coconut water smoothie

On Cinco de Mayo I found myself with a whole day to do a whole lot of nothing.  After taking my favorite gal pal, Millie, for a run, I had worked up quite an appetite.  So I made my way to the kitchen and whiped up this beauty of a smoothie.  It has been my go to healthy treat since...especially on hot days like today.  I guess I should tell you now, that I love to drink my meals.  Mostly because in my line of work I rarely get to sit down to eat and it's just easier to have something to sip on.  I love juicing, making smoothies, and protein shakes.  Recently I discovered what a great thing coconut water is, especially in a smoothie.  I use to use juice as the base of my smoothies but it can be so full of sugar.  Coconut water is a great healthy substitute and full of electrolytes.  The berries in this smoothie are packed with all kinds of antioxidants and vitiams.  

Coconut Water Berry Smoothie
 
8 ounces of coconut water
1 cup of frozen fruit {I used pineapple, mango, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries}
 a piece of fruit for a garnish

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy!


 

mother's day

{My granmother and I}

 

 {My mom and I}

 

To be completely honest with you, I think about moms all the time.  I think about my own mother, my dear friends becoming and being mothers, and I think about being a mother myself.  I have entered that part of life where being a mom myself is something I think about.  Strange but true.  Even more, I have some very sweet friends that already have children and a few more are that about to become mothers.  It's a crazy beautiful thing to see.  I have a handfull of girlfriends that I have know for about 15 or 20 years and now we are settling in, getting married, growing up, buying house, having children...it's interesting to look back and see ourselves as those teenage girls in junior high.

To bring this full circle...thinking about who I was then and who I am now, I can't help but thank my mom.  The poor woman put up with a very independant, free spirited, and willful teenage daughter {can can read a little more about my mom here and here}.  I came around though.  I remember when I was finishing up college I would find solace in sitting on our lanai while drinking tea and finishing a good book or working on a painting.  I realized then that I was becoming my mom.  But this time instead of fearing the inevitable, I rejoyced in the fact that I was becoming more like her everyday. 

When I think about Dan and I having children, the more and more I begin to understand where my mom {and parents} were coming from while I was growing up.  I can't imagine how much a parent must love their child.  And that in itself must be a blessing and a curse at times.  Now that the woman I grew up with, got in trouble with, and grumbled about our parents with, are having babies of their own, I can't help but laugh at what they are in for.  And God willing someday I will be a mom myself and can hopefully laugh and enjoy at what's in store for us as parents. 

So to all the moms and soon to be moms out there...I thank you for doing the hardest job there is.



writing honestly

{my new journal // rifle paper co.}

For as long as I can remember I've kept a journal, probably since I learned to write.  An even greater feat than that....I have kept every single journal I have ever written in.  I have never been the best writer.  I can't spell to save my life {thank you spell check} and my punctuation is usually off.  

But I love words.  Sometimes I find myself spilling over those old journals of mine and beaming at my honesty no matter how ugly it was.

 While I was in school I use to doodle and write while I was sitting in a lecture.  I would sit in coffee shops facing the ocean and write poetry.  Yes poetry....how ridiculous.  Lines and lines of who knows what, but it always made me feel inspired and much more fullfilled.  I would write down lines of songs, quotes, poems, and even sometimes just a word.  It's unbelievable how truthful I was in all that writing.  I think I wrote almost everyday and it seemed to never stop.  It felt like I could just write and write.

Since finishing college my journal writing has diminished.  Though so much of my writing was placed in love letters to Dan while he was deployed.  It must count for something?  I'll entertain it now and again, but it feels like I don't have the space to do it like I use to.  Plus I write the happenings of life here.  And I guess that's a big part of why I started blogging, to make the space for something I enjoy so much.  My writing here is sometimes everyday mundane and not as truthful or vulnerable.  I spare you {most of the time} with the rawness that life can bring.  Maybe I shouldn't?

Recently I thought about how different writing in my journal is from writing for an audience.  I only share about 20% of my life here and am not as brutally honest about things like I would be if I was only writing for me.  Writing in a journal use to give me butterflies in my stomach because it was everything.  I would write about the future and any dream I had would find it's way to that journal.  I was completely inspired by my own thoughts on what life was and would be and at the same time every bad bad was written too.  I literally held back nothing.  I mean I was writing poetry?  And it was awful...but I didn't care.  Because the truth was, no one was going to read it.  

