It’s cold here in Portland! Brrr. East Coast level cold, even. People look at me like I’m a crazy person when I’m riding my bike cold. It’s kind of nice. I think winter should have at least a few bone chillingly cold days. Besides, with the globe warming up the way it is, it might not be long before we’ll all be looking back fondly on the good old days when we’d freeze our patooties off in January.

As much as I like the fact that it’s cold outside, it doesn’t mean that I want it to be cold inside. The heater in my apartment is cranked up and running like a pack of lemurs towards a cliff… not that it’s going to jump off a cliff, it’s just running hard and with determination… don’t make me explain myself to you. Anyway, the toasty god-sent that is my heater is, like heaters tend to do, making my skin dry. Really really dry. I mean, I don’t assume that I am alone here. Who doesn’t turn into an chapped up alligator to some extent in the winter months? No one I know.

I’m one of those people who is always looking for new and interesting ways to make skin smoother, softer, less puffy, and what-have you. Vinegar, Aspirin, Vaseline, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Green Tea, Honey, Avocados, Salt, Egg Whites… I’m always putting crazy stuff on my skin in various combinations. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t, but there’s a certain joy and excitement in discovery. It’s almost a hobby. Anyway, forget all that, because when it’s seriously cold out and my skin is seriously dry, it’s no time for messing around in the kitchen, it’s time to pull out the tried and true heavy artillery, that’s right, good old lotion. And I mean good old lotion. I don’t mess with that slippery greasy stuff that you can get, only only put silky smooth moisturizing angel goo on my hands. For instance, the Cote Bastide Linen Lotion tester on the counter is quickly depleting thanks to yours truly. Mmmmm, it sinks right into your skin and it smells like getting into a bed freshly made with sheets straight out of the dryer. I love doing that. Also, for the days when I feel like using my silky smooth arms to hug a tree, we’ve got the Ciel Well Being Spa Moisturizer laying around waiting for me to hijack it, this lovely skin cream is all organic and Paraben free and it smells like Geranium, Orange, Lavender, and Ylang-Ylang. It gives a whole new meaning to soft and sweet. Yes, I thank you moisturizer, for curing my wintertime blues. My knuckles and elbows thank you too.