I have seen this going around in the last few weeks so Nicole from Moments That Define Life and I figured we would make this the OSB topic this month. That way, if you have already done it you can link up too! If you have not done it, it is really a good one. I mean 5 totally random things about yourself, how fun is that? Mine sort of have a theme of fashion and jobs I used to have a LONG time ago. Not sure how that worked out but I just wrote what random things came to mind about myself and my past.
As an aside: I had to explain to a non-blogger last week what “Old School Blogging” is. It made me really reflect on how much blogging has changed in the last several years. This was before we did so much on Facebook, etc. And yes, every time I do this I am reminded how much I miss “the old days” of blogging…
1. I have a collection of old antique hats, probably about 50 of them. My parents used to love to go to antique stores during our travels when I was a girl, or just for fun, and I started collecting hats when I was about 12 or 13. My Aunt Alice also gave me some of hers before she passed away. I love antique/vintage hats and think they are so neat with the netting and flowers and design, however I do not do anything with them. They are in a big plastic bag, just sitting on the top shelf in our closet and a few special ones are in hat boxes in my bedroom. Sometimes I think about just selling them but I like each one for different reasons and I’m not sure I would get very much for them anyway… But my poor hats are just there, collecting dust…
Wearing one of my vintage hats in 2011 in honor of the royal wedding
2. When I was in college I took my first trip to New York City as a class for my Fashion Merchandising degree (yes, that was my major). It was a summer course where we prepared for the trip and projects in the classroom and then took a week-long trip with a few of our professors. During the trip we went to a fur fashion show and afterward in the lobby I brushed up against Oscar de la Renta’s back, right arm. I remember saying “excuse me” and him turning and slightly smiling to me. I may have almost fainted. He was wearing a fantastically crafted grey suit and that is the only time I have ever brushed up against true fashion greatness. (On the same trip I was waiting for a friend who was shopping at the huge Crate & Barrel in Manhattan and I was sitting down on some steps because I was tired of walking. I saw these lace-up sandals go by and as I panned up, my jaw dropped. Rushing around the store and bossing some sales girl around was Shirley McClain. I asked the sales girl if she was nice and she said, “No.” That was the end of that conversation. But my eyes followed them as they went around that area of the store and I soon got a sense of why she said no.)
3. My roommate in college, Corrie, and I made a collage on a huge piece of cardboard that came with a poster frame one of us bought. We passed the collage back and forth for several years after we moved away from each other and I think I still have it but if so, I am not sure where it is. Here it is in all it’s greatness. Take a good look at it and laugh. Also notice that we signed and dated it. This really IS a piece of art. And memories, OH, so many memories… I used to love to make collages but it has been a long time since I have done one. I think it would be fun to do one with the kids… hmmm… p.s. see if you can find the picture of Helen Hunt – a few people used to tell me in college that I looked like her. 
College collage GREATNESS
4. I was a “nanny” the summer between my junior and senior years in high school. During the day I watched a brother and a sister, she was 6, he was 8. They were spoiled and not the nicest kids but the son was brilliant. I would get there at 7 in the morning and he would be taking apart some small appliance just for fun and then putting it back together shortly thereafter. But he was extremely rude to me most days and hard to control at times. I would go home crying and I think I quit before summer was completely over. The only thing that really made that time bearable was the fact that they had a pool in their backyard.
5. I was the assistant manager at a Hallmark store when the Beanie Baby craze was alive and well. The store I managed was in a mall and we used to have a line that started at our locked screen at the front of the store, and continued past several other stores, when a new one was about to be released. People would call the store before-hand to see if they could put them on “hold” and they would sometimes get into small skirmishes in the store as well. When the “Princess Diana” beanie baby came out it was NOT pretty. People can be SO rude just over things. However, they can also be lovely, as I saw one woman hand hers off to another lady when she decided she would rather give it to her than fight. Also, people use to be CRAZY for Hallmark Christmas ornaments as well… I’m not sure they are so much anymore…
Do you like fashion? If so, who is one of your favorite designers?
Were you ever a nanny?
Do you have any Beanie Babies?
You can answer these questions or come up with your own random things about you and link up. Actually, I recommend doing both!
Join me and Nicole and tell us 5 random things about you, link up and then visit some (or all!) of the other linkers! Looking forward to reading ALL the random things. Also, don’t forget to tweet with us, @elainea and @MTDLBlog and hashtag #OSBlog!
P.S. In 5 days Precipice Volume III comes out and I will be published in a book! This is just so very exciting for me, a dream realized! You can pre-order here and the print copy comes out December 1. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy! Thanks to all my supporters, who encouraged me to push on and helped me in any way. You know who you are!!
I love getting to know you better, Elaine!
When I was a teen, I helped my uncle out at his Hallmark shop! It was short-lived though.
Why is that Alison?
And that is why I love OSB – getting to know each other better, every month!
I used to make collages just like that. There is one in my basement now and once we finish the basement we are going to hang it up. It’s filled with so many old memories, I can’t part with it.
