Fun and Fearless Friday Five

I've been talking to some of my blogger friends lately about my blogger-life crisis.  When I first started this blog, I wrote about a lot of different topics but lately I seem to be writing a lot more about food.  It is not that I don't enjoy writing about food because it is evident that I do...I just seem to write less about things that genuinely excite me that are not food-related because I think that it doesn't make sense for my blog and that my readers won't enjoy it.  But this blog was and will always remain for me - for my writing, my thoughts and my opinions.  So, I've made the decision to slowly integrate more things that aren't food-related because food is just one area of my life.  There are lots of other things that I am passionate about and I want to share that here.  I'm not going to look at how many hits my blog gets or how many comments I receive...I'm going to write because I enjoy doing it and for no other reason.

With that off my chest, I wanted to share five things that I'm truly excited about today.

1.  My best friend from law school is coming into town.  Alex is one of my true-blues and someone that I've been through a lot of ups and downs with.  But over time, our friendship has really matured and she is someone that I can always count on, no matter what.

Alex and I at Fenway last year.

Alex lives in Washington, D.C. but we make a point to see each other as much as we can.  I had such a great time with her during my last visit to D.C. and I can't wait to live it up this weekend.  She is bringing her friend Diego who has never been to Boston, and it will be great to show him the sights.

2.  The Boston Local Food Festival is on Saturday and I can't wait!  I've been volunteering for the festival as a blogger and got a chance to interview the Sustainable Business Network's President, Susan Labandibar, and also speak to the great folks at Shy Brothers Farm.  The Boston Local Food Festival is absolutely free at Fort Point Channel and if you have a chance, you should check out what local food is all about!

3.  My friend Adam is turning 30!  Adam is another law school friend of mine and he is part of the reason that Alex is coming into town.  Adam is such a sweetheart and I can't wait to celebrate this big day with him.

Adam and I at the Fourth of July in 2005 - we look so young!

Of course, celebration means food so I'm hoping to whip up some carrot cake cupcakes with pumpkin cream cheese frosting and my spinach and artichoke dip for the pre-party before we hit the bars!

4.  Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.  Yes, he makes me happy today.  I got the chance to hear him last night in Harvard Square to talk about his book, "Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View".  While  I love food, political science and the law take up a huge part of my life.  I was glad to get a chance to hear Justice Breyer speak about his views on the importance of the Supreme Court Justice in our government and history and I definitely have added this book to my wishlist.

5.  I've found a new blog, Melissa Nibbles, that I really enjoy.  Melissa writes about her struggles with being healthy and the balance between her desire to lose weight but her real need to gain healthy weight.  I think a lot of health and fitness bloggers write about what they ate and how much they exercise without ever being really honest about their true struggles.  Melissa puts it all out there and her honesty is refreshing.  If you get a chance, check out her blog.

Happy Friday! What is making you smile today?