Travelog Day 3: Thebaghag hits the local mall

Wow. I could not believe this myself but I actually was asleep by 12 midnight last night! I was dead tired. I only slept for 2 hours the following day, so I could normalize my body clock. And true enough, I woke up at 9:30am today– like a normal person on vacation! (Hehe well some vacationers actually wake up at 11am *gloat gloat*. I am a morning person!!! hehe)

Yesterday we went to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get our car registration sticker. We were frantically looking all over for it in our mails but had not received it at all. We found out that DMV did send the sticker but the poor thing probably got lost in the mail. So we just decided to go straight to DMV to get the thing done. Forget waiting for it in snail mail. Don’t want it to get lost again 🙁

Post DMV, we decided to drive over to Sun Valley Mall. My sibs and I pretty much “grew up” in this mall. It’s been here since.. Oh wow, since.. 1989?! Or even earlier? Little has changed in this part of town. Perhaps the only change being stores closing and new ones opening. No matter. We still love going to this mall. No, no designer boutiques here. *Tsk, why do you peeps think I only shop designer? tsk tsk. I LOVE cheap stuff coz I’m actually a pretty cheapo person. It takes so little moolah to make me happy :D*

Macy’s. Wooo… their bag section is huge. Always been. But a quick scour through resulted in nothing productive. I did notice though, that Coach has this bag that looks inspired by Louis Vuitton’s globe trotter (canvas bags). Hmm…. first it was Dooney and Bourke.. Now it’s Coach. Tsk tsk, I smell a lawsuit coming… (You know how LVMH is like… litigious *hehehe*)

Charlotte Russe. Waaahhhh. Let me tell you why I like this store. Because if you’ve met me and saw me wearing these really ratty old pair of jeans, it came from Charlotte Russe. Bought 2 pairs of jeans from this store when they were having a huge sale, and I netted 2 pairs of jeans for only $7 each! Yes, SEVEN dollars!!! Designer jeans can kiss my hiney goodbye coz nothing beats a pair of $7 jeans that fit well. 😀 What bags do they have now? These.The multi-pocket bag costs US$15, and that Muse- like bag costs $17 (someone thwack me if I got the prices wrong). Ugh, I am so jaded. I wouldn’t have minded that canvas multi-pocket bag if I were just 16 years old and still in school actually (hehe think about it this way, most 16 year olds now are wayy more jaded than I am. For bag’s sake! They already carry YSL Muse bags to school!!! And back then, I would’ve honestly been sooo contented with a nondescript rucksack! See, I’m not THAT jaded! Honestly! *Muwahaha*).

H&M. Wow this is new. This mall used to be devoid of any of those “big” stores that threaten smaller businesses. Opening an H&M would threaten smaller businesses. Who can beat their prices? Case in point– Rampage. The sales associate at H&M tells me that Rampage’s business went downhill after H&M opened, and 2 weeks ago, their boutique finally closed down. I got sad there. I used to loooooove Rampage (their clothes were so channeling “Clueless” back then haha.. In case you young hags don’t know “Clueless”, it’s a movie with Alicia Silverstone *hoooo boy I revealed my age by that info hahaha!!!*). They have a neat bag wall, but nothing striking enough. I also spied this big tote that resembles the batignolles style. Hints of “belts” on bags are very well received by many baghags including myself (I personally like this style although this bag is just wayyy too conservative for me 😀 Err wait, I would’ve wanted this bag for school *forget about the YSL muse, a student has to at least “pretend” to live an impoverished life!! An ostentatious lifestyle can follow after graduation. Muwahaha*)

Victoria’s Secret. Sigh. What IS Victoria’s Secret? Her unlimited stash of sexy lingerie? *Duh, snort* I still love this store. It always smells sooo good in there! And all those nice lingerie. But now even I had to balk at the prices they are charging. I will wait for the sale. If there is one 😀 Oh and they even have a free bag giveaway for purchasing their fragrances! The bag looks like a Prada 😀 But it’s not hehe.

There was the Disney store where I pretty much let loose. *Sorry no photos for this one hahaha!* See, here’s the deal about being a mom when you are travelling alone, sans the kiddies. You end up getting pulled into stores for kids! And I was part of that statistic. *Panic hagshopper alert!* I swiped the card hard here, hags. *sob* I miss my kids so much! 🙁 And there was quite a bit of a sale (but no earth shattering prices), so I just bought and bought. PJs, shirts, slippers… Dingdingding, before I knew it, I had already spent $100! *ACK!* But it’s all good. It’s for the kids (and that’s all I’m spending *muwahahaha OK that statement just painted me as a VERY selfish mom haha* I retract!!! Sheesh *scared to be branded as selfish even if in reality I know I am! Hehehe PFFFT!*).

