Orange To L.A. LOVES South Coast Plaza

When you want to get the word out about your business or product where do you go? Well nowadays you go to the Internet. You can't deny the power that bloggers have, newspapers and magazines are little by little being phased out. It's just a lot simpler to go online from either your computer or cellphone to look up information on whatever topic or product you're interested in. So it doesn't surprise me that even a huge place like South Coast Plaza was using bloggers to get the word out.

When you think of Beverly Hills shopping you think of Rodeo Drive, but for the premier Orange County shopping destination it is the South Coast Plaza Mall. It houses all the exclusive designer labels under one roof. Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Louboutin, Yves Saint Laurent, Henri Bendel, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Burberry, Christian Dior, Valentino, Hermes, Miu Miu, Harry Winston, Gucci, Fendi, are just a few of the drool worthy boutiques currently inside South Coast Plaza.

You see, there is shopping at a mall and then there is the glorious shopping experience of being at the South Coast Plaza. Whether you're stopping by to grab a quick lunch at one of the 30 restaurants inside the mall, or looking for that perfect dress from your choice of 280 upscale boutiques, you will love your experience. If you can't find it here, it may not exist. With new stores opening all the time you can't help but be drawn to such a beautiful place to shop.

I was very lucky and fortunate to be invited to the 2nd Annual Blogger event hosted by South Coast Plaza. I arrived at the meet and greet which was held inside the VIP Access Suite and was able to mingle with some of the other invited bloggers like Sabrina of The Beauty Look Book, Tyna and Stef of We Heart This (These girls are awesome and I could talk with them all day!), Jess Mandeville of My Fashion Plate, Katy Cook of The San Diego Examiner, and Caryn of Rockin' Mama, to name a few. We were given specially designed reusable totes with "South Coast Plaza Loves Bloggers" on them, after the initial greets we set out to explore some of the great things South Coast Plaza has to offer.

The first stop was the Tumi Boutique. This years event theme was "jet-setting" so all the presentations and demonstrations revolved around this key idea. Tumi put together a great presentation on "How to pack like a jet-setting pro". I'm a horrible packer so I was all eyes and ears hoping to find something that might help me get ready for my upcoming trips. Then it was off to The Spa Nordstrom Escape where we were offered a bronzing session. I spend all year maintaining my pale skin, so I skipped on this treatment even though I did kinda regret it after seeing some of the other bloggers in their bronzed glory.

Henri Bendel was next on the itinerary and I couldn't help but jump for joy. As many times as I have been to South Coast Plaza I seem to never have time to make it inside Henri Bendel's, so this was a treat. I have been to the Henri Bendel in New York and unfortunately this location in South Coast Plaza is very small in comparison. Since we were still on our jet-setting kick, the sales associates showed us the new line of travel items good for any summer excursion: suitcases, beach bags, flip-flops, makeup cases, etc. Sorry Henri, as much as I love you I left without buying a single item, don't worry we will always have New York.

I loved their jewelry displays

We were then taken to Intimacy, a new lingerie store that had opened recently. The lovely women of Intimacy gave a great presentation on which bras should be worn with certain necklines. With over 90 sizes of bras (A to K cup), friendly and knowledgeable sales associates, and a holistic method of fitting I knew I was going to be back soon. I think sometimes us women forget just how important it is to own and wear a good/correct fitting bra. After given some free time to explore South Coast Plaza, we met up again for dinner at AnQi and a fashion show. The food was very good, and the company was even better, I sat at a table with Sabrina, Stef, and Tyna. The fashion show was set up to run during dinner inside of AnQi featuring items from La Perla.