I started this post intending to solicit everyday winter lunch ideas (what are we eating around noon on a random Tuesday this January?), but my curiosity widened as soon as I put pen to paper. What are our creature comforts, “go-tos,” and routines more generally in this cold season? When we look back on this particular winter in, say, a decade, what will mark it? What are its key punctuations? This can take any number of forms, by the way. Our annotations might look like “barely surviving the nights with newborn twins” or “reading the entire Outlander series; very into Swedish gummy candy and Olivia Dean.” What are yours for this particular winter, I wonder? Please share!
For me:
Rao’s soup*
Soup in general
My “support your local birds” mug full to the brim of “accidentally too-blond” coffee in the morning
Grief sobs at the end of The Correspondent
Bangs and the fresh slate energy they’re bringing to January
Champagne**
Peloton rides with Emma Lovewell or Ally Love***
Faye Webster + Olivia Dean
“Wuthering Heights” hype
Forgrave tea and a square of chocolate after lunch
Pointelle base layers and wide-leg, sweatpant-level comfortable jeans
Mid-week lunch and errand dates with Landon
Gentle start Mondays
Pre-heating the car (bonus points for the heated steering wheel — another RWI in my book)
Negative whipped loungewear
Reaching for the limber and the gentle wherever possible
OK, some notes:
*Do you know about Rao’s soup? It’s the best canned/jarred soup we’ve ever had. Reddit agrees (Landon first caught wind of this over there) and they’re a pretty discerning bunch. We’ve been buying it in vast quantities because it’s marked down significantly at both Whole Foods and Safeway right now, and we believe this is because Rao’s was recently bought out and changes will soon be made that will likely imperil the quality of the product. Look — it’s not homemade soup. It doesn’t have that silky mouth-feel that a from-scratch broth will. There’s still that hint of shelf-stable gumminess. But. The flavor is shockingly good, and you can really polish it up to a high shine if you add a few toppings: a drizzle of good olive oil, a few grounds of black pepper, some shavings of high-quality parm, a fistful of fresh parsley. We especially like the Italian Wedding Soup and Chicken and Orzo. The best part of all this is that lunch is in the pantry, waiting, and takes five minutes to heat on the stove! More generally, soup is, in my opinion, the best lunch food. All year round probably, but especially in the cold, gray months: a way to assuage winter’s hard corners and clipping chill. And for less than $5! Hard to beat. We have gotten into the habit of buying some good bread from Organic Butcher every few visits, and therefore have something good to dunk into the soup on hand — a sourdough boule will keep well in a plastic baggie for a few days, and then you just re-warm it in the oven or toast it up and slather with good butter. Perfect, poetic winter lunch.
**I do not consider myself “a wine person.” I mean, I love wine and prefer it to most other forms of alcohol (never drink beer, do enjoy cocktails, but on a random outing, I’m most likely to order a glass of wine), but for as much red wine as I enjoy, you’d think I’d have cultivated more discernment. Alas, I am an easy customer with a forgiving palate and only the most basic understanding of its art and magic. If I have my druthers, I’ll pick an old world red (specifically Langhe region nebbiolo), but I’m easy to please. If you’re pouring, I’ll try! That said. Something changed over this holiday season and I tragically have started to heavily prefer true French champagne versus other forms of sparkling. I know there are fabulous cavas and proseccos (actually I do enjoy Raventos i Blanc cava if you can find it) but the last few trips to the wine shop, I’ve found myself splurging more regularly on champagne. What is this!? I don’t know, but it’s definitely a Champagne January.
***Finally getting around to coordinating something I’ve been intending to do for weeks. Does anyone want to join me for a Magpie ride? Ally Love just released a 30-minute “Feel Good” ride with a fun playlist. Anyone up for next Tuesday, 1/27, at 8:35 A.M.? Weirdly specific time is so that my sister can join — that’s usually the exact minute after her kids are out the door and she can hop on. You can join my ride at that time here. Let me know if this is a really bad time in general for most of you and we can try something else at a earlier time soon.
Alright, share your January signatures! What is this month for?
Post-Scripts.
+The happy corners in our homes.
+What do you love about this life stage?
+The only marg recipe you’ll ever need.
Shopping Break.
+Big sale happening at lounge/basics brand PerfectWhiteTee. People love these sweats, but I’m obsessed with the look of this oversized sweatshirt.
+Pretty dress finds in case you’re shopping for a special occasion: this, this, this, this, this. More sizes of that last dress here! She’s spectacular. And this taffeta petal pink wonder! Wow!
+Guest in Residence, further discounted (now 60% off). Don’t miss this sweater, now under $200.
+This launched Sunday and items are nearly sold out by now, but Sezane x Sea!!! A few items still well-stocked that I love: this easy dress, which I somehow feel like the bangs version of myself will wear, this gorgeous peach blouse (which reminds me of you, Mom), and this embroidered midi (ignore the styling – this will look stunning with a little leather sandal).
