It’s officially the holiday season—not because the calendar says so, but because I found myself shivering in a thirty-degree supermarket that smelled faintly like a Hong Kong night market, soaking wet in what I’m pretty sure was fish soup. Meanwhile, every shopper around me looked dressed for an Olympic-level sledding adventure in Big Bear Lake, …
Why yes, I may be sipping on a Christmas cocktail and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Go ahead and judge me. If the weather outside is “Frightful,” then I’m feeling delightful as I snowshoe through an early December forest through a foot of fresh snow. And even more delightful is this easy Christmas cocktail recipe. …
Ah, Big Bear Lake—picturesque mountain town, home to towering Jeffrey Pines, pristine snowshoe trails, and two bald eagles who are more famous than half the cast of The Bachelor. With three million visitors descending on this tiny alpine village every year—most of them in winter—you might be wondering: Is it even possible to enjoy Big …
What do hiking, Christmas cookies and bear poo have in common? This recipe of course! Here in our home of Big Bear Lake, California, I’ve spent a lot of time out on the absolutely not snowy trails with my favorite hiking partner, my two-year-old Catahoula. Are the trails snowy? No, not at all. Does it …
It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Sure, it’s only December first, but I’m already brimming—overflowing, really—with holiday spirit. And what will we be consuming in this household all season long besides my beloved Nantucket Cranberry Tart? Obviously, gluten-free pies. Yes, plural. Yes, I’m the only one in my family who likes pecan pie. …



