10 ways to love winter.

I'm obsessed with winter. Honestly, I believe I'm my truest self in winter. It's a season made especially for the indoorsy and the introverted... in other words... a season hand-designed for people just like me. The dreamers, writers, homebodies. Winter thrills me and grounds me and whirls me into a fantastical mindset of frosty possibilities and magical minuscule moments.

Here are my ten reasons to love winter this year.

photo by me

1. Easy wardrobing

Baggy sweaters, wool socks, chunky scarves, oversized everything. My fall/winter wardrobe is double the size of my summer wardrobe. And at least a quarter of that is thrifted, so it's extra cheap and effortless.

2. Wildlife

Have you ever watched chickadees playing around a bird feeder? Tiny birds seeking lunch at a feeder on a snow day is truly soothing to the soul. I highly recommend placing a few bird feeders near your window view and step into another time and place. With the world being hushed by snow and blanketed in stillness, make sure to enjoy the magic of deer coming to the river for a drink, and find peace slowing down to observe nature and it's tiny, miraculous happenings.

3. Natural beauty

I get why many get depressed over the lack of color, the endless browns and bare trees. Honestly, I still struggle with the bleak days here and there. But I find that winter holds a unique and sacred beauty, a stark emptiness and a sleepy wholeness at the same time. Rivers swollen with snowmelt; Canada geese against a flat grey sky; deeper sunrises; achingly-bright starlight.

4. Cuddling

With your pillow. With homemade crocheted blankets. Your dog. Your lover. No sticky sweaty skin or fur or fabric, just extra warmth and toastiness and every reason to be close and near to what's truly important.

5. Cozy cuppa's

Spicy, rich, loose-leaf chai. That moment the cream hits the surface, making swirls and ripples in the spicy warmth, drunk to the rhythm of classical music. Soul and bones (and hands) instantly comforted. Coffee with sweet foam to pull you slowly into a new day. Homemade hot chocolate, thick and decenant, after a long Sunday of sledding. Hot toddies and eggnog dashed with bourbon. What's not to love?

6. No more FOMO

I can recall countless summer evenings at home, wanting to relax after a busy day, but feeling I was missing out on some bonfire, patio live-music show, festival, wine tasting, boat ride or bike ride. In the winter, unless you're cozied up at a friend's fireplace, out skiing or sledding, or eating soup and apps around a familiar dining table, you aren't missing out on the plethora of outdoor activities lasting till 11pm in the fading heat, being bit by bugs and your bra band sticking to you.

7. More mindfulness

It's the perfect time to slow down and live in tiny moments, like the way your cream hits the surface of your coffee, pale light peeking through curtains, the thrum of days passing into snow and thaw.

8. Reading

An ideal winter day: a cup of tea or frothy coffee, and a mesmerizing book. Enough said.

9. Comfort food

Mac and cheese, baked melty brie, bourbon with cinnamon, thick pancetta tossed in carbonara, roasted tomato soup, fluffy dinner rolls, sticky toffee pudding, creamy risotto. I'll take comfort food any day over burnt burgers from a backyard grill, endless salad and peach punch. They have their time and place but heck, they don't warm my soul and bones like some hearty, steaming comfort food.

10. A sense of safety Because there's less being out on the water, run in's with giant spiders, city traipsing and overall being out and about from dawn till dusk, you are most likely always at home. And home is safety - food, family, furry friends, fireplace. Soak it up, my friends, before the shrieking country music starts blaring over stereos and and you're forced into every birthday party, backyard party, boat party and dance party, and the crackling hearths are forgotten and the book pages close.