Category Archives: Real Life : Alix

Real Life: Tiki Oasis Part 2, Kiddo Adventures

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Gather round kiddos, it’s time for Part 2 of our glorious Tiki Tour! Yesterday I showed off some fun photos from our jaunt down to Tiki Oasis in San Diego a few weeks ago. The event isn’t a family event per se, but it is extremely family friendly! Lots of people brought their kiddos who all had a fantastic time!

Friday afternoon things kicked off with an Opening Ceremony Parade—the marching band was an excellent touch!

There was lots of swimming and then the evening show began!

One of the highlights was a Vintage Tiki Fashion show held by  Melissa of the amazing shop Retro Diva. My friend Stephanie, of Pineapple Princess, had a featured in the fashion show for her kid’s stuff and she asked me if Wolfie would “model” for her, which was a super thrill. She made matching outfits for him and Sierra, a really awesome little girl. I have to say, they looked adorable:

Wolfie surprised us all and was cuttin’ a rug to the Plastic Bertrand song they played while he was on stage. So awesome! The cutie on the left is Doe’s youngest kiddo, Dashiel (Doe and her hubs Otto von Stroheim are the masterminds behind this whole awesome extravaganza!).

The next day we drove around San Diego (and thanks to our adorable Modern Kiddo friend Vintage Sugar Cube, we got some amazing restaurant tips!) but really it was all about the hotel and lounging out. So after lunch we came back for some more fun:

Yep. Wolfie brought his DS. Hey, he’s a pretty spectacular for a 6 year old, but even ze Wolf Cub needs a little QT with his good pal Mario. It’s a great reminder that little ones can certainly enjoy grown up outtings, but don’t forget that kids are kids and need their own down time too!

Here is Wolfie with one of his best buddies, Miles and Audrey—they belong to Modern Kiddo reader Miz Landry. LOVE Audrey’s sassy silver gladiator sandals:

I was loving all the hip little kiddo fashions I spotted…check out these cuties:

In addition to swimming and exploring the property, Tiki Oasis had a special kid’s room with arts and crafts and other fun activities. Every child got their own teensy Tiki Mug too! (i suspect they were shot glasses, but hell…what the kiddo’s don’t know won’t hurt ’em!)

The highlight by far was th Saturday morning Tiki Tot Tour with King Kukulele. I’ve performed with the King before (with The Devil-Ettes) and he is amazing, hilarious and a totally talented ukulele player (check out this super short vid of him here….you’ll get why the kids LOVED him!).

All the kids met up by the pool and King led them around the facility, where they walked up to all the tiki’s and asked them questions. Honestly I’m not sure how they did this, but someone apparently followed the tour with a wireless mike/speaker and when the kids would ask a question it was as if the Tiki REALLY responded. They all had different voices….it was hysterical and the little ones totally ate it up!

The vendors were all super sweet as they watched the kids parade around the property looking for Tikis. These kind folks brought out a tray of Sno Cones/shave ice for everyone!

Wolfie thought that King Kukulele was THEE coolest. Afterwards he took Greg and I around to all the spots from the tour and pointed out all the things they learned from the Magic Tikis. It was really adorable, he would say things like, “Do you know that the tikis were bathed in the Magic Waters and that’s how they learned to speak?” and then would look bemused and say  “Why aren’t they speaking to us any more??” We also discovered the “invisible Tiki” that King Kukulele showed them:

All in all I would say it was our best mini vacation yet! I think Wolfie would agree…..

Real Life: Tiki Oasis 2010 Part 1

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Ahhh, the sweet days of summer have come to a close and I’m so very sad. Thankfully we managed to sneak in one last little tropical getaway to the magical Tiki Oasis just a few weeks ago. So what is this thing called Tiki Oasis I keep yammerin’ about? Lemme tell ya .Tiki Oasis is a celebration of Polynesian pop culture and is “the largest and longest running Tiki Event on the planet.” For one weekend every August, Tiki-enthusiasts take over the historic Hanalei hotel in San Diego (now called the Crowne Plaza) and fill the place with art, music, tropical drinks—and of course, fabulous fashions.  I suppose I should start at the beginning….our trip began with a short-n- sweet plane ride down to San Diego:

Finally, we arrived! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Mid 70s with a touch of a breeze. ALOHA, indeed.

The hotel itself is lovely. Palm trees, little waterfalls, a huge pool and, of course,  lots of cool Tikis all over the property.

The best part is that it’s an extremely family-friendly affair. Single folks, couples young and old, and families with kiddos—all mingled together. The whole weekend was the doing of my sweet friend Baby Doe (aka Dorinda) and her cool hubby Otto von Stroheim. They are the Producer’s Extraordinaire who dreamed up this crazy thang and made it all happen. This was the 10 year anniversary. It’s so crazy impressive I can’t even tell you.

