stay tuned for a new Claremont Road!

As of tomorrow,
my new home on the internet will be at
claremontroad.com!

I am so excited to unveil the new blog design, which is a bit cleaner and much more "me"; I'll be working tonight to transfer my Feedburner account over to the new URL, so those of you who subscribed to this blog via that "subscribe" link in the left sidebar will (hopefully) still see new posts in your feed without having to change a thing. However, technology and I aren't always the best of friends, so if you notice that you're not seeing new posts later this week, pretty please head on over to claremontroad.com and resubscribe. I'll be ever so grateful to know that you're still reading :)

Thank you so much for reading, and for sticking with me through this transition. I look forward to sharing more and more goodness with you as Claremont Road continues to grow!

Monday music, vol. 23: In The Summertime

Every Monday, I'll be sharing a pick-me-up song with the hopes of helping you begin your week on a positive note. Happy Monday!

This remains a favorite summer anthem of mine. (Try to ignore the frightening 70s sideburns, though.)


Buy this song here.

confectionary stencils

Artist Megan Herbert turned some of her illustrations into stencils for decorating coffee and desserts; I love that using these would allow fondant-impaired persons such as myself to create a presentable dessert without requiring too much work and frustration.

images via Megan Herbert, found via paper tastebuds

number 48: in which I check my inhibitions at the door (er, beach)

I did it. Number 48 on my list. I bared my pale, soft belly for everyone to see on a New Jersey beach.

Do I feel totally rid of every insecurity and inhibition I've ever had about my body? Of course not. Did I still catch myself covering/hiding my belly a few times? Sure. But did it feel pretty good to say "screw it" and put on my cute green bikini that I haven't worn since our honeymoon (where we didn't know anyone, and I was 8 pounds lighter)?

Yes.

I'll be 30 in just over a month. I haven't had a flat tummy... ever. I have always carried those few extra pounds right around my middle. Even on our honeymoon, at my thinnest, I was still self-conscious about my belly. I haven't really lost weight recently, though I feel noticeably healthier since I've been working out more often. (Prime example: it was too hot to run outside while we were away, so I did a little Shred-ding with Jillian one morning — and it felt totally easy!).

On vacation last week with my family, I looked around on the beach one day and thought, I am nowhere near being the most fit person on this beach, but I am also far from being the least fit person on this beach. Women and men of all shapes and sizes were comfortable enough in their skin to wear whatever bathing suit their little hearts desired, and I didn't judge them for it. So why have I been judging myself so harshly?

I originally added number 48 to my list as a motivator to lose weight, like this fabulous lady did. And I still do hope to lose a few pounds, and be a little less shy to wear a two-piece someday, without feeling the need to suck in a little... but if I wait for perfection to don a bikini, I'll be waiting forever.

So, I did it. And it felt kind of good, imperfections and all.

oh, hi.

Happy July, friends! It's been another quiet week here at Claremont Road. I've been super busy with work and trying to soak up this awesome spring-like weather while it lasts.... oh, and working on getting a new (and I mean TOTALLY new!) blog design up. (Stay tuned! I'm pretty pumped about it.)

I'll be back as soon as inspiration strikes :)

I love this picture