What a month — I spent quality time with friends and family, saw good theater, ate many great meals, went hiking. Enjoyed time in Los Angeles, Denver, New York City, Connecticut, Boston, and Cape Cod. If variety is the spice of life, then December 2016 was a zesty month.

I spent the first week of December working on Taraji’s White Hot Holidays, hosted by Taraji P. Henson. Performers included Alicia Keys, Andra Day, Snoop Dog, TLC, Missy Elliott, Taye Diggs, NeYo, Jussie Smollett, and more.

Here’s a shot from dress rehearsal:

My favorite number was a medley sung by Alicia Keys and Andra Day featuring a 60-person gospel choir. The medley included “Someday at Christmas,” “Rise Up,” and “Holy War;” you can watch that performance here.

I deemed two of my meals photographable during this work week:

The next batch of photos is from a new-to-me hike in Los Angeles — credit to my friend Mike for finding it. We hiked the first few miles of Echo Mountain towards Inspiration Point, turning around where the old Mount Lowe Railway used to drop off passengers at a hotel and casino back in 1899. By 1905 it all burned down in a fire, but the ruins are still there.

Remnants of the former railroad:

Mike and his wife Amy became vegan a year ago, and they have introduced me to many new restaurants. We grabbed a post-hike lunch at Real Food Daily in Pasadena — this salad was super delicious.

One of my favorite nights in December began at a Director’s Guild screening of La La Land with my friend Allison, followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Damien Chazelle. Then I met friends at Mama Shelter for dinner and drinks. It was a super fun night. The kicker was when I walked back to the metro past a mural featured in La La Land — it had looked familiar in the movie but I hadn’t placed it until I was standing right there. Here is our group at Mama Shelter — the food and drinks were delicious.

After dinner we moved up to their rooftop bar. Just a solid night all-around.

The next morning we went to brunch at WINSOME in downtown LA — shout out for their monkey bread, which was especially yummy.

From there I walked to the Music Center to see my first-ever show at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion! I’ve seen dozens of plays and musicals over the years at the Ahmanson and Taper, but never at the Pavilion. It’s home to the LA Opera which holds less interest for me and is usually quite expensive. But this particular weekend featured a brief run of the 1953 Leonard Bernstein musical Wonderful Town — a show I’d never seen before, featuring Tony talent like Faith Prince, Nikki M. James, Mark Kudisch, and Roger Bart. The whole place was decked out for the holidays and it was the most perfect afternoon at the theater.

And I ended up with a second-row seat! For free! I’m a member of Sold Out Crowd, an LA-based organization that works with local theaters to fill vacant seats. Tickets are released to members for free with the stipulation that you HAVE to attend, since the producers are then counting on you to fill up empty seats. You never know where you’ll end up sitting. So second row was quite a pleasant surprise — especially since a seat this close to the front would sell for hundreds of dollars at an LA Opera performance. Add in the fun score and Broadway talent — well, it was a ‘pinch me’ sort of afternoon.

There is a great hole-in-the-wall sushi spot around the corner from the Music Center that I love to visit when seeing shows there. It’s closed on Sunday, but I went back a week later to see Beauty Queen of Leenane at the Taper and got lunch:

Sunset scenes in downtown LA…

I saw the Michael Arden-directed Merrily We Roll Along at the Wallis in Beverly Hills. (This was another ticket scored for free via Sold Out Crowd.) It was such a treat to see a new-to-me Sondheim show — Merrily flopped in the early 80s on Broadway and it’s not performed too often these days, so I jumped at the chance to see it. It’s told backwards in time, starting when three lifelong best friends are at the height of their careers but barely speaking to each other, and then slowly peels back the years as we see these friends return to the bright-eyed, optimistic early 20-somethings they once were before fame and fortune crept in. I loved every minute. Wayne Brady and Aaron Lazar led the cast.

My friends Jessica and Elena hosted a fun early birthday celebration for Jessica! So glad to know this couple.

I went to Spitz in Los Feliz with Tamar & Nathan, followed by watching a screener of Loving at their new place. I am so grateful for these extended trips to LA where I get to spend time with friends.

Also, Spitz is delicious, and there is a location closer to me so I returned a few days later for more kebab goodness.

I spent several evenings at The Grove catching up with my Young & Restless friends over Happy Hour drinks and apps. The Christmas atmosphere added extra charm.

Of course it didn’t really feel like Christmas — this is what my near-daily walk through Toluca Lake looked like, with trees in full fall splendor by mid-December:

Many days involved a stop at my favorite coffee shop, Priscilla’s — great atmosphere, chill place to get work done, and always delicious lattes and coffee.

My uncle visited LA for work and I met him and Lisa for a delicious Italian meal!

A week or so later, I went to visit my uncle in Denver for five days — such a treat to see him and his beautiful city. Also got to catch up with my good friends Molly & Joe, David L., Anne & family, and Jane. Plus I went to Boulder for the first time and basked in the winter wonderland on display, as it was newly blanketed in snow. Add in picking out a Christmas tree, cooking meals, trying new restaurants, and seeing theater… it was a perfect five days. I’ll do a full recap of this trip very soon.

We met up with cousin Terry for dinner and a proper catch-up in person:

And also with longtime family friend Phyllis:

And I can’t believe I forgot to take a photo of us, but I spent a delightful afternoon catching up with Sarah, my good friend from high school. What a treat to catch up with so many people over the holidays!

I got to NYC to see two shows — The New Group revival of Sweet Charity starring two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster and the Broadway revival of Falsettos. It was a theatrical treat to see both shows in one day.

And I met up with longtime summer camp friend Julie for dinner before we saw Falsettos! We went to Kashkaval Garden, my new favorite restaurant in midtown.

Post-show Times Square selfie:

Christmas itself was fantastic. Quality time with family plus a few hours of volunteering at a local community dinner made it my favorite holiday in recent memory (full post here).

I met Victoria & Brian for dinner in Boston — we went to Bar Boulud at the Mandarin Oriental and the food was outstanding.

Then it was out to Cape Cod for the week — lots of board games, puppy cuddling, and good meals.

Cheers to meals with friends who are like family! My mom and Diane were roommates at UConn together for all four years of college; they’ve been lifelong friends since.

My sister got my parents a projector for Christmas so they can now watch movies and TV at the Cape on a larger screen.

We squeezed in a few cold beach walks:

And took a day trip to Plymouth, the first time I’d been there. It was endearing and I’ll have a full post coming soon.

As usual, we enjoy walking through Chatham. It’s fun in the summer but even better in the winter due to lack of crowds and major sales.

For New Years Eve we hosted a murder mystery game with my aunt, uncle, and cousin’s family — it was a blast. More on the entire evening here!

And that wraps up December 2016. I’ll be back soon with my Year in Review post!