I found the Third Street Promenade to be a great place to shop and dine. Santa Monica Place had a few stores that I enjoyed going to as well. The farmers market on Wednesdays and Saturdays were great also.
Some favs: Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Kitson, H&M, Forever21, Lush, MAC, Urban Outfitters
Also I went comic book hunting at HiDeHo Comics on Lincoln & SaMo Blvd. great selection and great prices. The owner was so nice. I found a great selection of green lantern, spiderman and superman comics.
