The other day I went on a short hike with good friends from their place in Old Town. There is nothing better than walking out the front door right into the mountains. We enjoyed the sunshine and commented on how much steeper the ski runs look while on foot rather than skis.
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This spring has been especially green and beautiful thanks to rain nearly every day of May. Yesterday we headed over to Big Cottonwood Canyon to celebrate my first day of summer and hike to Dog Lake. It was a challenging first year of teaching and I am very happy to be done with the school year! We were hoping to stop by our wedding location and check it out (only 3 weeks until the big day!) but there was another wedding going on so we weren't able to. Right down from the wedding spot are some amazing hikes though so we headed up to Dog Lake and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the mountains. We sure are lucky to live here.
For Memorial Day Weekend this year we headed down towards Goblin Valley State Park with a group of friends to camp for the weekend. We climbed all over the crazy rock formations in Goblin Valley, traveled on many dirt roads, and braved the rain which ended in a spectacular rainbow. Two of our friends are from back east and have spent very little time in the beautiful red rock desert of southern Utah, so we had a great time showing them around. They were amazed by the vast expanses of nothingness that Utah holds. Recently I've started thinking of camping as being able to pick a new place to live for a night or two. I think we picked a pretty breathtaking place to live for the weekend.
I've found that one of the best parts of planning a wedding is having friends and family come together to make it happen. We have many talented friends and family members who have offered their talents to make our dream wedding come true. Our lovely friend Elise is a spectacular photographer and took our engagement pictures in the fall. She is also planning on taking our first look and wedding pictures. Here are some of our favorite engagement pictures.
Due to lots of rain (and snow!) in the last few weeks, we are having a spectacularly green spring here in the mountains. Today we decided to go on a walk after work to enjoy the new green leaves and sunshine before we get more storms this weekend. The whole walk looked like something out of a fairy tale. We are so lucky to live here.
Last weekend we decided to take a mini trip. We left Saturday afternoon and came home Sunday evening. It was only a little over 24 hours but going on a short road trip made the whole weekend feel longer. Plus we got to spend some of our weekend at home too so we got the best of both worlds. Saturday we headed down to the Buckhorn Draw/Wedge area of the San Rafael Swell, just a little outside of Huntington. We ate s'mores, chatted around the campfire, did some jeeping, and admired spectacular views.
I've been a bit of a slacker as far as blogging is concerned. The last month has been crazy with wrapping up the school year (22 more days!) but I finally got around to uploading my pictures from New Orleans. It's a beautiful city and I loved how incredibly different it is from Utah.
It's my spring break right now (I'm a teacher) and for the first part of my break I visited one of my good friends in New Orleans. She grew up in Park City and moved to New Orleans for college. She has been living down there for almost 6 years and this was the first time I visited her. It was an amazing trip and I loved exploring the city. Just about everything in New Orleans is the opposite of life in Park City, Utah and I loved learning about a new city and culture. I have yet to upload my vacation pictures from my "real camera" but I thought I would share a few Instagram pictures from my trip. walking downtown
relaxing by the Mississippi River Jackson Square crawfish picnic It's March in the mountains which means that in the last week we have had white out blizzards, temperatures in the 60's and everything in between. I've been enjoying the last month of the season on the ski slopes and taking advantage of our new later sunsets by hiking after work. Spring is looking pretty great so far.
It takes a certain group dynamic to make a camping trip work. Last weekend we headed to Zion with one of our best friends. It started out just the three of us but then my lovely and adventurous friend Erika came down later in the weekend with a couple of her friends from work. Some of us hadn't met before but after 2 minutes at lunch together we were laughing and joking like old friends. Anyone who understands the importance of cryptobiotic earth, constellations and waking up early to hike Angels Landing is a good friend in my book. Let's go camping again, friends.
One of our favorite hikes in Zion is the Hidden Canyon hike. The trail starts at Weeping Rock, winds up a few switchbacks, traverses along the edge of a cliff face and ends up in a hidden slot canyon up in the cliff. It's a short hike to get to the canyon but you can hike back into the canyon for quite awhile. We have done this hike a couple times but haven't made it to the end of the canyon yet! The traverse along the cliff is narrow and has a chain. Consider it training for Angels Landing.
Last year we headed down to Zion National Park over President's Day weekend when we woke to a particularly warm February morning. This year we decided to continue the tradition. Last year Sam declared that there was no way that he would hike Angels Landing. This year we headed to the top of the spectacular hike with a few of our best friends. It was the scariest hike any of us had ever been on and it was completely worth it. Here's to getting out of your comfort zone and accomplishing something new.
Hometown Adventures is one of my favorite blog post series so I decided to feature other bloggers' own hometown adventures to offer a different perspective. Today I am featuring Amanda of Marry Mint, who lives in Alaska with her husband, adorable little girl and soon to be new baby boy. She has shared one of her favorite hometown adventures and why she thinks hometown adventures are so important. What place do you call your hometown? I don't consider any specific place my hometown. I'm a nomad. ;) Growing up, we moved around quite a bit because of my dad's job, so "home" is wherever my parents are. Where do you currently live? Palmer, AK! What is your favorite hometown adventure? One of my favorite things to do in a new place, or even I place I've lived for a while is to just drive around. There is something so magical about just getting lost on the streets of your own town. Finding great neighborhoods, beautiful homes, hiking trails, shops, restaurants, the possibilities are endless! Shortly before Christmas, we decided we wanted to cut down our own Christmas tree. In Alaska, this isn't done at a Christmas tree farm. You have to actually get out in the wilderness and hunt for your perfect tree. One Saturday, we loaded the dogs and baby into the car and just took off! We ended up at the base of a fairly wooded ATV trail that appeared promising. We piled out of the car and hiked until we could agree on a tree (and the baby insisted it was getting close to lunchtime.) The snow covered trees, the peacefulness, the mountain views, the memories. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon as a family. Why do you think hometown adventures are important? I think the minute you stop being a tourist in your own town, boredom and even resentment can slither into your life. No matter how big or small your hometown is, there is always a new restaurant to try, a new person to meet, a new vantage point. Thank you, Amanda!
After getting rid of so much stuff in the last week, I have been thinking a lot about simplifying and minimalism. Going through our closets, office/guest room and kitchen inspired me to go through my closet. I am one to go through my closet frequently but I am never that aggressive about it. I usually get rid of a few things that are worn out or I really don't like anymore. This time was different. This time when I went through my closet I had a different mindset. I had my eyes set on truly simplifying and paring down and I realized that I had many items that either:
a.) Never fit well b.) I never really liked c.) I haven't worn for years I even found a dress that I wore to a dance in tenth grade...and haven't worn since. It really got me thinking about how much more something costs you than its initial monetary cost. Sure, a semi-cute shirt may cost only seven dollars but it costs much more when you have to find space for it, launder it, try to make it work with your wardrobe, take time to clean out your closet and then eventually take the time to get rid of it and donate it. Now I am thinking about how important it is to take the time to only purchase things that: a.) Fill a gap in my wardrobe b.) Match my wardrobe c.) Fit well d.) Are high-quality and will last All this thinking about simplifying my wardrobe has me considering a capsule wardrobe. I am fascinated by the idea and feel inspired every time I read about capsule wardrobes. I pretty much wear the same five sweaters, three pairs of pants and four dresses all the time anyway. My one big concern is that the seasons where I live in Park City, Utah tend to span many, many degrees and that the next season, spring, could range from about 10 degrees to 70 degrees. That's hard to dress and prepare for in general, much less with a limited number of clothing items. I think I may be up to the challenge though. What do you guys think? Have you done a capsule wardrobe? Considered it? |