Some people say I look like me dad
Thrifting finds, 1993 AMEX Tranquil Seas CD, She's All That reunion 🛥
Yesterday was a high of 55 degrees, so I simply had no choice but to get an enormous, torso-sized pistachio iced latte and go thrifting! Here’s what I picked up:
Was heartbroken to hear about the death of actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who was beloved by Millennials for her roles in The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Harriet the Spy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and so much more.¹ Over the last few years, her character Georgina Sparks’s iconic Gossip Girl line – “You can tell Jesus that the bitch is back.” – became a trending TikTok audio, currently associated with more than 300k videos.
I felt a pang of sadness when I saw Ice Princess, a movie in which Michelle starred. I’d never actually seen it before, but I was sold due to my recently acquired knowledge that Kim Cattrall stars in it as well. Speaking of Samantha Jones, I picked up the widescreen edition of the Sex and the City movie.² It’s always being taken off streaming!! Finally, Her Best Move looks absolutely terrible, but I got it simply because Luke from Gilmore Girls and Miranda from Lizzie McGuire (or Chloe, to connect it back to BTVS) are in it.
As for CDs, I got B*Witched’s C’est La Vie single, which features some interesting skits.³ It’s getting me excited for my upcoming Luck of the Irish playlist! (Not that I haven’t played “C’est La Vie” or The Corrs in class before…) The front of The Corrs’ Rainy Day single says, “with special thanks to all our Asian fans.” Upon further investigation, I discovered that this is a rare-ish single that was only released in Taiwan!
Finally, because it was buy 2 get one free, I got the 1993 Tranquil Seas compilation CD from American Express. I’m always intrigued by promo CDs from retailers like West Elm, Pottery Barn, Vans, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Kudos the granola bar. One from a credit card seemed kinda boring until I opened it up! The aesthetic of American Express®’s Tranquil Seas promotional CD walked so Vacation® could run!!⁴ Let’s dive in.
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👩🏻🎨 There will be a special screening of She's All That, followed by a live conversation with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook, coming to select cities in May/June. I’m SO serious, who’s coming to Newark with me? FPJ was my number one!!
🌺 The Abercrombie spring break 2004 catalogue is my EVERYTHING. Idk, I feel like you just had to be there.
🕰 Normal family heirlooms vs. my family heirlooms. My 2003 Britney Spears calendar will still be applicable in 2031, 2042, 2053, 2059, 2070, 2081, 2087, and 2098 for my great great grandchildren!
🪐 The historical preservation of cultural artifacts is incredibly important, notably, the Space Jam website that hasn’t been updated since 1997.
👡 This is a catalogue page of 90s shoes – chunky platforms, stompers, and Mary Janes – and also still what my closet looks like to this day. Love how they describe plastic as “100% man made materials”. The names have changed over the years – pleather, PU, PVC, vegan leather – it’s all just cold, shiny, hard plastic.
🤯 Wowwww JUST finding out what the real lyrics are to Phoenix’s “1901”!
📣 I have a mixed feelings about neostalgic fan edits, i.e. old movie clips set to current songs, but I’m always pleased to see the very 2001 Sugar & Spice celebrated.⁶ Cheerleaders kick *smack* !!!
🧸 While I’m very over the hey bestieee branded tone of voice attributed to Gen Z (it was entertaining when ((305)) Fitness did it circa 2018), Build-A-Bear has secured its spot as one of my top favorite Instagram accounts for nostalgic legacy brands. Friendly’s is still up there, though!
🛼 Obsessed with this drag performance of Abby Lee Miller (on roller skates) and Jojo Siwa, performed by the aptly named Rollonda Coxx and xxXela, respectively.
✈️ There’s a 90s museum in Denver! Someone check Best Fare Finder…
💿 I don’t remember Video Now color – a disc player from 2004 endorsed by Hilary Duff, yes, in color! – at all. Do you? It’s from Tiger Electronics, who notably made Hit Clips.
💚 Jojo’s “Too Little, Too Late” but if it was on Charli XCX’s Brat album. Sometimes I love social media.
🎤 Bringing food to events always gave me anxiety until I found out that you can attend a potluck and simply perform choreography from Britney’s “I’m a Slave 4U” music video instead. At least when you invite me over, you know what to expect!!
☕️ Next time I get a coffee, I’m having them write a monologue from Jersey Shore on the side of the cup instead of my name.
🐾 How did I just find out about Rue’s Blue’s Clues episode?? The inimitable Rue McClanahan from The Golden Girls guest starred in a 1999 episode of Blue’s Clues as Steve’s grandma.
🎒 Loungefly’s Furby collection, including a mini backpack and wallet, is being described as “adorably creepy”. Hey, at least they’re always on brand!
🏡 While there are many implications of AI – and I do loathe how the specific term “AI” is largely used as a misnomer for technologies that existed before the democratization of LLMs – I’m still occasionally entertained by AI-generated videos that come across my feed. Namely, Desperate Housewives if it was set in the 1970s.
🎻 Dominique Hammons’s violin arrangement for “No Scrubs” goes so hard. Put this guy in Bridgerton, stat.
5️⃣ The band Five announced their imminent comeback on social media, with all five members apparently on board. Their manager saw the enthusiasm surrounding BSB’s performances and new album and said “Get Five on the phone immediately!!!!!!” I badly for them forcing middle-aged guys to get on social media for the first time, but when the boy bands resurgence calls…
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¹ She was also known for her appearance as a recurring guest on the Nickelodeon game show Figure It Out. Sidebar: she knew the founder of a fashion company I worked for, was sometimes dressed by them, and often attended their events. I tried to recall if I’d ever seen her in-person at NYFW, but there’s no way I would forget that.
² I couldn’t help but wonder…Why does the show ‘Sex and The City’ have the T capitalized and the movie ‘Sex and the City’ has the T lowercase? Was the point to make a grammatical correction or to have “The City” removed as its own prominent entity? In the show, the city doesn’t simply refer to the city the characters live in – it’s THE city of all cities. New York City, baby! Was The City more prevalent in the TV show and only play a supporting role in the movie? Did Sex still have the same prevalence in both? I suppose ‘Friendship’ isn’t as catchy a title. Or I suppose it is, but ‘FRIENDS’ was already taken.
³ B*Witched is pretty popular on TikTok! They did a video a little while ago talking about the BTS of C’est La Vie. Some people say I look like me dad…I fight like me dad as well! is my “Shakira Shakira”
⁴ Vacation® sunscreen is my favorite brand because of its nostalgic look and feel, hyper-specific brand universe, and finely-tuned tone of voice. I just got started on ShopMy, which is an affiliate link platform. I’m asked about the brand constantly, so my first collection on ShopMy HAD to be theirs!
⁵ Oh my God, twenty-five years after its release, I just found out “Around the World (La La La La La)” is a COVER of the Russian hit “Pesenka” by Ruki Vverh! with additional lyrics, all in English. My world is shaking.
⁶ Actress Melissa George was in two of my favorite movies in 2001 – Sugar & Spice and Mulholland Drive. THE RANGE!!!!!!
Wait...ATC's Around the World is a COVER?? Man, you know what, I found out recently that Will Smith's Men in Black is a cover/reworking of an 80s song called Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen. Bizarre how stuff like that escapes your knowledge for decades.
My friends and I are all in our mid-late 30s and had a group chat the other day about Michelle Trachtenberg. She really was an icon to our age group. For me, there was once a time where I barely went a few days without watching Harriet the Spy.
I love your blog, will subscribe. :)
My friend Shane introduced me to Sugar & Spice within the past couple years and its lore!!