Drunk Ebaying = Step away from the computer

I usually swing by the post office on Saturdays to send packages or to pick up ones that are being held there because they are too large to fit in my small mailbox.

Generally speaking when I get a slip left for me saying I have a package for pick up I know what the package is.

Well..unless I have been online buying stuff when I am drunk.

Case in point...I got a slip...had no clue what it was..go to the post office this past Friday and pick up a larger sized box.

Come home and open up ..this:

A hand painted ceramic bust of Elvis (?) marked 1977 on the bottom.

The blue flowers--yea they are glittery.

People try not to drink and buy .

For reals.

RIP Jane Henson

Jane Henson, the wife of the late Jim Henson, has passed away today.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/jim-hensons-wife-and-muppets-collaborator-jane-henson-has-died/

Thank you both for making my childhood a magical one xoxoxox

What happens when I work out

So I did go thrifting this past weekend. Did I take any pictures of the stuff I found? Nah, why ever would I do THAT?!?!

I do have to say that at one thrift store there was a ALOT of clown stuff -- I bought a pair of clown paint by numbers to add to my PBN collection but the best part about that visit was when I overheard a lady say :

There is so much clown stuff here but nothing that speaks to me!

Ha! Totally awesome!

Anyways this morning I decided to get my ass in gear and go back to the gym. I was working out like a mad woman before the holidays hit and ever since the new year I have felt VERY sloth like. Today I decided was the perfect day to get back to the gym.

Of course....15 minutes before my hour of running was up on the eliptical who should get on the eliptical next to me but a guy I dated 2.5 years ago that was an absolute JERK to me.

So I took out my ear bud and said "Matthew?" and he was like "Hi, Liz".

I then put back in my earbud, finished up my run, got off the machine and went home without another look toward him.

I do have to say in reflection:

1. It is always sastisfying to see someone who treated you badly in the end years later and  say  to yourself WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!?!

2. When you see said person it is always even more satifying to realize how much weight they have put on. Petty? Yes, sastisfying- YOU BETCHA!

So Matthew....you totally hurt my feelings when you stopped dating me but I have to say 2.5 years later my life is so much better without you in it.

Man..growing up really helps you put things in perspective!

First of Many Tiki Sales

So I will eventually get around to posting about my Hawaii trip but here is an update on this past weekend.

Since I will be (eventually) moving form Northern California to the Los Angeles area and when this happens I will be moving into a smaller place I have to sell off ALOT of stuff. Between my personal items like clothes, shoes, purses and then my furniture and then my reselling stuff and then my stockpiled-need-to-be-listed reselling stuff AND then my tiki collection it is going to be an impossible move. Well maybe not impossible but annoying to say the least. So I have decided to par down my tiki collection first by having a few tiki garage sales. 

My first one was this past weekend on the back patio of my favorite tiki bar, Forbidden Island in Alameda.

I spent a few hours laying out everything so the pricing was consistent....this is about 1/4 of what I own and about 2/3rds what I brought :

MUGS

 CoCo Joe/Lava pieces

 The cat wasn't happy and was getting stressed out because she thought we were moving. Not yet cat...not yet

 The only photo I tool of the sale. I had 7 tubs worth of tiki scattered on 3 tables. After the day was done I had 2 tubs left that were full. It was a GOOD day!

 And look at this boston terrier that I got to visit. I almost stole her..seriously she is FULL SIZE and adorable!  She stopped growing at 4months and is just about the sweetest dog I have ever met. Actually she was more like a cat since she just stayed curled up like one on my lap for awhile.

Anyways it was a great first step in getting things cleared out to move. By no means will I be selling off my super rare pieces but the stuff I sold..well I couldn't even tell you what it all was :)

I am 35 and back from Oahu!

OMG My Hawaiian vacation was EPIC! My 35th birthday was AMAZING! I had the very best time and now that I am back in Oakland I am utterly bummed I am not on Oahu anymore :(

I took a few hundred photos but here are some highlights! Sorry for how disjointed it all seems...once i get my photos uploaded I will break down the days for ya. I also went thrifting and antique hunting while I was there and got some cool stuff. But for now I stole these photos from my Facebook . Enjoy the few I post!

I arrived first in Honolulu and found out that unless you fly Hawaiian Airlines ( I flew Alaskan) you don't get a free lei when you deboard! So I bought this and another lei and gave it to my friend when he arrived about 30 minutes after me.

