Last night was a bit of a kerfuffle. Our ferocious, six-pound guard dog started barking her head off around 12:15am, and I went to see what she was going on about only to come face to face with a burglar who could have been Jesse Pinkman’s doppelganger (with a piece of glass and about 10 feet separating us, but still). I screamed, he ran, SVV took off outside looking for him, and the police arrived moments later. Needless to say, I’m still a little shaken up but I’m thankful for Ella (who is still in bed at 5pm and will be served filet mignon on a silver platter tonight) for doing her due diligence, the cops for arriving within one minute of me calling 911, and Scott having installed both an exterior security light and four ADT cameras so we caught the perp on video. Here’s to hoping they’re able to catch that perp and throw his shady butt behind bars.

That said, let’s talk happier times, shall we?

Last week, after a bit of travel turmoil—but what else is new?—I got back from Lake Tahoe, a place near and dear to my heart, where I spent a very quick 2.5 days with three people near and dear to my heart.

During my California living days, we had season passes to Heavenly and Northstar—both Vail Resorts properties on the annual Epic pass—and also a cabin share on the south shore. As such, I didn’t often have to find lodging, so I had no idea where to start when we were looking for a three-bedroom place for the four of us convenient to the ski resort.

Luckily, my pal Jenn knows the turf and recommended Aston Lakeland Village, which has multi-level, one-, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom units and is not only lakefront, but a very quick trip (five minutes by free shuttle) to the base of the mountain where the gondola starts. For reference, this was a view from right outside our back door:

And the resort is massive, too—19 acres!—and complete with a pool, hot tub and gym.

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Of course, the real purpose of the trip was not just to hang out with Jade, Bob and Spencer, but also to log a couple days atop my favorite mountain with them.

I may be biased because I spent so many days cruising the groomers at Heavenly, but it’s just one of my favorite spots as a skier. Why, you may ask? Let me tell you.

There are 97 trails and 4,800 acres. While this would deem it a mid-sized resort in Colorado, it’s one of the biggest of the seven ski resorts that flank Lake Tahoe’s perimeter.

It’s got the best grooming equipment of them all. The snow was coming down while we were there, despite a relatively mild and dry winter, so those groomers came in handy!

The Tamarack Lodge. This was added toward the end of my time at Tahoe and is such a fun, convenient spot for meeting up for lunch. I hear their Unbuckle events every Friday and Saturday feature go-go dancers, but alas, we were just there mid-week. Still, it sounds like the perfect way to unwind after a long day on the slopes!

The magical winter wonderland. Have you ever seen such pretty, snow-covered trees before? Smitten.

Ropes courses, tubing, the works. We didn’t have a chance to check out the ropes courses which were added just last year, but I can’t wait to do that on my next visit!

Those views, though. They’re real, I promise!

Need I even tell you more? Most aptly named ski resort ever. Pure heaven.