Getting in the spirit

Though it may not even be thanksgiving yet, it is the Christmas season according to Starbucks. The red cups are back, and when I went to Starbucks for coffee last week, I found myself with a conundrum that could really only happen to someone like me.

You see, I have an adorable re-usable coffee sleeve that my best friend bought for me, it is bright and springy, and I have used it as a pattern for similar sleeves for fiends and family, but I always use the same one.  I like things to match - it's part of my aesthetic OCD - and when I went to put my cute pink and teal coffee sleeve on the red Christmas cup, I nearly had a mismatched meltdown. I know, only me.

Of course this meant that it was time to break down and make myself a new Christmas coffee sleeve. It turned out really cute, and I was super excited to use it, until I realized that my sleeve had bright cherry red, and the Starbucks red cups are a darker, deep red this year. I can't seem to win, but at least I got in the same seasonal theme and color family, and it is still really cute!

Wait... Free Starbucks?!

Have you seen this?! This weekend Starbucks is doing but one get one free on their holiday beverages from 2-5pm. Umm yes! I'm in for sure! This is perfect for all of you who will be shopping this weekend. There are some awesome deals out there, but I'm not sure I understand the point of a Pre-Black Friday sale... I'm all for a sale, don't get me wrong, but the whole forgetting the entire holiday of thanksgiving thing rubs me the wrong way.

I may do a little shopping the weekend, but for the most part I will be devoting my weekend to getting into the holiday spirit in other ways. Saturday morning is my hometown's annual holiday parade, and just because I don't live there anymore doesn't mean that I get out of the festivities, ill be there, freezing my butt off with everyone else!

Sunday is devoted to frosting thanksgiving sugar cookies, and I have some really cute designs planned for this year. I am so looking forward to hanging out in my sweats and getting frosting everywhere!

I hope your weekend is just as festive, I'd love to hear about it!

Obsession

Ever since my very first experience with a vanilla bean frappucino I have loved Starbucks, and since then I have tried many different flavors, experimenting at home to see if it was possible to recreate my favorites. Nothing has ever been as good as what I can get at Starbucks. And yes, I fully recognize that i have become a Starbucks snob - it must be a true, stand alone Starbucks, not an in-store kiosk because those are just not the same. I have drink orders that cannot be repeated, or understood by anyone who does not frequent my favorite coffee shop on a regular basis. But despite the fact that we are currently nearing the end if my favorite time if year - pumpkin spice latte season, I have found myself ignoring my Starbucks gold card, preferring the convenience of my new toy. Why did I not buy this Keurig sooner?! I could've saved so much money, and I'm not just talking the cost of a latte, but gas to get to the nearest Starbucks and back to work is almost 20 minutes out of my way. You live you learn right? And I am learning that I love this machine, and all of the wonderful goodness that comes with it. Whoever created the variety pack is a genius. I love k-cups, and if that is all that I get for Christmas, I will be perfectly happy!

So, did I mention that I love this machine?

And now to the thing that I actually wanted to share with you today, and yes, it is somewhat related to my little rant above.

I have a fairly extensive collection of coffee mugs, this one is my favorite. Of all time. It's from Starbucks (I fully believe their travel mugs are far superior to any others, and I love the designs), circa 2006 - back in the day when I could use my meal plan at our campus Starbucks (and you could buy drink ware with your meal plan as long as it was purchased with a Starbucks beverage - leftover meal plan dollars bought MANY Christmas gifts when I was in college).

As you can see I have designed my entire kitchen decor around this wonderful piece of commercial arty, and I will be devastated if it ever breaks (like the gold Christmas version with the reindeer that I dropped on the cement:).

There you have it. Longest post ever about absolutely nothing!

Starbucks justification of the day

I had to stop at Starbucks today because I'm getting my hair done this afternoon, and I needed to break a $10 bill so I can tip my hair stylist, so I HAD to go to Starbucks...

It's Friday!

That's right it's Friday, do your little celebration dance. That also means that it's time for me to post some yummy seasonal treats, so I have two for you today (well technically one of them isn't seasonally, but it's definitely a guilty pleasure, so I'm posting it anyway).

The first treat is available around the country, and I generally would rather post something that you can make yourself, but this is my all time favorite fall treat, so I have to share it with you. This past week has been wonderful because I had my very first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season!

That's right, I know that it's the very beginning of September, but Pumpkin Latte's are now available! (the image is courtesy of Starbucks.com, but I really don't recommend visiting their website because it gives you the nutritional information for their products, and there are just some things that I'd rather not know). You can find tons of recipes to make your own pumpkin latte, but I haven't tried any of them, so let me know which ones are good, I'd love to share them!

My second treat is not exactly seasonal, actually, these are wonderful all year long, and I am actually going to make some as soon as I get done posting this, so I present to you, Monster Cookies! (photo courtesy of the Food Network)

Monster cookies are giant, wonderful goodness. When I first saw the recipe I couldn't imagine that mixing all of those things together would actually taste good, but they are incredible. You can also find a ridiculous amount of recipes for monster cookies, but the one that I have always used is from Paula Deen (one of my favorites). Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies (M&Ms)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins, optional
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

They are super easy to make, this is definitely a recipe worth printing for later use! Just a note, this is Paula Deen's recipe, directly from foodnetwork.com, when I make these cookies I personally do not use salt, or raisins, and I have seen other variations of this recipe that include walnuts. Fell free to tailor them to what you like, baking is all about your interpretation of the recipe.

Ok I'm off to make some cookies, have a wonderful Friday and a safe Holiday weekend!