Just when you thought your days of browsing a big-box national book retailer store were as numbered thanks to the demise of Borders and the fading of Barnes & Noble comes word e-tailer giant Amazon is prepping to launch a physical store. more ›

A national organization is helping pet retailers move away from selling commercially bred dogs and get shelter pets in the store and for sale. In March, the Barkworks store at the Westside Pavilion will "become an official adoption center for rescues." more ›

TGIF! It's our last Pencil This In column of 2011 as well as the night before all the NYE parties get crack-a-lackin' tomorrow. We hope that you have a great—and safe—weekend, and we'll get right back to penciling things in on Monday. In the meantime, we found a several events around town tonight worth highlighting for you, including a screening of Vertigo, a Beer Bowl in Pasadena, Matthew Sweet at the Echo and more. Read on for all the details. more ›

Happy Boxing Day...if you don’t feel like hitting the Target or Macys to return gifts, we found a few other stores with sales that might satisfy the shopping bug, as well as a few events that have nothing to do with either shopping or food. Read on for all the details. more ›

'Tis the season to almost kinda wish you had some stuff on layaway at Kmart, since this year the thing seems to be for donors to swoop in and pay off all the accounts en masse. It happened last week to the shoppers of the Kmart on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa. more ›

Hello, Friday! We missed ya. For those who are looking for something to do tonight, Bergamot Station in Santa Monica is holding an open house; there's night hiking at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon; and a WhyHunger music benefit. Read on for all the details, more ›

We have the answer to your question, "What's going on tonight in LA?" It's an evening for Mindshare, where tech and science meet; John C. Reilly performs at Largo; art at Barnsdall Park; musician Jason Moran is at the Hammer; a book launch at Family and more. Read on for all the details. more ›

TGIF. Here's what's going on around town: A number of art openings, including ones at Kana Manglapus and T.A.G. Toy Art Gallery; a book signing with Patricia Cornwell; a Library Foundation’s Library Store pop-up shop in Encino; and a midnight screening of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Read on for all the details. more ›

Have you done your holiday shopping yet? You may want to set aside some time and money to support local artisans who are making some of Los Angeles' most delicious edibles at the Artisanal LA Holiday Pop-Up Shop. more ›

Self-defense is just one of the possible motives detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department are considering to determine just why a woman used pepper spray to ward off fellow shoppers at the Porter Ranch Wal-Mart during their Black Friday pre-sale last Thursday night. more ›

The Los Angeles Police Department are releasing more details about the woman suspected of fending off rival shoppers at a late night Wal-Mart door buster sale by using pepper spray. more ›

A woman looking to get access to more "door buster" sale items at the Porter Ranch Wal-Mart late last night used pepper spray on other customers to keep them away from the products she wanted. 20 people, including some kids, were hurt. more ›

If you need that little extra restraint to stay indoors this Black Friday - the biggest clusterfuck shopping day of the year - a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) has it. Approximately 152 million shoppers will descend upon retailers on November 25. more ›

Not close enough to a big ol' Walmart superstore? If you're in the San Fernando Valley, you can pop in to a Walmart mini "pop-up" shop in place for the holiday season in Canoga Park. A second SoCal pop-up Walmart is located in downtown San Diego. The hitch: Most of the merchandise there isn't for sale. more ›

Save those pretty pennies to support local talent, L.A. Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival is returning to SoCal for its fall holiday event, offering unique handmade items for community-conscious shoppers. Be selfish and score goods for yourself and/or start crossing off friends and family members on your holiday shopping list. more ›

This may bring about some closure for those who were adamant for so long that Fresh & Easy open a location in North Hollywood. Specifically in the area's retail core, NoHo Arts. And, before word came it would become a 24 Hour Fitness, specifically NoHo Arts-ers wanted F&E to take over the failed HOWS market. more ›

When world leaders and royal newlyweds come to Los Angeles, streets close down, and mayhem ensues. When one of America's foremost food writers comes to town, we eat! Such was the case last week when Ruth Reichl presided over a luxe feast at Osteria Mozza for some of the city's most celebrated chefs and food media personalities. more ›

For residents of North Hollywood and adjacent communities, going to a decent weekly farmers market means a Tuesday evening schlep to Sherman Oaks to the Woodman Avenue Farmers' Market, or joining the fray at the popular Sunday Studio City Farmers' Market. Starting Saturday, October 1st, though, the NoHo Arts District is getting their own weekly farmers' market. more ›

Tonight's City Council meeting in Burbank is gonna be a doozy, as residents opposed to a Walmart going in at the Empire Center sign up to sound off. In fact, the Council is prepping to hear "a long list of grievances," about the new mega big box shop. more ›

A tentative agreement has been reached between the union and the three major SoCal grocery store chains, bringing to an end a tense and protracted period of negotiations hinging largely on health insurance fees and other wage-related issues. more ›

Silver Lake hipsters are now going to have a new place to spend the change they put in their piggy banks after taking their glut of PBR cans to the recycling depot. The vacated Circuit City at 4400 W. Sunset is going to become a Whole Foods. more ›

The lease has been signed, and an opening looms on the horizon: Diesel: A Bookstore in Malibu will indeed re-open, confirms LA Observed. A legal skirmish and low sales volume left Diesel no choice but to close up shop in February, however rumors soon swirled that the owners had their eyes on a spot in the Malibu Country Mart. more ›

"Eureka...I have found it!" Yesterday at Unique LA we spotted a trend towards celebrating our sunny Golden State. Check out these California designs that feature the state map, state bears and more make us feel like the most lucky of West Coast dwellers. Unique LA's first summer show at Barker Hanger in the Santa Monica Airport is open today from 11am - 6pm. Happy shopping! more ›

The shopping event of the summer has arrived. Unique LA launches its first-ever summer show this weekend at Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Air Center. As mentioned earlier this month, the event invites shoppers to peruse goods by over 225 local designers and artists. Featured products include, but are certainly not limited to, fashion, jewelry, stationary, housewares and gourmet edibles. more ›

The newest Apple Store is opening at The Americana at Brand this weekend, across the street from one of its first locations -- the Glendale Galleria. Only this one's much larger. Apple announced in an email to customers this week that its newest location will open on Saturday at 10 a.m. at The Americana at Brand. more ›

A rise in purse snatchings at malls and grocery stores in the Santa Clarita Valley has prompted a warning to shoppers, according to KTLA. With the recent increase in grabby hands, women are being asked to pay extra attention. more ›

L.A. is a forward city, except when it comes to fashion. Retracing styles and trends from past eras, fashionistas pull and combine select pieces and make them work. Luckily, our urban sprawl offers some of the finest in flea markets and vintage boutiques. more ›

Angelenos, prepare to shop - online. Rue La La, a leading private sale online shopping destination, introduces Rue Los Angeles today. L.A. is the latest city to be incorporated into Rue Local, a city-specific extension of RueLaLa.com, which currently operates in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Seattle. more ›

Once upon a time, the farmers' market in Los Angeles meant one thing: The bustling shopping and dining destination at 3rd and Fairfax. The Original Farmers' Market hasn't really changed all that much; it's still a fun place to go for produce and other foodstuffs, and it's definitely a tourist attraction. (Let's not mention The Grove, shall we?) Your video lunch today is this quick look at the Farmers' Market in the 1960s. more ›

Los Angeles-based director Jeremy Seifert has launched a campaign via change.org to gather signatures of concerned consumers who want to let Monrovia-based grocer Trader Joe's to quit wasting so much food. more ›