Wednesday, June 19, 2013

A Preview of Things to Come (To Florida, the Hukilau, and Beyond!)

Wow! How time flies when you are traveling, having fun, getting your tiki on, and just being alive! I hope all is well with everyone! It is June, summer is pretty much here, and oh gurl, we have a LOT to catch up on!

In my little absence, I visited family in South Florida, participated in the Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale, scored some great vintage finds, and spent Father's Day weekend with my lovely dad.

My husband (aka Big Daddy) left the DC area on the afternoon of 1st of June for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Big Daddy was born and raised in South Florida and his parents live in Boca Raton.  After an uneventful, yet calm flight, we arrived in Fort Lauderdale and upon claiming our luggage, my in-laws picked us up and all four of us went out for dinner at JB's on the Beach in Deerfield.

The next few days, we went out on my in-laws boat:
We toured the Intracoastal and swam in the open ocean. We also docked to eat lunch in Lighthouse Point and saw the historic "Cap's Place" as we cruised around:
http://www.capsplace.com/

During our stay, we ate out, cooked out on the grill at my in-law's house, had cocktails on the back patio in the evening, and simply took in all the wonders South Florida had to offer.

On a couple of mornings, my mother-in-law and I visited two antique malls, Hillsboro Antique Mall in Pomano and Sugar Chest Antique Mall on Federal Highway, just south of Boca Raton. At both locations, I scored bakelite bangles, vintage Hawaiian postcards, and I bought an amazing opalescent glitter lucite purse. (My next post will feature my goodies!)

But I have to share with you one of the 'hidden gems' you can find at Sugar Chest:
This is "Earring Magic Barbie." This doll came out in the 80s. It features a very "Jersey Shore-looking" Ken, complete with mesh shirt, gold chain, and vest. GTL, BABY! Um, no thanks. But, I know you want it! Just kidding! In my next post, I will show your more "treasures" I discovered.

One morning, my mother-in-law and I went to Boca Town Center to get makeup and to check out the sales at Macy's. My intent that day was to go to MAC Cosmetics for my goodies but as we went down the escalator to the first floor, I spotted this beacon of hope, light, and simply jaw-dropping makeup freak HEAVEN!
I wanted to die. I really did. Die from the sheer insanity and glory of all those pretty colors! I first found out about Inglot from my friends, Erin C. and Inky W. When I first saw a free-standing Inglot store, it was the Las Vegas location in the Caesars Forum Shops during VLV 15. I wanted to go in there so bad but I knew Big Daddy had been tortured enough. It was dinner time and I had already spent an hour in Sephora. Nevertheless, when I saw this counter in Macy's, there was NO way ANYONE was going to pull me away! Let me just say this: I. Wanted. EVERYTHING. In the end, I was "good." I only bought four shadows, a palette for the shadows, a brow pencil, two lipsticks, a loose copper pigment, and a glitter/loose shadow adhesive from Too Faced. I will post pictures/reviews of my haul soon! I promise!

By the end of the first week, it was Friday night and time to head to the Sheraton Yankee Clipper Hotel in Fort Lauderdale for the Main Event of the Hukilau 2013!
The weather was really bad for most of that week due to Tropical Storm Andrea brushing by and moving north over the Gulf of Mexico. The drive from Boca to Fort Lauderdale was terrible due to heavy rain. As a result, all the of the events for the Hukilau were moved inside. Despite this, Big Daddy and I were determined to have fun! We got drinks, had some dinner at the Mexican restaurant at the hotel, and made our way upstairs to see the bands and to enjoy the crowd. I met a few lovely people who knew other friends I had. You know, the whole "friends of friends" who know "this friend of that friend" thing.

Everyone was so kind and dressed so well! One gal I met from North Carolina had on this KILLER Whirling Turban dress that was to die for! She and her friend were dolls! So nice!! After the bands finished upstairs, we went downstairs to the vendor room to watch the Disasternauts play. I also did some shopping. I got a great hot pink and white lace nightie/robe set from the 50s/60s that was only 20 bucks and Big Daddy bought a real puffer fish light for our tiki bar at home!! I have photos I will share soon.

