Farewell, Beloved Long Johns. Hello, Mugs.

Given that we haven't had any snow for 3 weeks, that only one day's "high" for this week was in the 30s, and that it is now the last week of March... I am actually starting to believe that winter is starting to end. (Notice I didn't say "Spring is here". Winter is ending. Big difference.) And yes, this means that I have finally let my tights, wool socks, fingerless gloves, and Long Johns slip back into their hibernation. Time for the happy dance!

As for spring coming... I'm now content enough with our 40 -- and sometimes 50 -- degree weather to wait a few more weeks for the buds to appear and the official jacket change to occur. (You know, switching from the winter coats to the spring jackets. The official sign of spring's arrival.) I'm also starting to get excited about Spring Break. Oh yes, I still get a Spring Break. It's one of the beauties of working at a school. So, in just over a week we'll be heading to Chicago for 6 days. (For those of you in that area, April 5-11 are the lucky days.)

As I start to cast off the winter frigidness, my eye is starting to catch wonderful bursts of color. In mugs. (More on that later.) I'm actually really liking Starbucks' new spring line/palette. It's fantastic!

See? So much happiness. The brown ones at the bottom are still admittedly slightly reminiscent of winter, but I'm digging the tree -- can't deny it. I also just LOVE orange and green. My two favorite colors. And I love seeing them so prominently displayed. (To see the full line, visit the Starbucks store.)

Now, I will admit that I'm in the middle of a slight mug craze. I know that the season for hot drinks to coming to a close... but I'm still crazy about mugs! I don't know why, especially since I don't even drink coffee. (I know, I'm bringing shame to my Seattle roots.) But who's to say you can't drink iced beverages in a mug? We're all about going green, right? Long live the mug, even into the summer months! I've been finding random inspiration here and there, such as these "Medallion" and "Swirlygig" mugs from Lollipop Pottery:

I just love them. It's a good thing we don't make a lot of money, because otherwise I would probably be stocking up the house with a ton of mugs that Josh and I would never actually be able to use all of. (Though we do already have some awesome mugs, including these sweet red and blue ones, and some Charlie Brown mugs I picked up last year at Target for $1 EACH.) But seriously, I'm having a slight obsession moment. Thus, I have decided that one of my next creativity projects will be to go to a ceramic painting place (such as Color Me Mine) and paint one. I'm not sure that this will necessarily be the "cheapest" option, but I think it will be good for my soul. Plus, I'll then have an awesome mug that I can happily and excitedly exclaim, "Dude, I MADE that!" anytime anyone picks it up to comment on how hideous it is. It just doesn't get much better than that, now does it?

So, if you have any mugs you just absolutely love, please send pictures/links my way (I already have a bunch I like, but I figured it would seem just a little beyond obsessive if I actually posted them all here). I shall gladly welcome more mug inspiration as I anticipate my own mug creation. Until then, I'll sing farewell to my beloved Long Johns, and hello to my mugs.