❤️My August Birthday Shenanigans. [Childhood Thrift Store, Lion King Movie + Makeup Looks]❤️

Hello ladies and gents

For my birthday this year, it was more about rekindling old feelings 

and remembering my past than anything else.
Spending the time with my family and spoiling them, like they've been doing for me each and every year.

We visited some thrift stores. (surprise, surprise! lol) Watched the new release of The Lion King. (A childhood classic for me!) And ended the day with some Chinese food and an Ice Cream Bar. (The Chinese food was from a place we used to always get when I was a kid, too. Told ya it was going to be an all around "rekindling" fest! lol)

We actually went to see the movie a few days earlier, since my birthday fell on August 1st and the release date for the film was July 19th but we ended up watching it on the 29th! (The tickets sold pretty quick, apparently!) This was a surprise from my family, so I had absolutely no idea we were going to see this. I'm so happy I did, it was AMAZING!

THE LION KING MOVIE

Waiting in line for the tickets. 

We had to kill some time, because we were catching the 3o' clock movie.
It was an hour wait, or so. This is my dad acting a goof.
He hurt his knee a while back, so the crutch fit perfectly with the shark. lol

Not going to lie--the 47 meters down movie looks pretty badass! 

Me. I didn't even know we were going to see The Lion King--but for some reason, I wanted to dress up as my version of Pocahontas. Weird. I guess I'll forever be a Disney child. <3 

My dad entertaining the looky-loos. lmfao

The place was busy as hell. Lines miles long ran from inside to the outside. Including the refreshment section. 

LOOK AT THE PEOPLE ALL LINED UP FOR LION KING. lmfao

Messy floors mean a good business day, I'm sure. 

I don't know how these people can do it--$8.99 for a small popcorn. It's insane. 

I was pretty damn happy to see this handsome man here. 

Me and my new boyfriend. <3 

The entrance. Thanks sunny day for darkening the lighting. Ugh.

The marker above our room~ 

I really like the neon sign. Sorry. lmfao

My mom had her fortune read, too. <3 

Just messing around before we got to go inside. 

~1 HOUR LATER~

Here I am, sitting in my comfy seat. 

Lighting started to dim. I NEED AN ADULT. lmfao

Not going to lie--the seats were very very nice. Probably the nicest I've sat in for a movie theater. 

My dad, looking disapprovingly at my mom taking her pre-show selfies. lmfao

Mom and her selfies. lol

Just waiting for the house to fill up and waiting for that message of "turn your phone off NOW" lmfao

I was lucky number 9! 

Just goofing off. No harm, no foul. 

People started to show up, we getting ready to watch this disney. 

The last selfie before I turned off my phone officially. Peace and love, for me and mom. lol

To end the movie--it was GREAT. It completely kept to the classic animated movie I knew and loved growing up. A few minor set-backs--like not fully singing a few songs or NOT LETTING TIMON AND PUMBA DO THE HULA SCENE!! But other than that, it was everything I loved about my favorite childhood movie! ALSO, Scar was played by one of my favorite actors from one of my favorite movies--Kinky Boots~ <3 No complaints here!

Us exiting the place. Just for future reference. lol

Random shots now--like this pic of the street. 

The alley behind the movie theater. lol

The dinosaur footprints by the science museum. 

I really like the dino footprints, actually. lol

One thing to note about my beautiful little city--the buildings! Look at these gorgeous buildings! 

A landmark of the city--our beautiful arch~ 

And the stairs I used to run up and down on as a kid. I used to pretend I was ascending into some unknown place in a different time. 

SUPERIOR THRIFT
Located in Stockton, off highway 99.
"The Best Place For Bargain Hunting" 

Growing up--we spent a lot of time thrifting.
Many of my most happiest moments were spent rummaging through antiques and ancient clothing.
Hearing the clang and rolling thunder of ceramic being slid across shelves.
That musical "shwiing" of metal hangers screeching against metal pipes between aisles. 

The musty scent of decaying books, moth balls and fresh ink on newly stapled paper tags. 

