By Alex Salas

Spet. 23, 2015

Hello all! My name is Alex Salas and I’m a sophomore here at UW-Whitewater. This is my first year writing for the Royal Purple and writing a blog in general. I’m excited to share my likes, dislikes and thoughts on anything and everything with you.

You might be questioning the title so let me explain. Peace, Love & Happiness is what I strive for in life; call me a hippy if you’d like, I’ll smile and accept it as a compliment. Sometimes you need to take a moment for whatever reason, those three words are exactly that for me. So, laugh a little and smile a lot throughout the day and I can almost guarantee that it’ll be a good one.

Enough with the sappy life stuff, let’s get started!

As summer is coming to a close and cool, icy drinks are becoming a thing of the past while warm drinks are taking over. I am aware that it is sweater weather in the morning and booty shorts in the afternoon, so I might be jumping the gun a bit, but who doesn’t like to be prepared?

This is a recipe for all of those who aren’t fans of tea or coffee. If you do like tea or coffee, and no Starbucks Frappuccinos do not count as coffee, then maybe you’re just looking to spice things up a bit.

I am a huge fan of apple cider, especially hot apple cider, but I need more than a mug of warm apple juice to call it cider. I add a not-so-spicy twist to it. Don’t worry though I’m not trying to turn you into another Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart.

The list of what you’ll need:

• Apple cider-buy local my friends
• Cinnamon sticks-look in the ethnic aisle, Mexican brands are better than McCormick
• Lemon-organic is always the way to go
• Pick out your favorite mug
• Some type of heating source would be helpful. A microwave is the best choice for people who are bit lazy or in a time crunch like I usually am

Now, how to make it:

• Pour some cider into your mug
• Put a cinnamon stick with the cider and heat it up
• Slice that lemon up and place a slice in your heated cider
• Stir it gentle and take a sip

“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.” –William Cullen Bryant