Saturday night something magical happened. I walked to Via Della Pace for dinner (an Italian restaurant I highly recommend, the lobster ravioli⿿s sinful and affordable ⿿ just be prepared to pay in cash) and then danced the night away at a cheesy club. At the beginning of the night, I strolled to the east village along with a warm breeze. My body was comfortable sans jacket. Some people were enjoying pasta and red wine outside. This was around 10 pm.

A mere six hours later when I left the anonymous cheesy club at four in the morning, New York had been possessed by a different spirit. That formerly calming breeze had turned cold. The temperature had plummeted. Skimpily dressed partygoers were forced to cling to one another not just out of drunken horniness, but out of a genuine need for body warmth. I⿿ll admit I both hid in a phone booth and later hugged a pudgy man I didn⿿t even know while waiting for the arguing members of our group to disperse into cabs. The wind was that frigid. Those of us still standing at the end of the night proceeded to go have breakfast, but I didn⿿t really enjoy my meal. Summer was officially over. And we all know since global warming, fall and spring have practically disappeared as concepts. It⿿s either humid or freezing here in the city. So I don⿿t feel I can really console myself with the fact that a lovely autumn is in store and going to make this traumatic transition much easier. To cope with this revelation, I⿿ve compiled a list of why we should be excited, not suicidal, about the fact that winter is just around the corner.

1. Hot chocolate: Dark chocolate perks me up when I⿿m feeling depressed. It suppresses my hunger when my stomach⿿s growling. Melted and applied to the skin, it makes all my clubbing-incurred bruises fade in twenty-four hours. It wakes me up when I⿿m ready to crawl back into bed. Dark chocolate is my cure-all product. Did I also mention it⿿s yummy as Hell? I also compulsively consume tea like some people down Starbucks coffee. Now put the two elements of choclately goodness and steamy liquid together, and you⿿ve just created my own personal version of heroin. Winter means I can consume vats of hot chocolate without looking like a weirdo. And I⿿m totally fine with admitting that the hot cocoa with mini marshmallows is my personal favorite.

2. New wardrobe: I had so much fun getting dressed yesterday because I got to open my sweater drawer for the first time in months. At this point, I⿿ve recycled my warm weather closet more than twice. If I have to wear another tank top I might spit at my reflection in the bedroom mirror. The best part about getting to utilize all your stored away winter clothes (and rediscovering the discount Cavalli turtlenecks from Century 21 you forgot you had) is that you also get to incorporate your summer wardrobe as layering pieces. So the amount of clothing you have to work with doubles overnight!

3. Jackets: Every girl is a sucker for something. Some do the shoe obsession thing ala Carrie Bradshaw. Other stock up on cocktail dresses. Others have a compulsive buying problem with lingerie. For me, it⿿s always been jackets. I love jackets, mainly because I⿿m always cold. Also because when I lack the energy to get properly dressed (or decide to wear yesterday⿿s clothes) I just throw one of my many jackets on top of my messy self and no one can tell the difference. The fact that I⿿m wearing a sweater my cat chewed without a bra becomes my dirty secret. My jacket collection takes up half of my ridiculously tiny Manhattan closet. I have long, short, sport, peacoat, down, elegant, jean, suede, leather (oh my god the leather)⿦I⿿m getting too excited I better stop.

4. Cuddling: Who wants to cling to their partner post-coital when its ninety-five degrees outside and humid. Usually you just lie on opposite sides of the bed, both trying to convince your bodies to stop producing sweat. Showers are mandatory and your sheets are gross. Yet in the colder months, snuggling under feathered comforters together is actually a turn on. There are all sorts of new reasons to touch each other with the excuse of ⿿warming up.⿿ Plus you don⿿t want kick your partner toward a soapy shower the minute they⿿ve crawled off you. Instead you can relax and pass out in each other⿿s arms.

5. No more air-conditioning: America over air-conditions as if it were a matter of life and death. Recycled freezing air makes you sick! Plus it⿿s damn expensive. In the winter my ConEd bill doesn⿿t only lower dramatically, I no longer have to organize where I sit in an indoor restaurant based on how far away I can get from the industrial strength air vent that⿿s blasting virtual snow on people. A friend told me about a colleague of hers at Bear Sterns who brought a space heater to work in the summer months to warm up her office. I understand companies wanting to keep employees alert, but think of the money they⿿d save if they just air-conditioned down to 75 instead of 60. In the winter we just have to bundle up, and heat is always welcome.

6. Fur: I love fur. I love the way it looks, I love the way it feels against my skin, I love the way it keeps me warm. Now don⿿t load your water guns with red paint and spray me just yet. I don⿿t wear real fur. Who can afford it? And who wants to have the guilt of having killed an innocent Bambi-like creature on their hat or earmuffs? Some synthetic fur looks great. An example: One of my favorite leather jackets has a tasteful browny-black fur collar. One afternoon at Astor Place, I actually had an executive women take her snarly lips away from her cell phone for two seconds to bark at me, ⿿You should be ashamed!⿿ before returning to her phone call. As we crossed the street, I racked my brain for what on earth she could be referring to. Had I stepped on her foot? Accidentally pushed her? Then it hit me, my fur looked that real. I watched the woman click away from me in her high-heel genuine leather boots (hypocrite) and smiled at the compliment.

See, even when in the midst of unjustified verbal abuse winter can be a fun season. Bring it on.