Nothing soothes my soul more than to be surrounded by all of this. Experiencing all of this. 

Thrifting, to me, is much deeper than finding a "cool vintage thing" at a shop. It's something that was apart of me, will always be a part of me. No matter my age.

One store I used to always shop in was called Superior Thrift.
I have no problem exposing the name nor the location, since I am far away from this place now...
but aside from that, It MUST be recorded here. In my virtual diary.
For future me to read and enjoy as I please.

We decided to go ON my Birthday. So, these next few images were captured on that day!
This was definitely a road trip, if I do say so myself. So, as with any road trip adventure--I took a massive amount of pictures for documentation.

We all stocked up on snacks and drinks for the ride. We made a trip to a quick little convenient store. I got this bottle of Aloe because it not only quenches the thirst but helps with heat issues and headaches. Usually stuff that happens when I am out in the sun for too long. lmao 

Ending the parking lot of the thrift store--I instantly got hit by a ton of memories.
We would always park in this lot. All the time, every single day. 

They even still own the building across from them. Where they have all their store trucks. 

It was like I stepped back in time walking to the building. 

The same markings on the building. 

Luckily, it was "Mark Down Monday"...so that was a plus. lol

Quite honestly, walking TO the store brought back more memories than entering the store. A lot changed.
We did see some awesome stuff, nothing jaw dropping--of course but still worth taking photos of for the sake of this virtual diary. 

They had this huge glass covering jewelry display section. 

A lot of things being sold. A lot of pretty little dainty things. Truthfully, not my sort of thing. I like big and bold. 

A lot of costume jewelry, too. Being sold at crazy prices. 

Now, I'm not trying to be mean. Maybe I have been tainted by being spoiled from my local shops but the stuff here was EXPENSIVE. Way more than what they used to sell things for growing up. The lowest price they had was around $5 dollars. Crazy!

I did happen to like the little hat box with the children on it. Very haunting. Much too expensive but pretty.

A random shot of the clothing racks.

Some artwork.

All art was 30% off, or so the sign said so.

Very busy, especially for a thrift store. The people were very rude, too. Not even going to hide it. Pushing and bumping into you without as much as a "excuse me."

Going down a familiar path me and my brother used to walk--the toy section! lol 

The toy section was very bare. Compared to the stuff we used to see back in the day. I know I shouldn't compare the store from back then to now but it's still very sad. Probably means the kids nowadays aren't playing with a lot of toys. 

I did happen to like this. But not for $18.99. Sheesh.

These two things were pretty cool. Out of everything. Not "OMG I GOTTA HAVE IT NOW" cool but still pretty cool.

Some of the random toy grab bags. 

I want to include a few things I remember about this place 
in this following section:
1. They used to have grab bags of ALL kinds for nearly a dollar a pop. Toys, Trinkets, Doll accessories, jewelry, etc. They'd STUFF those things with a TON of random goods. Me and my mom used to always buy a few of the Jewelry grab bags. The bags were always so heavy, which made the dollar seem like such a great bargain. Sometimes you'd get a ton of costume jewelry or just a bunch of mardi gras beads but other times you'd get a cool vintage trinket or a random strange find. It was always a gamble but well worth the risk.

2. Aside from these cool grab bags--they'd also have 5 shirts in a bag.
Randomly selected shirts (probably the stuff that didn't sell!) and they'd roll all 5 of them up in a bag and put them on a rack or in a bin. You'd have to sit there for a few minutes making selections of what you wanted by the print you'd see from the inside or if you could see anything at all. I remember me and my mom just elbows deep in the bins searching for a cool pattern or a print that called out to us. Maybe we liked the weight of one compared to another. A gut feeling selection. It was so much fun!

And 3. The prices were always so reasonable. Growing up in a low income family, this was like the best thing for me and my brother. We struggled a lot. Not even going to hide it, so being able to splurge a ten dollar occasionally at a thrift store getting SO MUCH STUFF with that single 10 dollar bill was like Christmas. The prices in this store nowadays was insane. I don't know how anyone can come out of here feeling like they didn't do anything but burn holes in their wallets. Sad. Very sad.