+Cold weather dry skin heroes: this foot cream, this lip mask. And I really find it helpful to exfoliate with this bar and then hydrate deeply with this in-shower oil followed by this beyond-fab $29 body cream.
+Our favorite Brooks Glycerins on sale!
+Drawn to this color right now.
+ME+EM magic: this knit tee, this wool-cashmere jacket, this lace trim blouse.
+One of my friends was just raving about this lip oil. I had completely lost track of a tube and it was buried in the bottom of one of my tote bags. I’m so glad I recovered it. The prettiest colors!
+For those of us visiting with warm weather soon: THIS, THIS.
+Also loving this smart blouse from Ulla.
+This embroidered nightgown is beyond charming. Also love their little jewelry and cosmetics bags.
+Did a big shop for Landon over the weekend — a few things from AYR (these jeans, this top), Sezane (this button-down, this sweater), and Shopbop (this sweater and this one). If you’re also in the market for your husband, I linked all the best finds I found in that pursuit here. Good fodder for Valentine’s Day if you’re gifting.
Magpie promo codes here + my recommended products here. You can preorder my book, Small Wonders, here!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
Image via.
WINTER SIGNATURES
Loved this prompt and probably have way too much to say! I love winter: I love the spare asceticism of it, the way that the weather of the world collides with life and can force you to cancel plans. I wouldn’t want it to be winter all the time, but I’m lucky I welcome it since we live north enough that winter means relentless freezing temperatures, long strings of days when the sun never peeks out, loads of snow (not pristine and white after the first couple of days). I lived in Arizona for a few years and feel like I missed out on time during that period, with no winter to mark it passing.
On the table, especially for lunch: I do quite a bit of scrambled eggs and toast, with attention to making them come together so they’re good (not slap-dash half-fried). I’ll make “fancy” ramen if I feel like putting in more work. We also have a lot of farmer’s lunches/toddler lunches/snack lunches: I’ll just plate up a variety of things trying to make sure there’s a protein, a vegetable, a fruit, a carb. My toddler loves eating this way and I do too; it’s fun to put together and can be quite beautiful on the plate. My favorite protein lately is tinned salmon or smoked trout; we generally have different cheeses on hand and I try to mix up the fruit. We made an artichoke (my first successful artichoke!) this week, and that feels like a small milestone.
Tea, tea, so much tea. Generally a cup of something looseleaf, very strong and black, to start the day, and then decaf from then on. I’m particular about what decafs I like (nothing overly cinnamon-y, gingery, citrusy; no rooibos – which cuts out a lot): Twinings Peppermint and Creamy Vanilla is a current favorite; Bigelow Salted Caramel is a nostalgic winter favorite (though not decaf, now I think of it) since I drank a lot of it my senior year of college. I drink coffee maybe 2-3 times a week, always decaf, generally in the afternoon, heavy on the ritual (pourover or moka pot with a lot of heavy cream). Once in a blue moon I can talk my husband into having some tea at night and I’ll make a pot on a tray.
My toddler is very into drinking warm frothed milk these days.
I like soup, but my little people are not in a good soup stage, unless it’s extremely thick and basically not soup. There is a Cook’s Illustrated Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup I like a lot. Breakfast for dinner is good, with smoothies and a bunch of things to put on top of pancakes. I especially enjoyed baking Christmas yeast breads this year, and would love to do more of that non-sugary baking through the rest of the winter.
Not food: Cross-country skiing. I don’t get to do it all the time (has to be enough snow, can’t be too warm, doesn’t work when I’m pregnant), so when I can I am so grateful. There’s nothing like a solo ski in the woods on a sunny winter afternoon. I use my mom’s skis from the 80s and enjoy that connection.
Candles all the time, but especially at breakfast and supper.
For some reason my book-count is usually quite low in January. I must be doing other things? But I do like a good long winter novel. (Just finished John le Carre’s The Russia House and am having a great book hangover.)
Garden planning: not usually me, but I love that my husband does this on long winter evenings. Seed catalogs arriving. Coffee table books about beautiful gardens. Bulbs forced in pots. I’ve been thinking about getting a little indoor herb garden setup.
Mugs: I like to look through our whole collection and pull out 6-8 for the main cupboard that have some internal coherence. Right now they’re leaning spring florals/pottery/green and brown and blue and I like it a lot.
Dance parties: after supper, turning on the disco LED lights, turning off all the others, cranking up some EDM, and going crazy with the toddler and baby. This makes the early dark a bonus!
