Favorite things to do in the winter: Week 3

Long and Short Reviews is hosting a weekly blogging challenge for the year with weekly prompts. It seems like such a fun idea so I'm going for it! I love prompts that spark writing--even if it's challenging or hard--so I'm excited to give it a try this year.  You can find the prompts here!

​This picture explains it all. My favorite thing to do in the winter is read, drink coffee, and enjoy a nice fire.  Growing up in the midwest allowed for a lot of below freezing temperatures for longer than three months.  Winter could last from November to April, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, but the coffee and reading never stopped. 

There is something magical about a steaming cup of your favorite drink, the warmth of the fire hitting your feet, and a book that takes you wherever you like to go. My favorite books to read are romance, psychological thrillers, and romantic suspense.  Each Christmas, I load up my kindle with ten stories that I devour while on break from work. It is my time each year to not do anything but visit with family and read. It is my favorite. 

The only hard part: I now live in Phoenix where winter doesn't get below 40 degrees, and while it is beautiful, it isn't the same feeling. I miss the snow, the bone-chilling cold, the way your breath hurts your lungs, and the fireplaces. Having a fire in Arizona isn't the same. Winters here are spent enjoying the perfect weather; people hike, eat every meal outside, play any sport you want, and soak up the constant sunshine. 

It's been hard getting used to what "winter" means to us as we made our home in Phoenix and while it's nostalgic to think about my childhood winters, they will always be wonderful memories. 

What about you? What are your favorite things to do in winter?