E.M.’s Style ~ #TBTMemory

This week’s Throwback Thursday is coming to you from Maggie at From The Cave Walls, and the theme this week is “Sense of Style”.

Maggie asks these questions:

At what age did you become concerned about the clothes you wore?

I honestly began my picky nature about clothes when I was about 10 years old. I always had to look cute. I think it came from everyone having cameras around me all of the time. My dad took pics with a professional camera (which I have now), and I thought I was a model. *laughs*

Did you get hand-me-downs or new clothes?

I got a majority of hand-me-downs from my sisters, but I did get to go school clothes shopping every year. Most of my new clothes came during Christmas and birthdays.

Were any of your clothes made by hand? If so, by whom?

No…but if they were homemade, they would have been made by my granny or my father’s side of the family.

Were you allowed to select your own clothes and assemble your own ensembles?

My sister and I chose our own clothes before school each morning. I won’t elaborate too much on that.

At what age did you start buying your own wardrobe?

Umm. In my 40s *laughs* I was spoiled or just got rummage sale clothes in the rich neighborhoods for the large part of my life.

What fashion fads did you adopt?

These are the ones from the 80s:

• Tight-rolled jeans
• Legwarmer socks
• A mullet – I looked like a poodle. I do have photos but I am not sure if I want to share them *laughs*
• Stone-washed jeans, shorts, and skirts
• Leotards

Now: I wear a lot of sweatsuits and clothes from my favorite black-owned businesses, like The Dope Era and Mack’n & Mob’n. I have a few items from Cookies too. I like designer clothes and shoes. My closet is very full of hoodies, jerseys, jeans, and leggings. My shoe collection is getting large, and it’s mostly Vans, Nike, K-Swiss, Fila, and PF Flyers.

Did you have certain colors you loved to wear?

Red, black, gold, some blue/navy, and purple. I was never into girly pink or any pastels. I guess I have always been kind of emo lol.

Were you of the hippie generation of perhaps a child of the 1980s? What was the wildest or craziest outfit you ever wore?

I grew up in the 80s. I dressed pretty normal though. It was my hair that was crazy.

What about jewelry? Did you have piercings? Were they done by you or by others? What jewelry fads so you remember?

I had my ears pierced, and then when I got older, I got my tongue, eyebrow, labret, and belly button pierced. I have since grown up, and now I only wear jewelry when I am accenting my outfits. The tongue and eyebrow were pierced professionally, along with my ears when I was younger. My labret and belly button was done at home with the assistance of my ex.

Now think about your hairstyles. What cuts did you sport? Did you ever color your hair? Did you try to alter your hair in any other way (cutting, ironing, shaving, curling)?

I mostly sported a spiral perm, which was normal for the 80s, and then I made it big. That’s all, besides that terrible mullet in the 7th grade. I did color it burgundy a lot though. I did curl with a curling iron every day, and sometimes I would crimp it. In my early 20’s I went Grace Jones short and died it platinum blonde. Now I go blonde to hide my gray hair. I hate my hair long. I cannot stand it. I usually sport an A-Line cut…sassy and classy.

How has your taste changed over the years?

I am super picky now about my clothes, shoes, and socks. I have to match and look right. I do wear less makeup these days, but I always make sure that I match from head to toe and look fly.

E.M.’s Throwback Thursday – 12/30/2021

This week’s Throwback Thursday Prompt from Maggie is: Superstitions, Trinkets, and Charms

What makes you feel lucky? Is it a four-leaf clover, a rabbit’s foot, or a lucky penny? 

I like crystals, and I have this one amethyst pendulum that always makes me feel safer and/or lucky.

What are you superstitious of? Will you walk under a ladder? What’s your lucky number? What if a black cat crosses your path?

Spilled Salt…I am superstitious of that most of all. I always throw the pinch over my shoulder before cleaning it up. I also would never walk under a ladder or step on a crack on the sidewalk (Step on a crack, and you’ll break your mama’s back…It stuck in adulthood.) If a black cat crosses my path, I feel that is luckier than being bad luck, but I am have been a Wiccan most of my life. My lucky number is 22.

Where did you learn ideas concerning luck? Do you still have superstitions in your adult life?

When I was 14, I found my own path in faith and that is where I learned many of my feelings on luck, curses, superstitions, etc. I have been a Wiccan since that time in my life. I went to my first Samhain at 15, and I feel that was super lucky to find that fork in my road at a young age. My father was a devoted Nazareth Christian, and then he went to a Baptist church for the remainder of his life. When he passed, he was still questioning his faith, so I am especially happy that I have not had that struggle.

Since this is the last week of the year I am curious – do you make resolutions, eat specific foods, or have traditions or superstitions to usher in the new year?

I try not to make resolutions. I tend to break them. I set goals, and I try to achieve those. That may seem like the same thing, but it isn’t because of the mentality behind it for my own life.

My new year is usually uneventful since getting older. I used to party my booty off in my 20s and 30s on the new year. Now I am just happy to see myself make it through another year.

