The Simplest and Most Delicious Way to Stay Warm this Winter

This is going to start out by being counter-intuitive.

I want you to start with ice cream. Well, technically we'll be ending with ice cream, but ice cream is essential to this endeavor. And I know ice cream is cold, and I know I told you this post was about being warm, but just stick with me here.

The ice cream should be cinnamon, ideally, but I accept that supermarkets are capitalist empires and cinnamon is not a popular flavor, so it can be difficult to find. If you find yourself unable to procure cinnamon ice cream, first of all, I'm sorry because you're missing out. Secondly, peppermint is good too. I can also tango with chocolate. It's a classic.

Now, this is the warm part: chocolate fudge sauce. Now, I'm not talking about this:

Even though it would be really fun to do this:

But this, ladies and gentlemen, is what I am talking about:

Read on for the recipe.

Latest Obsessions

On winter break, you have a lot of time on your hands. A lot of time to find new obsessions. Here's what I've been diggin' lately.

Apps



This app is called Neko Atsume and though it incites a lot of mockery from my companions, I love it. You put food and toys in your yard and cats come and leave silver or gold fish, which you can use to buy more food, toys, and house remodels. The better toys and food, the cuter and rarer the cats that come to your yard. Mock me all you want, this game is addicting.

Books



I've finally had the time to read some books for pleasure since I've been home for break, which is awesome. But the obsessive thing that I did was reorganize my bookshelf by color. Not included: many, many books with black spines. Who knew so many books had white and black spines? I do feel a sense of calm looking at it now. Although I'm not so sure I'll be as calm when I need to actually find a book, because this color coding doesn't really abide by any genre/author/title organization. Still fun.

Beauty



As part of my birthday present, my wonderful mother took me to Sephora and let me pick some things. As always, Sephora was an overwhelming experience with a plethora of choices to dizzy even the most well-oriented shopper. It took me a while to decide, but finally, my well-chosen choices are pictured above.  I love Benefit Cosmetics and already have their mascara and Gimme Brow products. They recently came out with a mascara primer, and after trying it in the store, I had to get it. It separates your lashes and makes them so light and fluffy I could keep mascara on all day.

I also treated myself to their High Beam highlighter. Similar to a nail polish bottle, it has a small brush inside, which you use to dot small bits of the liquid on your cheekbones and brow bones. After you lightly blend the dots, they produce a shimmer to rival mythical nymphs.

My last and most luxurious choice is the Nars Orgasm blush stick. I've always loved this color and it goes on so creamy and shimmery I feel dewy immediately. The stick applicator also makes it easy to apply as little or as much as you want. This is wonderful for me because I often put on too much "rouge" and end up looking like a flustered cherub.

My Books of the Moment: January

Books, books, glorious books. Can you smell 'em? Best smell in the world. This list includes books that are not quite "of the moment" but worth including anyway, since I haven't done a book post in a while. Just thought I'd be honest.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is one of those books that's not quite of the moment. I read it over the summer. I finished it so fast that if you blinked, you would have missed it in my hands. It was that good. The author wrote for some TV shows, including "Arrested Development" so her writing style is quite unique and refreshing. The narrative is a mixed medium type and includes emails, memos, found receipts, etc. It's a lot of fun putting the story together. Such a great read. I would suggest it to anyone and everyone, but especially mothers and/or daughters. The narrative features a strong mother/daughter bond that's quite moving. If I were in a book group that consisted of mother and/or daughter I would refuse to bake my trademark chocolate chip cookies for the meetings until this book was on the book list.

Jane Eyre has already been included in a previous "Books of the Moment" post, but I needed to include it again because it was that important to me. This book is amazing. If you read and you are a person you need to read Jane Eyre. A beautiful, significant, moving, and historically important read, put it on your list. I loved it so much I wrote my senior thesis for my English major on this novel. Wide Sargasso Sea relates to this. Inspired by Jane Eyre, and almost an accompaniment to it, Wide Sargasso Sea tells the same story, but from the perspective of Bertha Mason, the madwoman. After reading both, I cannot think of one without the other. It expands the story in an unforgettable way. Rather short, it's a quick read, but in my opinion it must be read after Jane Eyre. No exceptions.

I started Shadow of the Wind and got a good deal through it. I didn't want to bring it with me while traveling though, and so it remains unfinished. The story of a bookseller's son in Barcelona, tasked with protecting a rare book, this is a book lover's book. The novel is a love letter to books and those who love them. The story, so far, features the themes of love, growing up, and has a dark undercurrent of suspense. Since I haven't finished yet, I'm still in suspense, so that's the major theme for me at the moment--elongated suspense.

Since I didn't want to bring Shadow of the Wind with me, I was forced to start a new book on my travels, which turned out to be The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I'm almost done with this one and so far I love it. It's a murder mystery set in rural England and narrated by a young girl who has a passion for chemistry and an age-old rivalry with both her sisters. The writing in this novel is both witty, dry, and intriguingly beautiful at points.

I just received The Paris Wife as a birthday present and am very excited to get started. I've heard good things.

I just got back from my local bookstore (support your local bookstore plug: they're cozy and small and smell nice) with this haul.

As always, I'll let you know how I like all my to-be-reads.

New Semester's Resolutions

Hello, it's me. If you're wondering where I've been for all this time (are those the lyrics? Get back to me, Adele), the answer is a much needed WINTER BREAK. 

I've been in Buffalo, NYC, Lake Placid, and back to Buffalo. But I'll tell you about my fun NYC and ADK times later because I'm mysterious and allusive. 

For now let me interest you in my New Semester's Resolutions. I felt strange making New Year's Resolutions, because I don't know what I'll be doing, where I'll be living, or anything about my life 5 months from now. Hard to make resolutions for a life full of question marks. Isn't senior year great??? So, New Semester's Resolutions seems a little more realistic. A new semester is a new leaf, a fresh start. Here's what I'm hoping will make it a great one:

1. Write something for myself everyday. This can be a journal entry, blog post, short story, poem, song, whatever. As long as it's not an assignment or a to-do list, though I do love those. 
2. Draw a doodle in my new doodle book everyday. I bought a thin little Moleskin notebook that's small enough to put anywhere, so I started to draw little doodles about things that happened that day and date them. I want to keep those creative juices flowing. And maybe advance beyond stick figures.                                                                          
3. Exercise 4 times a week. 30 minutes of cardio activity 4 times a week is proven to be as effective as taking an antidepressant. Bring it on, right?! I want to feel my best this semester and not get down, as I can tend to do. If I can get the benefits of an expensive, side-effect ridden, prescription medication just by getting my lazy butt moving a few days a week, sign me up.                                                                                               

I have a few more, but they're just little organizational goals, like keep my desk clean and plan outfits the night before. I'd also like to take up knitting, but I don't trust myself enough to keep that Resolutions, so I figured I'd label it more of an "aspiration."