Brrr. January. Buffalo.

Go ahead, make your jokes. Get it out of your system. Keep thinking those thoughts.

I won’t be the one to tell you that it was 55 degrees here on Christmas Day. (You know you live in Buffalo when it’s no surprise to see a guy wearing shorts and sandals with a winter jacket…I’m looking at you, Dad).

Say what you will, I love living here and enjoy all four seasons, I treasure summer most of all, but I love a beautiful snow and the coziness of winter. Personally, I’m excited about the January – March hunker time. This is project season for me and a great time to actually work on all any of the gazillion ideas swimming in my head. Not to mention continuing the nearly whole-house transformation that we started last year. (Yes, I should give a project update one of these days.)

But, does it get cold here? Yep. ‘Tis the season.

So as the second-most northern contributor to the Where Bloggers Live team, I might have something to offer for this month’s topic: “How I Stay Warm in Cold Weather.”

1. Dogs. Every season is the right season to cuddle up a pupper. But winter is the snuggliest of all.

2.. Sweaters, sweatshirts, and flannel. Hey, ICYMI, this is no fashion blog. For years, my favorite at-home winter outfit comprised some type of pajama bottom/sweatpants, topped with any of a collection of duplicate leftover 2XLT sweatshirts from the company where Mr works. Super warm, obscenely comfortable, not remotely alluring. In sharp contrast, Mr always looks snappy (I swear that man secretly irons his pajamas), so I “upgraded” to jeans or fleece-lined leggings and a nice sweater, a cute sweatshirt or shacket, or the occasional tunic-length flannel shirt.

3. Cotton blankets. Warm in the winter and cool in the summer, I have cotton blankets everywhere. There are three on our bed right now, thrown off and pulled back up at various times of night when the fireball moments hit and wane. On especially cold nights, we also have a cotton quilt at the ready. In our family room, there are a bunch of twin-sized cotton blankets on hand that I keep rolled and accessible. Our kiddos each have a favorite blanket or quilt, (which is why I once made that enormous and, in retrospect, cringy looking storage ottoman) and their blankets are now stored in a large basket behind the sofa.

(IF YOU ARE VEGAN, STOP READING HERE, LEST YOU WILL UNLIKE ME)

4. Down and shearling. Go ahead, judge me. I likewise judge myself. If I spent a minute investigating how either of those animal-based textiles were harvested, I would likely opt to freeze to death…while eating a hamburger. So no, I’m not vegan…and I don’t delight in making jokes at the expense of animal suffering. I just eat them and wear their skin because they are both delicious and warm. But yes, there are pangs of guilt. I am conflicted… and simultaneously toasty and fed.

5. LLBean Wicked Good Slippers. Period. End of story. (No, it’s not.) The one thing, well… two things, that are always cold on me are my feet. (One might question if all that pizza is good for my circulation). But because I LIVE in these slippers, my feet are happy and toasty. Every waking moment spent at home involves this footwear. My old pairs become outside slippers, and I have even been spotted wearing them in the garden. I wore the last pair into home renovation hell, and just replaced them with a new pair…and received a bonus pair for Christmas. And, let’s get it out in the open: fully shearling lined. So, yes…Mary HAD a little lamb…

I was about to conclude that this has been a fairly mild winter compared to last year when we had back to back snowstorms with LOTS and LOTS of the white stuff. And then this pops up:

Bettye! You jinxed me! It’s going to be a chips and chili kind of weekend! And speaking go Bettye, last I checked it was also snowing in Seoul, South Korea. Did our fearless leader pack mittens among the very few things she brought? These and all the other answers to your how-to-keep-warm questions can be much more fashionably answered by visiting these talented ladies:

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Bettye at Fashion Schlub
Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings – (Iris is taking a break for a little bit)
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style

Welcome to “Where Bloggers Live.” It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! 
Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? 
The second Friday of each month is when this group of seven bloggers link up to share their workspaces, 
homes, towns… or whatever our fearless leader, the fabulous Bettye, proposes.
Make sure you visit everyone to see where the magic happens!