Stroll Down Memory Lane

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

WARNING: This post got a little long and rambly. Okay a LOT long. Still rambly. Lots of photos, though. Enjoy however much you're able to get through.

Sometime during the past 4-5 years, I have gone through things in my bedroom (things being jewelry, hair accessories, and the like). I know I didn't get rid of a LOT, but thought I had it somewhat whittled down. After all, the area where I keep the jewelry which I wear on a regular basis really didn't have that much there. I was aware that I had a couple of boxes with some other things that needed some sorting and purging.

I began the process of cleaning up the jewelry, hair accessories, and other oddments so that I could pack. I made it through the hair accoutrement in good time. Then I started in on the jewelry. It was going just fine. Items I wish to keep on one side, items to give away on the other. Then I would pull out a small box, tin, or container of some sort, and go through the items in there. Then a very strange phenomenon occurred. There were more boxes, tins, and other random containers than I realized. There was another . . . and another . . . and yet another. Sorting could no longer be contained on the shelves, so it moved to the bed. In a rather large way.

Okay, say it with me now . . .

OH. MY. GOSH!!!


First shelf area (my shelves are old fruit crates)

Next shelf area



Third shelf area



Spilling over to the bed



And then some

Now, clearly there is more than just jewelry going on here. And some of this is old. Not antique old particularly (except one brooch and earring set), but old as in so-not-my-style-anymore old. These are the oldest. I'm thinking 6th or 7th grade.

While not the next oldest, these definitely get special notice. My sister and I found these at Claire's many, many years ago - before I was married. At the time, we thought they were the ugliest earrings we had ever seen. So we bought them. And shared them. Somehow I have possession of them. It must be her turn, since I think I've had them for the past 20-some years.

There was a time in my life when my best friend and I collected all things COW. This is just a tiny little sampling of the myriad cow items I owned. Some day, I'll show you my cow shoes. They're the best ever.

Lil Orphan Annie cows?!?!?

Even before my obsession with cows, I was a Bugs Bunny fan. And still am. For as long as I can remember. When we moved to Colorado from California (I was 3), I had a talking Bugs Bunny. Sadly, it was the trip from hell and I was car sick and hurled all over poor Bugs. He had to be left on the side of the road. It was a very difficult time for me. I missed old Bugs something dreadful.

Where was I? Oh, right, Bugs has always been a near and dear friend. While I didn't go collection crazy, I did have a few special items. My parents gave me this watch nearly 20 years ago. It needs a battery right now. Otherwise, I'd be wearing it. I even attended the 50th Anniversary Bugs Bunny Film Festival at the Tower Theater in downtown Sacramento with hubs and my parents.

I purchased these at a company craft fair when I worked for Hewlett-Packard in Cupertino (or was it Palo Alto?). They matched a sweater that my mom made which was my most favorite thing to wear in those days. Along with the lovely porcelain earrings, of course. Not only that, I was wearing these earrings with the sweater on October 17, 1989 - the day of the Loma Prieta earthquake. Funny the things you remember when big events occur.

When we moved back to Colorado, I was making tons of Friendly Plastic earrings. It was the thing to do, I guess. I also sold (well, attempted to sell) some at a local craft mall here. Imagine my surprise to find that I still had some of these. Thought I had passed them along many years ago.

I can't imagine these require any explanation. I had my first Gumby & Pokey when I was about 5. Back before merchandising madness and clay animation. I wore these earrings with a lovely Gumby Green, sleeveless dress.

I was definitely into large earrings at certain times in my life. Here we have two ends of the same LARGE spectrum. The pair on top? They're made from watercolor paper and weigh about as much as a gnat. The pair on the bottom? Holy smokes, are they heavy! Mother of pearl on top with a ton of beads dangling, for a total of about 6" in length. Yeah, let's just hang some bricks off my ears. Maybe they'll stretch out into Dumbo ears.

At a mall in California, there was a lady who sold crafts at a table in the big hallway area. She made these cute lizard earrings and also painted t-shirts to match. I never had a t-shirt (my mom & sister did, though), but the earrings were so bright and colorful (also heavy). It's amazing that my earlobes don't reach my shoulders today.

If you're still with me, this one is kind of sweet. It's a beaded daisy necklace/choker that I made as a young girl. Probably around 5th or 6th grade, I believe. I've done a variety of crafts and art throughout my life. Other than sewing, this is probably one of my earliest wearable projects. At least that I recall. I don't wear it anymore (doubt my neck is the same size), but it's just cute and sweet and lives in my jewelry box.

If you stuck around for this very long walk down memory lane, I hope you'll leave a comment. Like which item was your personal fav, or what on earth is something in one of those group photos, or what is the strangest item you noticed. Or come up with your own comment. Whatever strikes you.

Thank you for participating in the jewelry box tour.