The kicker was while we were waiting in line for a taxi we ended up in a stretch limo! It just worked out that way so I started my vacation off in style :)

We had lined up for a taxi and the couple in front of us walked away so when it was our turn we got this HUGE limo and they didn't. It was pretty funny considering 1. my friend is gay and 2. WTF we got to take a limo (!!!!) . I kept saying "OMG HONEY THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST HONEYMOON EVER!!"  lol

I hiked up Diamond Head and didn't die! (although I did stop twice for breathers). The view was SPECTACULAR and so worth the cardio. This is a photo of the ridge that you used to be able to walk along but had now been secured with railings. Funny thing was i never saw ANY Park Rangers so if you jumped the gate what would anyone do? it was really bizarre. I guess Hawaii invests little to no money in the safety of their tourists. Way to go Hawaii!

I got to check out La Mariana -- see this is me amongst the flotsam and jetsom . La Mariana is this super old tiki/Polynesian bar restaurant that is falling apart and not long for this world. I was so glad I got to see it while it was still open.

Where I sampled one of their yummy cocktails -- The Tropical Itch-- while my 2 (local) friends and I waited for a 3rd friend to show up. The 3rd friend was someone I had known online through my tiki collection forum for a few years and just by chance he happened to also live on Oahu so I was finally able to meet him face to face!

 When he showed up he gave me  a huge hug and gave me a lei!! God this smelled so good also! It was the 3rd lei of my trip since upon arriving at our rental house my friend gave me and my traveling friend leis as well. They smell so good ...its the little white flowers (whatever they are called) that do the stinking. My friend I stayed with made our leis but this one was purchased.Getting lei'd in Hawaii is the best!

After La Mariana we headed out to Waikiki's oldest hotel The Royal Hawaiian and sat on their patio overlooking the ocean and Diamond Head even though it was rainy and chilly.. The plan was to watch the sunset and drink cocktails. Well...there was no sunset thanks to the clouds but we still had a few drinks. Please note the Royal Hawaiian is the oldest hotel on Waikiki BUT its so expensive....how expensive?  Well..it was a given that I would have one of their drinks in a pineapple--I mean you HAVE to when you go there for the first time--but can you believe to get a drink in a pineapple you pay $25 for the pineapple PLUS the cost of the drink?? SO the drink you see below was $47 (!!!!).  I guess it was worth it (great drink) but I won't be doing that again!

 I also got this Bahia which has muddled blueberry in it. MUDDLED BLUEBERRIES WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE is all I am saying!! I also got a pizza (oh and some shrimp) and needless to say my bill was $130 (!!!). But hey, I planned to spend the money and had a blast so why not and who cares :)

 Every morning (with the exception of 1 day when it was pouring in the am) I went with my friends to walk their dog down Kailua beach. The beach is one of the best in Oahu and is 2.5 miles long. There is something so amazing about starting your day watching the sun coming up over the water .

This is what heaven looks like!

 My birthday (Monday March 11) was spent on the North Shore. We got margaritas at this place called Cholo's (ha)

 And my dream became a reality eating at Matsumoto's shaved ice!!! Green tea syrup, azuki beans, vanilla ice cream and condensed milk on top. Needless to say IT WAS AMAZING! I even did the tourist thing and bought a tshirt and some stickers

We all went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and after we were done with the train tour, the maze and the gardens we got Dole Whips--i.e. pineapple flavored soft serve. Here is mine covered in Li Hing powder (Its a Hawaiian thing)

 For my birthday present Henrik (VanTiki is his username on Tiki Central and here   is his website--his work is amazing) who was the owner of the place we were staying helped me make a tiki mug as my present. Since Tiki Oasis this year is a Hulabilly theme we decided on skullls with pompadours . I cant wait to see how they turn out since he is doing the glazing and firing for me since I had to go back home. Mine is on the right. I swear Henrik can teach a blind monkey to make mugs. I have better photos (I will post them later). It was so much fun but really ..he is so talented I am lucky we are friends!

 This was my last sunrise on Kailua. It .was.amazing.

I did go antique hunting while there...isn't this store THE BEST!!

My flight home was only 4 hours and 20 minutes (it took 5.5 hours to get there) and before I knew it I was back in Oakland :( 

I was very happy to see my cat.   Can you tell my cat was happy to see me? ha! After about 2 hours of nonstop meowing laying all over me she decided she was over it

Anyways I will post more photos and do a better update later.

I can't wait to go back!!!

Lil Bub!

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you have to know who Lil Bub is. She is pretty much one of the most adorable cats that have become popular on the internet. She has no teeth so her tongue hangs out, huge eyes, short stumpy legs and a long ferret like body. Pretty much Bub is the awesomenest cat on the planet and I got to meet her! 

