thrift shopping.

it's one of my favorite hobbies.

in fact, i feel like i've gotten pretty good at it.

you kind of have to be good at something like that when you're poor and in school, right?

anyways.

when bry and i were first married, we realized we had hardly anything to fill our small home.

bry's contributions consisted of a big TV, three pairs of skis, and a car that was all paid off (typical guy, right?)

me, on the other hand...

i had lots of random home decorations, cute kitchen dishes, and shoes to the fill the closet (typical girl, right?)

between the two of us, we didn't really have furniture or anything substantial to fill the space.

but i was secretly thrilled about this

because i couldn't wait to start designing my own home from scratch.

so, the two of us learned to become master thrift shoppers.

this involved many trips to various thrift stores, consignment shops, and the D.I.

let me just say, we have found some real t r e a s u r e s at these places.

today, i want to share with you one of these treasures, which was actually our very first purchase together as newlyweds. it still sits in the top of our closet and has been with us on many of our adventures.

introducing to you, our

P I C N I C B A S K E T

(...that was exactly $4 at the D.I., may i add.)

it's pretty cool, right?

it comes with places for plates and cups to be buckled in, built-in insulation, and handles to carry it all up the mountain. i'm pretty obsessed with this little treasure. :)

so here's the part you may be interested in...

how to get to this perfect picnic spot:

a spot we go when silver lake is too crowded. (which can happen quite often.)

let me tell you how to get there.

instead of pulling over at silver lake, just keep driving around the loop until you get to brighton ski resort and the trailhead for lake mary. from there, you'll hike up a little past the ski lift, and off to the right, you'll find a nice little meadow. that's our spot.

a perfect place for a family night, a romantic date, or spot to sit and read a good book.