Sparkly nail polish!
If you follow me on my socials and noticed a common thread with my manicure posts, yep, I like my nails to sparkle sparkle sparkle. The last time I wore a polish sans glitter was almost a year ago, as the nail spa I go to has this solid deep berry color (think Chanel’s Vamp) I like to wear during November. Old habits die hard, however, as they recently got a glittery version of that shade. 😏💅✨
90s Fashion!
(For women, to be specific. Like I follow men’s fashion.)
Those who think 90s women’s fashion was all crop tops, wide-legged jeans, butterfly hair clips, and Spice Girl-style platform shoes probably got their 90s fashion history from a Tumblr on vintage Delia’s catalogs and that’s it. As someone who owns many issues of Vogue, Elle, W, and Bazaar from 1990 to the December 1999 issues, I can safely say there’s way more to 90s fashion than that. There were traces of the 80s from the early 90s (top left pic), peak grunge and dowdy realness from 1992-1993 (top right pic), a short but memorable shot of disco glam to get rid of the grunge in 1994 (bottom left pic), hip-hop influences and retro comebacks in the mid-90s, and minimalism and nightclub-inspired attire in the late 90s (bottom right pic).
Fashion in the 90s truly had it ALL, but, more remarkably, designers placed more quality and creativity into their collections. That decade also gave us landmarks collections, such as John Galliano’s Spring 1995 (I know JG is a dubious mofo but his clothes for that season were just wow), or Tom Ford for Gucci’s Fall 1995. What happened to moments like that? Nowadays, a fashion moment involves an overpriced plain t-shirt from some fast fashion label that went viral on TikTok because some celeb wore that shirt. Yawn.
Amazing Vocalists!
Aretha, Shirley, Whitney, and Christina…if vocals were energy, their pipes would power a metropolis for days.
I will always love me down a singer that can sing. Having listened to pop and R&B during the 90s, I got spoiled by singers of the time. Whitney, Mariah, Celine, Toni Braxton, Faith Evans, Leann Rimes, Christina Aguilera…While I don’t mind an artist who may not boast the best pipes (but at least make catchy songs), what a great singer does with their voice–on top of making good songs–is next-level art that seems to be a rarity nowadays. (Really, who is the vocalist of the current generation of pop stars?)
Also, if you don’t know who Shirley Horn is, give her a listen! My favorite jazz station played one of her songs a while back, and I got hooked by her voice. She’s an underrated vocalist, IMO.
My Sports Teams Winning!
Today marks the 10th anniversary of this hit, this home run, this MOMENT that sent the Giants to the 2014 World Series! They would go on to win that World Series, the day before my 30th birthday, and that win was an amazing, albeit unexpected birthday gift. (I thought they’d lose that Game 7 to the Royals.) This sports fan got FED during the 2010s, honey. Giants Dynasty, Warriors Dynasty, the Pens going back-to-back…it all makes up for the ongoing drought my teams are currently having. At least I’m not a Buffalo sports fan. (I had to say it.)
All Things Peanuts!
Snoopy and the gang never fails to please the kid in me! (Just ignore this account, however.)
Inside The NBA on TNT!
This is the one true Best Damn Sports Show Period. (The Emmys seem to agree, too.) It’s been on air since 1989, but I feel like it didn’t become that show until Barkley joined the crew in 2000. Since then, it became more than your standard pregame/halftime/postgame show. What other sports show would allow segments like Chuck changing a diaper, Kenny spelling “you’re” as “yo’re”, Chuck thinking the Congo is in Europe, Shaq choking up after eating spicy chips, Dyngus Day, “Mr. Sensitive”, “po-lice presence”, Chuck vs. Shaq, Chuck vs. Bavetta, Chuck vs. San Antonio women, “Gone Fishing”, and the always-hilarious annual editions of “Who He Play For?” Other sports shows have tried being like Inside *eyes ESPN’s NBA coverage* but can’t come close.
I’m saddened to hear that TNT will no longer carry NBA games after the 2024-25 NBA season, meaning no more Inside after this season. Not sure if the Inside crew will start something new with NBC or elsewhere, but that deal is proof that all good things eventually come to an end for the sake of money. For a long-time fan of the show, to quote Chuck, it’s turrible.
The OG Dynasty!
This pic gives me more fashion, beauty, and glamour than the past 10 years of all the fashion glossies.
This show defined the 1980s, hands down. Greed, excess, family drama, uber-wealth, power suits, shoulder pads, high glamour, big hair, bigger egos, shade fests, and, of course, thee Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan! For the uninitiated…
Almost everyone on that show was a victim of her acid tongue, from Krystle and her ex-husband Blake to even her daughters Fallon and Amanda!
And this clip when Alexis first meets Dominique Deveraux remains a masterclass in shade and reading.
Twitter battles could never!
90s Simpsons episodes!
If you want a definition of “Peak TV”, The Simpsons during the 90s is IT. (Especially from Seasons 4 to 9.) And if you know what those GIFs are about, you know!
The next few entries will be TV-themed, and I’ll start off with my favoritest (I know it’s not a word) show of them all: Married With Children!
It was the first sitcom I watched, although I didn’t watch it for the laughs but for Bud Bundy. David Faustino was my first ever Hollywood crush. As I got older, I started getting its snarky, self-deprecating humor, but little did I know that its brand of funny would not be for the delicate types. I first learned curse words thanks to that show. (Just “ass” and “bitch”, if you were wondering. It was on network TV, after all.) I learned how to clap back thanks to that show. And I also learned to never ever be a shoe salesman in my life. 😆 In a way, MWC “ruined” me for other sitcoms; I tried watching Friends but couldn’t find it funny. I watched a bit of Seinfeld and didn’t find it funny. The Office comes close but I wish they kept Steve Carrell for its entire run; it’s like getting rid of Ed O’Neil (Al Bundy) for the last two seasons–it makes no damn sense!
In my house, MWC remains the GOAT of sitcoms.
Places With a View!
Taken from the Getty Center back in June 2024.
I think my love for places with a view started as a pre-teen. Having lived in the suburbs up until I graduated high school, the view from my home was boring, but I also lived right next to some hills. I was an adventurous kid so I’d sometimes take hikes up the hills. The views of my former hometown from hillside were fascinating. I don’t recall if I remember wanting to have a home with sweeping views of the city as a kid, but I know I wanted that when I was 19.
Twenty years ago, while on a Labor Day vacation in LA, I visited the Getty Center for the very first time. (Has it really been 20 years?) The views from there had me stunned! Panoramic views from downtown LA to the Pacific Ocean–the kind of views that anyone with money in LA get to have every day from their homes. I spent $10 for parking to experience those views for a few hours. (Admission was–and still is–free to the museum, by the way.)
Where I live now is a place with a view. Top floor apartment with east-facing views, where I’m greeted daily by sunrise, sights of the Mt. Diablo mountain range, and the city I live in. (I’m also right above an alley, and I’ve seen some sketch things go down in that alley on occasions. Take the ugly with the beauty, I guess.)
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