Master of Speed

Yesterday - More ski gear in my shopping-bag.

Am I getting boring yet? ;) Well, I've soon refreshed the entire ski-wardobe, so there's not much more to buy. Bare/bear [SP?] with me... This will soon be over.

Still, yesterday emptied my purse of the cash needed for:

1. A face mask - The Velcro kind with holes for breathing. I look WICKED!
   
2. Silver "Michael Jackson" super-thin gloves to be worn under ski gloves. Space age stuff for frozen fingers.
3. A pair of high-tech ski socks. Amazing. there are dozens of different types of ski-socks. All do special things to your feet. Some are extra padded, some keep you very warm, some prevent blisters. Hey - here's a thought. How about one that does ALL of that?
4. A padded carry-case for my new skis, and a matching bag for the ski-boots. Brand: Scott. Black vinyl. Very porno.
   

Also, time to introduce the ski-boots. Mainly because I think I've been going on and ON about ski-gear now and need to get it out of the way :)


The Nordica SM8 (Speed Master 8) is a high end ladies ski-boot for us women with dainty feet - eg: it's been made for long, slim feet and thin ankles. I went all the way on these when I bought them, shaping them to my foot at the store and even doing a specially cast sole. That means they fit my feet like a glove. Absolutely AMAZING.

If you're ever in doubt on weather to add the extra $50-60 to have a sole fitted to your foot, doubt no more! The comfort-level is worth that and more. With a ski-boot fitted to your foot as perfect as can be, another great side effect is that the toes stay warm - no squeezing to cut blood flow.

The SM8's are hard ladies boots with a high flex. Not the most comfortable of boots to walk around with, but very rewarding to ski in. When you push off, it's the skis that give, not the boots. Which is the way it should be.

• Functionality: I spent 2 full days, from early morning till the lifts closed, in these babies last weekend. Not one blister. Not one frozen toe. They are really REALLY good. 10/10
  
• Price: Not marked down, unfortunately. 3.000 for the boots, an additional 600 for the specially made sole. But ask yourself what a blister-free and enjoyable week in the alps is wroth to you. Still not cheap. 7/10
  
• Looks/coolfactor: They're nice enough. I could have wished for a bit more bling, but that's me. The shiny red details are a nice touch. 8/10
  
• Overall Rating: 9/10.

-----
technorati tags: nordica, ski-gear, sports, shopping

Spontaneous Shopping

Yesterday, as I was looking for a bag for my new skis (lovelovelovelove) I just happened to slip in to H&M, which was right next door to the ski shop. I was just going to walk right through it, to go out the back door that leads to a stairway very near my home.

However, at H&M they were in the final throes of the new years sale. So as I strolled through the shop I saw bargain after bargain, and I just couldn't help myself. It really was DIRT cheap! So, this is what I left the shop with:

• 1 copper cotton scarf
• 2 copper lace hot pants
• 1 copper hair band
• a bunch of gold bands
• 1 leopard hair cover (I think to use it as a face mask when skiing)
• 1 gold and brown belt
• 1 blue and white ski-cap
• 1 silver and white really fluffy warm scarf
• 2 silver and black hair bands
• finally a black velvet choker with a silver pendant (actually bought at Kicks, 5 minutes later)
  

All of this put me back just over SEK 300. Now really, that WAS a bargain, no?
-----
technorati tags: H&M, shopping, bargain, sale

Skiing expenses...

Ahhh, they arrived today. My new ski's. No rating of them, of course, since I haven't used them yet. Except perhaps for look. Where I have to say they score a perfect ten (though that is NOT why I bought them!)

A pair of Rossignol Attraxion III, they are just what I need (I think) - being challenging skis that work well both on and off the pist, but demands quite a lot of the woman riding them. Yes indeed, woman. These are girl's skis, made especially for our distribution of, and sometimes lack of*, weight.

Including the bindings, the skis cost me SEK 4500, a really great price, marked down from 5700 where they had been earlier this year. They are the -06-07 season model and scored really high in the Swedish ski magazine Åka Skidor's review of ladies skis. Let's hope I'll be as happy with them as the reviewers were.

