BARBIE.

alright, so...let's talk barbie... :)

i've grown up with barbie. absolutely adored her... loved playing with her with all of my friends! i even had cute little barbie bed sheets (i'll have to find the picture & put it up)! everything had to be barbie, i'm sure. i just think there's something cute & kiddish about barbie. and of course, there's always something very vogue & classy about vintage barbie. i had boxes of barbies growing up. my mom's plan was to keep them for the grandkids someday...well, that was 'the plan'. unfortunately, for some sociology skit in high school, i had volunteered to use the barbies, which ended up at my friends house. i asked her if i could have them back lots (after i remembered they were there). she couldn't find them. her parents had moved & obviously the barbies had, too. you can imagine my mom's disappointment (and my guilt). what a bad feeling to have lost however many little barbies, shoes, dresses, cases, etc were in there. so, back to square 1. my mom has found some barbies at garage sales & i'm on the hunt for them, too.

  

these two barbies (above & below) are the ones that stick out in my mind as my favs; basketball barbie & gymnast barbie. gymnast barbie could bend whatever way you want her to. it was crazy. plus, as i'm sure you can already tell, i love bright colors, so of course i lo-lo-loved her outfit. hello?! and basketball barbie? well, i remember opening her up at my grandma's house one Christmas. it was awesome because the palm of her hand had a magnet on it & the ball did, too, so it looked like she was holding it! bonus feature: her arm clicked back & she had a button that would shoot the ball at the hoop! SCORE! isn't it funny things you keep somwhere in your memory? crazy! what's your favorite childhood toy/barbie?

 

now this one... haha, oh this one... my husband (then boyfriend) thought this was pretty funny. i think it was our first Christmas together & this was one of my gifts (he found it at a antique shop or something -- and he's a bulls fan, so he couldn't pass it up)! it sat on the shelf in my room, still in the box, until we got married & i moved out. i think it's still there, now that i think of it!

this little beauty had completely escaped my mind until the other day. i don't know if i was walking through some flea market or antique shop, but i saw this & immediately was flooded with nastolgic memories. isn't it cray-cray when that happens?! ha, this...was always at my grandma's house growing up. this is where she kept all of her barbie goodies for us to play with at her house! memories, oosh goosh. i love my g. she's amazing. and so is this vintage barbie case! it's so cool stuff that is still around!

these are just a few vintage sketches i just thought were cool & classy. i was shopping at bed bath & beyond at the beginning of the year (this is the best time to get calendars--that i wasn't even looking for). anyways, they had vintage barbie calendars there that are kind of like the drawings in the photos below. it is up at my work right now, but i bought them out! it's like a $15 for like $3, so i shared them with my buddies! but, i think it would be super-cool to frame them like the girl's room in the bottom picture. clearly, i won't be doing this anytime soon -- it'll have to wait until we have a spare room in a house someday, but it's a neat thought! maybe a baby girl's room? ideas, ideas. ps, ignore all the cleeeeeeeeavage -- that's not so cool (haha).

 
   

see... wouldn't these be cool in frames with a pink frilly little girl's room?! yeah!

   

now, there's also another opinion that i had never-ever really thought of with barbie. i guess it is because i have always grown up with barbies & never have thought about people not... my sister (in-law, but i hate saying 'sister-in-law'...it's just too lengthy, so...) never really played with barbies. it wasn't because she didn't have access to them, they were just never around. i was having the discussion with her how she isn't going to have her kids play with barbies because of the misrepresentation that it gives to little girls about how they should look. now, i totally understand this side of the fence. i do. and i do agree that there are lots & lots of things out there that kids should be sheilded from. for example, bratz dolls -- i'm not too clear on them, but i know the ones i've seen seem 'innappropriate(ish)' & i wouldn't really want my little ladies playing with them...thinking that you have to wear mini-skirts, high heels, boas & all the make-up that you keep in your drawer on your face... so, i guess that's where she is coming from with barbies. i get that, but as long as barbies continue to just be simple, classic & not 'innapropriate', i think i'll stay okay with them! it's easy to see both sides! anywhooooooo...

***ps, i would just like the record to show that while it is fun playing dress-up, or getting dolled up in pink...or the make-up with the hair & clothes for fun like kandee johnson, it's probably not the smartest/best idea to try & be a 'real life barbie'... like the measurements & starving yourself & getting injections to play the part. God gave you want you have & it's already an imperfect perfection!***

take a look at this from kandee johnson's site :)
she's so fun & i tend to agree with many things she does/says.

http://www.kandeej.com/2011/04/real-life-barbie-doll.html

vintage barbies & all things bright pink, your j