SPRINKLES AND PUFFBALLS

1980s Candy Wrappers: The Best

2017-04-20T20:41:00.001-07:00

I have collected candy wrappers since I was, oh, I don't know, probably nine years old. I liked the colors, the fonts, the whole thing. Willy Wonka candies were my favorite because of their liberal use of bubble letters, a favorite of all nine-year-olds in the 80s. I was also a Bubble Yum and Bubblicious fan for the same reason, now that I think of it! Here are some of my favorites-- and credit/copyright is due to the rightful owners. I am just the giver of props:

I HATE SHOPPING

2017-03-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

I went to look for a black tank top today. Here were the requirements: It had to be black. It had to cover my bra.

I drove to the mall, I walked in and was so distracted that I immediately felt anxious—so many things! Is that an Aveda store? I love the smell of their products! Godiva? Those truffles are really good—but I can now get Godiva at Kohl’s so it is not as precious as when it was only available at Macys during Christmas.

Oh no…the kiosk guys! They are so aggressive! Ahh, they are coming after me with little spritzers and cards and packets and who knows what else—Please, get away from me, I don’t care if you are going to give me a million damn dollars, you are coming at me with an aggressive smile and I feel very uncomfortable!

Crabtree and Evelyn? Doesn’t my mom love that place? Should I get her a gift now and save it for later? Abercrombie and Fitch? That is still around? Teavana. Oh I wish I knew the name of that crackhead tea I once had at that British lady’s house—Golden Monkey? Something that made me feel like I was high on something and that I could float on air and have brilliant conversations.

Forever 21. Oooh. I like to look in there just to get a feel of what is going on in culture. Well, apparently, cut off Def Leppard and Guns n Roses shirts are going on in culture. My ninth grade wardrobe is literally on mannequins.

Walk into Zara. The place is an absolute hellhole of polyester, on racks that made no sense. Nothing by color or style, just basically Goodwill, or a garage sale. Nice sales girls though.

Victoria's Secret. Gay guy helped me. I wanted some sleep shorts in a cute color. I said I didn’t want 'ball-crusher' shorts, I like to put my knee up while I slept. He looked at me funny. I told him I thought they had only butt-ugly colors available that day, like a the puke rust color—where was the violet and neon pink? Turns out he was wearing the puke rust shirt.

Asked the Victoria's Secret manager if they had those glorious nineties lotions like Pear Glace—she said the only once still around was Vanilla Lace. I said “The stripper one?” No comment.

So basically, after leaving the mall and looking through Home Goods, TJ Maxx and all of those stores, I have come to the conclusion that there is TOO MUCH SH*T out there. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS, too many choices. These things are shoved in our faces and our brains cannot compute. Well, mine can’t.

Now, back to my laptop and AMAZON.COM....

1980s Fashion!

2017-03-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

I still love it!

I remember seeing brands like Benetton, Ton Sur Ton, Guess?, Jordache (“designer” jeans) , Sergio Valente (“designer” jeans), Sassoon (“designer” jeans), Gloria Vanderbilt (“designer” jeans), and of course the ones that are still around today as others have mentioned (Calvin Klein, etc.). Shoes: I just remember getting mine at a store called “The Wild Pair.” There were also other stores that were in fashion and all of their clothes were labled as their own brand: Contempo Casuals, Judy’s, 5 7 9. People were really into Swatch watches. Also Z Cavaricci for guys.

Leg warmers are one of the things people think of when thinking about the 80s. I think it came from the movie “Flashdance” in 1983 and also from a singer named Pat Bentar (look on youtube for Love is a Battlefield.) They showed women wearing leotards and wearing leg warmers and the next thing you knew, they were everywhere and the kids at school had them. Oh! The biggest thing: Jane Fonda’s Workout. It was this exercise craze, and Jame Fonda was on the cover of the workout video wearing leg warmers. That was another big one.

Then there was the whole rock chick thing. I would say it really came in with Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses, Poison and Motley Crue, because the 80s chicks watched the bands’ music videos on MTV and then tried to copy the style of the girls in the videos. I remember trying to copy Tawny Kitean’s look from the Whitesnake video (white heels, crazy big hair, white dress) and many of the Motley Crue girls from the videos. In real life, the girls who were actual fans wore the band t-shirts and some levi’s. The crazy rocker chick look came from those videos, where the women were overly styled. As far as it going out of style, it went out when the hair band music became played out. When grunge started really gaining momentum in 1993 was when the look went totally out.

There was a goth sort of fashion back then, as you probably know. From what I recall, the shoes were either: Creepers (low) Doc Martens (high) or black converse. Skinny black jeans or Dickies on some kids. Red lips on girls, lots of black eye liner on the girls, but no one knew how to do their brows. The guys wore trenchcoats and had hair over one eye, sometimes wore hats, and some ventured into a hybrid of punk fashion (Sid Vicious chains, safety pinned denim jackets with patches, spiked hair) Everyone had a cigarette hanging out of their mouth.

The 80s fashion carried over a little bit into the 90s. Half of the girls still had big sprayed 80s hair and perms. The other half were starting to straighten their hair and flip it to one side and wear big hoop earrings (see: Kelly Bundy from Married With Children (hair.) The pale pink lip was also carried over from the mid eighties and late eighties (about half the girls still wore that color) while the other half started wearing a darker lip. A heavy brow was still in fashion (see: Beverly Hills 90210 first and second seasons for all hair/clothing that was from 1990 91). Scrunchie socks and L.A. Gear shoes carried from late eighties to early nineties. The only neon that carried over from what I saw was from nail polish on some girls.

Back to work!

Til next time

Whatever Happened to Gitano and EVA JOIA? Pull Up A Chair...

2015-09-20T13:54:00.003-07:00

Whatever happened to Gitano and EVA JOIA?

There are a few things I noticed about Gitano's Eva Joia brand in the 80s (I think it was roughly 1986 it came out.) I noticed that the girls were mostly not smiling, and that they appeared to be very styled, pushing the envelope as far as fashion-- lots of layering, mismatching patterns, avant garde hair. It wasn't the typical Sears catalog fashion I was used to seeing.

Fancy brands were super expensive and carried in department stores, but this brand was in stores like Gemco, Wal-Mart and other such discounted spots, giving girls a feel of snobby poshness at an affordable price for their parents. Genius.

And it was a CLUB you belonged to.

The three blondes? In the club. The happy redhead? Not yet in the club. It was 80s mean girls in the making, exclusionary tactics at their best in the marketing of this brand.

You would of course probably have THIS in your room while you were contemplating all of this new information....

A CLUB? Where I send for a special BUTTON and MEMBERSHIP CARD!? Well, hell yeah, let's DO THIS!

