CD Samplers & Food Court Grief: A Nostalgic Dive into Everything We Miss

Do you remember the smell of HMV? The thrill of finding a CD sampler you didn’t already have? The moment your mom handed you $5 at the mall and you knew exactly which food court item to sprint toward?

This week on Burnt Out Perfectionist, we time-traveled — accidentally, of course. What started as a chat about old-school mall food and mysterious missing menu items turned into a full-blown nostalgia spiral… the good kind.

We’re talking:

• ✨ Crushed lime soda that doesn’t exist anymore
• 🍟 Food courts that used to serve mashed potatoes (?!)
• 🧃 Icy drinks in sticky cups that hit different
• 📼 CD samplers, sticker booths, and knowing exactly what aisle the slap bracelets were in
  

It's one of those episodes where we laugh so hard we lose track of what we were even talking about — but if you’ve ever mourned the loss of a favorite snack or made a personality out of a froyo flavor, you’ll feel right at home.

Because sure, boba is great and $14 smoothies exist now, but let’s be real: nothing compares to getting a slushie and an orange Julius while your feet stuck to the mall floor.

💬 Sound off:

What’s a snack, store, or random item from your childhood that you still miss? Seriously — we want to know. Because there’s probably a Facebook group mourning it, and we want in.

🎧 New episode out now!
Listen on wherever you like your millennial chaos served.

🛍️ Same time, same vibe, next week’s your cue. We’ll keep it real, ’cause that’s what we do.