afternoon in the gardens

victoria gardens, that is. heh.

the teen needed to pick up her textbooks from her dad's house to turn in this week. so since yesterday was minimum day, we headed out to the IE to scoop them up, have some lunch, and do a little shopping. my favorite kind of day!

we parked in the structure, and as i eyed the clutter and mess and general crustiness of my car, i decided to spring for the stupidly expensive car wash. we popped the bean in her stroller, tossed everything else in the trunk, and headed out to get our shop on.

i wanted to take pictures of all the random old-school signs around the center, so i finally 'fessed up and told her about the blog. i thought she might have asked to read it, and i was bracing for it, but i keep forgetting that my life isn't interesting enough for her to check it out. haha! besides, it's not like she's living it right along with me, for the most part.

it was such a lovely day - the sun was out, there was a slight breeze, and it wasn't too hot (yet). the perfect day for strolling around an outdoor mall in rancho cucamonga. and as we walked and talked, i snapped pictures of all those OG signs we passed:

there's a pinkberry at the VG, and it's the one i had my first taste of their famous sour fro-yo at. as we passed by, the teen said "can we have some, mom? please? i read that nick jonas LOVES pinkberry. that means i love pinkberry, too. like, if i ever get to go out on a date with him, that's where we're going. so i need to like it. it's gonna be, like, my new favorite place."

oy. that first taste we shared months ago hadn't impressed either of us. not that we didn't like it, but it sure wasn't mind-blowing for us like it was for a lot of other folks. but we were there, she wanted some, and i told her we'd go back after we had some lunch.

so we headed into the food court for some grub - well, at least i did. i was hungry, the bean was hungry, the teen was...not. she's had some tummy troubles lately, and so instead she grabbed a booth with the bean as i made my way over to great khan's for some mongolian bbq. delish. and as i let it cool off, i took out a jar of organic pureed carrots and an itty-bitty plastic spoon and gave the bean some lunch.

i gave the beard papa's shop a final, wistful glance as we left in search of a restroom to change the bean's diaper. cream puffs looked and smelled so good, but i resisted the temptation. aren't you proud of me?

on our way to the restroom, we came across a cute little play area. the bean is a little too small for the slides and swings and things there, but the colorful, gurgling fountain beckoned. she patted her hands and splashed in the water, and i let her have some fun while the teen squealed "ack! it's WET, mom!" well, duh, my dear. it's a water fountain!

i was pleased to find that there were family restroom/lounges available. inside, there was a couch, changing table, and separate toilet and nursing rooms. sweet! we used the changing table while the teen happily sat down with her phone to send out some text messages. the nursing room was pretty small, but i wasn't complaining.

and as i shut the door, got settled, and started to feed the bean, i was a little grossed out to see this just inside the door.

ick. oh, well. it was still nice to have a private area to take care o'bidness.

our last stop was urban outfitters, where i was amused to find these:

dudes, JORDACHE jeans. i wore that shit in the 5th grade, in the early 80s! shut up, i know i'm old. the teen said as much as i laughed my ass off at the jeans (which were more expensive than the fabulous joe's jeans i found on the clearance rack at anthropologie - $49.95, folks. yes, that's right. i'm such a bargain shopper).

on our way back to the parking garage, we came across the little train ride that takes kids around the center courtyard. the "choo-choo-monga express." hahahaha! i can't wait till the bean's old enough to ride it. the teen can't, either - she's so going to take her as soon as she can.

soooo, $35 plus tip later, we piled into our very clean car and made our way out of the structure. yup. i knew it was overpriced, but whatever - the car was filthy, and it was there. i'm not the only sucker in town - there were several other cars being worked on. and the teen and i had to suppress our giggles as the guys yelled out "CAR WASH!!" to every vehicle that passed by. i guess you had to be there.

before we got too far away, i remembered that we'd never gone back for frozen yogurt at pinkberry. i asked her if she wanted me to turn around, and she said "weeeelllll...it's okay. we don't have to" - which is her way of saying "i really want to, but i don't want to make you turn around because it's a pain in the butt."

so of course, i swung wide and to the right, and we found ourselves in a new-ish residential area that i was not familiar with. luckily, the navi was. a left turn here, a right turn there, and magically we were right back where we came from. hello, pinkberry!

i went in and got us a small size of the original flavor to share, with mochi and cap'n crunch. i brought it out to the car and handed it to her, and she wrinkled her nose and said "did you have them put marshmallows on it??" i laughed and told her it was mochi, and that it was yummy and she should give it a try.

she popped a piece in her mouth, chewed, and damn near gagged. bwahahahahaha! it was so funny, and she scrambled to jam a spoonful of yogurt in there to "get rid of that yucky, nasty taste." i was like, come on! it's just chewy, sweet goodness that doesn't really taste like anything. but she thought it was disgusting, so hey - more for me!

and i hate to admit it, but the second time was the charm for me. we mowed right through that cup and wished we'd had more. damn. all of a sudden, i'm a fucking pinkberry fan. ha! oh, well.

okay, let's see.

camera always available? check.
abercrombie/hollister attire (yes, at my age, shut up)? check.
big ol', obnoxious LV monogram tote? check.
near-constant craving for pinkberry? check.

yup, i think i'm asian!