The next night of the Hukilau was the dinner at the Mai Kai. I will post on that event in its own post. It is quite a story (both good and not so good).

On the afternoon of Sunday, June the 9th, Big Daddy left to return home to DC for a business trip. I stayed in Florida until the evening of the 12th. During the remainder of my stay, the in-laws and I relaxed, visited other family members, and swam in the pool at my in-laws house. Let me just say, I did NOT want to come back home! Florida is just my cup of tea!






11 comments:

  1. It was a pleasure meeting you at the Hukilau! Sorry if I was a little "fan girl" at first but it was just so nice to see a familiar (via the internet) face! :) You are an absolute doll.

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    1. Gabriella,

      It was so wonderful meeting you finally! You are a doll too and your fella was so nice! And both of you were so well dressed! I wish I could have chatted more! So much going on and it was kind of loud, especially in the Wreck Bar at the Mai Kai! I hope to see you next year if you do VLV!

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  2. Welcome back! Sounds like you have been having some amazing adventures and getting some quality shopping in! Looking forward to reading about all of your great finds ;-) The Hukilau sounds like such a fun time. I could always use more tiki in my life!

    Never fails…now I want a Mai Tai...

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    1. Elisa,

      There's never enough tiki! Lol! And yes, a Mai Tai sounds lovely right now! Florida and the Hukilau were fun! I hope to do the Hukilau again! I am going back to visit the in-laws in Boca in August and I have to go back to the antique malls down there! Great bakelite selection and wonderful lucite bags!

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  3. Yay for Florida! I keep trying to get my husband to let us move there but it's not to be right now.... Can't wait to see the rest of your vacation posts!

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    1. My husband is from there and he told me the saddest day of his life is when he and his family moved to Virginia 30 years ago. He was 12. His parents moved back in 2010. So jealous! I want to move there for sure. I know my husband would love to go back himself. Our company does work for the federal government and we have a software division. I hope we can rely on the software and get out of DC! You can be based anywhere if you do products instead of federal govt services.

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  4. Wow, this sounds like a lovely, fun and relaxing trip - I'm not surprised you didn't want to go home at the end of it!! :) I've never been to Florida, but my husband's extended family on his dad's side live out there, so I'm hoping that we will be invited for a family reunion or something in the future...!

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    1. It was so relaxing! I just did not want to leave!! I hope you get to go one day yourself! You will love it!

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  5. Thank goodness you had an uneventful flight this go around. You terrible story about your VLV16 flight is still very strong in my mind. Oh your poor, poor purse.

    Oh the holy grail that is Inglot! Lucky, lucky. Have you used a lot of their cosmetics?

    I have never heard of Hukilau. I'm sorry it was basically all but rained out but you do look so lovely in your photos.

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  6. Yes, Wendi! I was lucky my recent flight was tranquil and damage-free this time around! I am still reeling over my broken lucite bag too. I need to find a way to fix it properly. The poor girl just sits on my vanity.

    Inglot IS holy grail!!! I have heard a lot of amazing things and read wonderful reviews but I am now just getting into their product line myself. I adore the shadows and lipsticks I bought! I think it is safe to say that the shadow color, quality, and color selection far out-paces MAC, Nars, and MUFE. There is no Inglot here but I am going to visit my in-laws again in August and I cannot wait to go back to that Macy's and get more!! Okay, people!! Bring me a wheelbarrow! Lol!

    The Hukilau was great when it came to the crowd and meeting new people! Like Viva, everyone was super nice. The event was a bit cramped due to the rain but everyone was in good spirits. If you love all things tiki, you should go! I hear Tiki Oasis in San Diego is cool too!

    http://www.thehukilau.com/

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