My first adult purchase was a shiny brand new yellow Chevy Bel-Aire.  My

parents gave me the down payment as a graduation gift.  I made the monthly payments.  This was 1953, and I would tool around town showing it off to anyone who wanted to indulge in the fun.  This was the ultimate dream for an 18 year old.  Nd just think, it took me all of 18 months to pay it off.

My first major purchase was a motorcycle, a Villiers Wolf. I was too young to drive it so I kept in my bedroom, at the foot of my bed until I was old enough to get a driver’s permit. My mother complained that my room smelled like a gas station. When she would go out each Wednesday to her “ladies card-club night”, I would start it up just so I could hear the motor run. No matter how hard I tried to ventilate the room, she always knew what I was up to, so on Thursdays she was usually not in a great mood.

This only lasted for about two and a half years ‘till I turned sixteen. Otherwise, she was a first class mom.

I had just joined the Navy and I hate to fly so I went out and got myself a used car.  Used to everyone else, to me it was brand new.

It was a 75 Ford Granada, Baby Blue and I loved it.  But being young and no experience she was a lemon, her name became Miss Piggy. The engine caught on fire, the muffler fell off and I had two tires blow in the first month. 

Now even though all that happened I contact Ford Motors in MI and they got the car repaired at no cost to me at all. I drove that car until it go no further.

When I was in labor my brother-in-law was taking me to the hospital and the floor board rusted out and my foot when right through it during a rather strong contraction.

After we laid Miss Piggy to rest I got a Taurus it was in 1985 and I loved her as much as my first.

I’m sitting here laughing to myself about that silly car, haven’t thought about her in a while.

I don’t know what would classify as "adult", but at 23 I went with my mother to her jewelers down on Fairfax near the Farmers Market.  Sam Fisher was his name and he sold estate jewelry.  Well, my mother had a great "appetite" for jewelry - (thanks mom for what you left me) and I found myself running a very close second in enthusiasm.  He had two beautiful rings that I just had to have and since Sam was very fond of my mother, because she helped his wife quite a bit when his wife was ill, so we got great discounts and I came away with my rings very pleased with myself.  I looked on it as an investment.  I have never sold them but I eventually started a vintage jewelry business and even though I don’t have time for it, I continue to make money at it.  Less now, but it still produces.

Sam had a fascinating "slide" bracelet  where all of the charmed slides had beautiful intaglios carved into stones - carnelian, amethyst, turquoise, malachite - I wish I would have bought that, but I was worried to spend more, so regretfully left without it.

But to this day, if I find a piece of jewelry with an intaglio, I buy it (barter as best I can) keep it for a while and then eventually put it in my case to sell.  They always sell, rather quickly in fact, but I know one day I will find the one I truly want and keep it.  

As a post script, a month or so back I went to the Getty Villa in Malibu and they had an exhibit of ancient carved jewels.  Many of them over 2000 years old.  It was exquisite and rekindled that old jewelry hunters flame for that intaglio carved slide bracelet. 

 We, my (first) husband and I with our two little boys were living in a Veterans Housing project where the rent was really cheap. (This was 1955)

We bought a brand new house, in fact we were the first family to move in on the block.

It’s almost impossible to believe we only paid $12,650 for a three bedroom house with a Fireplace. Fenced in back yard for the boys to play.  I was 23 years old…….with a four year old son and a baby boy age 16 months.  I truly felt Grown up………(Later after a divorce)

I sold my first house in 1979 and upgraded into my present home.  A lovely 4 bedroom home with a swimming pool. We paid $130,000.  With some improvements it’s now worth 1 million 31 years later……….best investment I ever made.

It really made me feel like a real Grown up woman.