After spending 11 days in our neighbor’s garage {2 houses down} Henry came home last night!! We are SO happy and relieved to have him home. He seems to be doing fine – he lost quite a bit of weight. Thanks for all of the concern and well wishes. Needless to say he will be spending a few days inside recovering!
Our Henry cat has been missing for about a week and a half now. We have absolutely no idea where he is or what happened to him. He’s pretty good at being a cat and has sensible street smarts, so we’re hoping that he found his way into a nice house and is waiting for the right time to make his escape.
Henry cat is so cool and independent and generally keeps to himself, but still, it’s just really quiet and weird around our house without him here. Everytime I look in a spot where he usually hangs out I half expect him to be there.
I miss having to hide cords {like cell phone chargers} so Henry won’t destroy them, getting up in the middle of the night to get him off the dresser and stop chewing on our picture frames, wiping muddy cat paw prints off the counter {I know, I know}, his little heartbreaking meow demanding to go outside when it’s too late, and most especially his playful energy in the evenings and his furry self cuddled up at the end of our bed at night.
Being so independent, Henry cat doesn’t care to be held or cuddled but we were really making some progress in getting him to let us pick him up and hold him for around 15 seconds as long as he was looking out the window. He and Jackson have become buddies lately – we go on “family” walks together with Henry – I always stay on our block when Henry wants to come along. I can still see and feel his presence everywhere.
The first few days were the hardest. At around day five we realized that there was only so much we could do. Right now we’re just wracking our brains trying to put the zero clues we have to good use and figure out where our sweet cat is. It’s been pretty taxing and extremely maddening. We’ve run through the gamut of emotions on this one – I suppose they call that the grieving process. I think we’re both more at ease now and just so, so, so hopeful that he will come home soon.
We’ve canvassed the neighborhood, hung “lost cat” signs on telephone poles, posted “missing cat” notes in our Nextdoor Madrona page and Craigslist, I called the company that Henry’s microchip is through to report him as missing, we get emails every day from the shelters with photos of all of the cats they have… One person emailed us from Craigslist with a HUGE list of suggestions – everything from what we’ve done to hiring a bloodhound to mixing our urine with water and making a trail outside that leads to our house so that Henry can follow it home if he was lost {we haven’t done that one yet!}. And if you’re curious what to say to someone whose pet is missing, you do not say “I hope he comes home” you say “I hope he comes home soon.”
Our neighbors have been really supportive and helpful. They have been emailing and texting to see if we’ve found Henry or asking us before even saying “hi” when we see them on the sidewalk. One neighbor even offered to send an email to the uber exclusive “Madrona Mom’s” group on our behalf to ask people to keep their eyes out for him. Sure glad we passed out Christmas cookies to all of our neighbors this year!
It’s really hard just not knowing anything about his whereabouts. He really could be anywhere. We are so hopeful, still, that one of the next 4,293,401 times we go check the front porch that he’ll just be sitting there pawing at the window wanting to come in. We just hope that is sooner rather than later because we really miss our Henry cat!
It has been a really strange winter for us since we haven’t been skiing, due to lack of snow. Now that winter is more than half over we have been finding ourselves a little bored and needing things to do. We decided to be tourists in our own city and spend some time on the weekends exploring some of the parts of Seattle that we don’t get to very often.
Like most big cities, Seattle is a city full of diverse, unique neighborhoods. I think that the neighborhoods are what define Seattle, and probably most cities, and make the residents feel like they’re more connected. We live in the Madrona neighborhood, which is straight east of downtown about 10 minutes. Our neighborhood is quaint and adorable. It really feels like we live in a small town because our neighborhood is so tight knit. But then you realize we have 8 feet between our house and our next door neighbor’s and you remember we live in a city. There are so many neighborhoods with their own individual charm, so I hope we can plan some fun weekends around the city.
Last weekend we headed downtown for an afternoon of strolling through Pike Place Market and hanging out at the flagship Nordstrom. There are so many hidden gems in Pike Place Market. Just walking on through is fun in itself, but stopping at the various shops and stands is quite an experience.