I wasn't actually planning on buying skis. I was PLANNING on renting this season, trying my way through several pairs until I finally settled for one and then I'd buy that in the after-season, dirt cheap. That was the plan...

Then along came a great salesperson, and my own inability of holding back once I get in the groove, and there I was. The proud ower of a pair of skis that probably are a lot better in the slope than *I* am. Well, I guess it's like you used to say when you bought clothes as a kid...

"Don't worry, she'll grow into them"
-----
Notes:
* Though I am sadly not in the "lacking weight"-club, after this xmas and new years...
-----
technorati tags: skis, rossignol, attraxionIII, shopping, humor

Not very humble, no

Of course, an incredibly comfortable but rather dull helmet needs an accessory that evens the score? Thus, along came the Golden Goggles:

Bought at Udéns Sport at the same time as the helmet (and some other stuff, 1 1/2 weeks ago) these babies put me back SEK 1199. Which at the time felt like a great deal, as they had cost 1599 earlier that month, Yeah, calling that a bargain that makes a GREAT deal of sense, doesn't it?


Still, one has to admit, they bring the dull helmet to a completely other dimension. Also, on the plus side, they are very good goggles - dual lense with an anti fog system that really works. Also, they are very comfortable on a womans face and fit the top of the helmet perfectly (see picture below) which means the face stays warm. This trip that was particularly important. it was freezing.

Darkening factor is 3 (out of 4) so when visibility is low it gets difficult to see the slope. However, when the sun is shining, or it's just not snowing, it's the perfect blend.

On the down-side, the inner coating is ridiculously sensitive. Not cool factor1: I had some water on the inner lens freeze to ice, and as i tried to remove these ice-specks with my fingers I ended up scratching the entire inner lens. Not cool!

Not cool factor2: Also, once scratched, visibility drops markedly, causing me to ski with them on the helmet whenever possible. Not cool!

This will be an opportunity for Udéns Sport to earn brownie-points or hate-points, depending on how they treat me when I take them back. I want a replacement lens, dangit!

• Functionality: Until scratched they were really good. A bit on the dark side but doing everything a pair of high-end goggles should. A comfortable, snug fit and no glare. The fact that they scratch so easily drops the rating a bit and we land on 6/10
  
• Price: The are currently marked down, from SEK 1599 to.. 1199. This is not a fantastic price for goggles, gold or not. 4/10
  
• Looks/coolfactor: This is where they rule. They are über-cool. The queen of ski goggles. 9,5/10
  
• Overall Rating: 7/10.

-----
technorati tags: goggles, skiing, adidas, cool

Natural Beauty

Ok, I admit, I'm not wholly a natural beauty. Some parts of me get help, as needed.
Like my nails.

Every 4-5 weeks I go to Nagelpalatset in Gothenburg and shell out SEK 500 for a lady with funny hair and an even funnier smell to put a layer of acrylic on my nails. Like today:

They're normally much longer than this, I had her take down 5 mm of length since I noticed this weekend that really long nails and skiing is hnot the best combination (hands don't fit in gloves, it's hard to open the ski-boots, etc)

Anyway. Nagelpalatset. They charge SEK 875 for a new set with french manicure, 775 for a new set of natural nails and 450-550 for every re-visit (SEK 50 extra if you break a nail and need it lengthened). If you can stand the funny smell and the even funnier people, it's the best place you can go. They've won several prices and make strong, beautiful, natural-looking nails.

Aren't they beautiful?
-----
technorati tags: beauty,, nails, wellness

The head is Top Priority

Staying on the skiing theme, I went shopping before my Trysil trip. I bought quite a lot so I'll cover it in several posts, me thinks.

Let's start from the top, so to speak, with the head.

I went to Udéns Sport, an excellent shop for everything alpine in Gothenburg. This really is the place to go if you want expert help and knowledge. I can't recommend them enough. Sure, you can find some of the same equipment in other more generic shops, like InterSport and Stadium, but at Udén they really know what they are talking about and can guide you through your buy.

I'll get back to all the good things about Udéns in upcoming posts (no, they don't sponsor me :)), but I'll leave it there for now.

