its PSL time at Starbucks...time for a trip back in time

and all i can say is PTL! I love the Thanksgiving-themed Pumpkin Spice Latte and its quickly approaching counterpart, the Eggnog Latte.

Delicious!

I think the main reason why i love it so much is that it reminds me of a climate that has real clear distinctions between the season. (Is "distinction" the right word? I don't really care...) Anyways, it reminds me of Seattle in the fall/winter.

It brings me back to going on pseudo-dates with my high-school pseudo-boyfriend. I say pseudo because he and I were always "best friends" but we always (and I mean always) hung out on Friday night...no keggers for me at Carkeek Park, no partying after Blanchet's football games, I was going to "hang out" with my "best friend" Mike Parker. And, seriously, this kid was so cute. I miss having him in my life, if even just as my best friend again. Anyways, romantic, rose-colored visions of the past aside, we would always jump in my car (cause I don't think he could drive yet...cradle robber I am) and drive 10 minutes down 15th Ave, and be spit out right into the heart of downtown. We'd park at Pacific Place because, back then, parking on a Friday night was $2 no matter how long you chose to stay (those were the days!). We'd usually go to see a movie (no hand-holding, but definitely by the end our shoulders were touching!...i know what you think, I'm such a tramp!) and afterwards take in a Starbucks on the 3rd floor of Pacific Place, looking out onto Nordstroms from the outside balcony, all the while discussing what movie we went to see, what we liked, what we didn't. It was there that I (secretly) fell in love with Mike Parker and (not secretly) gave my heart way to the Egg Nog Latte, and had my eyes opened to a love of film. I think that if he and I would've seen "There Will Be Blood" together, it would've been the perfect date movie. Awesome score, beautiful cinematography, and the internal conflict of the main character would've provided us with hours of in-depth psychoanalysis. But, then again, maybe not. Maybe he would've hated it, and then I would've spent hours trying to psychoanalyze him about why he didn't like it.

Anyways, all that to say, here's to my favorite backdrop of young love: Seattle in the winter, and to my favorite non-boyfriend aka first love Michael Todd Parker. With this first PSL of the season, I reflect on how much each of them meant in my life, and am grateful.