Let’s Talk Love Life

Y’all, you make me laugh. Like, out and out, seriously laugh. And smile; you’ve all made me do a lot of that over the past few weeks. Oh yeah, and giggle. A lot of giggling has happened.

Want to know why? Because quite a few of you have been very curious about Will, the guy who you may have noticed on the blog a few times. I laughed at Ali‘s blog comment:

And laughed even harder at Alyssa’s:

This was re: Will doing push-ups in the truck bed in this post

I giggled some more at a few emails that I received, and totally cracked up when I saw the following Instagram comment from Katie:

Alyssa, I expect you to appreciate that

Apparently quite a few of you are wondering who this mystery man in my life is, and I have to say that a part of me was quite flattered! But don’t worry, I won’t let my head get too big 😉 So yes, I do have a boyfriend these days and yes, that would be Will!

He and I met back in June on the Columbia press trip to Havasupai. Obviously, I was there with the rest of the OmniTen, but Will was checking out Omni-Freeze Zero because he freelances for Backpacker magazine. We hung out and enjoyed our hike into the canyon and parted on friendly terms. We kept in touch over the summer, but started to communicate more frequently when he offered to donate all the proceeds from his photography website towards my Haiti fundraising. (Now I know he was just making his move, right?!) He visited Colorado in September as part of a previously-scheduled backpacking trip, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Smart man, but bocce eludes him 😉

Unfortunately, Will’s day job in corporate America has him currently based in San Diego. Yes, that means we’re doing the long distance thing! In fact, I failed to mention to y’all that I flew out there last Wednesday to spend a week, checking things out and doing our Christmas thing. I could break that into an entirely separate post, but I don’t imagine that it’s too exciting for any of you. Just know that sushi happened….

….followed by The Nutcracker ballet!

(Oh yeah, did I fail to mention that I cut my bangs?! Will will went to work, I found scissors, and got a little crazy. This is why you can never, ever leave me alone with sharp objects.)

What do we think? Love ’em or hate ’em? I can still pull them back or to the side, so I’m happy with them!

A wedding in Rancho Santa Fe also happened (complete with some absolutely stunning scenery….

…and we followed that up with a Prohibition-themed party at the Hard Rock Hotel. Will and a few of his friends rented a suite and we all dressed up in our fanciest roaring 20’s outfits. Luckily for me, I happen to own a flapper costume, but I couldn’t find the boa. What a letdown!

See? Bangs can go back. And I can also attempt to wear red lipstick. Stranger things have happened.

We also did our Christmas gift exchange, and I have to say that he ridiculously spoiled me, almost to the point of embarrassment. In fact, I even hesitate to share his gifts on my blog, but I am so damn excited about them that I can barely contain it!

An entirely new backcountry/AT ski setup and some earrings from Tiffany’s

You better believe that I’m heading into the backcountry in Park City next week, broken back or not!

So, that’s my life in a nutshell these days! I feel like I needed to do a big ol’ sweep of catch-up so I hope this sufficed! I know the holidays are insane for everyone, so I’m sure y’all feel the same.