Dear friend,

March in North Carolina is a profusion of bursting spring and warm days and bare feet, and it’s a lovely month. In New York, not so much. There are signs of life, such as the tiny little crocuses braving the wind, which I walk past every day on my commute, and admire. The still-necessary coats require ever so slightly less down lining, and the occasional bare ankle or cracked window can be braved. 

But all that aside, March in New York still very much feels like winter will last forever and spring will never come and you will be cold for the rest of your life. Vitamin D deprivation sets in with a side of gloomy spirits, and although the days are lengthening, the cold wind still makes you want to huddle inside and glare out the window at winter and her clutch. You’re tired from still trying to catch up from the time change, and it feels like the nights are never long enough, and also, you never see the sun – an oxymoron, I admit. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer autumn and winter out of all the seasons, but still, nice things like cold weather are made more lovable by their contrast to sticky, humid, sweaty days, and sometimes when it’s been cold too long you find yourself needing a little contrast for perspective’s sake. So how to handle this month, and its 90 everlasting days which still linger in the 20s? I’m so glad you asked. 

There are a couple things I always like to read or watch when the winter is lasting forever. Find a good movie set in an Italian summer, for instance, or rewatch Moana for the nth time, and enjoy the beautiful animated water lapping on the shore, the coconut trees, the endless sunshine, and the bouncy music. It’s hard to feel chilled when you’re singing along to “The island gives us what we neeeeeed…”

Or if you prefer reading, pick up “The Enchanted April”, and pretend that you, too, are leaving your chilly and rainy London spring and heading to a wee castle in Italy, where you’ll be surrounded by forsythia for a whole month of glorious April sunshine, away from your domineering husband and his endless fish. See if the talk of coming in all hot and blown about from your hillside picnic or of crusty old ladies being transformed by the seaside sunshine doesn’t lift your spirits. 

Spring cleaning is an ever popular option, although who wants to wash windows with a 35 degree wind blowing on their wet, chapped hands? So instead of doing a proper spring cleaning, how about just digging your summer clothes out from under your bed and sorting through them? How about making a shopping list of all the items you are missing from your upcoming summer wardrobe, and doing a little thrift store run to see what you can find? It’s also a great time to sort through your current closet and to get rid of all the sweaters that you feel obligated to keep but that you never actually wore all winter. Make a ruthless, giant pile, and take them to the thrift store with you, so someone else can enjoy them. It’ll feel amazing to clear out the clutter, and getting out of the house (even in the cold) will lift your spirits a wee bit.

Do you work a desk job? Then pick up a bunch of tulips at your local grocery store and keep them on your desk where you can see them every single day. They’ll remind you that spring has always come before, every single year for thousands of years, and it will again this year. And when you’re at home in the evening, watching your summery movie like “Letters to Juliet”, take a minute and paint your nails a cute pastel color to match your tulips. If you can manage tiny white daisies atop the nails, even better. I certainly cannot, but perhaps you are a better painter than I.

Stock your fridge with all the freshest vegetables and fruits you can find. Avoid the tomatoes because until the heat comes they will still taste like colorful dirt and bring you nothing but sorrow, but perhaps some strawberries are showing up by now, or maybe your store has, like mine, boxes of the tiniest little cucumbers imaginable, which you can eat en masse with a homemade vinaigrette. [I make mine by whisking together a bit of mustard and lemon juice, then drizzling in olive oil, whisking all the while, until it’s thick. I season it with lots of freshly ground salt and pepper, and maybe some paprika. This is sooo good on fresh cucumbers or cabbage salad.] If you can’t resist buying tomatoes, how about you make a tomato basil pizza, because nothing tastes as summery as basil does. Or you can mix up an orzo pasta salad with lots of pesto and fresh veggies in it. And or course, bake a strawberry shortcake for dessert, because it’s impossible to be cold while eating strawberry shortcake. 

Spring is coming, I promise. Probably. Maybe. Meanwhile, have fun with these, and tell me your own little hacks for when your Vitamin D is running low in the everlasting Ides of March. Lord knows I need them.

Sincerely,

Chilled and Pasty

Thanks to Lyn and Mia for collaborating with me on ideas, and for all your other fun and useless ideas, like going to the Maldives (I wish!) and wearing a winter coat with shorts (I do not wish).