Spiced Hot Chocolate

best for curling up in a blanket with a book and music on a cold, winter day

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
     Combine and heat in saucepan


as for the book and music, I recommend--

and

Mexican Coffee

wonderful for waking up to a cold winter morning

Use a coffee maker:
1 pinch nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp coca powder
3-4 tsp ground coffee
     All of these (in this order) go into the coffee filter
Use 4-8 cups water depending on desired strength

Chocolate-Peanut butter Smoothie -- Healthy!

I love it when I find recipes that are sweet and still healthy.. this one is no exception!

Banana
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs peanut butter
1 cup milk
Ice
Throw it all in a blender, and you have your healthy dessert smoothie! 

Spinach Smoothie-- actually good!!

After eating a tremendous amount of food over Thanksgiving, I decided a healthy diet was in order.  The biggest problem with healthy eating, for me, is breakfast.  Normally, I just drink coffee, but if I have time to eat, it's nothing good.  And, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.  I love fruit, especially in the morning, so I looked for some fruity breakfast food that wouldn't require much prep time at all.  So, in my quest for a healthy breakfast, I ran across this-- Spinach Smoothie.  ..... yeah, sounds disgusting, right?  I thought so too.  And, the picture didn't help much-- bright green mush...  But, thinking back to the pounds of pumpkin pie currently settling on my thighs, I thought, why not?  So, I made one, and.... IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD!!!  I honestly can't taste the spinach at all, and I'm not just saying that.  And, the best part, it took a couple minutes to make.  So, here you go, pumpkin pie lovers:

Spinach Smoothie
Banana
Strawberries
Vanilla yogurt (i just used a 6oz yoplait)
Baby spinach leaves
Literally all you do is throw everything in a blender.  I would just add however much fruit to taste.  If you like more banana, add more. Like strawberries, add more. And, just keep adding handfuls of spinach until it turns bright green.

Being a college student, I sleep in as long as possible, so I made extra and refrigerated some and froze some. So, I'm going to pour up some in the morning and add a frozen bit to act as ice haha.  Hope it stays good!!

Iced Coffee

Only encouraging my obsession with coffee, here is a fantastic recipe for iced coffee!  I found it on Pioneer Woman.  It's super easy and tastes great!

Brew some hot coffee, and sweeten it with sweetened condensed milk.  I think it was somewhere around 2 tablespoons of the sweetened condensed milk per glass of coffee, but just sweeten it to taste.  (dissolving the condensed milk is easier to do when the coffee is hot)  Pour over ice and add a splash of half and half.  And, if you want, some chocolate syrup to make it a mocha.  Perfect! 

Thrift Store Makeover 2

I decided to get more adventurous with my thrift store transformation this time!
Before: 

Shirt dresses have their place, but this just isn't one.  I decided that I'd try going for a sundress.  So, I first cut off the sleeves and the top part of the collar (this ended up being kinda messy, but the former seams don't show in the finished product, so it turned out okay) and cut the seam that goes on top of your shoulder.  Then, I folded down and sewed the fabric to make it go straight across my chest making a strapless dress.  Since I cut off the sleeves, I also had to sew up the sides also.  Finally, I hemmed up the bottom of the dress... a lot.
The finished product just didn't look right, so I had my sister, Bee, look at it, and she suggested a black belt to cover up the elastic at the waist.  It worked!  

After: 

tonight I'm loving....