tea for three

and a half. heh.

MIL, the teen, the bean, and i spent a lovely afternoon together yesterday. our first stop was the brand-spankin' new sephora store's grand opening at santa anita mall. my friend lilcee had forwarded me a coupon for a free cosmetic bag (which ended up being kind of chintzy and cheesy looking, but hey, it was free), and i figured it was a great excuse to pick up some fun stuff.

when we arrived, i was amused at the setup outside - obviously, they were expecting a major line-up. it had already been open for an hour and a half by the time we got there, so i don't know if they got it. anyway, we strolled through the store and had fun checking out the merchandise.

i finally gave in to my curiosity and picked up a tube of fiberwig mascara - it bills itself as "paint-on false lashes" and for some reason, i've always been obsessed with the idea of thicker, longer lashes. i tried lash extensions a couple of years ago and loved them, but didn't love the constant touch-up appointments, so i gave up on 'em. so even as i smirked at the promises on the packaging, i forked over the $22 for it.

the teen picked up a pretty, sparkly lip gloss, and i also scooped up a tube of smashbox's "o" lip gloss - another cosmetic i'd been wanting to try. supposedly, it turns into THE perfect shade of pink when you put it on. well, i gave it a shot and while i was happy that it wasn't uber-sticky like most glosses are, i didn't really notice any particular pink-ness.

and then it was time for us to head over to four seasons tea room for our 12:00 reservation. the teen and i were really looking forward to this - we love tea sandwiches, scones, the whole works.

and as always, it didn't disappoint. from the edible floral garnishes to the fresh-baked scones with cream and preserves and all the way through to the plate of dulce de leche bites, shortbread cookies and lemon bars, it was all prettily presented and totally fantastic. so yummy!

we wrapped up our girly afternoon at the claremont club, where the hub met us to pick up the bean. the teen had a facial while MIL and i indulged in hour-long massages.

and somehow, even though it was just yesterday, i'm already rarin' to go for another spa treatment. i could've spent hours on that massage table. ahhhhhh.