Greer Wylder -- BEST BUYS

South Coast Plaza has once again been transformed into a beautiful show

of orchids at the 20th annual Fascination of Orchids. The event is taking

place in the Crate & Barrel wing and is scheduled today through Sunday.

Admission is free.

Some of the nation’s leading orchid growers participate in the show that

features seminars, displays and competitions. And just in time for

Valentine’s Day, beautiful orchid plants are available for purchase.

Each year, a 30-foot themed floral sculpture is the centerpiece of the

show. Last year, an incarnation of Marie Antoinette was the subject of

the central display. This year, there is an aquatic-themed sculpture.

Modeled after a colorful coral reef with larger-than-life swimming fish,

this “living sculpture” was created, using hundreds of oncidium orchids,

colorful dendrobium orchids, fluorescent roses, black seaweed,

strawflowers, purple stasis, gerberas and more. The sandy sea bottom will

be recreated with plant seeds. Typically, the design team spends more

than 700 hours creating the sculpture’s support structure and then more

than two days attaching all of the greenery and orchids. This year’s

centerpiece was conceived by Don Davidson of The Design Collaborative,

Jim Hynd of Fiesta Parade Floats and landscape designer Christine

Mulligan of Mulligan Studios.

A great sidewalk sale featuring patio furniture is happening today at the

Lido Marina Village from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Featured in the sale are

contemporary and patio furniture from Brown Jordan, Jay Robert Scott,

Kreiss and Drexel. Miscellaneous items on sale include antiques,

consignment pieces, accessories and posters. The sale is at 3400 Via

Oporto in Newport Beach. For more information, please call (949)

675-8662.

If you love Valentine’s Day-themed clothing and accessories, check out

Old Navy. The bargain-priced clothing store is filled with his and her

apparel, including sleep bottoms for $16.50; boxers for $7.50; women’s

T-shirts for $14.50; T-shirts for women, girls and baby from $8.50 to

$12.50; makeup cases from $5.50 to $8.50; purses $8.50; mugs $3.50; snow

globes, $5; and photo albums from $5 to $8.50. Old Navy is at the Metro

Pointe Shopping Center in Costa Mesa at 901 South Coast Drive. Call (714)

540-3817 for more information.

Caroline’s is a new resale boutique that features ladies’ clothing and

accessories. It’s celebrating its grand opening this month by giving away

coffee and sweets. The consignment shop offers a 50/50 split on clothing

and pays cash for clothes. For an appointment, please call (949)

650-7333. For customer’s convenience, the store is stays open late on

Thursdays, until 8 p.m. It’s at 333 E. 17th St. in Costa Mesa, behind the

IHOP restaurant.

South Coast Plaza has added another boutique, Manrico Cashmere, which

features top-of-the-line cashmere apparel. Manrico Cashmere is the

producer of fine cashmere for many prestigious labels, including Prada,

Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Fendi. The

boutique is on level one of the mall and will feature its own collection

of high-quality cashmere.

Today is the last day of the Armoire sale at Corona del Mar Plaza. The

store is filled with ladies’ separates and casual dress clothing. If you

bring in the Daily Pilot ad, you can get an additional 20% off on sale

merchandise. Merchandise is marked down by 30% to 70%. It’s at Corona del

Mar Plaza, 840 Avocado Ave. Call (949) 644-9888 for more information.

Kayaks Surf Shop is making room for its new spring merchandise with a

sale on selected merchandise reduced by 20%. Kayaks carries surf and

casual wear for the whole family. It’s at Westcliff Plaza in Newport

Beach. For more information, call (949) 631-2996.

Charles H. Barr is having a big reduction sale just in time for

Valentine’s Day. Sale merchandise is up to 40% off through Feb. 14. This

is an especially good sale, since everything in the store is reduced by

at least 20%. Charles H. Barr is at 1803 Westcliff Drive in Newport

Beach.

* BEST BUYS appears on Saturdays and Thursdays. Send information to Greer

Wylder at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa 92627, or via fax at (949) 646-4170.