A few more works of art on the shelves.

Some random bags in a bin. 

Another item I ended up liking but had to put back on the shelves.

The only thing that was reasonably priced, among a few things total, were the music.
I ended up getting a few albums for my bday, along with 2 CDs. 

Leaving the place, it was less rekindling a past but more being left in shock at the ruins of what it once was.
Not the same, not even in the slightest. Some of the things I couldn't quite capture on film. They closed off a few areas. Rebuilt on others and tried to make it more "modern" and "hip" in most of every area. A failed attempt, which just leaves you shaking your head "why?" Don't get me wrong, it's good. It's a thrift store but it's not MY thrift store, you understand what I mean? Sad and the prices are even more sad. I don't think I will want to return again. A bucket-list item scratched off my list and I'm happy to have had the opportunity now but I will just stay in my own town, in my own city with my own stores. 

RETURNING TO MY TOWN

Since I only ended up getting a few items at the Superior Thrift, we decided to check out all the other thrift stores in our own town. Pop in a few and settle on some. We were all jacked up on the road trip aftermath which resulted into a few "WTF" moments...so, we thought it was only necessary to do this. We all didn't get ready for nothing, you know? lol

I say this with the most urgency--I'm glad to be home! lol

Just thought I'd show you what I looked like on this wonderful thrifting adventure. 

One of my favorite thrifting areas just so happens to be next to this very old Woolworth building. 

My store was already bringing out the Halloween trinkets. This brought a HUGE smile to my painted face~ 

A few more images of some Halloween stuffs.

Some pretty harvest flowers.

I can't stress this enough--I LOVE OUR DOLL SECTION OF THE STORE!
I always look back at these images and see a face I didn't see when I was there and wish I had, otherwise I wouldn't be feeling so bad about leaving you behind. :'(

A few pretty girls to show you today! Lovely little ladies! 

If I had the money, I'd buy every single doll I found on these shelves. I really wanted the two porcelain ladies up front but failed to check their prices. Biggest regret of my life, among a few others. lol OH and I also wanted the beautiful Belle doll in the back, but she was pretty expensive. 

A few more pretty dolls. I love the Big Eyed Dolls, so so much. And the little monkey guy.

This beauty in the box was so gorgeous, too.

I really love the box she is in, as well. I wish I could have afforded her. I would have snagged her in a second, if I could.

Some more Halloween stuff. 

This pretty mask statue. And little red frame. I seen you, little guy. lol

Some more Halloween items--like the hanging skeleton death guy and harvest stuff. 

A cute little bird-like house.

Another HUGE regret. Among a few chosen this visit. I was a little down from the other thrift store not bearing any finds, so I missed a lot this visit. Like this cute strange cat thing. Damn. 

Another regret--Snow White hand puppet. I wish I would have grabbed her when I had her. Damn.

My parents were contemplating grabbing these but settled on "No, it's Hannah's Bday!"
I kept saying they should, but they didn't. I feel so sad because I liked them, too. Damn.

Another strange find I would have snagged if it wasn't too expensive.
I like strange things that can't quite be explained. Damn.

This cute guy was among a few other cute dolls. Another regret but the price tag was the reason, this time. lol

Another thing I would have got if it wasn't for the big price tag. Maybe it's better I didn't, though. A lot of things like this are always haunted in some way--I don't need any more dark, restless spirits around. I have quite enough already! lol

And lastly, this beautiful painting. Had I had the room, I would have. She wasn't too expensive, either. Oh well.

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

After the adventures that lasted quite a few hours. We came back home.
But before home, we decided on getting some Chinese food.
Settled on a place we used to eat out at a lot growing up.
Wong's Mandarin Restaurant! 

The inside of the place is so beautiful. Sorry to the guy who got captured. 

My beautiful mom. 

The color selection in the whole place is just so beautiful. It hasn't changed, which is so great.
It's like I stepped back into my past to relive a happy moment all over again.

The artwork in the place was breath-taking.

The decorations were equally beautiful! 