Here is the always charming Doe with her little cutie Dash (and Wolfie on the left—sportin’ his Pineapple Princess aloha togs! My friend Stephanie makes groovy kid’s clothing out of vintage muu muus! More on her later….).

All told over a thousand people frolicked at the Oasis that weekend. I’m so proud of Doe—she is crazy sweet and cool and yet runs these huge events with the precision of a 5 star general!!

During the day, you could swim or browse the amazing vendors who had set up shop on the lawn near the pool and in the hotel conference area. Vintage clothing, records, artwork, tiki mugs and necklaces, even polynesian BBQ spices. There were also a wide variety of symposiums—The History of Tiki, Rum & Chocolate, The Persuasive Power of Punch, Pin-Up Hair and Makeup, Live Tiki Carvings…it was overwhelmingly awesome.

Hey look! It’s Modern Kiddo reader, Mrs. DeTiki! She was a doll and had these really cute retro-style handbags she makes.

Wolfie and Greg loved checking out the awesome vintage car show in the parking lot.

Wolfie had so much fun…I love he started wearin’ this groovy surfer necklace. By the end he had a tiki pendant to match! How cute is that tee, by the way? It’s for Greg’s kiddo band The Time Outs and the rad “Rocky the Rock Hand” artwork was done by Michael Fleming, aka Tweedlebop!

There was literally something to do at every moment. You could do everything….or nothing. We were big fans of the “do nothing” option and I’m pleased to report we clocked many hours by the pool.

Every day amazing DJs spun vintage vinyl—boat loads of 50s/60s exotica, surf, lounge and more. The vibe was super chill and cool. You honestly felt like you were living in a vintage movie….

Aw yeah! The debut of my vintage swim cap!!

I love the elevators…they’re glass and look out on an atrium of waterfalls and palm trees. At night, two guys played stand up bass and guitar IN THE ELEVATOR. See? Even the elevators are cool.

As the sun set, the vendor booths disappeared only to be replaced by lawn chairs…and the night time entertainment began. Fun bands and dance performances. Wolfie was allowed to stay up a little later to watch the first few performances.

Of course I had a blast dressing up. It’s not required by any means, but loads of people get dolled up in their vintage Hawaiiana finest. High off my vintage bathing cap victory, I decided to bust out THE BIG BUN for Saturday night!

I’ll be posting more on the Tiki fashions over at Strawberry Lemonade, my other bloggie.

Whew. OK, that’s it for the Part 1. The next installment will be Kiddo-centric and I’ll tell you allll the cool things there are for you and yer wee ones to do. Because you ARE coming next year….right??


Real Life :: Summer Flashback at Tiki Oasis

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Hey good lookin’, whatcha got cookin’ this summer?? Wolfie is at summer camps while Greg and I are busy with work, but we always try and take a trip or two: a visit to the grandparents and then something a little more local. One of the things we’re looking forward to in August is Tiki Oasis. If you’ve never been, you must! It’s a sun and fun-filled weekender down in San Diego celebrating the magic of classic 50s/60s Tiki culture. Hosted by premier Tiki expert Otto von Stroheim and his ultra lovely wife Doe (who happens to be one of my bestest pals!) it’s truly a super cool experience. For one crazy weekend they take over the historic Hanalei hotel and fill it with amazing bands, DJs, dancers, loads of tiki mugs brimming with tasty cocktails and unique symposiums on the history of tiki.

Greg, Wolfie and I hit the Tiki extravaganza two years ago and it was the ultimate in hip family fun. By day you could lounge poolside to the soothing tunes of exotica bands and DJs spinning vintage vinyl—OR you could check out the bazaar of fun goodies for sale. Because it’s in San Diego you can even sneak away to things like the San Diego Zoo or Lego Land.

The main reason we went last time was because I was performing with The Devil-Ettes. All my girlies came down and we had a total blast. Here’s me and some of my perty pals:

Aww, just look how little Wolfie was!  He’s making this hilarious expression he does sometimes in photos where his eye brows go up and he looks a teensy bit crazy. You know, in a cute way. I guess I shouldn’t talk. I look kind of crazy too. Let’s focus on my outfit instead, mmmkay??

Last year I was unable to go, but my adorable friend Stephanie went and took tons of photos. She has started a children’s clothing line called Pineapple Princess and makes the most fabulous little rompers out of vintage barkcloth. We’ll be profiling her soon. I think Wolfie is going to get to model some of her boy’s clothes this year!


One of my favorite things about the weekend were the fine vintage tiki fashions that most everyone was sporting. So colorful and fun!

