Winter Warmer: Homemade Marshmallows

I really love hot chocolate on a cold day and since we have gotten more snow than I know what to do with recently, it's been the perfect opportunity to make it. With Valentine's Day just come and gone, I thought it might be fun to make my own heart (and snowflake to reflect the weather, of course) marshmallows as the perfect compliment to top off my drink. The homemade hot chocolate recipe I typically use is below with simple instructions on how to make your own marshmallows!

Hot Chocolate Recipe

• 4 cups (1 qt.) milk
• 1/3 cup hot water
• dash of sea salt
• 1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1/2 cup sugar

Homemade Marshmallow Recipe

• 8 oz container of Cool Whip Lite
• Baking pan
• Parchment Paper

Marshmallow Instructions
1. Line a baking pan (8'' or smaller) with parchment paper
2. Spread your Cool Whip evenly into the pan and flatten the top as much as possible with a spoon
3. Put it in the freezer for 24 hours so it hardens up
4. When it's hardened, take it out of the freezer and use cookie cutters to form your marshmallows
(note: the Lite Cool Whip didn't harden as much as I was hoping it would and got soft quickly after it was taken out of the freezer so I would try using the regular kind if you can stand the extra calories)
5. Add the marshmallow to your favorite hot drink and enjoy!

 

{DIY} Valentine's Day Candy

I love Valentine's Day but for the most unexpected reasons. My husband and I don't go out to lavish dinners or buy each other expensive gifts (we are planning on Indian and a House of Cards marathon this year) but it's nice to stop the usual bustling in life even just for a day and acknowledge the special person in your life. Since my husband loves chocolate and I have a niece and four nephews who I always send something to, I decided to make my own Valentines candy this year. After scouring Pinterest, I found some great options that I decided to try myself...here is how everything came out!

{DIY} Heart Bites

Following this simple recipe, I made my own heart candies using just white (and milk) chocolate, heart iced cube trays from Michael's and festive toppings! I even took it one step further and made mint candies just by adding some mint extract and green food coloring to the white chocolate...both kinds were delicious!

{DIY} Valentine's Fudge

I was a little weary of making fudge since I had grown up eating the best of the best in Maine but using this recipe that I found on Pinterest, it was actually an easy baking project. Instead of Strawberry, I used pink vanilla icing and although the color might throw you, it's fitting for the holiday in addition to being absolutely delicious (I promise). Lastly, I wrapped the individual pieces up in clear bags tied with festive ribbon to finish it all off!

Military Style

Old Navy sweater/ Madden Girl boots (old but similar here)/ Jcrew Scarf/ Forever21 Jacket/ Jcrew Factory Leggings/ Sekonda watch (last seen here)/ Vintage Coach bag