On Friday morning, we headed downtown to take Katherine to see Disney's Frozen On Ice.  Dressed in her "Elsa" dress, we told Katherine it was "Coronation Day" and that we were going to see Elsa and Anna.  She was so excited.  We left the house promptly one hour before show time.  This was not enough time.  At all.  We arrived downtown only to be stuck in "Frozen" traffic with only 30 minutes left before showtime.  After taking a few side streets, it became obvious we were not getting any where near the arena where the show was being held.  We ended up having to park four blocks away and literally running to the arena with only 10 minutes left until showtime.  After wandering aimlessly and scaling a wall (yes we climbed over a wall to get to our seats), we finally made it to our seats as the show was starting.  Talk about a close call.

Anyway, Katherine absolutely loved the show.  She couldn't take her eyes off of the ice.  Even when the show went to intermission, Katherine stood at the rail and watched the empty ice, not taking her eyes off for a second.


She was completely worn out on the ride home.

For dinner, we took advantage of Fish Fry season here in St. Louis before hunkering down for yet another snow storm.

Katherine loves the snow and sometimes calls it "icing," at which point she grabs a handful and shoves it in her mouth.  This gave me the idea to make Snow Cream (using this recipe), but unfortunately if the snow isn't coming straight from the ground, Katherine doesn't want to eat it.  Fail.



What else do you do when you're snowed in?  Make as many sweet treats as possible.  So, I decided to make homemade donuts (recipe here).  I had some trouble with the dough, but they still turned out fine.  I even added some chocolate ganache to some of them.  My poor misshapen donuts looked ridiculous, but tasted great.  Fail-ish.



A quick Katherine story before we go:

Katherine loves watching The Voice.  She'll sit and watch it for hours, clapping and cheering on each contestant after their performances.

Katherine (after almost every contestant) : "Yay song!  You did great!"

After a contestant chose a coach:
Me:  "Katherine which team would you pick to be on?"
Katherine:  "Elsa's."
Me:  "You'd pick Elsa's team?"
Katherine:  "Elsa's or Daddy's."

I hope you all had a wonderful and lovely Valentine's Day!  We kept it pretty simple around here (like we do most years).

Saturday morning, Katherine opened her Valentine's (with crazy wild bedhead), and of course did some dancing in the living room.



When Jason got home from work later, we had our family Valentine dinner at Jason's (and Katherine's) favorite restaurant.  It was the perfect Valentine's date.


Valentine's Day was followed by frigid temps and snow, which I was actually excited for since our last snow was back before Thanksgiving.  We spent Monday morning eating cinnamon rolls and watching Frozen, before heading out to play in the snow.




Katherine had so much fun in the snow.  Of course, she danced in the snow.  Because that's what she does.  She dances.

It looks like the cold temps are sticking around this week.  I can't complain too much because it's been a fairly mild winter for us so far.  I mean, last week we were playing outside in 70 degree weather.

We're busy planning our second (second?!) birthday around here and waiting anxiously for spring.  And recovering from a long snowy weekend.

Happy Tuesday friends!

Oh winter. 

This year our first snow storm came the first week of December.  I feel like we've had a winter storm every week since then.  Normally, I like winter.  I mean, I don't hate it.  Winter is usually a welcomed change from the summer heat and autumn allergies.  Most years, I enjoy a nice snow day or two.  This year I can't count the number of snow days we've had.  I literally lost count. 

{There's a pond under there somewhere.}

Once again, St. Louis was blanketed with several inches of snow this week.  Each time it snows, it's been too cold to actually go outside and enjoy it.  I'm beginning to think we'll never get over this cabin fever.  Ever.  The snow barely melts before we get covered with more.  But when life gives you lemons.....actually when life gives you snow, make snow cream.

There are many different snow cream recipes online (Pinterest).  This time I used about 1/2 a cup of half and half, about 1/4 a cup of sugar, and a splash of vanilla....give or take.  I added snow until I got the consistency I wanted. 

{Fresh snow}

{Snow cream}

At this point, we've had enough snow for me to open a snow cream stand in the front yard.  It's a tempting idea. 

Saying I'm ready for spring is an understatement.  Until then, we'll stay inside counting the days.
 