I don’t really wear real shoes all winter – it’s snowboots all the time, and trying to figure out how to make jeans legs work with them. Slippers indoors. Wool sweaters. Everybody sitting on the furnace vents with blankets. Wearing Levi’s Ribcage jeans five days out of seven. Checking the weather all the time to see when it will be above zero (real cold snap right now!). Having people over for singing nights. Remembering summer like a distant country. Sunrises: there is usually a sliver of brilliant sun in the morning before it rises into thick clouds, and I so enjoy being up for that moment. Giving in to just wearing the big parka and gloves every time I go outside, and leaving enough time to scrape ice off the windshield/preheat. Thick, medical-grade hand and foot creams. Reading Nigel Slater cookbooks. Pumpkin oats for breakfast, with Greek yogurt and walnuts and chia seeds and a little maple syrup. Reading back Cook’s Illustrated magazines. Piles of bright citrus in bowls on the counter. Skimming through the Oxford Companion to English Literature before bed. Oh man, I just love winter 🙂
Wow – these are so good and evocative and such a welcome reminder of winter’s charms. I love the way you’ve captured it as it plays out in your lovely corner of the world. Your note about liking the farmer’s lunch — do you follow “@cheesegal” on instagram? She makes these little delightful bites called “couch snacks” but they’re like SUPER fancy and thoughtful and layered little bites of saltine topped with avocado, tinned fish, chili crunch, persian cukes, a good smear of cheese, etc! I am so inspired by that reimagining of the snack plate / farmer’s lunch too…just some food for thought.
I’m also big on the soup train but my kids hate it. We’ve been working on exposure therapy this winter, but not much progress to report. (My son will eat all the crackers / grilled cheese on the side and then gag as he swallows some mild, defenseless, unoffensive tomato soup.)
Landon’s also big into garden planning right now although (!!) I think he’s given up on fruit and veg for the year, which is a sad shift, but partly practical (we’ll be gone during peak harvest season) and partly fatigue (the nature tax here is…high; he’s been routinely devastated by deer coming through and eating his entire supply of kale, and the chipmunks eat all the fruit before we can get to it). I’m hoping he’ll pick it back up in a future year, because it’s one of my favorite things, seeing what he brings in every morning from the garden, observing him ministering to it. The upside is that he’s instead planting lots of flowers in the beds. I’m looking forward to seeing it!
xx
Your tomato soup description made me lol.
And thank you again for the prompt to put into words what feels good about life right now. I would love to do this on a regular cadence; so helpful.
And you do it so beautifully!!
Your description of winter makes even me, a summer person through and through, long for winter. Thank you so much for sharing the details of your beautiful winter life.
Right?? I came back and re-read this several times. Such a treat, Venia.
This is so kind! It really does feel beautiful when I stop to list it out, though in the day-to-day of course sometimes it just feels like blah-winter. I would love to remember to do this exercise for the other seasons this year!
Winter Signatures:
I’m embracing that early morning when it’s still dark and quiet. The stillness of the morning. Time to read Simple Abundance, Jane Austin for every day of the year, journal, gratitude, & prayer all while cozied up with cup of tea in my mugs from my potter friend Mary Francis Carter.
Then walks in the winter landscape with my husband and dog or sometimes just me and the dog. I’ve come to enjoy the beauty of winter’s landscape.
Hearty comforting meals to warm me up
Love wearing coats of all kinds depending on my style that day
Stitching either needlepoint and/or cross stitch project in the evenings.
Pub nights with friends at O’Connell’s ( just a cozy place with dark wood, low lights, and a fire roaring)
Also recently trying basket weaving
Love reading in winter. Been reading daily in the morning or evening from Miranda Mills Country Commonplace book
Gosh, how gorgeous you’ve made your winter. I especially love these gems: “I’ve come to enjoy the beauty of winter’s landscape” and “Pub nights with friends at O’Connell’s ( just a cozy place with dark wood, low lights, and a fire roaring).” Wow; I’m warmed by these comments/affections. And I agree that winter reading might be one of the best kinds of reading. Right up there with reading on a beach. Just the most.
xx
Will aim for that morning ride – baby should be down for a nap riiiight around then, so hoping the stars align and I can jump in with everyone, great idea!
Two seasonal bonuses on my radar:
-winter sunsets: far superior to summer sunsets in my mind – the slow ombre of pastels in the dead of winter are a world in and of themselves. The other day it was lightly snowing (!) at sunset time and the entire sky bathed the world in this gorgeous hazy amber then muted lavender filter, it was incredible.
-heating pad layered in bed while I read before turning in for the night – I know this is on your radar too, but so cozy and comforting to be cocooned in warmth before drifting off.
The lavender filter! Gorgeous. I could just see it; thanks for sharing that moment with us. I actually think sunsets are one of the few things in nature that are almost improved by language? Like photography never does it justice, but the way people capture it in words can sometimes take it to a different level. So thank you.
Love the heating pad, too!!
