Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

This week was unusual because it started to feel like winter. Usually this happens later in November in St. Louis but this week, it started to snow on Friday. I wasn’t sure if it would stick or not but in the morning, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.

Normally when it starts to snow, my mood plummets. I hate cold weather and I only like snow when it’s falling or just fallen. When it becomes gray, muddy, and gross, I can’t stand it. I don’t know how I survived two winters in Chicago.

This year, though, I’m taking the cold weather in stride. I realized that getting through a season I don’t like will take a lot of preparation and a better attitude, so I’m trying to make the best of it. I bought all the ingredients to make hot chocolate, I replenished my tea supply, I scouted out comforting recipes, and I forced myself to go ice skating with my boyfriend (see above photo). In the end, I really enjoyed it.

I guess the moral of this story is, if you’re starting to get down because it’s winter and you miss pretty fall leaves and 70 degrees temperatures, don’t despair. Find some positives about the season and stick to them. I can’t wait for my second cup of hot chocolate today.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some links. Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

I saw this story about a California doughnut shop earlier in the week and it warmed my heart. Customers of Donut City in Seal Beach, CA, are buying out the shop every morning so the owner can go spend time with his sick wife. Apparently, the customers were very attached to Stella Chhan when she was behind the counter and so when they found out why her husband John was in such a rush everyday, they decided to help him out. Read the full story from CBS Los Angeles.

I tried The Chocolate Pig for the first time last night and I’m in love. The restaurant just opened in the Cortex community, an innovation center right next to Washington University Medical School. I’d highly recommend the chicken fried brussels sprouts pictured below. They come with a buttermilk dressing and they are so. good. 

Few people have heard of the Hello Girls but more people should know about them. The group comprises the first women to serve in the U.S. military. They worked as telephone operators and bilingual translators in France during World War I after a top U.S. commander deemed men too incompetent for the job. Read more about the Hello Girls in this NPR piece.

France scored a win earlier this week when people in a Pacific territory voted to remain a part of the country. A majority of voters in New Caledonia elected to stay in France, even though the territory has a troubling history of colonization. Now French President Emmanuel Macron is celebrating. Read more about the situation in this Associated Press article.

I got to meet my coworker’s cat on Friday night and I’m in love. Vote for Levin (named for “Crime and Punishment”) in St. Louis Magazine‘s “Pet of the Year” competition! He’s worthy of the prize. Check out the ballot here.

I’m loving this interactive pie feature from The New York Times. I spent waaay too much time staring at it this week but that’s okay. It’s inspiring me to get a leg up on my holiday baking. Check out the feature in NYT Cooking.

Speaking of holiday cooking… I’m definitely making a bourbon cranberry sauce recipe from Jessica Koslow, owner of Sqirl, a cafe and bakery in L.A. I didn’t know that Koslow was a figure skater before she opened the cafe. Reading an article about Koslow and her baking makes me want to go back to L.A. and have another piece of the cafe’s poppyseed cake. Read the Koslow profile and get the recipe for cranberry bourbon sauce in The Washington Post.

Last but certainly not least, Ice-T said he’s never had a bagel and the internet exploded. I was a little surprised myself, not because I think that everyone should eat bagels but more because they are such ubiquitous things in cities. I can’t fault Ice-T for his food choices but I can still be dismayed. Read more about the situation in Vulture.

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started.