I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a hundred times: I am by no means a winter person (okay, maybe I’ve mentioned it more than once on the blog…).
I love being outside, and it’s tough in most parts of America to be outdoors in the winter months when it’s often below freezing, snowing, sleeting or raining. This season has been my first time living in months and months of winter in a decade. My California born and raised dog is used to going on long walks year round, and this sometimes hasn’t been fun this winter when the weather isn’t great. Just the other day as we were sliding around on ice and snow in the neighborhood while my face was freezing and my hands were going numb underneath my gloves, I could feel it dampen my mood.
At the beach with my pup last month on a warmer day
But with a month to go of the official winter season, there have been several things I’ve been putting an effort into doing over these months to try to better embrace the season. After all, what we sometimes refer to as the “winter blues” is actually categorized as a mood disorder called seasonal affective disorder. The condition occurs in the darker months of the year, resulting in depression, social withdrawal and fatigue.
These 10 things have helped me to embrace winter more these last couple of months. And while 25 degrees will never be my favorite, I find that they’ve made it easier for me to cope with the loveliness we call wintertime.
Cook soup for dinner A LOT. No meal sounds better to me during winter than a delicious, healthy bowl of soup with crusty bread for dipping. I’ve been making soup at least a few times a week, and here are a few of my favorites:
Take hot baths. Or if you have a hot tub, take a dip in there (hoping to have one of those one day!). A soak in a hot tub feels awesome when you’ve been chilly all day, and even better when you’re sore from working out! I make the water HOT, pour in Epsom salts and essential oils, and read a book while I’m soaking. It’s a simple way to decompress from the day.
Cozy up by the fireplace. I’ve always loved having a fireplace. Come to think of it, every place I’ve lived with my husband has had a fireplace in it. If you have one, why not take advantage of it often?
All of my other places had wood burning fireplaces, which takes some effort, but our current place has an electric one…and with it being a matter of flipping on a switch, we’ve had it on every single night this winter! There’s just something so cozy about laying by the fire with a bowl of popcorn or cup of hot cocoa while watching a movie that feels very relaxing and wintery.
Try a new wintertime activity. While I don’t love snow, I certainly don’t mind playing in it. In fact, I enjoy trying out skiing and sledding type of activities because I get to be active and get outdoors. If you can’t beat it, you mine as well put on four layers of shirts, three pairs of pants, and have fun in it, right?
A few weeks ago my hubby and I took a day trip up to the Catskill Mountains in New York to try out snowshoeing. It was the first time we’d done it, and we got in a good workout trekking around the trails on a bright, sunny day.
Nab plants and flowers to brighten up your home. I crave time in nature, and I like to bring some natural elements into my home with plants and flowers. It’s an easy way to bring some bright color into your space, give you a bit of extra joy, and to make your home more inviting.
Get into the festive spirit by decorating your home. And I don’t just mean over Christmastime… I just took down my Valentine’s Day decor yesterday! Something about putting up seasonal decorations just brightens my home up and makes me feel happy. I like to put up a ton of Christmas decor right after Thanksgiving so that I can enjoy it for a full month.
Try out new teas or coffees. I’m a tea drinker, and I enjoy venturing away from my go-to favorite teas to try new brands and flavors. Winter is the best time for tea sipping, as it warms me up on cold mornings and afternoons.
Make seasonal dishes often. Besides my soup obsession, I also like taking advantage of in-season ingredients in the kitchen to get me more in the seasonal spirit. Produce like cabbage, pomegranate, sweet potato, and winter squash are all in-peak in the winter. Here are a couple of recipe ideas:
- Sweet Potato Nachos with Avocado Lime Cream
- Black Bean Banana Squash Enchiladas
- Pomegranate Bejeweled Goat Cheese Ball
- Baked Maple Cinnamon Apples & Sweet Potatoes
Do some hot yoga. When it’s warm outside, I have little desire to go to heated workouts.. but in winter when I’m often feeling cold? Bring on the hot yoga! It feels great to peel off the layers and sweat for a change.
Photo credit: https://www.beaches.com/resorts/turks-caicos/
Plan a winter getaway. Okay, okay, this one isn’t exactly about embracing winter, but more of a strategy to get your through winter. After all, planning a trip in the midst of winter to somewhere warm gives you something upcoming to look forward to. My husband and I leave next weekend for a Turks & Caicos getaway, and all month I’ve been reminding myself that I have some sun and sand in my near future!
Tell me… What are your favorite ways to embrace winter?
So fun that you are going to Turks & Caicos! That is the ultimate way to beat the winter blues, haha!!
Right?! Having a tropical weather getaway to look forward to has definitely helped me in recent weeks.. especially when I’m outside walking Harley freezing my butt off!
I think if I lived in a colder area I would just get out there and get used to it . It would be tough but I’m not one to stay indoors a lot either! These are great ideas and I hope you have a wonderful vacation!
That’s how I am! Although it’s easier said than done… when it’s 20 degrees out I’m like uh okay never mind let’s go lay in the living room by the fire 😉
So I am that person who loves winter … well, central north carolina winter that is 🙂 haha It doesn’t usually get too bad here for too long. But I love doing pretty much all these things on your list! We have a trip to Ireland coming up soon but it’s not exactly a getaway from the cold haha Ah well, still excited about it!!
Oooh Ireland is a lot of fun! True, you can probably expect some rain while you’re there. It makes everything so lovely & green but whew, I got stuck in a few crazy rainstorms while in Ireland. Have a blast there!
I certainly get the winter blues when I’m home in CT! Great tips
At least you have FL to escape to sometimes!
These are all great ideas, Nicole! Growing up in the South, winter was much, much shorter (and less frigid) than it is here in upstate New York. I remember that first year up here and how winter seemed to last forever. Oh, who am I kidding…we’re been here 9 years now and winter still seems to last forever! At least there’s soup and yummy comfort food to help take the chill off. And speaking of new winter sports, when are you going to come up and try curling?? I’ll teach you! 🙂
That’s pretty much where I’m at! I feel like growing up in the northeast, I didn’t have anything else to compare the weather to, but now that I’ve lived elsewhere, winter seems to be dragginggggg on for too long in CT. And upstate NY definitely is more frigid and snowy, so you definitely are getting more of this winter weather. No wonder you got into curling!