I got my first Barbie doll when I was two and half. I asked Mrs. Claus for a "Boobie doll" for Christmas and never looked back. By the time I was in late high school I had accumulated more than 150 dolls of all stripes. Through the years my family was happy to support my doll love and bought me the 1970s Barbie Townhouse, the Barbie airplane, a Barbie McDonald's... You name it, I had it. During high school and college my mom and I became diehard Barbie collectible fans. I got the first Mackies when they came out and began to collect the limited edition dolls in earnest. A family friend who was cleaning out her parents' house found her 1960-61 dolls and gave me the chance to add them to my collection. That led me down the rabbit hole of vintage dolls and outfits. When I went to college my mom continued to grow my collection and we would scope out rare dolls at doll shows across the state. After college I worked for a short time at a local historical society and got th
I wear a watch everyday. I have since I was in middle school. I am the exact right age for the Swatch watch phenomenon - the first time around. Getting a Swatch for a birthday present was noteworthy. Everyone had at least one swatch guard, sometimes two wound together to make it look even cooler. Obviously, reading the time was secondary. As I got a bit older I continued to get and wear watches - they became symbols of identity. I had a Mickey Mouse watch, a Snoopy watch, and at some point multiple Barbie watches. There were at least two that I wore out the bands, got them replaced, and wore those out again. I have spent countless hours considering watches at Fossil stores and whatever trendy watch store might have a shop in Times Square. I still have a small jewelry box with various watches from various eras tucked away stopped at indeterminate times. Recently I added some of my dad’s watches to my box. He also wore a watch everyday of my life. He had the chunky metal every day watch