Scenes from the Polar Vortex

My car was snowed in. Thankfully, soon after the world's sweetest boyfriend started to dig it out (which would have taken. . . I don't know. . . 59 hours), a man drove by with a snowplow. Two minutes later, the car was accessible. One minute after that, it became apparent that the battery was dead (no, I didn't think to start the car once or twice in the past 4 days.) One more minute, we learned that the car was a solid brick of ice and the hood was frozen shut. I went inside and actually started to cry. I then made myself a treat.

The most luxurious hot chocolate I could come up with. Yes, the base of it is skim milk. But I added a healthy shot of whipping cream, chunks of Cadbury's chocolate, and shakes of cinnamon, cayenne, and espresso powder. I felt a little bit better.

If you'd like to escape the snow as much as I would, here are some links to things I'm into lately:

10 things you don't know about Vernors. I've always been partial to actual ginger ale, but I've got a lot of love for this Michigan product and my mother is a fanatic.

A little background on The Pioneer Woman. Her website is a blockbuster, her new book is a bestseller (I got it for Christmas), and her Food Network show is hugely successful. 

A Velveeta shortage. Good. Ick.

I know I'm supposed to stop baking things and eat salad only for the month of January, but my new tart pan is burning a hole in my pocket and I'm dying to make this gorgeous cranberry tart (from a wonderful Lansing-local blog.) Want to come over for dinner?

Like everyone else in the world, I love Downton Abbey and feel very smart and cosmopolitan for watching it. I hunkered down last Sunday night for the season premiere with popcorn, La Croix, and 3 pairs of socks on my feet.