November

Happy November! :0)

I would like to take this moment to remind everyone that there is a very important holiday between Halloween and Christmas... Thanksgiving! Despite what the stores may lead you to believe, their shelves already bursting with Christmas decor, November should not be pre-holiday madness time; that can wait until Black Friday, thank you very much. November is a month to be thankful, to enjoy our loved ones and the last crisp days of fall. (Check out the (In)Courage website for a free, beautiful November desktop wallpaper for your computer!)

To help you with that endeavor, I am pleased to share a new recipe I have tried and loved - chocolate syrup! Probably I am the only person who reads the back of chocolate syrup bottles or hot chocolate canisters and gets apoplectic over the clutter of toxic ingredients, but if you have done so you will be as excited as I am to find a cheap, healthy, easy and safe recipe for homemade chocolate syrup.

Chocolate Syrup

1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar (I used 1/2 cup of honey)1 dash salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla

Stir together. Boil 2-5 min or until thickened. Store in the fridge. Yum!


I was finally able to take a halfway decent picture of the lamp I mentioned in a previous post. The smaller of the two in the set, anyway. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I really like them!

Unfortunately for Eric, I'm an expensive habit. We'd been talking about buying me a dresser, since it looks like we'll be in this apartment for a while (lots of moving tends to lead to a minimalist approach to furniture so I've been avoiding getting a dresser), and when he asked me what kind I wanted I was ready with an answer. So yesterday we took a drive out to The Wood Carte in Queensbury - I love that store! We got the very last model in the finish I wanted - black to match our wrought iron bed, with a stained wood top to match the wood of Eric's dresser. Isn't it beautiful?! I promise I'm done being an expensive habit now... for a little while anyway. :0)

While we were there we picked up a sign too. Lovely carved wood with a brass tack flowers design that says "Home is Where Your Story Begins"; we hung it over the arch that leads from the living room to the dining room. This apartment feels more like home than anywhere else we've lived!