Blast from the Past: Spectra!

I was just reading my favorite humor/gossip site, dlisted.com and stumbled upon something I had to share. Michael, the man who writes and runs the blog is not only hilarious but he's also a Generation Y genius. He manages to remind me of things that I forgot about decades ago. Today, Spectra was one of those total recalls.

Spectra was one of my favorite toys to play with when I was little. I think I got her because she was different than the other Barbies on the shelf at Children's Palace toy store. She was metallic pink, shiny, donned in lace, had strands of glitter for hair, owned a beloved dog named 'Spark' (note to self: remember this name) and came from another planet. I guess my interests haven't changed much in 20+ years.












Now Playing: "Louder Than Words" by David Guetta ft. Afrojack

The Year That Was... 2011 Favorites!

Days of the Year: Super Bowl Sunday (even though we lost), 3/19: I was in one of my best friend's wedding, 10/23: Steeler Game in Arizona

TV Shows: Real Housewives (NY, NJ, BH, ATL), Real Time with Bill Maher, Chelsea Lately, After Lately, The Office, Modern Family

Movies (not necessarily released this year): Conversations with Other Women, You and Me and Everyone We Know, Unmade Beds, Bill Cunningham New York, No Strings Attached, Crazy Stupid Love... There's still so many movies that were released in 2011 that I want to see!

Concerts: My Morning Jacket at Stage AE, Portugal. The Man at Mr. Small's, Ray LaMontagne at Stage AE... I didn't go to nearly as many shows as I would have liked this year. Hopefully that will change in 2012.

Songs: "Lotus Flower" by Radiohead, "Sleep Forever" by Portugal. The Man, "Calgary" by Bon Iver

Albums: Bon Iver by Bon Iver, In The Mountain In the Cloud by Portugal. The Man, Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li

Books: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, No One Belongs Here More Than You Stories by Miranda July, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, Louis Vuitton Art, Fashion and Architecture, Chanel: Collections and Creations by Daniele Bott

Web Sites: Twitter, YouTube, Google, SongMeanings.net, DListed.com, Temptalia.com, MarioGame.info, HauteLook

Present/Gift: Green Amethyst/Diamond Stud Earrings from my Parents for my 25th Birthday. Vintage Kevin Stevens' Penguins Jersey from my sister (Christmas). I loved him when I was little. 25 was my favorite number back when he played for the Pens. I had a major crush on him for sure.

Biggest Surprise: Finding my cat, Katarina, across the street from my house and adopting her.

Photo of the Year: Kate Middleton on her wedding day. I love how the wind swept her veil in this photo. I've always admired long sleeved lace wedding gowns and I thought Kate looked phenomenal. I admittedly was so excited to watch The Royal Wedding!

Fashion Trends: Infinity scarves, Lace Up Booties, Boho Chic/Vintage Floral Prints for Spring, Leopard Print Shoes (predominantly flats), Blazers, Thick Chain Necklaces, Equipment Style Blouses

Beauty Products: YSL Lipstick Opera Rose, Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, OPI Crown Me Already, Seche Vite Top Coat, Empreinte de Chanel (Highlighter that I've had for eons but still works like a dream), China Glaze Matte Magic, NARS Danmari Blush Palette, Revlon Lip Butter Strawberry Shortcake, Pangea Organics Lip Balm in Italian Red Mandarin with Rose, Crest White Strips, Gucci Guilty Perfume, Chanel Chance Perfume, Birchbox

Moments of Style:

Kate Middleton on her wedding day (as pictured above) and in Jenny Packham at the annual ARK Dinner:

Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive at the Golden Globes:

Selena Gomez in J. Mendel at the Grammys:

Place I Visited:

Sedona, Arizona in October. We checked out all the interesting shops, took a sunset jeep tour through the rocks (with the best tour guide, by the way) and had an amazing dinner.

Now Playing: "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
*Their album was my biggest disappointment of the year but I still love 'em!

Childhood Faves

Now Playing: "Forever" by Mariah Carey
*Had all her CDs!

Flashback Friday

"Sweat (A la la la la Long)" by Inner Circle, 1992.

This song takes me back to some of my earliest summer memories spent at the water park and/or pool with my family and best friends. Inner Circle was one of my favorite bands. I remember playing their tapes and CDs on my stereo and recording their music directly from the radio... oh, how times have changed! This is such a feel good tune for me... although the lyrics are a bit contradictory if you really pause to examine it (probably not appropriate for young listeners). When I hear this song, I'm 7-years-old again, on summer vacation from school and without a care in the world... :)

Flashback Friday

"Runaround Sue" by Dion (1961)

50 years later and this song is still the best!

It has been an uncomfortably hot week in Pittsburgh. But one good thing about the heat is that it motivates me to play some golden oldies!

Each summer, my church has a big festival. Let's just say that I haven't actually been to mass in a long time but I don't miss the festival. You run into people you haven't seen since you were a kid. It's awkward but interesting at the same time. One of the highlights for me is seeing priests throwing dice at craps tables and drinking beer after beer. It's quite the picture of irony. Gotta love the Catholics ;)

I too enjoy drinking and gambling, so it's a fun time for all. The festival workers know me as one of the luckiest girls in the neighborhood. When I was younger, my parents would give me $20 to gamble with but I'd come home with hundreds. Come to think of it, when I was born, they called me the "Money Baby" because all of the numbers associated with my birth hit on the lottery.

At the festival, there's a classic car cruise that my dad and his friends usually participate in. As you might imagine, a car show and oldies music go hand in hand. One song that is always played over the loud speakers is "Runaround Sue".

If I were to ever sit and compile a list of my favorite songs of all time (where would I even begin?!), "Runaround Sue" would surely make the cut! I love that this musical era had such a knack for making anything sound poetic. Dion is essentially singing about a girl being a whore who gets around town... and guess what? It's not vulgar. It's beautiful. Dion (& the Belmonts, too) really knew how to entertain and command the attention of a crowd. I love this stuff!

Flashback Friday

"I Only Have Eyes For You" by The Flamingos (1959)



My parents are old (I say this with the utmost love and respect). They've been together since Halloween 1964 but didn't have their first child until twenty years later in '84 (I came along in 1986). Mom & Dad are each the youngest of their siblings. This makes me by far the youngest of my cousins. I always say that I was probably born a decade or two later than I should have been. To add to the generational disparity, my parents are stuck in a time warp. They don't use cell phones unless it's an emergency and they don't mess with computers. Needless to say, when I'm online, they look at me as if I'm from another dimension.

When I was little, I would hang with my dad and his friends. Their idea of a good time was fixing classic cars in our driveway ('65 GTO and Grand Prix, '58 Corvette, '63 Impala Super Sport, '56 Chevy Convertible to name just a few). On warm summer nights, "the guys" would play music from the radio in our garage (often tuned in to programs like the Sunday Night Oldies Diner on 94.5 3WS) or on the 45s in our gameroom. Most of the tunes were from the '50s & '60s. Songs like "I Only Have Eyes For You" quickly made its way into my heart. Because of these memories, I have a fond appreciation for quality music. When it comes to my sense of hearing and sound, I'm really grateful to have total recall. While songs from the '90s instantly take me back to moments with friends at sleepovers or skating parties, when I hear oldies, I think of my family and the majority of my childhood spent with them at home. Music is one of those spellbinding things in life that transcends space and time. While I am not inclined to play any instruments (though I'd love to learn piano and guitar), I enjoy nothing more than listening to songs and remembering the way things used to be.


This song was also featured in one of my favorite movies of all time, A Bronx Tale! It's one of my favorites for sure :)