In a very unexpected turn of events, we have moved… back to Los Angeles. Not only did we move back to Los Angeles, but we are living literally a mile from the house I grew up in, in Redondo Beach.

If you had told me six months ago that we would be here, I would have said you’re crazy. But now I just know we’re crazy.

So I've been wanting to go to a drive-in movie essentially since I've gotten a car. And not for the not-watching-the-movie-Grease-lightning-factor — I really want to just pull up to a large screen and watch a movie under the stars. Does that sound cheesy? 

Either way, there's not that many drive-in movie options in Los Angeles. This article mentions some (and maybe when I'm back in Los Angeles this summer I can check it out for myself), but for the most part I've found that they're at the top of parking garages or something urban. Which could be cool, although not exactly my 50's vision. 

Anyhow, a drive-in was not in the cards at this time, so we opted for the next coolest thing — blankets and grass and food and lawn chairs in a Los Angeles park to watch "The Karate Kid" under the non-existent starry sky. 

The event was put together by Eat|See|Hear and located at a park in Beverly Hills with the kind of streets that have five different signs telling you when not to park — that was a little confusing. 

Overall, the event was really fun. They had food trucks, some fun interactive things such as getting a caricature drawn (although Whit and I waited in line for that for about 30 minutes and then were told they didn't have time for one or two more), and the vibe was really relaxed and friendly.  

They also had the director, John G. Avildsen, there to talk about the creation of the film, which was a really neat addition. #onlyinLA

I forgot how great of a film "The Karate Kid" is, and seeing it in that environment and having the director speak added more depth and interest to the film. 

I essentially learned that Mr. Miyagi knows best. Remember to wax on, wax off. 

READ MORE TO SEE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AND A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT WHIT & I

Unlike the beach areas where I grew up — Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beach — the best beaches, like Thousand Steps Beach or Shaws Cove, in Laguna Beach are hidden and not seen until you actually park your car and go discover them. 

One of the last things I did before I left Los Angeles was go to Thousand Steps Beach with Brittney and Krystal to find the "secret pools" I had kept hearing about. And also to see this beach.

READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW TO FIND THE POOLS...

It was 4:45am and it we had about 15 minutes to get ready to go. 

Brittney and I had stayed up until 1am talking and laughing. She had flown into Los Angeles just the night before, and instead of going back to my house, I surprised her with a Motel 6 in an area she had never been to. Because what are friends for except to surprise them with sketchy motels in the dark?

It wasn't the motel that was the final destination though. As we drove through the dark morning, she still didn't realize that we were in Temecula, known for it's many vineyards as well as hot air balloon rides.

Even when I parked in the pitch black, all we could see was a house in the distance with it's lights on.

I wish I could have recorded the moment she walked into that house. Still bewildered, it wasn't until she saw one of the t-shirts they were selling with a hot air balloon on it that she realized what was happening.

And then she smiled super big and looked at me like, "Are we actually going on a hot air balloon ride right now?" 

That moment was worth everything. And I was happy to say yes, yes we were.

CLICK THROUGH TO SEE MORE PHOTOS & DETAILS...

Back in the good old days... 

haha JUST KIDDING. They're still young and fresh in my mind. Before my friend Kana (birthday shout-out to her! Happy Birthday!!) moved to Japan, we went on a four day road trip up the coast of California and back.

This state is "SO BIG" as Kana would say time and again (and she's right!) that we decided it was a good time to really explore it.

To plan the trip, we primarily used a website/app called "Roadtrippers," and it was extremely helpful and made it so much easier to find great, quirky, and fun places to go to! 

Read more to see the entire trip! 

Hi! Hello! Hola! (According to DuoLingo, I am currently 12% fluent in Spanish so I'm trying to use it as much as possible.) Happy New Year! Oh wait, what? January is almost passed? How?! Well, in my timing that's ok. It only took me three weeks into the year to complete my new year's resolutions. I'd say I'm just right on track to complete all my January goals by starting the last week of January.

Well, it's been a crazy couple months. I guess it's been that long since I last wrote. But in good ways. I have so much content to share, but lots of things I'm focusing on right now. So in due time. 

