Ten Things I Love About... Winter!

It's Tuesday so that means another list of ten things I love. Thanks to all this snow, I've got winter on the brain. Here are ten things I love about it:

• Boots. I love boots. They keep my feet and legs warm, and they're cute.
  
• Scarves. I have a pretty extensive collection of scarves, but my new favorites are definitely the Gryffindor scarf my husband got me for Christmas and the scarf my sister in law brought me back from Italy while she was studying abroad. Both are really thick and perfect for cold weather.
  
• Oregon Chai Organic Peppermint Chai. Okay, my favorite winter drink is a peppermint mocha, but they have way too many calories, so I opt for something a little lighter. If I make the chai with 1/2 cup of 1% milk, it's only 150 calories. Unless I add whipped cream!
  
• Snow Days. And boy have we been having a lot of them lately. I have the capability of working from home on those days, so it's not an official "day off", but it's still nice to work in sweat pants!
  
• The Holidays. I know they've already passed, but I still love getting together with family and friends over those couple weeks in December.
  
• Work is slow. This is the slowest time of the year in the industry I work in. Unfortunately, it's also known as the calm before the storm. I've been spending most of my days doing budgeting and billing, which isn't very exciting, but I love being able to leave at 5:30 every day!
  
• Shoveling all that snow forces me to exercise. This time of year I find it hard to get motivated. It's dark and cold in the morning, so I find myself sleeping in as late as possible. By the time I get home from work, I just want to lounge on the couch. Shoveling forces me to get in some upper body workouts.
  
• Knee socks! Who doesn't love socks? My obsession with socks is almost greater than scarves. The only thing I don't like are those toe-socks. Ugh, they creep me out!
  
• Cats sleeping in the bed. When it's cold, my cats are more likely to cuddle up with me in the bed. I know it's just because they want to get warm, but I like to pretend it's because they love me.
  
• Curling up by the fire with books that were/are being released during the winter: Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers (Dec 21), Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Jan 11), Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (Feb 15) and XVI by Julia Karr (Jan 6).
  

What are your favorite things about winter? Any books you can't wait to curl up with?