Sugar and Spice

I miss being a young girl, sometimes. Though I always strived to be a tom-boy (I had an older brother and male cousins), I was torn between wanting to be outside playing "war" with them at dusk, or inside getting Barbie ready for her big date. Mostly, I miss my girl stuff.

My dollhouse (thankfully still stowed away in my grandmother's attic!) My Hollie Hobby doll, with her modest brown dress and her hair that I used to like to suck on. I miss my Barbies, big time, especially on rainy days when my sister and I would play for hours, sending Barbie over to make out with GI Joe or going for a road trip in her giant camper, or going for a ride on her horse. Changing her outfits more than necessary. We weren't rich, but Mom made sure we were fully equipped with everything that Barbie needed to live like she was.

I miss my pink shirt that was adorned with a repeated pattern of a little table with a vase of flowers on top. My friendship bracelets and pins. My silver-blue ten-speed with the radio attached to it's handlebar, plastic streamers coming out of the ends. My Easy Bake Oven and Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. The little doll my mother gave to me after a rough day in which I was particularly naughty or she was just overly tired. My stuffed animals... oh, how I miss Rosebud and Dog and Doggie and the stuffed seal that never got a name! These things made me happy.

I think a part of me today continues to collect that which is cute, knowing that I might seem immature, but not caring. During my trip with my hubby to Portugal and Spain, I acquired things that tickled me pink - bright, girly, pink. No designer jackets or shoes. A little notebook with icons of flamenco dancers on front. A pencil with a wooden bull affixed to it. A cute hand-painted dish for olives. Homemade honey. Things that are cute, some of which will hopefully last, and all of which definitely make me (and my inner child) smile.