I'm currently back in Tennessee. Watching some ladybugs crawling on my window screen. (I thought ladybugs were lucky (my Nana told me so anyways) until they became creepy by showing up in mass amounts in the fall. Since winter came, I find less in my room, but they appear to not go into complete hibernation and I'll still find them crawling on my wall.)

Oh, and I'm sick again. I've been sick once each month since I moved to Tennessee. I could go to a doctor or something, but I'm guessing they would tell me that I need to eat less of the bad sugar (chocolate) and eat more fruit and take more Vitamin C. All of which I know, and have now started instituting. Because sick days are not fun when you're not being paid for them, and I've got new year's resolutions to accomplish!

As for life sharing moments: first off, over Christmas and New Year's, I was in Los Angeles. It went by so so quickly. Every day was filled with people, animals, and making things happen. Like finishing all my Christmas shopping and wrapping on Christmas Eve. (Notice a pattern here? New Year's resolution numero uno: prepare in high advance.) That was a little stressful. 

And turning 25. I am now a quarter of a century old. That's all I would like to say about officially confronting I am now in my mid-twenties. I have to say, It's been good to me so far though.

Click through to view a little photo diary of my two weeks back at home...

Behold: The Grammy Museum! This was an unexpectedly informational and interactive museum with so much about various music legends. 

READ MORE FOR PICTURES & INFO

One of the best things you can do in Southern California is get a bike and ride the strand. There's many a miles of concrete for bikers/skaters/skateboarders/runners to do their thing on and you don't have to worry about any angry drivers trying to run you over (for the most part of it at least).

Last weekend I did the ultimate strand bike ride. The one that I've only done a handful of times before because it takes a little less than forever: my house to Hermosa Beach Pier all the way through to Venice Boardwalk. In total, it's about 30 miles (that's including my house to the pier which adds 2 miles each way). But it's also really one of the best ways to get a feel for how each beach is a little different from the others.

The bike route is really flexible. You can start at Hermosa Pier, or start earlier than that at Redondo Beach Pier. And you can end at Venice Boardwalk, or go further to Santa Monica Pier. I've never been beyond Santa Monica Pier on the bike path, but the Marvin Braude Bike Trail (which is basically what you're taking the whole time) does go all the way through to Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades. The bike trail in total is 22 miles — but you have to remember that's going to be each way. I don't think you have an option to uber back with a bicycle in tow.

And if you don't prepare for it like I don't each time, you're probably going to start feeling sore about twelve miles in.

This is the route Heidi and I took and the main places we stopped:

• Hermosa Beach Pier
• Manhattan Beach Pier
• Dockweiler Beach
• Marina del Rey
• Venice Boardwalk

I don't know who Google Maps is calculating time for (see map after jump) — maybe I'm just really slow — but it takes me almost two hours to do this route. Not one hour and eight minutes. But maybe that's just me.

CLICK THROUGH TO SEE MORE PHOTOS AND READ TIPS ON WHERE TO STOP

#TBT to that time Whitney and I went camping and failed on so many levels, but won because we did it together. This is a story of dreams not coming true in the way you initially pictured them, but having fun anyways.

When Whitney last visited Los Angeles, and we were thinking about things to do that she hasn't done before, we ultimately decided it would be the best idea for us to go camping.

Let me preface:

I had this desire to be more "nature-y." In general, I fantasize about being the type of person who goes out into the wilderness on a whim and just sets up a tent, builds a fire, doesn't have any cell service around, and sees some stars. As if I'm some wilderness woman over here who doesn't freak out by an ant inside a tent or gets picky about the design of a hotel room.

But sometimes I get these crazy notions. And sometimes my friends are all for it.

That's why Whit's the best. Not only did she want to go camping too, she was willing to go to a campsite that didn't even have a bathroom. 

I mean, we're talking no amenities here. 

READ MORE ABOUT OUR SUCCESS IN FAILURE...

Every once in a while, I'll showcase a worthwhile previous trip or exploration, and then add it to the guide.

This week, in the theme of Palm Springs/Krystal visit weekends, I've chosen to feature this day trip (even shorter than this last weekend!) where we went beyond Palm Springs and ventured to get photos with the Cabazon dinosaurs, Salvation Mountain, found a Banana Museum, and went hiking in the California drought.

READ ON TO GET ALL THE DETAILS & PHOTOS