Sunday, January 23, 2011

Outdoor Living


The future us.
Yesterday we got to attend the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2011, held in the SLC convention center. It is nice to have friends who work for the SLC convention bureau (thanks M!). This is a huge trade show for outdoor equipment and clothing suppliers. Full of the names you know and then some. It was huge, and a very impressive trade show. This is the kind of event that can make one drool over and deeply desire the gear and clothing and dream of spending A LOT more time outdoors. My head is spinning with desire to go skiing and snow shoeing and climbing and backpacking and camping. I took a lot of photographs of company booths and products that I plan to buy in the future. It also made me fantasize about a career change into outdoor retail. I have management experience. I worked retail (a long time ago, but I have that experience). I love the outdoors clothing and equipment. Why not dream a little about a carefree lifestyle working for a place like REI, getting a discount to feed my fix, an environment to encourage outdoor living, working with groovy outdoorsy people...

Recently an old friend was visiting SLC and we met for brunch. She joked about me showing up in all of my outdoor wear because she remembered me as being a different kind of dresser. And I was. I have closets, boxes and bags full of shoes and clothes that came from my Washington, DC life that I do not wear anymore. I wonder if I will ever wear most or any of it again. High heels, business suits, blouses, dress pants. Ugh. Most days now I dress like a walking advertisement for REI or Lululemon. Last month  I was walking into REI to do some Christmas shopping (I did most of it there) and I suddenly realized that everything I was wearing - pants, shirt, jacket, shoes and my bag - were all from REI. REI took care of our luggage and our wardrobe for our honeymoon to Europe. We have an REI five minutes from our house. I love it. I walk in and drool over the jackets and shoes and the bags - yes it has wonderful gear, but it is also now my place of choice for clothing. It has replaced Ann Taylor and Banana Republic and Nordstrom and the boutiques I used to frequent. This is what leaving DC and living in SLC has done to me. This is all I want to wear. And they always have great sales. If you never think to go to REI for clothes, think again.

So...we left the expo energized and fantasizing about our outdoor adventures that lie ahead. We will get some winter sports in here over the next few months and I can't wait to break out my old tent when the weather warms up. If you live in this part of the country it is a crime to not take advantage of the wilderness here. Here are some awesome things from the expo that I want to buy. Cool huh? I will be on the look out for them on the internet, REI and other outdoor stores.

coolest camping dishes
Strap on ice crampons
Cool wool boy cut underwear
Camping cookware
Tasty 
Awesome solar powered music player
The coolest sled
Me trying the ice crampons. I want these! Yes, those are ice blocks and yes that is a guy in a penguin suit.

No comments:

Post a Comment