Our first stop was the Spanish Table, a Spanish shop that we had never been to before. We perused the aisles and ended up finding some wine that we had enjoyed in Spain last summer while on our Priorat wine tour. That was a fun find!
From here we went to refuel on mini donuts. There is a really tasty donut stand that typically has a line 20 people long that we decided to stop at.
One of my absolute favorite shops in the market is DeLaurenti, an Italian specialty store. They have a huge fine cheese and meat counter and their staff is extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. We picked up a few cheeses and meats to take over to the Millers house that night.
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DeLaurenti was having a little wine and cheese tasting event while we were there so we had to stop and check it out.
After our time at DeLaurenti, Alex’s tolerance for people and crowds was wearing thin, so I picked up a couple bouquets of flowers and we headed to Nordstrom to do a quick run-through.
We had initially hoped that our day would wrap up at Kerry Park, an iconic green space that overlooks the city, but it was so overcast that we decided to skip it. Hopefully Kerry Park will be on one of our next weekend dates with our city!
Planning a menu for the week ahead is something that I always make an effort to do. I will tell you that planning a well-thought menu is not easy and it requires a lot of time and consideration. It’s easy to say let’s have this, that and another thing, but if you are trying to not break the bank or waste food it really requires skill and mindfulness. I have been a weekly menu planner since before I graduated from college and only recently have I felt that I’ve really started to take hold of some of the strategies worth considering for a thoughtful menu.
My menus initially consisted of writing out each week’s menu on a cute menu planning notepad that I loved. Eventually I realized that it was taking me a really long time to choose meals – I was going through my Pinterest page every week in addition to my own personal recipe book and then a few cookbooks and lists I had made. It was taking me about an hour or more each week just to create the menu, and still, I found I was wasting food, spending too much money on groceries and wasn’t making the right choices about using similar ingredients for multiple meals.
A few weeks ago I decided to utilize a new way of planning my weekly menus. I made a new menu board for my fridge as a way to help me plan my meals and save time with that task.
My new menu board is color-coded based on the cuisine – I have one color for slow cooker meals, another for ethnic meals, light meals, meat-centered entrees and then I added “leftovers” and “out to eat” and “traveling” to account for reality.
To create the meal planning board I found some cute clothespins and glued a small magnet to the back. Each clothespin on the fridge holds the meal ideas for each day of the week. I used a variety of bright, colorful paper that I cut into strips (about 1″ by 4″) and then wrote down the name of a meal idea on one side, then listed the ingredients that I may need to purchase in order to make said meal on the reverse side of the paper. Seperately I cut smaller strips of paper and wrote ideas of sides, like quinoa or roasted vegetables, and then adhered a magnet to the back so that I can easily plan for both the main entree and sides to go along with the dishes.
I don’t always use as much variety with breakfast and lunch, so I just have a little note off to the side with ideas for those meals.
So far this has been a HUGE timesaver for me! It was definitely a time commitment to create the meal planning board, but each week it has taken me about 5 minutes to decide on the meals to add to my menu and then another 5 minutes to write out a grocery list. I think it looks adorable and it’s really easy to use. I have been spending less money on groceries and have been feeling like I’ve been a lot more mindful about picking meals with similar ingredients.
After months of anticipation around my Women’s Backcountry Ski Camp it is finally over! I am relieved to have the experience behind me and am pleased to report that I came away with an appreciation for the backcountry and an admiration for people who care to spend time back there – I can certainly see the allure. My experience was filled with mixed emotions, but I learned an enormous amount and enjoyed myself and met some really nice ladies.
The week or two leading up to the class was filled with much uncertainty. I was really nervous about skiing in the backcountry because it is an area that is outside of a ski resort, which means that it is not patrolled and there is no avalanche control. Separately, mother nature has not been very kind to Pacific Northwest skiers this year and our snowpack has been very, very low and our weekends full of rain instead of snow in the mountains. The forecast for the weekend looked pretty dismal for the mountains – snow levels were at 12,000 feet and there was a lot of rain expected.
It wasn’t until the day before I was slated to leave for the course that we got the final go ahead from the instructor of the class that confirmed it was going to be held for sure. At the very last minute she changed the location for the first day to a different area because the forecast looked better, which turned out to most certainly be the right call. I felt like I was able to go with the flow for those elements fairly well, though it was just difficult to know for sure if I was going to have the class or not. I still struggled with nervousness of being in the backcountry.
