The Great Indoors

It finally got cold in Southwest China this week.

And I hear it’s about to warm up after this weekend.

Darn.  I’m a true Wisconsinite at heart I guess, given that one of my disappointments regarding my trip back to the states this past November was that it was a balmy sixty degrees in Plymouth many of the days I was there.  I was a little miffed, but thankful that I’d least I’d made it to Canada and the north country where it was predictably and actually cold!

So instead of complaining, I’m trying to both enjoy the suitable running weather, and the whole hunkering down indoors when it’s chilly outside feeling while it lasts.

Here are a few of my indoor aspirations for the fleeting chilly weekend.  How will you spend yours?

There will be coffee.  And thanks to good ‘ol U.S. of A., it will be the good stuff:

And since strawberries are a winter fruit and are extra sweet here in China (don’t ask me why or how, they just are!), I’ll be enjoying these simple pleasures.

And if you’ll permit me to talk oatmeal once again, I insist that another gal’s oatmeal obsession is behind mine this time.  Jen has been blogging a month of oatmeals, and her honey-banana-walnut one got me thinking, why have I never thought of peanut butter and honey oatmeal before?  I’ll be trying that one this weekend!

I’ll be doing my Christmas shopping online, which may not be the most festive, but definitely the most efficient.  Jo has some great ideas for all those wonderful people in your life, although as a true Wisconsinite, these little numbers just have to be my favorite for somebody’s buns this season…

Winter days and the holidays can make even the most undomestic feel like baking, which means I’ll be looking for something to put in my crockpot. This cake sounds good, or maybe this one (we found blueberries yesterday). I can’t decide. But this cream sounds miraculous, and a promising Chinese solution to the no whipped cream thing.

I’ve been enjoying this pumpkin spice candle I brought back, as well as some Ghiradelli peppermint bark.

Chances are I’ll be spending a lot of time with this guy, too.

Now, don’t you feel me. Winter days are the new rainy days. How will you spend ’em?

Have a good weekend.