i promise i'm alive

hi.

i apologize for my absence. i've been feeling distracted lately. and i've kinda been busy. and the dog ate my homework. and i'm sure i could come up with more excuses but i'll stop. i've been meaning to spend some time on here. it'll happen. i'm coming 'round.

and, oh yeah, it snowed..

 

and snowed..

and snowed some more.

so much so that i got a snow day from work.

the great blizzard of 2011 dropped 22" on our fair city.

that's a lot of snow, my friends.

i realize these pictures are about a week and a half late but better late than never. plus now that the snow is finally melting, i kind of miss it. yes, i am one of those crazy people who loves snow.

one of the good things about blizzards and snow days and winter in general is beef stew. i feel like everyone was talking about beef stew the week of the blizzard. bon appetit, epicurious, real simple. aka everyone. how could i not make some?? i followed this stew recipe but i sped up the process so that my total cooking time was about 1 1/2 hours and i completely skipped the oven steps. was that bad? i'm not sure. i guess it technically didn't have enough time to stew but me and my snowed in friends still found it to be satisfactory.

the temperature on friday is supposed to reach 50. 50! i'm going to feel so lost. i don't remember how you're supposed to dress for over temperatures above freezing! 

i know exactly how this little guy feels

this is what i look like when it's snowing. i get so giddy.

on the first snowfall of the season..

i took a little walk..

i only slipped on the ice four times..

i paid tribute to a great man..

i shocked my yoga instructor by actually coming to class on a saturday morning..

i attended a cooking demonstration by julia della croce..

and i ended the day with friends, spiked cider, dancing and, of course, ugly sweaters.

i love this time of year. bring it on, winter.