Tasty Memories.

Why not a two-for-one deal today!?  :)

So, everyone who has passed a basic Biology course knows (or this can serve as a reminder, Jess) that your senses can trigger memories. Now, there are several foods that help me remember fond times.  For example, cheesy noodles remind me of my sister.  Eclair cake makes me think of my mom.  Boiled peanuts signify football and Athens.  You understand what I'm saying.  However, I have never had a single taste hit me like a ton of bricks on my heart as I did a few days ago.

I am a proud Starbuck gold card member.  I receive emails, and over the past few weeks, Starbucks has sent me several messages about the upcoming fall and the return of some of their signature drinks.  Most people know that I adore a warm PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte for all those people not on my level), with light whip, and a sprinkling of spice.  Friends have even texted me about their arrival.  So, on Saturday, as I was a little early on my drive to work (which never happens really), I decided to stop and order my first PSL of the season, even though it did not feel like fall outside at the time.  As I was walking back to the car, I took my first sip and the taste, literally, almost brought tears to my eyes.  No people, I am not so obsessed with Starbucks that coffee makes me cry.  Get real now.  A flood of emotion came over me.  It made me think about New York and the Hudson Valley and apple picking and throwing the football near the Rec Center.  And in that moment, more than at any other time in the last seven months, my heart and soul ached for New York.

It was a great moment.  I realized how much just two years of my life in that faraway Yankee land meant to me.  I remembered how much I enjoyed fall up there, because we really don't have fall down here, kids, and how much it really saddened me that I was not going to experience it again this year.  (Since then, though I don't have the funds or the time, I've been looking at flights.  Ha.  Sentimental much?)  But, how great is it that one single cup of coffee in a different state can taste exactly like it did on so many afternoons a year or two ago and bring back so many wonderful memories that include so many great people?!  

Now, PSLs can create new memories for me in SC, and I welcome them.  Cheers!

Most of the pictures below are repeats, but, as my PSL took me down memory lane, I thought I would, in my own way, take y'all down it too!

Leaves at the Vanderbilt Mansion my first year at the CIA, Fall 2010. 

 Brady and I picking apples, Fall 2011!

 Brady and I carved pumpkins last year, Fall 2011.  The cat on the left is mine and the boring, standard carving is his.  :)

And, on Sunday, Robert and I tried to create our own PSLs in the Pastry Kitchen.  It was not a failure by any means, but some R&D (research and development) shall be done through the season, Fall 2012.

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

Haley