Love, Tiki Style.

The Alameda Flea Market (or, the more bougie Alameda Point Antique Faire, as it would prefer to be known) took place this past Sunday, and let me tell you, it was a scorcher.

Having gotten a little sunburnt on my shoulders the previous day (which is a rarity for me), walking around in the blazing sunshine on Sunday left me feeling a little tender. That paired with nothing but an allergy tablet and a banana fudge ice lolly for lunch made for some draining stall browsing. Still, it was fun looking at all the curios, and after purchasing a cute vintage Hawaiian short-sleeved blouse, which protected my shoulders from the sun, I was able to wander about with more ease.






My fiancé also bought me a set of two bangles which I had lusted after at Candlestick Park flea market last year, but didn't end up buying, so when we stumbled across them amidst the hundreds of stalls, all these months later, it seemed like they were fated to be mine...or at least, my fiancé decided he would buy them for me as I loved them so much. After a tough haggle (maybe this isn't a flea market after all!) with a tough hag, we continued looking around and ran into a few friends along the way, some of whom, it appears, are pretty good at keeping schtum about surprise parties taking place in a matter of hours...


So, as it turns out, my fiancé had planned a surprise engagement party at Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda. We had an engagement party in London a few months ago, but we had not yet had the opportunity to celebrate with our friends in the Bay Area.


After trying to kill time and keep me entertained in the gap between the flea market and the party, I started to get a little grouchy, as I was tired, sunburnt, hungry and all I wanted to do was head straight to Forbidden Island after the market, for some coconut shrimp and a monkeypod. There was some confusion when we arrived which made me a little grumpier, but when the party finally started and I was surrounded by lovely friends (and numerous macadamia nut chi chis) we had a lot of fun!














It meant so much to have our lovely friends come out to celebrate with us, and I am very grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life. It was really really thoughtful of my sweetheart to organise the party, and I am just amazed that he managed to keep it a secret!












The party invitation , I later discovered, was entitled 'Love, American Style' - a reference which escaped me, but was apparently a romcom tv show in the 70s. Looking back, Aaron's attempts to organise and keep secret this celebration of our romance was quite comedic, especially given my reluctance to go along with his plans! I suppose it was almost like living out our very own episode of Love, American Style.