Hand Drawn (and Hiked) by McCall

Happy Wednesday! After three back-to-back-to-back weekends of travel, I could not be happier to be sitting in my house in Denver writing this. Is there anything better than coming back from a trip with a newfound sense of gratitude for your home?

I’ve got a serious case of post-MDW-blues, so we’re switching things up a bit and mirroring the format of one of my favorite newsletters, TOGS. I’ve been feeling like I’m in a little bit of a writing rut and I’ve noticed most of my favorite newsletters are written best when the writer is talking about (*gasps*) themselves.

See you at the bottom!

Backcountry Chronicles

Proud of: Two of my closest friends in the world, Emily and Meghan, for hitting some insane milestones this week. Please give me a moment to brag about my friends (*cracks knuckles*). Emily graduated from her MBA program and hit 100 ski days last week. Either of those are insane to do in any given year, but doing both in the same year? SHEESH.

My other friend, Meghan, took the coolest leap of faith ever and just quit her tech sales job (where she was recently promoted! To VP! At age 29!). She’s got no idea what comes next and we’re both certain that’s the best part of it all. Is there anything more inspiring than watching someone trust-fall straight into a new chapter of life?

Stoked for: Finally hitting my season goal of 50 ski days. I’m currently sitting at 48 days with plans to go skinning with a friend on Friday morning. Life is doing it’s thing and lining up so the day I hit 50 days will be the same day that I ski my first 14er. Pray to the weather gods for low avalanche danger and a bluebird day on Saturday, 6/8!

Thinking about: The 72 hours I spent in Paris two weeks ago with three of the most amazing people I’m lucky enough to know. To borrow a line from my absolutely-gifted-writer-of-a-friend, Katie Gatti: my soul feels like it spent 5 days on a super charger. Being around friends who inspire you to be a better version of yourself is a drug.

Fixating on: The book I read over the weekend, When Breath Becomes Air. I could not put this one down. Any summation I try to give of the book won’t even come close to doing it justice. Please, please, please just do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

Fired up about: This chart about the rise of women’s professional sports.

Ripping: Anything and everything in The Japanese House’s discography after seeing her open for Maggie Rogers at Red Rocks. Maggie puts on one h*ck of a show, but I’m just in shock it took me this long to discover The Japanese House. Start off with the Super Trouper cover if you need to ease into a new artist.

Bonus: it’s barista-certified-level-cool. My favorite barista at my local coffee shop (s/o to Timmy) is a massive fan.

Reading: Before I picked up my copy of When Breath Becomes Air, I ripped through The Handmaid’s Tale. Margaret Atwood never disappoints, so I give her writing a 12/10, but I give the 2-3 days after I finished the book a 4/10 because I kept having dreams (see: nightmares) that I was a handmaid. Again, SHEESH.

Artiste Break

Teaser alert: I’m starting a Paris series for my next gallery show (ie: the gallery show I’m manifesting). Lot’s more updates to come here.

PS: I’m making some major changes to my website and portfolio over the coming weeks and would love all of your feedback when it’s finalized. Get your critical thinking caps nice and warm.

To Go Snacks

💌 I’m just mad that it took me this long to come across CJ Hauser’s article The Crane Wife. Truly the best thing I’ve read in a long, long time.

🌸 I just love, love, love this commencement speech bit from Tim Minchin about how life is meaningless (the Aussie accent doesn’t hurt either). If you’re interested, you can find the full speech here.

🎿 As my friends and I start planning for backcountry hut trips next year, I thought brushing up on the history of 10th Mountain Division Huts was in order.

💻 I tend to avoid reading about politics at all costs (until it comes time to vote), but I actually loved this AMA on Reddit from Denver Mayor Mike Johnston:

Happy summer!

- McCall 🌻

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