Behind The Butter

snuggies and other important things

Winter means….

  • hibernating in a snuggie and knee socks.
  • stashing linzer cookies and chili away for the season.
  • burning through $26.00 of hot wood every two evenings.
  • perfecting the art of s’more making.
  • openly blasting the Christmas music you’ve secretly been playing since August.
  • baking three new batches of holiday cookies per week for “research”.
  • watching Shark Week episodes from 2009 while wrapped in above mentioned snuggie.
  • forgetting what the sun looks like.
  • dreaming of beef stew, maple on snow candy and yeast raised waffles.
  • more butter.
  • more jean lunges.
  • more wine.
  • asking your mother for the sixth year in the row if she found your Santa pillow yet.
  • shaving your legs once a week.
  • the previous statement was a joke! Maybe..not really.

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  • Carrie (Love Healthy Living)
    December 4, 2010 at 8:53 am

    I love your list but I’m happy that I have a gas fireplace. $26?!? Eek! 🙂

  • megan @ whatmegansmaking
    December 4, 2010 at 9:02 am

    Coming from someone who baked 2 batches of cookies this morning, and decorated a third, I think your list is perfect. I only wish I had a snuggie.

  • Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen
    December 4, 2010 at 9:03 am

    HA! Love the shaving of the legs once. Totally me. And I’ve been on a serious hunt for a good yeast raise waffles recipe, too! That has Christmas morning all over it. 😉

  • Raya
    December 4, 2010 at 9:04 am

    Question…what do you use to edit your photos? And also, what kinds of things do you play around with when editing? Like…brightness, color, etc…?

  • Jim
    December 4, 2010 at 9:04 am

    I’ll add a few.

    * Play more xbox.
    * Vege out more.
    * Drink more Scotch.
    * Eat more english muffins with cinnamon sugar.

  • alexis
    December 4, 2010 at 9:09 am

    you are just too awesome. Love this list. Your blog is one of my favorite things to read every day. Snuggle up!

  • lindsay Perrone (goodiesgalore)
    December 4, 2010 at 9:11 am

    My legs are a crime.

  • Natalia - a side of simple
    December 4, 2010 at 9:17 am

    Agree, agree, agree! Don’t forget pretending you’re Laura during the “The Long Winter!” 😉

    • mitzi
      December 4, 2010 at 4:57 pm

      that comes into play with the maple on snow candy!

  • Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
    December 4, 2010 at 9:18 am

    I wonder what it means when I shave my legs once a week in the summer. Probably nothing good. Especially for my marriage!

  • Lauren at KeepItSweet
    December 4, 2010 at 9:22 am

    haha so true… i am going to need to do a LOT of jean lunges this season

  • neiry mae
    December 4, 2010 at 9:26 am

    hahaha, try shaving your legs once every 3-4 weeks.

    my reasoning is it’ll keep me warmer in the winter and i’m, essentially, saving money by not having to warm up in other costly ways.

    it all comes back to the mula, doesn’t it?

  • rebecca lustig
    December 4, 2010 at 9:27 am

    winter TOTALLY means more wine and shaving the legs once a week. Absolutely!

  • Michele @ Healthy Cultivations
    December 4, 2010 at 9:32 am

    Snuggies are entirely underrated. People make fun, but they’re perfect for reading, drinking tea or hot cocoa, and using a remote control without getting cold. I think they’re genius.

  • Lauren
    December 4, 2010 at 9:32 am

    Love this list! Cookie making for “research” while listening to Christmas music sounds like the perfect day.

  • marge
    December 4, 2010 at 9:34 am

    once a week! … I am looking at more like once a month…

  • Hillary
    December 4, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Mmmm beef stew. My boyfriend and I have been wanting to make beef stew. Please make some so I know I will have a great recipe. If you don’t shave your legs it adds extra insulation so less need for the snuggie! haha

  • Deanna (PRetty in Pittsburgh)
    December 4, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Amen on the leg shaving, sister!

  • Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin
    December 4, 2010 at 9:46 am

    You don’t even want to know how long its been since I’ve shaved my legs! 😛

  • Camille
    December 4, 2010 at 9:53 am

    I wish I lived closer to you. We would so be best friends.

  • Cathy B. @ Bright Bakes
    December 4, 2010 at 9:55 am

    if no snuggie is on hand….pajamas are also perfectly acceptable baker apparel. 🙂 I love your list!
    love,
    cathy b.

  • Amanda
    December 4, 2010 at 9:56 am

    Amen to not shaving our legs in the winter! I think I average once a week if I’m on a roll, lol.

  • Baking 'n' Books
    December 4, 2010 at 9:59 am

    Shaving? Check.

    How long does it take you to put up a post by the way for your recipes? They are very detailed and extensive, it would seem time-consuming?

  • grocery goddess jen
    December 4, 2010 at 10:06 am

    I may not have a snuggie, but I do have a wonderful soft bathrobe that is about three sizes too big for me, and it works just as well! I just baked two batches of cookies for “research” myself.

  • Liz @ Blog is the New Black
    December 4, 2010 at 10:08 am

    I love those pics!

  • Ella
    December 4, 2010 at 10:10 am

    whew, once a week – that’s pretty good! my sister and I both tend to go into once-a-month mode, much to the chagrin of our husbands…

  • Lola
    December 4, 2010 at 10:18 am

    I love your list and your photographs!!!
    Have a lovely saturday Jenna!
    xoxo
    Lola

  • Brenna [fabuleuxdestin]
    December 4, 2010 at 10:33 am

    hehe – as French women don’t wear shorts my legs haven’t been shaved for quite some time…what? who said that

  • Liana @ femme fraiche
    December 4, 2010 at 10:41 am

    hahaha you got almost ALL of my favourite things about Christmas in your list. Especially the chili part! And the wine:)

    But I must admit, I’m jealous of your wood burning fire place, mine’s gas:( not as fun…

  • Kim
    December 4, 2010 at 10:46 am

    I would die for a fantastic (but really easy) beef stew recipe. I could eat nothing but pot roast, meatloaf, chili, or beef stew all season long!

    Here’s to a warm afternoon in your snuggie! (I think I need one)

  • chelsey @ clean eating chelsey
    December 4, 2010 at 11:02 am

    If you’re shaving your legs once per week, you have far surpassed me. 🙂

  • Krystina (Basil & Wine)
    December 4, 2010 at 11:19 am

    I wholeheartedly agree and approve of your leg shaving (or lack thereof). ‘Tis the season.

  • Amanda (Eating Up)
    December 4, 2010 at 11:23 am

    Haha when I went to an all-girls high school, we always joked that NONE of us shaved all winter. It became kind of a competition.

  • Mara @ What's For Dinner?
    December 4, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Once a week? Wow… you’re way more on top of things than I am!!!

  • CarolineR
    December 4, 2010 at 11:29 am

    Shaving once a week TOPS! I’m with ya on this list, but I still don’t have a snuggie… A girl can dream.

    Love your blog!

  • Suzanne de Cornelia
    December 4, 2010 at 11:32 am

    I used to order wood from a local who’d show up in a pick-up truck & stack it up in a neat pile away from the house. Also had a plastic tarp to pull over for rain. It didn’t cost much & something so satisfying about a stack of wood to last all winter.

  • Lida (Octopus Gourmet)
    December 4, 2010 at 11:37 am

    Hey, when I was on a swim team we weren’t allowed to shave our legs for… let me see… three months? We shaved them right before sectionals– apparently it made us faster. Ew.
    Love winter, love your list. don’t forget mulled wine 🙂

  • Lida (Octopus Gourmet)
    December 4, 2010 at 11:38 am

    Hey, when I was on a swim team we weren’t allowed to shave our legs for 3 months… at least not until sectionals, when shaving would supposedly make us faster.
    Love winter, love your list– don’t forget mulled wine with cinnamon sticks! 🙂

  • Madeleine @ Stepping to the Bright Side
    December 4, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Your winter pics are awesome… alas, winter in LA is more like hot beaming sunshine and 70 degree highs. NOT that I should be complaining- I just wish for real winter on occasion… maybe when I go back to South Carolina for Christmas 🙂

