Throwback Thursday - Two words...Jack Ryan!

If you were a teenage girl growing up in the 1980's you likely know who Jake Ryan is...and if you don't, you need to revisit the movie Sixteen Candles staring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall and Michael Schoeffling who plays the famous Jake Ryan.

Jake Ryan was my first real crush, and to this day, I still have a crush on him!

Sixteen Candles was a huge hit in 1984. The story line follows Samantha Baker played by Molly Ringwald, a high school sophomore who struggles to get through the day of her 16th birthday. 

Her entire family has forgotten her birthday because her older sister, Ginny, is getting married the next day. Sam has a major infatuation with the most popular senior in school...The one and only, Jake Ryan.

To add to Sam's problems her eccentric grandparents are staying at her house for her sister's wedding. One set of grandparents brings with them a foreign exchange student "Long Duk Dong." 

Sam's grandparents force her to take "The Donger" as he calls himself, to her school's senior dance that night.  The Donger quickly finds himself a girlfriend at the dance and goes along his night with his girlfriend. 

Another subplot involves a geeky freshman, played by Anthony Michael Hall. He calls himself Farmer Ted...No idea why. Farmer Ted is a very insecure teenage who continually pretends he's popular but in all reality he's a geek and is in love with Sam. 

After the dance Jake's girlfriend, the most popular girl in school, throws a huge party at Jake's house. By the end of the night Jake's entire house is completely trashed. 

At night's end, Jake finds Farmer Ted trapped under a table and they begin to talk. Jake asks Farmer Ted about Sam. Jake allows Farmer Ted to drive home his drunk girlfriend Caroline home in his father's Rolls Royce. Farmer Ted...doesn't have a license. lol.

The next morning Jake finds his girlfriend and Farmer Ted in the church parking lot where Sam's sister is getting married and breaks up with his girlfriend.

Jake waits for Sam to exit the church after her sister's wedding to help celebrate her 16th birthday. 

The movie ends with an iconic scene of Jake and Same sitting on a table with a birthday cake between them. Jake says "Make a wish Samantha", and Sam replies "It already came true"...then they kiss!!

THE END!!! and I LOVE it!

Some interesting facts about Jake Ryan or his real name Michael Schoeffling:

• He was a member of the U.S. Junior Wrestling Team. His team won a gold medal at the 1978 European Championships in West Germany.
• At the time of shooting Sixteen Candles he was 23 and Molly Ringwald was only 15 years old.
• Viggo Mortensen was almost cast as Jake.
• He was so shy during his audition that he almost lost the role. But the film’s producer found him so “stunning and dreamy” that they cast him anyway.
• He had a serious girlfriend at the time of shooting Sixteen Candles. They eventually married and now have 2 children together.
• He retired from acting in 1991 and is now the owner of a handcrafted furniture woodworking shop

Jake Ryan was my very first crush...and to this day whenever I watch Sixteen Candles, I still get butterflies in my stomach!!

Countdown to turning 40 -1980's popculture

My Countdown to 40 continues. If you haven't had a chance to read my other posts check out The Countdown to 40 begins, Countdown to turning 40 - The 1980's, and My Countdown to turning 40 - 1980's Fashion Faux-Pas for a trip down memory lane and some good laughs.

So to continue with the theme let's talk more about 1980's fashion. I have 2 words for you, Shoulder Pads!

It was tough in the 1980’s to find a dress, jacket, top or sweater that didn’t have built in shoulder pads. If for some reason your outfit didn’t come with shoulder pads, no problem you could insert shoulder toppers on your own. 

I blame the television show Dynasty for introducing this awful look. Dynasty was a very popular prime time television show that profiled a rich and powerful family who "lived and sinned" in their 48-room Denver mansion. Most of the outfits these luxurious woman wore, included large shoulder pads or ruffled edges. 

Thankfully, the big, boxy silhouette went out of style and never really came back. Phew!

Tacky jewelry

Large dangly earrings were very popular in the 1980’s. Other popular jewelry ranged from, candy necklaces, slap bracelets, and large cross earrings inspired by Madonna. 

Slap bracelets were flexible stainless steel that was sealed within a fabric or plastic cover. The bracelet could be straightened out then slapped against your  forearm, causing the band to spring into a curve and wraps around your wrist, securing the bracelet to your wrist.

I remember slap bracelets being banned in my grade school classroom, because we would continued to slap the bracelet on our wrists (or unsuspecting friends as a prank) throughout the day.

Swatch Watch:

Swatch watches were a stylish watch that was trendy and affordable for teens. Most teens had at least two or three Swatch watches when growing up in the 80s. 

If you were really cool, you had a dozen or more and you wore two or three at the same time!! Now that I’m an adult, it makes me laugh at the thought of wearing 2 or 3 watches as a fashion statement.

The first collection of Swatch models was introduced in 1983. If you are lucky enough to still own one of the original Swatch Watches…you might be surprised to find out that original swatch watches are quite the collector’s item. Some collectors pay top dollar for those bad boys.

ValleySpeak:

Like gag me with a spoon...totally grody to the max!

No idea what I'm talking about?? The term Valleyspeak is used to describe a way of talking that combined 1960s surfer slang, hippie lingo and street jargon. It originated in southern California's San Fernando Valley.

The term "Valley Girl" became popular with the release of a Frank Zappa’s 1982 hit called "Valley Girl", on which Frank's teenage daughter, delivered a monologue in "Valley speak" behind the music. This song popularized such phrases as:

• Grody to the max
• Gag me with a spoon
• Barf-out
• Grody,
• Like – Oh my Gad
• Like - totally

If you're looking for some good examples of Valley speak I recommend two classics. The first:

Valley Girl (the movie) starring Nicholas Cage. It was release in 1983 and is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet (very loosely). It's a really cute romantic comedy.