Alex and I headed out to Leavenworth after work on Thursday so that I didn’t have to leave Seattle at 5 a.m. the next day to make it for the start of the class on Friday morning. We spent the night together at Sleeping Lady, a really neat resort in Leavenworth, which is also the location I was to stay for the remainder of the weekend with the class. It was nice to have Alex there to help me get settled and feel comfortable and run through my gear before the class.
A little terminology before continuing on:
*Beacon = a device that is worn on your body that transmits a signal of your location. This can be used to locate yourself or you can use it to search for someone. It is vital to wear a beacon when backcountry skiing in case you get buried, as that allows your searchers to find you.
*Ski touring = basically the act of moving up a mountain on skis. It is similar to cross country skiing. Special ski bindings are used so that you can essentially glide or scoot forward without picking up your skis – these bindings keep your toes attached to your skis but allow you to pick up your heels. When touring you slide your toes down while picking up your heels and keeping your skis flat against the snow. Skins are attached to the bottom of your skis to prevent you from sliding backwards.
*Skinning = kind of interchangeable with ski touring, but it implies that you have “skins” on the bottom of your skis. Skins originally were literally animal skins, but today are more like a fabric that feels like carpet that is attached to the bottom of your skis and helps provide friction so you don’t slide backwards when you are ascending a mountain.
Friday morning we headed to Mission Ridge, a small ski area in Wenatchee, Washington, where our class was re-located to. I arrived and met up with the group where we got acquainted and learned about each other’s past experiences and goals for the class. I was surprised to find that I was the only one with no backcountry skiing experience, though it was an “intro to touring” class. One of the girls on the trip had done the Haute Route, which is a guided backcountry ski trip in Europe where you’re up on the alpine (very high elevations) skiing from hut to hut. It takes several days. Another lady’s husband is an avalanche forecaster and instructor. There were two gals who had done a bit of backcountry skiing before but were a bit unsure of their abilities. I was definitely the least experienced, though I thought I was going to be in good company.
The morning was spent chatting, learning what Olivia, our main guide, carries in her pack and doing beacon testing drills before hitting the slopes.
We skied a few runs in bounds which allowed me to warm up and test out my brand new skis for the first time {LOVE them!}. The wind was howling and we found a bit of shelter in a flat section to learn and practice kick turns, which is a technique that can help you make very short/narrow turns on skis.
After the next chairlift ride up we met up with the assistant ski patrol director who took us to the backcountry gate. We chatted for a few minutes about how to put skins on and how to transition from skiing to skinning and skinning to skiing. I had never done this before on snow, but thankfully Alex had shown me how to do this at home so at least I had one prior experience.
At this point in the first day I was really struggling to hold it together. The day hadn’t gone as I had expected it to and when we began to put our skins on I had no idea where we were, where we were going or really what we were doing. I had anticipated we would have done more skiing in bounds and that we would have broken out into two smaller groups. I expected to have some conversations about the avalanche danger that day, the weather, things to pay attention to and just basic information about what we were doing. To make things worse, the weather was horrible by this point. I felt like I was going along for the ride completely blind. Oh, and I also had expected we would have eaten lunch, which we did not that day!
With my unmet expectations and nerves running high I slowly trailed along as we skinned our way out of the resort and into the backcountry. I eventually stopped and talked with Solveig, one of the instructors and mentioned how nervous I was. She did her best to understand and try to get me to calm down, but I was already having a hard day.
After skinning for what felt like four days and was probably 20 minutes we stopped at a clearing and began to transition to skiing. At this point the guides were discussing that yes, as a matter of fact, the terrain above us is avalanche terrain (slopes between 30-45 degrees), but no they’re not worried about it even though there are pinwheels (signs of avalanches) because it had just started raining at that point and the slope above us was so small that it wasn’t a huge concern. If it had been raining for a longer period of time or rained heavily, they would have been much more concerned, they said.
