We have had the most beautiful January: temperatures have mostly hovered around freezing, plus or minus five degrees, we have had barely any new snow or any wind, and most days have seen sunshine and blue skies. On the non-sunny days, we have had some hoar frost, which is just gorgeous.
There is a polar vortex coming in on the weekend, but hey. Winter is winter, and a mild January is a beautiful thing.
In my Ask Me Anything, Kari (HI KARI) had asked What is your favourite thing to do in the winter? When I received that question, it was December, and it was minus 30, and my immediate thought was Go on a tropical vacation. I mean. That is true, it is something I like to do, but a) I haven’t done that since 2019, so does it really count, and b) a tropical vacation, while wonderful, is one to two weeks maximum out of a minimum six months of winter.
But what DO I like to do in the winter? There are lots of things that I like to do, every day, but they mostly are not winter-specific. I used to love cross-country skiing, but haven’t for over nineteen years, so that’s probably not a valid answer. I really should unearth my skis and relearn about waxing, perhaps I should have made a resolution about it.
To answer the question at hand, I thought I would talk about three things that I like doing in the winter, although two of them are things I do year-round: walking, playing piano, and puzzling.
Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Winter Pleasures Edition
Walking Accoutrements
Some of you may remember the massive shift in attitude I had a couple of years ago, with regards to winter. I decided I wouldn’t waste any time loathing the long, cold winters. What good does that do? I embraced the season, I embraced my Norwegian heritage, and I adopted the concept of Friluftsliv. There is no bad weather, only bad clothes. I get out to walk every single day; pre-pandemic, it was just a short, slow, 2 kilometre Barkley Walk, but during the pandemic I added in a much-longer Me Walk. Now, of course, it’s a Rex Walk.
We have had Rex for three and a half months now, and in that time he and I have gotten into a very good walking rhythm. He’s really good on leash now, but he does occasionally pull (SQUIRREL). Our January filled with mild sunny days and cold nights means that we are in a melt/ freeze cycle, and the sidewalks are quite treacherous. This is especially treacherous for my personal well-being since I am attached to a giant dog via a waist leash, and if he sees a squirrel while we are on an icy sidewalk, it can be very hard to keep upright.
To combat this, I bought something called Ice Trax in a two-pack at Costco, and they are life-changing. They fit over the soles of my winter boots, and are little tiny spikes that act as crampons on the slippery sidewalks. I thought they would be difficult to take on and off, but they could not be easier. I haven’t broken a nail yet, which was my main concern.
This is the time to shout-out my coat. I have had that winter coat since my oldest was in kindergarten, in the winter of 2009. Hands down it was the best money I have ever spent on an article of clothing. I have a number of winter coats for different temperatures and with different levels of stylishness, but this is my go-to walking coat. In other words, it is not at all stylish, but sometimes, practicality must take precedence. I wear it all the time when it is below freezing, and, depending on what I wear it with, it’s perfect for temperatures ranging from minus 1 to minus 30. It is HUGELY puffy, it probably needs its own postal code, but it is such a great coat. I bought it from Mountain Equipment Co-Op; I have no idea if they even make anything like this anymore, but fourteen years on, it is a workhorse. The pockets are huge and fit my keys, dog treats, and extra gloves.
Speaking of layers, I have not had to wear my snow pants at all this month, but when going out I do always have on long socks or legwarmers over my yoga pants, and a bum warmer. There is a wonderful local woman who repurposes old sweaters into the cutest little bum warmers, and sometimes she has enough material to make matching mittens. I have three sets, plus a little pair of legwarmers made from sleeves.
It’s all about the layers!
Piano Accoutrement
I play piano year-round, but I find I play for longer stretches in the winter. I recently bought “100 Of The Most Beautiful Piano Solos Ever” which is a very long but apt name for a songbook. I have no issue with the content, but I do have a problem: the book itself is very cumbersome to use. I have encountered this problem my entire life; a thick songbook will NOT stay open at the page you want it to, unless you completely break the binding at the place you want it to stay open, which then means it will not stay open at any other song. This would all be resolved if book-makers used a spiral binding, but alas. They do not.
