Hello Winter Wonderland

It’s finally December & officially Christmas season. I’ve finally recovered from my Thanksgiving food coma, and so I thought I should share some moments from my little winter wonderland in Lake Tahoe this past weekend.

As you may know, I’m not a fan of the cold but I do find the snow to be truly beautiful and magical. When it looks this beautiful outside, you almost forget that your face is about to freeze completely off. It ranged from 10-20 degrees F throughout the day.

The lake even froze over around the more shallow edges, and my friends braved the cold to walk onto the lake the first day we arrived. The ice was pretty solid but I had a deep fear about falling through the ice and having a Titanic-like death experience. However, we were able to make it past the docks and slightly past the boating speed signs. If this isn’t the face of a daredevil, I honestly don’t know what is.

I made Filipino adobo the first night and we had a lovely time eating, drinking, gossiping, and playing games together. They wanted to go to the Casinos so we toured around the city at night time and all lost a little bit of money. I really don’t enjoy gambling, so you can imagine my disappointment when I lost $5.00 playing a penny slot with puppies on it. I could have bought an In & Out cheeseburger and fries with that! Peer pressure man.

The next day, we went to the Heavenly Resort to snowboard. It was honestly so beautiful, I could cry. However, 80% of the mountain was still closed and there were literally only 3 runs I could do as a seasoned beginner. I actually have all my own snowboard gear now and didn’t have to rent which was awesome, but it was my first time using my new board and it was super slippery. I’m so glad Jackie came along to do the easy runs with me, otherwise I would have held the boys back–there was no way in hell I would go down the blue runs and make it out alive. We had fun anyway, making snow angels and coasting through the bunny slopes.

 

My friends also built a snowman the first day and it lasted the entire weekend since it was so cold outside. I avoided the cold and instead sang the entire soundtrack to Disney’s Frozen inside a little too many times. (Just kidding, there’s no such thing as singing Frozen too many times.) I did go outside for a bit to participate in a snowball fight and then pretended like I had made a contribution to the creation of this snowman by taking pictures with him before heading back home.

This photo perfectly describes us.

Weekend in Tahoe

One of my favorite things about living in California is being able to have a relatively quick & close weekend getaways. This weekend, Alex and I escaped to South Lake Tahoe for a quick dose of relaxation and adventure.

Day 1 | Exploring Heavenly Village
After driving a couple hours north, we arrived in South Lake Tahoe early Friday morning. We brunched at Blue Angel Cafe and I grabbed a cup of coffee to power up for the weekend. Then we went exploring around Heavenly Village to window shop & ease our way into the city. A really sweet vendor gave me a hearty sample of delicious donuts & I found this little piece of Davis in the heart of Lake Tahoe. The weekend definitely started on a good note. 

We stopped by Raley’s to grab a six pack of beer & came out with 4…
They had some brews that we’ve been wanting to try & the cashier informed us of their buy 3, get 1 free deal so we couldn’t resist. This should last us for the rest of the season, hopefully.

Day 1 | Lakeside Beachin 
In the afternoon, we headed back to our hotel and got ready for some fun in the sun on the resort’s private beach. It was a perfect day–not too hot, not too cold– and since I’ve been feenin’ for a warm day at the beach since summer started (the beaches in the Bay are usually too cold/windy for my liking, even in the summer,) I was perfectly content with my buns out and toes in the warm sand.

After relaxing at the beach, I went for a swim in the heated pool & played a bit of volleyball to work up an appetite (as if I really had to work for it.) For dinner, we decided to try some Irish grub at McDuff’s Public House. I got the Steak & Guiness Beef Stew &  Alex ordered a Shepard’s Pie. They were deliciously hearty portions and we proudly scarfed them down and left nothing to take home. No big deal.

Day 2 | [Horseback] Ridin’ Dirty
The next day, Alex and I woke up early to go to the gym and play some Foosball. (He won. Twice. It was such a close game, I was pissed, in true soccer fashion.) Then we lunched at Orchids Authentic Thai Food, did a bit of shopping, and then headed off to Camp Richardson Corral for our horseback riding session. I love animals, especially horses, but I was pretty nervous & excited to ride on one since it was a completely new experience for me. I was paired with Doc, a beautiful chocolate colored steed. Both of us were the shortest of the bunch and we were put in the back of the line. He was very sweet but he seemed a little sad to me, like he had just woken up from a nap and was forced to carry this little Asian girl around for an hour when he’d obviously rather be chillin’ with his friends, eatin’ grass, and crackin’ jokes.

During my ride, Doc and I mostly just hung out way in the back, going at our own pace, while the other horses were carrying on ahead. Doc basically did not give two shits about keeping up with the group lol. I was fine with it but for safety reasons, the instructor urged me to get Doc to pick up the pace. Doc was not having it though.

We were literally ridin’ dirty–constantly going through clouds of dust and dirt from the trail. I came out with a new mineral veil of  makeup on my face, clothes freshly powdered from the earth, and an ass so sore that it instantly made me realize why cowboys always strutted with their legs so far apart. Dayum, I’m still sore. It’s even worse than the time I went canoeing on the Russian River for 5 hours. But though I was sore and super dirty, I still had a lot of fun. Next time, I’ll just wear Nicki Minaj sized ass-cushions and a bandana to cover my face.

Oh! And after the ride I got stung in the arm by a wasp, little fucker. I cleaned and treated it fairly quickly so it’s not too bad anymore. But still, I hate those flying demons almost as much as I hate mosquitoes. But I digress…

We then headed off to treat ourselves at Richardson’s Ice Cream Parlor to get unhealthy amounts of ice cream to ease our booty/wasp pains & then drove up the mountain to a breathtaking overlook of Emerald Bay. 

Afterwards, we desperately needed to shower and get ready for our “fancy” dinner at Friday’s Station Steak & Seafood Grill, a restaurant at Harrah’s overlooking the lake. I was pretty exhausted and didn’t take any pictures (oops) but dinner was delicious and my filet mignon was cooked perfectly (damn, that sounded so bougie…but it was a pretty bougie dinner so sorry ’bout it…)

We ended the night playing pool in the game room and watching Princess & the Frog in bed. Aww yea, that crazy night life tho!

I had such a nice weekend in Tahoe. It was a perfect little weekend getaway to end summer and have a bit of  fun relaxing and trying new experiences. I wish the weekend was a bit longer but it’s back to reality now, which is okay too since I was missing Macky at home. Let’s just hope this work week goes by quickly! Anyway, I hope y’all had a nice weekend (and didn’t get stung by any wasps!)

Talk to you soon,
Kristin

Details | no. 1: Urban Outfitters Overalls | Forever 21 Lace Top | Target Sandals || no. 2: Forever 21 Shoulder Cutout Top | Thrifted Printed Maxi Skirt | Forever 21 Straw Hat || no. 3: Zara Olive Green Basic Tee | Forever 21 Blue Denims | Madden Girl Ankle Booties || Cole Haan Rounded Acryllic Sunglasses |