This is Why You Need a Marshmallow Puffy Jacket and Sorel Boots in Boston

Last week Boston got pounded by Blizzard #2 of the season. Unlike Blizzard #1 where I got my first grown-up snow day, this time I was considered "important enough" and had to come into the office. Here is the view of the Arborretum from our front porch.



To get to work, I walk up and down a gigantic hill to the train station. Most of the sidewalks were not yet shoveled. Trees were dropping branches right and left. I got pelted in the eye with a chunk of snow and was momentarily blinded (imagine that- everything went white) and then spent the rest of the morning with mascara smeared all over my face.

This is why puffy jackets and good boots are so essential for Boston winters. I found my boots, brand new Sorels, at a thrift store for $20. And my down puffer North Face jacket? Originally I bought it in college (I went to school in Western Mass). When I moved to New York, I gave the jacket to my big sister in Colorado, because no New Yorker wears a jacket that makes them look like the Michelin Man, no matter how cold it is. And then I moved to Boston, and my very dear sister re-gifted the jacket back to me. Best gift ever, too.



After the blizzard, despite the snow and all the related hazzards while walking to work, the next day was absolutely beautiful.

Let's cook breakfast!

Our cottage in Vermont had an amazing gourmet kitchen.  

We had our own gourmet chef.

I got to be the sous chef!

Central Park in February

I brought my camera on a run again... this time it was sunny, crisp, and beautiful

Guggenheim Museum with a blue sky background.  No matter how cold the winter can get, I always appreciate the sporadic days of mild sunshine to help you remember that spring always follows

Pond at the very North end of Central Park

I'd been running past these ice sculptures for weeks now always meaning to stop and take a picture.  You'd think you were up somewhere up in the woods... not just across the road from 11oth and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, Manhattan, New York.  

We've had a lot of snow so far this winter, so there is probably about 20 different layers of ice melted and frozen here.  The ice sort of wrapped around and curled as it froze, as if it were a stiff blanket draped off the corner of a bed

Snowy Upper East Side

Outside of Louise Hirschfeld's house.  It snowed all day and the city looked amazing once it stopped.

And more snow in New York

More snow outside

Inside a hot breakfast with fresh blueberries, tea, and an omlette-concoction from the best chef in Brooklyn

The Little Cabin in Vermont

Our little cabin... Valentine's Day/ President's Day weekend in Eden Mills, Vermont

No TV, no cell phone coverage, but a fireplace and a gourmet kitchen

We're assuming the lake will be frozen mid February, with less fall foliage

The entire slideshow is here 

Snowy Central Park on a run

I brought my camera on a run yesterday (thank you little zip-lock bag in my pocket).  Central Park, which I now know like the back of my hand was completely transformed.  Absolutely beautiful.  The only tough thing about running in snow like that is your eyes... if you wear sunglasses (yellow lenses), your eyes are protected, but they tend to fog up and you can't see anyways.  Otherwise, the snow clumps onto your lashes and eyebrows.  I think you get to a certain point though where your eyelashes are heavy enough with snow that they actually shield your eyes from the direct snowflake assault.  

Central Park entrance at Columbus Circle

Columbus Circle

Little Snow People in Central Park

I brought my camera on my run today to film a video essay for Nike.  Talk about a warm welcome from these lil' guys!

"Take my wallet!  Take whatever you want!  We're in New York City!"

They look like little bride & groom snow people. 

Non-scientific tips for running outside when it is 9 degrees outside

I'm pretty much the biggest baby out there when it comes to cold tolerance (as in I have none).  Here's what works for me though. 

1. The first one is from Captain Obvious.  Cotton is not your friend.  Anywhere.  
2. Good mittens and hat, and wool socks too.  Saucony makes a great pair of fleece-lined mittens with a windbreaker shell.  I wear a Nike skullcap with a slit in the back for my ponytail.  Totally ingenious.  In the summertime, my toenails fall off, in the winter, my toes feel like they're falling off.  Big thick wool socks are great.  Tall ones too.  Pull them up as high as they'll go.  If you've only got anklets, you can also abstain from shaving your legs for added warmth, but I don't recommend that.  Buy taller socks.
3. When the air is really cold, it can irritate your lungs and make you feel winded.  When your lungs hurt, it feels almost like you are tired-winded, but you're actually not tired.  Believe it or not it gets easier.
4.  Chapstick is great, but not when it has mint or menthol.  I like Burt's Bees Wax Honey Lip Balm.
5. Misery loves company, and peer pressure is a powerful drug.  You'd be amazed at how many suckers are floating around who you can talk into joining you.  Be sure to ask someone super competitive, and emphasize that it's no big deal if they can't handle the cold, you don't mind running alone.
6. But if they have a "prior obligation" and bail on you, get some good distractions.  I personally recommend NPR Talk of the Nation, or beginner's Russian Language podcasts, or CFA Institute lectures on Financial Statement Analysis.  You wont think about cold.
7. Another good idea is to go to the dentist immediately before your run, so that when your face is totally numb from windburn, you really only feel half of it, because your left side is numb from the Novocaine and you can't even tell that you're drooling and it is freezing, because again, you're good an numb.
8. Train for a race, at least.  Running when its that cold just for the sake of "building character" is pretty ridiculous.  Admit it.  At least have a goal, and then you can pretend you're not a total masochist who actually likes little bits of ice chunking on your eyebrows.
9. Fashion here doesn't matter. Forget the cute Victoria's Secret cut and whip out the stash of hardcore (non-cotton) granny undies.  Otherwise, that is a whole lot of extra tush not being shielded with an extra layer of fabric.
10. Run, don't walk or bike.  Too slow and you never get warm in the first place.  Too fast and you make too much wind and get cold.  And while running, remember that both your feet and your nose run.  Perfect your snot rocket, and factor in the wind when you spit, because if you miss, the stuff freezes pretty quickly when it hits your jacket and then has to be sort of scraped off.
11. While you're out running in the aforementioned 9 degree weather, feel free to silently mock all the crazy other runners stupid enough to be outside running.  In your head, make fun of their crazy outfits too, like the surgeon's masks, the tights with basketball shorts over them, and the really dumb ones who still wear shorts.