clear eyes. full hearts. can't lose.

I was delightfully surprised to find out that on the Monroe Catholic Rams football team there's a girl kicker. Primarily a soccer player, Christin Davis is a first year football player. At 4-foot-10 she's about a foot and 100 pound less than most of the players but she gets up there with the boys anyway. For Monroe's game against the Valdez Buccaneer's last Saturday she put on her mascara and painted her nails Monroe yellow to punt and make those extra-point kicks that led to their 61-14 victory against home team Bucs.

And she's not the only girl varsity football player in Alaska. There's another girl on Eielson's team and apparently in North Pole.

Check this rad article about these girls from the Fairbanks Daily-News Miner

In the Anchorage School District they have girls' flag football which seems super cool. Wish they had that when I was at Chugiak High.

ak adventurers

My cousin Emmarnem from San Diego came and visited Alaska a few weeks ago! We had so much fun palling around the state--visiting musk ox and wolves, thrift shopping in Glennallen, drinking smoothies in Copper Center, bar hopping in Los Anchorage and kayaking in Prince William Sound. And of course all of these activites were done in the cutest of outfits!

John Harris' shoes!!

Alaska State House Rep. John Harris, Alaska

governor hopeful for 2010, paid a little visit to Valdez yesterday looking rather dapper in a grey suit and gingham tie.

Someone was suppossed to come as well, who's well known for her nice shoes, but she did not show up due to foggy weather.

But look at Harris' shoes! They're shiny and black and look like half-cowboy boots!

bakery street style!

Had lunch at Magpies the other day--a dleicious vegetable medley. While at the bakery, which feels like a warm loaf of bread inside, I also spied some lovely looking people and so I captured them in photographs.

Pretty Girls and Lumberjacks

Hippies!

Doorags!Carhartts!
dirty birdies named Magpie

the people we know

valley boy

so uh what's the scuttlebutt about Levi Johnston?

There's a profile of him in GQ magazine as an all-American/Alaskan boy and dad-- hunting sheep and changing diapers.

And then he goes to L.A. to go shopping for his way to break into show biz with his alter-ego "Hollywood Ricky." whaaa?

Personally, I think he looks better in camo than stunner shades and the like. It's just bizarre that he's being featured as an icon in his hunting garb and possibly having a hunting-themed reality show? Weren't his 2 mins of fame over after he knocked up the first dude's daughter?

beards and 'staches

Was I in heaven or was I at the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage Alaska last weekend?

Really, I couldn't tell.

So many amazing fellas sporting fuzzy faces I couldn't help but feel a bit twitterpated. I actually met (and got a photo with!!) previous "natural beard and styled moustache champ" Burke Kenny from Olympia, Washington. He didn't place this year at the championships but he won the Alaska Beard Team's "Black Bear" award.

Burke and I

Lots of other fashionable males were present at the event including Moses, Santa Clause, Claude Monet and plenty of Alaskan fishermen, whalers, trappers and miners.

The bi-yearly event had more than 300 competitiors and 50 of them were from Alaska--I knew I moved back to the right state.

And hilariously enough, Bob Gengler, the president of the South Central Alaska Beard and Moustache Club, said that most Alaskans are so independent so they don’t want to join any team--even a beard team!! I just imagine all those potential beard champions in the Alaskan Bush too wild to organize, hiding out with rifles and "get off my land" threats.

On Friday, there was a beard parade and then this rad band from Australia called The Beards played. Their whole schtick: songs about beards for people with beards. The hits: "If your Dad doesn't have a beard you've got two Moms" and "Beards don't kill people, People with Beards kill people." Wowza.

Listening to the band I almost felt like I was in a magical dream world--kind of like in Harry Potter but replace the magic with lotsa facial hair.

I'm still feeling a little whimsical about the whole thing and wouldn't object to any guys with beards and/or 'staches pinching me to make sure I'm not dreaming! ha!

Freestyle Beard Champion and Ultimate World Beard Champion David Traver

*Claim to fame: David has totally commented on my blog before! yay!

Freestyle Moustache Champion from Anchorage

Austrians!

Imperial Moustache Champ from L.A.

You know, I don't think this guy competed but he rocked the beard the whole way

Paul Bunyan

An Alaskan Whaler Beard from Kenai

Claude Monet!

Jack Passion--Full Natural Beard Champion from San Francisco!!

A Garibaldi Beard

Another Freestyle Beard Champ!

Santa Claus with Devil Eyes

Uncle Sam

An Alaskan Beard Team 'stachlete

Moustache and Press Pass

(this photo courtesy of lovely Annette http://anaenae.blogspot.com/)

(other photos by me excpet the one with Burke and that was by some random bearded hipster)

xtratufs are magic!

So I'm covering a little event tomorrow night at the local elementary school with Alaska author Mindy Dwyer. While doing a little research on her and her books I found out that in her Last Frontier Cinderella story, The Salmon Princess, the princess wears xtratuffs instead of a glass slipper!

Seriously how adorable! I knew my tuffs are magical with the special treads to create a suction cup on boats for amazing traction ... now if they'd only find me a fairy godmother and fisherman prince charming!

(photos from flikr- look at those glass slipper tufs!)

For your reading pleasure here's a fun archive from the Capitol City Weekly out of Juneau about Alaskan coastal communities' obsession with tufs!

alaska bride

My bff kraybelly is tying one on ... or is it tying the knot? I always get that confused! hahaha.

but anyway, she's a beautiful, blushing Alaska bride, no? Note the dog butt in the picture... oh Copper!

She's getting married in Settlers Bay outside Wasilla in the fall so it's going to be pretty autumn colors. Like rich red and deep browns and light mocha. I'm not really into the brown bridesmaids dress but it's not really about me now is it?

Have you guys ever read or seen Alaska Bride magazine? It's hilarious. I love the pictures of the brides on the four wheelers in hip waders,etc. And some of the locations are breathtaking, like at lighthouses and different lodges around the state. (Practically every wedding showcased in the zine has a rehearsal dinner at Mooses Tooth)

The one I saw had a "celebrity" wedding with Kikkan Randall (Olympic athlete) and her hubby--they had a bright pink wedding and were married under ski poles!!

The magazine also had a feature on a new post-wedding trend called "Trash your dress" where the brides get photos wading in water, fishing and mud-wrestling. It's wild! Krysta said she'd be down for something like that--I wonder if she'll trash it in Settlers Bay. I'd be down trashing the brown bridesmaid dresses too! Maybe Copper the dog can help...

the wonderful thing about tiggers...

is tiggers are wonderful things!

(that apparently drink Alaskan Amber)

I spotted this tigger at the Alaska Rendezvous Lodge on the Richardson Highway. This tigger, also a heli pilot, said that a wild pack of geologists attacked him and put all the accents on his jumpsuit. So apparently Winnie-the-pooh's tigger is not the only one out there....
Nevertheless what a sweet snowsuit that's an outfit and random costume!

valdez street stylez.

Shelly from the quilt shop has the cutest coordinated outfits. Check those dansko clogs that match the cab driver hat. Adorable!

I spotted this stylish local at an art opening last month. (there's no white stuff on his shirt, it's from the projector) He said he gets all his fashion sense from the Target racks! With a new Target store in Anchorage and online ordering Alaskans can now hunt more than just deer, but those wild, wild bargains.

Mayor Mustache.

Mayor of Valdez is back in town with his friend Mustache.

For an ex-cop he's looking mighty fine rocking that 'stache. Look at that suit and tie get-up too. Only the finest for city council. Valdez is straight class.

more favorite faces!

(all photos by me)

Love these expressions and hats!