I did a double take yesterday when I happened to write the date and realized it was March TENTH. Double digits March. Almost mid-March. I can’t believe it. You will absolutely not find me complaining, though, because mid-March means ALMOST SPRING and that fills me with so much joy I can’t even tell you.

This winter was a bit of a strange one for us. It was one of the mildest winters on Idaho record for a while, and it felt like things never quite moved on from November-ish weather. It’s been mostly just cold and ugly, with not much snow or rain or landscape change. And while I didn’t mind the lack of snow, in some ways, it felt a little like we were in a time warp of barren fields and holiday sickness and then suddenly woke up and it’s mid-March and the daffodils are blooming. Not sad to wake up to daffodils. But also, in spite of some really hard winter things, there were also some stunningly, helpfully BEAUTIFUL things this winter.

Beauty is saving the world! And I want to make it a consistent practice, here inside Studio Tell, to notice and point out the beautiful things that are saving *my* little world. (This is partly a play on Barbara Brown Taylor’s “What’s saving my life,” as well.)

Yes, because it helps me to notice.

And also, because I want to encourage you to notice the beautiful things in your (perhaps cold, ugly, time-warped winter world) as well.

rugs hanging in the sun.

I mentioned we were sick so much this winter—but there also was just a lot of sickness generally *around* (aka the dreaded stomach bug) and I found myself disinfecting my house from top to bottom SEVERAL different times. I started hanging our area rugs outside for the fresh air and sunshine and it became my favorite thing. Yes it felt so refreshing to know even those walked on parts of my house were getting some fresh air! And also, they looked so pretty. I love taking classically indoor things like rugs and pieces of furniture and seeing what they look like outside. This living room rug of mine looked especially pretty, don’t you think? (Although once I found this picture I realized it’s honestly kind of awful but you get the idea. 😂)

new baby words.

Poppy has been talking so. much. Right now it’s kinda a general babble of conversation that we know means The Most to her, but we can’t decipher. She’s also truly saying WORDS though; every morning it seems like she wakes up and points to things and says the accurate name, much to my surprise. It’s cute, adorable, precious, all the things.

morning skies.

I thinkkk you could say that getting up early (still dark early) to read, pray, and start work with a marketing shift has been almost a habit for me this winter?? It’s SO hard to get up out of bed, and SOO worth it to have the space to sit quietly and drink coffee and let the inspiration flow uninterrupted. The sweetest, most calming part of this ritual though? Watching the sky change through my big living room windows. I love watching the colors, the clouds, the reflections of light. And then pure joy if the sun shines bright onto my walls!! Even on the cloudy days, though, I’m watching and mesmerized.

bird migrations.

We live close to a man-made lake (super romantic, I know), and one of the benefits is all the geese that fly overhead. We see them going all the directions, probably sometimes just flying from one field to the next by the lake, not necessarily migrating. I love watching the different flocks soar over us, though, whether they’re migrating or not. Now that I’ve lived here for six winters (!?!?) I know to look for them every year and have such good memories of the cold air stinging my lungs while I crane (haha no pun intended) my neck to see how many there are and feel transported away as I watch.

dressing up.

I mentioned that this winter was especially ugly? I’ve learned that to combat the ugliness, its important to lean into pretty things in other places besides the outdoors. Pottery. Fresh decor. And randomly, I realized this year, clothes! I’m not a huge clothes nerd, but did a shopping for clothes fast for the end of the year, and it suddenly made getting dressed easier (and more of a challenge!). Now that I have a little girl to pick out clothes for, too, it just feels extra fun and whimsical to try at least for our clothes to feel happy even if the world is incredibly uglyyy. Such a simple thing, but it cheered my days (or my weekends, at least)!

walks. with. friends.

In spite of the cold and sickness, Poppy and I managed to walk with friends relatively often this winter, and it always made our days. Even when it’s frigid outside, some sunshine and happy chats just always makes everything better!! They may not have been beautiful walks, per say, but even bare tree branches against the sky are a little bit pretty.

We’re going into spring now, PRAISE JESUS. I saw daffodils blooming this week, and mine are just budding. If you’re like me, though, and are determined to keep noticing beauty even in wintery days, I hope this encourages you—even the hard ugly winters can be brightened (saved?) by the glory of simple and beautiful things.