6 Tips for Staying Warm this Winter

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The temps have finally lowered to the 30s, snow is kind of on the ground – it’s finally winter!

Call me crazy – but winter is my favorite season of the year. Pink cheeks, cozy fires, amazing aromas and more, the cold really does bring everyone together.

Just how do I stay toasty during these upcoming winter months? Here are six of my tips for staying cozy during the winter months:

1. A great pair of sweatpants & slippers: I am VERY biased here, but there’s a reason Roots sweats are classics, they’re easily the warmest, coziest loungewear out there. Add in a great pair of shearling slippers and you’re set for a day cozying up inside.
2. A warm blanket or throw. I love a faux fur throw for keeping me toasty, they're keep in the warmth because they don't have the holes an afghan does, and they provide a great look and texture to your lounging space. Warm and stylish - a perfect combo.
3. A mug of something warm. Whether its cider, tea, or something with an extra kick, a warm beverage in a mug is perfect for staying warm. The key is the mug, not only does it heat your beverage, its perfect for curling around your hands and cozying up on the couch.
4. A winter scent. Candles are fantastic ambience creators and I love burning them most months of the year. During the winter months I avoid anything super floral when trying to stay warm, instead sticking to balsam, firewood, leather, and more masculine scents to add an extra snuggle to the house.
5. TV and movies you love: winter is great time to re-watch favorite old classic movies and tv shows, or dive into something thrilling that will keep you glued to you seat. As long as you’re distracted with your favorite entertainment, you’ll stay nice and cozy all day long.
6. Something simmering on the stove: outside of a large sauté pan, the pot that gets the most use on my stove in the winter is my dutch oven. Just it’s presence on my stovetop means that something warm and delicious is simmering away, often for hours at a time. From kale sausage stew, to chili, to my favorite soup, a warm bowl of delicious is perfect for beating the winter chill.

The A List: 01.01.16

 

Happy New Year!

For the first A-List of 2016, here's a look back at some of my faves discovered over the holiday break.

Into the Gloss Meat the Team profiles: there are few websites that are on my daily must-reads list but Into the Gloss is one of them. From tutorials on Korean beauty to intros to some of my favorite products (moon mask!), I visit daily to discover the latest beauty ideas and profiles of top fashion influencers. Recently they’ve been profiling their own staff and I LOVE it. It’s so cool to connect with the people running the site and I love the behind-the-scenes look at their jobs, their favorite products and their lives.

Things Liz Wants Instagram: Eva Chen’s instagram is the best. A gold-mine for shoes (via her #evachenpose), cute pics of her kid, and beauty reviews, she also finds the coolest fashion insiders to spotlight to her followers as well. Recently she posted the cutest flamingo holiday video from illustrator Liz Tafaro linking to Liz’s feed, which a feed which is chock full of fashion illustrations injected with a dose of wit. Super cute, super fun, and a super new insta follow from me.

Amazon Music: My beloved Songza was bought by Google earlier in 2015 and will cease to exist this month. Songza was perfect for music listening when you really didn’t know what you wanted to listen to, you just knew the current vibe you were feeling. Also, it barely played any ads if you didn’t skip a bunch of songs. Songza’s founders are encouraging Google Play music, but it’s not the SAME. Too many ads, too much to be overwhelmed by, I just can’t. I had no idea Amazon Music came with my prime subscription, and their playlists are a great second choice to my beloved former app. (My current fave). RIP Songza.

Casual: during the holiday break I had every intention of catching up on some of my favorite tv shows. Shows like Scandal, Nashville, and Jane the Virgin – all who’s winter finales I have yet to see. But what did I do? Instead I found a new series to love, Casual on Hulu. I’ve been in lust with Tommy Dewey ever since his run on the Mindy Project (I loved his character and Mindy’s together!) and he’s hilarious with the rest of the cast here. This show has some “I can’t believe they just did that" moments and it’s perfect for a winter binge viewing.

Late July Organic Dude Ranch Chips: confession: cool ranch doritos are a guilty pleasure of mine. So good yet so bad for you and your breath. I was killing time at the new Whole Foods at Easton before Christmas (don’t do this – your wallet will hate you) and came upon these Dude Ranch chips and they’re awesome. At their heart they’re a multi-grain chip with just a hint of ranch flavoring. Since they’re multi-grain – they have to healthy, right?

Best of 2015

 

If you've been on instagram the last few days, you can't help but notice the #2015bestnine photos in everyone's feeds.

I kind of love this.

Best nine is a great and easy tool to remember the highlights of my year, or at least my photos that trended throughout 2015.

And how genius are the app developers who are collecting all of this data from people (like myself) giving them access to their insta profiles? #nerdalert

Anyways, my #2015bestnine did a pretty good job of summing up some of the highlights of my year. Here's a little more into what my 2015 looked like.

(L to R, top to bottom)

