Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit more than when Starbucks releases their Peppermint Mocha and Trader Joe’s Peppermint Joe-Joe’s hit the the shelves! My favorite part of the holidays is seeing my family, but that generally doesn’t happen until Christmas Eve, and to keep myself from feeling like a complete grinch, I overindulge in peppermint! Hoping this year that love (and a new apartment that is all our own!) saves me, and I get a cheery flush from Christmas tunes and pertty lights. I feel like my lack of enthusiam stems from years of working as a baker in the restaurant industry — in bakeries the busy season is a few weeks before Thanksgiving until Christmas, then back to work through New Year’s, so suffice to say, it was hard for me to get out of the stress and into the festive merriment! Or maybe I just have a heart of ice, the jury is still out.

But things are different now that I’ve switched industries, from restaurants to gyms, and I’m determined to feel the joy this year! I’m running a holiday half marathon next weekend, Mike and I have ugly sweaters and I’m pretty sure I have some Christmas lights in some of our stashed-away-yet-to-be-unpacked boxes I can hang later. It also came to light I’ve never seen It’s A Wonderful Life, which according to my sister, must be amended this year! What can I say? Summer is my season, with it’s sunshine and 8pm sunsets!

Peppermint season though, I can get into! I have to be careful bringing boxes of candy canes in the house because I can’t stop myself from eating them all in one sitting! Floating on this high of trying all the things, Mike and I stopped into Trader Joe’s for their peppermint mocha almond milk creamer. I think my expectations may have been a little high with this one. It’s very thick, similar to chocolate milk. I was hoping my coffee would be instantly transformed to my fave beverage of all time, the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha. That it did not. It adds flair to morning coffee, but without making it creamy, so if that’s your style, this’ll be right up your alley! For me, I add some more non-dairy milk as well. The flavor is subtle, and I’m not sure I love it. After a lil digging on the interwebs, I realize I may be alone in this assessment; it turns out I like my mochas with 1,000 grams of sugar but hey, if you’re gonna indulge why not go all out? Here’s another non-dairy peppermint mocha creamer I’m interested in trying this season! And if all else fails, I can always spend $5 at Starbucks on my fave drink (no, I actually can’t, that’s way too expensive, haha!!!)