Ads like this were appearing for young girls in Barbie Magazines

And many of us had started on our caboodles, trying to look like those models...

Cute watches? Berets? Floral outfits!? Why,YES PLEASE we thought.

We even called our friends on one of these to talk about it, or say how dumb we thought it was, while secretly being intrigued.

Even the smallest of girls were encouraged to join the club and be mini-bitches who knew it all

I was all for pastels, so I thought it was super cute. Oh, by the way, all of these pictures came off Pinterest and are not mine! Not claiming ownership whatsoever.

And they made sure to throw in other ethnicities after the initial pure white campaigns. They were no fools.

Don't you want to be a PART OF US?!

What happened to the club? I wanted to know. So I did some research on this trademark.

The EVA JOIA GIRL trademark was filed on 4/3/86, but by March 1987 the trademark was abandoned, with this message: "602 - Abandoned-Failure To Respond Or Late Response"

Then there was the EVA JOIA CLUB trademark, which was closed down for a Section 8 Affidavit. What the hell does that mean? For a trademark to remain valid, a section 8 needs to be filed (1) between the fifth and sixth year following registration. Not done Eva Joia! It was completely done by 1993-08-30 (CANCELLED SEC. 8 (6-YR). What happened in 1993?

Things started getting tough for Gitano y'all. Turns out that in 1991 and 1992 they had violated United States customs laws and got in huge trouble. Trouble as in felony charges. A 2.7 million dollar shipment of their women's tops was produced in Malaysia (a country who had already exceeded their quotas--the U.S. was not taking anything else from them that year.) Gitano wanted those shirts to please their largest carrier, Wal-Mart, sooooo they decided to falsify paperwork and labels to conceal the fact that the clothes came from Malaysia. Here you go Wal-Mart! Here is some more product! Members of Gitano were investigated by the government and ended up pleaded guilty to exceeding clothing import quotas.

Wal-Mart found out about the illegal activity and went through the roof! They had a policy that they would never deal with suppliers that have pleaded guilty to Federal offenses and straight pulled all Gitano clothing off their shelves, which literally sank the entire Gitano brand.

In 1991 Gitano reported a loss of $62.5 million on sales of $781 million. Ruh roh. They started selling off their fringe brands like *sniff* Eva Joia, but they still owed way too much to creditors. They declared bankruptcy and were acquired by Fruit of the Loom in 1994 for 100 million dollars (30 million less than they owed creditors.) I think they are still around in some way, shape or form, because I just looked them up on Amazon and they are STILL ALIVE. Not Eva Joia mind you, but Gitano. So there you go: As most tales of the 80s go, this cute lil clothing brand came crashing down because of lies and greed.

Til Next Time!

Blame These Toys for My Fashion Sense Today

2014-05-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

Did you guys have Fashion Plates? Holy Smurf they were awesome, as I have mentioned on this blog before. I got them when I was six from my Aunt Darla, who, in fact, wore a fierce white hat to her wedding, but I digress. Fashion Plates were stencils of hairstyles, tops and bottoms/shoes and you could put together outfits! There was even a tennis outfit! I didn't appreciate that outfit then, but it influenced me, because I now walk around in a tennis outfit at least once a week, and on other days I find my self wanting to wear a big floppy sunhat or a plaid jumper with boots! Okay so maybe not the jumper, but I do love plaids around Christmas.

Ohhhhh, hold me back. Hold me back. I can barely talk about the toy of ALL TOYS: The Golden Dream Barbie Fashion Face STYLING HEAD! There were other weird looking styling heads in the late 70s, early 80s with super long necks and alien heads, but this one was so awesome! I still have a thing for pink and gold. *exhales*. ANYWAY...This particular styling head had gold wire mixed in with the hair (They called it "Quick Curl" hair) and a little curling iron (held together by a rubber hand) and you could CURL THE HAIR!! I made so many bad ass hairstyles that I nearly went into a manic overload- it was just too glorious.

Did you guys have Fresh 'n Fancy!? I had one of their makeup kits- it wasn't this one above- it was one where you actually shot creamy goo into hollow, fat, pink pencils; waited for the goo to dry, and then sharpened those suckers. The lipsticks were NEON bright, deep pink, and a glowing red. The eye pencils were super bright creamy blue and of course lavender- what else?! I also had Fresh 'n Fancy hair extension kit where you could make streaks in the extensions and stick them in your nine year old hair. Uh, YES PLEASE!

Anyway, I have continued to have wayyyyyy too theatrical of make-up for everyday use, and I blame it on both this toy, and the Barbie Head- the makeup that came with it was meant for Phyllis Diller.

All right, off my chest.

Love you guys! Had to disable comments because I was getting depressed from so many people hating my guts- but for those of you who don't, thank you!!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

2014-04-20T19:06:00.001-07:00

What's up Peeps? Haven't written in a while! Just started thinking about Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and what it was all about. What WAS it all about? I remember him talking directly to the TV, taking off his shoes, changing his sweater, and talking a lot about Make-Believe in a soothing voice.

So I researched it a little, and here is the deal. Mr. Rogers, (his name was Fred by the way) was on a live TV show in the early fifties as a puppeteer- and he used many of those same puppets on the show we all watched in later years. It was on the live show that he started wearing those famous sneakers that he always changed into, because they were quieter than loud-ass tappy shoes and didnt disturb the show. Hmm- who knew? Anyway, they never showed him on the show, he was just the guy doing the puppets. After that he did some Canadian show where they built awesome sets, like a castle and what not, and he actually brought a lot of those cool sets to the States when he decided to do his own show.

Mr. Rogers thought kids' shows at the time were too crazy and in-your-face, and he wanted to do something slower paced and more calm. He thought kids could spot a phony a mile away, so he talked in his regular voice, red his fish, and tried to be his honest self, which is what we saw.

It was in 1968 that the show started to be on in the states- it was funded by Sears. Had no idea! Thank you Sears! He sang "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" to us as he changed into his cardigan and what not- and If you recall, there was a little red and yellow trolley that rolled by with some fast piano music, and it took us into the Land of Make-Believe. The real Mr. Rogers always liked trolleys, so he decided to have one on the show. The trolley went through a cool tunnel in the wall- I always liked that part.

There was also Picture Picture- do you remember that? It was like a screen in a picture frame where he showed us things.

There were a bunch of characters in the land of Make-Believe- the one I remember most was King Friday- he always used big words and sounded important. His wife was Sara Saturday (cute, huh?) and they had that son, Prince Tuesday. Mr. Roger's real life wife was named Sara, he named the puppet after her. Awww Freddie. I loved the castle! These images are from imgarcade.com, if you want to see more.

