Five Ways to Beat the Winter Blues!

Although we seem to be having a mild winter (at least compared to past years!) it's still easy to catch yourself with those awful winter blues. You may not be suffering from actual seasonal depression (although that's a very real thing that lots of people have to endure) but chances are winter tends to put a damper on your mood, especially since we live in the cold Northeast.

1. Don't become a hermit crab. You may not be lucky enough to plan a trip somewhere warm and tropical, but that doesn't mean you have to stay indoors and mope around! Make sure to stay social and plan fun activities with your family and friends. Since the days are shorter and we seem to be more exhausted after the work week during winter, lots of people choose to stay home on the weekends. Don't! It's okay to binge watch Netflix and stay in bed every once in awhile, but even planning stuff like going bowling, ice skating or just dinner with friends can really improve your mood. Planning group gatherings (some examples: weekend getaways to a bed and breakfast or the casino with your BFFs) can definitely keep your mind OFF winter and keep your mind on something fun that's coming up. Before you know it, those group gatherings will turn into beach and camping trips.

2. Take some Vitamin D. We get a lot of our vitamin D intake from the sun, so naturally during the winter when the days are shorter, we get less of this essential vitamin. Making sure you go outside for at least half an hour each day is a good way to keep getting some sun in, but if that's not possible for you or you feel like you need more, you should definitely add taking vitamin D to your daily to-do list.

3. Keep a fresh vase of flowers around. I've been buying myself a fresh bouquet of flowers every couple of weeks or so and I can't even begin to explain what a difference it does to my mood! Maybe you're not really a "flower" kind of person, but there are other ways to brighten up your room and keep it fresh. Buy a candle that has one of those "summer" smells (like sand and ocean...mmm). Keep your shades open when there is sun out. Surround yourself with bright colors. Every little bit counts.

4. Make an upbeat playlist for your work commute. Sometimes getting into your car in freezing temperatures is the biggest struggle of your day. Help yourself out a little by making an awesome and upbeat playlist for your commute. DO NOT listen to sad love songs! Put songs on there that you know will pump you up. Don't be afraid to sing along and dance in your car while you're stuck in traffic. If anything, it will make the person next to you smile and spreading some cheer is always a good thing, right?

5. Don't overeat. It is so, so easy to pack on the pounds during the winter. Our bodies probably even need the extra food to keep ourselves warm. But neglecting your nutrition is not the way to go. It's definitely okay to indulge every once in awhile and honestly probably comforting on those long and tough days, but don't let it become a habit. You don't want to suddenly wake up in the springtime and realize you need to lose that winter weight ASAP before bikini season. Ugh!

Tell us what you do to combat those winter blues!

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Snow Day Fun With Kids!

Here in the Northeast, Winter can be pretty brutal!

I just happen to be from one of the most notorious snow cities in the country (thanks, Blizzard of '77 for your endless reputation). My family and I live just north of Buffalo, NY, and we certainly get a full and long winter season!

This year, we had a "Snovember" storm just before Thanksgiving that shut down schools for a week and caused some towns to declare a state of emergency. We found ourselves with a mini-vacation thanks to all of the snow days, which was awesome (yoga pants every day, thankyou!), but the kids got a little restless. We had to come up with some fun things to do together, which can be really fun - nothing like finally tackling a few Pinterest boards!


The rest of our winter has been pretty lame so far (we've got at least 3 months to go, though...so anything can happen, still.) There was a day in very early 2014 that we were snowed in (see left) and made a day of it, and today I'm sharing what we did so you can create some spontaneous fun with your kids on their next snow day!

The first thing we did was make a list of all the things we wanted to do that day:



As you can probably tell by the tablecloth and the name of the list, this storm hit us at the very end of our Winter season. Around the Buffalo area, we're usually all rolling our eyes at the snow in the March forecast and huffing and puffing as we bundle up just to get the mail, but we embraced the snowfall one last time before it stopped falling for most of the year.

Before we got into all of this fun stuff, we put a yard stick by the back door with a pen and paper, and every hour we measured the snowfall. The goal was to make a bar graph out of our collected data, which is a really great activity for a school-age child, but my little guys were a bit too young to appreciate that part. If you want to inspire your elementary-aged kids to do a little math on their spontaneous day off, that's a fun way to do it!


