Jemgirl

Wow, its certainly been a while.  Obviously you can tell I’m rusty at this by my terrible pun about a certain mid 90’s Don Bluth movie… I should apologize for how bad that title is..

Its that time of year.. when the weather gets colder, the leaves change color, and the aroma of turkey and douglas firs are just around the corner. The most nostalgic time of the year is approaching, and I find myself already craving Sears Wishbooks and Christmas cookies.  Due to these reasons, (and a slight case of loneliness and boredom.. I’m always depressed in the fall)  I’ve decided to make a commitment to blogging this pre-holiday season.  Unfortunately, my sudden resurgence of interest in blogging was forced to be put on hold for the past month or so because of a faulty wireless card (Stupid, Stupid HP!) but now I’m all revved up and ready to post lots of 80s randomness.

I’ve accumulated so many miscellaneous pieces of blog-worthy treasure, I’ve decided the best way would be to attempt to organize them at least into mostly cohesive posts.  As the name of my blog would suggest, I’m a huge fan of the Hasbro dolls and Sunbow cartoon series, Jem. While I’ve been a fan all my life, I’ve just recently started to expand my collection of Jem related merchandise, so I hope to make that the focal point of a series of posts in the near future.  But for now,  I’ll let Barbie steal the spotlight.

I picked this up over the summer actually, and never had a chance to post about it.

1988’s Superstar Barbie, MIB.

I was thrilled to find this again, it was probably one of my first and favorite Barbies as a kid. I love how iconic 80’s Barbie looks here. So over the top and glamorous. The stylish Ferrari she cruises around with Ken (and a young Jennifer Love Hewitt) in is pretty sweet too.

I also lucked out in finding a boxed Barbie Ice Cream Shoppe. The highlight of this playset is the built in Easy-Bake Oven style ice cream maker. I stumbled across this at a Goodwill, and couldn’t help picking it up despite the fact that its in a massive box and I have no room for it whatsoever. I couldn’t resist the packaging, I love the 80’s color scheme. Plus I vividly remember seeing commercials for this as a kid, and desperately wanting it.  I was like a little kid all over again, lugging this giant, (and heavy!) box up to the register with a huge smile on my face. Upon arriving home I was pleased to see that all the contents were still intact. However, I don’t think there is a chance in hell I’ll actually try to make ice cream with it though, no matter how thoroughly its cleaned. I cringe at the thought of there being 20 + year old sticky residue in there.   Although… it would make for an interesting post.

I had a pretty decent round-up of junk at the thrift store the other day,  and I could have spent time doing an actual detailed account of these items. However, I found something today to top all of this. It’s a pretty random, rare find.. so I’ve got to save up my creative energy to focus on that.  I won’t  reveal too much about it, though. You’re always supposed to leave them wanting more, right? But, I suppose I’ll give you a  little hint: It involves a star from a certain beloved 80s sitcom. So, I figured I’d just do a quick update. I like to share my happiness with all of you, so I guess its better just to post a quick recap then to have you miss out on the awesomeness of things like……..

Vintage G.I. Joe (1986) and MASK  (1985) thermoses! An excellent find at a mere .75 a piece.

Even though I’m an 80s girl at heart, how could I resist picking up items featuring a couple of  classic 80s boy licenses? Daniel and I have acquired quite a nice random assortment of 80s lunchboxes and thermoses.  I think it’d be cool to somehow display them in a kitchen. That is, if we’re lucky enough to end up getting a place that has a kitchen big enough for the both of us, and the collection.

Up next is a nice little Disney item. “Fluppy Dogs at the beach” Golden book from 1986.  Aww, the Fluppies were so cute, I loved them. I had a purple and white plush one when I was little.  For those who are unaware,  Disney’s Fluppy Dogs  was a 1986 one-hour animated special. It was intended to air as part of the Disney Afternoon block, but the pilot special wasn’t too successful, so plans for continuation of the series were scraped, unfortunately. The toy line, on the other hand, did prove to be at least somewhat profitable for Disney, with merchandise such as plush toys and books continuing to be produced throughout 1986, or possibly a few years longer.

Finishing off this batch are two final items:

A metal Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV tray from 1988, and a Smurfs sing-along album.