The walls were covered in this beautiful artwork.

And can we talk about the ceiling? Oh my goodness, it's beautiful! 

THE FOOD
This specific Chinese restaurant was something me and my family grew up on.
Probably the best this town has to offer, in terms of food quality, cleanliness AND hospitality.
The people greet you with smiles. They make sure to get down everything you want with whatever substitutions you'd like. Always polite and never rude in any way at all. If the price point was merely based on how a restaurant treats you, this place can have ALL MY MONEY. lol

I can't believe how much food we got for $30 dollars. And this is for 4 adults. 
Because of the wait being a bit long, the hostess gave us SO MUCH EXTRAS!

These were the extras we got for the wait!
4 bags of food consisting of 2 chicken pieces and 3 fried shrimps each! 

A look inside the bags.

Aside from this, they also gave us two additional little bags that contained the following:
A Crab Cake, a Spring Roll and Egg FooYung. 

These were the dinners we selected for my birthday. SO MUCH FOOD.
I got the Sweet n Sour Chicken, Garlic Chicken, Fried Rice & Chicken Chow Mein Noodles.
My brother got the same as me.
My parents got the Sweet n Sour Pork, Beef n Broccoli, Fried Rice and Chicken Chow Mein Noodles.

FOR DESSERT
I just want to make sure I put this out here, in case someone thinks otherwise--I don't eat like this all the time. Actually, I pretty much each like a bird for most of my everyday life. I do, however, allow myself to have cheat days and my birthday/special holidays are usually when I will indulge the most.

For my bday, instead of cake, I had a mini Ice Cream bar.
I don't know, I'm just not too big on cake. Never really was, not even when I was a child.
I like it as a decoration or something to have on a bday occasionally but Ice Cream is my biggest weakness. lmfao

We got a few things to put in the Ice Cream. Cookies, Cool Whip, Syrups, things like that. 

I went with a traditional Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, so it wouldn't be too crowded with a clash of different flavors. lol
But I definitely am a chocolate woman, they just didn't have chocolate in the store. lol

But yeah, everyone could pick what they wanted to add and put it in their bowl.
I just stuck with a little ice cream, a chocolate chip cookie and some toppings.

They also had this new Cool Whip for sale, so we got some.
It even came with a little spoon! <3 

I. Must. Restrain. From. Giving. Cool. Whip. To. My. Cute. Pup. 

As I mentioned, I did happen to get some gifts for my bday but to not make this post be a mile long--I will put it in a new post. I will attach the post in the section at the bottom, for easy clicking. But among the stuff I found--I found these cool doll wigs for a buck! 

Hand stitched, too. 

THE LOOK FOR THE YEAR
Every year I like to add to a growing collection of birthday looks I do.
This year, I went more "creep" than "pretty."
Here is the look I did last year, for my bday. 

I call her, Cake Face.
Why? You'll see! 

I literally smashed a slice of cake on my face for the sake of ART! lol

Maybe that was why I didn't wanna do Cake this year. I can still feel the sting of the frosting in my eyes from last year. lmfao

BALLOON BUFFOON
This year, I went more towards Balloons.
Since I got some for my Bday as decorations in the house. 

The balloons I got was this single "Happy Birthday Princess" balloon and a few more other ones. 

These were hung up all around the house.
I thought I'd put them in a Birthday Look to document their decline.
Because, as much as I love my balloons--they will deflate~
Better get them while they are still in their full glory!

Spirally down. 

Birthday Monster.

Here's at another Birthday, Kid~ 

Wow. You are getting old.

Help me, I'm aging.

Time keeps slipping away...Birthday after Birthday! 

Inflate my soul.

By the end of the night--my balloons had most of my makeup on them. lmfao

It's not the size, mate...it's how you use it. lol

Balloon Animal.

Birthday Girl.

Bruise my inflated ego.

Your Special Birthday Clown! 

Poor Balloons. I will gladly put them in my scrapbook! <3 

There you have it. My life, my strangeness and my birthday.
I will update here about the link to my gifts, for those curious.
Until then. Thanks for reading.

xoxo