Cruising around Santa Monica

Just got home from walking around all day in Santa Monica.  My feet are going to fall off soon...x.x But it was fun exploring around LA for Diane's 18th birthday.  What better way to celebrate than by having a mini shopping spree, right?  =P  Unfortunately, Diane wasn't able to buy anything she liked so we might have to go to South Coast so I can get her a birthday gift.  Honestly, after comparing many different malls I've been to, nothing beats South Coast Plaza.  It's sophisticated, indoors (I hate walking around in outdoor malls), and consists of a variety of stores from high-end designers--like Gucci, Burberry, Miu Miu, etc--to more affordable shops like AE, Wet Seal, etc.  They're even opening up a Forever 21 soon, which Diane is excited about.  Personally, I'm not a huge Forever 21 fan as I used to be.  Mainly due to the poor quality of their fabrics.  And their merchandise is pricier now!  Lamesauce.

Anyways, to sum it up: you get the most at the coast! =P

Back to Santa Monica...

It took about an hour for us to drive over there.

 We played around with the camera to pass the time.

The sexy birthday girl.

Do I look older with glasses?

My hair style for the day--I love them braids!

We first stopped at this little Japanese boutique called Anap.  It was my first time there so I was really excited to check out all the J-fashion.

The store wasn't open when we arrived because they open a little late (at noon).  So in order to pass the time, Diane and I munched on some Beard Papa cream puffs =) After browsing around the store, I was a little bummed.  Maybe it's because I couldn't find anything to my liking but I felt like most of the clothes were a bit overpriced for their quality and it was either a hit or miss.  The boutique itself was cute (it's extremely pink and girly haha) and the sales associates were super friendly.  My mom ended up buying this really bizarre zebra-striped blouse which was a bit questionable for my tastes...It was quite amusing...

We headed out to Westfield Century City Mall afterwards because mumsy wanted to shop at Macy's.  Parking was ridiculous!  It took us 30 minutes before we were able to secure a spot for us x.x. I wasn't in the mood to take a lot of pictures of the stores because it was terribly windy today and my eyes were super irritated.  This is why I hate outdoor malls--you have to deal with annoying weather.

I did manage to get a picture of Zara though <3

The Juicy Couture here was pretty big!  It's not as big as the flagship store in Las Vegas, but it's the biggest one I've been to in Cali.  Everything was very neat and organized and the dressing room was SO PINK.  I loved it. I felt like a princess in there haha!

Front of the store

Messing around in the fitting rooms

Later, we finally headed to our final destination: the Third Street Promenade in downtown Santa Monica.  I liked how a lot of the stores were just there side-by-side along one street.  It was easy to browse through each store (a lot of the stores were pretty huge!) but with Veteran's Day sale n' all, it was super crowded.  I wanted to check out the Mango store here since I heard it was a flagship store.  The design and layout of the store is pretty modern, chic, and sophisticated.  It's more spacious than the one at South Coast but the available merchandise was very similar...which I thought was rather strange.  I figured it would have more since it's bigger.  Oh well, it was cool checking it out nonetheless =)  I would probably prefer working at the Mango in South Coast though hehe

Sorry, a bit blurry since I didn't use flash.

I liked their window display. 

Here's my purchases for the day:

1) Two lace tanks - Abercrombie

2) Sweater - Forever 21

3) Pink belt - H&M

4) Heritage Crest Wallet - Juicy Couture

I've been hunting for that cream colored sweater everywhere!  I first saw it at the Forever 21 in Mission Viejo, but didn't buy it because I was a bit tight on money and figured I could find it at another store closer to home.  But I had the most difficult time hunting it down!  When I saw it randomly hanging on a go-back rack at the Third Street Promenade store, I dashed towards it before anyone else could get it xD

Anyways, that's my haul for the day.  I might stop by Sephora this weekend because I hear they're having another 20% off event?  Not so sure...but I hope so!  I've been wanting to buy some new skincare products.


Alrighty, gotta go rest now since I have work tomorrow.  *sigh*  At least tomorrow's paycheck Friday! ^^

<3,
Juju