A little bit of pumpkin

I'm loving the wee bit of fall crispness in the air lately.  And even though I adore summer, I must confess that autumn holds its own special place in my heart.

A few of the things I love most about autumn are tiny little pumpkins, and (of course) pumpkin spice lattes.  So when I spied this recipe for homemade pumpkin spice lattes I knew I needed to try it.  Turns out it's pretty good - a bit sludgy at the bottom - but tasty none the less.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2 cups milk
1 cup espresso or double brewed coffee
4 T canned pumpkin
2 T sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t cinnamon (plus more for garnish)
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t cardamom
optional: whipped cream for garnish
note: you can substitute all the spices for similar amount of pumpkin pie spice (I use a. lot. of spices so adjust to taste)
serves 2-4

via here

p.s.  Do you like my new funky chicken dishtowel?  I was such a happy girl to pick it up for a quarter at a yard sale yesterday!  Ahh, it's the little things right?

Morning Coffee

Friday's Letter

Dear Mr. Veen:  upon waking the other morning you declared you had a Hannah Montana song stuck in your head.  You then proceeded to sing "Put your hands up!" over and over.  Dear Nancy Jam:  thank you for making my bagel with cream cheese d to the licious.  Dear Vacation Bible School:  wow.  Three nights in a row of free childcare?  Yes please.  Dear SNL the 2010's:  I can't think of a better way to end the day than by laughing my hiney off with you!  Thank you for being on insta play - Amen.  Dear PW iced coffee concentrate:  at first I was skeptical of your process but one sip was all in took to become a believer.  Thank you.  Dear Stupid Computer in all it's Stupidness:  you are not letting me post videos today which is quite frustrating.  I will borrow a word from a cute girl I've met and say simply:  poops!  And last to Mr. Veen:  how about a hot date at the cheap theatre tonight? 

HAPPY FREAKING WEEKEND!

Coffee Emergency.

This is not a joke.  This in fact is a minor emergency.  I'm not sure how things aligned in such a way that the one morning I ran out of regular coffee coincides with the ridiculous, horrible, no-good event of daylight savings time.  REALLY?  WHO'S AWESOME IDEA WAS THIS? 

In my mind I can see a nerdy little guy sort of like Bill Gates sitting at his computer thinking "I know!  Just about the time people are getting used to the extra light in the morning - let's screw with em.  It'll be fun!  A study in human behavior.  Just for the heck of it - let's see what everyone does...."  It's true - I was just getting used to feeling half-way awake in the morning.  When my alarm goes off at 6:15 it's not quite as painful to get out from under the warm blankets when it's getting light.  I could actually see where I was going during my a.m. jogs.  The birds even chirped sometimes!

And now this.  Utter and complete misery.  And it's a Monday.  

Anne Taintor's sense of humor fit's my mood perfectly today.  I've enjoyed her retro images for several years now and today's the perfect day to share some of my favorites. 

Ahhh.  I feel better now!  I'm going to go hunt down some coffee.  Happy Monday:)



Anticipate

Friday's Letter

Dear Mr. Veen:  I'm sorry you still have a cold.  The first night you make it through without snoring may be cause for a small celebration.  Dear pyrex stacking dishes with lids:  you make me so happy I actually *might* have done a little dance in the kitchen while putting leftovers in you last night.  Dear Mom:  I think you missed your calling as the official blog PR person in my little circle of friends.  Also - I think you need to start your own blog - it would be mighty entertaining!  That's all.  Dear Ingrid:  you are like my music comfort food.  This is one of the only songs of yours I don't own - might have to remedy that very soon!  Dear coffee pot:  every time I hear you complete your cycle I get a twinge of excitement for the goodness about to come my way.  And last to Mr. Veen:  thanks for being my parachute - over and out!

Friday's Letter

Dear Mr. Veen:  this past week you've woken me up twice with your middle of the night dream tyraids.  Someone better watch their back because I'm afraid you might be packin some heat!  Dear Older Hotties of Homegoods:  I hope when I grow up I'm sportin cool duds, converse and purple streaks just like you ladies.  Way to rock it.  Dear Steam Heat:  after visiting you not once but twice this week I am convinced you make the best vanilla lattes and mochas in town.  Sorry Stumptown.  Dear Metric:  not only do I love this song but it's a good representation of how I've felt this week - "Help I'm alive my heart keeps beating like a hammer!"  yep, pretty much.  Dear pre-Valentine's weekend:  no pressure, that's all.  And last to Mr. Veen:  you like your M&M's with peanuts and your potatoes mashed.   Love you, heart day or not!