There was an owl named "X" in a tree, and my favorite, Henrietta Pussycat, who was a cute lil thing. She always used the word meow- such as "I need to meow meow before I meow myself to death."

I am sure none of you forgot Lady Elaine Fairchild and that little yellow tiger, Daniel.

There was also real people in that land besides Mr. Rogers- there was Lady Aberlin, who was the niece of King Friday, and Mr. McFeely who was the mailman.

Mr Rogers couldn't stand ad-libbing and was a perfectionist- I can relate. He actually guest-starred on Sesame Street once- I must have missed that!

He passed away in 2003=( One city put up this billboard:

80's Teenagers: So Bitchen

2013-04-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

I was a kid in the 80's, as you guys know. I always wondered what it would be like to be a TEENAGER in the 80's- and now I can: There is a book out called The Eighties: A Bitchen Time To Be a Teenager! that I am about to read, because 1) I love anything 80's and 2) The author, Tom Harvey, is very funny and very cool. I had the chance to interview him, and he let me ask him everything I have wanted to know about being a teen in the coolest decade like, ever:

Q: Who was the biggest sex symbol to you and your buddies in the 80's?

A: In terms of pure smoldering lustness (is that a word?), I definitely have to go with Kelly LeBrock. She was in The Woman In Red (1984), Weird Science (1985) and, later, the Steven Segal movie Hard To Kill (1990). With her full pouty lips and English accent, she was definitely the babe of her time! I also thought Rosanna Arquette was cute and loved her in 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) and The Big Blue (1988). She had a more girl-next-door look and I thought she was mighty cute.

Q:What clothing signified COOL in your teen years? For both guys and girls?

A: In terms of fashion statements, the New Wave click definitely lead the way. Even in Central California, the people who listened to Oingo Boingo, Devo, Depeche Mode, Adam and the Ants, and The B-52s stood out. Pants with zippers all over the place, black leather jackets with zippers all over the place. Girls wore tight mini-skirts with bright stripes. The Preppies, on the other hand, wore Izod polo shirts, Levi 501s, and Sperry Topsiders. I eventually morphed from being a “stoner” (long hair, Van Halen-concert-shirt-wearing) to a Prep when I got a job and was able to buy a pair of Sperrys (they were $54 and that was a lot of money).

Q:What TV shows did you love? What were some that you couldn't stand and why?

A: Early on in the decade, we watched That’s Incredible! and Real People. We also loved the HBO show, Not Necessarily The News. As I progressed into my teens, I didn’t have a lot of time to watch TV so shows like Miami Vice, Cheers, and The Wonder Years passed me by.

Q:What are your top five movies of the 80s?

A: REALLY tough question! REALLY tough, but to honor your question and answer it literally, here’s my list: Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), The Goonies (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985), To Live and Die in LA (1985), Top Gun (1986). I could easily come up with 2 dozen more!

Q:What is the main thing that you consider different now as far as teenagers?

A: Easily, technology. Back in the early 80s, the phone industry was regulated so we only had one phone in the house! If you wanted another phone, you had to go to PacBell and buy a brick of a phone for something completely outrageous (something like $100 to $200, and that was A TON of money at the time), then the phone company had to come out and activate another phone jack at your residence. By 1984, phones were available at the drug store and my 16^th birthday present was a phone for my bedroom – still on the same one phone line we had – but that was monumental! My brother used to quietly pick up the kitchen phone and listen to me talking to girls. He’d then critique my conversation afterward! Argh!

Or course social media keeps everyone connected all the time now so there isn’t the separation anxiety today that we felt at high school graduation back then. Once we graduated from high school, our lives REALLY changed. People went their separate ways and we never saw each other again.

Q:If you had to choose one music video to sum up the 80s in a nut shell, what would it be?

A: In my college speech class at Cal State Northridge (1988), a girl got up and talked about how music videos stifle peoples imaginations. After you watch a video and hear the song, you immediately think of the video. She was very persuasive so I tried very hard NOT to watch music videos so I could picture the music in my own mind. Having said that, My MOST FAVORITE video of all time is easily Herbie Hancock’s Rockit.

Q:What was the most overrated thing about the 80s? Underrated?

A: Overrated, wow that’s a hard one. I may get some flak for this but Mike Tyson comes to mind. The guy was just a pure fearless machine starting out. They’d ring the bell and he’d literally run across the ring swinging knockout punches until his opponent crashed to the canvas. I remember going to class (my first year at Cal State Sacramento) and talking to some guys who had gone to Arco Arena to watch the Mike Tyson/Marvis Frazier fight (1986) on the big screen. They were in line for beer when the bell rang and missed the fight! It was over after the first punch landed on poor Frazier’s nose! Of course Tyson resorted to biting poor Evander Holyfield’s ears later in his career when he actually needed strategy over pure strength (and, obviously, didn’t know anything about strategy).

As for underrated, the better word may be misunderstood (at least on my part) and the tie goes to Metallica and U2. The mullets on both of these bands threw me for a loop! In 1986, Metallica appeared on a flatbed truck in the parking lot of Tower Records in Sacramento for an unannounced show and I remember thinking, Big deal! Buncha hardcore Metal Heads! (They’ve since become one of my favorite bands and they are EPIC in concert!) U2, prior to The Joshua Tree, didn’t do anything for me either. I guess I took notice when Bono cut the mullet and stopped tucking his jeans into his cowboy boots!

Q:What were your thoughts on the New Romantic guys, like Duran Duran and such? Was there a certain group at school that liked this style of music and did they dress a certain way?

A: The introduction of what we called “New Wave” was definitely an alternative to “heavy metal/rock.” As I fell in the latter category, we listened to individual songs (ie, I remember liking Duran Duran’s “Wild Boys” and Depeche Mode’s “People Are People”) but couldn’t (or more likely, wouldn’t) admit to being a fan of these “punk rock” bands. The B-52s “Rock Lobster” was a huge hit in the early 80s and when the “punks” danced to that song, most people watched from the sidelines unsure of what to think. They were definitely their own group – the New Wavers – via zippered clothing, Converse hightops, cropped hairdos. The dudes with Mohawks and Butthole Surfer t-shirts were VERY hardcore. They’d come to school with clothes covered in random words written from permanent markers. Really “out there” for the more conservative times!

Q:What did you think of the 80's rock bands, like Van Halen, Def Leppard and such? Was there a certain group at school that liked this style of music and did they dress a certain way?

