Structure Minerals - a daily dose of color

The mood has been grey around here lately, but this morning we were blessed with an unusually sunny and beautifully clear morning. It was hard not to feel a bit spring delirious. As it happened, I was walking my friend's dog, so I really got the full benefit of the few hours of brilliant sunlight, otherwise I might have just hurried home. Now I am at my desk working, and the sky is back to overcast dull blah.

I am desperate for color and light now, and to treat myself to some dreamy escapism, I have begun to follow some more exotic feeds on Instagram, rather than the endless cups of expensive coffee, house plants and children's rooms with quirky vintage wallpaper. I am looking for weird and wonderful now.

These guys I have been following for some time, and practically every day I am rewarded with beautiful shots of a rainbow extravaganza of minerals and precious stones.

They are Matt and Ashley from Minneapolis, and they have an Etsy shop called Structure Minerals.

And here they are on Instagram. Such a feast for the eyes!

From Ouch! to vintage skiing

Exactly a week ago I did something with my back, nothing much, I hardly remember the specific thing, but the result was days of almost crawling around, bent over in pain. I actually got so desperate, that I went and saw a chiropractor for the first time in my life, and he twisted and pushed me around, and massaged my lower spine with a small wooden instrument of torture.

And then he prescribed ibuprofen, weird little back exercises and lying face down on the floor with a bag of frozen peas on my back several times a day.

And I am so thankful it all helped, and very very happy about that, because today we are leaving for our annual skiing trip to Sweden, and that is the highlight of winter, as far as I am concerned, and I just love love LOVE it.

I made a post about it last year, and the whole thing just gives me a wild surge of fresh energy. The snow, the light, the stillness, the beauty of the mountains. The physical strain of cross country skiing, that leaves you utterly exhausted every day - but next day you just get up and do the whole thing over again. And the food, the wine and the good company. The happy kids. 

And the way that you wear practically the same clothes and no makeup for a week. You hardly comb your hair and you look a complete mess, but with rosy cheeks and stars in your eyes. It totally works for me, happinesswise.

Of course it wasn't always like that. So, let's enjoy some stylish skiing of yesteryear!

That guy in the leopard fur, huh? Have you ever seen anything like that? Cannot source the image, alas, but in a note it says 1927, and I found it on this blog, where you'll se many more great ones / the dad with his kid in a rucksack is from the twenties, and from Norways National Archives / the row of girls are American, and from 1925 / the last, pretty girl is in traditional Arlberg attire from Austria, and the photo is from 1935.

Lets round this one up with none other that Rita Hayworth and Ingrid Bergman, both looking their finest in the slopes. Thus inspired, I feel that perhaps I will comb my hair, after all. Make a bit of an effort, you know.

The photos are collected over a long period from tumblr and elsewhere, and I have no credits for them. Please let me know if you have!