In the Northern Hemisphere, Spring technically begins on March 20th.  In New England,  Spring weather usually begins around the end of April.  Add to this the time change, Spring is a very frustrating for us in the northern climate.  There are several ways I try to counteract the topsy turvy ride that is “Spring” in New England.

It starts out with the first few days of warmth and sunshine (35 degrees of warmth), some time in late March, then wham – here comes the single digits and darker days.  It is now April 3rd and I’m looking out my window at snow squalls and temps in the teens.  At least I know this is a short lived snow and most likely the snow will not stick – too much.

One of my bigger frustrations is how anxious I get to move the winter clothing into storage, and get the lighter clothing out of storage.  I appease this with moving the heaviest winter clothing into storage, and appreciating the space I get in my closet and drawers.  The heavy wool sweaters, the turtlenecks and wool pants all get put into space saver bags, then plastic tubs – Yay!  No more turtlenecks for at least six months. This is happiness.

Another way I change things up is with my cosmetics.  Because we still have colder temperatures, I don’t change out cleansers or moisturizers, but I do lighten up the shadows.  I keep the same shade for foundations but start to warm it up with bronzers and warmer blush tones.  I am fortunate to have a neutral skin tone which means I can go more cool tone in the Winter, warmer in the Spring and Summer months. This works with the colors in my seasonal wardrobe.  I move the darker shadows into a cosmetic case in a dark space to help keep them from getting corrupted with bactria and daylight.  If you use clean brushes and keep your shadows away from daylight, they will last longer.

Another change, and a very fun change is to go and get  a mani-pedi and go for the bright colors!  At least on the toes.  Even though I do not get to break out the sandals until May, I enjoy getting that spring time mani-pedi and the bright colors on the toes. It is great to visit with the new polish colors at the salon and it is wonderful to look down at coral sparkles on my toes.

I also change out the seasonal colors on throw pillows in the main room, runners on the tables and other surfaces and bring on the floral and lite scents in the candles.  We use a lot of scented candles in our home, balsam and cinnamon in the colder months, floral and greener scents in the warmer months.  I love to open the windows as soon as possible so I do not use many candles in the warmer months. The colder temps during our Spring months enable me to burn green and floral scents, bringing the sense of flowers into my home. Bath & Body Works has a lovely selection of candles for every season. Put away Winter, bring on Spring.

The final transition to Spring is to place my order for Rosé wine. Yes, this is one of my favorite activities in March. I get to anticipate the arrival of Rosé wine in April. I try (and yes, this is such a difficult task), to finish up the older (1 or 2 years old) Rosé wine that is left over in the cellar before April to make room for this year’s purchase. I always purchase at least two bottles of Whispering Angel Rosé, and then about 10 bottles of other dry Rosé wine, something of the Pinot Noir variety, Spanish, French or Coastal California in origin. Two of my recent acquisitions are Zum Pinot Noir and Daniel Chotard Sancerre Rosé wine.  Zum is from Germany – who knew?  This is a fun job, searching out Rosé wines to stock my cellar with. I have been purchasing Whispering Angel Rosé wine since 2012, and I’m sorry to say it has almost doubled in price in the last four years. Unfortunately for me, (because of the price) there is no better Rosé wine, in my opinion, on the market. So, I limit myself to two or three bottles per year, can’t cellar a Rosé wine, so no reason to stock up on this. I place an order in March, to be picked up in April. The anticipation of picking up the Rosé wine in April helps get through the colder days in March.

Now that I’ve gotten over the one-hour time change, switched out some of my clothing, lightened up some of my cosmetics, and have placed my Rosé wine order, I’m in a better place to cope with the falling snow that is outside my window, this first week of April.  What do you do to get through the topsy-turvy Spring months?