A: I took my musical cues from my brother who was two years older than me. The first concert we went to was After The Fire opening for Van Halen (now there’s a pairing) and then Night Ranger (Dawn Patrol tour) opening for Sammy Hagar (Three Lock Box tour). We definitely fell into the “heavy metal/stoner” group with our long hair, moustaches, and concert shirts with the ¾ sleeves. Since you mentioned Def Leppard, they’re one of my all-time favorites! Saw their Hysteria show front row at Arco Arena in 1988 and, 25 years later, saw their Viva Hysteria show at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. They still rock hard!

Q:I was a big WHAM! fan, but I was only a kid. What did the teenagers think of them back then?

A: George Michael of WHAM! really was a big hit. Their songs “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” and “Careless Whisper were great songs to dance to. They were definitely considered “pop” – not heavy metal and not New Wave. I didn’t know anyone who didn’t like WHAM! When George Michael went solo, I used his song, “I Want Your Sex” in my stripping mix-tape. Let’s just say it worked well!

Q:What movie really got it right, as far as portraying 80's teenagers?

A: When you think of 80s teenager movies, you have to think of John Hughes and his trilogy: The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty in Pink. And while I love those three, the two movies I can watch over and over are Matthew Modine’s Vision Quest (1985) and Tom Cruise’s All The Right Moves (1983). These are clearly “guy” movies with sports and coming-of-age as central themes.

Q:What was the best 80's junk food in your eyes?

A: Back when I had an 18 year old stomach, I loved Big Macs and anything from Burger King. Also loved green burritos from Del Taco (green as opposed to red burritos, also available). As for candy, Pixie Sticks were little tubes of brightly colored pure sugar. I loved the cigar-sized Chick-a-Stick but absolutely could not stand Pop Rocks. Pop Rocks gave me a raging headache but they were a big hit when they came out. There was an urban legend about a kid’s head exploding after eating Pop Rocks and downing a soda!

Q:What were the top ten songs of the 80's in your eyes?

A: Yet ANOTHER nearly impossible question to answer! So I’m going to give you the ten that immediately come to mind in no particular order: Back in Black (AC/DC – 1980), Lucky Star (Madonna – 1984), Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood – 1984), Fascination (The Human League – 1983), Need You Tonight (INXS – 1987), Keep On Loving You (REO Speedwagon – 1981), Open Arms (Journey – 1981), Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) (Def Leppard – 1983), Beat It (Michael Jackson – 1982), Don’t You Forget About Me (Simple Minds – 1985). So many good songs! I couldn’t even squeeze in Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Ritchie, Air Supply, Paul Simon, Whitney Houston, etc., etc.!

Thank you Tom for answering my questions and for giving us some insight into your brain!

Buy his book here on Amazon- Again, it is called The Eighties: A Bitchen Time To Be a Teenager! A Memoir by Tom Harvey. Here is the description below- doesn't it sound awesome?

The decade of the 1980s has been called the Decade of Decadence. Decadence is defined as "the act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state; deterioration; decay" or my favorite, "unrestrained or excessive self-indulgence." For a decade that brought us Cabbage Patch Kids, Garbage Pail Kids, leg-warmers and New Wave, was it really a state of deterioration?! For one kid growing up in the Central Valley of California, it was a time of self-discovery . . . a transformation from a kid, to a teenager, to a young adult . . . his growing up years. At times utterly hilarious, at times poignant and powerful, Tom relives his teenage years in this true-to-the-last-word memoir. Where were you when John Lennon died? When the Space Shuttle blew up? When Lawrence Taylor ended Joe Theisman's career on live TV? When the Loma Prieta earthquake rocked Game 3 of the 1989 World Series? Tom will tell you where he was and what it meant to him. You'll also hear about first kisses, first loves, a joke about your Uranus, avoiding fistfights, the joys of minimum-wage jobs, college roommates, and WHOLE LOT MORE. If you're one of the 70 million Americans who can claim at least one teen year in the decade, you can relate to the era . . . if your kids can't understand your fondness for your Breakfast Club and Princess Bride DVDs, this book may teach them a thing or two about YOUR growing up years. Go ahead, say the word "bitchen" outloud. Yeah, it was a bitchen time, the Eighties . .

Til next time, folks!

Stop Your Whining: Barbie isn't Supposed to Be Human. She's a FRICKIN DOLL.

2013-04-16T08:46:00.002-07:00

I just saw a segment on The View. It was yet another study on what Barbie would look like if she were human with those proportions of hers. She would have to crawl on the floor because her feet are so small, she wouldn't be able to stand, etc etc etc. Guess what, you f*ckheads? She is a DOLL. She wasn't created to be a replica of a human for a medical class.

Most dolls are exaggerated- almost ALL of them are! What if Cabbage Patch Kids were human!? They would have gigantic heads that would be so heavy that their faces would hit the floor. What if La La Loopsy were real?! People would be blind because their eyes would be motherf-ing buttons. What if Strawberry Shortcake were real? She would be three feet f-ing tall and the constant smell of berries would bring her nausea.

Barbie is a fantasy doll. A doll who fits into cool clothes and who has cool hair. I didn't want to stretch her gold sparkly dress over wide mom hips. I didn't want to put on her metallic pink bikini on an A-cup. I wanted the bitch to look good! Not like ME, or anyone I knew. I wanted her to look fantastic. And she did.

Did Barbie cause my teenage eating disorders? Possibly. I don't know. Will have to visit a shrink. Did I think my body should look like hers in my twenties? I wished it would. But let's get real- anyone who thinks they should look like a doll is nuts in the head. Me included.

Keep Barbie the fantasy doll. She looks great in her clothes. She has waist long princess hair and feet bent to fit into pumps. Let's not be haters.

Barbies in 1985

2013-04-03T09:23:00.002-07:00

I loved 1985 and I loved Barbie. But I don't remember having these Barbies from 1985! The one above is Magic Moves Barbie (thank you to flickriver, where I got these pics). Did I already do a post on her? I can't remember. Anyway, her big thing was that she moved all by herself, people! And she wore this ice blue outfit and had super frosted hair!

The back of the box is hilarious- it shows all of the "moves" she can do- which consist of her in 20 poses with her boa/cape. She could have taken those same pictures without the special "moves" feature! But we didn't care- we wanted the new outfit and the slightly different hairstyles of these Barbies!

Have I already mentioned Dream Glow Barbie? She has a cute ponytail that we tried to leave in, but then we HAD to brush her hair so we removed the little clear rubberbands. Dream Glow Barbie had stars on her dress that GLOWED people. If you had a black light, you could see them better than the rest of us, who had to go in a closet.

And if that wasn't enough, you could get a Dream Glow BED! Fancy!!

Speaking of fancy, here is a little hair accessories kit from 1985. Curlers (that didn't work but were cute), a tiara (always necessary in my world) and some other stuff that I can't tell what it is, are all included in this kick ass kit. That extra braid of hair was always good for up dos and general fanciness!

