Sunday Morning Scones (with gluten-free modifications!)

Sunday mornings are one of my favorite times. I typically like to have busy Saturdays where I feel productive by planing things to do, going shopping or out with friends, as well as get a jumpstart on homework. Sundays, on the other hand, are the time for relaxing, pampering, exercising, and best of all cooking (and of course eating).

During my freshman year in high school, my dad took a sabbatical from his work, and we moved to Cambridge, England for a year. During the course of this year, my mom and I went to countless tea rooms for afternoon tea and scones, and let me tell you, having a cup of tea and warm, buttery scone is one of the most delectable pleasures in life. Being back in the US, there are many things that I miss about England, and the scones are certainly one of them.

Spring Favorites 2015

I am over the moon that this Friday we can officially call it Spring (even if in PA we're expecting a couple inches of snow)! In honor of the changing of seasons, and hopefully sunny warm days to come (fingers crossed, everybody), I have decided to get a foot up and think about how I'm going to revamp my wardrobe for Spring. I will confess, I'm not a big colorful dresser, as I'm all about black being the new black, but I've decided that this Spring I will branch (just slightly) out of my comfort zone in terms of color, as well as try to get some things that are just a lil' different than my usual V-necks and loose tees.

Spring Break 2015 // Day 6

It was the last day of being in California. I got up somewhat early, and relaxed for a bit, working on my previous day's blog with a cup of tea. My mom began making blueberry pancakes; let me just tell you guys: I love pancakes. Maybe it's because I used to help my Dad make them over the weekend for breakfast when I was little (I always got to whisk the ingredients together, and put on chocolate chips), but they will always be one of my favorite breakfasts. Meanwhile, I decided to make some fresh squeezed orange juice with a basket of oranges that were from the garden (something I definitely won't be able to do once I'm back in PA :( ). Once all the pancakes were done, we sat down to a nice breakfast together.

Spring Break 2015 // Day 5

Today was another very low key day. In the morning, I lazed around for a bit, and then headed to the kitchen to make dutch baby. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a breakfast for which you make an extremely simple batter out of flour, milk, and eggs. Then you put a pan in a preheated oven with lots of butter; once the butter is melted, you pour in the batter, and let the breakfast bake for around fifteen minutes. When it comes out (if you've done everything right) there should be peaks all around the sides, and the rest is fluffy. It's hard to explain, but they are delicious--especially if you eat it with maple syrup and fruit salad, as we did.

After breakfast, I worked on finishing up by blog from the previous day, as my Mom and her friend who was visiting caught up. Soon, we left for a hike at Hidden Villa (an organic farm with trails going into the mountains). Although the morning had been somewhat grey, by the time we reached the lookout at the top, there was nothing but blue above us, the the sun felt great.

Spring Break 2015 // Day 4

Today started out relatively early, as most days have, at 7:30 AM, and my Mom and I decided to go for a walk. It was still quite foggy and cool at this point, but it felt great to get some blood circulating to my muscles (and as expected, my quads were sore from the previous days run :( ). When we got home, I relaxed on the couch for a bit, and waited until everyone was up. Finally, around 8:30, we headed out for breakfast.

For all the years that I have been coming to California to see my Grandparents, I cannot remember a visit that didn't involve going to Linda's, a breakfast place in Santa Cruz. The place has a rustic, homey feel, and absolutely fantastic food!! After waiting outside the cafe (where they have benches and coffee), we were called in when a table opened up. The waiters there are super friendly, so after placing our orders, and impatiently waiting, the food arrived. I had a greek scramble (which consists of three eggs, black olives, tomatoes, spinach, and feta cheese) with a relish green pepper hot sauce, a heaping plate of potatoes, and a buttery cinnamon role... and damn, it was fantastic!

Spring Break 2015 // Day 3

Today I got up and went for a run; wow, that sounds kinda weird to say! To give you guys a little bit of background, I am a pretty athletic person in general, but during the winter I always fall into a slump. It's not good, and I should really try to stay more motivated, but in Pennsylvania during the winters when it's negative temperatures outside, I want to be cuddled next to the fire with tea and Netflix, not freezing my ass off trying to go for a run! Anyway, the run was rough, to say the least. Regardless, I did it, so I'm happy to say that I'm one step closer to getting back into a good fitness routine for Spring.

When I got back from the run, I cooled down with a nice green smoothies, and sat in the sun. A while later, after showering, I moved on to breakfast with some maple oatmeal and tried to finish a little bit of homework. The rest of the morning I have to be honest with you guys, I did not do that much of anything :( However, come lunchtime we all made a trip out to Chipotle, where I got a chicken burrito. It was delicious, and I felt like I was going to explode by the end (I guess that's what 1,000 calories does to you, eh ;) ).

Spring Break 2015 // Day 2

After waking up, I went downstairs and had some water and and an orange (this is quickly becoming a ritual for my mornings in Cali), and started on a walk downtown to pick up some bagels for breakfast. The place I got them is quite the local joint, and at 7:30 AM already a had a little line! After coming home, we made some coffee and tea, set the bagels and cream cheese on the table, and sat down to yet another family breakfast.

Spring Break 2015 // Day 1

After a long day of school, which included getting back a math test (yikes) and taking a history test (yikes!), I was picked up by my family, and we started the long journey from Pennsylvania to California. After the four hour drive--which was quite beautiful, as the setting sun cast hues of pink, orange and yellow into the clear sky--we arrived at the airport, and made our way to the correct terminal. We had quite a bit of time to kill, so I enjoyed the avocado turkey sandwich I had packed and watched The Prince and Me on Netflix. A couple minutes before boarding, I filled up my water bottle, bought some tropical fruit snacks, and I was ready to go!

Pennsylvania sunset, as we drove to the airport