I woke up to a white powder-dusted world and thought, “Clearly beating the winter blues is going to be a process.” And while drawing mermaids with my daughter was the art version of standing under a vitamin d lamp, I’ve got a lot of tricks in my “Survive Winter” bag.
First, let me say that I don’t hate winter.
The other morning I left our house wearing my biggest coat that zips up to my nose and drapes down below my knees. I was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and giant boots. I looked like a cross between Frosty the Snowman and the Michelin Man, all hint of womanhood completely hidden (unless you count the Kate Spade sunglasses, which when it’s the only scrap of femininity left in your ensemble, I do). But dang-it, I was prepared for those 15 degree temps.
I have a lot of puffy-heart feelings about New Jersey, but her antique and thrift stores are life-giving. Living in New York nearly killed me, not because on any given day a tiny old man might hock up a big snot ball and spit it onto my boot (that really happened to me), but because there weren’t any good thrift stores. A vintage plate in an NYC Goodwill might cost $20. To add insult to thrift injury, I couldn’t bring home curb-side finds because not only were they few and far between, and not only did my arm muscles prove to be weak and incapable of dragging furniture half a mile (that happened once), but those curb-side treasures were likely hosting a multi-generational housing complex of bed bugs ready and willing to party all over our apartment (that also happened and my eye still twitches when I think about it).
So before the northeast wintertime came in and froze everything (including my toes, I’ve gone past wool socks and straight to an electric heating pad), I spied these berries at the old Sleepy Hollow Cemetary. Does anyone know what these beautiful specimens are called? Clearly if there was a Miss Universe Pageant for berries, these would take the crown.
So this Halloween we went full wicked. Our costumes were cobbled together from boxes under the bed and the Michael’s half off sale. The key, I’ve discovered, for true Halloween joy, is not the ornate-ness or the amount of money spent. It’s about accessories, makeup, and the ability to commit to a character in your mind.
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