Dog Beaches in Southern California

 For a city that seems to be so in love with their pets, especially their four-legged canine friends, I was surprised to see how many beaches did not allow dogs to come and rest their little paws on the sandy shores.


Since Ch’en isn’t that big of a dog, he does have his own little stroller so that I can take him places and not have to worry about him getting too hot or winded from “strenuous” walks. For instance, last week we decided to head over to Santa Monica and go for a run on the board walk, knowing he would get tired after two minutes; it was nice to be able to bring him and just push him in his magical chariot. It did kinda suck though; that we were not able to take him into the water…he wasn’t going to complain about that one.



My Precious



Marcel Enjoying Himself

Luckily for me, I am not alone in the crazy stroller pushing dog insanity. My buddy Andrea let me in on the loveliness that is Huntington Beach and their amazing little dog beach they have going on there. It was a gloomy Wednesday afternoon, so I figured no one would be there, however, once we walked up to Pier 22, there were all kinds of babies out and about! Bulldogs! Labs! Pitties! Oh My! It was amazing. Marcel and Ch’en had their short lived glamour moments on top of a lifeguard stand until we were asked not to do that anymore…then to the ocean.

Marcel and Ch'en Ch'en Keeping Watch

Ch’en is not a fan of the beach and so every time I would try to get him to go into the ocean, he would just run away from me and try to make other friends with strangers. Total traitor. It was quite an amusing day... for me at least.

So, if you’re looking for a fun place to go and that is pet friendly, hit up Huntington, it’s only an hour from LA and there are lots of fun shops and eateries around to fill your belly when the photo shoot is over….and then head to Sprinkles new ice cream store! It’s right next to Sprinkles cupcakes and it will blow all other ice cream joints out of the water!

Me and Candice, founder of Sprinkles and judge of Cupcake Wars!



Birthday Fun

Another year down!  Yep, that is right, I was lucky enough to have another birthday under my belt. Oh man, I felt like a little kid in a candy store. There are so many things to do in LA, just an endless option of funness. I thought that San Diego would be a fun trip, or maybe Disneyland or maybe the Hearst Castle, who knows! However, with the release of Titanic in 3D, I thought that going to see a ship similar to it in real life would be the best bet.

We started the day with a big run in the sun then headed over to Porto’s. As you have probably read from other posts, this place is absolutely amazing. It’s like a well oiled machine, super efficient, super cheap, and super delicious.

With chocolate croissants and coffee in our bellies, we headed down to Long Beach to check out the Queen Mary. I have always heard about it from shows like America’s Most Haunted, and Top Places to See Before You Die and I really wanted to check it out.

It was sunny and gorgeous and all I could think about was how I just wanted to get out a deck chair with Catching Fire and sun bathe

Infirmary, deck, death aboard, captain's quarters

The ship itself was so much fun! Seeing all of the original decks and art deco salons sends you back into time where you just want to listen to some Dave Brubeck and watch a Judy Garland film.

One of the tours that you are able to do is the Ghosts and Legends tour. It is a little bit cheesy, but it is more affordable than doing the one at midnight with a psychic. Since the Queen Mary is now a floating hotel that has been through 1,000 voyages and has seen war, it is no surprise that there are reportedly over 150 spirits lurking about the ship.  

First class hallway

One of the spots that we stopped at was the first and second class swimming pool. This area is now closed off to guests except on tours; however, it is never truly empty. In the first class swimming pool, which has been closed for several decades, there have been several sightings of women in 1930’s swimming suits wandering the decks near the pool. Wet foot prints have been seen going around the pool and into the changing room, along with the sounds of laughter and splashing.  

One of the ginarmous propellers under water

After several hours walking around the ship, we decided to move on. We headed into the downtown part of Long Beach to go see the house used in the show Dexter. It is a private residence, but I couldn’t be this close to it and not check it out for myself and all the creepiness that I know went on in it…even if it was just for TV

Dexter's House

Following the sight of Rita’s death, we ventured up to Sprinkle’s Cupcake in Beverly Hills for my birthday “cake”. Again, there was a crazy long line. The ATM was temporarily shut down so that they could restock it with the delicacies.

Brown Sugar Pralines, Banana, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Blake Lively’s S’mores. Since we had not eaten anything else but the croissant earlier that morning, we had to hold off on these babies for a bit.

From top left to right: Banana, Brown Sugar Pralines, Peanut Butter Chocolate, S'mores



Now for some real food. Swingers. Swingers is this amazing little diner over on Beverly. It’s an all day diner with lots of vegan options. I needed something green in me ASAP. The vegan cobb salad did just the trick.  A perfect portion of greens, grilled tofu, vegan cheese, crispy onions, avocado, tomatoes, carrots, corn and tahini dressing. Of course onion rings were order for a starter. We didn’t want to be too healthy now did we?

Sprinkles ATM: Heaven in 90210

Waiting in line

This is why I’m fat: Sprinkles ATM. Better known as an “ACM”, or Automated Cupcake Machine. This little beauty is the newest kid on the Santa Monica block, and let’s just say it is definitely not disappointing.

As I am sure most of you know, Sprinkles Cupcakes (the founder of the cupcake bakery craze) as installed a 24 hour cupcake dispenser right next to its brick-and-mortar shop on

S. Santa Monica Blvd.

The idea started back when Candace Nelson (the founder of Sprinkles) was preggers and would have the late night cravings for a icing topped dessert at midnight. Ingenious! Thus, the idea for the cupcake ATM was conceived!

Cupcakes at $4 a pop, and an extra 75 cents for each box

 Slowly, I have been turning more and more into an old lady. Trying to go to bed before 10, so that we can wake up early to run kind of puts a damper on being a night owl. In my attempt to spice things up, I decided that we should take a little trip down to the 90210 zip code and try out this God given machine.

Pulling up to the store front we were not greeted by a glowing pink display of ATM love, but by a block-long line. Apparently it has been dispensing out up to 1,000 cupcakes a day, when it only holds 600, at one point breaking down. I heard that there were lines for the ATM even when the bakery itself was open and ready to serve. This was going to be good.

Lemon Coconut, Pupcakes, Irish Chocolate

We parked and began our wait. When you’re in a line at 10 o’clock on a Friday night to get a cupcake from a vending machine, you have my approval. Instantly the people behind us started up a conversation, so the hour and a half actually went by pretty quickly.

Eventually it was our turn with the candy colored machine. Selecting through all of the full colored pictures of the various cupcakes that lingered behind the glass wall was a bit overwhelming. We were both under the impression that they would have their full day menu, plus some, available for purchase. However, they did not have the vegan red velvet listed. After that wait though, we weren’t walking away empty handed.

Irish Chocolate

Ch’en got two little pupcakes, a sugar-free cake with “yogurt” frosting (they had a doggie menu!!) and the hubs and I split an Irish Chocolate cupcake along with the Lemon Coconut.

We carefully loaded them back into the car, made Ch’en take a back seat and headed home. Brewed up a cup o’joe decaf and indulged. Oh sweet-glorious-universal-of-cupcake-love, they were amazing.  

Lemon Coconut

  The frosting-cake ratio is always the best at Sprinkles. The perfect amount of lemon infused butter cream frosting dipped in fresh shredded coconut on a Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake. This is one of my favorites by far. The Irish Chocolate was like having Darby O’Gill dance inside my mouth. Belgian dark chocolate cake with a swirl of Baileys Irish cream cheese frosting and a cute little shamrock to adorn the snow white covering. And not that I am proud of this, but I did try a little nibble of Ch’en’s (I had to make sure he would like it!) and it was quite tasty too!

The line may be long, but every bite is worth it. Now time for a run!