Life Lately: Winter Edition

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There’s something about winter that causes us to slow down, to reflect. I suppose you could say the same thing about any season: it’s really a matter of being intentional with your time and attention and being present.

I’m making it a practice to sit and write out some of my thoughts during each season this year—a practice I hope will help me cultivate a sense of peace and gratitude, recognize and acknowledge things I’m learning, and be more present.

We’re all works in progress, right? This is me, sharing where I am and what I’m learning along the way.

So, let’s pretend it’s the weather and say this reflection was inspired by quiet snow days and clean, winter-white landscapes, okay? This is life lately:


Life Lately: Winter Edition

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

  • Making hand-cut fries and BLTs one night, reheating store-bought pizza the next.

  • Googling ways to use leftover mascarpone cheese (making blueberry French toast).

  • Learning how to make an Italian cappuccino (never going back to regular espresso).

  • Trips to the vet for Rory, a cone, and a list of dos and donts for a few weeks. Making sure she takes her antibiotic - a small green capsule hidden in her food bowl (bribing her with rotisserie chicken and a few drops of olive oil).

  • Sitting on an unmade bed on a Sunday afternoon, reading Just Mercy and waiting for the sheets to dry.

  • Remembering to water all the houseplants (especially the 100-year-old fern).

  • Researching floor rugs and lake houses, flights, and “how to fix a refrigerator water dispenser.”

  • Listening to Frances Mayes’ A Year in the World.

  • Practicing solitude and being alone with my thoughts (inspired by this interview).

  • Taking brisk walks around the neighborhood (wearing two pairs of gloves). Appreciating the sunshine when we can, and the beauty of a winter sunrise.

  • Making snow cream.

  • Drinking out of the fancy wine glasses and eating dinner picnic-style in the sunroom.

  • Taking a break from social media on the weekends (finding freedom and learning how to be still).

  • Singing familiar spirituals, learning new ones (relearning what they have to teach us).

  • Making time and space for creativity (#doitfortheprocess).

  • Canceling plans and staying in; wearing wool socks and rearranging the sunroom.

  • Borrowing library books (staying up too late reading them). Recent reads include: Deep Work, Reading People, The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, and Made to Stick.

  • Practicing six little songs—poems of mine that SD set to music (coming soon!). 

  • Teaching melodic intervals and tonal patterns with Hershey’s Kisses and a printable music staff.

  • Making new friends (and keeping the old).


What about you? What does your life look like lately?