Cats Like Us Blog

 Photo: Wikipedia Commons Even though Fall and Halloween items are appearing in stores and Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte will soon be released, yet there is still plenty of Summer to go! Lots of time to visit the beach, grill up some grub or enjoy an outdoor Tiki gathering. Take a stroll in the woods or have a picnic, go to a carnival or enjoy an evening sipping a beer on the porch. Enjoy yourself! Cats Like Us is getting in lots of Halloween items, but we are still feeling summer-y with all the floral prints, nautical styles and bright colors...

I am a huge fan of the Peter Pan collar and 1960s fashion, but I was always curious as to how the rounded collar got its name. Though very similar collars have been dated back since the 1640s, I wanted to know how my beloved crisp white collar was given it's name. Could it be.....  (Pictured above; Meow of Never Dress and Alice in Wonderland Dress) Named in direct relation to the fictional character we all know and love? Why yes, yes it was! The collar on the costume was named after actress Maude Adam's stage costume in her 1905 role...

Ahhh hot dogs, whether you love them or hate them, they have seemingly become the staple for backyard bbq's and celebrations like Independence Day. I am like most people and prepare hot dogs via the grill and serve them on hot dog rolls or will cut them up and put them in mac n' cheese. Pretty boring by retro recipe standards. In the 50s, 60s and 70s, using frankfurters was an art form. They are used in ways beyond our wildest dreams.....and nightmares. So, I decided to amp up my hot dog game and try a retro hot dog recipe!...

Often when people hear the word 'muumuu' they think of large unflattering dresses or have found memories of giggling at Mrs. Roper's muumuu's on the 1970s TV show, Three's Company. The fact is, a muumuu is so much more than the goofy the image it has been portrayed by TV and pop culture. A muumuu dress or mu'umu'u, is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin that has quite an interesting history.   (Tahitian women wearing examples of Mother Hubbard dresses, in which Hawaiian women would be wearing at the same time period) In the 1820s British Protestant missionaries introduced the...

Andrew and I don't get to go on vacation very often, but we've been trying to plan one big trip each year. Last year we went to New Orleans (you can read about it here), and this year we decided to go to Las Vegas. It was the first time we were in Vegas without it being for work in the form of Viva Las Vegas or the MAGIC Tradeshow. So naturally we planned our trip around food and drinks.... lots of tiki drinks! This is the story of our tiki drink adventure in Las Vegas. We arrived early at our hotel,...

  I am very excited about Tiki Tuesday's for the month of June (ok, I know it's still May, but who cares...more Tiki!) and to kick it off we're featuring our friend's from Montreal, Jim Johnson and Geneviève April and their amazing home bar! The Lime Lounge is a located in Gen and Jim's living room area and is filled with vintage tropical treasures! I love their use of space as it's pure eye candy. Hey Jim, I'll take one Mai Tai please!   What got you into the Tiki Culture? Gen - Personally, I remember loving the exotic vibe since...

Hello and welcome to another installment of Cats Like Us Home Tiki Bar Series. This month we visit with Mandi Shepp and Chris "Ahab" Shepp at their home bar, The Rusty Flamingo. The Tiki bar is located in their sun room that has an attached outdoor patio which doubles as extra space in the summer! Hello Mandi and Chris, please share a little about yourselves: Outside of our jobs (Chris is a salesman and Mandi is a rare books librarian at the Marion H. Skidmore Library in Lily Dale, NY), we enjoy exploring new things through travel, mixology and cooking, homebrewing,...

I often say one great thing about living in Buffalo, NY, is the close proximity to other larger cosmopolitan cities. We are within easy driving distance from Cleveland, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, and Toronto, Ontario (Canada) -- we actually have a lot of customers who drive in from Canada. The popularity of TIKI and Polynesian Pop culture seems to come in waves (pun intended) and we have lots of customers visiting from Toronto recently that have been raving about the new tiki bars and restaurants there. So as tikiphiles we decided to do our duty and investigate, and here is a quick account of our fun weekender! Our...

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 5 years since I've written the blog, Get Your Shape In Shape! Crazy how times flies and yet (some things) stay the same. I'm still wearing my shapers and I still am still recommending them to all of you!  image source: Rago Shapewear Now, I want to clarify something. When Julie Ann and I recommend wearing a shaping garment under the retro clothing styles we carry at the store, IT DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE SAYING YOU ARE FAT! Oh goodness, we understand that body image and the way we all feel about...

So a funny thing happened recently, I was asked to be a “local celebrity” judge at a Pinup Contest. You might say “Julie Ann, I thought you were a feminist, how can you support such a thing?” Well let me tell you how this all started... Last year I was contacted by some dear friends of mine, Maggie and Steve. Steve helps run Cavalcade of Cars at the Hamburg Fairgrounds--sort of the kick off of car show season--and he wanted help organizing and changing the format of their Pinup Competition and for me to be a judge. The contest has...