After consuming the last slice of peanut butter chocolate ganache pie on Thanksgiving weekend, I felt full. But the strange emptiness of this pandemic holiday season lingered. While connecting with my extended family over Zoom was fun, the experience was a stark reminder of the vast physical space between us.
As we head into the final stretch of 2020, I’m trying to focus on rituals that bring me comfort — and I’ve found some new ones this year. I love nerding out about birds, so I signed up for Project FeederWatch, a survey that runs from November to April and asks you to count the birds that visit your backyard. My husband and I are watching Cobra Kai, and I’m revisiting my childhood obsession with Sweet Valley High books through snarky blogs. And our family is enjoying a lot of online gaming together.
Coffee has always brought me comfort, so I can’t exactly call it a new ritual. But with more time at home and less in coffee shops, I have been finding ways to upgrade my favorite beverage. Initially, I thought I was pretty sophisticated when I bought a little electric milk frother on Amazon, but when Elsie Weisskoff at Redbubble shared some cute drink design ideas, I decided it would be fun to try one.
Here’s my attempt at Elsie’s “flower power” drink. I used regular coffee, frothed milk, and Hershey’s chocolate syrup on top.
I need more practice, but I’m impressed with how it turned out. And of course, it tasted good too. You can see the design tutorials for this drink and others here, along with ways to put a fresh twist on your usual beverages. I’m intrigued by the “Cereal Surprise” recipe, which involves putting your favorite cereal around the rim of your cocoa or coffee. A Cinnamon Toast Crunch mocha might be in my near future…
Whatever beverage is in your cup, I’m toasting you from afar as we close out 2020. Cheers to the rituals — whether old or new — that are sparking joy as we look forward to the new year with hope. ❤︎
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