2026
We’re having our annual (though not always guaranteed) spate of cold weather – some nights dipping into the 20s – and I am luxuriating in the opportunity for coziness. Florida doesn’t give us much chance for proper bundling, for heavy blankets and hot baths that steam up the bathroom, for the kind of evenings where you sink into soft clothes and don’t emerge until morning. I will say, though, that Jacksonville (being a little further north than where we were previously near Daytona) seems to provide a few more chilly days? But anyway, when the cold arrives, I seize it completely.
Here are five things making these chilly nights perfect.
BED LINENS
I finally curated the perfect combination of colors and textures for my bed, and climbing into it every night feels deeply satisfying. Earthy pastels – sage and plum and slate, colors I don’t have a proper name for but that feel grounded and calm without being boring.
The linen sheets have that particular weight and coolness that only gets better with washing, the kind that makes you want to slip between them even in summer. The quilt has pick stitching, tiny running stitches creating geometric patterns across the surface, texture you can feel when you run your hand over it. I’d been looking for something with a sashiko vibe, and this is…kinda it? Another blanket, because I am a bit extra: a paisley handblock-print cotton quilt. and the gauzy duvet on top, light but warm, slightly wrinkled in that French country-house way.
Without trying to sound dramatic, or like I’ve cured cancer or something, it took years to get here, trying different combinations, replacing things one piece at a time until everything coordinated without looking coordinated. Now, when I pull back the covers at night, the whole setup looks exactly right and feels even better, substantial without being heavy, soft without being precious.
LIGHTING
These plug into the wall and look like little candle sconces, flickering LED flames that cast warm shadows up the wall. They’re not just for night; I leave them on during gray afternoons too, that gentle glow making everything feel softer around the edges.
I also have a diffuser/dehumidifier (seen in the featured image for this blog post, on my nightstand) that I’ve pretty much totally repurposed. I never use it for humidity or essential oils; instead, I run the white noise function, a droning, celestial chanting sound that my brain finds deeply soothing, and keep the changing color mood lighting on all day. It cycles through soft glows, lavender fading into pale blue into soft amber, shifting the room’s atmosphere without being too bright or wild.
The sconces give just enough light to move around at night without jarring you awake, and together with the diffuser’s slowly changing colors, the rooms feel like they’re breathing.
COLORING BOOKS
It took me a long time to get into coloring. The idea of it made me stupidly anxious, all that pressure to stay in the lines, to make good color choices, to not mess it up. But I kind of get it now, the appeal of structured creativity where you don’t have to generate ideas from nothing. The Flower Year by Leila Duly is such a treat for the eyes, full of intricate Victorian-style etchings of flowers and birds and butterflies, each page different enough that it never feels repetitive. There are full-page illustrations and double-page spreads, little collections of single flowers with their botanical names, quotes about the seasons scattered throughout.
I work on it in the evenings, a few pages at a time, and it quiets my brain in ways that reading sometimes doesn’t. Although funny enough, I listen to horror novel audiobooks while I am doing it, hehehe!
COMFY EVENING CLOTHES
The softest greige hoodie from the Asheville Botanical Garden, heavy Adidas sweatpants that are two sizes too big, and my favorite socks in the world: the Girlfriend Socks from Le Bon Shoppe. They’re thick and cozy, crew length, perfect for padding around the house, and I think I have every color they sell.
This is not a pretty, glamorous, or sexy evening getup, but I truly do not give a shit. When the temperature drops, I want to disappear into soft fabric and not think about how I look.
HOT BATHS
I wrote about this recently, how I became a bath person seemingly overnight, how the scalding water makes me think of that Russian plumber’s observation about women preparing for Hell. The ritual of it has become essential to my evenings. Candles, magnesium flakes, onsen essential oils, bath milk, water as hot as I can stand it. I emerge red as a lobster, steaming, and immediately into those oversized sweatpants.
Extra cozies! Bread in the oven & broth on the stove, The Echoes app, lavender (the color), almond (the scent; this EdT layered with this perfume oil), planning a new knitting project!
If you enjoy posts like these or if you have ever enjoyed or been inspired by something I have written, and you would like to support this blog, consider buying the author a coffee?
