10 THINGS I DID IN DEER VALLEY
Last weekend Paul and I traveled to Park City (and even more specifically, Deer Valley), Utah, with Sophie & her bf Christophe. Being snowboarders, Paul and I had never really given skiing a try and decided there’s no better time. Especially since snowboarding isn’t allowed in Deer Valley. I guess you could say it’s a but bit boujee, but in a totally fun way (ie: me wearing that ridiculous white fluffy outfit).
In preparation for this trip, I did a lot of research and planning as far as the outfits go. Yeah, I know my husband would love for me to spend that much effort on the actual trip, but he’s just SO much better at that stuff than me. In order to not over-pack, which is very easy to do when everything is fluffy and puffy, it’s crucial to map out your day and night looks.
To give you a very simple breakdown of what I packed for 3 nights, 4 days: long underwear (top & bottom) to go under everything, 2 pair of jeans, 1 pair of leather pants, 2 chunky sweaters, 1 tight turtleneck, 2 fluffy jackets, 1 puffy jacket, 1 pair of sweatpants, 2 long sleeve t-shirts, 1 skiing outfit (pants & jacket), 2 beanies, 1 scarf, 1 pair of flat over-the-knee boots, 1 short snow boots, uggs, goggles, 1 pair of snow gloves, 1 soft gloves, 2 thick socks, 2 regular socks, 1 bathing suit, and 2 pair of underwear for each day.
I obviously couldn’t carry-on, as everything listed above happens to be massive. However, I will say that I packed just the right amount of clothing. Typically snow towns tend to be on the more casual side (outfit-wise), so you don’t need to go too heavy on the fancy stuff. Aside from my clothing, to read what I actually did in Deer Valley, read on. 
10 THINGS I DID IN DEER VALLEY:
–Skiing. Duh. Paul and I took a private lesson from an instructor who has been skiing / teaching for over 50 years. I caught on pretty quickly. Paul, on the other hand, was having some Richard moments. I’ve been told that Deer Valley is a great place to learn, and while I have nothing to compare it to since it was my first time skiing, I’d have to agree.
-Aprés Ski. The best part of skiing (?) might be the aprés skiing. In other words, or English, it’s the post-skiing activities, which usually involve a cocktail (or 2). When you’ve been skiing all morning you definitely earn a stiff drink by 12:00PM.
-The Veuve Clicquot Yurt. Ah, yes. Quite possibly the most genius idea. At $38+ a glass, sit in the immaculately-styled yurt sipping on Veuve’s finest champagne and / or cocktails while also snacking on truffle popcorn. The music is vibe-y and the setting intimate. After all, a yurt is pretty small, so get friendly with the other aprés skiers.
-Make s’mores in the snow. The Montage Hotel in Deer Valley is extremely picturesque and they’ve clearly realized that, as everything they do is picture-worthy as well. Every afternoon at 4:30PM – 5:30PM they bring out the s’mores bar with an array of flavored marshmallows. You roast your marshmallows outside (even if it snows) in the large fire-pits overlooking the most insane view of the snowy mountain.
-Walk around Main street. You will see 47 (only slightly exaggerating) art galleries, 12 jewelry stores, countless pubs and restaurants, and 3 very cute home decor, beauty, and clothing stores.
-Eat. We ate a few rather delicious meals in Deer Valley, and also cooked one night at the house. Shabu has delicious sushi, Talisker Club had a delicious taco bar and nutella fondue, Apex made a very yummy kale Caesar, and the aprés ski lounge on the mountain had incredible turkey chili fries. After each meal I was basically in a food coma.
-Sloth around. The altitude really got to me on this trip. I found myself feeling very sluggish with a headache every morning and evening. After taking an Advil my headaches would go away but the shortness of breath and overall heaviness really never left my body.
-Spike your hot chocolate. The rules on alcohol are little stricter than I’m used to, so I found that purchasing your own peppermint schnapps is the way to go. I love a good spiked hot chocolate in the snow so it was kinda crucial for me to make that happen.
-Play games. I LOVE playing board-games. I’m very competitive so finding new games is very exciting to me. Sophie’s house was loaded with fun games, but my favorite new discovery was Bananagrams. It’s a fun spin on Scrabble, but way more intense. I highly recommend it.
-Explore. Deer Valley is such a beautiful town, especially covered in snow. It’s post-card beautiful. Currently, the first 1000 pictures in my Camera Roll are all snow-capped mountains and trees. If you’re into naturally beautiful places (and pictures), you will love Deer Valley.