Since moving to Dillon, CO in October, life has been pretty freaking sweet (literally and figuratively).

Selfied at Ullr fest (don’t ask) in Breckenridge eating crepes. 

But sweet comes with sour.

I’m not here to paint you a perfect picture just to make you jealous. I’m not going to plant seeds in your head that a perfect life is out there waiting for you.

I realize that after moving and diving back into Instagram consulting/Workweek Lunch, I haven’t written a post about my actual life.

I never even wrote a Q4 recap after writing them for Q1, Q2 and Q3.

In this post, I’m going to talk about different aspects of life since moving to Colorado by way of questions that people normally ask me when catching up.

You can skip to the one that interests you most — I won’t be offended if you don’t feel like reading about my long distance relationship or snowboarding escapades.

1. “So… How’s living in Colorado?”

The short answer: I am so very content here in my temporary home.

Here’s a sunset pic from my deck. #NoFilter

Living within 20 minutes of amazing ski resorts (Copper, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin) is everything I wanted it to be and more.

Let me break it down for you:

Every morning I scrape ice off my windshield and it’s a really good arm workout. I don’t mind doing it since I’m NEVER in a rush out here, something that’s a nice change from the craziness of NYC.

Some days I don’t leave my house at all because I love being there. The kitchen I get to use is amazing. My landlords are SUPER nice.

I go to a coworking space a few times a week called Elevate. It’s like WeWork but cuter and more rustic. And everyone walks around in their ski gear. My kind of vibe.

So far, I’ve had about 30 days on the mountain. I go snowboarding twice a week at minimum. Sometimes I go alone, and sometimes I go with friends. I wanted to get 75 days on the slopes… but there’s no way I’m going to hit that.

And YES! I’ve made some really amazing friends here!

Some thought I was crazy to move to a town where I knew no one… but you always end up finding your people.

I found friends at Elevate, which happens to have many female members my age that are also on that solopreneur grind. I also join a Shabbat dinner a few times a month where I’ve met some lovely people. I’m not religious, but having a community and somewhere to go on Friday nights is so nice and comforting.

Yes, some days I feel lonely. But I can’t complain. Not even about my boyfriend being gone.

2. “How are things with your boyfriend? When does he come back?”

The short version: Our relationship is only getting stronger while spending time apart and he should come back from his deployment in late summer.

I don’t talk about this a lot, but the same week I moved to Colorado, my boyfriend started a 10 month-ish deployment. The timing worked out perfectly.

My man (who doesn’t really want his name all over the internet) and I have been dating for over 2.5 years now and the distance isn’t that hard! Living in a new place helps a lot. It’s a good distraction.

We get to text every day (as long as he has wifi) and we FaceTime occasionally. While we have our bad days and hard conversations, when you have so much to look forward to it’s hard to stay upset about the whole situation.

Honestly? This long distance part of our relationship has been a blessing. I feel like we each have space to learn more about ourselves, be independent, get more life experience and test the strength of our trust.

I’m so fortunate. Living in Colorado has been my dream for 10 years, now I’m doing it with the support of my partner even… though he can’t join me out here.

What we’re looking forward to:

My man and I are definitely going to see each other in May. We booked a trip during his time off (just four days) near his base. It’s going to take me two days to get there, but it will be so worth it!

We might see each other in April, but nothing is confirmed yet so I don’t want to get my hopes up. (Cross your fingers for me)

I haven’t seen him since Thanksgiving, so when we meet in May it will be almost six months! Damn.

3. “How’s the snow up there?”

The short version: Anything is better than the ice coast, but Vermont is actually getting more snow than Colorado right now.

Keystone, where the photo above was taken, is only seven minutes away from my house. I can wake up at 7:30 am and be at the top of the mountain by 8:15. It’s dope.

Why my set up is awesome:

• I can snowboard during the work week
• Go for just 2-3 runs if I want
• It’s easy to hop off the slopes for a client call then go back
• Parking is free at Keystone and Arapahoe Basin
• I can go directly to the ski lift without worrying about buying a ticket
• I can choose from any of the resorts near me based on which one got the best snow
• Fresh snow is easily accessible
• All of my friends also snowboard or ski
• Home is so close that I can eat lunch there and then go back to the mountain
• My snowboarding skills have improved!
• This is the first time I have a season pass and it was worth every penny
• The mountain views are everything

And my favorite thing: I have a new tradition of taking Friday afternoons off to hit the slopes. It’s the best. I really look forward to that break from the screen, especially by Friday when all I’ve done is work that week.

The only issue is the lack of snow. All I’ve heard all winter is that this is the worst season Colorado has had in over 30 years or something. I keep thinking, this is the season I decide to move? Great.

4. “How’s the food blog?”

The short version: reaching 100k followers was relatively easy, but selling stuff is still a challenge.

I recently launched a new product — an accountability group. It didn’t go as well as I wanted it to, but I learned a lot about what my audience actually wants from me.

Since moving to Colorado, I’ve successfully launched a passive income business (woo!) and currently sell four products: three meal plans and a recipe ebook.

I’ve also worked with brands like HelloFresh and Lock & Lock thanks to growing my social media following.

There are about 70 new recipes on my website too. Almost enough to fill a cookbook!

I spend 20 hours a week on WWL and as much as I want it to be full-time, it’s not even close. I honeslty have no idea how to make it full-time and the struggle is real!

Right now, I’m working on new meal plans and resources for families, college students and specific diets like pescatarian and gluten-free. I’m also still trying to regularly upload videos to YouTube… but that seems impossible.

5. “Are you still doing Instagram consulting?”

Duh.

I’m absolutely loving this part of my business. I finally found an offering that I truly feel helps my clients shine. It’s also cool to see some of my clients’ success months after working with them!

One of my clients went from 17,000 to nearly 90,000 in less than six months after working with me. Another has gone from 12,000 to 41,000 in six months. Sweet!

It feels good to help others understand a platform that can really help them connect with their target audience and reach more people.

Behind the scenes, I’m working on a digital resource to help those who aren’t ready for my signature package.

[Tips] Some things on Instagram that I’m noticing:

• Big influencers are having a hard time getting people to see their photos too, so don’t feel bad if you think no one is seeing your posts.
• More and more people are using story highlights as a resource center or FAQ-type of thing on their profiles.
• If you’re trying to become an influencer, engagement is everything – brands aren’t as interested in followers.
• Instagram is wising up to the fact that “actions” matter more than gaining followers because they’ve changed their analytics dashboards to prioritize stats regarding website clicks and profile visits.

As much as I love Instagram, I’m not loving how the platform changes every two seconds. It’s another reason consulting isn’t a long-term thing for me. I can barely keep up, just like everyone else!

What I’m looking forward to:

Last year I was so focused on getting to where I am now, that now I’m here and I’m honestly not so sure what to do next… except keep going.

I’m looking forward to…

• Traveling far, far away from home to have a mini vacation with my man
• moving in with my BF later in the year, when he comes back from his deployment and my time in Colorado is up (We’re going back to NYC)
• Launching new products on Workweek Lunch to help even more people eat healthy and start meal prepping
• Enjoying a summer in CO packed with hiking and lake activities

 

Even the dreamiest of lives have a healthy dose of reality in them.

If you’ve been following my journey, you know it took me a year to make this dream a reality.

No, it’s not perfect because nothing ever will be… I feel stuck in my business. The snow is crap. I miss my NYC friends and family.

But damn do I feel grateful every morning when I wake up and see mountains!

That’s really all I can ask for.