Back To The Drawing Board

Everyone, get pumped. To get a few pumps. Of that sweet, sweet syrup. From the mouth of the green mermaid herself:

PSL fans can mark their calendars for the unofficial start of fall on August 26 when the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte, made with real pumpkin, will return to Starbucks coffeehouses.

Ah, yes. The end of August, just when we’re all excited for fall flavors. Nothing like warming spices and squash when it’s about 92 degrees in the shade.

But more problematic than the timing is the cost.

I was recently enticed by the sign next to my grocery store Starbucks advertising something called an horchata oatmilk shaken espresso. Given that I love both horchata and espresso, I decided to treat myself while I shopped and ordered a grande, using a $5 gift card I had to pay.

And then I used my debit card to pay for the remaining TWO DOLLAR BALANCE, because this was, apparently, a 7-dollar cup of sweet coffee.

Ridiculous, right?!

Especially because you can make your own pumpkin spice lattes at home. All you need is a way to make espresso, some milk (oat or otherwise), and maybe a good pumpkin spice syrup, such as this one that people like from A Beautiful Mess.

But the one thing you probably don’t have at your house?

The intricate chalkboard art of, like, a cornucopia or something.

Luckily, we can help. With this set of liquid chalk markers.

If you’ve ever been to an overpriced chain supermarket or an overpriced chain coffee shop and wondered, How did they manage to draw such a beautiful picture using only chalk?, the answer is: these things.

They allow you to draw and write easily on chalkboard surfaces and can be erased without issue using a bit of surface cleaner and a cloth.

Obviously, we’re being a bit tongue-in-cheek about making your own Starbucks at home to save money during PSL season. But these things are pretty cool.

So buy them, maybe?