I LOVE LOS ANGELES!!!

I'm baacckkk!!!! After a long hiatus for personal reasons, I am finally back! Anyway, last weekend, I had the pleasure of going to Los Angeles for the first time since 2007! First, let me just say, I love LA. It's like being in a different country. The people there act differently and the weather certainly is different for me. It's a cross between the Monterey area and the Central Valley (where I used to live). It's hot, but it's got a slight breeze. Anyway, it was nice to get away with the girls for our trip. We did LOTS of shopping, lots of talking, lots of laughing and LOTS of eating. The pictures are a mix between my DSLR and the one on my phone. We only had a weekend in Los Angeles, so we only got to go downtown to the Fashion District and ChinaTown. Next time, we'll have to hit up the other tourist areas, but it was such a blast!

First, we all drove there in three different cars, I think there was a total of 11 of us. I was in my sister in law's car. Thank goodness I chose this one because she had a DVD player in there. LOL. So I got to watch movies for the 3.5 hour drive there. My little sister Malissa was the driver:

That's my sister-in-law, Dee, sleeping at the bottom of the picture, but here is another one anyway:

And next to me was Pang, my nephew's girlfriend (Don't kill me Pang for putting this up, but it was super funny):

And of course me:

By the way, Pang, Dee, and my other sister Jenny had made the drive from Sacramento down to the central valley to meet up with the rest of the family. We left the Sacramento at midnight and got intoVisalia around 4 am and then got up to get ready and leave around 8 am, so that is why we were all tired.

On the road, this was as we were passing the grapevine and the sign that you're getting closer to LA? Pyramid Lake! I remember waiting to see this landmark as a little kid on my way to LA with my mom or dad or aunt or uncle. It's so cool.

See? Part of the mountain is actually in the shape of a pyramid and I don't know if you can tell, but there are steps also just like the on the pyramids in Egypt.

We finally arrived in Los Angeles around noon and headed straight for the Fashion District. We decided to focus our attention on Santee Alley. If you have not heard about Santee Alley, you'll get mixed reviews, but its best to visit it for yourself and make your own opinions about it. I've been coming here with my family for years and years and my how everything's changed yet it's still all the same. I don't know how else to explain it but it's a must for me still. Before we get our shopping on, it's time for some commemorative photos. :D

My sister Mary not paying attention

The girls posing in the mirror

We've arrived to Santee Alley

I found a store that was ALL Hello Kitty, well mostly, they had some other stuff too (Like Kai-Lan)

After about four hours in Santee Alley (sorry no more photos, I was too busy shopping), we headed over to China Town which wasn't far from the Fashion District. I love this picture of the flag in China Town, yes, the sky was that blue. No photo processing here at all.

After dropping off our tons of bags and luggage off at our hotel, we decided to go explore. Check out the pics:

Jenny decided to do a hop, skip, and jump. :D

This time, Susan (on the left) wanted to do it too, but I didn't get it on time

Another commemorative photo while they waited for me

It was a hot day, so here's Nancy drinking water 

This was going to be just Jenny and Pang, but everyone else came in the picture too

Jenny utilizing her shirt and "Spreading" her wings. LOL

I was so busy taking pictures, I lost the group, Pang was the only one nice enough to wait for me.

So after 3 more hours of shopping (7 hours so far) in China Town, we decided to go back to the hotel and get ready for dinner and a night out.

Pang and Dee

Here's me for the night out...yes, my hair has grown...FINALLY! and some extensions :)

Mary and her mother in law watching. She's eating because I COOKED all the meat (Korean BBQ)

Mary and Dee before our night out

These were my dishes, a plate of meat and a plate of rice. I'm a simple gal :P

From our table, all the fixings and side dishes, etc

The girls karaoke-ing. So hilariously funny

Susan with her tambourine, but trying to escape my camera

Know what this is? It's an OLD SCHOOL TELEPHONE! In our hotel lobby!

One of my accomplished missions: LA street hot dogs with ALL the fixings!!! YUM!

 So, basically, that was my LA trip...in a nutshell. Sorry about the lack of pictures and lack of quality of the pictures, but I was more into shopping and didn't really carry my huge DSLR everywhere. Next time, the pictures will be more stunning! Until then, check out what I bought here on my Makeup/Fashion Blog!

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