I went down to LA recently and she happened to be in Long Beach. Her owner uses her fame to raise money for different animal organizations and that day we were at the SPCA.

Her meet and greet was from 11:00-12:30 and I got there at 10:45am. I would of gotten there earlier but it was confusing to find the place--thank goodness for my friend in Florida who was just as excited as I was texting me the correct location via her internet search.

Here is the line in front of me when I arrived. I counted 75 people (!) and by the time i got in to see her there were 4 times as many still waiting.

The SPCALA has TONS of small dogs..I can't wait to move so I can see which one I can adopt

There was an older lady volunteering at the door letting people in who kept saying how this cat had a "following", all I could think of was that we were some sort of cat cult.

There she is! Just chillin'!

It was too much to watch her owner stretch her out. I guess he wants to make sure she doesn't get stiff....there was a collective "AWWWWW" when he did so...

and when she made this face I was dying!!

Getting her set up for another round of pictures

And finally it was my turn!! I was amazed....she was bored..lol

Totally in awe of the cuteness...she was a bit..vacant...

and just like that the moment passed and she crossed her little arms and waited patiently for me to get one last scratch in before leaving.

Needless to say it was quite an experience meeting this famous cat. Such a cutie!

Hawaii Countdown and my 35th Birthday :)

I turn 35 on March 11. I think turning 35 is going to be awesome...mainly because for my birthday this year I am going to Hawaii!!I figured 35 is one of those landmark years that needed a big event so this year my best gay friend and I are going to Oahu for 7 days, 6 nights! I cannnot wait! I have never been to Hawaii so this trip is going to be awesome!

I am very lucky that I have some amazing tiki friends who happen to have built an airbnb rental in their backyard so we are staying in Kailua at their place-dubbed The Kailua Coconut.  My friends built this themselves!

It's a tiny micro house big enough for 2 people to stay in :

 If you are wondering where the shower is ......

It's outdoors!

 I love these fish carvings my friend did in the windows. They say the Hawaiian breeze blows through the house lulling you to sleep ;)

 Seriously, how great are they??

Now since I have never been to Hawaii and will be there for a week I have a looooooong list of places to go. I figure I will spend most of my money on food and booze because I really don't need any tiki/Hawaiian souvenirs (hello, my whole apartment is that already) so here are the Top 5 places I can't wait to check out :

1. Matsumoto Shave Ice -- how funny that I recall seeing this little shave ice place featured on the Travel Channel decades ago and now I FINALLY get to eat there myself! (I stole these photos from somewhere online)

They are famous for their Azuki beans that they put at the bottom of their shaved ice creations.

Is it weird that I already know what I want to order? Azuki, IceCream, Condensed Milk, Green Tea syrup--DOESN'T THAT SOUND AMAZEBALLS!?!?!

2. Attend a luau.  

   Sure they are cheesy and meant for tourists to enjoy but seriously...men, with beautiful bodies dancing around in next to nothing while spinning fire? What more could I ask for?  Its ok that I don't eat pork so I won't be partaking in the roasted pig they usually serve at the feast.....Hawaii is full of amazing fruit. I can eat plates of fruit while enjoying the male eye candy ;)

3. Check out the North Shore
    I don't surf and honestly I have no desire to try to surf so I will be skipping that this trip. I do want to go check out the North Shore and all the surfers. I have also heard that in the area there are dozens of shrimp trucks (like taco trucks but Hawaii style) to dine at that cannot be beat.  Sounds like a great day to me!

4. Check out the Polynesian Cultural Center
 This is going to be one of the pricest things on my list to do. Tickets run anywhere from $50-$250 based on what you want to do when you are there. I want to check out the museum and the center itself and would LOVE to stay for the night fire breathing show....hello more hot men! Also I could have that replace the traditional luau so that could be a money saver as well :)

5. Visit the Dole Pineapple Plantation
  Do you even understand how much I love Dole Whips? Do you even know what a dole whip is??  Think of it as a smooth and creamy concoction of pineapple soft serve..but with chunks of pineapple whipped in. They serve it at both DisneyWorld and Disneyland...oh my god I cannot wait!

So have you been to Oahu? Have any suggestions on what I should do/see?


Oh one last thing--For my actual birthday on March 11 my plan is to buy the biggest and most expensive bottle of champagne I can find on the island and toast with my friends on the beach under the stars my 35th year of life.  Baller? Yes, yes I will be!