tres delicious

another yummy gift to myself.

i'm so silky

this is a mulberry tree.

it grows leaves that silkworms love to eat. once the silk worms get all fat and juicy, they spin their cocoons which people then harvest to make silk. the silk then gets made into, well, silk fabric which turns into overpriced clothes, curtains, etc...ahhh....the mulberry tree.

this is MY mulberry tree, a mulberry bayswater (yes, the design house is called mulberry. it is particularly popular in europe, england to be specific, but i think this design house has been infiltrating the american market pretty effectively. it's definitely not as popular as many of the other brands that i usually talk about, but it's getting notice). i won't be eating it and then shoot silk threads out of my ass, but i would be so super excited to get one of their bags for my bagdrobe. the bayswater pictured below is the iconic mulberry shape (though i think it's a bit like a hermes kelly shape):

another very iconic detail about mulberry is the hardware. i LOVE it! i think it's the cutest detail ever and i think the lock is called a "mailman lock." don't quote me on the name of the lock style though. do you see a little mulberry tree engraving on top? so cute!

i've been jocking this brand for a LONG time too, though i haven't made a peep about it because i was chanel, balenciaga, and bottega veneta derailed for such a long time. i recently saw someone toting a FABULOUS mulberry (not the bayswater) and it reminded me how much i dig it too. i should have asked her what style bag it was so at least i can hunt for it even though i can't purchase one anytime soon...but i did not. *sigh*

i was really close to getting this antony messenger bag though. seriously, i just want to own that hardware! hahhaha. but hardware aside, it's made of super thick, heavy leather. really sturdy bags in my opinion. but alas, i DID NOT purchase this messenger bag and i'm glad i didn't because i saw a lady at the cabazon outlet wearing one and she was tall and thin...and british possibly and it looked super yuppie and j.crew on her. that messenger bag would have done me no good...it hangs at an odd angle in my opinion and visually looks heavy.

so in my world, bagnatic digs mulberry trees just as much as silkworms do. anyways, look out for a mulberry tree on a shoulder or an arm near you. i sure do! one day..... *sigh*

finding another outlet

my friends and i went to morongo casino yesterday...hahaha...i have a story about that one, but it's not bag related so i'll save it for potential mindless chit chat fodder when i see you next. anyways, the cabazon outlets are out there too so OF COURSE, going with other chicks meant an outlet shopping spree! whooppeeee!!!!!....before we head out to the casino and lose our pants that is.

like everybody else, i like looking for deals....but perhaps not like everybody else, i don't mind dropping some hard earned cash to get whatever i want when it's feasible. anyways, while we were finding parking, we passed by a few stores and i saw a BOTTEGA VENETA store there. OMG. i got so excited! i was crossing my fingers that i would find something that i liked since you know how hard i've been jocking this design house. come on now! i even wrote a letter to santa asking for one!

*sigh* but alas, outlet stores are outlet stores for a reason. they house a lot of wares that are perhaps "unpopular" or are items phased out from seasons ago. once in a while, i think you might get lucky and find a good deal (my friend found a gucci wallet for her fiance at a great price), but other times, they probably aren't items you would have chosen anyways.

the bv's i saw there were such the case. the bag i saw with the interciatto weaving looks like this picture down below but was an OOGLY shade of lavender and the flower design just bugs. but omg, the leather is oh so soft! bv is outrageously priced for a reason. :(

i did not walk away with a bottega veneta :( i did walk away with some comfy blue shoes for school in one of the other cabazon stores. ah, sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some....just like my gambling experience at morongo casino.

please don't take me out

last weekend, i went to a yelp elite event. if you did not know this, i'm a yelper too (ahhahha...the things i do on my free time). i'm not just any ole yelper mind you, but an "elite" one, meaning i get invited to free shitz! last saturday, i was invited to some shmancy shin dig where i got free booze and fancy tapas....oh, and a free yelpie hoodie carried in a cute green awareness tote. whoo hoo! *bagnatic smacking her lips* i was drunk by 7pm and stuffed. haha. good times, good times.

anyways, while drinking and eating, i spotted a few bags there. OF COURSE! i saw this fellow yelper toting a super cute chanel brown lambskin flap. so purty! but then i saw THIS atrocity:

ugh, PLEASE DON'T EVER BUY A PURSE SHAPED LIKE A CHINESE TAKE OUT BOX. PLEASE DON'T. I DON'T CARE IF IT'S COVERED IN FAUX SILK TO MAKE IT "FANCIER." THERE IS NO WAY OF MAKING A TAKE OUT BOX FANCIER!!! THAT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG AND SO FREAKIN' FUGZ AND I JUST FELT LIKE GRABBING THIS FELLOW YELPER'S TAKE OUT PURSE TO PUT IN SOME TAPAS TO TAKE HOME. LET'S ALL PUKE IN UNISON.

hey, i'm not saying gimmicks can't be cute. look, i have a star purse circa before i became a bag obsessed whore, but you don't see me rocking it now do you? i know my limits, like no mini skirts after age 35....

my star bag is still hella cute, but once you go bagnatic, it's hard to go back to this hot topic tote.