I figured that I could not be alone in this frustration, so on an internet search I went. I found, and purchased, this little thing:
WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE. It holds the pages open to where I need it, if a song is longer than two pages, I secure it to where the song ends, and it’s easy to turn the page while playing. I admit that at first I was using it incorrectly, as pages flitted wildly while I attempted a multi-page song. This led me to despair that nothing in this world is as it seems, but then I actually read the instructions. When in doubt, read the instructions.
After a couple of months of practice, I have FINALLY mastered the key changes!
Puzzling Accoutrement
It’s Puzzle Season in the Boyhouse! I love jigsaw puzzles but winter is the only time I like to do them. When Rex came into our lives, I wondered if we would ever do a puzzle again, what with his fluffy wagging tail. Then I discovered PUZZLE BOARDS.
I bought this for my husband for Christmas, and it was such a great purchase. It has drawers to organize all the pieces, and, best of all, it has a ledge on it that is completely Rex-proof! He hasn’t knocked off one puzzle piece. My husband loves puzzles even more than I do, and this Northern Lights puzzle is the fourth one this season.
Julie and Nicole, the Cake Adventure
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my lovely friend Julie van Rosendaal (HI JULIE) recently published a book entitled You Are Human And You Need Cake, and I thought I would try my hand at most, if not all, the recipes. The first one was a Peanut Butter Cup Cake, which I made for dinner guests who are peanut-butter-chocolate lovers.
Because I can never follow a recipe, I swapped the cream cheese in the filling for coconut cream – to do this, put a couple of cans of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge, then separate the cream from the liquid – and I used Silk Coconut Whipping Cream, which I have never bought before in my life, but I will absolutely buy again because it was delicious.
Doesn’t the cake look fantastic? Well, I had taken the springform pan off BEFORE adding the ganache on top, which was a grave mistake.
Things slid a little in the fridge, but you know what, the person who got those pieces got extra ganache, so we can hashtag that as winning. Lesson learned: keep the springform on until EVERYTHING is set, not just the cream filling.
The second cake I made was a cinnamon streusel coffee cake, which was like a cinnamon bun in cake form. It was super easy to make and I added a glaze-like frosting because what is cake without frosting?
It’s not like I think of cake as a vehicle for frosting, but I don’t NOT think that, either. I mean, I love cake itself but a frosting-less cake feels a bit sad to me. That said, the layers of cinnamon streusel in this cake were absolutely divine, so I could have probably omitted it without too much sadness, but why not add a little joy to our lives via frosting?
Favourite Outfit of the Month
As you know, if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I love talking about clothes. In the past I’ve posted Outfits of the Week (way too frequent) and A Week Of (Seasonal) Outfits (way too much work in a less-frequent way), and so this year I’m going to post my Favourite Outfit of the Month.
I have a tendency to hang onto my clothes until they literally fall apart. Part of Curating Your Closet is keeping only clothes that are really loved, and that make the wearer feel good about themselves. This is an outfit that I love, and parts of it are really, really old.
The jeans are the newer part of the outfit; I bought them in the fall of 2021 when I ditched all my old ill-fitting jeans and bought three pairs of new ones. Life is too short for uncomfortable jeans; bodies change as we age and so should our jeans. These are Silver brand, from Bootlegger, in the “Suki Skinny” style and if you are tempted to buy some, be warned: Silver jeans tend to stretch so if you like them, buy them a size down. I find that for the first half-hour of wearing they feel pretty tight, going directly against my “life is too short” mantra above, but then they feel and look perfect.
As it hasn’t been that cold, I haven’t been wearing my really thick, wintry sweaters; instead, I’ve been gravitating towards the lightweight ones. The black long-sleeved tee I know for a fact I bought in 2010, for a trip with my husband to Tofino. The grey sweater was purchased not long after; both are from long-defunct Jacob. I love a long sweater with skinny jeans; the look perfectly lends itself to tall boots, which are, of course, my go-to footwear from October through April, minimum.