It really is fun for all ages—there were loads of kids, and Wolfie was able to dance and enjoy the music that started at dusk (including seeing mama and The Devil-Ettes dance). Once the sun went down,  the party kicked into high gear with bands and other live performances.

OK. I know it looks like it’s midnight and I’m boozin’ and carousin’ while my kiddo is still up. Pinkie swear this wasn’t the case!  I think it’s around 7:30 or 8:00 in this picture. Greg was kind enough to let me stay out with the ladies while he put Wolfie to bed. The show stopped around 10:00, but the party went on all night for those singletons who were up for it (not to mention the after hours “room crawl” featuring different tropical libations!) Mama Alix was deep asleep by this time, folks. I’m a total light weight.

By the way, this is the gorgeous Doe and her handsome hubs Otto, the master minds behind all this genius:

There are still a handful of tickets left if you don’t have plans this August! Check out the Tiki Oasis site or Flickr group for even more awesome photos and think about booking yerself a room. I guarantee it will be a weekend you won’t forget!


Images: My own, Stephanie’s, Tiki Oasis, Jim Fereirra

Real Life :: California Kiddo’s Fresno 4th of July

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San Francisco has crazy weather. It’ll be hot and sunny three days in a row and then on the fourth the wind is so cold you’re wearing a wool scarf. In July. I’m not kidding. So when the Fourth of July rolls around we high tail it outta here and head down south to visit some of our very best friends, Dan & Lisa, who live in Fresno. Now you may be thinking, “Wow, Fresno….pretty posh Alix!” but lemme tell ya, WE LOVE IT THERE! Besides getting to spend quality time relaxin’ with special friends, they live in a terrific neighborhood on this awesome cul de sac. It reminds me of that famous Bill Owens’ photo from his amazing 70s SUBURBIA book. Where this woman is leading a parade down her block, waving a big American flag. Our Fresno getaway is on a very retro cool block. Our friend’s have a pool and we swim and BBQ and just totally relax. (Lisa and I always manage to sneak away for some fun girlie time…either a pedicure or some high quality movie viewing involving something classy like, you know, vampires) One of my favorite parts is how the whole neighborhood gets involved on the Fourth of July—there is a kid’s parade, bouncey house, and of course fireworks and sparklers at night. Here are some pictures of our crazy fun weekend:

We forgot about the bike parade and had to do some quickie SUPER DOWN AND DIRTY homemade decorations for Wolfie’s bike.

I feel like I should make a joke about my hubbie’s bangin’ booty. Pop pop pop!

Oh my god it was over 100 degrees and I looked like a HOT MESS (literally)  the entire day. This is a testament to how I luv ya—I’m showing you me in all my beet-faced glory. Hewww….of course Wolfie looks rosey cheeked and cute. Damn kids.

Of course there’s always a cakewalk. Greg and Lisa both won on their first try.

The liddle kiddle parade is my fave though….it’s super cute and the kids really get into it. Our friend Flo is down there on the right pushing her lil man Alastair. She made homemade ice cream sammies with home made peach ice cream and they were DEEEEEE-lishus!!

Aw yeah! The pink Malibu Barbie car was back! Whooo hoo! This little girl is there every year. She almost ran me down, but she’s so fab I forgave her.

Our neighborhood doesn’t really have sidewalks, so we’ve been slow on the bike riding dealie with Wolfie. He finally got a little cruiser with training wheels and he was totally into it! The training wheels have that wibble wobble thing where the bike suddenly leans to one side, making Wolfie shriek (in a manly way) and totally reminded me of being a kid….remember how the training wheels would bobble and you thought for SURE you were gonna wipe out?

So that’s part of our weekend! I’ll spare you photos of us looking awesomely sweaty (but then jumping in the pool a zillion times to cool off). We came back to San Francisco and, as predicted, there was a chill in the air. Oh well, it was nice to get a lil taste of summer—even if it was just for a weekend.

What did you guys do? Did you stay close to home or did you go someplace fun?? Hope you all had a fun time too! (PS UPDATE: Greg is leaving for work and WEARING A SWEATER. I’m seriously contemplating tights with my dress. IT’S JULY SAN FRANCISCO!!! *sigh* Always the rebel….)

Real Life: A trip to the MOMA.

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That’s Wolfie up there. Admiring art. OK OK. I can’t lie. There is this little part of me that just wants to post that photo and impress you with my cosmopolitan ways and toss my hair and said, “Yes, this past week we took the young lad to the Museum of Modern Art where he made various astute observations about the exceptional collection of Abstract Expressionism and regaled me with the finer points of Pop Art!” And then tell you how I went home and made an asparagus goat cheese tart that my boy ate with gusto and how, just for a laugh, we ate on the floor because my house is THAT SPOTLESS.

