If you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen

A lot of old houses in New England have something I love: A fireplace in the kitchen.

I like the warm colors in this picture, but if it were my room, I'd put a more comfortable chair in front of the fire.

This one looks 1) really old and 2) like it would heat the whole kitchen. I think I would be tempted to make s'mores.

This one looks like a bakery. Imagine snow outside the window instead of leafy, summary greens.

Newer houses don't often have fireplaces in the kitchen (at least, not the ones I've seen on Trulia and in other listings.) I wonder why.

But, at first glance, this kitchen below looks like it might have a fireplace in it. It definitely looks warm. Maybe it's the antlers hanging over the range?

Here's another picture of a kitchen/dining room that looks like it might have a fireplace in it (and I don't know, maybe this room does have one on the other side of the table). In this case, it's the slipcovered arm chairs that make me think of fires and other warm thoughts.

Where I'd like to eat Thanksgiving leftovers

Hot chocolate decorating

When it comes to winter, I like my rooms like I like my hot chocolate: Warm, cozy and in various shades of brown and cream.

Hot chocolate with cinnamon sticks:

Hot chocolate with freeze-dried marshmallows:

Steamed milk with vanilla flavoring. Not technically hot chocolate, but they're related:

And the grand finale - hot chocolate made with ghirardelli and topped with whipped cream:

While we're on the topic, would you believe that I drank hot chocolate from a mug just like this for my entire childhood and never even knew what was going on?

I think my parents' version was bears, though. I had friends whose parents had mugs from the same "collection," and I was always sure to point out the coincidence.