Is E.M. Naughty or Nice? – #TBTMemory

[Lauren’s] choice this week for the topic on [her] Throwback Thursday Memory Blog Hop is memories as a kid when you did something naughty and something nice.

I am running a little bit late on this post because I went on a baking and cooking extravaganza yesterday, in which I made my very first cheesecake and homemade marshmallow fluff chocolate fudge. The cheesecake is a chocolate cheesecake. Both turned out wonderful, and I will have to post some pictures. I still have to decorate the top of the cheesecake, and then I will be making my homemade chicken and noodles today as well.

Now that I have rambled on, let’s get back to naughty and nice. As a kid I was pretty good, but the funniest thing that comes to mind for me on the naughty side is my snooping. I would get into everyone’s stuff because I was nosy and was casing the items to see what I wanted to steal when my victims (sisters and my mother mostly) were not paying attention. I would take small things like pictures and trinkets from my sisters, but as I got older, I found more interest in my mother’s file cabinet where she hid her cigarettes. I started smoking when I was 11 years old. So that is probably my most naughty thing that I did.

My memory serves me well on something I did that was nice also. I was a caring child, very emotional like I am now. For birthdays and Christmas, I would always make handwritten or handmade presents for everyone. My dad actually kept most of these handmade items. When he died, I was able to see that he kept them all when I got some of his items. A few of them had little notes to remind him when he got the things I made him in his handwriting. It felt good to know that my little gifts meant a lot to him. We were not always close.

I hope you enjoyed my rambles! Merry Christmas everyone!

xoxo, E.M.

© E.M. Kingston 2021 – All Rights Reserved.

Friendships – #TBTMemory

This is my first time, I think, participating in Lauren’s Throwback Thursday: I Remember When… Each week she gives a topic to remember, and this week’s topic is Friendships (recommended by Maggie).

Maggie asked the following questions:

1. Who was the earliest friend you remember?
   
   My best friend, Janet.
   
2. What drew you to this person?
   
   We both lived in the same neighborhood, and we started walking to school together.
   
3. What kinds of things did you do together?
   
   Walked to school together and spent the night at each other’s houses…it was always better when I stayed at her house though. I was not allowed to do much, and I was not allowed many sleepovers.
   
4. Did you have pen pals?
   
   I did. I wrote to a couple people when I was growing up that lived far away from me. One of them I met at church camp when my father forced me to go, and the other lived in my grandmother’s home town. He lived down the road from my great aunt.
   
5. Have you maintained long-term friendships from childhood?
   
   Only with a few people…
   
6. Did you have autograph books?
   
   I have one autograph book, and it is a WWE wrestling one. I have signatures from Asuka, Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, Big E., and Kofi Kingston. I also have a hat signed by Baron and Drew.
   
7. How about high school yearbooks signed by friends?
   
   Throughout all of my dysfunction and loss in my life, I have lost all my yearbooks. I dropped out of school two weeks before graduating because I hated my senior year so badly.
   
8. What kinds of things may have made you sever friendships?
   
   It’s always over my friends sleeping with my boyfriends. My marriage ended because my “friend” slept with my ex-husband when she was visiting…in my bed…in my house…right in the next room… while I was sleeping. They recorded it, and I found the recording. You cannot unsee that.
   
9. Are you a friend collector – the more the better – or are you content with the intimacy of a few close friends?
   
   I keep my circle very small.
   
10. How does your personality (shy or outgoing) affect the friendships you develop?
    
    I have bouts of being anti-social, so sometimes that is hard to maintain friendships. The ones that love me stick around, but I am not the best friend because of my mental.
    
11. What is the quality you desire in a friend?
    
    Patience. Honesty. Loyalty. All the other things that I would desire in a partner, I too desire in my friendships. The only difference is that I do not get intimate with my friends. I find trust a very hard aspect of friendship and relationships due to past trauma.

xoxo, E.M.

Nicknames – E.M.’s Memories

This is my first Throwback Thursday, and I loved the topic. If you want to join in on the fun, click here and tell us about your nicknames.

---

Did you grow up with a nickname?

My two sisters had nicknames, but I just remember being called my whole government name a lot. I don’t think I was a problem child, but my mom did like to yell at me a whole bunch. My oldest sister would call me Aim sometimes, short for my real name. When I got older, I ran away with the amusement company that came to town, and everyone would call me “Little Bit” because I was young and only stood 4’11” tall.

Was the nickname a form of endearment or a shielded criticism?

My name that was given to me when I ran off to the carnival was definitely an endearment, and I suppose Aim was too, except I cannot stand that sister now.

Has your nickname influenced you in any way?

Nah…I am still short and try to stay young at heart.

Did you ever give a nickname to a family member?

Yes. All my babies have nicknames, and my granddaughter does as well. My oldest daughter is “Shy”, short for Shannia (and she was really shy), and my middle child’s nickname is “Lou Lou”, which is formed from her middle name of Louise. My son was always Bubby or Bubba.

Have you tried to get rid of a nickname? 

No, but I did try to get people to stop yelling at me in full government name mode lol.

If you could give yourself your own nickname what might it be?

E.M. *giggles* although it’s a pen name more than a nickname…