Super Nintendo!!!

Two fabulous words: Super Nintendo. It was released by Nintendo between 1990 and 1993, and my life was never the same once I got my hands on a controller. My favorite Super Nintendo games included Yoshi's Island, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country, Diddy's Kong Quest, Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, and just about any Mario-related game.

Needless to say, I had a very active childhood during the first three years of my relationship with Super Nintendo. In fact, I became such an expert in collecting bananas, squashing enemies, and meeting checkpoints that friends from around the neighborhood would visit my house just to watch the virtual magic...or perhaps to watch my head explode whenever I lost a game and proceeded to blame everyone and everything around me (noises, especially).

Nevertheless, I accomplished so much (in my adolescent mind) playing Super Nintendo that I eventually graduated to Nintendo 64 after its release in 1996. Hello, Mario Kart 64, goodbye fresh air and homework. Fortunately for my self-esteem, plenty of other kids on the block were addicted to Mario Kart 64 as well. I had partners in crime, and it was amazing.

Watching my younger brother play video games on PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 blows my mind. The graphics have evolved so much in such a short period of time. Fortunately, however, stores such as Zelda and Mario Bros. have stood the test of time.

Until next time,
Mel

Savage Garden

Behold, the soundtrack to my existence in 1997. Savage Garden was by far and away one of my favorite bands when I was younger, and To the Moon and Back was, in my humble opinion, their best single. It carries so much nostalgia every time I hear it, and the music video is just perfect.

According to my memories, wherever there was a pool in 1997, so too was there a Savage Garden song playing in the background. Seriously. My younger sister and I grew up on a military base in Omaha, Nebraska, and we spent every summer together at the local pool. All I remember is that Savage Garden's self-titled album was on repeat every single day. The same rule applied at neighborhood pool parties.

Other Savage Garden favorites include Tears of Pearls, Carry on Dancing, and, of course, I Want You, which I think was everyone's all-time favorite. Who could forget those lyrics?: "Where your crystal minds and magenta feelings / Take up shelter in the base of my spine / Sweet like a chica cherry cola." Brilliant.

Sadly, the band only released a total of two studio albums. They're definitely more than just a one-hit-wonder, however. Savage Garden wrote the soundtrack to my late '90s, and I'll always remember them for it.

Until next time,
Mel

Melanie's Mall!

Okay, so call me a little biased. I first discovered Melanie's Mall in the back of my parents closet five days before Christmas in 1996. I was snooping around for presents and discovered three large boxes with "Melanie's Mall" written in large, pink font near the top. Being the spoiled kid I was back then, I was actually a little disappointed that I didn't discover any Barbies or Polly Pockets. Nevertheless, I was interested to learn more about this new-found toy and to find out what it had to offer my personal toy collection.

Christmas morning, I opened my presents and pretended to act surprised when I unwrapped my Melanie's Mall sets. The first set included a purple runway, a number of fashionable outfits, and, of course, a blonde Melanie doll. The second set was a beautiful ice skating rink with both a Melanie doll and a male doll who I named Jimmy after my crush at school (duh). The final set was the inside of a mall, complete with an escalator, clothing store, and pink water fountain.

By the end of December, I was living vicariously through Melanie's Mall, and by about February of the following year I owned every single piece of the collection. Similar to my Polly Pockets, I'm sad to say that all of my Melanie's Mall toys are currently collecting dust in my attic...*sigh.*

Until next time,
Mel