like a million parachutes.

Hey snowbirds! According to the weather wizards, the storm of the century is presently swooping down over my city. I just peaked outside the window to see if the winter-white madness had arrived. I had a feeling that the snow was falling even before I looked though. I could feel the quiet. Does snow ever make you feel that way? I think there is a very particular kind of quiet that comes with snowfall. And, with it, a particular kind of peace my heart most definitely needs.

Know what else I needed today? Milk. And this is what the milk freezer looked like in Target:

[I will upload a picture when my Blackberry isn't being cranky. Stay tuned. Imagine a wasteland of freezer space with one lonesome milk jug.]

We Southerners tend to go ballistic over snow.

My brother and I like to joke about buying milk and white-bread every time it snows. In the town where I grew up, impending snow storms sent people to town en masse to stock up on groceries. According to my friends who worked at the grocery store, milk and white-bread were very hot items when snow came. (Why white bread? Why not Oreos?) To be fair, there are roads in my hometown that don't thaw out until June. Best to stay prepared, I suppose. I was too late for milk today, but I still managed to elbow my way through the crowds to buy protein bars, apples, and a Marie Claire. I'm a real party animal that way.

I have a few fun blogs scheduled to run later this week but I wanted to fire up ye olde blog during this midnight snowstorm to share something fun.

The Fun: Katie and Ali, two blogreaders and book reviewers who are 1.) adorable and 2.) total smarties, run a review site called inafarwayland. A few months ago, Katie contacted me and said they would be hosting a Paperdoll party on their site.

I had no clue what that meant. I'm still not exactly sure.

But I am f l o o r e d to see my little pink book on inafarwayland. Those girls review lots of books on there, from many different genres, from authors I love (... like Sarah Dessen!). The fact that they've taken a week (a week!) of their blog to talk about my book is CRAZY. They're also giving two copies of Paperdoll away. If you're interested in winning a copy, all you have to do is leave a comment on their first post. At the end of the week, I'll be sharing a post over there about how Paperdoll came to be and what I hope it becomes. Somehow, in that same write-up, I also find a way to mention ferrets and Brandon Flowers. I'm not sure what that says about the current state of my brain.

I am sure that seeing The Pink featured on such a cool site made my New Year. Thank you so much, Katie and Ali!

You can check out inafarwayland here. Also, Ali blogs here. Her blog is called Finding Faith, Purple Rain, and Talking Cows. That's just a flat awesome name for a blog, yes?

And Katie blogs here. Her blog is called Beauty Like a Kaleidoscope. Katie has some serious photography skills. I like her pictures because they tell stories. Also, she looks so pretty in a hat. Am I the only girl who doesn't look cute in a hat?

I'm excited to follow along and see how the party goes this week. I only wish it was a real party so I could bring cupcakes and confetti. And a Brandon Flowers CD. And the Harry Potter version of Clue.

I think I'll end tonight's post with storm-talk. And sixpence.

This whole week has been a stormy one. Tragedy in Arizona. MAJOR history being made right now. Stories being poured over and pondered. Flights delayed. Birds falling. Crazy times in my family. Do you ever have one of those weeks when the world around you seems to spin into chaos at exactly the same time as your personal world? My fam totally had a week like that.

And now comes a blast of wild winter weather, masquerading out the window as something peaceful. I like wild. But I need peaceful tonight. I hope a snow-kind of quiet falls over your heart tonight too, and makes you feel uber-safe and happy.

And then, tomorrow morning, I hope you get to sleep in. I hope you eat chocolate-chip pancakes. And build a snowman (or snowwoman!) (or snow walrus!) with your best friend.

Because the snow walrus? He gets no love this time of year. Frosty Shmosty! (Please send me a picture if you build a snow walrus.)

... how did we end up talking about a snow walrus? This is what happens when I stay up too late.

I'll be back later this week with a post about sardines. Till then, here's my favorite snow song: