Tag: nostalgia

Diving Head First into my Collection of Babysitters Little Sister Books

Published on by hellosamanthadear10 Comments

Growing up in the ’90s – more specifically the early-to-mid ’90s when I read these books – I was an avid fan of Karen Brewer in the Babysitters Little Sister book series!!! I have mentioned this before on this blog; I admired Karen, her outfits, her personality, and the wide array of lesson-learned situations she found her 7-year-old-self in at Stoneybrook Academy in Connecticut.

Which is exactly why I’ve decided to pull out my massive collection (the photo only shows a tiny portion of it!) of Little Sister books and re-read them for awhile. Typically, the books I read are nonfiction and serious topics, which is exactly why I wanted a break from that genre for a bit (this translates to: my last read, Stasiland, was so intense that it called for a literary retreat into the mind of a second grader, to be reminded of the innocence in life).

Things are simple yet exciting in this well-to-do, fictional town in Connecticut, where both fun and drama bloom in Ms. Colman’s second grade classroom.

Alternate cover reprints from UK publishing

I always wanted Karen’s taxi sweater. I mean, how cute is that???? I think it made a few appearances on other book covers. Sometimes I wonder: if Ann M. Martin ever created a spinoff series of Karen as an adult, what would she be like? Honestly, I’d secretly hope she’d be a spinster with a pet betta fish as her companion or something. But that’s selfish, because I’d just want her to be like me then, and ‘the world is not a reflection of oneself‘, or something along those lines of a great quote I remember reading somewhere, and like to remember. Realistically, Karen would probably be a mother of two in a nice house in Connecticut with a lawyer husband. Which is just as good of a lifestyle choice as the spinster-with-a-betta-fish one. But the best thing is, Karen is forever frozen in time – eternally at Stoneybrook Academy, never to be shaped by the tides of adulthood. And that’s something my inner child can truly appreciate, and honestly, needs.

So thank you, Ann M. Martin, for shaping my childhood and even my adulthood, into a world of everyday magic and curiosity. ✨

See ya next time! 📚 💕

It’s a Scream, Baby!

Published on by hellosamanthadear8 Comments

I saw Scream the year it came out in 1996, and I was 9 years old. Ironically, my babysitter would play the movie A LOT, so that’s how I first saw the film.

Was it scary to me as a child??!! Of course! I’m actually not a scary movie person at all; I just can’t handle that genre, typically. However, since I saw Scream as a kid so many times and it’s such a classically 90’s film, I still enjoy the movie to this day because of the nostalgia factor, and the fact that it still scares me even at 33 years old! (And I admit, I have always loved Ghostface’s costume!)

My favorite character is Stu, played by Matthew Lillard. He is outrageously hilarious throughout the film and that’s a huge reason why I enjoy it!!! Honestly, the humor is a big win in this movie, and then just as swiftly as it will make me laugh, it will make me clamp my hand over my mouth in fear and insist I turn on every light on my way to my room to go to sleep once the movie’s over.

As an homage to this horror film that is forever etched into my childhood memory, I purchased a Ghostface shirt on Etsy!!! Paired with the hair clips, it’s a total 90’s throwback. And to truly capture the nostalgia, I watched the movie on the original VHS, as I still own an old VHS player!

I was watching the movie and I had to stop and pause it on a particular scene where two girls are gossiping about Sidney (Neve Campbell) in the high school bathroom. WAIT A SECOND, I thought. GIRL, I HAVE THOSE SAME HAIR CLIPS!!! I bought them at Sally Beauty many years ago.

I was ecstatic. That gave me the idea to wear them with my outfit, as it is subtly Scream! I added butterfly clips to the mix for extra flair. Because there’s something so innocently nostalgic about the colorful hair clips of the 90’s. Scream is also nostalgic, even if it’s a not-so-innocent scary movie. Ghostface is my one and only favorite scary dude, and for that, I salute him.

So cheers to the nostalgic things that transport us back to a different time, whether it be a movie or a hair clip!

As Stu would say, “It’s a scream, baby!” 💜

See ya next time!!!