Happy New Year, Loves! I am beyond excited for 2018 and I hope you are too. If you’re off to a rocky start and need some inspiration about how to crush your goals- make sure you read this. It will get you on track- I promise.

We spent an absolutely fantastic New Years up in Lake Tahoe with some of our favorite people. It was only my second time in Tahoe and it did not disappoint.

We stayed in South Lake Tahoe at the home of friends of ours. They have an incredible situation, sitting right on Zephyr’s Cove and I can’t tell you how magical it feels to wake up and look at this view:

Not too shabby.

The Journey to Lake Tahoe

Tahoe is on the Northern end of California and about an 8-9 hour drive from Los Angeles depending on how often you stop to pee and/or eat which are things I like to do quite frequently. If you are driving up from down south I HIGHLY recommend stopping at Bishop burger barn in Bishop, CA. We got the Wack-A-Mole with White cheddar and sweet potato fries. #winning

I have decided to go 100% vegan for the month of January, so no more wack-a-moles for me for a while. But you best live it up.  Super tasty. I didn’t take a pic at Bishop Burger Barn {I was too busy scarfing down the sweet potato fries} but I did scream at Mark to pull over to the side of the room so I could snap this amaze Wes Anderson style courthouse in the tiny, magical little town of Bridgeport:

Mark has literally been raving to me for YEARS about this incredible cinnamon roll he got in this sneaky little town of Bridgeport, basically in the middle of nowhere north of Mammoth. I kid you not, every time I think about a cinnamon roll this pic of him comes to mind and I salivate over how delicious it will be. He claimed it was the best cinnamon roll he ever had. Well, after YEARS of hearing about this thing we roll up on the roll *ba dum chaaaaa* and the restaurant is now a freaking Mexican restaurant. No cinnamon roll in sight. Insert eye roll emoji here. All the rolls going on. But I digress…

Let it SNOW and let us HIKE

There is something especially magical about snow for me. I imagine it’s because I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life, where snow is rarity. It was unseasonably warm when we were in Tahoe, but there was still snow on the ground in certain places! We did this INCREDIBLE snow path hike past a waterfall with lake views the whole way, it was breathtaking. It was just over 6 miles round trip and if you’re a hiker it is going to be fab. Here is a link to the exact hike we did. Here are some preview of the views you’re in for:

I mean, really. I kept turning to Mark and saying, “It’s like California Adventure at Disneyland, but way better!” He was less than enthused. Sorry that some people don’t know how to have fun. I mean, this is a dead ringer for Grizzly Rapids, no?!

I mean, he looks like he is having fun, but clearly, no fun was had.

We climbed to the very top of the hike, definitely further than I would have gone alone because it was so steep, but I love a good boundary push. So I did it.

That’s one of the reasons I love hiking, because it expands your idea of what is possible for you physically and mentally while reminding you how expansive this big world of ours really is, and that your problems really don’t take up too much space.

Being in nature of any sort, even if you just sit {especially if you just sit?} always has a positive effect. Get outside, kids.

The Food

Ok, besides the imaginary cinnamon roll and delicious burgers en route- we had a couple dining experiences to write home about.

The Bean Bar

Little sleeper hit in a nondescript shopping center in South Lake but BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH OF MY LIFE. We got “The Nevadan” on an everything bagel and added egg. Ask for extra garlic cream cheese. You’re welcome. Also, if you get any beverage be sure to ask for a smudge of Aztec powder in it. It’s like a spicy mocha situation? Just trust me.

Capisce?!

Any restaurant with a name so catchy we are constantly yelling it to each other is a win in my book. {There may have been cocktailing involved too} Any good Italian girl is familiar with the saying, “Capisce?!” and if you aren’t, google it and be sure autocorrect doesn’t change it. I was being healthy and got a salad but we also did the ravioli sampler with half butter half Italian gravy and YOU NEED IT. SO SO GOOD. Again, this was before my vegan commitment for the month.

As per usual, I stole bites from everyone else’s plates {it’s a move I learned from my grandmother, Audrey. Always say you aren’t hungry and then eat everyone else’s meal. Keeps you full but skinny. Also your social calendar is more open because people are annoyed you always steal their food. A win for any extroverted introvert}

So I can safely say the eggplant, fired risotto balls, pizza and clam linguine were also fantastic. CAPISCE?!

THE MOST IMPORTANT INFO IN THIS WHOLE POST IS YOU HAVE TO ORDER LISA’S BUNS

Literally, if you never read anything else on my blog, read this and go to Capisce and order the freaking Lisa’s buns for dessert. I guess they used to be called Sunny buns? Or maybe they used to be called Lisa’s buns and now they are called Sunny buns? I just call them F*&^ING DELICIOUS. They almost made up for that imaginary cinnamon roll I never got to eat, but the bitterness from Mark lying to me about that overshadows the joy from anything. Anyway. These buns are like a cinnamon roll but better somehow. They ran out before we got there because Lisa literally makes them fresh every morning. BUT they were kind enough to LITERALLY whip some up for us in the back while we ate, and sent raw ones home with us along with baking instructions. Talk about customer service. I don’t care where you are staying in Lake Tahoe- head over to Capisce {NOT CAPSIZE, AUTOCORRECT. UGH} and get some buns. Thank me later.

Here’s a pic of Mark and I kissing because I love him almost as much as I love Lisa’s buns. If he didn’t lie to me about the imaginary cinnamon roll I may have loved him equally, but if Lisa’s buns didn’t wow me the way they did we may have gotten divorced so he really should be happy with whatever he gets.

So, Happy New Year! I hope yours is off to a fantastic start. PS we will definitely be headed somewhere WARM next year for NYE. If you have any suggestions send em my way!

Xx,

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