Mei 2012 - Living Simple 1

Rabu, 30 Mei 2012

Cowgirl Dress Up

uyguguygu 17.18 Comment

I was about three hundred miles outside of Denver, near Salida, when I realized that I hadn't packed any pants on a 3 night camping trip to Mesa Verde and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks.

Four pairs of shoes? Check...

Pants? Nope...

I was able to get by on the Yoga pants I was wearing for the first day but when the temperature dropped to below freezing at night (It gets cold at elevation!) and chilly during the day I knew I had to go buy a pair of pants.

The only clothing store for miles and miles around that we were able to find was the local feed store in Cortez, Colorado.

And surprisingly, their selection of clothing was pretty much the most amazing thing I've ever seen. There were brands and cuts I've never seen before in the stores I regularly shop at, styles and functionality I've never considered before in a purchase, and a whole slew of denim products that were sized with inseams that were two inches too long to accommodate a seated horseback riding position.

Also, everything was on super-sale so JR bought a cowboy hat (invaluable for hiking, I've discovered! When I get some cash I'll be buying one of my own!), a shirt for each of us, a belt for him, and a pair of boots for me.

I can also tell you for certain that the jeans I ended up buying are made of the thickest, roughest denim I have ever owned. JR works very, very hard and is very hard on his clothes - after a trip there we decided that's probably the type of place to buy his clothes from now on because those pieces are built to last!

The trip itself was pretty phenomenal - I'll post the trip photos in a blog post in the next day or two.

Hat: Bailey

Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Shirt: Ariat Annalise

Jeans: Wrangler Cash Cowgirl Cut

Boots: Ariat Quickdraw

Minggu, 20 Mei 2012

Sunday

uyguguygu 19.41 Comment

This Sunday was a good one. It wasn't busy at all. I had a bike race that I was going to do on Saturday and one for today as well. It poured on Saturday making the trails completely impassable and making it utterly rude to even think of holding a marathon mountain bike race on these beautiful trails. As one person said it best, "[You get] five hours of racing and years to repair the damage." Didn't seem worth it, right?

In lieu of racing this weekend I had a perfect morning spent sleeping in, experimenting with the milk frother my friend lent me in an attempt to make the perfect chai latte, and going on a bike ride up to a little alpine lake tucked away in the mountains.

I also like to tell the stories of my family to anyone who will listen and lucky for me I have a husband who delights in listening to my stories. Today, in the middle of the prattling, I told him the story of Dexter and Prince, my grandfather's two Percherons that worked on the Dairy Farm in Wisconsin his grandparents owned. They were good, steady, faithful horses, giant and black, I can't remember how many hands they were but that was one of the details he would tell me.

"They were so big," he would smile. "I could barely get on top of them when I wanted to. I would hitch them up to the plow, or a wagon. Most of the time I was behind, driving them, them but sometimes I could get on top of them even though I wasn't supposed to."

That's my grandpa in the picture above, in training for WWII. He looks like my dad, I think.

Here are some things I've stumbled upon on the internet this week that I've appreciated:

- This was our soundtrack this morning.

- When Michelle Obama Came to Lunch. A short and thoughtful essay.

- Funny and sometimes beautiful pictures of victorian husband and wives.

-I am not an Alabama Channin devotee but I love these cocktails she posted. Perfect for summer.

- Stunning photos of Bardot at Cannes. Work it, girl!

- I'm in love with these french patterns for children's clothing and wish some of the things came in my size, too!

Jumat, 18 Mei 2012

Tuesday Night In Five Pictures - Yoga at the Denver Nature and Science Museum

uyguguygu 08.08 Comment

For the past few weeks I've been heading to this amazing free yoga class at the Denver Nature and Science Museum. I'm not much of a Yoga person - I've taken the occasional class here and there with friends but I've never really gone if I've had to pay for it. I've always struggled with a lot of Yoga poses because of a shoulder injury I received a few years ago so I've just never really done it.

I'm not sure if it's me or if it's the class (I think it's the class) but I really, really am liking this one, enough to go week after week. I really think the instructor is a wonderful and kind person and his sense of humor just really makes the class wonderful.

Jumat, 11 Mei 2012

Birthday Dress

uyguguygu 21.03 Comment

It was my birthday last Sunday the 6th, and in keeping with tradition I had a wonderful day!

There was a brand new birthday dress, lunch out, and a mountain bike ride up an actual mountain.

I always make goals on my birthday for the year ahead (in fact I use any holiday as an excuse to set goals - New Years, Birthdays, the Solstice - nothing's off limits and there's never a bad time to challenge yourself!) and this year was no different. I also wish like crazy on my birthday candles.

I can tell you my goals but I can't tell you my wishes.