Snow Day Surprise

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Winter in New England means plenty of snow, which means snow angels, skiing and snowball fights! But since we all live on campus, we can easily make it to class no matter how many feet of snow are piled outside our dorms. Snow days are a rare treat, but the storm last week us with snowed in professors and a foot of the fluffy white stuff. After spending so many hours inside recently, I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the library and play in the snow with some friends. 

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Next time you have a snow day (for all the northerners out there), grab friends, siblings or even your parents and get outside! Go sledding, make a snow(wo)man and enjoy the day! Before the hot chocolate and movie marathon of course...

Brrrrr....

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It's cold outside!!! Hot chocolate is the perfect way to stay warm. Grab a few friends and make this easy and delicious recipe!

Creamy Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup half-and-half cream

Directions:
Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

Recipe from allrecipes

Have a beautiful snowy day, ladies!!!

Beating the Winter Chill

As a California girl, I was not at all prepared for New England winters. I had no choice but to learn to walk very quickly and layer up. I've found that hats and scarves make a huge difference. Also, when it gets really frigid (like today), I will even wear tights or thigh high socks underneath my jeans--big game-changer. It's always tough to strike a balance between staying warm while you are outside and not getting too hot when you're in the very heated classrooms. Anyways, here's what I'm loving right now...

New England Winter Essentials

A tidy dorm, a tidy mind...

The key: Unpack!

I am not the biggest fan of packing/unpacking but it's so important to make your dorm your own space. I always like having a couple of hours on my first day back to really make my dorm my own again. Make sure to take the time to organize your clothes and put away those toiletries. I also love decorating my room. There will be a post to come on decorations (I tend to go a little crazy).

Whether you are hanging out with friends, studying for a midterm, or just unwinding - it's so much nicer to do when your room doesn't look like this:

My floor before unpacking my suitcase.