Wha wha wha whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! A little fashion mall? I believe this is from the 70's, but I had to throw it in here. It looks like a little vinyl carrying case that opens into a FASHION PLAZA! With a little bridal salon! So cool. Loving the escalator.

And lastly, another 1985 Barbie I do not remember: FUN TIME Barbie, who came with a real watch, to capitalize on the SWATCH fad of the mid 80's. She came with a real watch, that of course looked like a Swatch. And there was a frickin watch on her shirt! That is hilarious. She looks really cute though- cute earrings and hair!

Dolphin Shorts and Fingerless Gloves

2013-03-22T21:23:00.003-07:00

Yayyyyy! Glee did a version of Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go!

You guys know I LOVE Wham, so I was all excited! At first, they were wearing those Choose Life shirts, and then the whole thing turned into a remake of the video! The guys were even in shorts and those fingerless gloves!

But no one can really beat THIS *laughs*

Here is the original version- the shorts were wayyyy shorter!

Here are the longer version of the shorts- they couldn't make them too much like Male Hustlers in downtown Hollywood.

They still sell neon Wham stuff. *sigh* And I always have to stop myself from buying it!

Here is the little neon shout-out that they did on Glee. I was lovin it =)

1980s Ads

2012-11-25T16:50:00.001-08:00

The 80's were a colorful decade, and one of much madness. Let's take this Benetton ad for instance. Color, culture, chaos, clothes my mom couldn't afford- check, check, check and check.

Member's Only jackets were a big trend in the 80's- but then grandpa's everywhere started wearing them and the whole shebang faded out. I had a lavender one in 4th grade.

Did you girls ever wear these benders? I just remember that it made my curls look like shit. They made you have horrible bed head- although I thought they looked neat and always tried to bite them, as I did anything foam-based.

These look pretty cool- I never used one, but I would if they were still around. I like their honesty: Were not going to lie and say shaving is fun.

I loved these little cups with the jokes on the side! These were in our kitchen by the Arrowhead water dispenser.

This deodorant is so eighties! Look at that modern design, people! Good old roller ball deodorant...

Bonne Bell! The smell of sixth grade! They had Dr. Pepper Lip gloss! But everyone had bubblegum mostly.

Whoah- is THIS what Taco Bell wrappers used to look like? Wow. Fugly.

Ohhhhh yeah- CLICKS. These were the cool shoes in my jr. high, always worn with short socks.

I wanted these in grade school! They had a little pocket that you could keep...well, nothing but a coin! Or a piece of paper in! But they looked cool.

I never saw these! KangaRoos that lit up!?

Ohhhhh yes- Swatch. You guys know I love me some Swatches. You'd better Swatch Yourself.

Shasta! Backyard BBQ's with the relatives!

And here are RC and Mountain Dew logos- so colorful and cool.

Barbies in 1983

2012-11-25T16:36:00.001-08:00

1983 had some pretty cool Barbies. This one, Twirly Curls, was from the year prior, I believe, but this special gift set was available in 83- She had a special outfit. Want to see some others?

This was Crystal Barbie. She had the super-pale hair and the lavender eyes with the iridescent dress that "shined with glamour." Cool! I think it came with a medallion for you to wear.

Loving You Barbie, which I think I talked about 12 times already, made me fall into a trance because of her puffy heart sleeves. She came with a little stamp kit for YOU! She was there to help you write valentines' cards.

Malibu Barbie was out in the years prior, but not SUN GOLD Malibu Barbie. She had a fierce gold lame suit and a gold beach bag- instead of that boring blue suit and bag. Gold is always an upgrade in the world of Barbie.

Here is Sun Gold Skipper- the no boob version of Barbie. Why did Barbie want her hanging around anyway?

Great Shape Barbie came in a leotard and tights (with LEGWARMERS) and a headband. The back of the box showed the exercises she could do...and that ANY barbie could do if you just bent them the same way. Those pictures also look like breakdancing moves...

Fabulous Fur Barbie? How did this escape me? Side pony, glittered body suit and white mink. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! She came with nothing. She has a FUR for pete's sake, how many gifts did you want?

Barbie was a slave to a beauty salon, lets be honest. And you could have your very own mini-salon, if your parents would buy it. And Ill be damned if that isn't Great Shape Barbie in the picture, still in her legwarmers. She went straight to the salon from the gym. Can you say yeast infection?

The salon came with a little pump to wash her hair (it really sprayed water) curlers, tissue box, a phone, a "streaking wand" to do her hair and scissors. Sweet!

I love the way they drew Barbie's hair in the 80's- and here is a great example of the golden goodness: The Barbie sticker album and some rub and play transfers, aka, stickers that you could NEVER unstick- they were tattoos for your toys and belongings.

And lastly, a pretty drawing of Pink and Pretty Barbie, my second favorite Barbie of all time, behind Golden Dream Barbie. Lots of floofy pink mink and sheer goodness.

Old School Avon Stuff

2012-11-14T18:35:00.002-08:00

My grandmother always gave my sister and me little treats from Avon- and you can guess why I liked them- I liked the packaging! There were cool little soaps, bubble baths and lipgloss- what's not to like?

Here are some cool little lip glosses...

And I am digging this dutch shoe soap- that style of art on the box is back "in" again, a la Helen Dardin, etc.

These are some little choo choo train bubble bath jugs...

And you cant see these damn pictures because blogger will only allow me to enlarge TWO per post- but these are some interesting ones- there is a bottle with hair around it, and a frickin flashlight...

Turn-a-word! Sit there in the bath and roll the little plastic band and spell cat and dog! Then wash behind your ears...

These were little good smelling pins- This is Myrtle the Turtle!

And some cute Its a Small World soaps...

And little perfumes too!

This is a bunch of peach blossom stuff

And here are some 70s barrettes! A pencil...

and a comb barrette- now wouldnt that look weird in someone's hair?

This would have been right up my alley- a hamburger lipgloss!

That's right folks...Funburger!

Groovy white ginger talc

And a cute little thing of soap for your kitchen!

Groovy! School bubble bath!

And cola too!

Good old Peanuts characters- so lackluster, but all over the place!

And I am digging this nail tint- it was called "Hello Sunshine."
Love those days!

Hey, That's Not Barbie

2012-10-10T09:11:00.003-07:00

The seventies brought us a bunch of celebrity dolls that tried to take over Barbie: BZZZZZZ....fail. But they were still fun! For instance, I remember one of our friend's babysitters having this Growing Hair Cher doll (her eyebrows look blue in this picture for some reason, but I doubt they truly were.)

Here is the box- Cher is in a great little Bob Mackie gown it looks like..

