I used to get the worst seasonal depression during the cold winter months. I was miserable and felt unmotivated and sad until Spring. But over the past few years, I have completely reframed how I think about winter and the things I do during these months. And as a result, winter has now become my (second) favorite season of the entire year. I really leaned into slowing down and immersing myself in things that make me happy. November and December are the months of giving but I call January the “month of me”. I don’t focus on resolutions or a “fresh start” but rather allow myself to slow down and indulge in anything that brings me joy. I thought I would share the things I do that have really helped me enjoy this season in case you  may need some inspiration for yourself.

Things I Do To Get Through (and Enjoy) Winter

Lie in My Sauna Blanket

I use my Higher Dose Infrared Sauna Blanket (discount code: MAREE15) all year long but it is a necessity in the dead of winter. It does so many amazing things for the body (read my full review here) and I love getting in it multiple times a week when it’s freezing outside. It gives me time to slow down and lie still which is something I don’t do very often but is so important during the winter.

Burn My Favorite Candles

I am a candle lover and burn them all year long. But especially in the winter, I stock up on my absolute favorite scent of all time and burn it nonstop. The scent is so comforting to me and instantly helps elevate my mood.

Drink All the Hot Beverages

I am a beverage gal and love to drink a variety of options throughout the day. I don’t drink any alcohol (and haven’t for nearly 10 years) but am constantly trying new drinks of all kinds. In the winter, I live for warm beverages throughout the day. I’ve been especially into this menopause tea (discount code: MAREE20) to help with my constant perimenopause symptoms as well as these bone broth packets for a bit of added protein (12g – 15g per packet!!). The bone broth packets are perfect to bring on the go and I sip on it while I’m out and about.

Live in Cozy Clothing

I am a matching pajama set aficionado at this point and have been collecting sets for nearly 10 years. I love getting dressed for bed and putting on a fresh new matching set on a cold winter night. In addition to that, I have tons of robes, fuzzy socks, slippers and cozy lounge sets that I wear around the house. I’m a homebody anyways but especially in the winter so I like to make my time at home as enjoyable as possible. And this includes indulging in clothing and accessories that make me feel cozy but also help to elevate my mood. I am someone who loves to dress up and feels better when I’m fully dressed. This also applies to what I wear at home so I really lean into wearing all the matching lounge sets and pajamas during this time of year.

Engage in Mind Numbing Hobbies

I have an anxious mind and struggle turning it off some days. To help with this, I love to do hobbies that allow me to turn my brain completely off in order to focus on the task at hand. My favorite mind numbing activity is doing puzzles. I have a favorite puzzle brand/puzzle artist and own so many of her puzzles that I rotate between. I also purchased a puzzle board that I can move around the house so I can do my puzzles anywhere.

Listen to Audiobooks

Reading books is something I have enjoyed since I was a kid though I don’t truly have the time or attention span to get through one these days. Because of this, I have been listening to audiobooks for the past 8 years and it’s been life changing! I now get through 6-8 books a month and love being able to get lost in the telling of a story.

Add a Bit of Self Tanner

When I’m really feeling the winter uglies, I will pull out my favorite in shower moisturizer that is also a self tanner. It’s incredibly easy to use and gives me just a touch of color to make me feel less ghoulish. LOL

Tons of Extensive Skincare Routines

I already love a long and involved skincare routine but in the winter I really go all out. I will pamper myself from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. Ha! I indulge in a daily skincare routine, regular body care treatments, hair masks, longer oral care routines – you name it, I’m doing it all.

1. Intermezzo – This had been on my TBR (to be read) list for more than a year so I finally decided to give it a go. Sadly, I could barely get through a quarter of it and had to decide not to finish. It is painfully slow and I could not get into it which was such a disappointment because it was given such great reviews. I usually love a book about family dynamics and the nuances that come with that but unfortunately this was one of the few exceptions. Rating: DNF

2. The Wasp Trap – A typical mystery thriller that kept me entertained but was nothing groundbreaking. LOL Six friends come together to celebrate the life of their deceased professor who brought them all together. They all had worked with him building a dating website based on psychological testing decades ago. But before the dinner can begin, events occur that make all the friends decide if they can really trust each other. The stakes become high and lives are at risk if they can’t be truthful about what happened decades earlier. It will keep you guessing throughout the book and is an easy read. Rating: 8

3. The UnMaking of June Farrow – Between this book and Intermezzo, it put me into a big reading slump and I didn’t finish as many books as I normally do because I read so many in a row that I didn’t enjoy. This had also been on my TBR list for nearly two years but I had to abandon it halfway through because I was not enjoying it at all. It’s a bit fantasy mixed with real-life which I do sometimes enjoy but the pace was way too slow for my liking. Rating: DNF

4. Confessions – What a different book. Not bad, not amazing but really different. The author is actually a former Japanese home economics teacher and current homemaker and wrote this book in her spare time. I believe the book was written in Japanese and translated into English so there is some context that does get lost in translation in my opinion. But that being said, it became an international bestseller so I was really curious to read it! Yuko is a middle school teacher that is dealing with the tragic loss of her 4 year old daughter under suspicious circumstances. Her daughter died on the grounds of the middle school where Yuko works so Yuko decides to hand in her resignation because of the immense trauma she is dealing with. During her last day at the school, she decides to tell her class the details of her daughter’s accident and claims that it was an intentional act. And the people responsible for the act are two of her students sitting in her class. It’s a quick read though I truly had no idea where the story was going until the very end. I enjoyed it though it is not like anything I have ever read before. Rating: 7.5

5. Broken Country – I have seen SO many amazing reviews on this book and was really excited to dive into it. Sadly, it was really hard for me to get through and took me forever to finish. While I did enjoy the ending, the story to get there dragged on and I lost interest many times. Beth and her husband run a small farm and live a quiet life. But this has not always been the case and the tragic events that occurred many years ago drove them to this solitary existence. When Beth’s former boyfriend moves back to town and into the property next to hers, she is forced to face some unresolved feelings and secrets that she doesn’t want anyone to know. There is quite a twist near the end that really shocked me and I ended up enjoying the last quarter of the book. But sadly, it was not a favorite overall for me. Rating: 7

6. Strange Sally Diamond – This book did finally bring back my reading mojo so to speak so I am grateful for that! LOL It’s a wild story and has tons of twists and turns which I always love. Sally Diamond was adopted but the story of her early years is not entirely clear and has been kept for Sally for most of her life. Sally’s birth mother was kidnapped and help captive for nearly a decade by a man in the area, a successful dentist at that! Sally’s mom gave birth to two children while in captivity, one of those children being Sally. When Sally and her mother were finally rescued, the trauma was very difficult for medical professionals to manage. There were two people, a married couple, who became part of her care team and were the most involved in helping Sally recover from this ordeal. They ended up adopting Sally but did not share the details of her childhood to hopefully protect her. After Sally’s father passes and she disposes of his body in an unconventional way, Sally is thrust in the media spotlight and she learns of the details of her early years. Soon after, Sally begins receiving mail from an unknown person that she believes has a connection to her past. The story switches back and forth from the present to the past in a seamless way and really helps to build up the suspense in a captivating way! Rating: 8.5