Twas A Spicey Surprise!

Who was your hero when you were a teenager? For me it was five ladies that hailed from England. Five pop singers who while weren’t everyone’s cup of tea, were quite the worldwide phenomenon. They spread the message of ‘Girl Power’ and stole the hearts of many – including mine. The Spice Girls were everything to me. I like to say I had a “mild obsession” back in the day, but my family and friends beg to differ on that one.

Back in the day, I was all about collecting anything I could get my hands on when it came to the girls. I joined a club with some friends…where, prepare to roll your eyes, we were each our favorite girl. We learned the lyrics; we sang the songs and even at times came up with our own dance routines as well as mimicked the ones of the ladies. I made a scrap book that contained several clippings and images – including the newspaper clippings out of the Grand Rapids Press when Victoria and Mel B both first became mommies. My four fellow Spice fanatics and I would rush to the store to get the dolls, the other merchandise and any VHS (you know the thing before DVD) of the movie and any other official tapes we could get our eager hands on.

The Spice Girls inspired me in many ways. They were really, the first official introduction to feminism (little did I realize at the time), as well as the ones who made the music I turned to the most in those years. I was not a popular kid in school – quite the opposite and while I’m fortunate to have never been physically bullied really, I was verbally attacked quite often by my peers. It was the positive tunes that I could escape into with the message of Girl Power that kept me from turning to darker vices of release from my pain. Really I still consider the five girls as part of my niche of heroes in this world. Though I can’t say I’m as wild about the movie as I once was (even though yes I occasionally watch for nostalgic purposes), I still love them. I was truly heartbroken when the end came for them as a group, but still I flat out loved them and followed along with their solo careers. Perhaps not as closely to when they were a group, but still I followed them. To this day I proudly call myself a fan and even when I was more self-conscious and not as self-confident, I would declare myself a fan of them.

Recently my mom and I had a pretty open conversation about the girls. About my continued adoration and it came about how I want to recollect the dolls. As back in the day I only had two of the Geri (a.k.a. Ginger Spice) dolls and one group set. However, when we are young we don’t always properly care for things and it’s possible I took them out of their boxes to play ‘concert’ with my friends. So truly I want to get them all over again. But not just the ones I had already, all of them. To have them sealed in their boxes to be put on display in my home to cherish completely. Well fast forward that conversation that took place weeks ago to Christmas morning. Imagine my surprise when I opened up a large box and one by one, unwrapped each Spice Girl from the ‘Spice Girls On Tour’ set. All I remember saying was “OH MY GOD!” Then… then there they were. Some extra goodies from the wonderful person my mom purchased the dolls from to add to my own Spice collection. There was a set of magnets, playing cards and a candle. All of it was in beautiful pristine condition and will definitely be displayed!

Needless to say, I was in complete shock as I opened each item in the box. Heck, I’m still in shock! It’s hard to believe I actually have one complete set of the few the girls released back in the day. I do feel the biggest need to give a special shout out to Roxanne, the lovely and beautiful individual who sold the dolls to my mom and included those extras for me after hearing of my enthusiasm for the Spice Girls. I swear I am going to cherish these dolls and extras forever!

Included on this post (forgive the makeup free shot) is me posing with the dolls Christmas morning! As you can also see at the bottom of the pic are those awesome extras as well. I am so excited still and just in complete awe of it all. The thoughtfulness my mother put into this for me and the kindness of Roxanne to include the magnets, playing cards and the candle!

You know though before I officially end this post, I’ve got just one thing to say… GIRL POWER!

--XOXO, Jane