Friday Coffee Date
Hello friends! We made it to Friday and GUESS WHAT. Sunday is officially the first day of fall! Pour yourself a delicious fall-themed beverage and let’s talk about what that means. This week, Elisabeth posted her Top Five/Bottom Five Fall lists. In her Top Five was the delightful fall weather, and in her Bottom Five was “winter is coming.” Well, in Florida that is reversed. One of the WORST things about fall is our weather. September is absolutely terrible. Hot, steamy, rainy, and the chance of hurricanes increases every day. Now that my kids are older, it doesn’t bother me as much. But when they were young, there were all sorts of outdoor activities we thought we should be doing… like the PUMPKIN PATCH. The “pumpkin patch” was actually the yard of a nearby church that had hundreds of pumpkins- obviously no pumpkins actually grew there- they were imported from another state. It seemed like a fun thing to do, but the weather just wasn’t conducive. One year stands out starkly. The day we planned to go to the pumpkin patch, it rained. But then the rained stopped- oh, good! Let’s go to the pumpkin patch! The problem is, when it rains here in September, it just makes things unbearably steamy. Our time at the pumpkin patch was muggy, muddy, and horribly uncomfortable. (They don’t have that pumpkin patch anymore- I WONDER WHY.) Okay, so we don’t have fall weather here. But you’re probably thinking that I’m guzzling down all the fancy fall drinks, right? No pumpkin spice lattes for me! Starbucks does have some vegan seasonal drinks, but they all have a ton of sugar. This year I’ve been having some serious FOMO, so I’ve tried a couple things… This is a vegan, unsweetened creamer, and I’ve been putting it in my tea (NOT in my Earl Grey- that would be gross. Just regular black tea.) I think I like it? I can’t really decide, but it does make me feel festive and fall-ish. Some friends gave us another new (to me) beverage: It’s sugar free! The ingredients are black tea, chai spices, and sucralose. Okay, I know sucralose isn’t good for you. I know! But I’m more willing to have sucralose every once in a while than sugar. I’ve only tried it once- I mixed it with soy milk and made a DELICIOUS chai latte. My daughter went a step further and added the pumpkin creamer to hers and made a super fancy fall beverage. Let’s go back to Elisabeth’s Bottom Five Fall item: winter is coming. YES. Winter is coming! In Florida that means a break from the heat and humidity. We’ll get some cool nights and beautiful days. It won’t happen until November/December, but we’re here, waiting patiently. What would you tell me over coffee? Do you like festive fall beverages? Are you excited for the first day of fall?