An unexpected snow day on Monday has turned into an unexpected snow week, extending the holiday break and allowing me to rest mentally and physically, but also to do some winter cleaning and decorating (things I truly enjoy) at a leisurely pace.  Few things in life bring me such joy as an unexpected snow day, and I am nearly giddy about having the rest of the week off. To clarify, I do love teaching, but with the busy-ness of my holiday choir performance schedules from November right up until the day of break, two weeks just wasn’t enough for me to rest and rejuvenate with all the family parties and Christmas celebrations too and I was dreading going back to work. My body and mind really needed this extra time to reset and I truly feel this has been a gift from God for me personally.

Here’s how I have been spending my snow days (in pajamas and a cozy robe!):

Off and on throughout a given snow day I find my way to the loveseat, snuggled up with my favorite cable knit blanket and skimming through all my winter issues of The Cottage Journal. Notice the partially undecorated Christmas tree in the armoire reflection? I couldn’t stand to take the tree down knowing snow was coming. I am just slowly packing away the ornaments each day this week and should be able to say goodbye by the weekend.

I was going to start back on Keto and clean eating on Monday, but with the snow days begging for all the cozy things in life, that wasn’t happening! This morning my husband made homemade Gluten-free/dairy free cinnamon rolls from scratch. That’s not an easy task, but they turned out so yummy! I enjoyed mine with hot tea while watching flurries, birds and squirrels outside through the dining room patio doors.

A new bird stopped by for a visit during breakfast. We have identified it as a Northern Mockingbird. Apparently they can sometimes harass humans, so we will enjoy watching it from inside the dining room and kitchen windows!

I love the view out the kitchen window of the magnolia and pines covered in snow! Under the window I styled a simple winter kitchen tray with a neutral Belsnickel Santa. I am re-imagining him as “Old Man Winter” through January. So far it’s an appropriate name! Notice the water in my Smeg coffee pot? I have filled any extra pitcher and thermos with water just in case pipes would freeze or there would be a main water line break in town which has happened in the past during this kind of winter weather.

I am still enjoying the small tabletop tree in the dining room for winter. It is decorated simply for winter with icicle ornaments, crystal prisms, dried orange slices and dried whole oranges, tree candles and a couple of vintage hand crocheted snowflakes.

The little card with a vintage image of children playing in the snow was actually a Christmas card from my mom many years ago that I now find some way to use every year in my winter decorating. 

With kids playing in the snow in mind, I had to share this photo that popped up on my facebook memories of our son Liam when he was about 10. If you look closely you will notice he is grinning! It wasn’t funny then but it’s hilarious now!  Snow days used to be spent repairing window screens haha!

There are no kids playing outside in the neighborhood currently because it’s just too cold. Notice that there is about 5 inches or more out on the patio table? We are supposed to get more snow on Friday and into the weekend. Nothing has melted and freezing temperatures remain in the forecast for the rest of the week.

The crocheted snowflakes on my winter tree reminded me of the beautiful antique, hand crocheted tablecloth in the attic (I’ll share more about the tablecloth in my winter dining room post.) I think it looks perfect for winter and I may use it for Valentine’s Day too. I think this beautiful ironstone with a lace-looking pattern is perfect too, and the napkins bring in just enough beautiful blue to beat the winter blues!

I switched out the longer dough bowl I was using at Christmas with my smaller one and filled it with some wintry things. I loved my Christmas tablescape with the festive, traditional colors, but I love this calm and simple neutral winter tablescape almost as much.

I spent some time “winterizing ” my corner china cabinet too by removing any Christmas-ey items. I didn’t bring out my large primitive duck for Christmas this year, but I think it looks perfect on top of the china cabinet for winter and maybe early spring too. I also switched out my red transferware plates on the plate rack for some pretty brown ones.

Instead of changing out my entire china cabinet contents seasonally, I just add a few little seasonal dishes, colors or small decorative items. I kept the fairy lights to brighten up winter.

“Snow is sparkling on the branches”

It certainly is! The sweet little snow jar was a handmade gift a few years ago from my blogging friend Linda, of Itsy Bits and Pieces. She no longer blogs but she still shared her amazing vintage home on Instagram @itsybitsandpieces.

I thrifted this Currier and Ives plate back in the fall and saved it for winter instead of using it at Christmas. Frayed light blue velvet ribbon is a winter “scarf” for one of my vintage bust statues.

Update: Snow Day 3

We had 2-3 more inches that wasn’t in the forecast, and now the forecast is calling for even more snow over the weekend! As a result, school has been canceled for the rest of the week. 

As of now, everyone in our region still has electricty and water. No one is getting out on the roads however, so there is just the most wonderful stillnesss and the beauty of freshly fallen snow all around. I made a big pot of chili for lunch that we will eat for dinner too. We are cozy, warm and fed.

Honestly, with the exception of our son being back at college, this week is much more enjoyable than Christmas week was, and I just feel so refreshed because there is nothing that HAS to be done. No one is coming over unexpectedly and I don’t HAVE to be anywhere the next two days. This is allowing me to unwind from the go-go-go/do-do-do mindset and routine that has had me so frazzled that I  even mindlessly tried to screw a light bulb into my yeti a couple of weeks ago. When I realized what I was trying to do I knew I had pushed myself into mental exhaustion mode, but we had to laugh about it! I’ve been routinely looking for my glasses while they are on my head for quite some time , but the light bulb in the Yeti was a whole new level of brain fog!

I am spending the rest of the week alternating between packing away the Christmas in the attifc and taking breaks to sit down with a cup of tea and catch up on blogs. I am also putting together a couple more winter posts to share with you. At this kind of slow pace I am much less likely to overwork myself and this week is turning out to be quite productive! 

Well friends, I know many of you are also experiencing winter weather, so I hope and pray it is the kind that you too can slow down and enjoy without any of the stresses of ice and freezing. I would love to hear how you are spending January so far!

Stay safe, cozy and warm!

Amber