Hello all! This post is going to be a little different. I haven’t really worn makeup in quite some time due to the fact that my skin is FREAKING out because I stupidly tried to use some Melaleuca oil on it KNOWING that my skin is too sensitive for it. Even with coconut oil to dilute it, I still got pretty bad rashes all over my face so I’ve been putting as minimal of an amount of things on my face as possible to get it to heal and normalize out faster.

So instead I thought it would be nice to do a post about all the things that I’ve been LOVING to keep me warm and cozy during this abnormally cold winter we’ve been having in So Cal.

First, I’ve been drinking / eating a ton of SOUP. I like soup, because if it’s one of those days where I’m just too cold to drink a smoothie (which I often still make at least a small one anyway), I can still pack a soup with lots of veggies to give it tons of nutrients. My current favorite is my take on an Italian Wedding soup. It’s hearty, healthy, and yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 qt box of chicken stock (vegetable stock works if you’re vegetarian / vegan)
• About 10 cooked meatballs or however many you’d like (Ikea has some delicious vegan meatballs to keep this vegetarian / vegan)
• 2 cups of cubed butternut squash
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms (I use whichever one I have on hand)
• 3 heaping handfuls of a power greens mix (I get a big bag at Costco, but Traders Joes and most grocery stores will have something similar – spinach, kale and baby chard)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tablespoon of olive oil

In a large pot, heat up the olive oil and sautee the onion to bring out the sweetness. Once it’s about halfway cooked, pour in the chicken stock. Then add the meatballs, butternut squash, and mushrooms. Bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, bring it back down to a med-low and simmer for about 10 – 15 mins (until the meatballs are heated through & butternut squash is fork tender). Then (while still on med-low) add the mix greens in and stir until they are completely wilted. Turn off the stove and add salt and pepper as needed. I personally don’t add either, because there’s a TON of flavor with the squash, meatballs, mushrooms and onions, but most people like things saltier than I do so I usually let my guests (and husband) add salt and pepper as they like.

The most common thing I’ve been doing is curling up in my  Barefoot Dreams Robe that hubby got me for Christmas. I’m in LOVE:

“We” bought it off of Amazon because this color wasn’t available at Nordstroms, it was Prime eligible, and I wasn’t sure how it would fit so I wanted to make sure that returns would be easy (I’ve never bought anything directly from the Barefoot Dreams website).

I also have been enjoying some Abuelita Mexican Hot Chocolate (I think it’s cheaper at Target, but if it’s not available in a store near you, you know you can get some at Amazon) in my GIANT Central Perk coffee mug. The one I have I got on Black Friday years ago and I have no idea what site it was. Mines a 24oz latte cup, but this one is very similar just a more reasonable size (16oz).

In case you haven’t noticed yet, most of my links to Amazon are for Prime eligible products. That’s because I’m HUGE fan of the Amazon Prime Program. It makes shopping so much easier and considering how much I buy on Amazon, it is totally worth it for the free 2 day shipping. If you have signed up for Prime yet, I honestly really believe that it’s totally worth it and if you’re a student, you can sign up for 6 months for free! For more info click here.