We shopped at Del Amo:
> Metropark: a hipster place for the suburban hip. DJ in residence (not today) but the gear was there. Tons of skate and surf lifestyle stuff more oriented towards lifestyle and not really being the hip real time surfer that Huntington Beach promised. More Obey stuff (will do an entry on Obey as it is fascinating), jewels and pocketbooks, magazine selection and limited mens. Was part of a mall thing, so felt edgy in context.
> Forever XXI: H&M concept overlaid on an interior that smacks of pre-rennovated small department stores of the late 80s (ie Bergdorfs) with every item being under $24. Wonderful and fun. We stocked up on jewelly bangle bracelets for valentines day for all our gal pals at $6.80 a grouping. Really cute empire waisted short coats in a greyed out chartreuse, beige, white or black. Lots of sweaters, basic tees, and the New Years collection of spangled goodies. It was all tremendous fun...accessable and very now. Worth spending lots of time there digging through the baskets and racks.
> Loved Free People just for their illustrative facade. Another venue for illustrators. Take note>>
> Had lunch at the showstopper, In and Out Burger (menu above). Simple and to the point. About 5 things they offer. The biggest choice you will need to make is what to drink. Everything stacked into small , but tall, red plastic " buckets" to share the deliciousness out of. A must try. Everyone and their brother were eating post Christmas burgers and fries. We had to, too.
> Went to Aunty Baby's barn to check on the perfect "Just in Time" (Justin or Jay). Took a few pix of him to generate some horse images of him. I have never,ever seen an animal able to "strike a pose" quite the way this equine can do it. Impressive. And, images promise to come out of the shoot. There is one where he is bending this neck perpendicular to his body--and the way the light describes the plains is almost sublime.
It was a cool, SCal day. Perfect. Perfect sun, lots of breeze but nowhere near the blusteriness of our beloved plateau. Off to San Diego tomorrow.