In case you haven’t looked out the window recently, winter is officially here. What better way to enjoy the cold weather than snuggling up in front of the fireplace channel, refusing to leave your home and drinking some good beer?!
Drink
I know we juuuust said to stay indoors but sometimes you’ve got to make an except to replenish the beer fridge. So, if you haven’t tried the new Henderson x SOBDL Vanilla Orchid Brown Ale get your snowshoes on and waddle your way to the nearest LCBO to pick it up. This really is the perfect beer for this time of year. It’s got all the roasty, malty deliciousness you’d expect from a brown ale but is also super refreshing, with strong tea flavours from the oolong tea used in the brewing process.
Read
Miriam Toews is a decorated Canadian writer and one of our favorite authors. Her novel, A Complicated Kindness, is so poignant and compelling I’ve read it more times than I care to admit. When I found out Toews had recently released a new novel, Women Talking, I had to shout out to Alexa to ask her to add it to my shopping bask. The legendary Margaret Atwood (via the Globe and Mail) said she “placed [the novel] firmly in the camp of feminist books that will become part of a canon that questions the patriarchy” and if that doesn’t get you to want to add this novel to your winter reading list I don’t know what will!
Listen
The podcast “Invisibilia” has been part of my regular rotation for a while but I’ve been really enjoying the new season. This NPR podcast deals with the unseen forces that shape human behavior—thoughts, emotions, assumptions, ideas. The show’s title comes from the Latin word for invisible things and fuses narrative storytelling with science that will make you see your own life differently.
Love
Because it really truly feels like winter has arrived this week I think we could all do with a little joy and that’s exactly what The Tiny Chef Show sparks. The Tiny Chef is the rotund, blissfully humming protagonist of a hit stop-motion video series on Instagram and it really is a wonder to behold. So go check him out, but be warned, clicking through will instantly put a smile on your face.
That’s all for now. I hope this week’s round-up warmed your spirits like a full-bodied stout on a cold winter night.
Stay warm.
Amber
