I am sure that many of you know the popular song by Sam Smith “Too Good at Goodbyes”. This popped up on the radio while I was driving to work and tears started falling down my face. I have become an expert at saying goodbye. As I continued to drive in tears, I pondered what that meant.          Eva knew me when I was going through my divorce. Even though she is considerably younger than me, she was my rock at the time. Years of emotional abuse from my ex-husband left me numb

After three weeks of deadline overload at work, I decided to take a day to do absolutely nothing.  Charlie and Phoebe texted to see if I wanted to go for a hike, but I just needed to chill.  I slept until 10:00 am and then Ryley and I took a leisurely walk down the path to Main Street. We casually strolled while checking out store windows and people-watching. I popped into the local coffee shop and grabbed a caramel macchiato. I slowly savored every sip, while sitting on the

Now that I have gotten over the shock of ‘not so hot’ Josh’s betrayal, I have started to process what happened. As I did this, I also could not help but revisit my marriage and how I may have missed or ignored red flags. My ex-husband Nick did a number on me. His gaslighting skills had been honed for years as the spoiled mama’s boy in a Greek family. He had become a master by the time we met.  My dream guy had ghosted me, and I was at my lowest point. Nick started love-bombin

The pain of a breakup can be excruciating, especially when you realize that life around you continues to unfold while you feel utterly destroyed. It's as if time itself has betrayed you, moving forward relentlessly while you're stuck in a place of heartache and disbelief. Each passing day becomes a silent reminder of the void left by the absence of that person who once felt like an integral part of your world. Meanwhile, the world carries on with its rhythms—the sun rises and

After the demise of my fledgling relationship with not-so-hot Josh, I reflected on how many times I have “started over” in my life. I realized that I have become quite a pro at reinventing myself. From going away to college, to moving to New York City and starting my career, then marriage and all that entailed, and of course my divorce and the path that led me to Mountain Town.   Starting over in life can be daunting and exhilarating, presenting opportunities for growth and s

Most people don’t realize that the best time to ski is not during the Christmas holidays. After the gloomy skies of January recede, February and March bring in warmer temps and “bluebird” days against the white fluffy snow. Charlie, Abby, and I grabbed our gear and decided to take advantage of it.       After experiencing the awkward “pizza” position in the blizzard of my first lesson, I was determined to master the sport of skiing. I am pretty good now, despite having grown

It was a gray cloudy January in Mountain Town, so Phoebe and I decided to escape the demands of our daily lives and immerse ourselves in a day of luxury. One of the benefits of living in a resort town is that we have our choice of hotel spas to enjoy and Phoebe is a self-described spa connoisseur! She did hours of research to find the best place and deal at this time. The Waldorf Astoria Spa was this weekend’s winner. Though we were not able to benefit from the locals' specia

The Film Festival in Mountain Town transforms an already busy ski town into the mecca of who’s who in the entertainment industry. The streets are lined with moviegoers, paparazzi, and glitzy LA transplants who poorly navigate the snow-covered streets in their heels while never taking their eyes off their cell phones. Phoebe and I make it our yearly ritual to sip lattes at the local café and watch the obnoxious tourists yell at the barista about getting their order wrong, only

It’s ski season here in Mountain Town, which brings back memories of when I decided to embark on my first ski lesson at thirty-seven. The snow-covered peaks and cozy ski lodges provided the perfect backdrop for winter adventures. I arrived at the Snow Valley Ski School, heart pounding with a mix of excitement and nervousness. As I got fitted into my ski gear and awkwardly shuffled in the angled posture of the ski boots, my charismatic ski instructor Alex approached with a war

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting Mountain Town in hues of pink, the air grew heavy with anticipation. The weather forecast had been buzzing with warnings of an approaching storm, and the locals flooded into the grocery stores to prepare for an evening of hunkering down. I had also stocked up on supplies for my annual activity of creating a vision board to capture my hopes and dreams for the future. I had mentioned it to Phoebe, Abby, and Charlie and they were exci

I woke up this morning to see glimmering flakes falling outside of my bedroom window. Ryley had been patiently waiting, perched at the edge of the bed, waiting to explore winter’s transformation. I put on my puffiest coat, fluffiest hat, and tall fur-trimmed boots, ready to start our journey. There is something magical about the first snow of the season and Mountain Town is especially bewitched with its winter wonderland views. As Ryley and I walked onto the deck and down the

One of the things I love about Mountain Town is the eclectic mix of people who live there. They usually fall into one of four groups. First, the die-hard skiers and snowboarders, who will do anything for powder! They find work as waiters & waitresses, liftees, equipment rental staff, and instructors, all to get discounts on the holy grail of lift tickets. Second, are people like me, who are looking for a fresh start or escaping their previous lives, or both. Third, the Peter

I received a message from Dean this week. For those of you catching up, Dean is the cutie I hung out with in Costa Rica. We had some friendly banter as he filled me in on his life and work. I asked him how Matt was doing and if he knew anything about why he ghosted Charlie. I was shocked by his response: “Matt was diagnosed with a terminal illness. He is still processing the news and has not communicated with anyone about it.“ Matt is only thirty-five years old. He is a kind,

Hi there, it’s Olivia! After Charlie’s experience with Matt, I decided to research ghosting and how this became a thing. “Ghosting” is the practice of completely cutting off all communication without any notice or warning. This term was coined in the early 2000s with the increased popularity of dating apps and social media. Well, go figure. Dating apps and social media are often the culprits for poor communication and behavior. It makes sense that they facilitate this form of

Hi there, it’s Olivia! One of the biggest perks of my job as a fashion designer is to travel for “inspiration shopping”. For those who don’t know about this, designers often travel to cities like New York, LA, Paris, Madrid, London, and more to take pictures and buy garments for “inspiration” when designing new styles. My favorite trip to date was a fall shopping trip to Paris. I was upgraded to a suite because someone cancelled at the last minute and, for whatever reason, th

I met up with an old friend today. As she walked towards me, her pure beauty inside and out still shone through. The long blonde hair, twinkly blue eyes, the button nose. She is the definition of the perfect “California girl”, though not from there. Yet, her smile hid something behind it. Was it Maturity? Battle scars? Wisdom? Or Resignation? She was young and full of optimism and enthusiasm when I first met her at Mosaic. A bubbly newlywed, at least I thought so. As we sat a

Hi there, It’s Olivia When I last left off in the story, the gang was still dancing at The Stall, and Hot Josh and I ducked out to go back to my house. Of course, you know what happened with Hot Josh! But what happened to the rest of the girls? Eva was still raring to go, so Cody took her to a local cowboy bar, one town over from Mountain Town. They grabbed some drinks as Eva watched a few people try their luck riding the mechanical bull. She was fascinated by it! She looked

Hi there, it’s Olivia, I received an invite to a meeting this morning from Kate: Touch base. Conference room. 2:00 pm No agenda or explanation. This gave me pause because first, “Why in the conference room?” Most of our one-on-ones took place in her office. As I processed this, my coworker, June, peeked her head into my door. “Did you get an invite from Kate for a touch base?” “Yes,” I said. “That’s weird, right? And no agenda.” “Well, I guess we will be blindsided as usual

I haven’t felt this way in 15 years and wasn’t sure that it was even possible. Boy, did this take me by surprise….

Hi there, It’s Ryley I have heard my mom tell these stories in her head, so I know how it starts. I am taking this opportunity to tell my story, while Mom drives us back from our road trip. We have been driving for 2 hours and she hasn’t played with me once! I threw my ball at her in the front seat, but she got mad at me. She started yelling something about the ball getting stuck under the pedal and both of us dying. I think that she was just being dramatic. She keeps thinkin