I can hardly believe that January is almost over! My older son had some VERY good news this week, so I shall be in a celebratory mood this weekend! Perhaps I’ll grab my Favourite Cab Franc and Favourite Boom Chicka Pop (IT’S BACK, BABY!) and enjoy this last weekend of January! What have you been loving this month? Tell me everything. xo
That is a VERY good mindset shift to have. You can’t go through life hating six months out of every year (of course, I took that in a different direction and moved to Florida, but your way works too.) My sister still lives up north and she has pointed out that part of the reason we were so miserable in the winter is that we didn’t have appropriate clothing. i mean, I’m not sure what teenagers are wearing nowadays- maybe they’re wearing long puffy coats and bum warmers- but we sure didn’t. Given how cold it gets near Chicago, it’s astonishing how improperly dressed we were.
I’m very glad you’re sharing your cake making journey with us! The peanut butter cake looks delicious, but I do have to laugh a little at how the ganache shifted. Yes, I have made many cakes that look like that.
About the piano music- just goes to show, for every problem there’s a solution. And that solution is definitely on the internet. I’m glad you can now play to your heart’s content!
Lol, I remember the way I dressed as a teen: tiny skirts and tights, mostly. Never a hat and only light gloves. How did I not die. I’m pretty sure teens haven’t changed; I often see girls walking with little shoes and no socks, cropped jeans, jacket wide open. In minus 20.
There is so much to love about this post! First off, I think that winter coat is actually pretty stylish for something that is large, bulky, and meant to keep you warn. The belted middle really helps to keep you from looking the “the michellin man.” Hopefully you get that reference – I don’t know if that marketing was used in Canada! I am working on my ‘currently’ post for tomorrow and there is a lot of overlap between our posts. We also have had a very very mild January, although we have had a TON of snow. But I will take snow over cold any day of the week! We are getting bitterly cold weather next week but it looks like it will warm back up in time for my friend Kyria’s visit (I think you are new to her blog – she posts more consistently now! We’ve been friends for 10+ years and she is a delightful person). My 23 in ’23 challenge has been really good for me as walks outside are so invigorating. And it’s been very pretty here lately with lots of “jack frost” which of course does not show up when I try to take a picture of it on early morning runs.
I really want to get back to playing piano consistently. Maybe when the boys start lessons I’ll get back into doing that!
And I am alll about puzzles these days (another thing in my currently post). The puzzle board looks amazing. I’ll have to considering getting one down the road. For now, I have a puzzle mat so I can roll up the puzzle and put it away each night. The more of the puzzle you’ve done, the better it sticks together when you roll it up. But it’s a great solution for those with tiny people in their home!
Lastly, I love your outfit. It’s so cozy!!!
Oooh I am so excited to read your post tomorrow! I do get the Michelin man reference, not to worry! I don’t mind the snow or the cold so much these days, but I do find wind to be a bit…trying.
Having a dog has really changed my mind about winter. I go outside every day and I love it in the winter because she loves it and it’s so quiet and peaceful and, like you, I invested in delightful winter gear so I’m always toasty and it’s fine to go outside from December through April. Better than fine. Fun!
My husband has that same complaint about music books. He actually takes his books to a printing place and has them shear off the binding and replace it with spiral binding. However, I just bookmarked that little doohickey and I will maybe buy it for him as a present at some point in the future!
Thank you for all the photos of Rex. He’s adorable and SO BIG. I LOVE HIM.
I never thought of taking the books to get a spiral binding AND IT IS GENIUS!!!
Bum warmer?? I have never even thought of this, but it looks like the cutest little skirt– genius! I spent an entire WI winter walking outside with a baby in a carrier zipped under my coat all thanks to ice tracks– love them!
Bum warmers are SO cute and I feel adorable AND warm in them!
The last time you mentioned a piano book (Peanuts Christmas!) I bought a copy for myself, and I enjoyed the heck out of it in both December 2021 and December 2022. So I paused in the middle of reading this post to buy the book you mentioned — thanks for the recommendation! (Weirdly, as I was checking out Amazon said, “would you like a doohickey like Nicole’s, Jamie?” And I sighed heavily, and said, “Yes, robot overlords, I probably would, even though the accuracy of your suggestion creeps me out.” So there’s one of those on its way to my house as well.)
*gives robot overlords the side-eye*
I hope you love the songbook. It has so many (100!!!) lovely songs, and of different styles, too. I’m so excited you liked the Peanuts one!
