Winter Blahs

Blah.  That's really all I have to say right now.  I am in winter survival mode.  I dream about sunlight.  I actually had a dream that I was sitting in the sun and just soaking it in.  I feel like a vampire missing the sun.

Actually, I feel like the little girl in "All Summer in a Day", a short story by Ray Bradbury (one of my favorite authors).  The short version of the story is about a school of children on another planet, Venus, where there are constant rainstorms.  They never see the sun, except for one hour every seven years.  None of the children remember what the sun was like, except one little girl named Margot who moved to Venus from Earth just five years earlier.  Margot tries to describe the sun to the other school children, but they don't believe her and they bully her and lock her in a closet.  While she is in the closet, wouldn't you know, is the one hour that the sun appears after seven years of rain.  The teacher rushes the students out to enjoy the sunshine, not knowing about Margot locked in the dark closet.  It's not until the rain starts again an hour later that the students remember her, and let her out of the closet.  She missed the sun completely.

Isn't that a happy story?

I feel like I'm in the middle of seven years of rain, only instead of just rain it's snow and wind and below freezing temperatures.  And of course very little sunshine.

Blah.

Here are some pictures I've captured over the winter… even if they are pretty you should always keep in mind that I am FREEZING while taking them (yes, I will complain through this entire blog).

If you don't live in a walking city where it snows in the winter, you are more likely to think snow is pretty (like I used to!).  And it is pretty while it's falling.  But in big cities like New York with all of the commuting and pollution, the snow quickly turns into slushy sludge.  Imagine a mudslide, only colder.  It's like that.

Puddles are always deeper than they look:

A woman trying to push a stroller through a slushy intersection:

It has been so cold that Hudson River has frozen over more than once.

Little G exploring in his snow day outfit:

Snow coming down overnight on Greenwich St. in Tribeca:

Bicycle snow sculpture:

Sidewalk down Greenwich St. alongside Washington Market Park:

Washington Market Park:

Rockefeller Park next to the Hudson, another snow storm rolling in at dusk:

Grady and I climbing snow piles on an afternoon walk:

These pictures are from the same afternoon that we climbed the snow piles.  Stephen was out walking with us and on our way home we stopped at a coffee shop.  Stephen had gone in and I was waiting outside with Grady when I looked down and could see true snowflakes landing on my clothes.  I took these pictures just with my iPhone, they were huge!  And so beautiful! 

Ok, so winter does have something cool going on with those beautiful, magical snow flakes.  But then they turn into piles of frozen sludge.  

Lounge chairs surrounded by snow, not sand… my neighborhood is in the background:

This past weekend we had FABULOUS weather.  It hit 50ºF and was sunny and it felt like spring!  It was our one hour of sunshine in seven years of winter!

Walking down Bowery:

But I'm back in my dark closet now, it snowed today, there is more snow and temps in the teens in the forecast, and when I ask Siri about the weather she actually says, "It doesn't look good…".  Yeah, thanks Siri.  Very helpful.  I hate you.

Frozen Fashion II

The other day we got our first snow… it didn't really stick, but it happened.  And actually it's not even winter yet.  That afternoon it looked like this in Central Park:

Beautiful fall colors!  So fall is still around for a little while longer.  

My wardrobe has changed drastically since moving out of Texas, and I think my coat collection has tripled in size.  There is no longer just one coat for "it's kind of cold outside", I have coats for every drop in 10 degrees with variables for sun, rain, and snow.  Plus, if you spend so much time in a coat, you want a little variety since that is basically your outfit.  I remember a friend of mine from high school (who at the time lived in Chicago, he played for the Bears if you know who I'm talking about), telling me that very thing.  That variety in coats becomes more important since that is pretty much all you wear all the time October clear through 'til May.  I lived in sunny Dallas then so I didn't fully appreciate the need for many multiple coats, but I am living in that reality now, baby!

I have also discovered the fabulousness that are leg warmers.  Like, 1980s-style leg warmers.  Maybe they never went out of style in cold climates because anything that keeps you warm is a go?  Anyway, I don't think I have ever worn them in my life until now.  My friend Amy gave me a purple pair last winter to wear over my running shoes and pants to and from Barry's Bootcamp (which is AWESOME, my favorite workout).  Walking anywhere when it's 15F, even a short distance, wears you down and every little bit of warmth helps.  With leg warmers, the game is in the name.  They keep your legs warm!

My first pair, with my Sperry rain boots which I loved and wore out last winter:

I have since bought two more pairs to rotate around:

The boots I am wearing in that last picture are these from Sorel (the curry/herringbone color).  I also highly recommend these because they are warm, lightweight on your feet, and waterproof!  The laces are really just there for show, because they are a pull-on style.  I broke them in during our trip to Lake Placid and they worked wonders in cold temperatures.  

The temperatures here continue to waver and drop.  I haven't broken out the puffy coat yet because that thing is so warm it needs to be below 35F to wear it.  

New York is so different, summer compared to winter, that it is like living in another country.  And I'm about to get my passport stamped.  

