So … we finally did it … David and I finally found our bed. Having seen the commercials on TV for the past few months and having found nothing in our genearal area, we hopped in my VW and made our way 20 miles outside of town to La Mirada, CA to pay a visit to Living Spaces. Living Spaces is one of those furniture stores that sits on about 10 acres of land and has pretty much every piece of furniture you’d ever want … and at low, low prices. We’ve always said we wanted a big bed that we have to climb into and that’s exactly what we got. A massive California King bed that we have to jump up to get into … we’re so happy. And get this, the place delivers the same day … tho, we set our delivery for tomorrow (Wednesday) so that we can clear out our master bedroom and make room for the big bed. Listen folks, I ain’t gonna front … those big furniture stores outside of the major cities are the place to go when you really want to get your furniture shopping finished in one fell swoop. We also purchased our heavenly mattress and box spring set along with our new kitchen table and chairs … and it’s all being delivered and assembled FOR FREE. I’m just so happy to be done with the whole matter … and can’t wait for the bed to arrive so we can start sleeping in our bedroom rather than the guest bedroom.
One more thing, tho … and this is for some of you older readers who are around my age. Do you remember having a toy called the Fisher-Price MovieViewer which was a little device you held up to your eye, hand-cranked and watched short movies? It looked like this:
I randomly stumbled upon this photo last night (which was taken at a film festival here in SoCal in January) and all these memories of my very young childhood came flooding back. My mom got me this toy when I was about 5 and it was one of my faves … and I swear I hadn’t thought about it in over 20-some years.
I figure there have to be other Pink readers out there who had the same toy and may have forgotten about it, too. I managed to find one on eBay in decent shape and quickly bought it. I dunno why … it was the toy my mom loved best and since she picked it out for me, I think I want to have it again so I can take it home to show her the next time I go back to Detroit. I distinctly remember the cartridge it came with, Disney‘s Lonesome Ghosts. I made sure the MovieViewer I procured on eBay came with the same movie. I was so awash in nostalgia last night that I just had to share today. That’s all.
Very happy about my new bed and my old toy … some things never change, I guess.
21 years old… totally had one. Prolly still have it in the attic somewhere. Loves it!
OMG! I had one! I don’t remember the movie it came with – I wanna say it was Bambi-ish, but I DO remember carrying it around with me everywhere! I also had a Viewmaster!
@CB — Viewmaster is the BOMB! I still have a few viewers and lots of reels :) Man, toys used to be very cool back in the day.
I still have one! With several movies! I think my mom set them back in a box with our other favorite toys and books we had growing up.
LOVE IT.
OMG!! I completely forgot about those. I used to have one, but I don’t remember what movie I had. Wow I love old toys so much better then today!
I totally remember my movie viewer – loved it!!
I just dug out my old viewmaster over the weekend because there was an article in my local paper about they are going to stop producing the “scenic” reels…so nostalgia got the best of me and I HAD to go through my old reels!
@Me — when David and I were in Jackson Hole, WY last Fall I found a ViewMaster giftset with viewer and reels of Wyoming … which I quickly purchased. It’s sad they’re gonna stop making the scenic reels :(
I was not fortunate enough to have toys like that, but I do remember being extremely jealous of friends that did have them!
Even though I have no idea about these toys, they look pretty cool. I mean, toys back in those days and in the 90s were pretty much amazing. Now, whenever I go to Wal*Mart or a Target I see some of the toys while passing by and they’re so horrible. Everything is electronic that doesn’t leave much for the kids’ imagination. Sad.
I had one (I am 34 years old)! I totally forgot about it until I saw this post.
I bet if I searched hard enough I would find it in my parents’ basement. They do throw out ANYTHING.
OMG, I remember we used to have it as kids then somehow it got lost during a move. I purchased it again on eBay some years ago. It came with 7 movies. Damnit if I don’t love that thing. I love rewinding and fast forwarding it especially the one with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto in the haunted house and the water spilling everywhere. LOVE IT! I’m so glad I wasn’t alone in my love for it. Congrats on finding it!
I still have mine, and my kids (7 and 4) love watching “Mom’s old movies” in it….I have two “movies”–Lonesome Ghosts and another one where DD, MM, and Goofy are camping. Good times, simpler times, better toys……..
Also, I would like to mention that I am 32 and still playing with my toys. I even have Soundwave still in its original box with the decals and weapons baggie still closed.
I love my toys!
That is awesome! I totally remember that…
I Loved that toy!! I still have mine too, it is boxed up safely in my parents attic. I even had a projector for the cartridges but I remember breaking it. :( My favorite “movie” was Mickey and the Beanstock. Good Memories.
Aw, yeah. I only had the View Master, but I OFTEN tracked down the other kids on my block who had the movie viewer.
What a great memory, I’m so glad you brought that up!
The other toy that I didn’t actually have but often played with courtesy of other kids who had it was… Fashion Plates!
http://onceuponawin.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/win-pictures-fashion-plates.jpg
@Kent — my older cousins had Fashion Plates and the Spirograph
sooo much fun. Oh Kent, can you come over to play?i remember that toy too! loved it!
Haha my bf bought one for my birthday a few years ago since my mom cleaned out the garage of all our junk! Still love the haunted one best and playing it in slow mo and backwards. Fun to watch the water come n go after them. Or u crank it really fast to speed it up! Ahhhh good times!