  • Mary @ Bites and Bliss
    December 4, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    Winter = love. 🙂

  • Brooke
    December 4, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    I totally thought of you when I saw these cookies. Crinkles are one of my favorite but these had a twist I thought you might appreciate!
    http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/recipes/hazelnut-crinkle-cookies-540056/;_ylt=Apo4zhSM02Rzb2U95Xvw12HjgKU5

  • Stacy @ Every Little Thing
    December 4, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    Today is definitely the perfect day for a snuggie! It is cold and windy and grey outside today, ugh. Perfect for the couch, a cinnamon candle, and cookies!

  • jenna
    December 4, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    i love that last picture!

  • stacey-healthylife
    December 4, 2010 at 2:28 pm

    That’s funny and all so true.

  • dana @ my little celebration.com
    December 4, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    or shaving your legs once a month…ha ha, just kidding?

    whoops.

  • Page
    December 4, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    Jean lunges and shaving legs…ha! You literally read my mind.

  • laura (Starloz)
    December 4, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    my legs have just come out of hibernation, the feels awesome. yeah for summer!

  • Cassidy @takingmyplace
    December 4, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    Sounds perfect, especially since we are supposed to get a storm in norcal soon! My family thinks I am trying to fatten them up with cookies… I argue that then we spend less on heat and wood! I can always find an argument for cookies!

  • Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga)
    December 4, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    More butter, wine, and asking your mom about your santa stuff…that’s so cute 🙂

    Hope you’re staying warm…$26 worth of wood and all!

    🙂

  • Rachael
    December 4, 2010 at 4:53 pm

    Add in some flannel – the redneck kind, none of this fitted hipster stuff 🙂
    I’m trying to go easy on the wood here in NC, since running out means we’ll have to go process another chord in the freezing cold…..
    I propose a leg-shaving pact, kind of like when dudes forgo beard shaving for months. We could all come up with some worthy cause, then forsake razors. Until spring…

  • Mauimandy@The Grains of Paradise
    December 4, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    Love the shot of the rain! Super cool!

  • Mackenzie @ Whatever, Gatsby
    December 4, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    WAIT?!?! WAIT ONE SECOND?! What freaks of nature shave their legs more than once a week? Freaks of nature, that’s who. I’m a once a week lady, but then again I’m what my brother would call “a daggone hippie”. 😉

  • Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
    December 4, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    love it!

  • Heather (Heather's Dish)
    December 4, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    i feel ya on the $26 in firewood…i so wish i had one of those fireplaces you just flip a switch for (but my hubby disagrees, and since he’s the one who builds the fires then he gets his way :))

  • Anna W
    December 4, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    What are “Jean Lunges”?

  • Amanda
    December 5, 2010 at 6:03 am

    Great post Jenna!! 🙂

  • Nicole
    December 5, 2010 at 6:07 am

    I was spending just as much on hot wood….but then I found out you can buy a 1/2 cord of it and all my prayers were answered. No more grocery store wood runs, now I just have a wood pile! Woo hoo!

  • Alina @ Duty Free Foodie
    December 5, 2010 at 6:42 am

    My current book-reading position is on the couch, in two layers and a blanket or sleeping bag. It’s technnically not *that* cold in the house, but when I look outside, I still shiver.

  • Abbey
    December 5, 2010 at 7:37 am

    anyone who denies that they slack on leg shaving during winter is a freaking LIAR!!!! lmao! me & my friends make fun of each other for it all the time XD

  • Amber K
    December 5, 2010 at 8:05 am

    lol, once a week? My husband would be so lucky 😉 These winter legs need warmth!

  • Moni'sMeals
    December 5, 2010 at 8:33 am

    Great list- I hear ya on the SNUGGIE for sure!

