So…how many of you braved the malls and large department stores and did some Black Friday shopping? I know some people actually headed out to the outlet stores prior to midnight to do their shopping and some stayed in line to be one of the first in line to get deals on whatever. This year, I actually stayed clear of buying any kinds of electronics for fear of getting trampled on. I’m small, you know I also figured I’d save my purchases for online (or at least for Cyber Monday, *cough*Ineedanewrouter*cough*). However, my parents and I did find ourselves going to Fashion Valley this morning at 5:30 AM. I was actually surprised at myself for getting up and getting ready in record time; I could never do that when it comes to going to school

This post will actually cover some recently (and suddenly) acquired merchandise prior to Black Friday when I took a trip up to the Bay Area last weekend and today after enduring Black Friday. I will first start with this mini Chara Fortune from Macross Frontier. Can you possibly guess who this is?

If you guessed Alto Saotome…LOL! I was freaking out when I got Alto as the character. I was really hoping to get Ranka, but this takes the cake. Seriously. Pretty Alto is pretty.

Here are some things I purchased while in San Francisco this past weekend. I didn’t want to spend too much since I wasn’t going to be there that long (therefore: not that much space to store goodies), but I did get what I wanted. First off, I went to the figure store that I always hit up and bought a chibi RX-78-2! Isn’t it adorable? I want to display it next to my chibi Exia :3 I can’t really find it anywhere else in San Diego, so why not get it now? The other things I also got were toe socks and Hi-Chew from Ichiban Kan (which I find superior to Daiso in terms of merchandise). The thing is, it’s not just ordinary flavors of Hi-Chew: they’re white peach and durian. Wait, what: durian?!

Yes, durian! The stinky fruit we all know and love. I opened it up and smelled the candy right away; it’s not too bad. I went ahead and done a taste-test after shooting this photo. It’s very, very subtle. Slightly stinky, but it’s not absolutely horrible. It’s bearable, actually. Think of it this way: if you can stand eating an actual durian, this is cake. As for white peach, you can’t go wrong with that

Burping after eating a durian Hi-Chew does yield some interesting results, though

And now for the Black Friday purchases! First stop was Old Navy where everything in the store was pretty much on sale. First section I went to were the jeans. I love their jeans! I scored a pair of Diva boot-cut jeans for $15! Most comfortable jeans ever. The fleece pullover was only $5; you could say it was more of an impulse buy. I think it’d be cute to wear either in the house or going out; whichever works. The booties were only ~$9. I’ve always wanted a pair! I’ve actually been on this weird boot high, trying to expand my shoe collection outside of my usual high-top sneakers. I wore them around the house already. They’re very soft and comfortable. Seal of approval!

Second stop for me was Forever 21. Hiding in the corner was a section with $12 boots. Yes, $12 boots. I couldn’t resist I also needed to get some tights as well so I just went ahead and bought those. All together? $20. Win! Welcome to the family, my second pair of boots (I don’t think booties count, do they? If so, then they’re my third pair haha).

I’m not quite sure if this picture does this justice, but my goodness, I fell in love with this dress as soon as I walked into H&M! $20 for this gem! Such a beautiful dress, and it fits nice too! It was well worth the wait to both try it on and to actually purchase it. I wasn’t paying attention much to some of the signs at the front of the store and didn’t realize that you could get an additional 25% off an item of your choice if purchasing something before noon. All together, this dress was only ~$16. Ultimate win!

After browsing through more stores and not finding anything else, my parents and I decided to call it quits around 9:30 AM. The line at Starbucks looked like a Disneyland ride, so we ended up at D’Lush and bought a smoothie and some hot chocolate. By the time we left the parking lot, furious shoppers were already raiding the parking lots, fighting for that one parking spot. Oh goodness.

Hope your Black Friday went well today, whether you shopped or not!