We skied down a very low-angle slope of absolutely nasty snow, one at a time, and met way down at the bottom and transitioned to skinning again. Once we skinned back into the ski area boundary I was able to realize that once I got comfortable I could definitely see myself enjoying ski touring.
After we got back to the resort I had some texting conversations with Alex and my dad and let them know I wasn’t sure I was cut out for the backcountry. As always they were both very supportive and encouraged me to hang in there. I did speak with Alex on the phone that night and he was very understanding and suggested having a good talk with the guides to make sure they knew what I was so uncomfortable about.
After our wonderful dinner at the resort I did get a chance to speak with Olivia and Solveig about my nervousness and asked if they could share our plans for tomorrow a little bit more openly with me as a way for me to feel more comfortable. They agreed and then we headed to the Grotto Bar for an after dinner drink and to discuss the plans for the next day.
On Saturday we ended up staying in the breakfast restaurant all morning and discussed avalanche dangers and route planning. The forecast was abysmal at Stevens Pass so we opted out of skiing that morning. Eventually everyone got antsy so we packed up and headed up the pass to do a quick tour to Skyline Lake.
I rode in the car with the guides and got to ask them a hundred or so questions about what we were doing, where we were going and the avalanche risks for the day and just things they were thinking about and things that I should be thinking about. That seemed to set my mind at ease a bit, especially when we arrived at Stevens Pass and found that we were skinning up a snow-covered road that wasn’t even in avalanche terrain.
Even though it was raining and hot, the Skyline Lake tour was so much more enjoyable for me. We broke up into two groups and I chose to stick with the slow group that wanted more instruction along the way. There were four ladies plus Solveig, the instructor, in my group. It was a fairly steep tour and not having alpine touring boots {special ski boots that offer a lot more flex than regular ski boots} I tired easily. We made it up a bit then stopped to do some beacon practice. The snow was so heavy and wet that we opted to ski down the road we came up to avoid any injury. The biggest risk of the day was personal injury, as opposed to avalanche danger. We did one more beacon drill on our way down and then headed back for a hot tub and dinner.
We had another nice evening at the restaurant and Grotto Bar and I got to chat with most of the ladies on the trip. Everyone was extremely nice and friendly and it was fun to learn about their backgrounds. I think our ages ranged from 28-50, which was a much bigger difference than I expected.
Sunday was a full day of touring. We packed up right after breakfast and headed to Stevens Pass for our final day. The rain had moved on and the sun was out. The anticipated high on Sunday was 50 degrees in the mountains, which is unusual, of course. The warm temperatures combined with the rain the previous days made for very low snowpack and very heavy, gross snow.
We took the chair up to the top of the mountain, skied halfway down to an area where we could get out of bounds, then we did our beacon checks and put our skins on to get ready to begin our tour.
The final day was a much longer tour that covered more distance. We ended up losing two skiers this day because one of the gals, who was five months pregnant {I know, right?!} and a snowboarder decided that she was just too tired to keep going, and then another woman fell getting off the chairlift and hurt her knee. This meant we were down to seven of us. Myself and another less experienced skier, Allyson, joined Solveig again, just the two of us, for a slow-paced day full of stops, explanations and questions.
Our last day seemed to pull a lot together for me. I was able to recognize various elements on the slopes, I measured the slope angles, I asked a lot of questions about what I was seeing and discussed scenarios for skiing this terrain but under different avalanche conditions, and really got a little more confidence in my decision making abilities when it came to backcountry skiing.
The tour we did on Sunday was much different than I expected, though. I really didn’t ever think of touring through the forest, but that’s just what we did. I can’t believe we skied back through very tight trees and on the snow we did it’s really quite surprising that no one got injured.
Overall, I learned an enormous amount, both about avalanches and myself. I was able to push my own limits immensely, but I spoke up when I felt I needed to. I was so far out of my comfort zone, but some of the things I was nervous about were easier to deal with than I thought, which was good. I think it’s always good to push yourself a bit and have new experiences. It’s how we grow and learn, right?
I’m not sure if or how often I’ll find my way into the backcountry. If I do, you can bet it will only be on low or moderate avalanche danger days and I will absolutely be very involved in terrain selection and research about the dangers to pay attention to that day. We’ll see if that time comes… Until then, I’m doing my snow dance and sticking to the resort.
