A sweet lip balm finish to 2017!

New Year’s Eve is TOMORROW, people, and while there is a real temptation to stare blankly into space whilst pondering where the last four months disappeared to, I have a job to do. You see, while most people think of New Year’s Eve as a drinking holiday, it is definitely all about the hors d’oeuvres for me. Even if there are just a few of us in for the evening (heck, even if it were just me), I’ve got to make at least a few different appetizers. Slow-cooked meatless meatballs, gyoza, mini quiches, finger sandwiches, you name it. To go with the savory, we must sweet as well. Leftover Christmas cookies, mince pies, bonbons, and a bit of puppy chow.

Puppy chow??? Yes, of course! But not that puppy chow. This puppy chow. You know, muddy buddies? Think of it like a chocolate-peanut butter Chex Mix, but with vegan cereal. It’s a great little sweet that super simple to make and a pretty solid crowd-pleaser. That’s why I made a lip balm version, too.

Originally Puppy Dog’s Tail Lip Balm was a corndog-flavored lip balm simply because I needed a lip balm for my “It’s a Baby!” gift set that had something to do with puppies or dogs or tails, and corndogs were all I could think of (btw, I’m also making mini corndogs this NYE). It took me an embarrassingly long time to think of making it a puppy chow inspired lip balm instead. Unsurprisingly, it’s sold a LOT better ever since. You can still purchase the corndog-flavored lip balm, but it’s no longer available (individually) on the website, so that’s by special request only.

Thank you all for making 2017 a year of growth and happiness. You might not realize it, but just the very act of your reading this right now inspires me to keep writing and developing this blog. Thank you for showing me that writing about topics that personally interest me doesn’t mean that they only interest me. Thank you for taking the time to share in my passion.

Next week, we’re starting the new year afresh by going back to basics with Original Lip Balm, and why that’s really a total misnomer.