Incidentally, these photos are from the last time I was home for Christmas, which was Christmas of 2016. In 2017, I was with my sisters in California, and in 2018, most recently, my family traveled to Spain together over the holiday break. I remain ever-dutiful in my back-blogging (slowly, ticking off my list one-by-one!!!).

Christmas classics on repeat: matching Christmas pajamas, elementary school ornaments, wreath-spotting, holly-dazzling, reading by the Christmas tree, and our family's annual trip upstate to visit family <3 (with a stop-off in Manhattan per old times sake).

While in the city, Emily and I went to a mediterranean restaurant that was very delicious, but whose name I forget entirely. I loved their water carafes—one bottle still, one bottle sparkling; the bottle of sparkling water was marked simply with a blue rubber band around the mouth of the jar. I thought it was such a simple, brilliant detail.

I don't know where Christmas will take me this year, but my Christmasses at home always include some of my favorite traditions and December coziness.

I realize it is AUGUST and no one in their right mind is possibly thinking about winter, but in my age-old attempt to catch up on my back-posting, I have some photos from last winter and some thoughts to accompany them. Without further ado...

I love the earth and all of her seasons, but my feeling toward winter most closely resembles that of the Narnians—perfectly fine when Christmas is coming, but all winter and no Christmas?—No, thank you.

Winter, however, in most of this slice of the northern hemisphere is long and dark and occurs mostly after Christmas. Of necessity, I have tried to reconcile myself to this fact and to find ways to weather, and I daresay even enjoy, winter. The last two winters especially have been a bit of a game-changer for me, and I hope to keep that momentum as the months get colder later this year.

winter provisions which I highly recommend:

• a long, puffy coat - during the darkest winter months, I leave my house for work and arrive home from work in the dark. Scraping one's windshield is much more pleasant with a coat that goes to one's knees and a snaps which button under one's chin or over one's scarf. I finally invested in a classic, quality piece that I love and will wear for the next 15 years at least (unless it wears out sooner through loving overuse).

• an electric blanket - I spent a couple years in an older house in which my back bedroom was a later addition to the original house and not very well-insulated. My electric blanket was a lifesaver. Most models have adjustable heat settings as well as automatic shut-off.

• thick wool socks - no one wants icy feet; from October to April, I basically wear wool socks day-in and night-out.

• an appliance timer - I owe this suggestion to Mallory, who has appliance timers programmed for her living room lamp in the winter—she never comes home to a dark house! I used mine to automatically turn on my space heater when my morning alarms would start sounding; when I lived in the chilly back bedroom (an obvious 10-degree difference from the main room of the house), I could never bear to get out of bed because I would be too cold. This made all the difference in helping me get up for work when it was still dark out. (this is a basic one but you can find them at most grocery stores, Target, and online.)

• vests - the most versatile of layers, in my opinion! You can layer vests with long or short sleeves, with lighter sweaters, even over cardigans. If you work in an office where the door activities let in gusts of wintry air, vests can make all the difference.

• all the tea - I love tea and have tried so many kinds to find my favorites. Lemon ginger and lemon are especially soothing for winter sore throats. I also love HT peppermint (their peppermint is deeply flavorful and I can steep each tea bag at least 2 times with very satisfactory results [I steep most of my tea bags twice but many of them are much, much weaker the second go-round]) and Yogi bedtime tea.

• daylight - This isn't a provision so much as a resource of which one must avail oneself. As I mentioned earlier, I leave and come home in the dark. During the day, I try to expose  myself to as much natural light as possible. I open my blinds at home and at work, and at least once or twice a week, I try to be outside before the sun sets/to watch the sun set.

• balsam-scented candle - Bath & Body Works has for several years carried a balsam fir candle and it is my favorite wintry accompaniment. The scent is perfect leading up to Christmas, but even after Christmas, that woodsy scent brings back the emotional connotation of the early weeks of December.

One thing I love above all about Utah winters is how colorful they are. The east coast winters are bitter cold and dreary grey, while Utah's winter skies are often blue, the sun's warmth still occasionally felt, and the evening light magical more often than not.

Last year I discovered what I hope will continue as winter traditions: the Christkindlmarkt at Pioneer Heritage Park in Salt Lake, Adventsingen, the Lower Lights' Christmas concert (both of their Christmas albums are wonderful), having Buckwheat the cutest dog help to open paper wrapping, Angie's popcorn in holidrizzle flavors (a long-standing tradition), and Ballet West's production of "The Nutcracker."

all the scarves and sweaters are also a necessity!

This week I came across a book titled "Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House" and I could probably borrow that as the title of my someday-memoir—it is all too fitting for me, someone who dreams of quaint rustic architecture and takes photos of door stoops all over Manhattan (guilty as charged: exhibits A, B, and C).

That being said, Society Hill in Philadelphia, is the most darling of neighborhoods and must be documented on this here blog. If you are prone to fall into the same trap as me (that of house-wanderlust), then consider yourself warned!!

When I was home over Christmas break, I'd planned on a day trip into Philly with my sisters, but ended up going solo. There were on-and-off snow flurries and biting cold wind, despite the deceptive sunniness of these photos. On my (heavily bundled) walk through old city Philadelphia, I chatted with a man walking his two greyhounds; he said he always makes a point of passing down the 500-block of Delancey Street when he takes his dogs out or goes for a run—I would, too, if I lived in Center City!

Every row house had its own show of marvelous detail—a windowsill menagerie, a dollhouse-within-a-dollhouse, a Nutcracker perched atop a windowsill, wreaths of every possible bough of wintry greenery, a cheery message penned in chalk on the brick, and all sorts of the expected Christmas decorations rendered in miniature. I could (and did) take it all in for hours.

When the wind chill factor was starting to have an effect on me, I took shelter in some establishments in the more trafficked areas of old city Philadelphia. This sign was too good (and their offerings lived up to this promise). Better yet, I found a new favorite lunch spot in High Street on Market (the best grilled cheese in the world lived up to its name, and homemade potato bread—a Pennsylvania staple).

Lastly, I've walked past this Ross store in Center City probably a hundred times over the course of my life, and I have always loved its historic storefront and the stars in neon lights, but I had never noticed their millinery sign on the frieze—I love that it is still there.