I, too, had the Movie Viewer and the Disney haunted house movie. I would forward and reverse again and again when they got covered in flour, and the fight in the dresser. Funny that so many of us had the same movie/rewound the same scenes!
@Lee Anne — OMG YES! The flour scene … I’d go forward and backward on the moment when the flour bag broke open … it’s so cool to know that so many other folks have the same memories
YES THIS THING WAS GREAT! I also miss my View Finder. It was like a slide show. For some reason I had a He-Man slide show. Ha ha!
OMG! My sister and I used to fight over the view finder! We absolutely loved this toy! I had forgotten about it, thanks for bringing it up. I need to go explore my parents house now…I’m sure it’s still there somewhere!
@Trent – wish I could, but if I don’t do my homework I’ll be grounded.
I believe my mom still has mine LOL she kept everything we had as kids … not sure why but it’s probably worth quite a bit. We even have 2 mint in box Pong games :-)
I had one! I had the projector though. God I loved that thing I wish that I still had it.
I didn’t have one of these but my cousin did and you better belive every time I went to her house it was the first thing I ran for. She had the ghost one as well and I think she had Mickey’s Birthday where they made a cake. I loved slowing it down and speeding it way up. So fun!
Glad you finally bought the bed. I love shopping at those big discount furniture stores. Can’t relate to the movie viewer. I must have been too old for it and was too young to have kids that wanted it.
Did not have one but I know I played with one at some point as a child, I’m about your age Trent. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
Excited for your furniture shopping success. :-)
ohoh you are going to love your cal king! we have one, even with our two kids in there sometimes, we still have room to spare.
Woah my grandparents had one with the same ghost movie in their garage! I guess it was probably my Mum’s when she was little.
omg, I totally had one and now I absolutely have to go in search of one on ebay for my one-year-old! They definitely do not make toys as awesome as they used to.
OH SNAP!! When I saw this post, I started screaming. lol My cousin had one of these, and I had a red view master. Im totally showing my age…lol
Whats that I hear? Did someone say FASHION PLATES! DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED. lol How about a Holly Hobbie oven? Which I still have by the way. LOL.
http://a6.vox.com/6a00b8ea06ece0dece00d09e53104ebe2b-500pi
Is it just me??? That bottom ad photo looks like Suri with the movie camera. She really is a ROBOT!!!!!!!
OMG I used to have one!
OMG!!!! i never post comments…..but I totally have one at my parents and to this day when friends come over I have them look towards the light and turn. I have Snoopy tennis, Sesame Street and Mickey (my personal fav) Crazy memories!!!
i had teh same as you trent!! i totally loved it! and i miss it now that you remembered it to me!! sadly, it got burned down during a fire in my house 10 years ago!!
aw man, totally remember these! when I first saw your photos my heart jumped. I just recently found my viewmaster at my parents house. crazy — Disney reels from the 60s, CHiPs, Eight is Enough. sweet!
yeah!… the flour scene! they don’t make cartoons like they used to!
21 years old. Still have that sucker and three of the films (Charlie Brown, Sesame Street, and something else) in my armoire at home. Also had the viewfinder that made noise, complete with the He-Man thing. Oh the epicness.
I still have mine in the toy closet Mom has set up for the children, nephews, etc,,, I know they still work, but not sure how great the movies quality still are, will have to check Easter wknd when back home.
DO THEY STILL MAKE LIGHT BIGHTS???
OMG… I vaguely remember having one of these! I’m 25 so they were being replaced with the Viewmaster’s when I was old enough to really want to play with it, but I do remember having one… I wonder if my parents threw it away… hmm… I love seeing old toys like that… it reminds me that even though we didn’t have some of the cool little gadgets that kids today have, we had things that were easy and simple and left us to use our imaginations more so than kids today get to do. Yay for old toys!!!
OMG!! I totally remember them! I didn’t have one, but my best friend Claudia did and I used to LOVE playing with it. she had a sesame street movie and I remember the actor who played Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons would do these bits about the “number of the day”. The best part was that you could crank the film backwards as well and I would make Mr. Bentley walk backwards then forwards over and over again. Thanks for the cool memory.
I must be really old. I had the Fisher Price record player and TRANSISTOR RADIO! Still have them. The movie player was after my time.
No such things as record players and transistor radios anymore.
I soo have this in my closet with all the toys I kept from my childhood, and now I soo have to pull it out and play with it…Thanks for reminding me of such a great childhood toy and some great memories.
I don’t mean to be a bummer, Trent, but did you maybe get a discount for pumping up the bed store on your blog?
@londonlex — i absolutely do not advertise in the editorial part of my blog. nothing that i talk about personally is ever sold. all advertising is relegated to the banner ads.
O. M. G! I SO owned one of those with a couple of movies…thanks for the flashback!!
I totally forgot about that, but I had one with the huge yellow ‘tapes’!! Thanks so much Trent – I often become obsessed with looking up my old toys on the internet and ebay specifically – I love the nostalgia!! Keep ‘em coming!
I had a Viewmaster! I found it the back of a closet just last week, with some old reels. I had He-Man reels and a few others, The Fox & The Hound and I can’t remember the rest, maybe Lady & The Tramp or Oliver & Company. Toys from the 80′s were the best!
OMG I totally had the viewmaster. such modern technology back in those days………….. love it