Anyway, head gear it was...

Tired of borrowing helmets which have been shaped to imperfection by hundereds of other heads, I had decided to get my own. I go for it, when I ski, and it just feels safer with a helmet! But which one to get? There were all shapes and sizes. Finally, I fell for the K2-line. not because they looked any better or worked any better than the others (quite the opposite, on looks alone I would have gone for the white, fluffy, furry helmet), but because it was by FAR the most gadgety!

You see, it's compatible with the K2 headphones, that are built into the extremely comfortable ear covers, slide down through your jacket and into your mp3 player or, of you have an Ericsson phone that supports it, your Phone! I didn't get the extra set, but I will. There will be a separate post about that.

Anyway, so what I bought was the K2 Clutch, 2007 model. Simple look but INCREDIBLY comfortable. It has adjustable sizing in the neck, enabling you to make it fit just as snugly as you want.

I have used this helmet for a weekend of skiing so far.

• Functionality: This helmet is extremely comfortable, provide excellent protection and has all the extra gadget-ability that one may need. Insulation-wise it really works. It was -14 and windy when we went skiing and I never felt cold.
  
• Price: At Udéns it's currently been marked down, from SEK 899 to.. 699 I think, and is a steal at half the price.
• Looks/coolfactor: Although a helmet in the slope is always cool, some points are lost for looking... a little bit dull.
• Rating: I give it an 8/10.

-----
technorati tags: helmet, k2, clutch, skiing, rate, comfortable, warm

Trysil on a budget

This past weekend some friends and I went to Trysil (a ski resort in Norway) . Just over the weekend.

Excessive? I think not. with 4 people in a car, going from Gothenburg, and staying at Trysiltunet at a whopping NOK 1500 for the weekend, the entire trip + lodgings came to just above SEK 500 p.p.

[Each cabin holds 4 apartments, pizza-slice-shaped]

Granted 13,5 kvm is not a lot of room, but it was all that was needed. After all, I don't go to a ski resort to sit in the cabin. I go there to ski! The close quarters were rather cosy, we ate breakfast and dinner there, and most importantly the shower area was roomy and clean.

[The bathroom is half the space, length-wise]

Finally, the area is easy walking distance to the lifts and ski-rental area - about 250 meter of flat land. This is rather important as most of the time one has to trek the distance wearing ski boots.

[As we say in Sweden. "If there's room for the heart, there's room for the butt:"]

Of course, Prices rise as we move into high season, but still, I can recommend this living to anyone on a budget. This is a cheap as it gets if you want to live anywhere near the slopes, and it's worth every penny. (just don't expect luxury)

Pricing and more information here.

[We were childish enough to think that it was funny that we lived in cabin "Date"]

-----
technorati tags: travel, Trysil, skiing

I Buy, therefore I Blog

I already author "Snygg, Sexig och (O)Frivilligt Singel", a rather popular blog about single life in Sweden. In that blog I try to keep a humorous tone and keep far away from subjects covering monetary exchanges.

THIS blog is (will be) completely different. Although most probably following the same general thread of ironic humor;
The purpose of this blog is to be a log of my shopping.

I have a well paid job as a manager in IT. I mean really well paid. Yet somehow I have problems making ends meet some months. The reason for this is my sometimes frivolous use of my (very shiny and metallic) American Express. Very dangerous card, indeed!

I allow myself quite a lot. It's clothes, it's gadgets, it's makeup, it's skin care products, it's shoes, it's sports gear, it's trips. I buy these things all over the place, in the shops here in Gothenburg, on airports as I travel and in the cities I go to, I buy online and via catalogue.

Time to start logging and, of course, rating! I'll share my experiences with you, both regarding the products I buy and, when applicable, the place where I got them. To start with, I may well cover purchases done earlier this month, but going forward all purchases covered will be current.

Starting this blog coincides with me trying to cut down on my shopping a bit. Let's see how well THAT goes! In fact, I kind of hope to use this as a way to cut expenses. If I have to admit to buying it, maybe I wont =)
-----
technorati tags: shopping, rating, sweden, gadgets, fashion, make-up