Back To School & College Dorm Room Supplies

As August nears, you can sense summer is coming to a close. I know there's an entire month left, but the atmosphere changes somehow. Crickets and locus chirp and sing louder throughout the afternoon, the sun hits your yard a bit differently and the nights aren't as long.

It's around this time that we begin to see Back to School sales and circulars advertising everything from fancy pens and notebooks at CVS and Walgreens to dorm room delights from Bed Bath & Beyond. Bed Bath & Beyond even have a We Love College! ad campaign. Next to wedding registries, dorm room decor is probably their biggest money maker!

As much as I hated returning to school after a summer of fun, I didn't mind stocking up on everything from new clothing and shiny notebooks in grammar school to extra long dorm room sheets to new backpacks in high school and college! Here are some of my favorite vintage back-to-school stuff. What did you love best?

Cool 1980s Lunch Boxes

In grade school it was uber important to show up to school gripping a kick-ass lunch box. Be it Smurfs, Snoopy or E.T. -- you didn't want to be stuck with one of those boring, run-of-the-mill, plain lunch boxes.

The Jansport Bag

In high school and college, it was all about the Jansport backpack. I'm not quite sure why. I mean, it was just a backpack, but it was truly an essential in both high school and college. I also loved LL Bean backpacks.

The Mead Trapper Keeper

If you've been following a long for a bit, you know how dedicated I am to the Trapper Keeper by Mead. I loved the way it held every piece of paper securely and fashionably. I had the red one one year and a blue one other years. I enjoyed slapping stickers all over them to personalize them a bit. I found this old commercial, check it out.

What's In My Trapper Keeper? Mikhail Baryshnikov!

Check out who I stumbled upon in my Trapper Keeper today :-)

Why it's Mikhail Baryshnikov! In 7th grade my friend Serena and I loved the 1985 movie White Nights which I told you all about back in this blog I wrote a long time ago.  I must have written him a fan letter and this was what he sent back to me. Enjoy!

What's In My Trapper Keeper? Drew Barrymore! Video Blog

Today on "What's In My Trapper Keeper?" we sneak a peek at a very cool autographed picture of Drew Barrymore. I wrote to Drew when she was in E.T. I believe by the time she wrote back she had already appeared in Fire Starter and Cat's Eye.


Check me out with my signed picture of Drew Barrymore!

What's In My Trapper Keeper? Davy Jones! Video Blog

Back again for another summer Saturday edition of "What's In My Trapper Keeper?" ...


As you know, back in the 1980s, I wrote to dozens of celebrities. Today, I reveal a cool card from The Monkees Davy Jones. Check me out!

What's In My Trapper Keeper?

I cannot tell a lie ... I'm having a difficult time writing posts on weekends.  Let's face it, none of you are home reading blogs on Summer Saturdays and Sundays anyway, so I'm cheating. I've decided for the rest of the summer I'm going to do a little feature called "What's In My Trapper Keeper?" 

Not my actual Trapper Keeper, mine is tattered, torn and written on.

As you may recall from older posts, I loved writing to celebs as a kid. Most of these celebrities weren't ever famous, but whatever, it was still fun writing them and begging them for their autographs. Today we revisit the trusty blue Trapper Keeper and stumble upon, viola Bruce Willis star of Moonlighting. Check it!

Moonlighting Star, Bruce Willis Sends 7th Grader Generic Autographed Photo

Note:  Moonlighting first aired on ABC from March 3, 1985 to May 14, 1989.