Holiday Shopping at South Coast Plaza

Get your holiday shopping done at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa

I had the wonderful opportunity of getting to toast the holiday season on one of the craziest holiday shopping days of the year, Black Friday, at South Coast Plaza's The Penthouse. I had been to the Penthouse Suite before for a shopping event with La Perla, and was fascinated to see how the space was turned into a festive, winter wonderland. Guests and the media were able to enjoy breakfast and lunch offerings, blood orange mimosas, coffee, and pampering amenities such as manicures by Lollipop Nail Studio, hand massages by Aveda, a hair refresh by Vidal Sassoon, mini makeovers by MAC, and flash tattoo applications. I grabbed sweet treats on the way out from the candy bar and also received an amazing SCP tote bag filled with goodies to survive Black Friday.

As expected, the shopping center was PACKED, and I window shopped, but didn't bother going inside stores. It looked like shoppers really took full advantage of Black Friday deals; if you're still looking to get gift shopping done, South Coast Plaza probably won't be as much of a frenzy as Black Friday and you have such a great selection of shops. Check out the beautiful ornament displays and Christmas tree in the shopping center as well!

Two Point Oh LA's 5th Annual Snowball, Maker City LA

Two Point Oh LA hosted yet another festive Snowball to bring together so cal's fashion, beauty, and lifestyle bloggers and tastemakers at Maker City LA in Downtown LA to celebrate the holiday season. Prior to the soiree, bloggers and attendees were invited to experience the Styling Suite which included getting hair done by Blow Me Hair App (I had vintage waves done by hairstylist Leticia); a massage by Destination 2 Relaxation, and selecting a dress from Daily Look for the event (or accessories if you already had a dress). Styling Suite guests also got to enjoy an awesome mimosa and light bites bar. Andrew was my date so we went through the Styling Suite together, then off to dinner, and back for the big event. It was fun getting to see and reconnect with familiar faces or bloggers I usually don't get to see on a more regular basis. Yummy cocktails, a candy bar, Christmas ornaments and tunes filled the space; and at 9pm, guests were able to walk through a Gifting Suite and select items from various brands to take home and experience! If you're in the LA or OC area and looking for a great blogger network to be apart of, join Two Point Oh LA for $25 annual and have access to blogger events, happenings, and opportunities weekly. 

Fashion Island Tree Lighting Ceremony 2014

The beautiful Fashion Island Shopping Center in Newport Beach was transformed into a holiday wonderland for the Tree Lighting Ceremony featuring Mickey & Friends and a glorious 90 ft Christmas tree. This was the first year in at least a decade that I have been able to attend since in previous years I've worked or had a prior engagement during the tree lighting. I was very thrilled to get to view the spectacular show from the media viewing area in front of Bloomingdales and was just enraptured by the magical Disney performance from beginning to end (if you didn't know, I'm a TOTAL Disney fan) while enjoying pomegranate mimosas, sweet treats from Sweet & Saucy Shop, and appetizers from Bloomingdale's 59th & Lex Cafe. I enjoyed singing Christmas classics and bobbing along to new tunes; the icing on the cake was not only the illumination of the tree but snow fall that made everything seem just oh so magical. If you didn't get to attend the tree lighting ceremony this year or want to re-watch it, it was recorded by KTLA5 and will be televised on Thanksgiving Day at 7:30pm on Channel 5! See more holiday happenings hosted by the Irvine Company's retail spaces here, and visit the beautiful tree and Santa's House at Fashion Island before it's gone!