You may have noticed that I did not email you before Black Friday. This was somewhat intentional: I've noticed that over the years I receive more and more emails during that week and it overwhelms me. I just didn't want to add to that chaos. I will be emailing you a few times before Christmas because it's a beautiful season, and also because I'm launching some products that I'm very very very excited about, and want to make sure you see them!
This email is mostly a few things I do before Christmas to make the season extra special and memorable
1. Foods that make my heart warm
Although our Florida winters are much milder than the rest of the worlds', we do still get some chilly nights in November and December. Cole and I actually don't turn on the heat in the winter, so those 50° nights can feel extra cold.
During these winter months I try to focus on making foods that warm my heart: soups, broths, bone marrow, sourdough bread, sourdough cinnamon buns, steaks, etc. For the most part we try to buy fruits and veggies that are seasonal: squashes, potatoes, carrots, grapefruits (from our garden!). You can find the foods that are in season near you on this site. Switching to these types of foods serves a few purposes: they're more economical (broths/stews are really inexpensive per serving!), they're warm and they're seasonal.
I also try to add more raw egg yolks to our diet (I know it's strange to us in America, but people around the world often consume raw eggs/runny eggs).
My favorite recipe:
- 1 cup of raw cow milk kefir
- A few egg yolks (pasture raised, organic!)
- some maple syrup to sweeten
This winter season I've started making sourdough bread again and it's been very fun. I can tell I'm already putting on some extra weight and padding to prepare for the cold months ahead - no shame in that! If you've never made sourdough bread, I'd encourage you to buy a starter right from this lady on Etsy. She'll send you a dehydrated packet and instructions - it's a very healthy sourdough! Trust me. Once you've got the sourdough starter, definitely make this sourdough cinnamon bun recipe! I use only spelt flour and it seems to be easier to digest than Einkorn was for me.
2. Old Christmas music
Is there anything better than a vintage Christmas playlist? Just go on Youtube and type those words out - you'll love ever minute of it!
3. Reading a special book every year
Each year we read this wonderful book One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham. It's been a really fun tradition! We usually sit by the fireplace and read a chapter each day up until Christmas Day.
4. Simple and vintage Christmas decorations
I've been loving using more natural materials to decorate this year: pine cones, pine branches, dried berries, dehydrated orange slices, etc. Go on a walk with your family, a backpack/basket, and something to cut branches.
5. Not buying gifts
I know this is a little unconventional, but for the past few years we haven't done almost any gifts (last year we did 0 gifts!). Not only does it save money, but it also saves time and energy and really decreases stress! We prefer to focus on making delicious foods, playing games and enjoying one another. It has been a source of great joy for us. I'll let you know if this changes once we have kids :)
6. Enjoying being outdoors when it's chilly
When I lived in the North of France the winters were incredibly cold and grey. One of the things I did to avoid seasonal depression was having lots of candles, warm lights, and tea. I also made sure to get outside even when it was grey and cold. It helped me to romanticize the winters by wearing cute hats, scarves, coats and gloves as well as buying lots of fun teas.
Candles use code ORGANICDARLINGS10 to get 10% off these non toxic candles :)
What are some of your holiday traditions? Let me know!
