro rainbows.

You know how Google sometimes takes you to curious places?

Well, a little while ago I found myself Googling "vintage Trapper Keeper." Say wha..? I know, weird right? I was initially searching for a cool birthday present for my awesome cousin (who has a, ahem, rather significant birthday coming up), and the other day we were discussing the awesomeness of the Trapper Keeper from our youth. Hence my Google search.

Did you have a Trapper Keeper? They were the ultimate in back-to-school NON-necessities! I'm sure teachers hated them, with the velcro rrriiiippp every time they opened. I think I was heading into fourth grade when my mom, out of the blue, said my brother and I could pick one out. So unlike my mom, the kind of gal that would never buy us anything "just because!" Obviously we didn't give her the chance to change her mind and probably ran full tilt to Osco Drug to make our selections.

Mine was a no-brainer:

Awesome, right? Now I'm just waiting for the day that they bring back the retro Trapper designs and sell them! Except my fourth grader would undoubtedly tell me, "uh, Mom? Yeah, that's totally NOT cool." Sigh.

So my Google search didn't stop there, because I had another set of rainbows in my past that I remember fondly as well. I had an entire wall in my teeny tiny Ohio bedroom that was papered in rainbows. Google didn't let me down when I tried to find it:


Yep, that's the exact wallpaper I had! Can you imagine a whole room in that stuff? I think that's why my parents only did one wall, so I wouldn't fall down dizzy every time I entered the room. I found this photo as a listing on Etsy, where someone had sold an entire roll of the stuff. I would love a swatch of it, but an entire roll? Thanks, but, no thanks. I think I'll stick with my rainbow Trapper.

8.26.11

i realized tonight i am not a carnival person; rather, a sit next to a sleepy dog, book-in-lap kind of person.

Bistro chair.

In love with this chair! (And thinking how nice it would look as an alternative to our current awful folding chairs, especially at holidays and big family meals). Justifiable, right?

Just like old times.

19+ years ago I fell for this guy while working in a landscape nursery. His shirts were expertly rolled for maximum tanning, his hair was bleached from the sun, he was frequently found either carting heavy objects around or else driving a forklift, and he usually carried a walkie talkie while answering to the call "5-car." Honest to goodness, I love the smell of fertilizer because it brings back fond memories! It was with great humor a few weeks ago that we found ourselves back there. I just couldn't resist the photo op, complete with rolled sleeves. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to conjure up the hair...:) But oh, we both had to inhale deeply when we walked through the fertilizer aisle!

8.13.11

i told them the water would be cold, they didn't believe me. one step in revealed that yes, it was indeed cold. but they didn't care and had a grand time anyway.