Polly. Pockets.

(photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/nearbytrains)

Okay, so this post actually brought a tear to my eye, and I'm sure many women my age can relate. It actually pains me to think that all of my old Polly Pocket toys are just collecting dust in my attic. I can only hope that they will still be recognizable by the time I resurrect them from their boxes...

Polly Pockets were in a league of their own at the toy store, right next to Barbie. The cases were pocket-size (hence the name), and I carried mine around with me everywhere. Inside each case was a unique, miniature-sized world of tiny little people - the most popular of whom was blonde-haired Polly. The themes of each case ranged from underwater castles to Beverly Hills-like mansions, complete with indoor swimming pools and tanning beds.

Polly Pockets were such a simple and loveable concept. Looking back, I realize how wonderful they were, not only for me as a child, but for my mother who never had to worry about cleaning up after the compact toy.

A similar toy that I was absolutely enamored by as a child was Littlest Pet Shop, which was basically the same idea as Polly Pocket but with animals. But I will save that topic for another blog...

Until next time,

Mel

Labyrinth

I was channel surfing the other day when Labyrinth happened to be playing, and it sent me all the way back to my childhood. The movie was released in 1986, and you can certainly tell (in a good way). It is one of the most brilliant fantasy movies that Jim Henson has ever directed, which, naturally, says a lot.

Labyrinth is basically about a young girl who, in a fury of teenage angst, inadvertently wishes her baby brother, Toby, into a magical world of crazy Muppet characters ruled by David Bowie. Speaking of whom, I had the biggest - and perhaps strangest - crush on when I was younger. There was something oddly attractive about David Bowie wearing drag makeup and that fabulous '80s wig. See also: 

(photo credit: www.screened.com)

Yes, that happened. Then again, we're talking about David Bowie, and in other news, grass is green. He also sings many of the songs in the movie, which is wonderful if you're a fan of his music.

Jim Henson truly deserves to have a planet named after him for his remarkable contribution to fantasy film making. Muppets are the most timeless creatures, and movies like Labyrinth just never get old (in my humblest opinion). I love this movie so much, I think I'll watch it again this evening. 

Until next time,

Mel

Plastic Fashion

(Photo credit: de.aliexpress.com)

Behold the difference between living and existing in the second grade: shoes with built in lights that glow with every step. Almost everyone has owned a pair of these shoes at some point in their lives, and I'm sure many folks are proud owners of multiple pairs. They even make them for adults! (Don't judge.) God bless the creator of this idea, too, because anything that makes walking a little more enjoyable is a gift to this world.

These shoes should be required for all physical education classes in school, assuming there are any schools left with physical education classes. Could you imagine the visual theme park it would be to see a gym full of glowing feet? The seizures it would cause? Perhaps not the best idea.

Nevertheless, I loved these shoes. It didn't take long before the lights stopped working altogether, but the brief enjoyment they brought to my OshKosh B'Gosh wardrobe was unparalleled. In fact, my 6-year-old self probably would have even considered light up shoes to be as cool as clear jelly flip flops. Needless to say, the plastics industry truly set the stage for kids fashion in the early '90s...and then disgraced it 20 years later with the introduction of Crocs.

Until next time,
Mel

The Fellowship of the Mood Ring

(Photo credit: www.savesucash.com)

If someone asked me when I was eight years old what I would bring if I were stranded on a desert island, my mood ring would have ranked right next to water and lip gloss. I blame Anna Chlumsky's character, Vada, in the movie My Girl. Vada wore this amazing mood ring in the film, and the color of the ring would change according to how she felt. When she was happy, for example, the ring would turn blue, and when she was sad, the ring would turn yellow. The mechanics of it blew my mind, and I simply had to have one.

I remember the first time I wore a mood ring to school in the third grade. All of the girls in my class were fascinated by it, and pretty soon they were wearing mood rings, too. Every other minute of the day, I would look at my ring to discover my mood. Then one dark and stormy day, someone told me that the color of a mood ring is determined by body temperature rather than emotion. I was floored, but it made sense. Nevertheless, I continued to wear my mood ring until about the fifth grade when I finally became bored by it and graduated to my mother's old spoon ring.

Until next time,
Mel