Our early morning activities included putting Frozen on and doing our more arts and crafts activities. I found a homemade playdoh recipe on Pinterest and added some silver glitter to it to make it look more like snow. I put it on cookie sheets with some cookie cutters and other kitchen tools for the kids to play with.

I also set out some yummy left over holiday treats like marshmallows, chocolate, shredded coconut, and candy canes for the kids to build snow people and a snow village with toothpicks. They loved this stuff! (Also, not entirely sure why that snow person had a stick through his head.)


Next up? Turning my son into a snowman! I cut out an orange nose and some black "coal" buttons out of construction paper, and the rest of the costume was made out of toilet paper and a fuzzy blue hat. He giggled while my middle son and I wrapped him up like a mummy, taped the paper pieces onto him, and told him to hold still so we could take a picture. He thought it was hilarious that he looked like Olaf!


My husband telecommutes, and on snow days or whenever there's iffy weather, he will stay here and work from home. On this day, he used his lunch break to take them outside and play hockey while it was still snowing. It's always a good idea to find a way to be active when the kids are all cooped up, and what better way than to take advantage of the playground the snow naturally creates? I'm so glad he was home to do that with them since I was confined to the house, keeping our 5 month old warm!

When they came back in the house, we checked more items off our list by drinking hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and playing a board game together.


Then I made dinner, which we were calling "Snowsgiving". I'm guessing that we knew the storm was coming and I probably grocery shopped for something warm and comforting for dinner the day before. I don't always have the supplies for a Thanksgiving style dinner on hand. We did things slightly differently than we usually do for the holiday, but it was perfect!

I don't remember if we ever got around to painting a snowy picture, but I remember that my plan was to sketch houses on dark blue construction paper and have the kids cover everything with white "snow" paint.

Telling you about this day makes me miss it! We had so much fun, and my oldest son, who lives for celebrating everything, was so full of excitement - jumping up and down as we completed each piece of the list. It was such a great way to make a family holiday out of an annoying March snowfall!

Try something like this next time the kids have a snow day, or any other winter day!

Have a great winter! xx


Jenn is a mom of 3 boys living near Buffalo, NY, and blogs about her life and hobbies on her blog, Rych In Love. 


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Friday Five Hop and 5 Winter Soups!

Welcome to the Friday Five!  We invite you to link up your Friday Five post with us today (and every Friday!).  Anything goes, as long as it's a list of five!

Today we are featuring a Friday Five post from Steph, who is sharing Five Winter Soup Recipes with us!

Via

Wonder twin powers, activate! Form of: Sunday soup.

Soup is crucial to my life. I make a pot of Sunday soup every week to take for lunch. I grew up coming home from school to my Mom Mom's house and she'd have a pot of soup on the stove, just about done. I'd eat saltines with butter and my bowl of soup. To me, soup is Mom Mom. Childhood. Home. Comfort. Love.

I like to try new soups every year, but I have some tried and trues that are always on the menu.

1. Veggie Beef Barley Soup

1/2 Cup chopped onion (you can cheat and use frozen chopped onions)

1 Cup frozen green beans

Up to 8 oz mushrooms (optional)

2/3Cup uncooked barley

1 Cup corn

1.5 Cups water

1TSP salt

1/2 tsp thyme leaves

S&P to taste

1 lb ground beef

1 lb beef stew meat (optional)

3 14.5 oz cans beef broth

2 cans diced tomatoes 

8 oz can tomato sauce

Brown ground beef and onions, drain and put in crock. If you are using mushrooms, saute for about seven or eight minutes. If you are using stew meat, toss in a bit of flour and sear. Add to crock with all other ingredients and cook on low 7 hours or high 3 hours. 

You can also do this on the stove, of course. Just bring everything to a boil, then simmer for an hour or two. 

