When Sanrio decided to put together a book Celebrating 50 years of Sanrio showcasing vintage items, who do you think was one of the people they called? Yep. Me. Hm…maybe they think I’m a Hoarder. Anyway, it was a good call because I DO have lots of vintage Sanrio stuff from the 1970s & 80′s, some of which made it into the book! (more on that, here.)

To kick off the celebration Sanrio held a V.I.P. opening night party and pulled out all the stops. There were foodtrucks there: Kogi, Grilled Cheese Truck, Frysmith, just to name a few. Then inside Barker Hangar…

…was a kawaii fest. A mini golf course, ferris wheel, carnival games, cars – all Hello Kitty-fied. Total. Cuteness. Overload.

There was an amazing art gallery – all with custom pieces just for this event.

Also a pop up shop of tons of Sanrio product.

Since it was opening night there was a red carpet and loads of celebrities.

Lisa and Laura Ling, Lisa Loeb, Simone Legno of Tokidoki, Pete Wentz – those were just a few of the people I saw. For me, the highlight was being able to talk to Kimora Lee Simmons – I bumped into her at the pop up shop and we had a nice conversation about our kids, how she has two girls and a boy and I have two boys. Very cool. Also, I look like a midget standing next to her. She is amazing.

The Food Librarian also went and her highlight was meeting Erik Estrada. The night was pure craziness. This from someone who rarely leaves the house at night. Now I know what all of L.A. does while I’m sleeping. They party hard.

More on the food.

Inside the event I nearly fell to the floor when I saw free Beard Papa’s cream Puffs. About 1/3 the size of their regular ones, that still didn’t stop me from going for a few of them. Hey they’re making them, I’m eating them.

Next to that was a free Sanrio themed Yogurtland station, complete with toppings. I’m now a big fan of the chocolate and red velvet cake. It was GOOD and just too cute.

There were lots of cool cosplayers and people dressed in AWESOME homemade outfits, like my friend Renee. Hi, Renee!

While I didn’t dress up, I got a lot of compliments on my shoes:

If you lllllove Hello Kitty and Sanrio this is the place to be! You only have til Nov. 21st to visit Small Gift L.A., I highly suggest you stop by, it’s non-stop kawaii fun!

Want Hello Kitty recipes? Hello Kitty Oreos, Hello Kitty waffles, Hello Kitty cupcakes.

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