It seems as though I have found myself amidst a pretty big and difficult life lesson. I’m not completely sure where it’s leading me, but enough scenarios have presented themselves over the last few weeks for me to realize I am on a journey to be able to go with the flow, let things go and give up the need for control.
If I am in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable environment I find I deal with it best if I know what to expect and then things happen as I expect them to. When things don’t go according to my expectations it is hard for me to let it go and relax. I tend to get worked up pretty easily, more so if numerous elements go differently than I had anticipated.
This week’s life lesson in reminding me that I can’t control everything has to do with our cat, Henry. Henry is missing. We haven’t seen him since Sunday afternoon and honestly have no idea where he is. He left no trace and no clues. We’re doing what we can to find him, but it’s pretty difficult having no leads whatsoever. Both Alex and I firmly feel that he is okay and will return – we think he’ll just be perched up on the windowsill of our front porch. Until then, it’s pretty hard to get on with our lives and we’re just having a sad week without our Henry cat. Just as we have experienced too many times before with our pets, no matter what we do, we just can’t control their absolute safety or health.
Last week my anxiety was centered around the Powder Betty Backcountry Ski Camp that I took. I will do a full post on that, including my anxiety, after I get some more pictures from the photographer who came with us. I was quite nervous about what to expect for the course, as well as just general anxiety about the risk of skiing in unpatrolled backcountry terrain. The first day of the course was extremely mentally taxing for me because the expectations I had going into it were so, so, so different than reality. Once I calmed down I was able to articulate what was going on in my head and move forward and get past my nerves and ended up having a great time.
I am at a transition point in my job right now with the recent departure of my boss. I’m at the mercy of 15 very skilled board members who are working to determine how this pivotal point in our organization will affect me. My job will likely either stay the same or expand – I’m just not sure. It’s hard to be uninvolved in that decision and just go with the flow, but that’s a life lesson that I have been working through for the last few weeks. That one in particular is a lot easier because I can just focus on my current job, but the challenge is trying to anticipate and plan for changes… Then I become anxious!
It’s my hope that starting yoga will help me learn to be more calm and relaxed. I am not that great at dealing with stress, so those are some things I’m working through right now. It’s been a bit of a tough and stressful week or two here, but I think I’m figuring some things out. My ears are open, though, if anyone has stress relieving strategies that work well!
Well it’s mid-January and our ski season has barely started. Sure, we’ve got six ski days under our belt so far, but there hasn’t been a single weekend yet this winter where we’ve gone skiing like a normal ski day. Why, you ask? Well mother nature is cursing the Pacific Northwest skiers, apparently. She throws these big snowstorms at us mid-week and then come Friday or Saturday she decides that it’s going to rain in the mountains. I’m pretty sure she’s just sitting up there laughing at us. So far this winter it has either been cold and dry or warm and wet. Alex and I are very thankful that we planned trips out of the PNW this winter and that we didn’t buy a season pass this year, as we still haven’t been to Crystal Mountain one time this season.
With this disappointing start to our ski season we have had unexpected free time on our hands. Usually our winter weekends are spent with one day in the mountains and then the other day taking care of stuff around the house, but so far this January we have spent a lot of time at home. It makes us wonder what Seattleites do all winter if they don’t ski!
That said, we did have a nice weekend and are very much caught up on our to-do lists. I had a really slow day on Friday, as I didn’t have to volunteer or work, so I ran some errands, took Jackson to the dog park and started on a project to make a new meal plan system. That evening we met Nigel and Jolene at Bottlehouse for a night of wine, tasty food and great conversation. While Alex and Nigel are good friends and enjoy riding their bikes together, I don’t know either of them very well and we’re attending their wedding in Mexico this winter so I wanted to make the effort to get to know them in advance.
The alarm went off at 6 a.m. on Saturday and we jumped out of bed and got ready to go skiing. We had packed our bags the night before and put together some food to bring and then we checked the weather… 10 inches of snow on Friday, then rain after 9 a.m. on Saturday. Alex went back to bed.
