RIP Grizzly Bear 399
10 notes on the week from Alden & Lizzy
Reflections on shopping and motherhood:
The new Sky Ting Lax Shorts. If you go to Sky Ting you will notice everyone is wearing these… not a legging in sight. Thank god, imo. Also saw a teaser about dance pants coming soon…
Lax shorts Suits. I’ve watched 3 hours of Suits every night for the last 6 of 9 nights I’ve been in Jackson Hole. I’m a first-timer to the show. I’m obsessed with the moments of humor interspersed between legal drama, as well as the character development. Luis Litt grows on me every episode and I see elements of myself in Harvey— not the confident handsomeness but in the kind of hardening that has seemed to happen to me over time. Besides watching TV, I have loved my brief time in Jackson Hole for other reasons. I did yoga almost every day. I drank the same Mint Chip smoothie from Healthy Being Cafe literally every day. Spent a lot of time with my mom. We hiked a lot. We sat in a hot spring next to a waterfall. I ate elk and bison. I “ooohhed” and “ahhhed” at the magnificent colors and landscapes outside my car window each day as we drove places. My mom left this morning and that same sad feeling that creeps in whenever we part has arrived. I almost always feel the absence of her presence the most in the immediate hours after she’s left. I arrived in Jackson last week to some tragic news about a famous 28-year-old bear. Grizzly Bear 399 was struck and killed by a driver. Grizzly 399 raised 18 cubs in her life and often near roadside areas in northern Grand Teton National Park to protect them from male bears and predators. She once raised four cubs, a rare feat, and last year, at age 27 she had her last single cub making her the oldest female grizzly alive with a cub in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She had a tough life, once mauling a man, and several of her cubs have been hit and killed by vehicles. I’m heartsick over the accounts of grief folks have described: A photographer who followed Grizzly 399 for 18 years crying out “animalistically,” over her death, an 84-year-old wildlife activist describing her two-decade long bond with the bear as “almost familial” and the loss as “probably the hardest thing she’s ever had to deal with in her life.” In a moment of softening, I’m reminded of the inextricable connection between animals and humans, nature and society, mothers and children, love and loss, and that one doesn’t exist without the other.
From left: Jackson Hole Daily, me in a hot springs, me and my mom. Desirée’s Podcast, Benshen Talks S.H.I.T. I love this recent episode with Jolie founder, Arjan and this podcast with her long-time teacher, Thomas. Thomas is the founder of The Paradox Process which I don’t yet understand well enough to describe (even after listening to the podcast) but I’m intrigued enough to sign up for this. Will report back.
New Double RL jeans. I really wanted these. But these feel like they appeased the desire for less money. The wash is great. They look much better IRL and on than they do on the website. This is why I love shopping in person and good multi-brand retail. My two favorite stores in Jackson Hole were Grit General and Habits. I got an amazing 60’s Navajo concho belt from Grit General. I am pretty smitten over a Navajo hair piece, as well (photo below). I got a jacket from Kemo Sabe. Bought this Auralee sweater and button down from Habit. The pullover scratched the itch of wanting this sweatshirt from The Row and even though they’re basically the same price I guess I justified it as the Auralee is wool and The Row’s is cotton. This whole trip to Jackson Hole has really inspired a sort of fashion identity reconsideration. I recently heard Mel Ottenberg on Fashion People say something along the lines of having big American bones and denim/classic American silhouettes just look better on him. Personally, I have to agree. My broad shoulders just look better in a classic white oxford. How does this relate to wellness you might be wondering? It doesn’t. But here are some photos of me living my best life in Jackson
Clockwise from top left: Old Stone Trade jeans; Jackson landscape; Tim Riggins; the hairpiece; puppies; Navajo belt. Everyone is dropping their seasonal gift guides. For wellness, I get a kick out of the Goop guide.
I want this glass oil lamp, this fancy mat that would be perfect for breathwork, this full body intelligence kit, height sleep lamp,
If money wasn’t an issue, I’d get the Lyma Laser Starter Kit, theraface pro, firelight infrared sauna, and the Rainbow Mat.
Things I’ve used and would buy again: Deep Sleep Magnesium Bath Salts, & “The Martini” Emotional Detox Bath Soak. I LOVE the emotional detox bath soak. It’s heavenly.
I also got this Hydra-Barrier Gel Gloss the other day in Spice and j’adore.
Lizzy’s list:
I voted early for the first time in my life!
“Healing individuals through community” — I’m thinking about this statement a lot recently. It feels true to my own healing while also feels like the bedrock of my role at the farm. I'm grateful that I get the chance to discuss what wellness means with the people I work closely with. Here’s an example of what I mean by healing the individual through community: I consume food in a completely different way with people vs. eating alone. For dinner at home alone in my apartment it’s a win if I steam the broccoli wilting in my fridge and avoid eating Malai ice cream for dinner (I’m dead serious). At the farm with my team, I walk into the garden, harvest kale and sauté it with onions and garlic, over a roaring fire we cook: 100% grass fed steaks, Japanese sweet potato, Delicata squash, onions, and griddled pear to go on our ice cream. I’m left with the question, is living alone making me unwell? Right now it feels like it.
A meal in community. I’m writing this on my flight to LA. I try not to eat mid-flight anymore. See my girl Meg who founded Grounded Nourishment for all the best flight hacks. Today I'm just drinking water because I’ve officially had one too many Celsius’s (Celsei?) and I can’t get my heart to stop feeling like a butterfly in my chest for the last 24 hours.
I turned 34 last Thursday and this is how I celebrated:
I went to back to back yoga classes and my friends showed UP.
Over the weekend I did four two-minute cold plunges. Before plunge: my brain feels like a windshield covered in blurred rain drops, after plunge: the windshield wiper wipes the glass clean.
I got a facial from my all time favorite, Kailey Boland at Practise. Proof:
I drive a lot so I pull over to do David Elliot’s 7 minute meditation when I’m feeling exhausted. After just 7 minutes I’m back in my body and less in my head. I’m on a flight to go see David for a 1:1 session in Ojai tomorrow. Stay tuned to hear how it goes.
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