I bought a legitimate winter coat this year for the first time in years and it has made such a difference in how I view going outside in winter. It’s one of those things were having the right gear makes all the difference in the world and I’m actually enjoying my walks even when the temperatures drop! PS: the cakes look AMAZING!!
The right gear is just so important! I bought the coat when I found myself spending a lot of time on the playground after school, and I felt like I would die if I didn’t get something warmer. Game changer!
Welp, I immediately added the piano music holder and the northern lights puzzle to my Amazon cart, so consider yourself an influencer. Also! If you want a more permanent solution, Staples will spiral-bind those big piano books for you! I think it cost around $30 but sometimes it’s a must.
Like Lisa above, I am limited to a puzzle roll due to the small children in my house that prevent me from leaving puzzles out, but in a few years I’m putting a puzzle board with drawers on my Christmas list! (Influencer!) I too love puzzles in winter.
I am an influencer now!!!
That is so smart, the Staples tip. I have never thought of that! What a great idea.
What a fun project with the cake cookbook.
Congrats to M on his news.
At the moment, I am loving my newly yellow kitchen walls.
I do have warm winter coat, not as long as yours, but I’ve barely needed to wear it this winter. It’s been quite mild here, hoodie weather most days. This is vexing to the most snow-positive member of the household, but it’s only January.
I’ll message you with the news!
Poor Beth, I know she loves the snow!
There will be much more cake content coming!
Apart from the freeze out over Christmas, the weather really has been decent this winter and it makes such a difference. I can take the no bad weather just bad clothes one step further – if you’re a dog owner you don’t have bad clothes. My four legged friend gets me out of the house twice a day in fair weather and in foul.
I’m all over the jigsaw puzzles this time of year! My puzzle board is flat and has a cover so it’s easy to slide under the couch out of the way when I’m not working on the puzzle. I’ve been sort of hibernating since mid-December, but then last weekend I got back into my hobby of local tourism. It makes me really happy to get out and to see all of these places that I had heard about but never been to. A lot of things are closed in the winter, but I’m starting to build a list of things that aren’t. If the weather holds up I’ll be touring a Frank Lloyd Wright house this weekend and then I’ve got a long list of museums to see.
Oh Birchy, that sounds very fun! I should do something like that.
This January reminds me of the year we got married – super mild. Then we got -30 for three weeks straight in Feb-March. So, you know, I’m just happy taking it one day at a time!
Wait. A puzzle board WITH A COVER.
First and foremost, I love that you turned my question into a post! That made me happy. I wish we could have your winter. The sun hasn’t been shining much lately, and I’m missing it.
I enjoy reading your posts because they are so upbeat and encouraging. I’ve been struggling to find joy this winter, so thank you for making me feel a little better today. 😘
I’m glad this cheered you, Kari! I hope the sun comes out soon, both literally and metaphorically.
You are so right that proper winter clothing makes all the difference! I love my giant, long, puffy coat and my huge stomper boots. I also wear the ugliest hat with ear flaps. There is zero fashion going on here, but I’m warm and happy!
When it’s really cold, I wear snowpants, a toque, and then the hood up on my coat and I look…not exactly fashionable! But it’s warm!
The best thing (or at least one of the best things) in my house about winter is that the cats want to cuddle. We are cat people through and through (we have 5), and in the summer, the kitties are too warm to snuggle up. But, now, they become quite the snuggly, cuddly lap cats.
I think your coat looks lovely and stylish, even! My warmest winter hat (that I wear to do our outdoor animal chores) is 25ish years old. I still have a pair of Sorel boots that I bought at the same time as that hat, but they have a tear in them and I’m not sure what to do about that. Somewhere on my to-do list is to look into whether that is repairable.
Winter here (Massachusetts) has been mediocre really. I think the winters of mostly snow may be gone? We now get a lot of slush. It snows, then rains or does the lovely “wintry mix” so that you are shoveling what feels like liquid cement. It’s soggy out there.
Your cakes! – Yum.
The puzzle! – So pretty. My son went to Iceland a couple of weeks ago and saw the Northern Lights. I am so happy for him that he had that experience.
Take care!
Oh, yuck. I would 100000% rather have snow than slush and wintry mix.
I had Joan of Arctic Sorels and I wore them until the soles cracked. They lasted many years but not 25! That’s pretty great. I love when an item is so long-lasting.
Yay for good news! Yay for Boom Chicka Pop! Yay for cake! I am loving your cake-sperimentation and look forward to more cake content. I also love all the Rex photos in this post. And I swear this is the third time recently I’ve read about those Ice Trax things and I feel deeply influenced to buy some for myself!
We are finally, after a very mild and quite pleasant winter, getting some Real Snow, and I am here for it. I LOVE snow! Love it! However, I am terrible about going outside in imperfect weather. I fully believe in your mantra of there is no bad weather, only bad clothing, but I struggle to find appropriate clothing! I am wearing a pair of brand new snow boots I bought (yes, in the house) because I am trying to determine if they will rip my heels to shreds like my current snow boots. It seems like shoes always SEEM good until I actually wear them. Also, these boots are very short — like sneakers — and I am afraid that I will just end up with snow inside my socks. But the tallness of boots seems to be a contributing factor toward the heel wreckage, so I don’t know. Maybe I should just wear my ski boots all the time.
Oh, your poor feeties! I hope your new boots work!
There will be much more cake content coming, mark my words!
No bad weather, just bad clothes – well, to that end I have bought myself a VERY nice and warm winter coat. I bought two different versions that were 50% off and I now have to decide which one I want to keep. They are still very pricey but I want a warm coat and I want one that will last. I might post photos on Monday and see what my readers think. I have a few other wardrobe related items to discuss. Not a usual post for me, but I might do a wardrobe related post. I love your warm coat. I also love the gray sweater and skinny jeans. I agree, it’s a great look. I just bought some wide-wale corduroy and I love them.
We’ve had a mostly mild winter here in Chicgao too. It is so manageable, and now the end is in sight.
I could do a face plant into that cake. It looks so amazing, sliding part and all. I do love cake. I don’t love GF cake, but I should probably make more of an effort to find a version that works for me.
It is amazing that you found just the piano pages thing online. Where would we be without the internet?
Another puzzle board option is to get a framed cork board or blackboard (I got mine from Michaels), and use that! I also got a piece of foam core that I cut to size that makes a cover. I didn’t do puzzles for so long because of cats and toddlers, but this set up makes the cut.
Great attitude about getting outside. Like many in the comments we are also having a mild winter, but that means no snow, so everything is just dreary. I think my best option is that tropical vacation suggestion.
We all chipped in bought my mother-in-law a puzzle table (it tilts! it has a cover! it’s amazing!) for her birthday since she recently learned that she loves to do puzzles.
Winter is definitely puzzle season for me. Alas, I do not have a fancy puzzle table or board. But then I don’t have small children or pets.
A TILTING puzzle table! That sounds really smart!
So many things to say.
1. You are so adorable. I love when you post pictures of your outfits, especially how you manage to look so chic for exercise. Those bum warmers are so fun and such a great idea and I LOVE that you have matching mittens. I recently heard about snowskirts (Scandinavian…of course); who knew?
2. Peanut butter and chocolate anything is my favourite and I want to dive through the screen and eat a giant wedge of that cake.
3. I’m so glad about the good news for your son!
4. The kids and I completed a puzzle today; I am typically not a puzzle lover, but it was 300 pieces, hard enough it took a few hours (our power went out during a wind/rain storm – so we had time on our hands), but easy enough I wasn’t ripping chunks of hair out in despair. In short – it was delightful. I am now quite anxious to find another 300-piece puzzle.
Thank you Elisabeth!
You would LOVE this cake. It was so good without being cloyingly sweet. I ate like three pieces! I have no regrets!
I have a pair of ice trak things too, but they are very difficult to put on and off – I ended up buying actual boots that have things on the bottom you can flip to be spiky. I covet that puzzle board thing, but it’s not in the budget at the moment – maybe for my birthday!
We are also getting super cold temperatures next week so we can shiver together. I’m kind of looking forward to being able to wear a sweater. And that peanut butter cup cake is a thing of freaking beauty.