2. Hungarian Mushroom Soup
12 oz mushrooms, sliced (I usually use 8 oz carton of baby bellas and 1/2 carton of white)
2 cups chopped onions
2 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
1 cup milk (I use 1%)
1 tsp dill weed
1 TBS paprika
1 TBS soy sauce
2 C stock (beef, veggie, or chicken)
2 tsp lemon juice
dried parsley
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sour cream

Saute onions in 2 TBS of stock for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1 tsp dill, 1/2 cup stock, soy sauce and paprika. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes

Melt butter in large saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook, constantly whisking, for about 2 minutes. Add milk and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes over low heat. It should be thick.

Stir in mushroom mix and remaining stock. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, sour cream, stir well to combine.

I often double this recipe so we have enough for the week. I only add one additional cup of onions though, not two.

3. Stuffed pepper soup a la Skinny Taste.

1 lb ground turkey
1.5 cups chopped pepper (I like to use two different ones. Green and red or orange or yellow)
1 cup onion, diced fine
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
2 cups broth (I've used chicken, veggie, beef - all good)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
3 cups cooked rice (use brown - it's healthy and you really can't tell in this soup)

Brown meat and drain, reduce heat. Add peppers, onions, and garlic. Cook for about five minutes on low.

Add tomatoes, sauce, broth, marjoram and S&P. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Add rice.

Sometimes I double this and freeze half of it so I'll have it on a weekend I'm too busy to make soup.

4. Creamy Cauliflower Cheddar Soup from Annie's Eats. Click the link and follow her directions - the only thing I do differently is sometimes I use onion for the shallots, and I don't do the croutons.

5. Potato soup

10 medium potatoes, scrubbed well and cut into cubes (I use red or gold and I do not peel them - peel if it's your preference)
3 TBS flour
6 slices bacon, chopped and cooked (optional)
2 TBS bouillon/base (I normally use chicken but have also used veggie)
1 TBS ranch dressing mix
Dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, ground black pepper to taste
3 Cups of water
1 Cup half & half or milk (I've used half & half and 2% milk, both were fine)
shredded cheddar and green onion for topping (optional)

Put the potatoes in the bottom of the crock, top with flour and toss to coat. Throw bacon bits, bouillon and all spices over. Add water.

Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3-4. Pour half and half in, cook another 15 minutes. Dunzo.

Sometimes I put my immersion blender in and make it a little smoother.

You can also do this on the stove top, just bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are tender, add in the half and half and cook for another 10 minutes.

Soup's up! Make some this weekend. It's winter after all.

Thanks Steph!!  Do you have a Friday Five you'd like to share with us this week?  Link up your post below!  And if you want your post featured in our Friday Five post please email us!

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Friday Five: 5 Winter Essentials!

Hey, everyone!

I am excited to be one of the new North East bloggers! I blog over at Letters from a Mermaid. 

I go to school in Western PA and am in love

with the sprawling hills and countryside.  I am originally from Ohio. 

What is one thing these two places have in common?

You guessed it: SNOW.

At home I am actually in the snow belt, which can lead to up to 2 and a half feet in one night. 

I am going to show you my 5 essentials for getting through a long and very cold winter!

1.

My American Eagle green cargo trench jacket which is perfect for transitioning from class to clinical, 

dinner to the library and maybe even a night out.  It is extremely versatile due to the fabric...not 

too dressy, not too casual. 

2.  

Josie Maran Argan Oil. I swear by this stuff.  

Having to walk out to my car in an adjacent parking lot during the brutal winds blowing off Lake Erie

can certainly do its damage on my skin. 2 drops of argan oil smeared onto the face at night 

repairs all of the damage and hydrates my skin. Rather than make my face greasy, 

argan oil actually replaces the fatty acids leaving it glowing and feeling much healthier

the next morning. 

3.  Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips

Do not be intimidated by the $14 price tag on this baby. 

I promise your face will be glowing, hiding that ghostly color as your summertime tan fades!

The five shades of bronzer allow you to whisk your brush over the top and prevent you from getting

the orange/too dark of a color. I am very fair skinned and can match the tone to my skin perfectly. 

4.   Pumpkin Pie Candles from Yankee. 

The only scent that is not too overwhelming and perfectly pleasant. 

5.  

Ralph Lauren Bridle Print Wellies. 

Fiercely face the snow, the rain, sleet, hail...pretty much anything. 

What are some of your favorite accessories to face the winter?!

xoxo, 

Rachael

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