Treasure Trove of 80s Toys I Found in My Aunt's Attic

Ok a long story short about 10 years ago my paternal aunt passed on, and we were undertaking the big job of going up into the attic doing some in-depth searching...

I remember a few things I pulled down like it was yesterday: first was a vintage Lite- Brite (yeah I think it was spelled that way) That was the coolest toy EVER that worked on the principle of using a real electric bulb, this "screen" with rows of small empty holes, in which children would insert different colored pegs to form a design that kit up once they switched the bulb on.

Trouble is we were at the start of a horrible recession and my sense of practicality over sentimentality for the better of me when I listed it for auction on Ebay. I know, right? I don't remember how many bids I ended up getting on my LiteBrite set, but I hope I played with it a few times before I sent it to a new home.

After all, family attics are a treasure trove of secrets, some very priceless indeed. For awhile I kind of regretted letting that one go so easily.

Not too long ago I was shopping and found a little version that was handheld and kinda meant for car trips, but yeah it was the same concept  just in a little compact version. It operates on double-a batteries. I ended up getting it for my MR older brother as a Christmas gift, among a few other choice retro toys.

Is there a moral to this story? Perhaps....you may get a second chance with a cool retro toy and see a new revamping of it, but other times, it pays to cherish it long time instead of putting it up for auction.

The Best Totally 80s Characters To Dress Up As For Halloween!

Totally 80s Characters - Which One Do YOU Want To Be?

Being a kid in the 80s, dressing up for Halloween was always a big deal! I remember one of my first character costumes....Strawberry Shortcake no less since I was a huge fan of her and the gang and had practically every kind of adornment with their likeness from furnishings to beddings to figurines.

I don't remember where we got costumes from back then, but I do remember all of the parts - the clothing and mask - all being crammed into this little rectangular box. The masks were made out of something in the plastic department with respective eyeholes and an elastic strap. The clothing part was fashioned from vinyl to sateen. If you can recall the brand name please bring it to my attention....I think these would be collectors' items by now!

But back to 80's characters....if this is your goal for your next Halloween costume party, let's look at some great picks to make a real totally 80s statement.

Adult Marty McFly Halloween Costume

Marty McFly Costume

One of the most iconic 80s film characters - to get the look you'd need the orange vest, cap, almanac and who could forget the hoverboard? I was able to locate one in adult and kids sizes...look closely, though, It is actually the vest with denim sleeves sewn in...nevertheless, it's a great start on its own. You can find the additional accessories to complete the look and be a big hit at your upcoming party!

Ghostbusters

Another fun character you could dress up after is one of the Ghostbusters. That was a mega hit back in the day for sure! As a matter of fact, an all-female remake came out a few years ago which is telling me that movie is still tops.
You have several options to consider....with the jumpsuit and Proton Pack you would be all set!

Mr T Costume

One of the most unmistakable icons of the day, who can forget Mr T? I remember Mr T lunchboxes, TV trays, action figurines, the list goes on. If you really want to strike gold at your next big party, you will need to capture the whole Mr T ensemble including: the signature mohawk wig and gold chains.

There are a myriad of other characters out there in which costumes and accessories related are available, and come in both adults and kids sizes. I even saw some for dogs too - now that would be something, get your pooch all decked out in an awesome eighties icon getup!

Wishing you a successful party and a bodacious eighties Halloween!

Check Out These Retro 80s Sam and Libby Flats

Check 'em out....Genuine Sam and Libby vintage ballets!

What do you think? I got them on Etsy during the recent Labor Day sales event...
My cat is giving me his gesture of approval:)I've got a collection going with white, navy blue, and turquoise....the goal is to find them in my actual shoe size, which is 9.5 or 10...My actual shoe size is 8 but these tend to run little or the 8's I had way back in grammar school would still fit, which they don't unfortunately :(

I've actually done the math and found that in a year I manage to find a new pair that fits this criteria...a different color and size 9.5 or 10...Not too bad in the odds department right?

If You Were Born in the 80s Are You a Millennial or Gen-Xer?

Gen-Xer or Millennial? Which Are You?

If you were born in the 1980s you pretty much fall into one of these generational demographics....but it's kind of tricky to tell which one, because there are some disagreements on what the actual age group or span of time. And it's made a little more trickier by the fact that there is that "first wave" and "second wave" thing going on in the stretch of time.

Well, I always heard that Generation X starts around the time of the Vietnam War (1965-ish) and goes into 1982. So the "first wave" of GenXers is those of us born between 1965 and 1975, and the second wave, 1976 to 1982. I don't how that first and second wave thing got started...unless it's because there's some peer-related differences that are enough to stand out more.

 As for me, I guess I'm a second-wave X-er (You can probably guess my age very easily now :) And that Millennial generation, also known as "Generation Y" is our successors and based on what I looked up and researched, were born between 1983 and 2001. I had a discussion with a friend on this one once, we had to agree to disagree on who is who and what age makes you which generation.

It's understandable to kind of get a little confused on these 2 when they are so close together . You'll probably remember and cherish different things, movies, TV characters and pop culture ism's depending on whether you're an X'er or a Millennial. Being a second wave X-er, my fondest memories were of Pac-Man, the Speak and Spell, the movie E.T., and the Rubix Cube (but who doesn't remember the Rubix cube...that's a dead ringer right there!)

Amazingly enough, if you're younger than me by at least 5 years, you may have less of a recollection of those things I mentioned above...Pop culture changes so much and it's surprising how much a year or two can alter our ideas of what was "cool" "trendy" and "hip", even things like our language, catchphrases, etc.

What's the point of this discussion? If you're wanting to know which generation you belong to? Most likely, If you were born between 1965 and 1982 you are a Generation X-er. If you were born between 1983 and 2001 most likely you're a Millennial Keeping in mind that a "generation" is supposed to be about 20 years. Some things we enjoyed, watched on TV , did for fun, etc., may overlap too, which is OK....but the bottom line, we had and have a lot of great memories to share!

Cute Plastic Jelly Flat Shoes For Women Who Love 80s Fashion!

Remember wearing "jellies" back in the day? These unmistakable plastic shoes with elaborate lacing design were the must-have summer wardrobe staple. These adorable jelly flats are the perfect gift for women into 80s fashion now that they're making a comeback!

What better way to get in touch with your inner girly girl than a pair of these beauties? If you're like my age, you probably have a vivid recollection of slipping your feet into these colorful slippers and wanting to get a pair to match every outfit.


OK...Believe it or not, I've never been a real big "shoe person" but I'll have to make an exception from time to time and one of them is the jelly shoe fashion trend of the 80s. I will always remember my first pair of these, way way back when I was in kindergarten I thought I had found Nirvana. These were the coolest EVER! But like potato chips, it was hard to stop at just one.

That first pair (pale pink) led to many more...Pretty soon I had orange, green, red, white, clear...Being made of plastic they were dirt cheap, and you could hose them off if you'd had a pretty adventuresome day tromping through that old Georgia clay that's so prevalent where I live. Sometimes there would always be that inevitable piece of the lacing that would break. Sometimes I would be on the playground and get little pebbles stuck in the pockets of the heels but that didn't stop me from wearing them everywhere. So it paid to have many pairs.

Of course, when wintertime came along, I was sad because I had to put my collection away, knowing they would not be the best kind of cold weather footwear with all their open cutouts.

As you can see I've still got 2 pairs that I've kept that are in big-girl sizes that I still wear occasionally...Since I only have 2 I want to preserve these as long as I can because they are definitely vintage 1985 or something (see below) Wearing plastic on my feet did take some getting used to but like every fashion trend, you get used to it and learn to love it :) And one pair might lead to another.