Mr. FreezeMy grandmother lived in an apartment in the Bronx. This is my dad's mom I'm talking about. I never knew my grandfather, though, as he died when my dad was just a teenager. But we'd all go visit Grandma Pearl fairly regularly in her cozy (not small, but medium sized) apartment. And for my sister and I, it wasn't our ideal place. Sure we loved our grandma, but her apartment was just... well, so not kid friendly.

Antique wooden furniture. Lots of knick knacks. (Yet no paddy wacks! Sorry, couldn't resist.) And I remember a lot of tiny little blue and pink perfume bottles. You know, the kind you see in those old movies with the tube coming off the top and leading to a big bulb that you squeeze to get squirts of perfume out? Thankfully, she had a TV, which helped pass some of the time. Other than that, there were just two things in her apartment that I actually looked forward to getting my hands on.

The first was some metallic candy dish that looked like it was designed by someone right out of Aladdin. She must've restocked this thing like clockwork, because every time we came over and raced to that dish, we'd lift the cover to see what was in it. My sister was a big fan of the caramels, while I loved the coffee candies. Other than that, it was usually a mix of standard lemon, cherry or strawberry hard candies.

The second item? I'm not quite sure what to call it, except for a very large music box. It was triangular in shape and had three long legs, letting the thing stand probably about two or three feet of the ground. The lid opened and you could keep it open with a latch. (I used to bring my little G.I. Joe figures and have them embark on all sorts of dangerous undercover missions in there.) But there was also this metal knob underneath that you could turn and it'd play music. It's sad, but I don't even remember the tune anymore. I just remember being completely captivated and mesmerized by it.

It's been years since Grandma Pearl passed away and I have no clue what happened to that magical music box. But anytime I hear or see any kind of music box today, that's the first thing that springs to mind. And suddenly I'm a pre-teenager again, sucking down on a sweet coffee candy, while Duke and Snake Eyes race against the musical timer to free Scarlett from the clutches of Cobra...

Speaking of music boxes, look what I happen to have right here (cue music):

15% off an order of $75 or more at San Francisco Music Box
Enter coupon code AFF1X7 during checkout.
Valid through: October 15, 2007
Valid online only. Cannot be combined with any other discount offer. Cannot be applied to previous purchases. Excludes Thomas Kinkade, Lena Liu, and sale merchandise.