And in case you sucked at doing hair- the back of the box was a guide on how to do her hair. As if you could really do any of this...

Here is the back of another Cher box, showing the fabulous outfits of her Variety Show: Sonny & Cher

Some Bob Mackie fierceness

And of course, an Indian costume for "Half-Breed"

Did you guys have the Marie Osmond doll? She had a cool disco dress on

I couldnt find the Donny doll, but here is her brother Jimmy

Kitty O'Neil? Yep, that's right, the famous daredevil stuntwoman. And don't forget this Debby Boone doll: Youuuuu light up my liffffeee

Dude! The Bionic Woman! That's right!

She could run 60 miles per hour and had bionic hearing in her right ear!

Here is her Dome house! It was inflatable and had a cool ass fireplace (that green thing- it snapped together and went in the middle of the room).

Okay, this is out of order- but let's do it anyway. JORDACHE dolls? Oh yes girl, oh yes. These were from the early 80's I believe.

Flipped hair, tight jeans (they didn't even look that tight, but there was that horse logo!)

Here are the real men's version of the jeans for reference...

You could buy a bunch of fashions- and in this case, it wasn't about the doll and her wardrobe- it was about the wardrobe wearing the doll...

They also had a Cheerleader version of the doll- but who wanted that? We wanted the damn jeans...

Then Sasson was like, excuse me? We have a doll too! But she is eight years old...

Barbie came back and said TA DOW: We have "Fashion Jeans" Barbie and she is better than both of you: She has a pink angora sweater and pink boots! Beat THAT!

OK, back to "Other Dolls" and to the doll I don't even remember category: Tuesday Taylor? Did you guys have one of these? You could change her hair color! She has a very Euro look to her, digging the shape of her nose...

Ok, let's get to these Charlie's Angels dolls: Look at Farrah's man jaw! Why did they make it like that? Her head is so oversized...

And the lovely Cheryl Ladd in a pretty red dress- they made her cute.

Annnnnnd the two brunettes: Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, baby! They put Kate in a cute scarf top and Jaclyn in a crazy jumper with an ascot!

Here is the whole team in little jumpers and ascots- kinda cute; diggin it!

Til next time...

Bento Box Obsession

2012-10-10T07:16:00.001-07:00

My new mania is centered around Bento Boxes- and all of the cool lunches people make inside them! Holy cow! Look at these!

Bento Boxes have been around forever, they are from Japan as most of you know. The plastic ones came out in the 80's- they used to be metal.

Now they have all of these contests and stuff- which is where I got these pictures, they are from assorted sites showing the best of the best

Can you believe how cute these are!?

Look at this little pie!

Loving the spaghetti hair

Neat!

A little Halloween festivities!

Oh my gosh, I LOVE pandas

Awwwww, a whole little crew

Adorbs!

Look at those panda hand rolls

Little snow men!

WHOA- look at that one in the center

Dude- these are so cool! The little octopuses!

How cute is this?

I am dying for this one!

A DS! Oh my gosh- I need to get some little cookie cutters!

Barbie's Stuff

2012-10-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

Do you guys remember this furniture from the late 70's? That was still in the stores in the early 80s? I remember thinking this furniture was so modern and chic! I LOVED the little square stool for her lime green DESK!

And here is her furniture for the living room (see the cocktails on the coffee table?) I thought those couches were to die for!

I realllly wanted this dressing table with the accessories and pink phone (I have that phone now, in life-size dimensions)

But I was given THIS furniture instead...the blow up vinyl...boo! I still have that dressing table in my box of barbies- the mirror always folds forward!

Oooooh, this would have been cool to have- Barbie's fridge! You know in real life, someone who looks like Barbie has NOTHING in her fridge, but since it is a kid's doll they had to through some food in there.

Do you remember this Beauty Bath? Oh wow...there is a little dressing table on the side!

Here it is out of the box...love the greenery outside of the window, to keep away peeping Kens...

Then a few years later they came out with this pink one- I know this one had the pumping bubbles...

After Barbie's bath, she went to bed in this dream bed- a canopy bed. I had this one, there was a little foam heart pillow that I wanted to bite.

I know I posted this pool before, but I didn't realize how fantastic it actually was! Have you looked at this lately?

There was even a shower in the back, with a groovy shower curtain!

I had this Barbie Corvette and it was pretty fantastic I must say- very heavy and well made. But there was a short cord- you had to follow the damn thing around because the cord was attached to the remote and the car!

Now after all of that glamour- Barbie goes to...McDonalds? Really?

You could even make her WORK at McDonalds- there were little cash registers and trays and even a fries basket! I think I remember Skipper having to work here, actually

After eating McDonalds, barbie had to work out, of COURSE! Here is her workout center with her locker and everything.

I will look for more and post it!

Cool Illustrators

2012-09-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

I know it is time to do a blog post when I start getting completely obsessed with something. Last night, while (watching Watch What Happens Live) I was tinkering around on the Internet and came across these illustrators- I nearly flipped my lid. They are all contemporary artists who draw in a retro style that is near and dear to my heart because it looks like the art in the storybooks of my youth, on the candy packages, bubble bath bottles, cartoons, etc. Let's take a look at my favorite, Toru Fukuda. He rocks!

Can't you just see these images on everything from the old days? Love this guy! He is from Kobe, Japan and does a lot of work in advertising, which is perfect, because this stuff is MADE for kids' packaging.

Fukuda also does animation and a ton of other things- he has three doodle books out, but I can't find them on Amazon.

Isn't this beautiful!? *sighs* I just made this the background of my laptop

He also does games like this one- It is fantastic! Check out all of his other illustrations on his beautiful Flickr page- you will be so inspired!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/torufukuda/sets/1595347/

Okay, below is another really neat illustrator named Helen Dardik- she is a mom of three from Canada- Her work is very reminiscent of Mary Blair, whom I LOVE. Look at her designs below!

You can buy gift wrap with her designs at this place: It is SO NEAT

http://www.lagomdesign.co.uk/collections/gift-wrap

She also does these cute book plates

And you can buy her prints on Etsy for reasonable prices! Yay!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/helendardik

Okay, got that off my chest, back to my life *exhales*

Beauty Secrets Barbie and Shithead Ken

2012-09-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

Let's look at more Barbie stuff! Today we are looking at things from 1979, another good year for the big flowing-haired Barbie Illustrations. Here is a Barbie Dream House ColorForms set- It is kind of cool because it's like an interior design board- the house is empty and you decorate it the way you wish. (If only I could paint the walls and change out that floor, we'd be in business...)

Neat, huh? I like that pink and blue bed...

