Spiced Fruit Bake

I don't have many family recipes.

In fact, I really only have one. When I finally started to fall in love with cooking in my mid-20s, this realization really bummed me out. I found myself deeply saddened by the fact that there was nothing that had been passed down through the generations in my family. No special sauces, no baked goods, no holiday staples...

Except, of course, for Spiced Fruit, which is sort of all three of those things.

West Coast Road Trip Part IV: San Francisco to Crescent City

Even though I planned an entire day of the road trip around California's majestic redwoods and sequoias, I had a secret: I felt really guilty because I wasn't sure if I'd be too impressed by them.

Like most things in my life, I blame this on growing up in Connecticut. It's hard when you grow up in a forresty area to muster the same amazement for tall trees. Your formative years are spent taking them for granted because they're all around you. Plus, you're a tiny human then, so even Connecticut's comparatively short pine trees seem enormous.

But when I confessed this to someone before the trip, they assured me that I had nothing to worry about, that it was impossible to not stand in awe of these giants.

They were right.

West Coast Road Trip Part III: Santa Cruz to Napa to San Francisco

As soon as I first started planning our West Coast Road Trip adventure, I realized I could kill two birds with one stone off of my 30 Before 30 list. While the road trip itself was always something I'd wanted to do, going wine tasting in Napa was also on my list and this road trip presented the perfect opportunity. So after a night at The Dream Inn in Santa Cruz and an obligatory coffee stop, we headed north for a day of wine tasting. 

But first, we tackled another new experience for me: driving over the Golden Gate bridge. 

New York City Marathon 2016 Race Recap

This past weekend I ran the NYC Marathon.

It's weird to type that or say it or think it right now. Growing up in Connecticut, I thought that NYC was the only marathon. I didn't even realize that other marathons existed until I was a teenager. And even then, I kind of felt like other marathons didn't really matter.

I entertained the idea of running it off and on throughout my high school cross country years and into my early 20s and then almost-seriously considered it when I lived in Manhattan. But I never thought I could or would actually ever really do it. When I left New York and moved to San Diego in 2010, I left any notions of running New York behind too.

Then, earlier this year, I entered the lottery on a whim. I had a lot of different reasons for doing so, but I still don't think I really expected to get in. After all, over 85,000 people entered the lottery and they offer spots to less than 20% of entries. Plus, it was my very first time entering the lottery! Deep down I figured that if I didn't get in and found myself bummed out about it, that I would keep entering and shoot to get a guaranteed entry after getting rejected three years in a row. But on March 8th, I received a charge on my credit card for $255.

I had been accepted into the NYC Marathon.

Since then, it's been a long road to New York: five months of training, over 350 training miles logged and 20+ Saturday mornings spent sweating in the summer sun all over San Diego.

And it was all completely, absolutely worth it.

New York City is the best marathon in the world.

OB Love: 1502 Candle Co.

I have been saying for the better part of two years that I want to do more posts highlighting my sweet little neighborhood of Ocean Beach. However, like most things blog-related I haven't had time during this frantic year-long race to the finish of my MBA. #MBAproblems

Here's the thing: I knew OB was home the minute I first set foot in my friend Keri's apartment complex 7 years ago. Something about it just felt like what I'd meant whenever I said I wanted to move to San Diego. It was the vibe and community I'd been searching for my whole life. And even though it took me five years after moving to San Diego to move to OB, now that I'm here I don't ever want to leave.

San Diego is home, but OB is home.