…Kelly will play. And by “play,” I obviously mean “watch eXtReMe amounts of Law and Order: SVU on Netflix while knitting.” As one does.

S is out of town till tomorrow (Sunday) morning, so I’ve had a quiet Saturday to myself. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day – the internet told me it was about 45˚, but it felt more like the upper thirties, despite the bright sun. I couldn’t stay indoors on a day like that, so I walked down to a shopping center near my apartment and stopped by a couple stores. I giggled over an ergonomic-keyboard-shaped chocolate bar at Marshalls, picked up a few goodies at World Market, and halfheartedly looked for non-leather, narrow-shaft boots at DSW. (For the record, it’s really hard to find boots that meet those specifications. Curse my skinny calves!)

I did, however, manage to spend some cash moneyz at World Market. Besides picking up a handy tube of tomato paste (so much better than the kind in the little cans!), I discovered that World Market carries vegan mochi! Woohoo! I’d only ever eaten the vegan ice cream mochi that Trader Joe’s used to carry; it was majorly delicious and I’ll stock my freezer if they ever start selling it again. Anyway, I picked up the intriguing peanut variety:

Legit.

When I got home from my walk, I decided to warm up by noshing on mochi and a hot beverage. Wary of coffee after last Saturday’s unfortunate incident, I opted for hot chocolate. But not just any hot chocolate. No, I whipped out an ingredient I’d stashed away last December when my sister charmingly gave it to me for Christmas:

Blurrier than expected…

Oh yes, I loves me some seasonal soy milks! I poured some milk in a little pot, added my favorite Ghirardelli hot chocolate powder, and opened up my mochi package while I waited for my chocolate to get nice and steamy.

Mochi, wrapped.

If you can’t tell, each piece has its own little red wrapper, like a mini muffin cup. So cute!

As soon as my drink was ready, I settled down to a leisurely half hour of sipping peppermint hot chocolate, munching mochi, and reading the ever-entertaining Willy Street Co-op newsletter (the letters to the editor never fail to amuse me).

Bliss.

I wasn’t let down by any element of my afternoon – the chocolate was rich and just peppermint-y enough, the letters were just as entertaining as ever, and the mochi was delicious! I wasn’t sure how sweet it would be, but it was just right – slightly sweetened, but not at all overly sugary. The peanut was understated, not overpowering but definitely present. Mmm. I can’t wait to go back and try the other varieties – I definitely saw green tea, sesame, and red bean. How exciting!

Mid-eating.

Tonight I’m going to refrain from eating the rest of the mochi while I watch more SVU and do more knitting. Yep, I’m a wild one. ;)

What are your alone-day indulgences? How do you feel about mochi?