This is one of those vinyl cases that I love- they are super colorful, sort of cheap and always tore at the corners, but they looked so cool. Besides, anything that looked like a briefcase was A-OK by me.

Ooooooooh...Beauty Secrets Barbie! She had fierce bangs! And those turquoise eyes and a dress (robe)? That was the perfect shade of Barbie Pink! *sigh* Basically, this was Barbie before she got ready for a "glamorous night on the town." Your job, you lowly maidservant, was to get her ready. She came with a three way mirror of cardboard and a lavender case of supplies: Toothbrush, washcloth, face powder puff, comb and lipstick! As if that is all that is needed. So you were learning to groom by grooming Barbie...and when you grew up you were completely shocked that there were more 'supplies' needed than those five to look like Barbie...

Here is Beauty Secrets Christie- A sister needs to get ready for the night on the town too. She has a glamorous blue robe and all of the same supplies. When you pressed a button on their back, their arm would move and powder the face, brush their teeth, etc.

Black Barbie. Geez- couldn't it be African-American Barbie?

Fierce gold and white outfits!

Okay, now after all of that glamour, you get this shithead: Sport and shave Ken, with his long scraggly hair and dolphin shorts. THIS is the man for Barbie? I think not. There was some kind of a marker that you colored on his face and a little eraser thing that was the razor, thus getting rid of the five-o-clock shadow of this slacker.

Oh, sorry, he was a marathon runner. He is just missing the sweatband around his head!

Until next time...

Barbies I Never Knew About

2012-09-22T21:49:00.001-07:00

I know Mattel was always pumping out Barbies, and I was sure I knew about all of them. BZZZZ! Wrong! I didn't know about FASHION PHOTO from around 1977. She came with a play camera that was really a remote control to make the Barbie POSE! Say WHAT? I would have loved it. Apparently, the camera had a little wire on it that ran to the posing stand, and it made Barbie "change poses quickly." I'll bet that looked pretty funny, if not downright disappointing. The camera had a colored lens that probably made you feel all artsy- I like that touch.

I wish I could make these damn pictures bigger, but something is wrong with my laptop today. Anyway, the Barbie below is also from 1977 and is called Pretty Changes Barbie- she came with clothes that could be mixed and matched and turned around into twenty thousand yellow outfits (she is very reminiscent of Pink n' Pretty Barbie and her changeable wardrobe.) Pretty Changes Barbie also appeared to have hair pieces (even a brunette wig) and hats- now THAT is awesome.

Does anyone remember this SUPER TEEN Skipper? Not I! But I am sticking with the 1977 theme today, because I just got a 1977 SuperStar Barbie remake or whatever it's called- time capsule Barbie? Anyway, it led me to believe that 1977 was more rockin than I once thought.

Want to look at some more old things?

Did you guys ever play with Color Forms? I liked them enough- but I would have really liked this Barbie one a lot. I think I had a boring Snoopy one, I would have preferred flowing gowns and stars and spotlights.

Oh my gosh, I hope I can enlarge THIS doozy: The 'Me & Barbie Birthday Party' for the lonely 80's child whose parents were out partying: Have a little party by yourself- er- I mean, with BARBIE! It's almost like a REAL party!

and here are the goods inside: Looks like some chairs and party supplies and what appears to be a single plate for your sorry ass to eat cake by yourself.

The party games look cool and colorful though- that is a nice touch there.

Loving this packaging for the Barbie sunglasses

And here are some styling tools to make your OWN crappy hair look like golden spun sunshine like Barbies! And of course, a mirror with Barbie's picture in it, so you won't see yourself.

Dude- a Barbie FUR and JEWELS safe? Wow...at least they were being realistic about her over the top belongings: Lock that shit up, kids.

I think I include this item in every Barbie post, but here it is again because I loved it so much: The SuperStar STAGE SHOW with a stage that allowed the Barbies to move on the runway and a little emcee stand.

This looked really cool when it was large, but like doo doo when it's small and I can't delete for some reason, so it stays. This is a neat little photographer studio for Barbie made from Vinyl. I am sure it was quite fun.

I love the artwork on the old Barbie coloring books- such candy colors.

And HERE is the PRIZE for the ever-fabulous Barbie? Ken in BELL BOTTOMS? *sigh*

Until Next Time!

Book on the Hair Band Days

2012-08-29T20:58:00.001-07:00

"Just finished reading The Sunset Strip Diaries and absolutely LOVED it! I was actually sorry to finish because that would mean not finding out what happens tomorrow! Amy Asbury is one of the most exciting writers I have had the pleasure to experience. Her life story (so far) was one giant thrill ride set in the 80's/90's on the strip when it was filled with rockers, bimbos,backstage passes and non-stop excitement. Amy captures her experiences in such a way that I felt like I got to live her crazy life too. Buy it! You won't be disappointed! "

"A most epic journey from the 80's/90's.....a very powerful, harrowing look at the life and times of a struggling girl/woman, looking to find herself. Recommended reading for not only music lovers of the 80's/90's era, but also for women, as there are so many references to look back on and remember. I am a guy (that still listens to Hair Metal/Hard Rock today at the age of 43) who grew up during this period and loves all the stories and name-dropping that went on during those days. I can only imagine if I was a woman, and might have understood a little more on some of the "feminine" things and feelings that girls go through. Very highly recommended"

"If you love the genre/era of the Sunset Strip days and you like a honest-to-goodness true account of what went on (while dropping names left and right), then you NEED to read this book."

" There were so many times I wanted to be there but just as many when I didn't. It was a real page-turner and the only disappointment was that the book had to end..."

"At times hilarious, heart-wrenching, and poignant. I devoured it in 2 days and then immediately bought the sequel.."

"Both of Amy's books blew me away and will always be in my top 10 favorite reads"

"Struggles, laughter, sadness, craziness, honesty: just like The Dirt, Slash, Hagar and books of the like, this one will bring you in and provide all the entertainment you'll need.."

From the Author

Q: Who do you feel will enjoy reading this book and why?

Amy: "I think anyone who had a tough time being a teenager will like it, or anyone who wants to be entertained reading about a life completely different from theirs. And there is a certain part of the population who like the 80s hair bands- I did a lot of name dropping, so that should be fun for them."

Q: Were you ever hesitant about sharing so much and letting people in at such a personal level? Did you ever consider not sharing so much personal experience and focus more on what was going on around you?

Amy: "I considered not sharing so much, but when you're doing a memoir, you have to go big or go home; you have to be honest about your life. Well, that's how I feel anyway!"