I was really, really disappointed to have missed this ski day because we were planning on doing an in-bounds ski tour, where I would have gotten to use my new backcountry skis, bindings, skins and backpack to do a “test run” with my gear before my Powder Betty Backcountry Camp this coming weekend. There is a certain art to ski touring {imagine cross country skiing but with downhill skis on where you scoot/slide your way up the mountain and then ski down normally – you put “skins” on the bottom of your skis and that provides some traction control to keep you from sliding backwards for your “skin” up the mountain, then you remove the skins from your skis when you ski down} and I have not mastered that art, nor have I really tried.
I am nervous about my class and wanted to be as prepared as possible, so we faked it and I practiced putting my skins on and taking them off inside our house, then we practiced putting my backpack on, putting my skis on my backpack, packing my backpack, etc. That mock trial run combined with reading more of my avalanche book made me feel both more prepared and more overwhelmed.
We spent the day Sunday watching the Seahawks vs Packers game. I was mostly packing and preparing for my trip while Alex watched it, but the very end of the game was so energizing I stopped what I was doing to pay attention. Seahawks fans are pretty awesome and it’s really fun to be in a city with not only a winning football team but one going to the Superbowl for the second consecutive year! I feel like this means I should get a Seahawks t-shirt?
In other news, we are still anxiously awaiting the final bid from one of the landscaping companies to re-do our backyard. The first bid we received was extremely reasonable – lower than we expected, surprisingly. It will be an exciting process to go through. I had never really considered hiring a landscape architect to do anything before but there has to be something said about a professionally landscaped yard, especially in the city of Seattle. We’ll see what happens, but we’re on the edge of our seat waiting for this proposal…
So far our new week is off to a good start… We’ll be doing our snow dances and praying to the snow gods for snow this week in the mountains instead of rain, as is currently forecast for this weekend… Fingers crossed that my ski class actually happens!
After a very busy but enjoyable holiday season we had many a things to catch up on at home. It has been a bit of a crazy week just getting back into our routines and picking up where we left off before mid-December arrived and we went into auto-pilot. So far, 2015 is off to an amazing start. We are; however, bracing ourselves for another crazy busy next several weeks, or maybe even months.
One of the first things on our to-do list that we’re working on crossing off has to do with some home improvements. First things first, we’re getting our windshield replaced on Tuesday. I know, you can hardly contain your excitement. Me too, really, it’s not that fun driving with a gigantic crack across the entire windshield.
More excitedly, we are in the process of securing a landscape architect and contractor. We have a small project {that’s what they say… I say major project!} that will consist of probably bringing a backhoe into our backyard, digging down a few feet and replacing our clay soil with organic matter and sand, as well as adding a drainage and irrigation system to our entire backyard, oh and then adding some visual interest back there. In Seattle, people really care about their landscaping and we really don’t have much in our backyard. I am excited to receive the proposals and figure out where we’ll go from there.
In less exciting home news, we are re-opening an insurance claim we had filed after the house next door to us burned down a while back, as the contractors who “fixed” the damage on our house didn’t really do the best job. We’ve since learned a lot and are looking forward to having some of these things fixed – we didn’t ever expect we would be able to go back to the insurance company and not get dinged for this, but some of the siding needs to be replaced and they need to fix some windows. We’re hoping they can get this underway as quickly as possible!
In other logistical news, we have been planning a few upcoming trips and already getting some things down on the books for this summer. We have a few weddings over the summer but they are pretty well spread out so we are really looking forward to being in Washington or the Pacific Northwest for most of the summer. Summers in Seattle are pretty incredible!
This past week Alex moved to a new office. He still has the exact same job but his team moved from his urban office in Seattle back to Redmond where his company’s main campus is located. The move was embraced with excitement, as Alex couldn’t have been happier to not ride the Seattle city bus anymore. His company has its own transportation system, which picks him up 3 blocks from our house and he gets to ride in a much nicer bus that is very consistent and a lot faster than the city bus. His new office is awesome – we spent some time there on Sunday because he wanted to get some stuff up on his walls and make it a little less boring. So far it’s been a great transition for him.