    ~egg nog or soy nog and a lil rum
    ~Christmas movies
    ~Baking more and more with butter more and more
    ~Ice Skating
    ~Snowboard Trips 🙂
    ~Beanies and Scarfs and cute Boots
    ~Hot chocolate a must

  • Abbey
    December 5, 2010 at 3:22 pm

    Love these posts! So real and so funny. I would, like some other readers who commented above, also really enjoy a tasty beef stew recipe if one would find the time to do some “research”.

    • jenna
      December 5, 2010 at 4:11 pm

      I’ll be researching—that does sound really yummy right about now!

  • Jen
    December 5, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    Thank you for making jean lunges cool!

  • kate
    December 5, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    Oh, Shark Week!

  • Julia
    December 5, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    I should be arrested for the amount of hair that is on my legs right now.

  • Amy at TheSceneFromMe
    December 5, 2010 at 5:14 pm

    No doubt on the “shave once a week” comment!
    Jean lunges is funny…and yes I’ve done that too! But its because the jeans shrunk in the dryer right!

  • Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down)
    December 5, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    Ditto on the once a week thing. 😉

    I love your blog and I love your lists. 😀

  • Cara Craves...
    December 5, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    Extra leg hair provides extra warmth!

  • the salty girl
    December 5, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    Gah! I hate winter!!! But I try to make the most of it in some of the same ways you’ve listed! In the winter I love to eat really spicy Indian food. Sometimes a mug of homemade, super rich hot chocolate really hits the spot, too!

  • retro sweets
    December 6, 2010 at 3:33 am

    Nice list! My family is again to watch “Home Alone” for the hundredth time this year….:0 Yay for the s’mores and hot mug of freshly brewed cocoa. Brrrrrr!

  • Crash
    December 6, 2010 at 4:53 am

    I like your awkward humor made me laugh this morning!!

  • Alicia
    December 6, 2010 at 6:46 am

    Definitely lessen shaving the legs in the winter! You need every possible thing to keep you warm intact 🙂 I hope I’ll get to really perfect s’more making.

  • Melomeals: Vegan for $3.33 a Day
    December 6, 2010 at 6:49 am

    That is such a beautiful picture of the tree!

  • Lauren Z.
    December 6, 2010 at 9:22 am

    Oh my goodness, ALL of you ladies are making me LOL about the leg shaving thing! So true! We girls gotta stick together! And btw Jenna, I TOTALLY second the motion for a beef stew recipe! 🙂

  • Rachel @ The Avid Appetite
    December 6, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Love everything on your list! I’m sitting in my freezing cold office right now and wishing I had some hot cocoa and my Nick ‘n Nora flannel pj’s. It’s really the only way to do winter.

  • Katie G.
    December 6, 2010 at 11:01 am

    I used to make fun of the Snuggie commercials, and ever since I got my very own snuggie for Christmas last year, I’ve been hooked! My boyfriend and I each have one, and we may or may not watch Sunday football (we have Ravens snuggies!) and HBO movies wrapped in them….

    Are the knee socks for the non-shaved legs? haha, I think I am going on over a week right now…ah, the joys of winter!

  • Charise
    December 6, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    Oh, I am definitely a once-a-week shaver in the winter. 🙂

  • Lacey @ Lake Life
    December 6, 2010 at 7:03 pm

    1. The perfect S’mores must include Nutella right?
    2. I forget what daylight is during the week, since I work in a basement office.
    3. We should only shave our legs once a week cuz we need the fur to keep us warm!

  • Summer
    December 7, 2010 at 9:17 am

    Sigh…the Little House books were the very first “Big Girl” books I checked out from my library. I felt like my mom was taking me to a super-secret place when she brought me to that section where they books lived. I have always, ALWAYS wanted to make maple candy in the snow! I also am always reminded of how the girls eat the gingerbread men vs. boys when Christmas time rolls around 🙂

  • Stephanie
    December 8, 2010 at 10:03 am

    Hi there!

    I just got my first pair of snuggies!!! I never thought i’d purchase something I’d seen on an infomercial… this happened to be purchased at Brookstone… but it’s still a snuggie!!! It’s super warm… and comfy… I love it 🙂 I think infomercials kind of have a bad rap for selling cheap stuff… but some of ’em are seriously good.