Surviving The Winter

I never thought I would have to write a winter survival guide. Most of you may know by now I was raised in Texas and Louisiana where winter didn’t last for months, it lasted days or sometimes weeks. I did not know cold till I moved to the North. I remember one of the coldest times I have ever had, it was the week after my wedding in NY, so the end of April and beginning of May. My Aunt stayed after the wedding and we explored the city. I had to dress in layers; I’m talking flannel, jeans, tee with undershirt, hoodie, coat, scarf, and gloves (and of course socks and shoes). Let me tell you I was frozen when we took the night tour of Brooklyn on a double decker bus. That night driving over the Brooklyn bridge, I thought I may die of exposure. 

While I thought it was cold there, I didn’t realize the true “cold” until I moved here to the Boston area. How is it so much colder here when it’s not that far from NY and it’s weather? Maybe it is in my head I’m not quite sure. Maybe I’m just older now and not able to take the cold.  Either way, winter brings on the blues for me. I am a sun baby 100%. I do not understand how the younger me longed for snow. Maybe it is true that the grass is always greener on the other side. Or in this case snow is whiter. Winter to me is so long. 8 months out of the year it is down right cold. The other four months are not extremely warm either. We had about two days of heat last summer and I have not been in a good mood since. That is a little exaggerating, but it’s also a bit of the truth. 

Below I am going to give you some tried and true (to me anyway) ways of surviving the winter season. If you see anything in bold, it is a link that will take you to that product in my amazon StoreFront. All are affiliate links that will help me to earn income. Let’s go!

Let me tell you how I have learned to survive the long cold months of the North east. First of all, we have to take care of our warmth. One way to do that? Slippers for your feet. For me what makes a good slipper is something with warmth that is a slip on with no slip bottom. It also needs to be wide width and cute. Check out these pink slippers I have. I actually have two pairs, one at my friends who I visit often and one here at home. These have been the best slippers I have ever had. Yes, they are adorable, but they fit so well. Not too big or too small. They are comfortable, and have all the other qualities I need in a slipper. 

The next thing you need to keep you nice and warm is a good blanket – or five. I have found that you don’t have to give up cuteness for warmth, which used to be the case. Now you can have a cute blanket and warmth. I personally own this cute pink blanket. I was gifted this, and I have been obsessed with it ever since. It is so warm, and it’s pretty to boot. I feel like a princess when I’m all snug in it. 

Now that you are warm, what are you supposed to do? How about listening to Amazon music or watch Prime. Amazon is amazing and has so many ways to be connected to your favorite things during the long winter months. Oooh, and the shopping! You no longer have to go out to store after store. All you have to do is curl up somewhere comfortable with your phone and let your fingers do the browsing. You can have everything from furniture to Sunday dinner supplies delivered – all from Amazon. 

That isn’t all that can keep you busy. With winter and Covid both running around we have learned to stay in. However, a lot of us turned to food and sleeping our days away as a way to cope. Not to mention spending hours upon hours on our devices, which can be bad for those that live alone. While I do not live alone, I spend a lot of time alone and while I normally have a lot of work here online to do, it doesn’t fill all my time. Taking time to do things you enjoy is important, which for me involves these things: coloring, reading, doing self-care routines like moisturizing or putting on my face mask, exercising using these exercise bands and weights, or decorating my home throughout the year.

Now for my spouse, he loves spending his time doing any number of his hobbies, and you can get these items for yourself or for a loved one.

Stamp collecting: Lot of 100 Vintage Mint US Postage Stamps

Puzzles: Lighthouse puzzle; Summer Beach puzzle; or Birds of Paradise puzzle

Diamond art: Sunrise Landscape or Exquisite Flowers

Baseball card collecting and sorting: Baseball Collector Box w/ 500 Cards

Reading self help books: Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior or Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life

Now that you have your time covered there are ways to bring the kids, your spouse, and or friends into some of those things. Like puzzles or Diamond art. I have also found that games are a huge way to spend good quality time with the family. We are pretty competitive in this house for sure and a run of the mill game night can turn into an all-out battle but in a super good way. I have taught them some games I love and they have taught me some games they love. It is so nice to share a common ground like that with the kids in your house. Here are a couple of my favorites to play with older kids and adults: Don’t Get Stabbed!: The Party Game Where You Get to Kill Your Family and Friends (for Pretend) or I Should Have Known That! Trivia Game.

This winter season I have spent a lot of time arranging and rearranging. I have decorated, started art projects, and just basically have been doing full clean outs every month. This can drive your family mad so I don’t suggest it but I couldn’t help but mention it could be one way to survive being cooped up this winter. I know everyone is different and everyone has their own likes and dislikes so maybe you will enjoy this blog and share some common things you enjoy below, or give me some new ideas. I love that you are here and thank you so much for sharing in my life. 

XOXO, Evie

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There are more items in my storefront that are not listed above that can help you survive the winter, such as other puzzles, books, games, and more! Click Here to go check them out!

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