Beaches | All That Glitters

Location: (A frozen) Big Bear Lake, CA

One of the most enviable things about living in L.A. is that you can hit the beach one day, enjoy city life the next, take a step back and melt into the calm suburbs the following day, then head to the mountains for some snow action if that bores you. I even came up with a nifty (and cheesy) new thought when you break it down: Sun. Snow. City. Subs. = L.A.

A glance up at the distant snow-covered mountains a few weeks back and an upcoming long weekend that also happened to be around my boyfriend and I’s anniversary, seemed like just the right time to leave the sun and the city to play in the snow. A drive up the winding mountainside; and we were in the charming, quaint, and snow-covered Big Bear Mountains 2 hours later.

{Driving up.}

The plan for the day was simple: enjoy the drive and a change of scenery, walk around the small town, have a nice lunch (the Peppercorn Grille was amazing), check out some of the shops, smile, and head home!

While it’s been pretty cold (then randomly warm) in L.A. over the last few weeks and I knew it would be rather “chilly” being up in the mountains – my body was not all ready for the sharp temperature drop during the day because I’m such a wuss when it comes to cold weather! Thus, I didn’t even attempt to go tubing this time around.

Here are a few more photos from the day. We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful one. Enjoy!

{Stopping to take in the view.}

{The town.}

{Buying bulk Jelly Bellys – which I can totally do back home but I couldn’t resist.}

{Lunch.}

{Admiring the snow.}

{Heading home.}

Location: 30000 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu

Only in Los Angeles can you still enjoy a beach day…in October…two weeks into “Fall.” In celebration of what we thought was the last hurrah of the heat wave that just wouldn’t leave (and seems to be making a comeback even as I type this), the “wind beneath my wing” and I headed back to “Beaches” to enjoy the sequel to our first time gracing the Malibu shore. This time, Zuma Beach.

Armed with my latte from Cafecito Orgánico and this month’s book club selection – the next five hours were spent sipping, snacking, reading, catching up with my guy, listening to the sound of the waves, and breathing in fresh air (well, as fresh as you can get in L.A., I saw you roll your eyes).

With the temperatures hitting the 90’s again this week, maybe we can squeeze in one last visit and make these “Beaches” posts into a franchise like Hollywood execs would undoubtedly ~~milk the hell out of~~ do today. I can already see it. The film version would star Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey’s kids carrying on the dramatic legacy of female bonding, eventual friendship, and death; and then their kids, and then their kids, and so on and so on. If this story line goes into development anytime soon, I claim rights to the idea – you read it here first!

In the meantime, you just might get an All That Glitters franchise out these “Beaches” posts if this heat wave can’t take a hint that the party’s over, it’s being a total attention whore, and it’s time to let Autumn take center stage.