A Surfer Chick’s California Mountain Paradise — It’s All Bunnies & Chickens

The smog, the traffic, the noise — even those among us who unabashedly love L.A. need a little break from all its less-lovable aspects now and then. For the creator of Everyday Surfboards, Kelly Connolly, that break comes every time she pulls up to her cabin-like home in Sierra Madre, which is nestled in at the end of a canyon in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. With views of downtown L.A. in front of her and miles of hills and forest behind her, the 21st-century nature girl shares her piece of the pie with her husband, her 9-month-old son, and a miniature farm's worth of dogs, chickens, and rabbits! Sigh.

But, her hillside perch isn't just a heartbreakingly covetable city escape (which it totally is, btw). It's also where — as a hands-on, hard-drivin' artisan and entrepreneur — she redefines the ol' surfer-chick identity with every new, seriously stylish board she crafts by hand. Come on up into the hills and spend some time on the farm with our favorite laid-back (though somewhat badass) beach babe.