Can we all just take a minute to appreciate my new mug? I got it at Marshall’s last weekend for $3.99. Alex hates it (at least I didn’t buy a whole set, honey!), but I’m completely obsessed. I might never drink coffee out of anything else. Aside from the obvious (gold, owl) this mug is huge. You can’t tell, but I actually had to double this recipe just to fill it up enough to take a photo.

I was just thinking the other morning about two things I wish I knew before becoming a parent. One was that my car would become a dumpster for half-empty sippy cups, Nutrigrain bar wrappers, Thomas trains, Barney CDs, raisins, goldfish, and crushed graham crackers. It’s so messy it’s embarrassing (what if I get pulled over?), but if you have a toddler then you know it takes a Herculean effort just to get your kid in and out of their car seat every day. The concept of then going back to clean Cheerios out from between the seats is laughable.

The other thing I wish I knew was that we were going to need much, much bigger coffee mugs. I love the gorgeous ones we got for our wedding, but at 6AM a dainty cup is just not going to cut it. Basically, I want a porcelain Big Gulp with a handle. Over the past two years, my mug of choice has slowly grown larger and larger. This owl is the biggest yet, and I think it might finally be The One.

Um, I think I got a little off topic. I meant to tell you about this amazing hot chocolate. At least a couple of nights a week, I have a super healthy dessert of almond milk hot chocolate and a bowl of fresh berries. It’s nice and light, yet still feels decadent and satisfies my nightly chocolate craving. To make it extra luxurious, sometimes I whisk almond butter into it. It makes it really creamy and thick, and the last few sips have these delicious little nubby almond bits in them.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick if you want. I just did it because I read an article on food photography that said it’s important to create lines. Whatevs. Drink up! It’s getting cold outside!

Almond Butter Hot Chocolate
Makes 1 serving

1 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the almond milk, cocoa, sugar, and almond butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture is steaming and just barely simmering, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Pour into a mug.