Mexican Hot Chocolate

I have to say I have two favorite combinations that involve chocolate, chocolate/orange and chocolate/cinnamon. Have you ever tried Mexican Hot Chocolate? This recipe is courtesy of Tyler Florence from my favorite channel of all, Food Network and is sure to keep you warm on those cold winter nights. :)

Ingredients:

3 ounces (tablet or cone) Mexican chocolate or bittersweet chocolate
3 cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
Miniature marshmallows or a dollop of whip cream, for serving
6 cinnamon sticks (preferably Mexican canela), for serving

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, break up the chocolate into smaller pieces. In a saucepan, combine the chopped chocolate, milk, sugar, and salt over medium-low flame. Heat and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and milk is very hot, but not boiling, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and froth the chocolate milk with a mini whisk. Divide the hot chocolate among big mugs, top each with a few marshmallows, and serve with the cinnamon sticks as stirrers.

Another Tree But This Little One is Real

Here's my second tree. :) This one is real and let me tell you it's so hard to keep the cats out of it! I know I will come home from work one day and the whole thing will be toppled over. ;)

A closer look at some of the ornaments on the tree...

And a cozy living room....

Pink Saturday and I've Been Tagged!

I think I have enough pink today to consider this Pink Saturday! Ha! Okay everyone, here is my pink tree! I've got one more surprise a little later. I'm creating another tree but it's not done yet. I like the smaller trees for each room than one big tree. Also, on Black Friday I got a few things I can show you for Pink Saturday. Wait, what color am I on again? Is tomorrow Blue Sunday? ;) Okay, enough confusion. I got most of these things from Ross (if you can believe it). I also had to have one more serving bowl for next Saturday. We have a friend's Thanksgiving a week after family Thanksgiving. :) I can't wait for another wonderful meal with good friends! I'll be making some delicious cranberry orange relish. I'll post that later. ;)

A beautiful tree topper....

Isn't this metal sign adorable? This is from Ross! A great find in my book. :)

A pink tea caddy for teas and sugar....

A stunned male cat wondering why there are so many pink things in his domain....

A beautiful serving bowl from Home Goods....

Okay, so I've also been tagged again by the sweetest gal and a new blog friend to me, Texas Daisy over at http://gloryfeathers.blogspot.com/. I'm supposed to tell you 8 things about myself and tag 8 more people. I will leave this tag open to anyone who wants to join in though!!

Here goes!

1. I have had a long time dream of opening up my own toiletry (soaps and lotions) store. I used to manage a Crabtree & Evelyn when I was going to college. I used to come home smelling SO clean!

2. I have three very ugly scars on my body and two of them are from accidents. I'm a klutz. I burned my arm with a curling iron because it fell out of my hair. I have a scar on the bottom part of my back because I got up and scratched it very deeply on the corner of a metal cage (my mother and father used to own a dog grooming shop). I should have gotten stitches but didn't. Last a scar right in the middle of my chest from a mole being removed. I should have gotten radiation but didn't.

3. I used to be a dog groomer for my mother and father's dog grooming business. :)

4. I have a fear of large crowds (I'm a bit claustrophobic).

5. I played the flute when I was younger.

6. I miss having a bird as a pet. I grew up with birds all my life. Our family had three chickens, quails, pheasants, ducks, crows. My father and I rescued birds from large oil vats where he worked. We would rehabilitate them and release them into wildlife habitats. The three chickens we had were named Huey, Duey and Luey. I miss Duey. I could call him from the back door for food and he would literally come running and jump for his food.

7. I used to attend Japanese language school (as did my sister). I won first place in the Japanese Language Contest. I have no clue what I was saying. It was all memorization. Don't tell my mother. ;)

8. If I could have an animal sanctuary, I would. :)

I'm Recovering from Black Friday

Hi all. I'm recovering from "Black Friday". My first! I am no longer a "Black Friday" virgin. I will be recovering most of tomorrow morning (aka SLEEPING after being out in that crazy, scary and sometimes dangerous crowd for 10 hours since 5:30 this morning then going back out for another 4 hours). See, I still like to live on the edge sometimes! Pinch me, am I still alive? I'll be posting something a little more exciting than this tomorrow when I wake up.

Good night and sweet dreams!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope you all have a safe, thankful and truly enjoyable Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for so much in my life. I don't typically bring up too much that is personal in my life but I have gone through a lot of changes in the last several months both good and bad but through a break up with a boyfriend, having a very stressful job, trying to move during the holidays to a new place of my own I have decided to focus on what I am thankful for. I am thankful that I have my family and friends. I am thankful that I was offered a better job in the last two weeks back with my boss I used to work for (especially during this economy). I am thankful for my two wonderful cats who are there for me unconditionally. I am thankful for the positive changes I know this world will welcome and all the love that I know we will all come to know for this world to find peace and true happiness. I am also so, so thankful that I have met every single one of you. During these transitions, coming home every night to talk to all of you has made my life so much easier and so much fun! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for me as friends.

Another quick thing! Melissa over at Subonnet Cottage has awarded me three awards. Wow! Award overload, I love it and I love Melissa! Thank you so much, Melissa. Melissa is the sweetest, most down to earth person. I can tell, even just through blogging, she has a heart of gold. :) I truly value her as a blog friend. When I get back from stuffing myself, I will send these awards off to others and spread the love!

Quick Project for the Evening and Another Peek at the Tree

There was something about tonight that made me want to CREATE!

Here's a quick project.

