Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Best pumpkin bread recipe ever: Ben and I devoured the whole loaf!

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

(recipe makes 2 loaves)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups granulated sugar

1 15oz can of pumpkin

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour two loaf pans. Mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Separately, mix sugar, pumpkin, eggs, veggie oil, and OJ with mixer. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and blend in cranberries. Bake about 60-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Eat one entire loaf before your spouse discovers how delicious it is :)

Puppy Birthday Party

Hadley invited us over to celebrate her yellow-lab, Lula Belle's 3rd bday! It was really fun, there were lots of doggies there and Maverick had a lovely time. Hadley even baked birthday cupcakes, topped with bacon and cheese for the four-leggers. We took over a bottle of wine and a red hooded-sweatshirt for Lula, since Maverick thinks of her as his girlfriend. They were such a cute match in their Crips and Bloods gang sweatshirts! Then we worked very hard to get a group shot of all of the puppies, which was interesting. The wine and beer were flowing to keep the adults having a good time while the doggies played and played. Maverick is already in bed for the night and its only 9pm! And it was good for me to get out of the house- three days home from work with the flu makes one restless!

Back from Florida

We split the drive into two days on our way back, and stopped in to visit Kimmie and fam! I haven't been to Myrtle Beach in years. We had a scrumptous dinner and a great night's sleep. Maverick lounged in front of the fireplace because it was so cold outside... we even saw SNOW! It was exciting at first, since its so rare in SC, but the novelty wore off as we drove through a blizzard for the next 8 hours! Check out the view from the passenger seat (I know this is all too familiar to you guys in PA!) We're all safe and sound back at the beach, not to worry!

The Party!

Joe threw a combination "Sarah & Ben are back in town" and "its Joe's birthday" party which was awesome! He invited Patrick, from the English Pub, to play live music at his house and we had a big BBQ of burgers, dogs, and veggies. It was so good to hang out and see everyone.

Even Maverick had a good time jammin' on the lanai! He loved playing with Payton all week and hunting lizards in the palmetto bushes. He even has tiny scratches on his nose from digging so much!

Thank you guys for your hospitality! I had a blast going out to lunch and running errands all over town- I miss those luxuries here on an island! It was really great to see all of my Florida friends, and I can't wait until my next trip to meet little Sage and Addie; keep me posted mommies-to-be!

Good times everyone- I really REALLY miss Florida! I'll always be back to visit though... most likely in January when its freezing cold in the Outer Banks!

Florida Panther Refuge

As part of the Southwest Florida Birding Festival, I was able to visit the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and ride on a swamp buggy! All those years that I was in Florida, I never got the chance to visit the Panther Refuge as its closed to the general public. We didn't see any panthers (there are only about 100 of them) but it was absolutely gorgeous to see all those palms and pines. Its totally different than coastal North Carolina!

Back in Naples!

It is so nice to be wearing flipflops in January again! We arrived after a 16-hour drive to Joe's gorgeous new house and have been having a blast! The doggies are playing and loving life- the brown brothers, Maverick and Payton. Maverick loves hunting for lizards in the backyard, with all of the tropical foliage. We took them to the dog beach and Maverick was hot stuff since he knows all about the beach and Payton was just a crazy maniac running all over the place. I spent all of yesterday at Rookery Bay, visiting with everyone, and actually volunteering in the research department; Susan and I went out on the boat to do some water quality stuff and I worked on my suntan. I even saw some dolphins playing!

Heading to the beach now :)

Xmas Goodies

Our house is finally back in order with all of our new xmas stuff! We've been using the weather radio to find out what its like outside and hear the forecast, pretty snazy :)

I don't know how I ever survived without a kitchen cart before- its so handy! And you can see just how much stuff I already have stored inside! It makes the kitchen look tidy and is a great place to bake bread. Mmmm, that reminds me... I can't wait to make some homemade pizza dough and then try it out on my new baking stone! I am so spoiled :)

My last crafty project of last weekend was to paint and hang up our new coat rack. I was thinking that we would put keys, Maverick's jacket, or my purse, but it turns out that we have lots of scarves and hats to choose from (thank you to some great xmas gifters!) so they are on display for the choosing instead! I picked up a nice little rug for underneath and now we have a (very small) mudroom-type area for our sandy shoes.

Thanks again for all of the great christmas gifts. I type this as I enjoy some chocolate-covered pretzels and hot chocolate (complete with a dark-chocolate-dipped candycane straw!)