Holiday Decor + Healthy Hot Cocoa Recipe
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas has been on repeat in my head since my husband and I decorated our tiny but cozy apartment for the Holidays. I have to be honest and admit that for the first time, I really wasn't feeling excited to decorate. I'm normally not the scrooge type but something about this year just didn't have me jumping for joy at the thought of decorating. But I saw on the news that apparently decorating your house for the Holidays can actually make you a happier person. After discussing this with my friends, one of whom is a counselor, I decided that this theory had truth to it and I should just suck it up and get some decorations.
As I mentioned before, we are currently not living in the largest of spaces and therefore I knew we wouldn't have enough room for an actual tree. Now my husband who is like Santa's favorite elf, aka the lover of all things Christmas, really wanted a big real tree and I was thinking more like the Charlie Brown tree. So as in typical marriage fashion, we decided to compromise! We got a cute table top tree that is the perfect size for our space and we decorated it with white, silver, and gold ornaments! We found most of our ornaments at Target and we added a few animal ones and some sparkly ones of course! And I have to say that I love the way it turned out! It makes me happy every time I look at it!
As we decorated the tree we played all the classic Christmas songs and talked about all the Christmases we've shared together. This year will be our 10th Christmas together and I can't even tell you how crazy that sounds to me! It's so special to see how we've both grown so much personally and how our relationship has changed throughout the years. It's nights like this, decorating the tree and listening to Christmas music, that just make me so grateful to always have my best friend to share this life with.
Okay, I'm done being sappy! Besides the tree, we also decorated a few other things in our place. One of my favorites would have to be the Let it Snow sign I purchased from Target. We intertwined some twinkle lights to make it pop and I love the way it turned out!
I also picked up the cutest little tree decorations that we placed on our book shelf! They are a nice way to add a little holiday touch and they were inexpensive! Of course, we got them at Target! I might as well just live at that place!! I know I can't be alone in the Target addiction, right ladies?? Ha, I wouldn't have it any other way though! My husband might have a different opinion but happy wife, happy life :)
The last thing we got was just some tinsel garland to hang around the fire place and then we added the same twinkle lights to give it a little extra something. It's crazy how just by adding a few decorations, I feel like we turned our place into a little winter wonderland and I'm just a tiny bit obsessed with it!
Now I don't know about you all but when we decided to start decorating, I immediately knew I had to have some Hot Cocoa! And as I'm trying to eat healthier for my PCOS, I knew I needed to find a recipe that was dairy-free and low in sugar but still tasted delicious! Iβm happy to report I found one that is healthy and tastes good especially if youβre a fan of dark chocolate!
Healthier Hot Cocoa Recipe:
- 1 cup almond milk ( or dairy-free milk of choice )
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder ( rich in antioxidants & magnesium )
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
Directions: Place all ingredients in a pot and stir until it's hot! Then finish with your topping of choice! Mine was marshmallows ( not the healthiest but I did get gluten-free ones and you only live once right?? )
As always, thanks so much for reading and hope you enjoyed a look into our little winter wonderland! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and let me know if you try the hot cocoa!!
-xoxo, M.