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Race recap: Philadelphia Love Run Half Marathon

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When I didn’t get into the NY Half this year, I was trying to figure out a different option. A friend suggested I check out the Love Run Philadelphia — good course and nice swag which includes a mug and a nice medal. I was in! Sounded like a prefect new option for half marathon #5.

Love Run Philadelphia Course Map 2024

A month and a half before the race I went ahead and reserved a spot for the day of. I picked something close I picked something close enough to not have to walk too far to the starting line but not close enough to be impacted by road closures — an important trait. Thankfully a friend had some recommendations to help as I chose one, so took away one day of stress.

Image of all of Lara’s running gear for the Philadelphia Love Run Half Marathon — including her Honey Stinger waffles and gels, knee high socks, valentines Goodr sunglasses, Oiselle hat and Still I Run neck buff.

I got up before 4am to ensure I had enough time to gather up my things to get there with plenty of time to spare. The downside of the 7:30am early start time was needing to leave early enough to allow for the travel time. I naturally picked out all my clothes and fuel the day before.

I was also prepared with some throwaway layers for the start. Those proved quite helpful, as it was chilly at the starting line. I did learn though that I probably should have washed the sweatpants as they left black fuzz all over my highlighter yellow leggings. Ooooops.

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Kids Taylor Swift themed birthday at Zumbini with Allie

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Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh they said it’s her birth-tay! Yep. Our daughter L finally turned five. When I asked what theme she wanted it was immediate. “Taylor Swift!” She’s been obsessed since I took her and her brother to their first movie theater outing to see the Eras Tour Movie, so it made for a fitting choice.

So what would that mean for five-year-olds?! In the end, we decided on a unicorn craft themed party with all Taylor Swift music, which ended up being the perfect combo. If you are looking for a good playlist of more kid-friendly (or at least I’d say Logan-approved), I’m embedding mine here.

Venue

I had heard a lot of great things about Zumbini with Allie after Q went to a birthday party there recently. I took a look at their website and saw they had a Taylor Swift dance party but for older kids. They did have a unicorn craft so we decided perhaps a bit of both worlds for her party!

Zumbini with Allie open play space

The owner was amazing in working with us to do a custom setup — with the kids doing a unicorn craft and listening to an all-Taylor Swift soundtrack as they enjoyed open play between activities and food rounds.

The venue took care of pizza, plates and utensils for the kids and we were allowed to bring in our own cake. We needed to bring in our own plates and silverware for the dessert, and all of the above for parents for both pizza and dessert.

Cake

Speaking of cake, it’s always a top priority to me when planning any birthday celebrations. As always, we went with a cake from Natale’s Bakery in Summit. We went with streamer icing decorations and added a cardboard decoration on top and voila! All set.

Decorations

We totally lucked out in that one of my coworkers who got VIP passes to the Eras Tour gave us some of the gorgeous posters and postcards to add a bit of authentic Taylor decor to the mix!

The party room was a decent size and we put up a metallic fringe backdrop layered with a Taylor Swift sign hanging across. The two really worked to brighten it up and make for a perfect backdrop.

Party favors

Taylor Swift themed bracelets

These were a MUST in the swag bags. We got this set from Amazon. There was one small misspelling but these were still great quality and value. They were such a hit!


Taylor Swift stickers

These were relatively inexpensive for 151 stickers! These aren’t the exact set we got (we’ve found so many of the things you find on Amazon get taken down) but they look almost the same.


Heart-shaped sunglasses

These were a must-buy. We went with this option based on speed of delivery but there were also some fun multi-colored ones.

Shimmery polka-dot bags

There were more Taylor Swift options but we went with these which added a bit of shimmer but didn’t overpower. Couldn’t beat the price point!

Overall, it was such a wonderful celebration and our little Swiftie had the best special day.

Music

Of course, the music is a must! We didn’t play our own soundtrack day of as the venue covered it but sharing the playlist I currently turn on for L who might love TS but has a strong preference for a more kid-friendly subset of her catalog.


What did we miss? Drop it in the comments below and let me know if you use any of the above for your own party!

ticket to taper town

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I can’t believe it but I’m in the final stretch again for my half marathon training program and the race is coming up next weekend. Every time I start this cycle it feels like such commitment yet always manages to fly by!

I often do spring half marathon training. It’s always quite the journey — training my way through almost all of the snow for the year (if not all of it) through rainy impending spring and finally into spring’s arrival.

