A wintery beach weekend and from-scratch pumpkin baking success

It's been so busy at work and at home lately, so really need some time off this past weekend at the coast with friends. We stayed in Rockaway Beach, a very small town with a few vacation houses and not much else. We wanted somewhere cozy without too many amenities, somewhere we could hang out inside and play board games if it was rainy or have the beach to ourselves if it was nice. Win and win!