Yay- Winters here. Not.

You know how people love winter? They get excited about the chill in the air? Well that is not me. I hate winter. Yep- hate it. I get no joy from the bloody chill in the air, I hate the rain (no I don't care how good it is for the garden) and to be honest wearing boots and big jumpers is not my idea of a good time. Right about now you are probably wondering then why I would choose to go skiing. That would be because I am a little bit pretentious. Only joking- no one had better have agreed with that. I enjoy skiing because the snow is made for the cold. There are good heaters, there are places to put your coat, you can wear a beanie no matter how daggy it looks and it is quite alright and acceptable to wear your ugg boots everywhere.

So today it was cold. I work in Kalamunda where it is colder than cold. Infact in the morning the temperature dips usually by about 5 degrees by the time I get to work. I was underprepared with a basic school girl error. I had cold feet. You look around and every hillbilly (I mean that nicely) had their boots and socks on. I forgot.  So here are my tips to survive winter.

Layers- Layers are your friend. If you layer correctly you can still wear your super cute spring clothes. I always have on leggings, and singlet and a long sleeve Metalicus top under my clothes. Metalicus is a god send in winter, because it is fine and warm, and it goes under anything.

 I like one with a 3/4 sleeve- better for under jumpers or other tops.

Speaking leggings, Bonds are always good, you can buy them at the supermarket and get them in different lengths so if you are wearing a skirt you can go 3/4, but I may have been known to wear my Skins as leggings. I discovered this when I was marathon training. They not only aid recovery but all that lycra means one tight, firm smooth butt. Winning on all levels!

They may be expensive- but check out that lycra! Or whatever they call that stuff they are made from.

Embrace your inner scarf- Scarves are an absolute winner. My friend passed on the tip to me that as long as you change your scarf you can wear the same base outfit everyday. Genius. Scarves can keep your neck warm, your shoulders warm, or act as a nice little rug to place over your knees. I tend to wear a lot of black so I go for some colours (but not too much colour). You must have a nice big black scarf and a chunky one like this one from Sussan 

              Oh and of course a Fremantle Dockers Scarf.

There are a kazillion ways to tie a scarf, check out Pintrest for ideas. Some of them are a bit naff, but others are cute.

Just a little tip though- Scarves and necklaces don't mix. Those little buggers get caught in everything.

Embrace you inner Kate Middleton- and buy a coat. Coats are the bomb. They can keep you toasty, and they can hide a crap outfit underneath. They are also the best option if you are going out for dinner and want to wear a sexy little frock. I'm digging this coat from Witchery

It's $399, but coats as long as they are classic are a good investment.  Sussan has some cheaper ones. I have no words for how much I love this pink one.

The only down side to coats is that it is a little hard to wear your hand bag, especially is you have a shoulder bag. First world problem I know- but still a problem.

Footwear- I have four words. Long boots, black ankle boots, brown ankle boots and Ugg boots. Done.

 My life would be complete with these.

Here is also a tip - buy your boots a half size bigger so you can wear you thick hiking socks underneath. Remember what Nanna says- if your feet are arm, everything is warm.

Hats- Nanna also would have said that if you head is warm, everything else is warm. Well Nanna is correct, but to be honest I am not a big lover of winter hats. I think they look...stupid. Wear a hat if you must, but in my opinion Berets belong in France. On old seedy french men in striped t-shirts who paint with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. Beanies are ok for the weekend, sport, camping, skiing or if you are under 12.

Witchery  have some cute ones, including the faux leather hat thing

 and Sportsgirl have more hats and beanies than you could wear in 20 winters.

Wear your exercise gear to bed. Yes you heard. Unless your tip to keeping warm in winter is to gain a few kilos- you still need to exercise. It is hard to get out of bed at 5am any morning but the cold makes it even worse. I go to bed in my running pants, sports bra and top in winter. All I need to do it pop on my shoes, a jumper, pop my eyes in and brush my teeth and I am good to go. For exercising I really prefer proper sporting brands like Nike, but go to Gloria Jeans, sorry Lorna Jane, if you must. There stuff is good for walking, and they do know how to put an outfit together. lulu lemon are also pretty cool, but also pretty pricey.

                                 This would work.  

In order to make rain, God has to suck the moisture out of everything else. So that means in Winter you will have dry lips, dry skins and dry hair. You will need lots of lip balm- I like Elizabeth Ardens 8 hour cream, or good old fashioned Blistex. I don't do Lucas Papaw Ointment myself, but lots do.

The good thing about Papaw Ointment and 8 Hour Cream is that you can use it on your nose when it gets all sore from your cold. You must also have more than 1 lip balm. You will lose them all.

My dry skin also gets drier. I have issues removing myself from the shower in the morning when it is cold, so I am going to use the Nivea In shower lotion. It will give me an extra few minutes in the shower in the morning.  

So the good things about winter? You can eat pies at the football, and you can stay in bed on the weekends in your tracky. Yep. Thats about it. Oh and my mum will invite us over for dinner and she will make Lamb Shanks. And her lamb shanks are gooooood.

all images are via the clothes websites, and if there are more spelling and grammar mistakes than usual. I'm sorry. I'm tired and hungry. I'm not myself when I'm hungry.