Busting Out the Christmas

    Last night Steven and I went downtown to see the Magnificent Mile Lights Parade...er rather watch the hordes of people stomping all over each other to get a glimpse of the sparkly floats. It was seriously of the most crowded events I think I've been to since my arrival in Chicago. We went last year, but for some reason it didn't seem quite as crowded. After attempting to find a decent spot to see anything, we settled for some good quality people watching, and boy was it a good night for it. I think one of our favorite parts was getting to walk in the middle of the road down all the main streets, as they were all blocked off-yes, I know, we are easily amused.
    So the main point of this adventure was to get Steven in the Christmas spirit so I could bust out all my Christmas decorations. It worked! We went home to our nice toasty apartment, lit some apple spice and cinnamon candles, and pulled out all the Christmas decorations. After we transformed our little home into a Christmas wonderland we turned out the lights and sat down to view our handiwork and all the sparkling lights.
    Growing up when the time would come to set up the Christmas tree we had a party (because my family used any excuse we could to have a little party). Dad would go out to the store while we set up the tree (I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to be recruited for the job) and would buy some eggnog, a spread of cheeses, meats, crackers and peppermint ice cream. By the time he got home the house would be decorated and the tree would be up and ready to be trimmed with ornaments from the past. We would turn out the lights and gather around the lit up tree to hang our precious trinkets. We would share memories from the past that were linked to each ornament and laugh at each others funny stories. Finally when the tree was finished we would run for the kitchen to gorge ourselves with all the delicious treats that dad had purchased for the occasion. The family would once again return to the tree to stare in awe at the beauty that had long been anticipated.
    Though I am no longer able to be with my family to partake in the tradition, I still hold those memories close to my heart. I wanted to have a little bit of that tradition here in my own little home. The funny thing is, now that I'm eating a vegan diet, the only thing I can eat out of that list of goodies that dad brought home, is the crackers. I wasn't really in a cracker mood so I decided to try to relive the eggnog tradition in the form of a latte. It's a little bit of a stretch, but we need to create our own traditions now anyway, right?
    Last year Steven and I bought Bigelow Eggnogg'n Tea and it was really good. It had a nice strong eggnog flavor. I decided to get a little creative and here is what happened:

Eggnog Latte

Ingreidents:

1/2 cup almond milk

espresso (or coffee)

1 Bigelow Eggnogg'n tea bag

1 tsp Stevia (or sugar)

Directions:

Brew your espresso  (or coffee) and pour it into your cup. Stir in the Stevia (or sugar if you prefer) and then plop the tea bag into the espresso to seep. Meanwhile steam your milk and when it's finished stir it into the coffee, and finally, don't throw away the foam! It's the best part-plop it right on top. It will make your mind think it's whip cream.