 Hosting friends at our house is one of my favorite things to do! I love deep soul conversations over a cup of coffee and laughter or hot chocolate and a good movie with friends any day of the week! Now, before I say more I want to tell you about my Mom - she was {and still is!} the ultimate hostess. I spent many years watching her host company and remember people complimenting her hospitable spirit over and over again. People that came to our house as I was growing up always felt loved and appreciated. And very well taken care of. Nobody ever left with an empty stomach if she could help it. Mom passed her love of hosting on down, and although I'm not sure I can ever be the hostess she is, I do love to try! I think the biggest key to being a relaxed hostess that can pamper her guests a little is being prepared ahead of time. I'm not talking about preparing ahead of time for one certain guest or group of guests. It's so much fun to take time to prepare special things when you have several days to prepare, but a majority of our hosting is last minute and we love it like that. If you enjoy hosting then you'll know that brownie mixes and freezer cookies can be a girl's best friend! But what about drinks?  I have come to really appreciate drink mixes. But so often they taste fake and I wish I would have more to offer to friends that drop by. And recently, I've been discovering some delicious DIY mixes that just add that extra bit of yumminess I've been missing! So, if you're a lover of drinks {can a good drink possibly be the 6th love language?} then these 2 recipes are for you! Starbuck's Holiday Spice Flat White has become a recent favorite of mine and I decided to try it at home the other day. After a little searching I found a recipe that looked good and simple and gave it a shot. Oh wow. Best coffee drink ever for a cold, wintry day! Just a few days later I was looking for a simple Hot Chocolate mix that didn't take any special ingredients like powdered milk which I never have on hand. After a little more searching and tweaking and I now have a new favorite hot chocolate mix as well! These are the two recipes I'd like to share with you - and I hope you love them as much as we do! Holiday Spice Latte I originally found this recipe on Don't Sweat the Recipe. I tweaked it a little bit to fit the ingredients I have readily available most times and converted it into a mix instead of one serving.. You can find the original here. 1 tsp. Cinnamon 1 tsp. Nutmeg 1 tsp. Ground Cloves 8 tsp. Sugar. {I used raw sugar, but white or brown would work great too!} Mix all the ingredients together and store in an air-tight container, such as a pint jar. When you are ready to make your latte, simply put 1 heaping tsp of the mix in a dry mug. Brew 2 shots of espresso or 1/4 cup of strong coffee and pour it over the sugar mixture. Steam or heat up and froth 1 cup of milk and pout it over top. A flat white latte is supposed to have the signature white dot of foam on the top, which is fun to try for! You can make this latte simply with a coffee pot or french press and wire wisk or get a little fancy with this stopvetop espresso maker and hand frother, which is what I've been using recently!
I promised the kids we would make hot chocolate mix one day and then remembered that I didn't have any powdered milk. It's just not something I ever use. So I started looking for a recipe that used ingredients I already had. And I found one! And girls - this recipe is delicious! Chocolatey, creamy and just perfectly sweet. It's everything a good hot chocolate recipe should be! Yay! Hot Chocolate Mix I originally found this recipe at Live Simply. I tweaked it a little - you can see the original recipe here. 1 cup White Sugar 1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1/2 tsp. Powdered Vanilla {optional} Blend the sugar in the blender until it is a smooth powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until the chocolate chips are ground into a fine powder. Store in an airtight container {once again, a jar works perfect!}. When you are ready to use, put 2-3 Tablespoons of the chocolate mixture into a mug and add 1 cup of warm milk. Stir until the chocolate is all melted. Garnish with cool whip and marshmallows and a candy cane, of course! This mix also makes a great Peppermint Mocha! Pour hot coffee over 1-2 Tablespoons of Hot Chocolate Mix and a candy cane. Add warm milk and stir well.  And there you go! Two simple DIY recipes that will give you something yummy to serve in a hurry! These are also great for in-home date nights. wink wink. It is such a privilege to have friends and family to host. Take the time and invest the energy to make them feel loved and appreciated. Little acts of service mean so much! "Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor!" {Romans 12:10} I am not a great hostess like my Mom - but she has shown me that love, honor and respect towards our guests goes such a long way in cheering our friends on in their journey! What about you - what's one of your favorite hospitality tips? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!  This post contains affiliate links. Walls of Home is an affiliate of Amazon . com. You can read my full disclosure here. If you liked this post you might also like these.
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There was a time when the determined {aka: stubborn} part of me insisted that I set New Year resolutions. There was a time when that same determined me could control my diet anyway I chose. I could simply do about anything that I set my mind to.
And then I got married and had 2 kids all within 3 years. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of life I lost my determination in personal goals. I was juggling marriage, kids, sickness and just plain exhaustion. The thought of New Year resolutions made me feel guilty, because I knew I wouldn't keep them. So many goals seemed out of reach. Life felt like a race, and while I tried to stay intentional with my marriage and parenting, personal achievements, reaching out for new levels in life, and bettering myself all took the back burner. So I joined the "New Year resolutions are silly" crowd. It made me feel better about myself, you know? I have recently come to realize that neither the stubborn resolution keeping or the "just do what I can, when I can, if I can" attitude are right. Because they are self centered. My stubborn attitude focused on what I could do. On my own. By myself. For my glory. My lazy, overwhelmed attitude also focused on myself. On my comfort. On my feelings. 
I forgot that my life is supposed to be centered around God and His glory. When I achieve something it should be to the glory of God, not the glory of my own stubborn pride.
And when I let my goals slide, when I quit pursuing weight loss, social media control, keeping the house organized {anything that requires discipline} then I am also living life in my own strength and being defeated in it. But our God, in His graciousness, has not left us in the struggle. He has given us something so precious, so strong and so useable. It's called Grace. Is that the word you were expecting? It's a new concept to me, too! Too often we think of Grace as only a covering agent. Our sins our covered up by the grace of God, right? But Grace is so much more. It is full of the power of God, ready to give us the strength we need for any circumstance. If you're like me, the idea of applying grace to your life in order to accomplish something can be a little hard to master at first. I do best when I can write my goals and strategies down to be analyzed and acted on. And this is why I am so excited to introduce an amazing resource that a friend of mine, a woman with a passion for God, has created. 
Arabah Joy has compiled a PDF containing 5 mini-workshops that will take you through the process of:
▪ Setting practical, godly goals ▪ Developing a doable, personal plan for change ▪ Learning why grace is the enablement you need ▪ Recognizing and appropriating grace in your daily life ▪ Much more Best of all, the hard work is done for you! This 48-page PDF will walk you through the entire process. BONUS: If you grab Grace Goals before Dec 23, you’ll automatically receive an invite to the LIVE group workshop the week of Dec 26-31. During this live workshop, we will have a short devotional, share our goals, pray together, and have a time of sharing and Q&A. I hope to see you there! Simply grab Grace Goals here. I would also like to offer a little something special to you, my readers. If you purchase Grace Goals, email your invoice to stefani@wallsofhome.com and I will send you a link to download and print one of the the 8x10 sign below. {Your choice!}
Are you ready to start this new year washed afresh in the grace of Jesus? I would love to hear about it! Send a message or leave a comment! And hey...if you do get Grace Goals and join the facebook group, let me know? I'd love to meet you there! <3
God's richest blessings to you in this New Year and beyond, dear friends!
This post contains affiliate links, which means that I will get a small commission if you purchase Grace Goals through my link. It does not add any extra to your cost and helps support my blog a little. :) You can read my full disclosure here.
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I am on a journey to know Jesus better, and be the wife, mommy and friend that God created me to be, all within the walls of my own little home. <3
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