Backyard Boat Parade!

Nutin' says Florida Christmas like a holiday boat parade. Our 'hood hosts an annual one, and we're lucky enough to be on the last canal of the parade route. This year, we decided to mark the occasion by having a lil' viewing party (as if we needed an excuse to host dear friends & neighbors. ha!) Saturday night, just before 9pm, we all scooted down to the seawall to watch in wonder and awe. Our neighbors cruised by in their boats bedazzled with lights, cheery decor and holiday music.

We saw boats with Florida style...

Some with LIVE performers...
And MANY, MANY Santas...
It was hard to pick a favorite, but we fell for this one. Anyone else got a fave?

We had so much fun, we are considering making the boat viewing party an annual tradition. Sweet!

Florida's greenest cities

The results are in! Country Home magazine just published a "green" ranking of the 379 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The order was calculated on data in several areas, including air and watershed quality, mass transit usage, power usage, farmers markets, organic producers, and number of green-certified buildings. Where do Florida's metro areas stand? Not as high as I would like, but here is how Florida's cities rank:

• #44, Gainesville
• #59, Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice
• #61, Sebastion/Vero Beach
• #88, Naples/Marco Island
• #100, Port St.Lucie/Fort Pierce
• #105, Cape Coral/Ft. Myers
• #107, Panama City/Lynn Haven
• #111, Tallahassee
• #124, Punta Gorda
• #143, Orlando Kissimmee
• #146, Pensacola/Ferry Pass/Brent
• #172, Miami/Miami Beach/Kendall
• #173, West Palm Beach/Boca Raton/Boynton Beach
• #177, Fort Walton Beach/Crestview-Destin
• #189, Ocala
• #204, Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater (we live here!)
• #227, Deltona/Daytona Beach/Ormond Beach
• #241, Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach/Deerfield
• #252, Palm Bay/Melbourne/Titusville
• #288, Jacksonville
• #337, Lakeland

To see where your city ranks, check out the full listing.