Now that was a May.

I started this month off slowly, recovering from surgery and being unable to do much. Once I was back in the kitchen, I made these gluten-free lemon raspberry cupcakes for the Chicago Blogger Bake Sale.

There were so many things happening in the blogosphere this May. It was Celiac Awareness Month, and my favorite post was from Alyssa at Inspired RD about what she wants you to know about life with Celiac Disease. It was a brave piece of writing that I know so many of us can relate to.

The very best part of May? The weather warmed up just a bit and summer is here. Oh yeah. It’s summer festival season.

Delicious eats.

Licorice is one of those things I was so disappointed to find out was made with flour, but Nicole at Gluten-free on a Shoestring has fixed my craving with a recipe for Gluten-Free Red Licorice (01). Have you seen this cake from Sarah at Sarah bakes gluten-free Treats? Her Gluten-free, dairy-free mocha cake (02) looks too good to eat. Irvin made these Gluten-free nutella cookies for the San Francisco Blogger Bake Sale, and they look incredible (03). Alex Thomopoulos made these Roasted Brussels Sprouts (04) and I can’t wait to try them.

Other lovely things.

There is more to life than just making awesome, gluten-free food. Just a little. Here are my favorites for this month:

I am taking a lot of little trips this summer, and this bag (01) needs to be in my closet. My friend KC from GFree Foodie has started a gourmet box of the month (02) and I can’t wait for my first one to arrive! As a designer, I am often torn between digital and analog methods for taking notes and keeping track of ideas. This Evernote Moleskine (03) is designed to help you easily digitize notes. Last, but certainly not least, this Celiac and the Beast Tank (04) is my new favorite wardrobe addition. It makes gluten-free (and me) so much cooler.

What’s next?

June brings a trip to Austin for BlogHer Food, my 29th birthday and my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary. I am also planning a great big gluten-free barbecue with recipes from your favorite bloggers.

Bring on those summer nights!