Can’t wait to see you on the ride!
xx
I would love a magpie ride, but need to be done by 8am eastern for managing morning kiddos, and not Tuesdays :-/ if the timing doesn’t work for us all to ride together, it would also be fun to have a magpie hashtag for the leaderboard!
A side note, the newest Jamie Harrow romance is a celebrity cycling instructor that just has to be based on Leann. It’s such a fun romp and not getting the notice it deserves. For any fellow Leann fans, it was such a fun read!
Love the magpie hashtag idea. (Newbie here – how do I do this, lol.)
OMG I will absolutely be checking this romance out!
xx
I haven’t tried rao’s soup but def recommend their marinara sauce! The only kind we buy for our at least 2x month spaghetti night. Although…this has been the winter of making things from scratch (enchilada sauce, refried beans, beef broth, granola, in addition to my usual muffins, scones, and bar cookies. Am practically a homesteader lol) and my husband works for a produce company and constantly brings home tomatoes so sounds like time for me to learn how to make marinara from scratch!
I’m going to try to make the peloton ride work! It’s not my normally scheduled day to ride but I should be home then. Yay!
Yay!!! Hope to see you there, fellow Rao-fan!
I am using this season of hibernation to glow up and gear for the season ahead. I finally took the plunge and had my brows nanobladed and permanent eyeliner added (uncomfortable procedures and aftercare process no fun, but RWI IMO).
I’ve been babying my skin with luxurious salt scrubs, oils, and lotions. Leaning into my workouts, and making soups and stews that are chock full of nutrients and fragrant spices. Instead of gifts this past holiday season, my husband and I commissioned a company to redo our closets adding in jewelry storage compartments so accessorizing feels effortless and within reach, a small change that feels wildly indulgent.
I upgraded my nightstand set up to include the sweetest pink Himalayan salt diffuser (my little faux fireplace!). I fill with lavender oil each evening to help unwind and signal to my nervous system that the day is officially done! I also added cashmere socks to my sleep wardrobe in an attempt to make retiring to bed at the end of the day an event that I look forward to.
UM pink salt diffuser!! What! I don’t even know what this is, but it sounds amazing. Cashmere socks and a closet with jewelry storage — !!! This is heaven —
xx
My “luxe solo lunch” is a serving of sushi grade salmon sliced into sashimi, gluten free ponzu, and wasabi-sesame mayo with a pack of seaweed snacks. Dip the salmon in the ponzu, add a dab of mayo, wrap in the seaweed, repeat. I sometimes add an avocado.
My soup of choice is bone broth with ginger, miso, scallions, and mushrooms stirred in. Maybe some tiny cubes of silken tofu. Or French onion soup. Or a white bean soup with pesto, clearing out the fridge.
My “Bonjour” mug of milky coffee.
Candles everywhere, real and fake.
Using my cashmere duster coat as a robe to sit on the porch in the morning.
White Negronis with my girlfriends, at the corner bar that turns on all the lights and shoes us out at 9 on the weeknights.
Irish music and splitting a gluten free stout from Dutch Bargain (we’re watching House of Guinness).
Toasted poppy seed bagels with cream cheese. Oat porridge with golden syrup. French toast. Sandwiches at the playground after school pickup. These are the things my kids ask for.
Heating pad in the bed before I get in, something to look forward to while I put the kiddos down.
This crowd-pleaser fish that fills the kitchen with fragrant steam: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/recipe/cod-with-fish-sauce-chillies-ginger-and-basil
Thrifted Sezane. Tights and turtlenecks with miniskirts. A low pony. Soft pants only.
Oo I like the preheated bed idea — interesting! And I don’t know what it is about the toasted poppy seed bagel description that left my mouth watering.
Thanks for sharing these — esp the luxe solo lunch! I need some LSLs!
xx
My mom’s pantry has a shelf dedicated to her collection of Rao’s soup. When I’m visiting the US in winter, she makes it constantly. She customizes it by adding additional seasoning and various fresh herbs. Thank you for making me think of her and reminding me to call my mother!
My husband and I decided to escape the tundra of Northern Europe for the month of January. As a tea person who never, ever drinks coffee, I have upped my matcha consumption to try to increase my energy. I am alternating copious amounts of locally sourced camomile, mint, lemon balm and oliveira infusions at night. Since winter is peak season for citrus, I am especially enjoying plucking fresh oranges and lemons off the trees in the garden. Lastly, I am watching Outrageous, a British show about the famous (or infamous) Mitford sisters. My great aunt, a literature professor, gave me Hons and Rebels, Jessica Mitford’s much loved autobiography in my early teens. Since you are a fashion maximalist, I know you would love the 1930s glamour. The clothes, the hair, the makeup. It’s a complete visual feast.
How sweet – I’m so glad my offhanded brand comment brought your mom to mind. (Our lives are mosaics of the people we love…!)
xx