I don’t know about you, but I’ve been missing the Seasonal Handmade column, so you can imagine how happy I am to announce that Jennifer Simoni is ready to take it on! (She’s obsessed with tags too :) Here’s her first column, full of love for cold winter weather. Welcome her in the comments, and let her know what your favorite seasonal activities are.

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Erika

Everyone’s so down on winter.  True, it’s cold,  icy, and dark. But there are so many fabulous reasons to love winter, I think its time to give it another chance.  Here’s a few reasons why I’m such a fan.

What other time of the year do you get to sport your favorite ski sweaters, hats, gloves and scarves? I love scarves. I try to wear the lightweight ones in the summer, sometimes, but it doesn’t work. It’s hot. So as soon as it gets cooler, I have a scarf on always. They’re cozy, they keep me warm, and sometimes, I’m just more comfortable with one than without. The Blue Birds and Blossoms shop has great hand-knit scarves to satisfy my craving for something cozy, new, and blue.

Another great thing about winter is that good feeling you get when you walk into your home after being outside in the cold. Or when you wake up on a Sunday morning to a snowy, blustery, blizzard-y (I made that word up) day. You’re ridiculously happy to curl up on the couch with a book, magazine, old movie and just stay put. (Maybe if you’re motivated, stir up a little soul-warming chili or soup.) This scene is even more perfect with a cozy, warm blanket like this gem from the Two Seaside Babes shop.

Dry skin can be an annoyance during colder months. My hands age 100 years every winter. But instead of cursing the scaly skin, I use it as an excuse to buy luxurious soy lotions. The Scents in Soy shop has many different scents using aloe, shea better and soy.  (I am also a big fan of soy candles,  which help give my home a more homey feel. ) While on the subject of dry skin, my poor lips are crackly all winter long. I’m incredibly addicted to chapsticks that are extra moisturizing in different flavors, like these from Long Winter Farm. I leave them in coat pockets, purses, jeans pockets, because to be without, even for a few hours, is horrifying. Holly Berry Designs has an ingenious, adorable solution I recently came across for chapstick-addicts like me. A little zipper pouch that attaches to my keys.

That’s just the beginning of my list. There’s a million reasons winter is so cool–pardon the pun. Are you ready to embrace winter and give it another chance?