The First Pumpkin Spice
I am a white girl. This is a thing that I am aware of, however, I have long striven to avoid falling into the many stereotypical “white girl” things. I’ve never worn Uggs, though I hear they are comfortable. I don’t tan, both don’t and won’t. I refuse to wear leggings as pants, I don’t own an iPhone, I couldn’t care less about Katie Parry’s latest work or what the celebs are up to, and I have a lukewarm relationship with Starbucks at best. However, I will admit to enjoying yoga pants as comfy lounge-wear and I am actually into Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
My husband is very annoyed by this portion of the stereotype, and most stereotypes, actually. But specifically the fact that because this drink has somehow become associated with the “ditsy white girl” there is the inevitable backlash against it by people who wish to avoid being labeled as such, or associated with said stereotype, whether it be the masculine, “too manly for pumpkin spice” or the feminine “I’m not like them.” While in general I avoid the label by simply not liking things many other “white girls” enjoy, I do have a love for pumpkin spice this time of year and I will happily and unashamedly drink as many pumpkin spice lattes as I can stomach in one fall season because I grow sick of it for another year.
But seriously, I’m so excited for pumpkin everything. I was smart, this year, though, and waited for the proper time to imbibe my first pumpkin spice latte. I started too early last year and got sick of it well before the end of fall. So yesterday I enjoyed my first pumpkin spice latte of the season and it was wonderful. I went out for coffee with a friend of mine to a small cafe called Biddle’s Escape. If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, you should check it out, it’s really great. They have all sorts of cool drinks, coffee and tea, and lots of good food stuffs as well. We often meet there because said friend lives very near by, and, like I said, they’re pretty great. I’ve been saving my first PSL for them this year and it was so worth it. I am now satisfied that if this is the only time I get to go to a real coffee place and get a PSL it will have been a good one. Most of my normal coffee stops are to Dunkin Donuts and I’m not sure I can bring myself to get hot coffee from them just yet, when their iced coffee is so good. Pumpkin spice is really a hot coffee kind of drink. It just seems wrong to get one iced.
I am also excited this year as I have finally managed to find, not only a generic brand of pumpkin spice creamer, but also one in a smaller size. The thing about pumpkin spice creamer is it rarely comes in the small size bottles. Occasionally you can find one of the brand names in a small bottle, but not always. The thing about being a family of two in which one of you drinks coffee black is that you go through creamer pretty slowly. Not only can I not go through a large thing of creamer in a timely manner, pumpkin spice will not last forever. I’m simply not capable of going through a whole big bottle before the season is over and we’ve moved on to other flavors. This year, however, I found that Giant Eagle brand has a small bottle of pumpkin spice and I am so pumped. I can enjoy pumpkin spice in my morning coffee for a few weeks and then be done without chucking half a bottle of creamer under suspicion of spoilage.
My husband doesn’t really understand my excitement over pumpkins and pumpkin spice this time of year. He will voluntarily drink half a pumpkin beer and be done with the flavor for another year. He’s really more of a cider kind of guy. He’s very excited about apple cider being in season. There may be a gallon of it in his work fridge right now. There may not be anymore. Despite his confusion over my flavor preferences for fall, he is kind enough to indulge me and I appreciate him. I’m hoping this year we can go out and get pumpkin pancakes, as when we make them we inevitably have half a can of pumpkin left over that never gets used, and a plastic box full of pecans that get lost in the cupboard and forgotten about. However, pumpkin pancakes are important and I will settle for eating them somewhere else. I hope that you are all enjoying your own favorite fall flavors. Have a lovely day, my friends!
‹ The Fall Austen Tradition Macabre Fascinations ›