I really couldn’t have started this blog at a better time.  Today I had some pretty good finds.  I started off at a Goodwill that I don’t usually have the opportunity to check out. Its about half an hour away, and I had an appointment sort of near the area, so I decided to go up there, knowing that I was bound to find at least something to make it worth my effort. 

I arrived, and it was packed.  I headed straight for the toy aisle, reminiscing with slight regret about passing up the Mattel Dazzle boxed play set I saw last time I was there.  Right of the bat I found a MIB Xuxa fashion doll perched high upon a shelf that was overflowing with generic, rejected, carnival-won stuffed animals.  I immediately grabbed it with a laugh and decided for $2.99 it was worth it.  After further perusing the aisles filled with VHS tapes and miscellaneous junk, I grabbed a copy a The Chipmunk Adventure solely for the fact that the cover art was too cool to pass up, and a plastic envelope of unused vintage Lisa Frank stationary. 

All of that was pretty good I thought. Nothing fantastic, but still good. I thought that would probably be the high point of my  day. Until I stumbled across a Value Village that  I was unaware was in the area….

In this particular area that is north of my usual stomping grounds,  much to my disappointment, the thrift stores are  overflowing with swarms of ultra-trendy hipsters. The kind of people who truly think that its bizarre and unpractical to have such a sincere interest in nostalgia and random junk, but who laugh in a sort of ‘I’ve been told this is cool, so now I have to fall in love with it’ sort of way, and they inevitably end up being tough competition. 

I gazed out across the store, attempting to come up with a route to cover.  After being distracted by 5 boxes worth of VHS tapes lying on the ground, I picked up a Hugga Bunch tape, and  I set out to see what the rest of the store held. En route to the toy section, I overheard a group of several teens laughing at how incredibly ironic it was that their hip, modern friend of about 17, who is sporting facial piercings, was holding up an “I love Bingo” Tee.  I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes and continued onward, I figured I’d loop back again and see if I missed anything. 

After looking at some miscellaneous household goods I tried to dodge the crowds and nearly ran directly into another customer’s cart.  As I passed by, I noticed the massively overfilled cart was toppling over with expensive, mainstream, trendy designer brand clothing (think Abercrombie, Calvin Klein, etc.) I was surprised to see that it was being hauled around by a true  edgy hipster couple. The woman had neon pink hair and a mini skirt, and he rocked the messy unshaven look.  The kind that don’t even have to try, they just automatically know they’re cooler than you.  I was a bit saddened by this. Because I know that no one ever expects me to be carrying around all the dorky knowledge I have in my head, and all because I’m *sigh* boring, and ‘normal’ looking.  My ears perk up when I hear Devo come over the speakers. This brings me comfort.  I give myself a small smile, and head back on my quest of returning to the toy section.

This section of the store wasn’t particularly organized very well. There were small plastic bags of assorted toys dispersed throughout 5 or 6 small racks on the end of the clothing aisles. I did a once-over and decided maybe that was it for today. Sometimes I become a bit distracted while thrifting, due to the crowds and the terrible fluorescent lighting. ( I have sensitive eyes) so I always feeling like maybe I’m missing out on finding things. Suddenly, something caught my eye.  A bit of pink doll hair jumped out at me. Devo was still playing, and my hopes were high. I untangled the bag and just as I had hoped… it was a Jem doll! Victory!!!  I’m constantly on the lookout for *any* sort of Jem merchandise. My radar must have really been on today. It has been over 5 years since I last found a single Jem item in a thrift store.  I kept looking, knowing there was a good chance that If I’d found one, there could easily be others. Within seconds I managed to score a Rio doll, and another version of Jem.

 It was exciting. I think I may have even vocally expressed it with some cheers of ‘awwww cool!’ and ‘yessss awesome!’ I was going through my stuff when I looked up on the shelf in front of me only to find a bag full of Wuzzles figurines. Icing on the cake. Pink icing, I’m sure. 

I decided to grab a snack on the way home. I decided since I was in the area, I’d treat myself to some Dick’s. Yes, Dick’s Drive-in is a true Seattle classic. It is the kind of place that makes you feel like you’re going to gain 5 lbs just by driving past it.  I gave in and ordered fries and a strawberry shake.