Normally I like winter.  I welcome the cooler weather and don't hate the snow, but this year I'm definitely having a case of the "Winter Blahs."  Lately it's snowed almost every other day, it's too cold to go outside, and just about everyone has the flu, leaving me unwilling to leave the house.  This particular winter has been more blustery than usual, causing a mad case of cabin fever.  I've been lacking the motivation to get anything done lately, making me feel even worse.  I could really use a nice warm(er) sunny day, but until that happens I'm trying to stay busy with crafts and scarf making. 

This week the polar vortex returned, as did Katherine's Christmas cold.  Awesome.   I spent the week making drip beef sandwiches, potato soup, and flat apple pie.  It's true what they say about winter:  cold weather causes the "winter munchies." 

In addition to eating everything in the pantry, I started working on some Valentine's Day crafts, including a Valentine's paper garland.

I used a punch cutter to cut hearts out of glitter paper, then I sewed the hearts together using my sewing machine.  Basically, I just started a thread going, then attached the hearts one after the other.  Super easy. 



Hopefully I can keep the productivity going.  On another note, all fashion scarves are now just $12 at the etsy shop!  Get a cute scarf to carry you into spring.  Ahhhh spring.  I can't wait.

This week Mother Nature dropped an arctic blast on St. Louis (as well as a majority of the northeastern part of the country), which included 10+ inches of snow and temperatures in the negatives.  Monday the high was literally -1 with wind chills in the -20s.  It's times like this that I'm thankful I don't have to get out and go to work. 

It wasn't all bad.  We had a warm house, lots of groceries, and no reason to brave the frigid temperatures (except Jason had to go to work, poor guy). 




On Sunday morning I made chocolate gravy.  Every time is snows, I always make chocolate gravy.  Since moving to St. Louis, I was surprised to know how many people here had never heard of chocolate gravy.

Chocolate Gravy

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 stick of butter

What To Do
Mix the sugar, cocoa, and flour together in a saucepan with a whisk.  Slowly whisk in the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Remove the pan from the heat when the mixture is thick like pudding.  Add the butter and vanilla and stir until completely melted.  Serve over biscuits.



So good on a cold day!  Happy "Polar Vortex" Week!  Stay warm!

{Ice covering everything.}

{Callie didn't mind the cold once her sweater was on.}

{Sammie did not like the ice.  She liked her coat even less.}

{Just me, a cup of hot cocoa, and Netflix via the Wii.}

Last week St. Louis and the surrounding area was under a "Blizzard Warning."  For most of the week most of the city was paralyzed by ice and snow.  With several inches of snow and ice on the ground I stayed in the house all week.  After stocking up on essentials, I made a date with my recliner, hot cocoa, and Netflix.

Luckily we kept our electricity through out the four day ordeal.  Besides minor chilly discomfort from the dogs, everyone survived.  Because I had nothing better to do, I ended up baking.  I made a loaf of bread and chocolate cobbler.

While I like Winter, I am more than ready for Spring.  For now I'll just daydream about sundresses and sandles.  With more winter weather already on the way again I'll have to dream a little longer.

{I baked a loaf of bread.}

{Chocolate cobbler.}

{Vince sweater, Vince wool dress, scarf gifted, Gatta tights, Ugg boots.}

It's been so cold outside lately that I've planned every outfit around thick tights or leggings and some form of Ugg footwear.  I've found that wearing tights and leggings are warmer and more comfortable than jeans, and though I originally tried to stay away from daily Ugg use, they are the warmest shoe.  My closet is full of wool and cashmere dresses.  This seems to be my winter uniform.  My favorite leggings are Gatta imported from Poland.

{Snow Day.}

Yesterday a frigged winter blast dumped 3 inches of snow on St. Louis.  Along with the freezing temps and snow, the wind chill made it feel like at least 10 below 0.  Luckily I had planned ahead.  I bought plenty of groceries and refused to leave the house.  I wouldn't have even gone outside if it weren't for my 2 dogs.   

This was Sammie's first time in the snow and while I assumed she would freak out at the sight of it, she instead embraced it.  It was hard to even get her back into the house.  Callie on the other hand does not like anything wet on the ground.  She did not appreciate the snow.  Every time I took her out, she looked at me like "you're kidding right?".

{ Sammie in the snow.}

When I wasn't freezing outside with the dogs, I was inside making sure to stay warm and cozy.  I was thankful that I didn't have to go anywhere.

{A cup of Christmas Tea with peppermint stick.} {A fire in the fireplace.  This means Christmas scented candles.}