Pumpkin in the Air

Happy Wednesday, aka first day of Thanksgiving break for many worn out students. Technically I should be sitting in my Literature of Islamophobia class right now, but my professor told us that if we had somewhere else to be, we could go guilt-free. So, I headed in the direction of home after my 11:00am class, and after a quick pit-stop at Buc-ee's, I was laying on my couch watching Friday Night Lights by 3:30pm. I am thankful that I hit hardly any traffic, and I am not at all ashamed to admit that I have watched six episodes since being home. It's getting really intense and I just can't get enough! My plan is that as soon as I finish season one, I won't watch anymore until Christmas break, so I might as well get as much done as I can while school isn't quite as pressing. Okay, it is pretty pressing but since I'm home, I feel like I can relax a tiny bit.

After one episode, I decided to partake in one of my favorite Houston activities - a walk around my neighborhood. The fact that the sun was setting made it that much sweeter - I absolutely love the time I get to spend at home with my family, and walking around my neighborhood seeing familiar faces is a great feeling.

After a shower, my dad and I headed up to CityCentre for dinner at one of our favorites - Cyclone Anaya's. Fun fact: Cyclone Anaya's was actually the first restaurant my dad ate at when he arrived in Houston however many years ago. We both opted for the fish tacos and they were delicious. Good food and even better company - a great start to what is going to hopefully be a relaxing break filled with great food.

This morning I woke up around 7:15am and, surprise, I watched an episode of Friday Night Lights while eating breakfast and getting ready for my 9am spin class at the MAC. I mentioned in an earlier post that Felipe's spin class is one of my favorite group exercise classes, but let me tell you, I am cursing Felipe every time he says "INCREASE!" Just kidding, I love Felipe and his class, and clearly everyone else does too because people are always fighting for a spot in his class, but I leave each class drenched in sweat. Nothing like a good workout to erase any fears of indulging in some delicious turkey day food.

I hit the grocery store right after the gym to get all the necessary ingredients to turn my kitchen into a Pinterest factory. I had pumpkin on my mind and therefore pumpkin was at the center of my baking endeavors. I started with some pumpkin bread that followed this recipe almost exactly, just with a very ripe banana taking the place of the sugar. I added some raisins and walnuts and obviously I really liked it because one of my mini-loaves is already gone. That quickly turned into lunch!

I then set out to make pumpkin pie spice almonds using this recipe. They smell excellent but I can't decide how I feel about their taste. They were something new, but definitely not one of the best things I've made. At least it smells good, right?

Before going in the oven 

After 18 minutes in the oven

And now I'm off to watch Friday Night Lights tackle the mountain of homework I have this week. Be sure to be thinking of all the things that you are thankful for!