Focus: Softly

I've had a bit of an introspective week this week. After chatting with my writing class teacher about what my goals for writing are, I got to thinking about my goals for the next year or so. I am enjoying being a ski instructor so much; the happy kiddos, amazing coworkers, and of course being on a beautiful mountain every day make my job so fulfilling. BUT, the mountain will close for the year in April, and then what am I going to be doing? I have a couple of ideas percolating at the moment, but it is hard to settle on anything right now because there is so much stuff that I want to do before I settle down somewhere and get a "real" job. It's also difficult because I have no idea what I want that job to be!

This velvet skirt is a thrift find that I didn't wear for ages because it was too tight. Luckily skiing for 6 hours every day has worked off my muffin top sufficiently for me to wear it! Though god only knows what will happen when I stop skiing so much and I'm still eating two dinners like I am at the moment! I never realized how much energy you need to be teaching kids all day.

The hat is a lucky find from Beacon's Closet, and it's so beautiful. It's difficult to wear for everyday (my roommate had a laughing fit when he saw it!) but I am looking forward to wearing it this summer. Maybe to some weddings?

Boots, Skirt, Hat, Coat: Thrifted

Top: FCUK

I hope you're all having a happy week. Are any of you having as many problems deciding your

future as I am?

Snowshoeing!

As promised, here are the pictures of my snowshoeing trip with my lovely roommates this past week. I love having such supportive and amazing girls to hang out with. We had so much fun doing this (even though we got lost!). My dad gave me a pair of snowshoes so I'm hoping to go lots more soon.

Being silly with the roomies:

Pretty Ange:

My snowshoes!

I hope you all had a joy filled weekend!

Snow Lady

As you can tell from my scantily clad shoulders in these pictures, it is warm here! So warm that all the snow and ice has been melting. It's been fun, but now I want the snow gods to do their thing and bring back the powder. I have been getting a serious goggle tan, which I'm not sure is all that cool, as much as my ski obsessed roommates tell me it is.

I'm going to start learning telemark skiing so I can give my body a break from alpine skiing for a day or so every week. I'm really excited to learn something new, and I'm hoping that all the lunging is going to do wonders for my poor legs, who haven't visited the gym anytime recently.

This is the first time that I've worn this dress (actually a skirt) because it squishes me in all the wrong places, but I figured I may as well give it a try. I love the print; it has little strawberries and flowers all over it. This whole outfit is thrifted. I love it when that happens!

I went on a trip to Quincy over the weekend, and had so much fun eating sushi, snowshoeing, and buying tons of food with my roommates. I'm going to post some pictures of our snowshoe trip as soon as I have a moment. Snowshoeing was great fun, but as soon as we got to the top of the mountain I wished I had my skis on. I'm totally addicted to being on my skis. I think I would rather ski than walk anywhere! I used to feel that way about swimming. It's funny how things have changed!

Do you have a sport that you practice almost every day?

Echoes of Sunlight

I love the way the sunlight flits through the trees at the end of the day. The trees here are incredible and seeing their tall shadows every day always comforts me and reminds me of what clean air I must be breathing!

I just started a writing class this week, and I am so glad to be writing again. In college I was really into poetry (you can see my now defunct deviantart page here) and I have been missing having that creative part of my brain alive and kicking and noticing all of the awesome imagery happening around me. I have been writing every morning for the past few days and it has been wonderful.

It has been a little hard to keep the blog going strong lately because we still have no internet. I'm trying though! I really apologize to those of you who have been waiting for a response to an email or a reply to a comment. They are coming as soon as I have a little time in a coffee shop to internet it up.

I got this beautiful coat from the salvation army for just $5 dollars, which is a sweet deal! I get so many compliments on it every time I wear it out. You have seen my dress (one of my much loved FCUK purchases) here and here, and of course the vintage boots about a thousand other times. I really need to get my thrift on and find me some more pairs of boots. I am on the hunt for some black equestrian style ones.

Are any of you scouring the thrift stores for a certain something?

Icicles

How ridiculously large are these icicles hanging from my roof? We have some on the other side of the house that are 10 feet tall. They almost touch the ground! I have been really loving the weather lately because no more snow has been falling. Finally the roads are plowed and we can walk around outside without falling on the ice! It's not very good for the skiing though, so hopefully we get another snowfall sometime soon.

Everything has been really busy here with lots of parties and happy hours and whatnot. I love living in an area that is small enough that I can see people I know everywhere I go. It is really fun having a community of close friends to hang out with.

This is the first time you've seen my shoes that I wear almost daily: the Sorels. They are so comfortable, but I have to say, they are not the most attractive footwear in the world! I often wear dresses with them and get funny looks, but it's all good! This dress is the only item of clothing I own from Primark, which is the British equivalent of Forever 21. I have a love hate relationship with the dress because with its babydoll shape it is so short. I always end up loving it in the winter when I wear heavy tights and hating it in the summer when it is inappropriately short!

Boots: Sorel

Tights/Knee Highs: Target

Dress: Primark

Scarf: Edinburgh Woolen Mill

Do you have any clothes in your closet that you have a love/hate relationship with?

A Thrifty Christmas

Sorry I am a bit late in posting these, but I promised that I would share some pictures of the vintage gems I found for Christmas presents, so here they are! I decided to incorporate my thrifty vibe into my wrapping paper and I used old paper bags, because much store bought wrapping paper is not recyclable. I added some pretty bows with some leftover wool from my knitting and beautiful glittery gift tags.

For my mother I got an amazing gold brocade dress from Beacon's Closet, as well as some dishes which are the same pattern as her wedding china, such a great find! I also got her a coronation plate because she has quite a collection of them. For my father I got an old copy of The Wrecker. My sister received some beautiful Italian leather shoes and a bow brooch. The only person I didn't manage to thrift a present for was my brother. I ended up getting him the latest Teton Gravity Research ski video, Light The Wick, which still goes to a good cause because it is a small company and their videos are amazing. The only person left to get something for is my sister who lives in Vietnam. I have been racking my brains trying to think of something small that would also be useful and easy for her to travel with. Any ideas?

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years. Any exciting stories for me?