Taking my son to the airport after a fun week of Mother’s Day and birthday celebrations, he says in that snarky tone he’s perfected after thirty-two years,
“What’s the deal with you and Hello Kitty?”
My tugboat man, who also serves as my HK enabler ‘cos he thinks I’m adorable – uh, note to single girls — only marry a guy if he thinks everything you do is adorable — responded,
“Hello Kitty is for girly girls and your mom is one-thousand-percent girly girl.”
Well said, my captain, well said.
I’ve thought a lot about the reasons why I’m so drawn to Hello Kitty and I think it’s ‘cos she’s like my pretend soul sister.
The Urban Dictionary defines soul sister as “someone who fully understands you.”
Yup, that’s about right.
I’m not sure if I can pinpoint the exact moment when I first became aware of Hello Kitty.
With a son, it was never really on my radar as he was growing up. Shelves full of dinosaurs and skateboards were the aisles we aimed for at Toys R Us. We dug in the dirt; not so much matching dresses or spa days for us.
Sexxxyyy!!
I guess it was more of a gradual appeal; a (grown-up) friend wore a Hello Kitty watch and I was drooling — drawn to the Swarovski crystals surrounding HK’s face and I HAD to get my own; I walked by a Hello Kitty display at Target (great point of purchase placement)…
OR
…maybe it was always hovering in my subconscious, fermenting and fomenting—until one day I succumbed.
I was hooked.
I fell in love with that adorable mouthless face. One watch led to a ring and to a matching bracelet and then slippers, and OMG the cutest hat with an anchor! (!!!! had to have it, right? It was a nautical theme)
OK, most people associate HK with little girls, but did you know that there is a secret society of adult women who collect HK?
More often than not, when I wear my HK tee-shirt, I’ll be approached by women I do not know,
Princess Rosebud wearing glasses.
“Pssst…excuse me” [pointing to my shirt]…do you collect?”
It’s like the Skull and Bones society for women “of a certain age.” Haha.
I confess: I’m an ADULT COLLECTOR of HK. Recently at the Baltimore Airport during a layover, a Southwest employee saw my HK watch and struck up a convo about her collection that includes the HK toaster, which I really need. Really.
We were whispering, “Are you one of us?” “Yes, tell me what you have” and we each listed the items in our collection.
There we were, two college graduated women of adult children — I am not kidding. It was surreal. I mean, who wants to talk about the depressing economy or the strange weather? BORING! Hello Kitty is a sweet, innocent diversion that makes us happy. What could be wrong with that?
Since I really can’t for the life of me logically explain the appeal, I wanted to explore the psychology of adult women who are obsessed with enamored of HK and thought someone should write their dissertation about the marketing genius of this huge pink kitty head with a bow. And sparkles.
I discovered a WordPress blog that seems to be a dissertation of sorts; check out http://hellokittydevotee.wordpress.com/dissertation/
BTW, HK is worth about FIVE BILLION DOLLARS yearly in licensing. And finally the ultimate…did you know that HK teamed up with one of Taiwan‘s biggest airlines? What a great experience–a Hello Kitty extravaganza; from meals to mascots to boarding passes.
Which might in some small way explain the excitement I felt for my very first Hello Kitty Birthday Party! I’m not going to tell you how old I am; does it REALLY matter? I think not.
We spent the morning and early afternoon hiking Crystal Cove State Park (read about that HERE). When we returned home, hubs was exhausted and immediately fell asleep.
So much for that birthday cake he was sposed to make.
Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream
I threw together a One-Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting and Chocoate Coconut Ice Cream.
The cake was out of the oven and cooling before he woke up. Figures, right? If you want something done, ya gotta do it yourself. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
I challenged my tugboat man and my son to create dinner all by themselves. OK. We’re talking a Ph.D. Yale professor and a maritime academy graduate with a BS in Engineering.
Two smart, functional, adult men, right?
OMG, watching them write a grocery list and take off to the store offered tons of fun.
“Mom, do you have jicama? Mom, where’s a knife?” “Rosebud, can you chop this onion for me? Uh — how do you chop cilantro?”
