Congratulations on the safe trip and
My wife had no trouble driving the Z in 5" heels... manual transmission
It seems Blizzaks are generally the snow tire of choice around the forum, but don't take this Texan's word for it. If you can avoid driving in the snow for the rest of the winter season, you may be able to put off new tires until you need them or until next winter. At that point you may just want some high quality all season tires if you don't see too much snow or can avoid driving in it (i.e. public transportation or boyfriend drives you).
Or as Kenchan recommends the Conti DWS