Fredericks of Hollywood. Ooooh my site sponsor *hehehe*. Frederick’s was once known as the raciest lingerie store. Or so I thought. But they actually have some good stuff. And they’re a bit cheaper than Victoria’s Secret.

Amuse. This is the accessories store to combat the other accessories store, Claire’s (also owns Icing). But I find that the accessories at Girlshoppe (Manila) are much cheaper 😀 You’re talking to the bargain hunter/ smart shopper here *choke*. I won’t be paying $7 (plus tax) for a faux gold necklace if I know I could get it at Girlshoppe for only Php 250 (US $5- and that’s tax free!) 😀 Hags, why pay more, right? Oh and get this– the show window of Amuse has YSL– inspired Muse bags *copied right down to the YSL lock!!!!* They even have it in teal blue. Hehee amusing indeed…

Last stop before meeting DM— Forever 21. I enjoy this store because they have cheap clothes. By cheap, I’m talkiing under $35 (Php 1,770) for a full length sundress that can double as a gown! I didn’t have that much time anymore to browse because it was near our meeting time. So I promised myself that I’d visit the store again– in another location 😀

Dinnertime!! We decided to just leave the mall. DM and I were craving noodles… and there was no good “authentic” noodle place at the mall. Obviously not here. We were driving past this strip mall when I noticed a Vietnamese restaurant. Ever the adventurous hag, I was like, “let’s go here!”. DM was at first not too keen on trying new restaurants that I have never tried before. After all, let’s face it. Having stomach problems stemming from food can be quite lethal. *Gulp, did I bring my Immodium (diarrhea suppressing medicine)? hehehe joke!*

Pho Hoa An. Ok, the proprietors are Vietnamese 🙂 That’s a good sign. And there were a good number of people eating there. Another good sign. I wonder though, why I never saw this restaurant before, especially since I would normally take this route home from the mall. Hmm.. Must be getting old (and blind teehee).

We ordered the fresh rolls (wrapped in rice paper) with peanut sauce. It was SUPERB!

Then we both ordered a bowl (each!!) of Pho noodle soup with thinly sliced steak, well done flank, tendon and tripe. DM was super pleased (and really, that’s all that matters to me). She loves the food here and so do I. We also ordered Thai iced tea with tapioca pearls. Everything was yummy! Our total bill came out to US$17 (Php 860).

Not a bad day at all 🙂 Ok hags, it’s time for me to take a bath now. I love the weather here. It was pretty hot yesterday like Manila (only, the heat here seems to scorch more than back home). But today is pretty breezy out there. I reckon it should be about 18 degrees Celsius out right now. Time to wear a coat *ooh I just can’t wait, can I?! hehe*

Take care hags! More errands to do today. Gotta go to Kinko’s. Hope you are all enjoying my blog these days 😀 *Hugs to all*

Don’t forget, I’m reachable by SMS at (+1415) 283-5591!

P.S. Here’s another reason to be in San Francisco this month! Department store giant Bloomingdale’s is opening the country’s 2nd largest store on September 28 on the corner of 5th and Market Street 😀 *wooohoooo!!!* Bloomie’s SF store will be the first to stock Jimmy Choo shoes and the relaunched 60s brand Biba! Other high end designers like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Sonia Rykiel, Missoni, Celine, Peter Som, Viktor and Rolf, Charles Chang Lima, Palmer Jones, Sari Gueron, and Y & Kei will likewise be carried by the store. Bloomingdale’s SF will have a total of five floors! I am soo looking forward to this 🙂

P.P.S. YAY! LPT and her DH are coming into town tomorrow!
HAGS: Tomorrow is THE day I go to designer heaven, so if you have designer bags you want me to get, better SMS me already *Ding ding, GOYARD! CHANEL! HERMES! NEIMAN MARCUS!* Oh and the LV Damier Azur is not out yet, by the way.

P.P.P.S. And my last “P.S.” for today, A quick holler-out to my DH and my kiddies: I miss you all so much!! *Sniff sniff* DH, please hug the kiddies real tight for me!

xo