Both Alex and I have been adjusting to new schedules since the new year began. We are trying to figure out how to fit various fitness activities into the mix, too. The studio where we take Pilates classes at just began offering yoga classes, so I took my first Vinyasa yoga class last week and plan to continue. I am currently doing a reformer Pilates class once a week, then my yoga class once a week {hoping to squeeze in another session!} and Alex and I do a Pilates mat class together on Friday mornings. We’re trying to find a good time to add running and Alex wants to do some weight-lifting in there, too, so it’s a work in progress. I just need to be as fit as possible for my upcoming ski class {and trip to Mexico….!}.
We had hoped to go skiing this past weekend but the conditions looked like they were going to be pretty awful so we skipped it. I was pretty tired after hosting a baby shower for my cousin in-law, Heidi, and then having the Millers over for fondue. It was nice to have a relaxing Sunday – we even slept in until 8:30 or 9:00, which is really unheard of for us!
My cousin Chris and his wife Heidi are expecting their first child this spring! It is so nice for me to have family out here in Seattle and I am so excited that our little family is growing, so I was happy to offer to help host Heidi’s baby shower. Heidi’s childhood best friend, Colleen, is also out here in Seattle so we tag-teamed the effort to throw Heidi’s Twinkle Twinkle Little Star themed shower this past weekend.
After a wonderful Christmas Alex and I decided to hightail it off to Utah to take a ski trip just the two of us. It’s not too often that we take a trip other than to visit family or friends, with family or friends or to attend a wedding, so it was a real treat to spend this time together.
We flew out to Salt Lake City the morning of New Year’s Eve and after a few minor flight delays arrived at lunch time. The first day of our trip and a few days leading up to it were a bit odd. Logistics and details became more difficult than they should have. Long story short, we thought we reserved a hotel room at a hotel via booking.com but it turned out to be a vacation rental through either a private owner or a property management company – honestly we still aren’t even sure! It was such a mess and the owner/property managers were not experienced in dealing with renters which makes me shocked that we were able to get into the room at all.
On top of the lodging confusion, the specific car we reserved to rent was unavailable and we had to seriously upgrade {which ended up being okay because we got to drive a brand new SUV}; the restaurant we wanted to eat lunch at was closed for a health inspection; the lines at the state controlled liquor store were out the door; the truck with all of the produce going to Whole Foods broke down in Wyoming, so there was a complete shortage of food; and then the unit we reserved did not have heat or hot water the first night. There’s a lot of details I left out but what matters is that eventually we got heat and hot water and the place we stayed was beautiful, it just was a really weird, weird experience topped off with unmet expectations.
Our New Years Eve celebration was wonderful. We had a really fun, unique dinner at Fireside Dining, which is a fondue restaurant at Deer Valley. Our evening started with a horse drawn sleigh ride around the area. Mind you it was about 5 degrees below zero…
We quickly warmed up inside, as the restaurant boasts four open, wood-burning fireplaces, which is how the fondue is prepared and served. There are four stations – one raclette station where there is a block of cheese propped up next to the fire that literally drips down onto a plate that you take and fill with little dippers, like bread, pearl onions and potatoes.
Another station hosted soup where huge kettles of thick, hearty stews rested on the hearth of the fireplace to keep warm. These were so tasty! I had the wild mushroom stew and Alex had the hunter’s stew that was full of wild meats. The third fireplace had lamb legs cooking over it. I don’t usually care for lamb, but this was delicious!
Finally, the fourth fireplace was home to dessert! There were three different pots – chocolate, white chocolate and caramel – then you got to choose from a sampling of desserts, like pound cake and strawberries, to dip into the yummy sauce.
We shared a bottle of prosecco, lots of memories from the year that was coming to an end, and great conversation about what our hopes for the year approaching might be. We both agreed that the years just keep getting better and better and that 2015 is going to be full of new memories.
New Years Day meant that it was time to strap our skis to our feet and hit the slopes! Our first of three ski days was at Snowbird, which we had been to previously. Snowbird is amazing and we were so excited to be back. Utah is known for its blue skies and champagne powder. We only experienced the blue skies during our trip, but it sure beats skiing in the gloom Washington has to offer. We missed the big powder fest by a few days, though we did find a few secret powder stashes in the trees.
