Drink up!

Happy almost spring! I'm one of those people who will drink an iced beverage anytime of the year, whether it's a smoothie or a cold lemonade. For example, this past winter, I ordered an iced coffee or an iced latte every time I went to a coffee shop. However, there are a few times during the season when I'm craving something warm and that happened to be the other day after I finished shoveling all the snow in my driveway. I decided to make homemade hot chocolate. YUM! After you taste it, you'll want to make it all year round! 

Yields: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

Homemade whipped cream

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Hot chocolate

• 60g (about 1/2 cup) dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 cups 2% milk

PROCEDURE:
Make sure your heavy whipping cream is chilled. Pour the cream and the sugar into a bowl. Next, whisk your arms away. You could even skip arm day because you'll definitely get a workout by doing this. Keep whisking until soft peaks form.

Next, in a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil under meadium-high heat. Once the milk starts boiling, lower the heat and add the chocolate and the cornstarch. Keep stirring until all the chocolate is melted and the cornstarch is dissolved. Pour your hot chocolate in a mug, spoon your whipped cream on top, stir, and enjoy! 

TIPS:
- I added the sugar because it gives the whipped cream a little added sweetness.
- It helps if both the bowl and the heavy whipping cream is chilled before whisking.
- If you'd like a slightly thicker hot chocolate, reduce your milk by 1/2 cup - 1 cup.

Snow

I LOVE the snow, I love the cold, and I love winter. I know.. it makes driving to school or work more difficult at times, but there are still good things that come with it. Like how snow makes everything look more beautiful or how every snowflake out there is unique. Each year it snows, my family FaceTimes our relatives in the Philippines because all they know is heat and rain... and they are SO amazed every single time. One of the reasons why I love living in New Jersey is that we get to experience every season and the different types of weather that come with it. I'm grateful because not everyone out there gets to experience building a snowman, or spring flowers blooming after a dreary winter, or sun beating on your face as you lay on the beach, or even the foliage of fall leaves on the ground. Maybe it's just the kid in me. Maybe it's because it reminds me of the holidays and LOTS of food. Maybe it's because I like shoveling. Or maybe it's because I actually enjoy getting "stuck" at home with my family. I don't know what it is but I love the snow. 

Beacon, NY

So last month, on the weekend before our five year anniversary, I took my usual Greyhound bus up to NYC. Right before we went out to dinner, Kyle surprised me with some exciting news - we were going up to Beacon, NY for the rest of the weekend! I know I know.. Beacon is no Florida or Cancun, however, it's someplace new that both of us have never been to, and considering we usually see each other every other weekend, anytime spent together is a vacation for me. 

Anyway, Beacon was awesome. and COLD. We took the train up and pretty much walked everywhere from there. It's a small, quaint town, so everything - food, bars, coffee shops, convenient stores - was on this two mile strip. We stayed at this cozy AirBnB, and I highly recommend this awesome home to anyone thinking about taking a trip up there.

Here is a video I put together :)

Did you know that Beacon is home to one of the last dummy lights in the world?