I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve! We’ve had such a wonderful time here so far but the time is flying! This is the first day I’m not skiing, instead spending my morning with my mom and sister in law baking Christmas cookies! I have a few different posts I’ll be doing today, one about last night’s sleigh ride and another the workouts we’ve done so far.

But, for right now, I thought it’d be fun to give you glimpse inside the snow globe, aka what we’ve been doing each day.

Breakfast The past few days are some of the busiest ski days of the season since Vermont received fresh powder and there are so many families up here for the holidays. Therefore, each morning our alarm clock went off at 6:45. After getting dressed, before hitting the slopes, we’ve eaten a protein filled breakfast at home that will hold us through four hours of skiing. My usual breakfast has been a bowl of 0% Chobani, blueberries, raspberries, banana, and Bab-A-Louis Bakery granola.

The weather each day has been around 20 degrees on the mountain and therefore I’ve dressed warmly to ensure I enjoy myself. The last thing you want to be when skiing is cold!

Here is what I wore each day, which takes advantage of my favorite winter running gear as well! Up at the top of the mountain the temperature dropped to a wind chill of 5 degrees!

• Pro Compression running socks
• SmartWool Ski Socks
• Suguoi Subzero tight or my Mizuno lined running tights
• C9 by Champion Women’s Cold weather athletic top
• Solomon Agent Ski pants in white
• Solomon Ski jacket (Sierra Trading Post during end of season sale 2 years ago!)
• Solomon ski gloves (from Sierra Trading Post during end of season sale 2 years ago!)
• Lululemon infinity scarf from last year

I was warm and toasty until yesterday around noon when the temperature plummeted and the winds started gusting. But overall, this gear was perfect for four days of Vermont skiing! As you can tell, most of this is pretty inexpensive or dual purposed winter running gear. Since Bo and I only ski a total of 4-6 days a season each year we haven’t invested in anything beyond ski socks, pants, jackets, and goggles. I think the next thing I’d invest in is either a helmet or boots.

Stratton Mountain  As always, we had a blast skiing Stratton this year. It’s about 15 minutes from my family’s home so while it’s further away than Bromley, the conditions are about 10x better. Most of our visit they had at least 4 different lifts open and over 40 something trails. Each person in our group, whether skiing greens, blues, or black diamond trails was happy with the options available even though the windy conditions limited some of the lifts. I love that Stratton offers multiple green and blue runs from the top of the mountain versus just blacks. Our group had a great time riding the lift or gondola up the mountain together, taking in the sights and watching people take on the moguls under the lift. This was also the first year that I felt comfortable enough as a skier to go down blue and green runs by myself versus having lesson. That in itself made me thrilled to be out there!

The snow capped trees reminded us of something out of a Dr. Seuss book they looked so unreal!

Lunch

We’ve skied each day from 8am-12:45, making it home by 1:15 for lunch with the whole family. It’s been an easy way to save some money this trip while also taking advantage of delicious leftovers and catching up with everyone. I’m trying to enjoy a healthy breakfast, lunch, and snacks during the day so each evening I can enjoy a few glasses of wine and delicious dinner. This is one of the ways I find balance while on vacation, especially when I know that in a few short days I’ll be on a beach in St. Croix!

Afternoon Adventures

Each afternoon my mom and dad have driven into Manchester or to a nearby town to explore and see the sights together. Grafton was the cutest of the towns we visited, decorated in fresh white snow and holiday decorations!

I love this historic home’s decorations including a traditional fruit wreath and the lamp post with a warm hospitality greeting of pineapple, ribbons, and greens.