We rocked around the mountain all day, mainly sticking on the Peruvian Express, since the north facing slope seemed to boast the best snow. I was wishing we could have spent more time back in Mineral Basin where it is completely wide open, full of bowls and beauty, but the snow was really firm and crusty there.
All in all, it was a great first ski day of the new year!
Our second ski day was spent at Alta, which is right next door to Snowbird – you can ski between the two mountains. Together, they have 4,700 skiable acres, but on their own, they are both smaller than our home mountain, Crystal Mountain Resort. We had not been to Alta before but had the preconceived expectations of it being an old-school resort without any glam. That definitely was true, but it had some nice updated technology features, like RFID passes, and a new lodge.
The runs were longer than we expected and we had a really fun time exploring some bowls and the trees. I spent most of the time “in the lead” which is unusual for me – usually I am the caboose because I am slow and can wrangle any stragglers – but Alex said I am more adventurous in new terrain, which was also news to me. I had a lot of fun hopping all over the mountain, ducking into the trees and trying to keep us out of the deep mogul ruts.
Unfortunately our day at Alta was cut a little short, though. I had been having some issues with my helmet for quite a while, but the last straw finally broke and my head couldn’t take being in my helmet for another second, so we called it a day when my head was screaming, and headed home early. The silver lining that day; however, came when I got a call from my boss informing me that I got a raise!
Since we got back to our “hotel room” a little earlier than we had expected we decided to do some Apres skiing and celebrate my exciting news. There’s really no better place to celebrate such a thing when you’re in Park City than at the one and only St. Regis in Deer Valley. When in Rome…
We set out for the St. Regis Bar and had such a lovely night. We parked in the Deer Valley parking lot and had to take a funicular, think slow motion roller coaster, up to the hotel. We timed it perfectly because we had to put our name on the list for a table which allowed us a little while to wander the beautiful hotel. Boy were we glad we had some extra time when we stumbled upon the most impressive hot cocoa bar you could imagine!
Each of these beautiful hammered copper urns contained homemade hot chocolate, really probably the best I’ve ever had, and then there was another table with copper bowls filled with toppings, like marshmallows, fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings. You better believe we indulged!
We had just enough time to enjoy our hot cocoa outside by the fire before we got called to sit down in the bar. Our experience at the St. Regis Bar was wonderful. Our beverages were fantastic! While we appreciate a good drink, neither one of us is much of a cocktail snob, but these drinks were incredible. Alex ordered a Moscow Mule and I ordered a Winter’s Dream, which was hot chocolate, Irish cream and amaretto {the key ingredient!} and they were out of this world. To go along with our drinks we decided to order fondue since it had been two whole days since we’d eaten it…
The evening was topped off by a champagne sabering ceremony. Yes you read that right. One of the staff at the restaurant literally sabered off the top of a champagne bottle {yes, with a sword} under the almost full moon and treated all of the diners to a complimentary glass of bubbly. It was a great celebration!
Our final ski day was at Snowbasin, another resort we had not been to previously. We started the day rather early, as we drove into Ogden to buy me a new ski helmet. We timed it just right and as we pulled into the parking lot of the resort, the snow started to fall. We were eager with anticipation, as some of our friends had been to Snowbasin before and alerted us to the expansive resort that it is, plus, the icing on the cake that comes in the form of incredible lodges.
We were blown away by how stunning the lodges at Snowbasin are. They all have a log facade, multiple chandeliers, and wood-burning fireplaces. We really lucked out, too, because it seems like everyone who goes to Snowbasin sticks to the beginner trails, so we felt like we had the mountain all to ourselves. As if that wasn’t enough, the food was exceptional. I had chili for lunch and it was absolutely fantastic.
It was so fun to be able to ski at three completely different resorts. Snowbasin was so huge and open, with all kinds of wild, unkempt terrain, and extremely long runs. Alta was really old-school and had a lot of challenging terrain and odd fall-lines, but was really hard to navigate. Snowbird was wide-open and full of fast groomers and powder pockets, and we felt like it was laid out exceptionally well. We really hope to get the opportunity to come back to the Park City/Cottonwood Canyon area again soon!