The MODS

2012-07-18T21:19:00.001-07:00

I am so obsessed with The Mods! Why? Well, because my cool, young aunt had them in her playhouse when she was a kid in the sixties, and the playhouse was still there when I played at my grandparents house in the 80's. There were these awesome decals on the wall, just like the two above- but there was also a brunette and many groovy flowers. I loved those decals- they were huge and colorful and mysterious. Thus, they became an obsession of mine in later years: Who were they? What company made them? Who was the artist? I am weird like that, I need to know everything about something I like, it becomes an obsession.

There were different versions of The Mods- and of "Big Eye" art in general(namely by the artist Keane,) all of it is usually seen as "kitsch" which really means "I know this is tacky, but I like it in an ironic, hipster way." Not me, I really like like The Mods. The version I am in love with is by the artist "Lee," not sure of the first name, but that is what is signed on the artwork. They were mainly printed on puzzles for Milton Bradley and the exact year was 1967 from what I have found as far as trademarks go.

The Mods had these still faces that were looking directly toward you, but their bodies were often grooving out to tunes

Here is the puzzle box- you can get these on ebay and etsy

Here is another Lee drawing- it it so fantastic! And so groovy!

Girl on the phone?! How cute! (I have that phone in pink and I love it)

A groovy boy rocking out!

A groovy couple rocking out- loving the outfits and accessories

Girl on guitar..

Here are the paper dolls they came out with- I would say this was 66 or 67

Inside the box

I love that the clothes are shaped to the "dancing" bodies

Here are some other little thingies on Etsy

Okay, I couldn't get a clearer pic of these, but they were paintings and I am not certain they were by Lee- This is where the confusion comes in with different versions. They look very similar, but something is off- their mouths aren't slightly opened like the Lee ones, which all have the same parted lips.

No parted lips...but still cute

Some more

And some more- these were a little more crude, although still cute.

And here is yet another version someone did- I can't see the signature at the bottom, but it is a longer name.

Okay, so, THESE were by an artist called Pete Hawley, who moonlighted under the name KWATZ for some reason- he did more puzzle images for Milton Bradley. They are in similar poses, but they don't have that haunting quality, that special grooviness. They were, however, still fun and sharp and colorful, so I do like them.

Here they are up close...

I knew there was something I liked about this Pete Hawley stuff, and it was the fact that he did the artwork for many of the valentines I received in the 80's, like the one below. If I find more, I will put them up!

A Book on 80s Childhood Stuff by ME!

2012-06-07T23:06:00.002-07:00

Get my book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com! You're gonna love it! Well, if you like this site you're gonna love it- it has a lot of 80's toys, candy, tv shows and all of that good stuff we love. See below for the back cover blurb- It is in paperback and also on kindle and nook and all of that. Yayyyy!

Isn't this cute? You need it on your nightstand, if only just to stare at!

Dirty Kids Bath Products

2012-06-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Add caption

Remember Dirty Kids Bath Products?! They are by the same company that did Lip Lickers in the little tins (see my other post if you dont remember). I LOVED these products so much- they kind of had the same look as Dudley Shake-an-Egg kits! I couldn't find many pictures of this stuff, but here is what I found!

A crusty old soap dish featuring the characters!

The finger painting kit!

The poem inside the kit!

The finger paints/bubble bath!

annnnndddd a close up of the finger paint. So cute, huh? I will post more when I find them!

Oh my gosh, Blogger won't let me enlarge this, but it is a Tutti-Frutti bubble bath and "Sunshine Friends" hand lotion! Along with our favorite: LIP LICKERS lip gloss (see my separate post about those little tins!)

Village Lip Lickers

2012-04-27T16:37:00.002-07:00

Do you guys remember those Village Lip Lickers in the little sliding tins? They were about the size of two stamps side by side and came in yummy flavors like orange juice and bubble gum. The writing was old-time ice cream parlor-ish- let's look at pictures!

Okay- this is selling on ebay for like, 80 bucks! Say WHAT?! But look how cool it is!

Cherry and Cola flavors! Which really should be one flavor- They must've not have Cherry Coke that year?

THIS was the best smelling Lip Lickers that we all had/wanted: Strawberry!

And this one is cool too- Root Beer! Although I always hated the taste of root beer...

Butterscotch!

Tropical Punch!

and fruit punch!

Here is green apple, in it's cool packaging...

Ahhhh sukey sukey now- this is when they got fancy: TWO SEPARATE FLAVORS! Banana and strawberry, people! Just like the smoothie I drink every day.

Watermelon and ICE? What flavor is ice? Pure petroleum jelly I guess...

Vanilla is always a staple in all lipglosses, no different for Lip Lickers!

Peach! Yummy!

Here is the inside of one of those double flavored ones- this is raspberry and cream- the top of the tin is below...

pretty, huh?

When you are a kid, you want EVERYTHING to be bubblegum flavor...especially your lipgloss!

Here is one unscathed- Mine would never look like this- I would immediately want to dig my dirty ass nails into the flat gel...

Spearmint!? No thanks...Too much like toothpaste...

Lemon and Lime? Like Sprite!

Orange Juice? Well, okay, if there is nothing left...

Lemon! and Wild Cherry- now THAT I would have wanted...

And this is blurry, but you know how much I love packaging!

and here is a good one- although I like the previous packaging much better.

Grape, baby!

Cherry and Cola!

This is hard to see, but it is a vintage Lip Lickers display

These are those big ones with two flavors horizontally,

and an advertisement!

Popples!

2011-12-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

If you were still a girl in 1986, you may have had a Popple. I, myself, did not- but I am going to include them on this site because I like the colors and plushiness of Popples and I do have an appreciation of most 80s girls toys, so let's take a look at these.

Popples are from a branch off company from American Greetings, who I think are the same people who did Strawberry Shortcake. They are plush balls that unfold into bright colored teddy bears or kangaroo type animals with a long tail. There are different series of Popples: Rock Star Popples (with microphones and funky clothes), Sports Popples- probably geared toward boys- they are in primary colors, no pinks, and fold up into basketballs and baseballs.
There are also Flower Popples that fold up into Flowers, my personal favorites, as well as Pillow Popples (in PJs), fruit Popples and a random Ballerina and Cheerleader (because both of those are always welcome to girls). There are also little Pufflings- pets that are basically just a puffball (see below). Let's check them out and see if you had any of these!

Pink Puffling

Purple Puffling

Red Puffling

Blue Puffling

Puffball

Baby Bibsy

Cribsy Bibsy

Kissy Pop

Party Pink

Party Pink in a ball

Pink Flower Popple Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle in a ball- cute!

Pretty Bit

Pretty Bit in a ball

annnnnd the trusty lunchbox!

Here is the popples logo

Puffball Cheerleader

This ad cracks me up- it was geared toward parents and the ad copy is terrible, although I like the picture!

Until next time...