Happy weekend!

I am thrilled its finally Friday! This has been my first 5 day week in the office in quite a while, and I've successfully made it through. Although it seemed like a pretty long week, I guess it has sort of flown by since its already the weekend right now. Lucky me!

I've got lots of fun things packed into my two days: dinner tonight and perhaps my friend's birthday party, lunch date tomorrow, perhaps some partying it up downtown tomorrow night and hopefully (finally) seeing Claire for our usual Sunday night dinner! I've missed her and Hailey dog too. So much fun does not bode well for my diet, but things have been going pretty good. I even had an egg white omlette this morning and a healthy sandwich for lunch. Hopefully I won't blow it too badly. And I plan on being back in the gym tomorrow morning. Such dedication--who am I?

Since I've been soo productive at work today (not!), I'll share a delicious recipe with you all courtesy of the Grove Park Inn (and the Food Network) that I made for Thanksgiving last year. I know, I know. It hasn't even bee Halloween yet, and I'm already thinking of Thanksgiving. But I love it! And the food! So here is my delicious cranberry pumpkin bread pudding. To die for.

Cranberry-Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy Dave Rowland, Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, Asheville, NC

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
4 cups milk
1 cup granulated sugar
8 whole eggs
1/4 cup vanilla
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
Cubed bread (see Cook's Note)
1 cup fresh cranberries
Cook's Note: Day-old biscuits or croissants are best for this recipe. You will need enough to fill a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, blend all ingredients, except for bread and cranberries. Fill a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with bread cubes. Sprinkle cranberries over bread cubes. Pour custard mixture over bread cubes, making sure that all cubes are submerged (push cubes down if necessary). Bake for about 1 hour, or until pudding is set. Serve warm.

Now I can't wait for November!