I kept looking up recipes on my computer because I felt sorry for them.
Hubs chose to make Mango Salsa with Blue Corn Chips for his appetizer; my son’s contribution was a Jicama Kumquat Salad. It was delicious.
I thought it’d be a good idea to barbecue because I had a feeling the kitchen was going to take me a week to clean up. This was a smart decision. We had potatoes, asparagus, beets (from the garden), corn, Smart Dogs, and it was all absolutely yummy.
Best of all, it was made with love.
Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud 
Now that’s what I call the most perfect day!
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It was! HiKing and an HK party, so purrfect!
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:09 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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A Hello Kitty birthday party sounds brilliant, I hope it was as fun as it looks. I too love Hello Kitty, cats are adorable and girly cats wearing clothes are even more adorable, I don’t know how anyone can not like her.
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So maybe all of us who love HK are the soul sisters! I bet that’s right. Yes, it was a lovely day. They were very kind to play along. Thank you for stopping by.
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:14 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Great post and although I don’t collect…..(yet) I also think that Hello Kitty is adorable. Love that t-shirt and watch. I agree that since the meal for your birthday was made out of love it is extra special. ♥
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That’s the most important part for sure. 🙂
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:14 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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♥
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I found this Pinterest page and thought instantly of you. She sure has quite a few Hello Kitty things that are unique. Here’s the link:
I know this is a old post but thought it fit here 🙂
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Thank you so much! I appreciate your thinking of me, I’m gonna go there right now!
On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 11:00 AM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Great! Yes, when it comes to Hello Kitty and Chanel you pop in my mind!
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I love that Hello Kitty plane 🙂
One of my friends is obsessed I mean enamored with Miffy.Have you heard of her? X
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Uh oh, no I don’t. I’m going to google her now. I’ll direct my hubs to you if I get hooked on something else!
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:37 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Yes, I did know about Miffy, didn’t know her name. I love her too! Bunny!
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yeh she’s cute.Maybe not as sparkley as HK.x
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But sooo adorbs!
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:51 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Looks like the best way to celebrate a birthday! With your tug boat man, Angel Boy and Hello Kitty?! Heaven, I say!
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Heaven is right, gurrl! Maybe I’ll get a bottle of hello kitty wine in honor of your visit, whenever that happens!
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:49 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Ah Princess Rosebud, I may be a little behind in years but you are my hero..along with HK!
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That is so nice of you to say!
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 4:03 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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I need to do this for bday parties this year!! Bdays should be CELEBRATED!!
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You got that right, girl! Celebrate!!
On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 5:55 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Bright and cheery and fun. Everything a proper birthday party should be!!
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Exactly!
On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 10:46 AM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Love your Hello Kitty party. And the dinner sounds wonderful. Great company and delicious food!
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You got that right! I don’t know how I’m gonna top it for next year cos this was the best.
On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 11:03 AM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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But are you as big a fan as Lisa Loeb?
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I love it! OMGeee. That’s the HK toaster I want, and the plush HK dancing with the guitar is so adorable! I’ve never seen the vid, thank you so much. Scary, you know me too well!
On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 5:31 AM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Yes! Scary!
That’s exaclty the word I was looking for… 😉
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🙂
On Thu, May 30, 2013 at 8:43 AM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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Princess Rosebud, that looks like a funny party! I was waiting to see what you wrote about HK, because I’ve been wanting to write a blog post about Lisa Lobe and Hello Kitty. But now someone referenced it (see comment above). Ah well, I may write it anyway.
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It was a pleasant surprise to me to discover how many adult women love HK, even more passionately (obsessively) than I do! I would love to read your post.
On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 8:32 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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How could anyone NOT love Hello,Kitty???
[And by all means, keep buying! Keep American Greetings in business…PLEASE!]
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Does your hub write the HK card too?
On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 1:46 PM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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This post caught my eye as I lived in Japan for 6 years. Hello Kitty is a way of life there. And of course Disney Land. People get married in Disney land. Thanks for the “Follow.”
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I think it’s an amazing phenomenon! Thanks for stopping by!
On Wed, Oct 23, 2013 at 5:56 AM, Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugbo
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