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Confessions of a Basic Blonde

Confessions of a Basic Blonde

Just another Basic Blog

How to Survive a Brutal Michigan Winter

Home & Lifestyle

Earlier this month, I was wishing for snow and a “real” Michigan winter because it had been unseasonably warm and we didn’t even get to have a white Christmas. Oh, how I wish I could take those thoughts back. I forgot how brutal it is when it is literally painful to walk outside and you can’t run to your car because it is too icy and dangerous.

Spray Tan

I love getting a custom spray tan from Grand City Tanning. My natural skin tone is translucent so I am also worried about looking like an orange when getting a spray tan. The specialists at Grand City are seriously so nice and will get you a great color that looks like a real tan.

I’ve gotten the “complete tan” and the upgraded “ultimate tan” and the ultimate tan lasted about 2 days longer. I recently got an ultimate tan on a Wednesday which still looked perfect for a wedding on Saturday. I get fully undressed because I don’t want lines and it is never weird with the lady spraying my tan, I promise.

Plan a Vacation

The anticipation of planning a trip can be better than the trip itself according to this NYT article, and I have to agree. Dreaming of a trip that I will take to escape the bitter cold is a welcome relief when scraping ice off my car.

Find 1 Thing You Love About Winter

I love a few things about winter, but there are many times I think “why do I even live here when I hate winter so much?”. It is helpful to remind yourself why you like living where you live.

I like that there are no bugs in winter; I like how snow looks when it’s falling outside. I like how cozy being inside with my fireplace on can be. I like living close to family; I like using snow as an excuse to stay in sometimes. I like the variation of seasons and the coziness of huge knitted sweaters.

Focusing on the positive aspects of winter is a nice distraction when you’re bundling up to avoid getting frostbite to get the mail.

Get Indoor Hobbies

When you’re snowed in, you can run out of things to do fast. While I love binge-watching shows on Netflix/Hulu/Prime/HBO, watching TV all day can be really boring. This is the perfect time to catch up on all those craft projects you were going to do “someday”, or tackle decluttering a room, or start reading books you thought you’d read but never have enough time for.

This is also a perfect time to work on computer-related projects like taking a course online to learn a new skill, starting a website or starting an Etsy store with all those craft projects you suddenly are able to finish.

Find Winter Clothes You Don’t Hate

January/February is a great time to buy Winter clothes because more stores have them on major discount to make room for Spring clothes. In Michigan, it is cold and snowy from November-April; so you will be wearing Winter clothes for 6 full months of the year. Winter is a lot easier to handle when you don’t hate your wardrobe that you have to wear 50% of the year.

If this is something you struggle with, I suggest that you do a Marie Kondo-style sorting of your wardrobe to find out what clothes you actually like.

Don’t do a capsule wardrobe though; buy as much as you can reasonably afford so you have a bunch of options to wear during the long winter. Buy sweaters that are only good for a a limited time in the winter (like Christmas sweaters and Valentines sweaters) so you feel like there is some variation in your closet.

Update Your Skin Care Routine

Now is the time to invest in better skin care because your skin is the most dry in winter. You have all that time stuck indoors, so you can add to your skin care routine and really reap the benefits by Spring. Most people I know have a separate routine for Summer vs. Winter because the weather is so dramatically different here. You’ll want to trade out your treatments with drying agents and pick out some products that will add moisture and give you more of a glow.

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January 29, 2019 · Leave a Comment

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Instagram post 2193712286353412802_2064619304 I stand outside in freezing weather for Christmas light parades and I LOVE IT β€οΈπŸŽ„
Instagram post 2189486894331721073_2064619304 I bought a pom pom maker and now my house is covered in pom poms πŸ˜‚ I love it ❀️ I love buying new Christmas decorations but u love DIYing some every year too
Instagram post 2187194120437635245_2064619304 We saw Elf the Musical last night and WOW our local theater people are amazing. It doesn't follow the movie exactly and has all new songs but still great to get  you in the holiday spirit πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„
#elfthemusical #christmascheer #civictheatergrandrapids
Instagram post 2184907578490870219_2064619304 Happy Monday morning! I am loving all the Starbucks seasonal coffees, but honestly love all the options that Biggby has better πŸ™ˆ do you get into the seasonal flavors or stick to your tried and true?
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#michigrammer #michiganoverboard #michigander #midwestblogger #michiganblogger #westmichigan #grandrapidsblogger #midwestmoment #biggbycoffee #coffeeaddict #coffeetimeβ˜•
Instagram post 2183606393452365625_2064619304 Brunch is my love language 🍳πŸ₯žβ€οΈ also I'm going to wear this sweater pretty much every weekend for the rest of winter. If @abercrombie has the sherpa on sale Black Friday you have to buy it.
Instagram post 2183064415539045998_2064619304 Nom πŸ₯§ 😍I'm so ready for Thanksgiving foods but couldn't wait to make myself an apple pie 🍎 I got fun pie crust molds and pie crust shields and I think they worked really well! .
#wiltonpie #applepie🍎  #thanksgivingready #midwestmoment #michiganblogger
Instagram post 2179538861938506771_2064619304 More Christmas decor because I can't get enough 😍 I got these trees and the deer made of bark from a craft show and I'm so glad I did πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„
Instagram post 2178644836998129874_2064619304 I love everything involved with Christmas and do not wait until December to decorate πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„
Instagram post 2165611049733207332_2064619304 Happy #nationalcatday to my sassy pants cat who loves with my parents πŸ˜‚ Chaos lives up to his name and begs for attention or food in between epic staredowns.🐈🐾

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