So it begins again.  I am making space for that type of writing again, for me and no one else.  That's the beauty of writing something only for you, it can be terribly written and a jumbled mess.  I think it can only help my blogging and my overall life.  Only time will tell dear friends.   

Maybe I'll share some of it....but I promise I'll keep my poetry to myself.

spring blooms

Boston can start to look downright depressing near the end of winter.  March usually brings us piles of dirty snow on the ground and no leafs on the trees.  But once the trees and flowers start to bloom it's probably about the prettiest place around.  Flowering trees line cobble stone streets and every once in a while you see a sweet little flower popping out of the concrete to get some sunshine.

Sometimes New England misses spring all together.  We go from snow storm right to hot summer weather.  Not this year.  It has been spring here for a few weeks and I remember now why I love it so much.  It's a totally renewal from winter.  A new beginning. 

trip planning // california

Do you remember this post?  I had gotten bit by the travel bug, which happens a lot.  So I booked a 10 day trip to California with one of my dearest friends.  Needless to say in all my time spent in Hawai'i I never made my way to California.  I guess it's still a good 3,000 miles away but I flew over it so many times.  It seems like at some point I would have wanted to stop and hang around for a bit. 

 

We are both flying into San Diego and driving up the California coast and flying out of San Francisco.  Meg is the perfect travel buddy.  She right there with me if we have to sleep in the car or bathe in a river or eat trail mix for a couple of days...that's why I love her so much.  Plus we have lived and traveled together too many times to count.  We don't have a solid plan yet {and we probably won't} but we do have our plane tickets and people to visit. 

Meg and I have been friends for almost 15 years and I truly consider her my soulmate {sorry Dan}.  We don't get to see each other very much since she lives in Hawai'i and I am here in Boston.  Spending 10 days with her on a road trip through California will be glorious.  I swear the girl can read my mind and we are always, somehow, going through the same thing at the same time. 

Like I said...soulmate.

 

 

There we are traveling through Costa Rica and getting caught in a rain storm.  We were pretty rough around the edges on the trip, as you can see by our great outfits.  Promise the california photos will be much better.  And just look how short I am. 

 

So my dear friends any places we have to go to?  Anything we absolutley have to see or do?  Places to eat? Stay? Surf?  We are all ears and would love any great California suggestions!  I'll keep you in the know how once our plans start to come together but anything you got on planning this trip would be just fabulous.

 

Happy weekend!

 



DIY // baby's breath chandelier

This past weekend I made a baby's breath chandelier for a friend's baby shower.  I had seen this stunning chandelier here and decided to try my hand at it.  The whole process is pretty easy but can take some time.  But I promise it's pretty much fool proof.

What you need:

~ small {2" in diameter} styrofoam ball 

~ fishing line or white thread

~ 15-20 bunches of baby's breath

First start by wrapping the fishing line once or twice around the styrofoam ball, making sure you leave enough line at the end {I left about a foot}.  Once the fishing line is wrapped, hold onto the styrofoam ball and start sticking the stems of the baby's breath into the ball. 

Start with longer stems and you can fill in and shorten them later.  Once the baby's breath is placed in the styrofoam ball, hang the whole chanderlier up.  It's much easier to see the spots that need more or less baby's breath when the whole thing is hung.  Now you can move some of the baby's breath around or cut some of the stems shorter so they fill in the space. 

There is the finished project.  My chandelier didn't come out perfectly circular.  I went with a more organic look.  These would be great for any shower, party, or wedding.  The great thing about baby's breath is that it's a great dried flower, so the chanderlier can be dried and kept. 

 

weekend happenings // sweet celebrations

This weekend was sweet Sara's baby shower.  Her mom and her sister planned this shower and everything was too sweet for words.  It was a booked themed shower and just about the most perfect Saturday afternoon you could spend showering a friend with love.  This baby boy has so many people who love him already.

What can I say?  I am more than excited to see this next chapter of Sara and Tim's life unfold.  A new baby, I have come to learn, is one of the most exciting and anticipated events in life.  Not having been through it myself I can't even imagine.  I know this sweet new babe is going to be loved to the ends of the earth.  We all want to watch him grow and become the person God has created him to be.  