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february reads

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I was hoping to continue the reading trend for the month of February … but would it last? Spoiler alert: YES! I’m pretty thrilled. Lots of fabulous reads and a few that just published that I was lucky enough to take an early look at.

Outofshapeworthlessloser by Gracie Gold (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5)

I knew I had to read this book after watching an interview with Gracie Gold on the TODAY Show. I used to watch skating regularly, stopping just shy a bit before her era. Her book is a very honest and often harsh look at the competitive world of skating and the challenges she faced both on and off the ice. Such a powerful read on her determination and coming to a new understanding with what had for a while become a nemesis. Highly recommend this audiobook. She also joined for this great episode of Peter Shankman’s Faster Than Normal podcast to discuss the book and her experiences.

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january reads

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My reads for the month were a bit super charged by December me — as I started several things which I only was able to finish once I found my way into 2024. It was a pretty eclectic mix of books. Sharing my top line thoughts, below. For my thoughts on Kate Kennedy’s bestseller One in a Millennial, check out this separate post on the book and the launch event!

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5)

This book takes you on quite the ride. I haven’t loved a flawed character in a long time like I loved April. I sometimes find I lose my connection with them or they cease to be likable, but I loved her through it all. I had such a defined sense of space on this one, which says a lot with the multiple scene changes that happen throughout the book.

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one in a millennial

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Even before my love of reading was reinvigorated I had one starred book release for 2024 noted — One in a Millennial. Obviously I was dying to dive into the book from the person behind the only podcast I regularly listen to these days, Be There in Five! The book focuses on pop culture with a focus on 1990s, 2000s and present day – so I decided this long-form blog post with photos, links and lots of info was a must do.

The Book

I came in excited for this one already in looking at the book alone. The cover featured a mix CD in Kate’s writing. These were my fave to do back in the day! The book is obviously pink (I forgot the Pantone color of the year for 2016 was none other than Millennial Pink!) and includes the author’s doodles on the inside front and back jacket.

I hated to be coming into an event on January 24th, only one day after the book came out, without reading it beforehand. I ended up coming close though, listening to it on Audible before I got my hard copy at the signing. Kate says it’s not a “memoir” — but in so many ways it totally is, though not through the more standard approach to chronologically going through her life. Instead it is a set of essays that are true to the time, but inherently very personal from her perspective. They touch on so many of the little things that were so important to life during that time. I am not a true Millennial but would say I’m a Xennial, especially after reading through this book and identifying with so many things I’d forgotten about that make up so much of my earlier life experiences.

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hello from a nanowrimo failure

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Oh hello there. Yes, it’s me.


I was so excited to finally do NaNoWriMo again this year and win for the first time since having kids. For those of you who aren’t familiar, NaNoWriMo happens every November. It’s 30 days of writing with the goal of finishing 50,000 words by November 30th. By doing so, you’re deemed a “winner” — even though you may or may not be done with what you’re working on.

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taylor swift eras tour: movie

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On a bit of a whim, I decided to take the kids to see the Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie — their first movie ever. I’m all about trying to instill in them our love of music so it felt like the right fit. I was a little worried about the length, but I took the pressure off by resigning myself to being okay with the money spent — even if we only managed to make it 15 minutes.

I made the most of it though. I bought them both friendship bracelets they managed to lose the same day. I got them fun heart-shaped glasses to wear as well. We got the special popcorn box they had just for the movie and sat down to see what would happen. How would it go?

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lesson learned: run smart

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This past Saturday, I was chased by a pit bull while on my run. It was absolutely terrifying. I was around the 4 mile mark into my 9 mile run. I saw a dark flash as the dog darted from their front door, running through their deep yard before catching up with me. I picked up my pace and she did too, lunging at me and coming within inches of my ankles. I succeeded in avoiding her somehow but only because she decided to finally turn back towards her home.

I wanted to give up and call someone to get me as honestly I was scared to go back by the house (as I had to do in order to get home.) But I kept on going. My breathing was so fast and every noise startled me as I felt like everything was coming at me.

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strasburg railroad and pennsylvania railroad museum

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It was a bit rainy one of the days of our trip, so it was time to get a bit creative to come up with some fun options that wouldn’t be entirely ruined if the rain lingered the entire day.

Breakfast at the Lancaster Beignet Company

I couldn’t resist working a visit to Lancaster Beignet Company into our schedule for the week. I loooooove beignets. With the exception for Cafe du Monde, I haven’t come across anywhere else that has been so focused on them!

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