I Need Vitamin D

I am not a reality tv fan.  The idiots on tv stress me out and I just cannot believe what comes out of their mouths and their general life choices, I find no joy in it!  However...

When I first moved to London in the middle of winter, I was flipping through the 10 basic channels our original corporate flat tv had and I came across the second season of Real Housewives of Orange County.  It was so dreary outside in London, rainy and cold and very few hours of daylight (if any), and all of a sudden sunny southern California weather was streaming through my tv!  It was only the second season of RHOC, so not too much ridiculous drama had built up yet and I could handle it.  I would literally watch it every day just to remember what bright sunny warmth was like.

So this is today:

Really?  Come on!  It's March 14.  I just came in from walking outside where I had to a) wear my puffy jacket with the furry hood and b) use my hands to keep the hood on my head because it's so windy and it kept being blown down.  I don't think I will ever get used to this northern living.

I saw this Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailing down the Hudson River, on its way to the Caribbean, and from where I was standing I could hear the party music ("Moves Like Jagger").  Sigh.

And... I discovered reruns of RHOC on tv again today.  And I'm watching it.  This is is getting desperate.  I am in a major sunshine withdrawal and RHOC is my needle.  

Please send help. 

Frozen Fashion

New York is still frozen.  It is snowing/sleeting outside as I type this.  We are going skiing in Colorado this weekend with some friends and I swear it is going to be warmer there than it is here.  

(one of our favorite local bars - Warren 77)

NYC is known for a lot of things and being a fashion capital is up high on that list!  There is actually a "fashion capital" Wikipedia entry where such things are discussed and cities are ranked.  London has apparently overtaken New York recently thanks in large part to Miss Kate, her royal fashion sense, and the worldwide obsession with every little thing she wears (this site takes it to the next level).  

Just because it's 10° outside doesn't mean that all these fancy New Yorkers use the excuse to look frumpy!  The well-heeled coat to have, by a fashion landslide, is one by Moncler.  They are warm and puffy and beautiful and look like this:

They are awesome.  There is a Moncler boutique in SoHo and I've gone in and tried them on.  Sadly I left empty handed.  Why?  They average about $1,000+.  Hrmph.

So, when winter first arrived and I realized that my cold weather wardrobe wasn't quite up to snuff, warmth-wise, I had to find a replacement Moncler.  I have been a fan of Lands' End for years, I think they have great winter layering pieces.  Plus they now have their Canvas line that is a little more fashion forward.  Plus, their sales ROCK.  You can find massive discounts often.  That is where I found this coat:

Puffy and warm - check.  Hood with (fake) fur - check.  Already inexpensive and on sale twice over - double check!  I paid $62.99 for this sucker.  I also really liked this one but it was a little too short for serious winter weather.  I wear this coat every single day, usually with my Sperry houndstooth rain boots with the sock liners (thanks Mom), and am kept surprisingly warm!

But nothing replaces warm sunshine... sigh.  

God Reads My Blog... and a Snow Day

So remember how I said that I didn't mind the cold too much so long as it was sunny?  Well apparently God read that blog, thought I was hilarious, and decided to test me on that.  So He made it fah-reezing and perfectly sunny.  Freezing as in, like, 10-16°F.  For a whole week.  He called my bluff, and I admit I hate the freezing cold!  Even if it is sunny!

At least last night we got a little bit of snow for our troubles, it's really dry snow and isn't slushy at all but pretty to see!

Stephen is in Las Vegas this weekend (where it will be nearly 60° today) and I'm here by myself so last night I went over to my friend Amy's apartment just to hang out with her and her kiddos for the night.  They have a terrace perfect for catching snow.

Daija making a snow ball...

Daija and Denae being goofy...

Me and Denae... in her shorts in the snow...

This morning I took Grady on his usual walk to the dog park, he is fine with snow but hates when it melts and gets his feet wet.  Poor thing got a little too wet and so cold that he started shivering, which has never happened before!  Made me feel like a bad mom.  We have snow boots for him but it takes two people to get them on, and since Stephen is in sunny Vegas I couldn't do it.  Poor little guy, I ended up carrying him part of the way home because he was so cold.  

In the park before he froze, playing with his buddy Cali...

The forecast shows it should actually get just above freezing tomorrow and I cannot wait!!

Brrrr

It is definitely winter here in New York!  It is freezing!  This is the weather I have to look forward to this week:

The weather has been cold, but honestly it has hardly snowed at all (just the nor'easter right after the hurricane in November and a light dusting this morning).  Considering this is a pedestrian city, and the snow just becomes dirty mush, the lack of snow makes life a lot easier.  

The cold temps don't bother me too much, but you know the lack of sun does!  So as long as it's sunny I can hold on.  

I got this card from a hotel we stayed at in England during the winter months (in the Cotswolds), and I thought it was very appropriate because no matter the weather you still have to get out in it!  Might as well psych yourself up for it!  

I had it taped to a window in our London flat and now it's up in our kitchen.  

I am still counting the days until Spring.