3.04.2008

My obsession, revealed.

** new ** Oops, I forgot to put the Kurt Cobain one, so I added it at the end :c) (Sorry.)

I think I have mentioned before how I like paper-y items such as catalogs and magazines and how I like to keep stuff such as those? (Remember this post?) Well, if you didn't believe me then, you are bound to believe me now. Here is real-life raw proof.

My mom and dad are getting ready to put their house on the market (-- something I'm really really excited about for them!) and while cleaning out my old bedroom closet at their house, my mom found some things she thought I'd want. Old magazines that I had kept -- from 17+ years ago. (Oh man, this really shows my age.)

I was ecstatic when she brought them over because I remember thinking at the time of keeping them, that perhaps they will be worth holding onto a few years from now. Even if they aren't worth anything now, they're worth the memory of actually reading them and especially my memories of what I really loved back during this time.

Neil thought I was insane (and still does) for the excitement I showed as I pulled these out of the bag going down memory lane. But that's one of the reasons why he loves me -- I'm just really goofy like that. So here they are . . . some beloved magazines from my early teen years.

This one here is the 2nd Seventeen magazine I ever bought. I was 13 years old. I remember buying my very first Seventeen when it came out with it's August back-to-school issue (remember those, girls, how thick they were?!). I didn't keep the Aug one, I'm not sure why, but I did keep this one probably because it's pretty. (*rolling my eyes*)
Now I should win some reward for this one. I have now been a huge (purchasing) fan of J Crew clothes for 17 years! This was my first J Crew magazine that I ever received.
I remember one of my bff's (Kristin) and I drooling over some of their clothes as freshman in high school and finally getting the okay from our moms that we could order a t-shirt and boxer shorts. I bought these Christmas boxers and the orange polka dot boxers. I can't remember the ones K bought. K, refresh my memory! (And do you have that picture of us in our J Crew garb looking oh-so-teen?!)
As you will shortly see I was a huuuuuge 90210 fan, especially in the beginning. And while Luke Perry was my favorite, I did have a tiny crush on Jason. I was also a huge Sassy magazine fan, a 'zine no longer in publication, hence all the Sassy magazines you will see. One reason I loved that magazine was because it was so different. Sassy was one of the first teen fashion 'zines to use celebrities on their covers. They always had the coolest covers and those seemed to be the ones I chose to keep. I did like Johnny Depp (this was during his phase of 21 Jump Street and after his movie that I loved, Cry-Baby) and Christian Slater (remember Pump Up the Volume??) but I was only a somewhat-fan of Nirvana (I only really liked the song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"), so I'm not sure why I kept this Sassy of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, but nevertheless, I did, and well, I'm kinda curious now if this one is worth anything because I'd totally be willing to sell it! (Anyone?!) I'm just in awe that I even kept it. For those of you who may not be in the "know" of Kurt, he died of a drug overdose in the 90's and was married (married, right?) to Courtney.






Speaking of Sassy, has anyone read this book? I just came across it and now must read it. I'm hoping there are other late Sassy lovers out there who will share in my new-found must-have must-read joy. How cool is this?!

And who didn't love Tom?! This was around the time of A Few Good Men (awesome movie) and Far and Away (great romance that he starred in with his then wife, Nicole . . . or is this when they met?). I just loved Tom . . . however now? . . . not so much. Eww.

But Milla I have loved since day one. She starred in one of my very favorite movies of all time Return to the Blue Lagoon (Kristin and I watched this dozen of times together) and was on tons of teen mags in my teen years. I loved her name so much that it has always been on my "favorihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifte names list" and while Neil totally vetoed it when we were picking girl names, he didn't veto Maia. See the similarity?! :c) Now Milla Jovovich is a mommy herself. I think it's so awesome.

So, there you have it: my obsession with magazines starting at a very young age and my bad habit of keeping things such as them in boxes in my closets . . . revealed. I do think it maybe tells something about me that I never realized at the time. My love of graphic design, photography, and well, okay fine, . . . really cute guys :c)

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh 90210 I loved that show and I was too young to love that show ( I was in my tweens I think) but I did. "Dylan" was the dreamy bad boy and I even had a "Brenda" barbie doll. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

Tracey said...

Ok, that brought back way too many memories! I loved Sassy and YM. And look how innocent those cover headlines are compared to what's on them now. Ah, the good old days. ;c)

Anonymous said...

I LOVED Seventeeen!! I never kept any of mine (which is probably good, cause Jer would have to complain about moving all my books and decorating magazines AND old Seventeen magazines too ; ) hee, hee).

