#winterliving Archives - Northern California Style

How to get through these colder and darker days? I usually try and clean things out, brighten up the house and try cooking healthier things to get me motivated. A few items have gotten me over the hump from the holidays until now and I thought I’d share. We are going to need some self-care to get through the next months. Looks like more rain…and so there will be MORE time in, as if we haven’t had enough.

We need comfort and we need it now!

First of all I bought this Zella Faux Shearling pullover at The Nordstrom Rack. It’s very warm so I bring it to Tahoe and wear it non-stop. It’s a comfort item for sure and comes in a pretty plum too. It’s great on those damp cold days.

How fun are these rag & bone joggers that look like jeans? Apparently these are very popular. They aren’t cheap, but sell out every year and may be a good addition to the wardrobe basics. You can wear sweats, but look like you’re sporting jeans. I’d love these with a cute blazer and t shirt or at home with an oversized sweater. Ease personified -plus warmth.

If you’re looking for a good show, I am kind of obsessed with Virgin River on Netflix. Based on a book series set in a Humboldt town in Northern California, where my husband is from is near and dear to my heart. Though shot in British Columbia, it looks and feels an awful lot like this isolated area behind the redwood curtain. The characters are great – especially the two leads- a Los Angeles nurse practitioner who escapes to the small town and the broken, but dashing bar owner Jack who has a heart of gold. The series is directed by veteran Tim Matheson who you’ll recognize from so much and he also stars as the town doctor. All around absorbing and I love the old fashioned love story at the center and there are characters for all ages. I would watch it for the outdoor scenery almost. It’s that beautiful.

How’s your cooking repertoire lately? Well we sure have eaten our share of comfort food, but we have also tried adding in a few healthier regulars. One dish the whole family loves is this Vegan Curry from Deliciously Ella. It is on our regular rotation when Max cooks on the weekends and look at all these beautiful colors.. So delicious and good for you too.

This lounge set from Anthro is something I bought for a friend’s special birthday and also.. for myself. I love it for at home wear when you want to be comfy, but don’t want to do the legging or sweat thing one more day. You could easily wear this out also with some cute sneakers and a t shirt after the pandemic life..

For cozy California clothes, Jenni Kayne is my current favorite brand. So many beautiful pieces to love.

These Jenni Kayne Moc Boots look like something I’d wear all the time at home and out and are a change from the regular Uggs or slippers. They are handmade in Italy, come in three colors and have real suede and shearling.

These booties by Steve Maddens look amazingly similar, but faux fur, in two colors and are on sale for $39 now if you don’t want to spring for the Jenni Kayne’s.

For the extra computer time, these cute blue light blocking readers from The Book Club are just what we need. I love all their styles and the assortment of cool chains too. I ordered mine and got them in a day. Beautifully made.

I realize that no matter how much water I drink, most of the winter my lips sadly resemble someone who did the Iditarod! I just rediscovered this Clarins Natural Lip Perfector which is the only gloss/balm I have that has color and feels healing on, not sticky! It has a nice sponge applicator and all the colors are lovely.

The Rosewood and Plum Shimmer are beautiful. Apparently this is Kate Middleton’s go-to lip gloss. They also just just came out with a more intense version for those who want more pigment.

Speaking of winter skin, I also have been loving these two items I added about a month ago to my routine. My skin, which is sensitive and prone to breakouts and rosacea, and dry looks so much improved. I also like Beauty Counter’s standards for safe ingredients are higher than our own government’s.

The C Serum feels amazing in winter under my moisturizer and the Overnight Resurfacing Peel has made my skin look so much clearer and brighter.

After reading the Wintering book which so many of you also liked, I am going to recommend another couple to get the new year off right. For people like myself, for whom overthinking is a super power you’ll appreciate, Don’t Overthink It a great primer on how to live life.

It’s much more than self-help, but also a reminder of how to make decisions easier if you live your values and also limit yourself to streamline your life. My husband is amazing at this. His life is pure simplicity and he loves it. I need less ruminating and more living. At least that’s my goal for 2021!

Another book, Recipes For a Sacred Life. is a collection of uplifting stories, and how to appreciate the people we encounter and little gifts of life. Helpful in the times we are living to be reminded to look for those small joys. It’s a good one to read a chapter a night or so before turning in.

Okay one more thing.. I am down with this salted honey I found on Amazon. It’s wonderful mixed in salad dressings, oatmeal, and basically everything in my sweet/savory infatuated opinion.

It is fabulous drizzled on homemade arugula mozzarella pizza right out of the oven.

Is there anything that you’ve been loving or that is getting you through this winter? Please share below!

Stay cozy xx

Kim

UPDATE: For those who asked the shoes I am wearing on the top photo in Tahoe are these Steve Madden High Top Sneakers from Nordstrom Rack. They’ve been a great alternative to booties this winter!

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Today we had actual real weather in California. We had a night and morning of raging winds so strong even my usual Tuesday tennis was cancelled. The courts were covered with detritus and the air howled when the gusts hit.

I headed home and the internet and phone service were both down. It was so cold, I hated to leave my warm car, so I went inside grabbed a mug of green tea and went back to the car and finished listening to a public radio show in my driveway. It was cozy and warm in the car, and I thought I should really do this more often.

Later on, since I couldn’t really work or waste time checking the news, I took the opportunity to find a spot on the couch to finish the wonderful book, Wintering, I have been absorbing. This book, by Katherine May, is about embracing winters in a literal and figurative sense. We go through many winters or hard times in our lives, and like real winters, we need to slow down, do less and listen to our bodies and find healing in these times. It’s a beautifully written and descriptive book and it has me savoring these January days and giving into the impulse to stay in and stay cozy. Rather than wishing for warm weather and spring, I am instead trying to appreciate the gifts only the cold season has to offer.

I embraced this chilly day and had some old fashioned Lipton noodle soup from the box, as my mom would make for us kids on winter days. If that wasn’t in the pantry, we had egg noodles slathered with margarine… and sometimes grilled cheese sandwiches too. My mom grew up in Wisconsin, and knew how to make the most of cold days. Just that red soup box brings me back to blustery winter days eating lunch in our blue flower wallpapered kitchen overlooking the big front yard sycamore that would rattle with the storms.

After lunch, when we were small, she would make us take naps. Mom was a lifelong devotee of naps, even as a young girl and being an anxious person, I think they were a kind of meditation for her and a way to calm herself and get through the day. All my life, whenever I was tired or stressed, mom would say, ‘go get on your couch for a while and take a nap’. Most of my life, I resisted that. Today I took a nap, belly full of soup and enjoyed the coziness of hearing the storm from the warm couch under a blanket. I realized I don’t take advantage of an occasional nap on a cold winter day. I don’t make the buttered noodles enough or the soup. I vow to do it more.

What I took away from Wintering, is that we need to be kinder to ourselves and this is never more true than years like we are in now. We should use this quiet and more isolated season to take more time for reflection, sleep, winter walks in nature, pampering, enrichment, reading, crafts, cooking and whatever fills our tanks. The new body, fitter self and perfect home and wardrobe is not what is going to bring us joy. It’s the parts of each day that we fully live in the moment that will help us get through this next part of the pandemic and the strife of now.

If you want a balm for the times we are in, I love Katherine’s book. It’s a little history, part healing and encouragement, as all of us have a winter of some kind in our lives. She reminds us it’s cyclical and we go through rough patches many times throughout life and become stronger because of them.

Also, I will add, that we should listen to our moms and take more naps and enjoy soup or butter noodle days when we need a little cocooning.