Julia recently posted…9 Things I Wish People Knew About Shy Kids
You did? I think that is so cool! I guess it was a thing back in our day. You know, when people still read ACTUAL magazines!
I love learning this randomness about you! The picture of you in the hat is so great. I LOVE the picture of your collage. I used to do that too. In fact….it is snowing here today, I just might make a new one. Thank you for the old school idea.
Angela@JumpingWithMyFingersCrossed recently posted…The F-Word
I cannot believe it is snowing already. It’s crazy cold here today, at least for S. Louisiana!
I love that you collect hats. And that white one is gorgeous!
I cannot talk about Beanie Babies. My mom managed a Hallmark store during those days and well, the rest is a sad sad story that left me with PTSD.
Melisa recently posted…Those Shoes.
Ha! Yes I’m sure you do… and your mom as well! Those were crazy times at the Hallmarks! ;D
That collage is awesomeness, and I had no idea that you collect hats. I think that is a very cool thing to collect, even if it is space-consuming. I bet now that kid would have a label.
Jennifer recently posted…5 Random Things
Oh yes, Jennifer, I’ve had that thought too (about the boy I babysat).
You learn something new every day!
You look FABULOUS, dahling! And I loved making collages out of magazine pictures. So much awesome.
Greta @gfunkified recently posted…Through the Lens Thursday: Shine
Thank you, Dahling!
That collage made me smile because I had one too in college.
This is so much fun!
Maureen@Scoops of Joy recently posted…Discovering South Sulawesi: Tanjung Bira
I am loving that many of us did these collages!
I love hats too. I would buy more if I ever had the occasion to wear one. Sunhats and toques are pretty much it for me these days.
Also, I spotted Helen Hunt!
Kim recently posted…Old School Blogging – 5 Random Things
Oh good! She’s fairly easy to find… I could use a toque right now – it is COLD!!
I wonder if I still have some of my Beanie Babies. Those were such the rage! When I worked at Yankee Candle, we’d have people come up and stock up on CASES of the large candles. I was in disbelief about how much people really loved candles. (I love candles, but I didn’t buy cases at a time…though I do have boxes of candles now, years later.)
Jaime recently posted…Old School Blogging: 5 Random Things About Me #OSBlog #NaBloPoMo
I still have all of mine but the kids have ripped the tags off of the majority of them.
And I love my one Yankee candle, that my hubby actually insisted we buy – Pumpkin Pie scent. Mmmmmm….
I love the collage! That is all kinds of awesome. I think it would be really cool to do with the kids as a way to preserve the things they love now, their little sayings etc..
And, the hats! VERY cool…now for an idea as to how to keep them or use them…definitely have a derby party? Maybe have them out for friends to borrow if they forgot their hat? If you dare to let them be used by others.
I never dove into the beanie baby craze, but I remember it well!
Nicole @MTDLBlog recently posted…5 Random Things
A Derby party would be a great idea, if I actually paid attention to stuff like that…
Thanks, Nicole!
I never made a collage in college or high school, but one of my roommates made me one as a graduation gift and it was so meaningful and I still have it.
Love your Oscar de la Renta story! Thrilling. I always fantasized about meeting a famous person and them falling in love with me and us becoming fast friends. Of course, any time I get close to one I act like a babbling fool, so I am not actually destined for greatness by proxy.
Andrea recently posted…1989
Well, you need to jump on the collage-making bandwagon, Andrea! It’s never too late! ;-p
I’m super crazy around famous people too! And why is that? They are just people too… I met Guiliana Rancic at BlogHer one year and she’s like 5 million feet tall, plus she had on 6 inch heels so we have our photo together and I’m like a midget next to her. It’s cute.
She was really nice though… just TALL. Y’all would probably look like sisters. LOL!
I did have a few beanie babies, but I think I was a little older then and not totally into toys. Although, it sounds like.. some women got into it too! Or men!
Shirley MacLaine (sp?) does seem like she’d be a pill!
Tamara recently posted…There is a Third.
Oh yes, Tamara, the collector women went NUTS for them! It was a little crazy to watch…
I was a nanny for a friend of my mom’s who had TWINS the year I graduated high school. It was a great thing to do that year, and those babies were adorable!
Jennifer Hall recently posted…Because of Love
I am glad you had a better experience than I did!
I want to come play with your hat collection. (So would Abbey
)
This is so fun
angela recently posted…Precipice is here
Y’all are welcome too, any time! I will take pics!
I love this. I love that you can still come up with random things about you that I haven’t read before. I’ve been reading your blog for a LONG time.
Kat recently posted…Refreshing
That IS funny! And yes, you have!
I am oh so intimidated by New York for that exact reason. When I was flying home from Vegas (we landed in Detroit) I met Paris Hilton. Know what I said “I’m Canadian. Canada loves you.” yup. That was it.
Dork.
I had no idea that you were a nannie as in Mary Poppins. How cool was that gig!
Kimberly recently posted…Because Booze Made Me Do It