Square Pegs was an awesome show that starred Sarah Jessica Parker in 1982-83. I recently just started watching it again on Netflix. It’s still a great show!!

Tracey Nelson played a character named Jennifer DiNuccio. Her character was the typical Valley Girl. For you younger people Alicia Silverstone also does a great job of Valley speak in the movie Clueless as she plays Cher Horowitz with her famous line "AS IF!!!".

Hopefully this brought back some good memoreies for you. Stayed tuned as we will soon be venturing into the 1990's...What will that bring?

My Countdown To Turning 40 - The 1980's

Only about 5 more weeks until I turn the BIG 4-0. If you haven't had a chance to read my first post about turning 40 check it out. The countdown to 40 begins.

Summertime is fast appraoching and as a child I played outside all day. I have fond memories playing in my backyard with all the neighbourhood kids running through our sprinkler for hours. (Sadly we weren't to concerned about saving water in the 1980's) 

Ofcoarse I wore my Wonder Woman bathing suit. Linda Carter who played Wonder Woman on TV was my idol. I would run around in my bathing suit at 8 years old pretending I was saving the world. I loved that bathing suit. I decided at a very young age that I was going to be Wonder Woman when I grew up...according to my son and hubby I am. I just don't wear the bathing suit anymore. lol.

I have a sister who is 7 years older than I am, so when I was in elementary school my sister was in highschool. Let me tell you, my sister was the coolest person in my eyes at the time. Fashion in the 1980's was slightly dramatic...and my older sister was no exception when it came to big hair, dramatic makeup, and fashion.

The original skinny jean from the 1980's

When getting ready for school my job was to help my sister get into her skin tight jeans. The 1980's was the beginning of the Skinny Jean phenomenon. Jeans weren't made with the same material as they are now - there wasn't much stretch to them. So  to help my sister get into her jeans, she would lie on the floor and I would take a crochet hook and yank my sister's zipper up. It was a true team effort to get into the latest fashion back then. 

In a celebrated 1980 television ad, fifteen-year-old actress/model Brooke Shields was seen whistling “Oh My Darling, Clementine” as the camera panned along the length of her body. She gazed up at the camera and said  “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing. The commercial was so controversial, that sales Calvin Klein jeans soared.

This now legendary commercial marked the very phenomenon of the designer jean, or “status jeans,” as they were sometimes dubbed in the press. 

Some popular jeans in the 1980's included Gloria Vanderbilt, Jordache, Sasson, and Sergio Valente. All these all brands soon had commercials that focused on a women's backsides in some of the raciest ads we have ever seen. Many of these ads wouldn't fly now-a-days. 

Big Hair in the 1980's
Farrah Fawcet was a huge icon in the late 70's and early 80's  She was famous for the TV show Charlie's Angels...and her hair style was copied by women everywhere. 

Her hairstyle went on to become an international trend, with women sporting a "Farrah-do", a "Farrah-flip", or simply "Farrah hair". Her famous hair style predominated among American women's hairstyles well into the 1980s.

I can remember sitting in the bathroom with my older sister while she tried to give me the Farrah-Do. I was about 8 years old and all I wanted was to look like my older sister and Farrah Fawcet. lol.

Sadly Farrah died on June 25th 2009 from cancer. I have 2 wonderful friends and at work we have been dubbed Charlie's Angels because we are always together. I always joke that I am Farrah...30 years after I still want to be Farrah!

Hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane from the 1980's. Stay tuned for more posts as I countdown until I turn 40 with posts about fashion, hair and beauty that was popular while I was growing up.

The countdown to 40 begins

So yes, I turn the BIG 4-0 this year. Instead of loading my martini glass up with my tears I have decided to take a walk down memory lane and embrace this new era of my life.


But for the record...it does suck getting old! If I knew back in my 20's what I know now about money, men, skincare and health I likely would have made some VERY different choices. lol. However I have learned from all my experiences, met some great people, both laughed and cried a lot and created some wonderful memories along the way.

So the countdown to the Big 4-0 begins.

My older sister hanging from our swingset. (Safety first in the 1970's). My older brother and I sitting on the teeter totter. I'm in the back with the blond hair.

Over the next month I am going to take a trip down memory lane of what it was like being a toddler in the 70's, a pre-teen in the 80's, a teenager in the 90's, and essentially an adult (which is still debatable) in the 2000's.

I'll share all things that popular at the time such as fashion, makeup brands, music, movies and toys.

Hopefully reading my posts will bring back happy memories of your childhood as well...so let's begin.

I was born on May 27 1974. Nope can't share that memory clearly because I don't remember it. lol.

Famous celebrities born in the same year I was:

• Leonardo Dicaprio
• Amy Adams
• Christian Bale
• Joaquin Pheonix
• Jimmy Fallon
• Hilary Swank

Popular make-up in 1974

Blue eyeshadow was very popular in 1974

Love's Baby Soft was also a popular cosmetic. I'm not so sure this advertisement would fly now-a-days though...It's kind of disturbing.

Popular Fashion in 1974

In the 1970's it wasn't uncommon for women to make their own clothes from patterns. I can remember my mom made a lot of our clothes back in the 1970's. She always had sewing patterns lying around. I can't tell you the last time I saw one of these, whenever I see them it reminds me of my childhood.

Hopefully you enjoyed my first post on my final few weeks before my 40th. Stay tuned for more posts this month on my journey to the BIG 4-0.

xo Sue