granted, i celebrated my first cozy coffee shop day by... working on some stuff on my laptop at a starbucks... glamorous, i know. but whatever. starbucks has their salted caramel hot chocolate again, so we're back on good terms. man, you just never KNOW what days you'll find me loving the 'bucks and what days you'll find me hating the 'bucks but whatever. it's all part of the adventure, right? sure, why not. haha. fickle may be a better word for it.
here's the thing though. my local starbucks is only about the coziest place ever. it's got those comfy chairs (which i didnt sit in because i had to whip out my darn laptop) that are PERF for a cozy afternoon of reading while sipping some warm beverage of choice... salted caramel hot chocolate... nonfat, extra, no foam, sugar free vanilla chai tea lattes... coconut steamers... caramel macchiatos... oh i could go on and on. granted, i could make my own chai with real tea bags and grinded cardamom (have you ever HAD this kind of chai? i love my parents for introducing me to only the most delightful, cozy drink the world over) and curl up on my ever-cozy plush couch at home but... well, i dont KNOW. there's just something about the idea of a coffee shop that is just so darn delightful to me. so, cozy starbucks it was, in honor of my first cozy coffee shop day of the season.
ahh can you not WAIT for the rest of this darn SEASON?! as i sit here typing this, im staring gleefully at my cozy pumpkin/cinnamon/vanilla candle that still remains to be lit at some point in time (note that this candle is only about three years old. but whatever. i need matches!) and mentally reviewing the list of fall treats i want to start baking asap (among other things, pumpkin cookies (preferably iced), chai cookies (MEG! YUM! thanks for the idea last year!!!), pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin cheesecake bars, pumpkin chai (i used to get this during my whole addicted-to-starbucks phase of life, but now i think im ready to seize the bull by the horns (is that even an EXPRESSION?? or did i totally just f it up?) and make up this sugary deliciousness of a beverage mySELF))))... (i lost track of how many parenthetical comments within parenthetical comments i just made there...) well, you get the idea. haha. do you like how i threw in those chai cookies just to break up the monotony of the pumpkin flavored items on the menu? sigh oh well. when you've found a winner, you've found a winner. and the winner here is clearly pumpkin. and chai. hence... the pumpkin chai. hahaha. i tickle myself. but seriously, it's actually quite the tasty of beverages despite the onslaught of a whole bunch of random spices... but whatever.
i cant WAIT to make my homemade pumpkin chai one saturday morning and sip it cozily while munching on a freshly baked pumpkin cookie while taking in the lovely scent of my pumpkin/cinnamon/vanilla candle as i read my latest book on my cozy, plush couch on a crisp fall morning, with the sun beaming through my windows as i watch the leaves fall gracefully to the ground, perhaps changing ever so subtlely from green to orange to red...
soooo, in other words... i will more than likely be going to my local starbucks this saturday morning, order their sugar-ridden chai tea latte, and sit at one of their wooden tables (complete with wooden chair) while i pop open my laptop (because im obvi NEVER looking at this thing) while staring out at... the sidewalk... for inpiration since, hello, there are no trees (with falling leaves, no less) dotting my ever-beloved Clark Street...
im just SAYING!
in gratitude of,
the first (of MANY!) cozy coffee shop day of the grandest season of allllll, falllllll!!! :)