Sweet Jesus. Yes, that is me circa 1987.
Fact: It took a lot of Aquanet to get my hair looking that RAD and thank goodness jumpsuits with shoulder pads never came back in style. Or did they? Maybe I missed it.
The Girl sent me a text last week informing me she wanted to get her hair cut super short. Like, pixie cut, Emma Watson a few years ago short. So I thought I’d try and find a picture of me with my hair short to show her WHAT AN AWESOME IDEA I think it would be.
The HH and I LOVE her long locks…. but it’s her hair. What can I do besides let her cut her hair off and let her decide for herself?
Of course you can’t sort through old photos hoping to stop when you find the one you’re looking for. They’re like potato chips. You have to finish the whole bag {or box in my case}.
I spy with my little eye…
- A sleepover birthday party with a best friend.
- A giant telephone to prank call boys {with a personal line because that was totally cool to have in the 80’s and call waiting hadn’t been invented yet}.
- A cassette player. It was white with pastel pink and blue buttons.
- A mauve {not to mistaken for pink} pillow with matching lampshade.
- Pastel block wallpaper. But only on one wall for a more dramatic affect.
- Matching Jessica McClintock tolo dresses. Do you remember her dresses? They were the BEST!!! I’m standing in the back row with my date Tony, who obviously didn’t get the memo he was suppose to rent a black tux.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, every summer of my childhood was naturally, spent on a boat. Have I ever told you this? It was torture. My dad worked really hard all year long so he could take his summers off and tool around the sea. Me, being the ungrateful child, loathed the idea of being stuck on a boat all summer eating seafood and scrubbing the boat down every time we pulled into port. I missed my friends immensely.
To this day I will not voluntarily go boating. I’ve had my fill. A lifetimes worth. Oddly enough though, I LOVE coastal towns. So there’s that.
Anywho, one summer my friend Cara got to come along for a few weeks. And we met boys. It was pretty awesome. I forget their names, but apparently we thought they were cool enough to risk sneaking out of the port hole in our cabin to meet them after my parents went to bed. {Sorry mom if you’re reading this!!}. 😉
Cute boys. Remember when we thought they were the coolest thing ever?
Mom, Dad and Me in front of a giant gingerbread house circa 1990.
Do people still wear black nylons? 
“I gave up John Mellencamp for you.” That’s the text I sent the HH yesterday when I snapped a picture of my admissions deposit to Indiana State University and sent it to him. My decision to go there was solely based on the fact that John Mellencamp lived 60 miles away and it snowed there in the wintertime.
The summer before I was supposed to head to Indiana for college… I met the HH. 6 weeks later we loaded up our cars with everything we owned and took off on our own adventure.
It lead us to Wyoming and the world’s crappiest furnished apartment with shaggy orange carpet {that we never vacuumed once because we couldn’t afford a vacuum}.
I can’t fathom The Girl or Monkey Boy doing this today. My poor parents must have been freaking out BIG TIME. I mean because really, what good can come from your 19 year old daughter running off with a 24 year old guy {who worked at a pizza place}?
Fools in love.
Young, married fools with $3 to payday.
Life. It has a funny way of working itself out. Bad haircuts and all.
~Mavis
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Marcia says
Wow, what a great story. And so many memories. You are totally right, most parents would freak the heck out if their daughter skipped out on college to run off with a boy. I’m a few years older than you, but I remember the freedom of college. I called my mother on Saturday mornings. After sophomore year, I didn’t go home in the summers. I spent 4-6 weeks on Navy training (for ROTC), and stayed on campus to work. I flew or drove to Florida (from PA) for 2 spring breaks, once with a boyfriend and 5 other (male) friends.
Crazy. My boys are still young (9 and 3), but if one of them was going on a long trip I’d probably insist they text me 2x a day.
I also had that pixie haircut. Probably in … 11th grade, and then again in college. That would mean 1987 (scary, must have been the fashion) and again in 1990-91 (because the boyfriend “liked my hair long” I chopped it off. Needless to say, that BF is not my HH).
