Spring is coming. There are days when the pure white bells of the snowdrops lift my spirits and assure me that this is true. And I am even more convinced now that I have seen the bright yellow sun of eranthis petals against the richly dark and still cold wet earth, their little green leaves spreading out like a fan around them. But it is still March, and it is still part lion! And even my skin confirms that winter has not disappeared — so I continue to take refuge in an array of body scrubs in the hopes of staving off that late winter sense of 'dried out' blues.
My latest favorite — not least for the reasonable price and eco-friendly approach — is the Hugo Naturals Brown Sugar & Kumquat Body Scrub. It contains brown sugar and emollients such as kukui oil, jojoba ester, kosher vegetable glycerin, and others, and offers a warm and cheering scent without being too overbearing or winter-like…
I have always had a soft spot for Valentine's Day. I can't help but feel that there must be just a little bit of magic in anything that brings deep rose, burgundy and crimson colors into the heart of a fluffy white snow-filled February. Small but decadent boxes of chocolate beckon, velvety red petals abound, a brief moment in time where one is allowed to be unabashedly romantic if one wishes…. 
In my early 20s, I lived for a time in Copenhagen, Denmark, a land of my ancestors and a country known for fabulously long summer days filled with blue skies, beaches, beer-drinking down by the harbor and lingering candlelit dinners with friends outside, sitting cozily tucked into wool blankets against the midnight chill. But those of us who have endured the winter know there is a time when the sun first tentatively appears mid-morning and by mid-afternoon has already set, when the sky is one long sheet of gray from November until March, and the minimalism of the Danish modern look feels like part of a conspiracy to deprive one of any warmth or luxury.