Why I've Fallen Head Over Heels For a Hot-Water Bottle, and I Don't Care Who Knows It

On a trip to London, I found myself feeling extra charmed by all things British and reveled in every lovely thing my darling British friend offered me while staying at her house. There were nightly tea and cookie offerings and a warmed-by-the-dryer "dressing robe" (aka a robe), and on my first night there, to my delight, she asked (please read with English accent), "Would you like me to put a hot-water bottle in your bed?" "You mean like those rubber things from old-time British movies?" I asked in unrefined American fashion. It was during this first night's sleep with the fuzzy-covered water bottle that my life changed forever.

I got one almost as soon as I arrived home.

Being someone who is naturally cold most of the time, I dread the winters — yes, even in Southern California — where our old, drafty house turns freezing during the nights and I'm forced to turn to drastic measures to stay warm. This usually looks like going to sleep dressed like Rocky in full sweatsuit practice mode and layering blanket upon electric blanket to keep myself cocooned in warmth. And as much as I love my electric blanket, the reality is that it's just not the easiest to sleep with.

Enter the hot-water bottle. For starters, I'm a fan of nightly wind-down routines, so my new favorite part of the day is realizing it's time to put on the hot water for my warm fur baby. I fill up the kettle, wait for the water to get super steamy, then fill my little love muffin three quarters of the way up, push out the excess air, and seal it right up. Within seconds, the bottle begins to warm the fur cover, and from that moment, I can barely be apart from it for the rest of the night. Scroll through for all the reasons I'm thoroughly obsessed with this inanimate object.