Jane says
I love it!! Fun looking back, isn’t it? I can relate to so much of that right down to the Jessica McClintock dresses! By the way, I went to college in Indiana for 2 years before transferring and those people were VERY serious about John Mellencamp!!
Mavis says
I would have fit in perfectly!
Christina says
Loved your post! At 19 I ran off with my high school sweetheart after he got stationed back in the states from Germany. He came in on a Friday we eloped that day told our parents and hopped in a car driving 8 hours away.
My oldest daughter graduated college in 2014. She then moved 2 1/2 hours away for her new job and I feel abandoned!
Thanks for the laugh this morning and the fond memories of being excited if we had $25 at the end of the month when we first got married.
UpstateNYer says
That letter is the sweetest thing!
So glad you are still with that man. 🙂
Mary G says
Wow. That’s quite an adventure. Did you not end up going to college, then? It sounds like things worked out very well in the end. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your story.
Mavis Butterfield says
I ended up going to college for 3 years, then got married.
Laurie says
Memory Lane is a fun (and cheap!) trip. At least you didn’t roam too far from the Pacific Northwest. This silly girl of 18 moved 6,000 miles to be with the one she loved. There was a war on, he was going to be drafted so joined the Air Force and we spent three years stationed in England (this was the early 70’s). The only communication home was letters. We celebrate 45 years next month. We have lots of crazy, hysterical memories of those precious years when we were so poor living on the English economy that we didn’t even have two nickels to rub together.
Jess - Nebraska says
This made me smile. I just sent a text to my childhood/jr. high/highschool (all the same people) besties telling them how much I love Satellite radio as it takes me to an outfit, a dance, a moment (both good and bad), a place with them. Yes, if my daughter were to run off with her boyfriend (she is 18 and a freshman in college) on a not so conventional path (which is all I was ever about in my life), I’d DIE and panic and yell, and everything else in between. All because I would be remembering me – much like you- and the awesome memories I don’t want her to have to have!!! 🙂
Mavis says
So true…we are smart enough now to know what a gamble it actually was.
Jess-Nebraska says
It was a different world in the 80’s than it is now. I met and married my husband in 2 months in the mid 90’s (can we say dumb) though it worked out well. Going to college in Indiana b/c you were 2 hours from John (yes first name basis in my world – ha) is what sold me on this post – I would have done something that ridiculous! LOL
Andrea says
You lived in Laramie! $325 + low utilities is a thing of the past here 🙂
Cindi says
I loved this post so much!
At 19 I met my future husband on a blind date. Six weeks later we were engaged (He was 23) and we married a few months later. Our parents were surprisingly mellow about the whole thing. Next month we will have been married 36 years, so these things do work out!
Leslie says
After following your blog for a few years, this might be my favorite post. Loved reading your trip down memory 🙂 And that letter to your now husband- so sweet!
Mavis Butterfield says
He wrote that to me. 😉 I think I added the watercolor flowers later.
Susan says
I agree with Leslie. This is beautiful, but also gives some perspective for those of us who can freak out about our kids!
Lisa Millar says
What a fabulous story! Totally enjoyed.
Love the way you just took off with a heap of optimism and no money!
I didn’t meet my one and only until I was just on 30.
Age didn’t stop my Mum from freaking out – met him online and took off to the States to meet him in real life.
Now I am “happily ever after’ with my Canadian husband! 🙂
Gotta just go for it sometimes!
Kat says
Hey Mavis!
Long time lurker, first time commenter. Loved your old photos!
I, too, once made the horrible mistake of cutting my hair into a pixie style. I wish I had known about the glorious world of wigs before the big Snip! I highly recommend her investing a couple bucks to buy a wig or two (you can find cheap new ones on ebay, amazon, etc…) and then wearing them around for a few days to see how it feels. She can even try different colors! I ended up trying a hot pink bobbed wig in college… while the color was outrageous (and fun…. but mostly outrageous), the cut was amazing! It was something I never would have never thought to try myself after my Pixie-PTSD without having seen just how fabulous it looked every time I caught my reflection.
If you treat wigs well, even the cheap ones, they can last for years and be a great addition to halloween costumes or disguises. You just need a bit of nylon stocking (a “skull cap”) to hold long, French-braided hair snugly under the wig; secure with a few bobby pins and voilà! Nothing adds more excitement to an ordinary day than running errands disguised as someone other than yourself.
Best of luck to the Girl! And remember: if all goes wrong, it’ll grow back. (Some biotin supplements for healthy and ever-so-slightly accelerated hair growth might help.)
Gros bisous de la Suisse!
Tracie H says
Oh wow! This is one of my favorite posts!
Gina says
Best post ever!
Karin says
I love your story so much! In March of 1987, I was 17 years old. My friend’s 21year old brother came home on leave for 2 weeks and we instantly hit it off. Over the next few days we spent every second we could together. On the 5th day he proposed. My freaked out parents shocked me and went along with it and after 2 painful months apart he was able to get leave again. We were married in a tiny church, in a homemade wedding dress, and 2 days later we set off on our great adventure. Now, 28 years later we have 2 beautiful children and still spend every second we can together. I hope we get at least another 28 more : )
Thank you for the time warp back to the 80s. What I wouldn’t give to have that world back now. The last remaining York Steakhouse (for those of you who remember this iconic 80s mall restaurant) is about 30 minutes away from where we live. It looks like you went back in a time machine to get fish almondine and steak tips with mushrooms. It looks exactly like they looked back in the day. If only I still had my over-sized, big shouldered blazer with the Japanese print and my Sergio Valente jeans. I think I’d fit right in!
Chyrl says
I can’t believe you mentioned York Steakhouse! My family loved it. Last year I searched the net and was so surprised that one location still existed. I called the whole family and told them one day we’re going there. It was a very unique place, I still remember some kind of bun or roll they served and of course the beef tips. What a fun memory!
chantal says
This is hands down, my favorite blog post you have ever posted. And I really, really like a lot of your posts. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Tracy L. says
Awwww, Mavis, what a cute post! Thank you for sharing a part of your life and putting us in a time warp! I miss shoulder pads! I’d love for them to make a comeback!
Chyrl says
I love this post! The note from your husband is such a treasure!
Emily S says
This is my all time favorite post, love it.
Corinne says
Mavis, this post was the best! I wonder if we all love it so much because it’s fun to get a peek at people’s real lives. I’m a little nosy like that, at least. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Love your blog!
Helen in Meridian says
Wow and all because of a haircut we get to peek into your life. Are you telling me that you lived in sin for 3 years wink wink wink? I had a Jessica McClintock Gunny Sak dress. You are probably to young to remember those patch work, overly laced and trimmed in fancy ribbons with a multi print bodice and skirt. Aahh I loved that dress. Was already married but would have wanted a Jessica McClintock Gunny Sak wedding dress and fancy jewelry to match. I remember 1st apt in Eugene for h’s grad school was old military barracks they had floated down from your area in WA and installed at U of O. It was $32 a mo. and utilities were $3.50 a month. We were in the middle so we got the end apts heat. Oh, 3/$1 taco night at Taco Time was our big date weekly. Pizza night was too expensive on our budget. Was your dh already done with 3 years of college when you met?
Helen in Meridian says
I think I saw that Christie Brinkley is dating John Mellencamp. The years have not been kind to his looks. My younger sister was in love with John Denver, and swears he passed her and waved when she skied at Aspen. She had her picture taken by his Do Not Trespass sign on his ranch. Now they wear black tights and leggins instead of pantyhose, but what about those ivory or white hose on the other person? I loved ivory or white panythose with my white and ivory skirts. Aah memories. Was that gingerbread house at a Festival of Trees? Had your dh already completed 3 yrs of college when you met?
Diana says
Fabulous post. Made me wistful for my younger days. Never found a HH for myself, but have great memories of young loves. Thanks for the peek into your life and the sweet memories.
Dana says
Here in Bloomington, Indiana, he’s not so well thought of anymore. His sons really beat up a nice kid in a case of mistaken identity.
Love your post. Those memories are so sweet.
I had an older brother who let me hang out with his friends all the time. I dated almost all if them. Good training