1. Rose gold iphone! I remember the day I squealed with delight when my rose gold iphone arrived in the office. Of course my case was already purchased (Rose all day!) but the real hero of this photo is my co-worker Maggie, who let me take this pic on her phone and then texted it to me. (For the record, I'm still in love with my phone).
2. Pan-Am Games Opening Ceremony. It's no secret I wear the love of my hometown on my sleeve, so when I saw this photo from the opening ceremony of the Pan Am Games in Toronto, I had to regram it. My annual weeklong visit to TO came about a week or so later, which prompted my excitement to post the photo.
3. Goal Digger. Chalk this photo up to a cold winter, a new fashion app, and my love for witty and wordy sweaters and tees. It's a hashtag trifecta and a warm sweatshirt too.
4. Home. You might think from the picture directly below this one that Christmas is my favorite holiday, but if I had to choose, I think Valentine's Day might be #1 in my <3. (See what I did there?) This find from Target sat outside our front door for the first few months of the year and grabbed a few more likes than normal with some help from #targetstyle.
5. Morning breakfast. Confession: I love a good #viewfromthetop photo, especially if it has something to do with food. But there's little more meaning to this pic - it's one of the first photos I took from our new office, after it was set up from moving a few weeks earlier. I'm not a fan of moving, but I am a fan of great morning light in an insta snap.
6. NHL All-Star Weekend. A rare glimpse into my work life hit my feed, thanks to some last-minute unreal seats to the NHL All-Star game. This pic to me reminds me of an amazing last weekend in January, a weekend that combined professional success with a love for showing off and experiencing the best Columbus has to offer.
7. Holiday decor. I love decorating my home for the holidays and am quite proud of the aesthetic i've created over the last couple years. Here's a peek into that aesthetic, hints of silver and gold and soft lighting mixed with our mostly neutral decor and my favorite #Toronto poster.
8. Macaroons and Petit Choux at Nadege. One of the many instas from my trip to Toronto, this one came from the cutest french patisserie on West Queen West, just before Trinity Bellwoods. We had traipsed around much of downtown earlier that day and this was the perfect (and cutest) pitstop for a mid-afternoon break. Fun fact, I found this place via instagram too!
9. First trip to Roosevelt Coffee. I hold 90% of my meetings outside the office at coffee shops and had been hearing about Roosevelt for weeks leading up to this pic. The space doesn't dissapoint - open and airy with big tables for collaboration, located in a great part of town, and of course, fabulous coffee, i've been back many times since first snapping this pic.

The A List: 11.6.15

A break in the craziness of opening a sports season = a new A list!  Here's a collection of things I'm loving this week.

Spectre

I was fortunate enough to see a sneak peek of the new bond movie last night (thanks Brad!) and for those who know me, trust me when I say it kept my attention THE WHOLE TIME. The movie is sexy, opulent, expensive, gritty and cool - and boy can Daniel Craig rock a suit. But the thing I like the most about Bond movies? In a cinema full of CGI created superheroes, James Bond's action scenes and character seem real, which to me is a true action movie.

Carpool Karaoke

I’m not even ashamed to admit that a new Carpool Karaoke can make my day. James Corden’s show airs WAY after my bedtime, but his quirky, cute english humor is so delightful. His unabashed car singing is hands-down my all-time favorite bit of his. Once again, James makes the bit, he knows ALL the words, but Derulo brings it and is just as funny, fully admitting to his late-night habits and teaching James how to dance. This one might move to my second/third favorite Carpool Karaoke, after Bieber and Mariah of course.

Motor City Brewing Hard Cider

Whereas rose and white wine are my cocktails for summer, come fall I want something crisp but just a little heavier. Enter cider. I have no clue if cider has less calories than beer, but I love that it’s a nice, seemingly lighter, alternative to the hoppy stuff. My favorite cider so far? This one from Motor City Brewing.  It’s dry, not too sweet, and made with local Michigan apples. Every time I’m in Detroit I pick it up (it’s only in Michigan =( ), along with one of their delicious pizzas. My supply has been drained recently, so I think it’s time for another trip up north to restock. Dear Columbus breweries, do you make something similar?

Henri Bendel White Pepper Candle

When it’s seventy degrees in the first week of November, I have a hard time justifying fall and winter scents. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait until the chill is permanently in the air, and the smell of firewood, spice and cedar are SUPPOSED to be normal. In the meantime, I’m looking for something a little sophisticated and masculine to burn, while waiting for the temps to lower. This white pepper candle fits the bill perfectly

JT and Chris Stapleton at the CMAs

This week’s list is heavy on the pop-culture moments, but when there’s a moment as AMAZING as this one, you can’t not include it. JT played the CMA Awards with Chris Stapleton and in turn helped turn the country onto Chris, an amazing artist on his own. Sure Justin’s faces are classic, but his talent is UNREAL. There might not be a more talented artist out there right now - and yes, I’m VERY biased. *image via instyle.com

The A List: 8.28.15

A vacation and a week of catch-up and I'm back and ready to enjoy the last couple weeks of summer. Here's a round-up of what I've been loving this week.

1. Matte Lipstick: I forgot how much a full matte lip can finish a look. All summer I've been playing with neutrals and bronzers to complete my look and this week I decided to try a matte lipstick with my (fake) summer glow. I'm loving how it brightens my face and takes a casual summer look to next level.
2. Incanto Rose Frizzante: initially I was a skeptical rose convert, it's hard to trust a drink that looks like a white zinfandel (shudder). But I should know that Trader Joes would never steer me wrong. This Incanto rose is not sweet at all and has just the right amount of bubbly to finish it off. It's the perfect sip to savor these last few weeks of summer heat.
3. Ban. Do Florabunda Agenda: confession, I have tried every productivity app there is, some with modest success (evernote) but most without. There's something about putting pen to paper that cements thoughts and to-dos for me. And this agenda couldn't be more fun, it has places for lists and reminders for daily needs, and irreverent holidays (National Thrift Shop Day) to keeps things fun. I'm in love.
4. The library: the Columbus Metropolitan Library is truly a gem in the Columbus community. In the past month I've visited my local branch to pick up the latest novel (review of Everybody Rise to come), watched a DVD, and rented e-books for kindle app to take on vacation. AND, the library texts me when materials are in/due. Honestly? I don't know what I'd do without the library in my life.
5. Arrow: oh Netflix, you've struck again. The best thing about summer tv basically sucking is that Netflix is always waiting to serve up your next binge. And that binge happens to be Arrow. I'm loving how Arrow's characters are all badass, the girls seriously kick some butt, and the story moves fast enough for my short attention span. (It doesn't hurt that Stephen Amell provides some aesthetically pleasing scenes too). I'm officially hooked.