Our Home Schooler and Jen said...

I had a few teen mags that i got regularly as a teenager
long gone now

Luke Perry and Tom Cruise were both total spunks
Jen

Kate said...

Loved this post! Oh...to be a teen again! I remember countless hours ripping pages out and plastering every square inch to my wall--while listening to my WALKMAN! Fun..thanks so much for sharing!

Corie said...

How funny! I can't believe that you still have these magazines! :)
Boy, did you bring back some memories! I love the super thick back to school issues too!
And, I remember my first JCrew order- not boxers, but pj pants and socks!

Oh, don't get me started on 90210! Loved, loved, loved it! I was a big Luke Perry fan. I had a button that I wore on my jean jacket.

This was just so funny Val! Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane!!! Maia would look at these when she is older and think about how ugly our hair/clothes and all that is!

MP said...

I'm older than you...but we had the same obsession. I don't know if they are still around or not..but I had Tiger Beat... Scott Baio, Shaun Cassidy, Bay Street Rollers, Duran Duran, Parker Stevenson, Lief Garrett etc. I had BOXES of them. Mine were mostly cut up because I would make scrap books in spiral notebooks and tape them to my closet door in my bedroom.

Anonymous said...

thanks for calling me out on the JCrew boxers that i probably Still Have (or just recently got rid of!). they were white background with khaki green(s) and maroon circles. i later had a khaki green shirt that matched almost exactly, so i wore that with the boxers for their later years... not sure what shirt i ordered with them originally :)

re: 90210 -- dare ya to buy tori spelling's new tell-all book "sTori Telling"

AND re: 90210, don't you think luke menard from Idol (and formerly MU of course!) looks quite a bit like dylan in the good 'ol days?!?!

lastly, ah, the blue lagoon movies. now that would really be a chick flick night! i was recently telling someone about them - i think it stemmed from mentioing that brooke shields was in the first one. i still think it would be rough to live on a deserted island with no tampons or contact solution :)

ha ha, love ya! k

Johanna said...

You are I are so alike it sometimes scares me. :) thanks for the fun trip down memory lane!

Unknown said...

Kate, I love that you keep coming back! :c) Thank you!

Jen, I loved that you called Tom and Luke Spunky! :c)

Cor, I was cracking up over the button on your jean jacket!!

oh those were the days . . .

K -- thanks for adding in your comments -- totally made me lol. I actually think I still have mine just because they were my first pair. But I can't wear 'em because the elastic has gone bad. I remember my tee was lime green and yes, now I do remember yours! And we had a picture taken of us in them with our short curly hair with curled and hair-sprayed bangs and our absolute cool teen-ness ;c) And 'no' to the Tori book (she was always my least favorite) and 'yes' to Luke Menard (although speaking of him, I think he'll be one of them getting voted off Thurs). And regarding the tampons and RTTBL -- YES! Remember the part when she gets her period? I was always so embarrassed in that part. We def must do the wine/RTTBL night :)

Jo, I already knew we were but this is the icing on the cake, eh? :c)

The rest of ya'll -- thanks for responding -- I was laughing at all your responses. How fun!

LiLi said...

I was a Sassy magazine subscriber as well! I don't think I have any left, I think I tossed them when my parents moved when I was in college. AND, Cry Baby, LOVED that movie! You are bringing back some memories, girlie!

Alexis Jacobs said...

I knew we were meant to be friends. I had so many of the same issues. However unlike your nice mom, mine purged all my stuff when I moved out. I guess she assumed I had no use for my past issues of how to know if a boy likes you and pictures of Kirk Cameron.

Melissa in Mel's World said...

WOW...I LIVED my whole week just to watch 90210...they were like old friends by the time it ended...worst day ever! HA!

I also fell in love with Party of Five (it came on after it), so much so that I named my youngest son BAILEY! HA!

Chel said...

Oh, my gosh! Those are so super! I adore magazines - always have. I get more mags per month than any working mother of two taking a class should.

Anonymous said...

Okay now this is creepy. I have never "met" anyone who shared my love of magzines and catalogs. It makes my day. I used to pour through that J.Crew catalog and dog ear and circle all the things I wanted.

Then I scrolled to the bottom of this and saw that Kurt CObain/Courtney Love Sassy and I almost cried. I had that SAME issue and I could never throw it away. It was my teenage version of what adult love would look like some day. I think my mom still has it out in the garage.