I HAVE BOOTS LIKE THAT TOO! Did you buy yours at Marks? I like them but they aren’t as warm as I need at times. Great for around zero, slightly plus though.
I love your mind shift. Living in the moment is one key to a happier life, I think, and that’s hard to do when you hate the moment you are in. And wearing the right clothes is SO important, whether it’s hot or cold or wet or whatever, it’s much easier to be cheerful about the situation if we are properly dressed for it.
Regarding ‘Accoutrements’ – When my brother was a toddler, that’s what my mom taught him to call his genitals. HA!
Oh, I did NOT see that one coming! Lol!!! That’s too funny!
I love the word accoutrements. That is something my mom would say and it makes me smile! I also use YakTrax when I run or hike in the snow sometimes and they are great. If it is something steeper I use microspikes, but the YakTrax are great for flat surfaces! Also I think it is great that you are getting outside and those slippery roads and sidewalks can really be a deterrent!
I’ve heard of Yak Trax as well and I’m wondering how they would work for me! It’s pretty hilly where I am so maybe I should stick with the Ice Trax.
I love that walking mindset, and a dog really helps with it I imagine! We have Coco the giant Labradoodle and she is the best motivation to get outdoors every single day. We walk in wind, rain, snow, everything except extreme heat… and in England we hardly see a lot of that!
I’m enjoying a jigsaw puzzle at the moment too. Mine is Frankenstein themed and is taking several weeks! I work on it one or two evenings a week and it’s fun.
Also: minimum six months of winter?! *shudder*
I do love winter, but my ideal would be four equal seasons. Here we tend to get grey, grey and wet, less grey, occasional sun 😉
Oh yes, this is the biggest benefit to Calgary in the winter – yes, it’s cold and long, but often (NOT ALWAYS) the sun is shining and the skies are blue!
Nicole there are always SO many great tidbits in your posts to comment on! Your attitude to winter is wonderful & I’ve shared the “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” thought many times! (As I leave for 3 months in Mexico…). I think your winter coat actually looks very stylish. Not puffy at all. OMG those cakes look amazing. It’s so cool that you know Julie- I have listened to her many times on the Jann Arden podcast. She sounds just lovely. I think I need to buy that book when I get home! Finally congrats on the happy news in your family – enjoy those celebrations!
Thanks so much, Pat! Enjoy your time in Mexico – sounds wonderful (she says as she looks out the window at the blizzard and impending polar vortex)
Congrats on the good news and yay to the weekend celebrations, Nicole! You look picture perfect in every pic as does Mr. R!
And those cakes look amazing, I’ll have to get that book… such a cool title! My bestie loves cake and is always quoting Julia Childs–“A party without a cake is just a meeting”–so she’d love a copy too.
Cake is just so delicious, and I love all kinds!
This is such a great mindset! I have to think about this in the opposite way: how to stay cool during our very long, very humid summers in Florida. It’s all about wearing clothes that are sweat-wicking and breathable!
All of these pictures with Rex in the background make me smile. He’s just so dang adorable. How do you stand it?!
I know, Rex is just so sweet.
I think it’s easier for me than for you – it is easier to dress for cold than it is for heat and humidity. I mean, I can always put on more layers but at some point, you can’t get MORE undressed!
Well, lady, you’re properly and may I say fashionably equipped for winter walking. I love it. As I mentioned, it got pretty cold here last week (near freezing, which is rare for this part of CA, but of course nothing compared to what you’re dealing with), but I realized that I am not equipped for winter-running AT ALL. Might have to invest in a few pieces 😉
What is is contraption called that holds the songbook open? This is genius.
Also, the puzzle board is something I could totally use (esp. since I also don’t have any table space to put any puzzles). Does it fit under the couch?
I’m not sure if the puzzle board would fit under the couch because it’s pretty wide, so I guess it depends how wide your couch is. It’s flat though, so it would in that respect. The little songbook thingie is called a “music book clip and page holder,” which is kind of a long name, but fitting.
You can take your piano book to a Kinkos (or something similar) and they’ll cut the binding and spiral bind the book for you. I used to do this with my massive literature textbooks in college. It wasn’t too expensive – maybe $15 or so.
Thanks so much Rebecca! That’s a great idea!