Although this is my favorite time of year – the air is crisper; the days are more overcast; I don’t necessarily feel the need to shave my legs everyday because of thick tights and leggings – for many of us, the holiday season is a time of shrinking bank accounts and increasing ulcers. It’s a time where we see sometimes the worst of humanity. Google “Black Friday shopping mobs” and prepare to question mankind. Family gatherings bring on a sense of dread because you know someone is going to bring up politics and HRC’s emails.
So to not completely lose my mind this November, here’s just some of my holiday season survival items.
‘Tis the Season For…
Califa Farms Almondmilk Creamer
I am addicted to coffee. Actually, scratch that. I am addicted to coffee with a flavored cream. With the weather going colder, my typical morning cup turns into a couple of cups. Fine, three or four cups.
Typically, I’m a Coffeemate/International Delight French Vanilla girl. But recently, I did some deep diving into those creamers, and I came to this conclusion: there’s barely any cream in them. In fact there’s a whole lot of ingredients that I’m pretty certain were used to create the first atomic bomb.
So I said goodbye to my artificial coffee creamers and discovered Califa Farms and their line of almond milk creamers. They’re all natural and contain no artificial ingredients. My favorite? Along with vanilla, I’m a fan of their Irish Cream.
Restoration Hardware French Oak Hand Cream
I work in a school setting, and although I love my job, schools are a life size petri dish. On a typical day, I’m washing my hands almost every hour. So, when the colder weather hits, my hands fall victim.
Sure I could break out the Jergen’s or Nivea, but my go-to fall/winter hand cream is Restoration Hardware’s French Oak line. That’s right. Restoration Hardware.
Y’know. The company who makes a leather couch that costs that same as your 2012 Acura RDX.
Is this not your typical place to get hand cream? Sure. Could I possibly just run to CVS and find something less…first world privileged? Absolutely. However, this hand cream isn’t overpowering, absorbs quickly, and makes my hands feel that they’re not going to break apart when I’m typing at my computer.
Teddie Sweater
I am a sweater girl. The minute the temperature drops below 70 degrees, I unabashedly break out those cotton-wool blend treasures and rock them until late April.
Any J.Crew Factory fan knows that the outlet’s Teddie sweater far surpasses the J.Crew’s full priced Tippi sweater. Also, I would like to apologize right now for how ridiculous and over privileged that reads. To say that I love the Teddie sweater line is an understatement: I already own six and plan on expanding my collection. They’re comfortable, versatile, and because of “factory” pricing, affordable even by J.Crew and their $200 t-shirt standards.
Soup
Who doesn’t love soup? First of all, you can make it and have leftover for days. It’s easy to freeze when the thought of having it for a third day in a row makes you want to burn your microwave to the ground. The best part about it? Almost any soup recipe is foolproof. Almost. I tried making a sweet potato and cumin soup that ended up becoming either baby food or wall spackle.
My favorite recipe? Pasta e Fagioli from Delish. It’s simple and amazing.
