Thursday, December 17, 2009

Because winter sucks

To give you all a break from my brain-numbing 'gray paint' discussion, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of my favorite things about winter.  Because winters in Wisconsin really suck, and I need to make myself feel better. 

Making lattes with my espresso machine.  Ok, I use it all year, but it really gets a workout in the cold months.  This little machine makes me very happy.  I'm also happy that Amazon has killer deals on ground espresso in cans, from Illy and Lavazza. 

Adding Baileys into afore mentioned lattes.  Not before work, though.  Baileys is highly regarded by most of my family, because it is delicious and can be used so many different ways (in cookie frosting, one the rocks, blended, in hot drinks, etc). Unfortunately, is has 100 calories per OUNCE and can make you fat just by thinking about it.  So, we reserve it for Christmas time only.  
                      
Drinking wine.  Yes, another daily year-round occurrence, but nothing says Christmas like throwing back several bottles of red.  At least, not to me.  This is only a small portion of the collection, we have obscene amounts of wine stashed around our house.  Merry Christmas to me!

Firing up the Slatkin and Co. 'Fresh Balsam' candle from Bath and Body Works.  I also have this scent in the hand soap and air freshener, and I am thisclose to slathering the Home Fragrance oil all over my body.  SMELL IT!  You will thank me.

Frequent use of Bath and Body Works 'look ma, new hands' lotion.  I don't really use lotion in the warm months, but this stuff is a life saver in Wisconsin winters.  Plus I love the clever name.  And it smells good.  And the tube is pretty.  What?  These things matter!
                
Getting into bed with our electric blanket....see 'Wisconsin winters' comment above.  This is not me or our blanket, but feel free to pretend it's me if you like.  This is pretty much what I look like while that baby is on.  Except I sleep on my back.  And I always sleep on the other side of the bed.  Gotta be closest to the door, ya know?  If there's a fire, I'm OUT!

Wearing wool coats, trousers, skirts, etc.  This is also not me, but PLEASE PLEASE think that it is!  I do actually have this Victoria's Secret coat, in red.  I don't look like this while wearing it, though.  Dang.

Slipping into some cute boots, oh how I love them!  With boots, you can wear mismatched ugly socks, and no one will know!  They keep your feet warm and dry!  Tall boots are sexy and can make summery skirts more appropriate for cold dreary months!  In winter, I wear either brown or black boots, and no other footwear until April.  Unlike my brother's girlfriend, who wears her flip flops all winter as long as there isn't a lot of snow - you crazy, Stacey!  These are not my boots, just a funny picture I found on flickr by googling 'ugly boots' by accident.

So, I hope this has been a fun diversion for you.  Don't worry, I am still hard at work cracking the case of the 'perfect gray paint'.  Like that exists.  I will have new pictures for you on Monday.  Hopefully.  Don't quote me, though.  In fact, don't count on it at all.  Whew, I almost had to paint all weekend.   

14 comments:

  1. love your list!! SSh, I'm getting my hubby a cappiccino make for xmas - what brand is yours? Is it easy to use?

    Make sure you stop by my blog - I have a giveaway going on!

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  2. Mrs. Chic, it is Cuisinart and it is foolproof, for the most part! He will love it. The model is Cuisinart EM-100. I swear, I'm beginning to be jealous that All Modern hasn't contacted me for a giveaway :(

    I will check it out right away!

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  3. Ooh, Bailey's... YUM. Warms me up just thinking about it!

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  4. If you love your electric blanket, I suggest a heated mattress pad. OMG, it's so great! You can preheat your bed (and your sheets and pillows) before you go to sleep and it has dual temp control. And 100 calories per ounce for Bailey's?! Wow, I'll be leaving that bottle on a shelf in the basement until company arrives.

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  5. Love your list! We're enjoying a nice glass of Italian red at the moment with a lovely Christmas candle burning. I recommend Baileys and/or Kahlua in the blender with ice cream and some chocolate, too -- you can have a homemade milkshake any time of the year, right?!

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  6. What a cute list! I think Winter gets a bad name a lot of times. It really has it's wonderfulness, like the rest. But Baileys helps on those days you want winter to go away :-)

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  7. Fires ... the best thing about winter ... sitting in front of a blazing fire .... and it can be combined with all your favourites ... wine, baileys, espresso, the candle .... just not the ugly boots!!

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  8. I can't believe I left off sitting in front of our fireplace! We light it almost every night in the winter, just not while I was compiling my list, apparently. Doh!

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  9. Down here in the dirty south (imagine my very proper white girl voice saying that), we complain like the dickens about it being 30 degrees. You can even see people stocking up on cartons of milk and loaves of bread when there's a snow flurry watch, which is hilarious since ANY snow that shows up maybe once a year immediately melts when it hits the ground.

    I can't imagine how cold it gets up there, but you're my kind of girl if you're keeping warm via alcohol. Bailey's and wine? Yes, please!

    P.S. - I got so confused when I saw the boots picture. I saw that gorgeous coat and was like, "Yep, great taste as always," and then saw those boots and thought they were yours. Phew! Can't wait for a gray update!

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  10. Yeesh- 100 calories PER OUNCE?? That makes my arteries hurt and my tongue crave. UT winters are bad enough- I can't imagine Wisconsin. At least we have "the greatest snow on earth"!

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  11. I am really jealous of all the wine you have! We usually can't keep a bottle around for more than a day or two before we drink it all. Hehe. Also we will have to check out that candle. My husband loves pine-scented fragrances. If you haven't tried it yet, you should check out the Iowa Pine seasonal scent from Mrs. Meyers. It's on sale at Target right now. We bought 5 or 6 of the hand soaps because Rob loved it so much.

    Here's my list of winter loves:
    - my waterproof Sorel boots
    - our space heater, which is also safe to use in the bathroom (a must have for showering this time of year)
    - wool socks!

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  12. Those are the most hideous boots EVER!
    Does that lotion actually work or does it just look and smell pretty? My hands get soooo dry this time of year... {sniffle}
    I have to sleep on the side of the bed furthest from the door, cause what if some psycho wanders in and tries to kill us? Or zombies attack? I leave Mister nearer the door with all his crazy to defend my honor! Huzzah!

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  13. I just noticed that Anonymous comment - what the heck does that mean?

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  14. Oonafey, yes my dear the lotion is THE potion! It is thick and lucious and my absolute fav. Try it out! I think that I got spammed, so I just deleted that wonky comment. ha

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Thanks so much for reading....your comments mean a lot to me!
Sara