Warm greetings, dear readers!
Our mid-January was quite frigid! The best part, though...
WE GOT SNOW!!
We spent over a week with temps well under freezing, with wind chills in the single digits and even some nights in the negatives. It was the perfect winter weather...I'll admit that I loved every minute of it. It called for extra layers of clothing and blankets at night. Warm, thick socks, hand-knit scarves and gloves and hats along with my warmest coat and boots every time I went outdoors. We enjoyed several walks around our neighborhood and just admired all the wintry beauty. (You won't see us out walking in the hot, humid temps of summer, but cold, frigid temps in winter...yes, please. With appropriate clothing and only for about 15 minutes, of course.) I made a special meal plan for this wintry week full of comforting, cozy, warming foods...so we pretty much ate like a hobbit, which was perfectly fine with us. The snow lasted for just over a week, with businesses and schools being closed nearly the entire time due to dangerous roads and driving conditions. It was a week spent entirely at home and this homebody here absolutely. loved. it.
I wanted to share a few photos of our marshmallow wintry white world as well as some of my most beloved wintry quotes that I have collected over the last while.
Pour a cup of something warm and comforting, get cozy, and enjoy...
Everything is magical when it snows. Everything looks pretty...
It's just my favorite time of year. The whole world changes color.
Flakes, flurries, swirls, crystals, whatever form it comes in, I'll take it.
We go back, snow and me, we have a beautiful history.
Sleigh rides, ice skating, snow ball fights. I'll even take curling.
God, I love curling. Hot cocoa, hot totes, best time of the year.
~ Lorelai Gilmore ~
To this day, I am never happier than when there is frost on the roof and a fire in the hearth. I have always preferred snow underfoot to sand between my toes. I love the crackle of winter. The snap of dry twigs underfoot, boots crunching on frozen grass, a fire spitting in the hearth, ice thawing on a pond, the sound of unwrapping a Christmas present from its paper. The innate crispness of the season appeals to me, like newly fallen snow, frosted hedges, the first fresh page of a new diary. Yes, there is softness in the cold months, too, the voluminous jumpers and woolly hats, the steam rising from soup served in a deep bowl, the light from a single candle and the much-loved scarf that would feel like a burden at any other time of year.
~ Nigel Slater ~
Our Cozy Hobbit Menu for a Wintry Week at Home
♥ Chicken and Harvest Vegetable Soup with Homemade Honey Wheat Loaf
♥ Creamy Chicken Soup with PB&Js
♥ Ravioli with Special Sauce
♥Pumpkin Waffles with Warm Berry Sauce
♥Baked Herb Chicken Drumsticks, Mac and Cheese, Veggies
♥Beef Stew and Leftover Honey Wheat Loaf
♥ Turkey and Veggie Macaroni Soup
Freshly Baked Treats
♥Mushroom Cookies
♥Chocolate Chunk Scones
It's like waking up in the warm embrace of a soft blanket. Under veils of white lace. Settling like powdered sugar. A place where magic and warmth coexist.
~ Poems for the Moon ~
I don't mind staying it at all. I realize that, for plenty of people, it feels like a brutal restriction of their freedom, but it suits me down to the ground. Winter is a quiet house in lamplight, stepping into the garden to see bright stars on a clear night...It is warming the teapot and making cups of bitter cocoa...It is reading quietly, and passing away the afternoon twilight watching movies. It is thick socks and the bundle of a cardigan.
~ Katherine May ~
It is just as good to come in. You stamp to shake the snow from your boots. The flakes of snow on your coat melt instantly. Your glasses steam up. You close the door and thank God you remembered to put the hall light on a timer. You hang up your coat, tug off your boots and light the fire. You will probably put the kettle on or pour yourself a hot drink. Not so much as a way to get warm, more to welcome yourself home. Home means more to us in cold weather. Making ourselves comfortable is a duty. Making friends and family comfortable is an art. 'Come in.' Two short words, heavy with meaning. Step out of the big, bad, wet world and into my home. You'll be safe here, toasty and well fed. 'Come in.' They are two of the loveliest words to say and to hear.
~ Nigel Slater ~
Wishing you days of magical sparkly beauty and evenings of cozy home comforts, dear kindred spirits.
♥