1. One 4" x 5" Artists Canvas

2. Starfish (that will fit canvas)

3. Craft Glue

4. Pink Acrylic Paint

5. White Acrylic Paint

6. Glitter

Paint your canvas with pink acrylic paint (or color of your choice). I had to put about three coats on my canvas to reach the desired color. On the last coat sprinkle glitter all over canvas. Paint your starfish white if it isn't already white. I had trouble finding a small one that was not orange. Once both the canvas and starfish are dry, glue starfish to canvas. That's it! I will make some more in the upcoming weeks and also attach ribbon to the back so I can hang them.

The tree is coming along beautifully! Here is another sneak peek.

For the Love of Pink!

Guess what I bought today? Here's a little hint but you can't see it until I'm done decorating it!

A Visit to a Fabulous Theatre and More Random Decor

I'm still decorating! :)

My friends and I saw Twilight on Saturday. I have to say I really liked it! I liked how the whole thing was shot and it had a dark, yet sensual undertone about it without getting graphic. I've always thought that less is more and leaving what's left out for the imagination to fill in is the best. Okay, but the flying around from tree to tree got a little cheesy but the director still pulled it off for me.

Okay, on to the good part of this whole movie trip. We saw the movie in what is supposedly the best theatre in the United States. I'm not sure if you've all heard of it but it's called Cinetopia. It's a very elegant theatre where the accommodations are comfortable, the chairs have their own footstools and at the foot of the screen is an area where tons of pillows are thrown down and you can lay on the floor and watch the movie. That was a bit close for us so we sat at the top. The waiters and waitresses actually come to your seat in the theatre and take your order for dinner and serve you while you're watching the movie! How cool is that? The food is good food too and not just hot dogs and popcorn and the menu is actually put on the screen in the theatre so you can see what you're ordering. After your movie you can step into an elegant wine bar for some wine tasting and a fancy dessert. Here are a few pictures of the inside of the restaurant and wine bar. Oh I'm spoiled now and can't go to any other theatre. You do, however, pay about $3.00 more for a movie but it is so choice.

This was beautiful. The fireplace in the restaurant was full of crystals or clear quartz rocks of some type instead of wood. It set off a haunting glow. The perfect setting for a movie like Twilight. :)

Getting the Onaments Out and I've Been Tagged!

It's time to get those ornaments out of the boxes and let them come alive! I'm still searching for that box. Go figure. Here are a few of my favorites! Once I find the other boxes I'll show more. :)

Also, I've been tagged by Emily at the Open Pantry. She has a great site and great recipes! She's encouraging me to post more things that I attempt to cook on my site. :) Anyway, it's the Seven Random Things Tag!

Here are the rules:

Link the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random or weird things about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and include links. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Okay, so here goes!

1. I have a strange obsession about checking to make sure I've turned everything off before I leave home. No seriously, I will drive halfway up the block and have to go back and check again.

2. I have cable television but I seem to only watch one channel, The Food Network! I wonder if they have a package for that one channel?

3. I have an obsession with animals. I've been known to choose animals over a boyfriend.

4. I have a flutter in my heart (Mitral Valve Prolapse)

5. I love spoiling my niece. I send her a box of goodies...for almost every holiday since she lives in another state.

6. I wrote a 300 page romance novel (don't ask me to show you because I'm too embarrassed but damn happy I was able to write 300 pages worth of words!).

7. My favorite food is sushi! It should be, I'm half Japanese!

Okay, so I'm going to leave this tag open to anyone who wants to join in!

I'm off to see Twilight with two of my good friends. Have a great Saturday all!

Show and Tell Friday!

It's Show and Tell Friday hosted by Kelli at There's No Place Like Home.

Today I just have a couple of pictures to show you. These were given to me by a friend of mine. They came from her aunt's house (who passed away about 8 years ago, God rest her soul). They are two very sweet pictures of, what looks to me, like a French girl. In one picture she's very well dressed with her pink boa around her shoulders and her fancy hat (so me). In the second picture she is with her dog (like me, an animal lover) and a hat box (again just like me....I love shopping). I'm not sure if these are vintage or old but I just really liked her sweet innocent face (me DEFINITELY innocent). They are hanging in my guest bedroom. :)

Enjoy and hope you have something special to share this Show and Tell Friday! :)

A Cozy Evening of Nesting, Baking and Awarding.

Alright, you were all pretty close to what I was baking tonight. :) Tonight I baked chocolate chocolate chip banana bread. Oh it made my place smell so yummy! I also pulled out a few more things out of boxes to continue my decorating quest (see flowers above) and as promised I am honoring some more blog friends with the Butterfly award Melody awarded me yesterday.

Baking chocolate chocolate chip banana bread.....is so therapeutic. If you want the recipe go to http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/archives/88 because that's where I found it and she has much better pictures). :) I have to say though this is THE BEST chocolate banana bread I have ever tasted in my life! The consistency is a cross between a bread and a brownie. It probably tastes fabulous with a black tea.

And a few loaves for friends...

All that baking wore Mocha out.

Now, as promised I am honoring a few of my blog friends with the Butterfly Award given to me yesterday by Tea Time with Melody.

The rules of this award are:

1. Pick ten people to pass this onto if you choose.

2. Contact them and let them know you have chosen them for this award.

3. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award.

Okay, my choices are:

1. Domestic Fashionista (because she just has the coolest ideas). :)
2. Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly (because she has great ideas too and I love her pictures!).

3. Imagine and Create (because I LOVE her art!)

4. A Duck in Her Pond (because I just love her writing!)

5. Tales from an OC Cottage (because I just love all the glitter!)'

6. Cynthia's Cottage Design (I just love her little cottage!).

7. Hannah Shaw (because I love her handbags and her jewelry designs!)

You guys deserve this award and thanks for being great blog friends!