Winterizing: It's That Time Again!

Anything with "winter" in the name gives me shivers. It immediately brings to mind itchy sweaters, cold feet, snow shoveling and house arrest. When Andrew brought up "winterizing" our house just last week before the first Nor'easter of the season, I cringed. I wanted to stay in my state of denial - the denial where the beautiful fall leaves would not fall to the ground, that I would not have to swap out my flimsy sundresses for bulky, thick sweaters, and that we would not begin another season of pricey oil bills.

Like any good Southerner, I can't stand the thought of winter. Much to my dismay, I am now a New England girl and I must learn to cope with the "wintery" weather that is sure to be on my front doorstep very soon.

And so we have spent the last week or so "winterizing" the house.  In hopes of saving a few $$ on our heating bill, we spent a little time at our home away from home, Home Depot, to stock up on insulating materials. We are hopeful that with all the new windows and wall insulation we put in over the last year, we will be warm and cozy. But, we decided to go a step further - the old saying "less is more" is not true in this case. Although ugly, we decided to put in weather stripping for both the front & back doors. The dutch door in the back creates quite the draft in an already chilly room, so we are hoping this will clear up the problem.

We also insulated all the copper heating pipes in the basement - there is no sense in heating our basement!

Those two first items were easy enough. The next one, its a real doosy. For the last year our chimney has suffered. Big time. The cap and bricks surrounding it are crumbling and water inevitably finds its way down the chimney with even the slightest bit of rain. The Portugese mason whom we love & did great work on our foundation, was not too keen to climb up on our roof and install a new slab of bluestone. So Andrew and I did it ourselves. And to be completely honest…I thought one of us was going to get killed in the process. I totally trust my husband - he always makes questionable projects work perfect, but hoisting a 250 lb slab of blue stone up to the roof had me hesitant. It was quite the ordeal & I have to give Andrew huge kudos for successfully engineering it all. Now we just need to learn how to pour concrete & lay bricks…easy, right?!

And if you want to know the saddest part of ALL of winterizing…it'd be the outdoor shower. It was like going to a funeral…sad to see it go and happy with the memories. Obviously I adore this shower. The reality is I despise the indoor shower/bathroom and am so sad that the weather will not permit me to bask in the glory of hot showers & breathe in the fresh air at the same time. It really is a beautiful thing.

Winterizing the shower involved bleeding the pipes of all water. Removing the shower head and mixer, then blowing out any leftover water with the air compressor. Putting it all safely in a box marked "outdoor shower". And then crying...

But you want to know the best part of all of winterizing?! The Sunbeam heated mattress pad from Amazon. That's right. For $79.99 you can have the best part of winter!! I ordered this baby last year when I could not stand one more night of cringing at the thought of climbing into cold sheets. This literally is the biggest game changer for those with poor circulation and the need for a warm & cozy bed at night in the winter. It will not disappoint...promise.

Fingers crossed that all this "winterizing" leads to smaller heat bills & a shorter winter.  One can dream...

Winter

I woke up this morning to birds chirping, bright beautiful natural light flooding into our bedroom and the promise of a day above 25 degrees. I can feel it. Winter is on the outs. And man are all of us around here ready for winter to get fired and spring hired. 

I got to thinking about all the things that have gotten me through my first real New England winter.  A few weeks ago I drove by a church where the billboard read, "Whoever is praying for snow, please stop." I couldn't help but laugh and smile as at that point, what else are you going to do?! This winter has sucked the life out of us - our humor, ability to enjoy the simple things, and our love of the seasons. But this billboard certainly lightened the mood. 

There are a lot of things that have certainly made the winter all the more bearable…

For the past few months, Pandora has played nonstop on my computer and on Andrew's iPhone as we work on our businesses and the house. From Bob Marley, to Allison Kraus, to Rage Against the Machine, to Van Morrison, we have heard it all.

LOTS of cups of hot tea have been consumed. Tao tea "Zen" is now a staple in our house, along with Harney & Sons and English Breakfast. Put that with a side of good book and cozy blanket - I was all set some days!



This propane stove might be the best thing in the entire house. And boy can it unleash some heat - some days I locked myself in this room and set the stove to high and baked in its warmth. Andrew would come in and say, "Feels like Florida." Exactly. my. point.

I love my bean boots, but mostly I CAN.NOT.LIVE.WITHOUT.MY.SMART.WOOL.SOCKS. If you live in the North and do not own a pair, or an entire drawer full of these gems, let me save you the trouble. Buy them. Today. My dad and I both have HORRIBLE circulation in our feet and hands - in fact just today Andrew said, "Why are your feet grey? You should get that looked into". No joke.

Well, I gave my dad 3 pairs of these socks for Christmas and he tells me about them every single time he calls. In fact, people thought I was a little weird for giving socks as a gift. Well, my friends, they are $20/pair. Verdict: WORTH EVERY DAMN PENNY. 

Despite the arctic temperatures, you just cannot beat a sunset in Tiverton. 

Andrew and I have consumed more bottles of "2 Buck Chuck" from Trader Joes than I care to admit this winter. The Cabernet is our favorite and it certainly helped pass those frigid nights.

Again, Andrew and I are obsessed with the ABC series Nashville. This got us through a LOT of this polar vortex we've been living in. If you have not watched this series, I HIGHLY recommend it. Sadly enough, it motivated me to accomplish things during the day so that I could have time to watch a new episode (or two or three) on Hulu at night.

 I found these tangerine gerber daisies at Trader Joes just the other day. I plopped them in my turquoise pitcher and spent an hour photographing this pop of color and the pure joy of the simple things.

And then there are the people who have made this winter bearable. I can't imagine this winter without weekly dinners with our Tiverton friends Meriah & Kyle; lunch dates with Mary Ann and fireball Fiona; wedding dress shopping with my mom, sister & "aunt; and impromptu meet ups with old friends from idyllic summers at Sail Caribbean.

Cheers to spring y'all.