Pumpkin and Spice

I love my job, I really do. I like getting to make cakes, cookies and goodies and getting paid for it. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't homesick. I miss Kyle, and my friends, and our hangouts. I think that if I wasn't married or if Kyle was here, I wouldn't be yearning for the comfortable and familiar quite so much. Another thing that makes it difficult here (aside from not having a kitchen) is that Park City is a pretty upscale town- dining out here on a budget is tricky... There are lots of really great restaurants, but very few that cater to a gal who has to watch her pennies.

One of my favorite local places is Squatter's Brew Pub. Based out of Salt Lake City, Squatter's is bar-and-grill style restaurant that serves their own, locally brewed beers on tap. They place a strong emphasis on sustainability and the environment, and proudly use locally raised, free-range, beef, chicken and bison.

Tuesday was our last day in Key West. We woke up super-early (too early for my tastes, really) to go out on a chartered sailboat. We actually got up so early, breakfast hadn't been set up at the hotel yet. I was a little irritated... I'm the first to admit that I am cranky in the morning, and even more so when I am hungry in the morning. We were walking to the dock, however, and I luckily remembered that there was a Starbucks on Duvall Street on the way there. I stopped in and got a skim milk latte and an oatmeal. (Can I say how much I love that Starbucks has oatmeal now?) We got to the dock, and I was able to sit on a bench to eat my oatmeal while waiting to board.

We went sailing with Danger Charters, a company in Key West that does a sailboat charter to the Key West National Wildlife Refuge on a replica skipjack sailboat. It was beautiful, sunny and windy as we sailed out- the sky was perfectly clear and the ocean was a beautiful turquoise!

Once Halloween is over and the weather here in Florida starts to cool down, my thoughts turn to the upcoming holidays. Come November, I'm totally ready to start getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas... This year, however, I'm feeling a little more wistful than usual, because I won't be home for the holidays. I don't know about you guys, but this time of year, I crave tradition and things that make me remember holidays past.

One food that always makes me think of winter time and the holidays is my dad's beer cheese soup. Once the weather would get cold, his soup was one of my favorite dinners, and every year Dad would make it to take to the annual Christmas party. It's rich, cheesy, with smoky bacon, and a slight tang from the beer. Pair it with a crisp green salad and some crusty sourdough bread, and you're on your way to cozy soup heaven!

I went outside Monday and it was cold! Well, not cold- cold for Florida anyway. It's beautiful and sunny, and a brisk 60F. It was the first really cool day of the season, which makes it finally feel like autumn. The cool temperatures remind me of trick or treating as a wee one back in Kansas and are really putting me in a Halloween-y mood. In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd share a review of some festive seasonal beers. Over the past month and a half, I've tried several varieties, all in the name of blogging, of course. (Oh, the sacrifices I make!)

Okay, let's try this one more time! (This is a long one! It was a busy day...)

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early... Haha! That was a little joke. I don't wake up "bright and early" unless its absolutely necessary. And it wasn't necessary on Saturday. We woke up about 8:45, which was early enough, got dressed and smeared ourselves with copious amounts of SPF 55. (Yeah, we're pasty.) Before we left, we stopped at the cafe to get breakfast. I tried to get something healthy and filling (I didn't want to be too hungry before lunchtime rolled around.) I wound up having a cup of coffee, scrambled eggs with yummy salsa, most of a biscuit and a cup of fresh pineapple. Kyle had the "breakfast skillet"- eggs, potatoes, cheese, veggies, sausage and more cheese. After our breakfasts, we hopped on the bus to Epcot.