Weekend: Sample Sales and Birthday Parties

This weekend was another busy one!

Friday: Fashion District Sample Sales

Friday, my friend Allison (of The Tiny Coyote) and I went on a field trip with our babies to the Fashion District and checked out some sample sales in Downtown L.A. (DTLA). I’ve heard about sample sale shopping before, but really wish I went before having a baby. We took strollers to save our backs, but quickly realized it’s difficult to ride in the same elevator when using them.  I should have consulted the website first, but we went there on a whim, when I found out about the Junk Food Clothing sample sale. A salesperson at Junk Food Clothing told us about L.A. Kid’s Market at California Market Center. What a find! So many cute designer baby and kids clothes for as low as $5, or 50% – 75% off. It’s cash only, so make sure you bring as much as you want to spend. I restrained myself and promised I would do my research first and make a budget for spending, so next time I’ll be ready.

Sample sale days, which are open to the public, are usually held on the last Friday of every month. Hours are usually 9:00am – 3:00pm. Please refer to lafashiondistrict.org for more information.

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L.A. Kids market at the California Market Center
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Board of sale advertisements at the Cooper Design Space

Saturday: A Birthday Party and The Grove

I happen to have met and become friends with some moms whose babies are born within days of my baby. One of the babies was born at the same hospital as mine and the father remembers seeing my baby! What a coincidence. They celebrated his birthday on Saturday. It was a “Toy Story” themed party and was at the park at Mar Vista Rec Center.

Since my husband has to work late on our daughter’s birthday (Monday), we celebrated her birthday together at The Grove. I usually cringe when I think about going there because of the crowds and because parking is a nightmare in that giant structure. When I do have to go there, I park at the Farmer’s Market side and get my parking ticket validated. My husband downloaded The Grove App, which has Flash Park and allowed us to get 2 hours free parking. It worked just fine for us, although a few reviews which say it doesn’t work the way it should, so use your discretion.

We decided her birthday meal would be a burger, since that’s what I ate the day before I went into labor. We went to Umami Burger, which is one of our favorite places to get a burger, and is more kid-friendly than the gastropub (The Tripel) we ate at last year. Aria and I shared The Grove Truffle Burger, and she also had some tater tots (an off-menu item you can ask for). It’s difficult for her to stay still these days, but we made it through dinner just shy of her having a meltdown. There was still some time to walk around, so we took her to American Girl Place. There was a doll that looked just like her, so we had some fun taking pictures with it. I’d love to get it for her, but I think I’ll wait until she’s a little older to appreciate it. After all, it is $125!

Sunday: Another birthday party

Today, we went to the birthday party of the other friend who shares the birth week! It was at the party room of a condo complex, and was a lot of fun. Delicious treats and wonderful sweets. You wouldn’t expect anything less from the owner of Essential Chocolate Desserts!

Gotta rest and gear up for my little one’s big day tomorrow!

westsidemommy

I am a new mom to a baby girl. I live in West Los Angeles. This blog is about my experiences as a new mom and navigating my way through kid-friendly L.A.

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