pondering prada

when i was on my wallet hunt last november, i had already seen this wallet. i LIKED it, was about to purchase it, but i discovered something fundamentally wrong with prada. they have horrible quality control issues...well, at least with their red wallets in this particular style. the inside coin pocket for this red colored wallet was not sewn well because it buckles inside or there would be a few loose threads here and there. after checking the few they had at saks, i had to walk away. can't pay that kind of money for sub par quality snoot. aigh, that was back in NOVEMBER!

funny thing is, since november and even after i purchased my chanel wallet, i ALWAYS visited this wallet style at saks whenever i went to scp for other goodies. it's like that really cute puppy you see at the pet store and you try to go by and pet it whenever you're around. alas, i've petted this wallet several times now over the last 6 months. i really like the red color and the compact design. it's super slim but can fit a lot and for that, i always had the heart to buy it....i was just waiting to find the "acceptable" one.

well, i finally found it!! the coin pocket doesn't buckle but there IS still a flaw (one of the holes on the corner of the triangle is missing its gold filling. it's not that noticeable unless you look for it. ack!) but i know what you're thinking....why get it then for an outrageous price when it's not 100% perfect?!?! ahhh...i had to ask myself that same question too, but after going to the saks and prada store on rodeo drive and returning to saks at scp looking for the perfect one but not finding it, i decided that 6 months of this pondering needs to come to an end. i either have to purchase the "best" one they have there or let the wallet go because seasons will eventually change and styles get phased out. i know i wanted THIS particular prada wallet so i decided to purchase the best one....the one with the missing filling. i didn't want to have any retail regrets since it's obviously been on my mind for so long. and to make myself feel more "ok" with this purchase, i did have $51 in gift card credit at saks.

the SA told me that they are trying to phase out the triangle label for prada products other than the black colored ones. they are trying to use just their name in script as the logo instead because the triangle shape has been reproduced on too many fakes. anyways, they had two red wallet styles with both logos. i preferred the triangle one because it's actually a hair smaller than the one with the new label.

New Label Old Label

anyways, i could have probably waited around some more and not "settled" until the perfect red prada wallet showed up but i'm not much of a prada fan anyways and i'm not hooked on this brand, i'm just hooked on this particular red wallet. but since this is a wallet and NOT a man, i thought settling is fine in this situation. i think the wallet is sturdy and i can really abuse it, even throw it against the wall if i wanted to...and come on now, it's been 6 months!

so this is my prada. i still heart my chanel and would have gotten a chanel wallet anyways...i like the idea of matching my wallets with my purses. it's resting now while i use my prada for my school days, lugging its redness in my lesportsac bag.

the wallet that kept me hooked.

2 of 4

it's not a chanel, but it's still pretty awesome. whoo hoo!

the americana

i recently went to the americana to check out this "the grove" counterpart. they are sisters after all and developed by the same person (caruso) so the layout is pretty darn similar if not EXACTLY the same. from the fountain, to the pacific theatres, to the barnes and noble, to the cheesecake factory...and the trolley that didn't move because there were too many people milling about. the only thing "ungrove-ish" about the americana is that it's in glendale, there's no farmer's market, and you have to be an american to shop there. :)

i grew up going to the glendale galleria. in fact, i use to take the bus there and the highlight of my teenage years was being able to hang out with friends at the mall. by far, it is STILL my mall of choice, though scp has become a close second for other reasons. i'm accustomed to the galleria pace. you know, the slow walking, regular stores for the average worker. i liked that. when target took over the old robinson's-may location, i just pictured the galleria being more funky and ghetto...i thought, what's next to go? nordstroms or macy because the shoppers are carrying target bags now while they peruse their wares? apparently not.

i think the americana is a great addition! not good for the residents of glendale per se because of the amount of high density traffic it gets, but good for me, the average shopper who likes a ton of stores in the same location. come on now! park and shop..."like, isn't that rad?"

-at the galleria, i can shop at: nordstrom, macy's, bakers, the gap, verizon, and target.

-at the americana: forever 30 (oh my god it's huge! now i don't have to go to pasadena anymore when i want my trendy fix), H & M, and urban outfitters.

-at the glendale market place: pacific sun (?) and old navy.

now that you know what's in my closet.........

the only drawbacks of course is the horrid parking situation...though i successfully parked at the galleria once and walked over. i can imagine the galleria parking becoming uber crazy if you had a choice between paying at the americana or parking for free at the galleria. the americana also lacks in the bag department, but i guess that's what scp is for.

mass consumerism at its finest. i know people were trashing the americana for many reasons, but for bagnatic, it gets a TWO THUMBS UP. convenient shopping for me is SO the rage.

peeping toes

these shoes were in the box. wore it twice already and although they are made to be comfortable...alas, they are not. cute though. i was really thrilled by the peep toes and the gold trim on it. i thought it looked hot and i've been wanting a pair like that for a while. i got even more excited when i found out the brand was one of those "comfy" ones...you know, geriatric shoes for the fashion forward crowd. i tried to break it in, but instead, they broke me in :( my toes hurt. sadness.

*bagnatic throws another pair of shoes in the limited use pile. boy does that pile grow!*

i LOVE boxes

here's a one of a series of things i bought for myself because i deserve it. thanks.