vanilla clementine bread

What do you do when your lovely fiance signs you up to make a dessert for dinner with his family that same night?

You throw together everything sweet you have left in your house into a loaf. Because loaves are always the answer.

for bread:
1 cup low fat yogurt
2 T coconut oil
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 t vanilla extract
zest of 1 clementine
juice of 3 clementines
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

for glaze:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 T coconut milk
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your loaf pan. In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients through the vanilla bean until blended. In a large bowl, sift together the remaining bread ingredients. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and gradually incorporate your wet mixture. Don't overmix! Spoon the batter into your loaf pan and vake for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out smooth.

While your bread is cooling, combine your powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract together until smooth and drizzle on top of your bread.

suit up

Now that the temperatures are inching up-up-up and the sun is staying up longer and longer, I'm dying to get to the beach. And I wouldn't mind cooling off in some water in one of these sweet suits...

clockwise: suit | top + bottom | top + bottom | suit

Just hand me a cold cocktail, and I'll be ready to lounge in a cabana (with some SPF 50, of course!).

Are you ready for summer?

life scenes

I unexpectedly fell off the blogging train this week. I didn't mean to, but my birthday turned into a birth-week, and I've just been celebrating everything.

a spicy margarita at hops n scotch on my birthday

birthday suit

drankin' at sweet cheeks and playing with a beautiful mess

topping it all off meeting maddie (and theron)

Also this week, I found out I'll be able to run in the 2014 Boston Marathon and I'm just blown away. Words can't even describe what this means to me.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, and much love to everyone who's celebrated with me this week. Twenty-five, man. Twenty-five. I already love you.

twenty-five

Today is my twenty-fifth birthday. It's crazy how quickly this year went by, how many things I was able to accomplish, how much I've changed.

My twenty-fourth year was everything I wanted and more. And while some things didn't go as I thought they would (hey marathon, I'm looking at you), Craig surprised me by asking the most important question.

If you had asked me a year ago what I thought being twenty-four would be like, I wouldn't have been able to even dream the things that happened. I've been lucky enough to make some really wonderful friends this year and strengthen my friendships with others.

So what does twenty-five hold? Honestly, I have no expectations. I know I'll marry my best friend. I know I'll spend as much time as I can with my friends and family. I know I'll do my best to make twenty-five even better than twenty-four.

shake that

Happy Friday all! Craig and I are away this weekend for a little wedding action (not ours), and I can only hope my dance moves rival this dog's sweet moves:

Have a good weekend all!

for mom

Mother's Day is just a few short days away. Did you forget? I hope not. Unfortunately, I won't be hanging out with my mom this year, but I've got something special coming for her over the weekend (get pumped, Mom!).

If you're on the hunt for some last-minute gift ideas, I've got you covered. This is, however, assuming your mom is similar to Sandy. And would like these things.

chapstick | top | bag | perfume

And if you and your mom will be in Boston on Sunday and are looking for something fun to do, Bar Method Boston and Gust-O Boston are offering a special mother-daughter treat! You can buy two Bar Method classes and two blowouts for the price of one! Just $65 for a day of fitness and beauty. Gift certificates are available in advance at either location or online here.

Whatever you do, tell your mom you love her. She deserves it.

"we will finish the race"

I can't promise this will be my last Boston Marathon post, but I will say I won't be talking about it much following this post. I just feel spent on the topic. It feels like it's all I can think about some days, and unfortunately it's something I'm going to have to think about and be associated with for a long time.

//via

This month's Boston Magazine cover really hit home for me. It's helped remind me that I'm not alone with my unfinished marathon. There were so many of us. So many who trained for months, who dreamt of that right on Hereford, left on Boylston, who never got to see it. I'll admit, when training got rough and I got tired, I envisioned that right and left. I nearly heard the crowds bellowing in my ear.

I didn't get that. One day I will. Because we will finish the race.

You can buy your own copy of the magazine cover in poster form here. All proceeds go directly to The One Fund. I'll be hanging mine right next to me Boston via Hopkinton poster from Union Jack Creative.

I submitted my own shoe story to Boston Magazine, which you can read here. It's not a whole lot you haven't read before on here, but it's helped me heal.

Thanks for bearing with me during all of this. Really. You've all helped me pick up the pieces again. And while some days are worse than others, it's comforting to know I have so many people who care about me.