Sometimes it feels like I have already lived a lifetime, but then I see these people so dear to my heart starting families and making homes.  I realize that this is the next generation.  This is the journey.  It is right in front of us and it is just the beginning.  This journey we have begun with the people we are going to grow old with is a fabulous one.  Starting families is making it all that much sweeter.

So to you, sweet Sara, I cannot wait to see what this next chapter holds for you and your family.  I cannot wait for the next generation to begin.  And I certainly cannot wait to me this new baby boy. 

a happy birthday and breakfast in bed

Yesterday was Dan's 28th birthday {yes I am totally 3 weeks older than him and he calls me a cougar for those 3 weeks}.  I truly can't say enough about this man and I am beyond blessed that he is my husband.  He's not one to celebrate his birthday but I make sure I always do something for him.  So many birthdays he spent deployed in other countries and away from friends and family.  He hates when I make a big deal about it, but I have to.

Why do you think my birthday is so important? ~Dan
Well, without your birthday you would have never been born and I wouldn't have been able to marry you. ~ Me

It's true.
 
On top of not really wanting to celebrate his birthday, he's also a tough guy to buy gifts for.  He usually buys the things he wants right away.  This year I did buy him a few gifts but best of all I made and brought him breakfast in bed.

Breakfast in Bed // The Menu

Turkey Delight Breakfast Sandwich

1 everything bagel

3 fried eggs

2 slices of pepper jack cheese

5 thin slices of oven roasted turkey

Top toasted bagel with fried eggs, cheese, and turkey. 

Turkey is great when heated up on the frying pan. 

 Berry Pineapple Smoothie

6 oz of Greek yogurt

1/2 cup of almond milk

1 cup combined of strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple

Blend in a blender until smooth.  

Enjoy!

a day off

Last week was just a little much.  With everything going on in Boston, it seemed like it was hard to slow down and just live a little.  Rightfully so.  But smack dab in the middle of the week I had a day off.  It doesn't happen often.  I know what you're thinking.  I must have a day off....what about weekends?  Holidays?  And you're right, but this day off was different.  There were errands and such for me to do and I did them, but nothing truly looming over my head that had to get done.
It was a beautiful thing.

I went to a power yoga class right in the middle of the day.  It was glorious.  I practiced at Prana Power Yoga in Central Square with the amazing Amber.  Teaching yoga myself sometimes it's hard to make time to and practice when you want to.  This class, over lunch break, was just what I needed.

True to form I headed to Life Alive for some healthy treats.  Have you ever been there?  It's delicious.  My favorite juice there is the Simple Alive, which I call green lemonade {photo above}.

For all of you that juice....here's what's in it.

11 oz. of water
the juice of 1 lemon
1/2 - 1 tsp. of spirulina
1 tsp. of honey

Oh did I mention the day was just beautiful out?  Millie and I walk/ran {still breaking in my new shoes} for a while.  The poor pup wants to be outside all the time.  So we played for hours in the yard and with the neighbor kids.  It made me want to be a stay at home mom with no kids...maybe a stay at home pet mom?  Truly the best part of the day was the fact that Dan was coming home the next morning.  Not having him around for this crazy week was tough.  But now he's home and things are feeling a bit more normal. 

Happy Monday!

to Boston

{heart shaped map necklace -  Boston}

News travels fast and before I even knew what happened my phone was full of missed calls and text messages.  A sad, sad day in such a grand city.  We {Dan and I} were luckily not in the city that day.  I was planning to make a trip in after work to celebrate with a few friends that had run the marathon but when I left work around 3:30 pm, I got the news and headed straight home.  

There is something that happens when a tragedy sets in.  You realize how precious your moments are.  You realize that life can change at any moment.  And then it's all a little too much when you think about people actually going through the horror.

It hit too close to home.  I know things like this happen everyday but it still leaves me with a heavy heart.  And I see that heavy heart everywhere today.  I taught my favorite yoga class last night and I had fearful, anixous students standing in front of me.  They were looking to heal.  They wanted to occupy their minds for a bit.  They breathed heavy and deep for an hour of yoga poses and all I could do was pray. 

Leave it for God.  I don't know what else to do with these heavy hearts.  I think He is the only thing that's going to make any sense of this.  And it's hard not to ask Him, Why?  But I pray for the world we live in and pray for people everywhere.  I hope that the good will always out weigh the bad. 
I  believe, to my core, that this world of ours is more good than evil.


To Boston, my dear city...you are in my prayers.