What I've Loved When the Weather Outside is Frightful

Cold weather in January is expected, but my goodness, the temperature has dropped where I live. We're talking 12 degrees and lower, here (which is probably normal for y'all up North and Northwest, but to a Southern gal, it's just too cold). The upside: we had a snow flurry this week! The downside: I'm getting over a sinus infection (0/10, would not recommend).

But just because it's crazy-cold outside, it doesn't mean that it's unbearable. Sure, going outside is a bad idea, but I've found ways to enjoy the freezing weather.

Espresso

My mom got an espresso machine for Christmas, and we've been getting great use out of it. There's just something about drinking a double-shot of strong coffee (with added sugar, of course) that makes me super happy. (Fun fact: I drank my first shot of espresso in Italy; I shared a single shot with my mom. Now, I'm obsessed.)

Movies & TV Shows

photo credit

I've caught up on this season's new TV seasons and I've watched some movies I hadn't seen before. The best movie I've watched in the past couple weeks has to be "Leap Year". It's SO cute and it makes me literally want to go to Ireland right now.

Reading

photo credit

Cold weather pretty much requires that you curl up with a cup of coffee (or espresso) and a great book. I'm working on reading a fabulous high fantasy right now - "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss - and it's SO GOOD. Expect a "Thoughts on Pages" review in the near future!

Writing (and Blogging!)

I've been working on some really cool writing things lately, from a grad school application, to articles, to a possible manuscript for my possible first novel (!!!). That, and this blog, of course. :) I have been loving coming up with new ideas for posts here lately, especially travel-related ones (just because I've been bitten by some kind of wanderlust bug. See "Movies & TV Shows" above.) I can't wait to share some more of my ideas with you!

What do y'all like to do when it's crazy-cold outside?