Hard Rock & Rubber Duckies

All throughout childhood I had collections. POGs, decorative candles, McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, Disney snow globes, Beanie Babies… the list goes on and on. The main thing those collections had in common was that they were all passing fads during the whims of adolescence. However, two things have remained a constant in my collecting. Rubber ducks and Hard Rock Cafe shot glasses.

The rubber duck collection began as a play off of a private joke back with some friends and a boyfriend in like, junior high school, and it just stuck! I have at least 50 (last time I counted). Usually they decorate our home, but they have yet to make it out of the box they were shipped from our last apartment in. But once we figure out a proper home for them, out they’ll come! I pick these up from everywhere. Events, places we’ve visited, random stores. My favorites are the ones we get while traveling, and those friends pick up for me. Every time someone comes over with a new one for my collection, a little part of Dave dies inside. He isn’t a big fan of my rubber duckies. TOO BAD! You collect guitars Dave. My collection is a LOT cheaper.

I do need to start keeping a list of what kinds of ducks I have already. My friends always tell me that they wanted to get me a new duck they saw, but didn’t know if I had it already! I mean, from the photo above, you can see I have a lingerie duck (that one wearing a black bra at the bottom), a space duck, the Tin Man, dead duck, Valentine’s duck, Dracula, angel, motorcycle duck, cowboy, etc.

The other collection is my Hard Rock Cafe shot glass collection.

I started collecting shot glasses when I was a teenager (why my parents thought this was okay, I don’t know) and it slowly morphed into collecting any shot glass from any location to only Hard Rock shot glasses.

I have so many that I actually carry a list in my wallet so if someone asks, or if I’m near a Hard Rock Cafe and didn’t plan ahead, I can check on what I have/don’t have. I think the count is around 41 now. (I just tried counting the glasses in this photo, but my eyes started to cross.) Some of my favorites?

Honorable mentions also go to Surfers Paradise, Australia, sent to me by my friend Dan on his leave from deployment – the package was barely padded and it made it to New York and didn’t break! Also Fiji, cause that’s awesome, and Prague, Berlin and Paris – we got those three on our honeymoon.

Want to send me a shot glass from where you live? I’ll pay for it! Even better, hey Hard Rock Cafe – you should totally sponsor me to travel the globe and collect them all!

This post was brought to you by the 20SB blogging prompt, “What do you collect? Show off your collection.”