what do to during a Cold Day (or four)

It's no secret that the Midwest has been suffering through some ridiculously cold and snowy weather this winter thanks to the high pressure system that's giving the west coast a horrible drought and shoving the arctic "polar vortex" too far down the continent. Thanks to extreme cold, Ben and I have had four bonus days to stay home from work this month. Hooray! Ben is going to be teaching until late June at this rate, but I've enjoyed the extra time to relax and recover from the horrible headcold I've been dealing with for the past several days. Plus, I actually love being stuck at home, since I have too many hobbies and my funemployment period trained me well in the art of filling time.

Here's our typical "Cold Day" routine:

Step One: Sleep in a little later than usual, obviously.

Step Two: Make a luxuriously fancy breakfast. Don't worry, I'm planning on sharing more recipe posts again!!

Step Three: Crank up the space heater and get some actual work done, because you are a responsible adult. (And your supervisor might read your blog…)

Step Four: Work up a sweat and burn off some cabin fever by bundling up and hiking to the gym (for the super dedicated only), or find a workout you can do in front of the space heater. I've curated quite the collection of at-home workout ideas on Pinterest! Find me at amv201, or search for Anna Locke.

 (frozen strawberries blended with coconut water)

 (vegan tuna salad via Oh She Glows)

 (fancy salad for vitamins)

 (pureeing coconut flakes is magical)

Step Five: Make an ambitious gourmet lunch and/or have a kitchen adventure.

Step Six: Snuggle up on the couch with some tea or wine and knit an enormous scarf to keep yourself warm.

And repeat!

How have you been surviving the cold? And how many days left until spring???