Thailand Dreaming...

25 February 2014

I just bought my tickets for a two week trip to Thailand at the end of March!  I am so excited and looking forward to it!

It should be the adventure of a lifetime!

Have you been to Thailand?  What are your favorite spot?  Tips?

Mandarin & Green Tea Hot Toddy Warm Up!

07 February 2014


 It's a pretty rare sight to see my beloved city covered in a blanket of snow, but I guess those winter storms finally caught up with Portland.  Today is a beautiful day for a snow day!  The pup and I ventured out for a little snow play date, but mostly I've been really enjoying just cozying up inside and watching the snow fall

This is the perfect perfect day for a nice warm drink.  I whipped up a little special version of the classic hot toddy and it is divine comfort.


This is a really easy cocktail to make and it's really a nice fresh, sweet take on the classic - a mandarin & green tea hot toddy!  I used my yummy new Celestial Seasonings Green Tea (compliments of the fine folks at Influencer) combined with these beautiful seasonal mandarin oranges and a bit of spice and honey.  It takes the classic toddy to a smoother, sweeter place while still having all the comfort and warmth of the classic.  It also has all the great benefits of green tea!

Mandarin & Green Tea Hot Toddy
2 cups water
3 slices of mandarin
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon whole cloves plus additional to pierce orange and lemon wheels
2-3 thinly sliced pieces of ginger
2 ounces of spiced rum
1 bag of green tea*
1 tablespoon honey (or more for taste)
Combine water, orange, and spices in a small pot and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes to extract the spice flavor and then strain liquid into a mug. Steep green tea for 2-3 minutes. Add honey and rum and give it a stir. Garnish with half of a mandarin slice and cozy up to enjoy!
*Celestial Seasonings also makes a Mandarin Orchard Tea that I am excited to try with this recipe!

You can make this drink with or without the alcohol, either way, it's a sweet warm way to enjoy the snow.


What are your favorite snow day activities?

Creative Collective : A Winter Playlist

05 February 2014




This week's challenge for the Creative Collective was to create a playlist of new music.  I admit, I cheated a little on this one!  I started to go through music on Grooveshark to find some new artists that I hadn't heard before, but I found myself also getting caught up with old artists from my past that I'd almost forgotten about and also a few that have been playing on repeat in my car this season.  This winter has been full of ups and downs, cozy boring days of recovery and crazy adventures, horrible news followed great news...it's been a rollercoaster, but in the end, it's been about finding a place of contentment and learning to celebrate the little things.  That is what inspired my winter playlist.



What are you listening to this winter?
 
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