11 reasons why I love winter

I'm not going to lie. This isn't exactly my favorite time of the year as the holiday season tends to stress me out. Traffic is stop and go, checkout lines are horrendously long, clutter spreads and takes over the stores, and the weather gets freezing cold. These are enough reasons to quickly turn me into a scrooge. 

But the things that I DO love about this time of year outweigh the cons. Winter certainly brings back so many childhood memories and gives me that warm tingly feeling inside. (Now when I say "winter," I'm referring to Arizona's average high of 60 degree sunny weather, not negative zero blistering storms.)

I always look forward to:

1.) Sipping on hot chocolate. The ones with the teeny tiny marshmallows are my favorite. 

2.) Layering up in my clothes, and sometimes even wearing the same jacket over-n-over again. I can get lazy when it comes to picking out an outfit. It's excusable around this time of year, and  makes for a  great way in hiding my little muffin top. ;)

3.) Wearing those cute boots that have been collecting dust the last 8 months. Oh, and the scarves.

4.) Seeing the mountains covered in snow. This makes for a great scenery, especially being that I live in the desert and we hardly see any white blankets of fluffiness.

5.) Lighting up all the candles in my house. And by this, I mean all, even if they are 5 different scents.

6.) Eating warm and hearty soups.

7.) Bundling up on the couch and reading my favorite books, or blogs.

8.) Holiday parties and more family get-togethers.

9.) Secret Santa and White Elephant gift exchanges amongst close friends and coworkers. I love these for some reason. Maybe it's the "surprise" of it that appeals to me.

10.) Saving gas and electricity by cutting out any a/c usage. 

11.) Taking a really hot shower on a really cold morning. This is the best.