*cough*

But I can’t do that. Don’t worry, it’s still a nice story with a happy ending, we just took a slightly twisty route.

This past weekend was a pretty glorious one. We began our day with an awesome birthday party in Dolores Park—lots of running around and silliness involving a UFO pinata and a bunch of 5-6 year olds racing around. After the party we packed ourselves up and were going to head home when I suddenly thought, “Hey, lets swing by the SF MOMA!” Greg loves art galleries and I love museums. And also,  I was hankerin’ for this:


You see, the SF Museum of Modern Art has a rooftop cafe that is known for it’s spectacular art-inspired sweets. Like the Jeff Koons White Hot Chocolate (served in a dainty porcelain cup topped with golf leaf-coated marshmallows) and Andy Warhol Pop Art Corn (complete with commemorative box!). I have been DYING to get a slice of that Mondrian-inspired cake ever since I posted about it. I know, I know….Wolfie had already had a full day at a birthday party and here I was schleppin’ him to the Art Museum just so I could get cake. What can I say? I want to be the girl with the most cake. Also, Wolfie is a pretty chill little guy and we can pretty much take him anywhere without a fuss. Except, apparently, the MOMA on a Sunday.

We arrived at the museum and I dragged everyone up to the top floor (YAY to Greg for being so accommodating to my sweet tooth whims!). Alas, they were out of the Mondrian cake, but I had this:

with this:

which was inspired by this:

Mmmm. The Wayne Theibaud cake was completely delish. I was delighted and so content, happily sippin’ mah cappuccino. Alas, my little six year old was not as happy as I. “WHEN are we leaving? WHY are we here? I’m TIRED. I want to relax in the CAR!!!” [relax in the car?? ]  I tried joking. Offered him some cake (He was horrified. He hates sweets. Seriously.). “Do they have pretzels?” “Um…no.”  HMPH! And there he sat, pouting and playing his DS.

Once I ate my cake he looked up expectantly, eyes lighting up. “Are we going home??” “No. We’re here at the museum we’re going to go look at some cool stuff!” “Ohhhh man!!!” (head hanging dejectedly and a not particularly adorable scowl on his face.) And he turned into THAT CHILD. Dragging his feet. Whining. Sooooo not into this. And we could have just gone home. But I’m stubborn (where do you think he gets it from??) and refused to give up. As we were walking across the breeze way (oooooh….i don’t think I’ve EVER typed that word before) I looked out the windows and said, “HEY! There’s WALDO!”


On the roof top of the building across the street someone had made a big cut out of Waldo. We all totally laughed—and even my crank-a-puss child giggled. And suddenly I had an idea. “Hey Wolfie, we’re going to play a game.” “A game?” There was a flicker of interest in his eyes. “Yep. OK, so here’s what you have to do. You have to find these FIVE things for me:  1) Something with red in it,  2) Something with an animal in it,  3) Something with a tree in it, 4) The thing that looks the biggest and 5) The thing that looks the smallest, ok??” He seemed mildly amused, but not exactly thrilled with this thought. I should also clarify that I was TOTALLY making this up as I went along and had no clue if this was a cool game or the easiest game in the world and would be over in 5 sad seconds. Luck was on my side because the first room we walked into was filled with paintings….but only one had a red in it. “Hey! mama! I found a something red! Look!” he was triumphant. “Awesome!” The next room yielded nothing, which added to the mystery. Suddenly he was on a mission. While finding a painting with red in it was easy, finding something with an animal was surprisingly hard. We both triumphed when we finally spotted a teensy little horse figurine sitting on a dresser in a collection of Black and White photographs from the 40s. The cool thing about this was that he really LOOKED at everything. And it made me really look too. We chatted about the pieces (“Do you think that this is a really big comb or do you think that it’s just a really small bed?”), we pointed out our favorites and discussed why some painters made everything so dark (“it’s very angry, like a storm.”). And it was SO awesome.



He was totally intrigued by the Andy Warhol and we talked about self-portraits and having blue hair. Of course, the Jeff Koons porcelain Michael Jackson w/ Bubbles got a good look. (I posted the picture on Monday.) Our last sighting was this totally cool Barry McGee piece, which Wolfie proudly informed me was “Both the biggest AND the littlest!”

He was pretty adorable, marching through the rooms looking thoughtfully at everything. Allow me to brag and say he charmed every single guard in the place. Eventually we had to leave and he happily skipped down the stairs. “This was awesome mama.”


So I guess the whole point of this story is….don’t be afraid. And don’t give up. Life’s not always perfect, but a little bit of creativity (and mommy Jedi mind tricks) can go a long way. Dare I say it? I think I must. You can have your cake….and eat it too.