Ever since I read Sweetly by Jackson Pearce, I’ve been craving the candied lemons described in the story. Ok so you can’t get them at Target or my usual shopping spots, so when we found them here in Long Beach yesterday, imagine my excitement!

The guy behind the candy shop counter probably thought I was weird, getting all excited about fake fruit candy, and I’m sure he was annoyed when I made him pick out only the lemon and lime and orange slices, because I didn’t want watermelon or raspberry. Oh well.

We rode our bikes for miles to get to this picture (of my kids), which is right around the corner from the candy shop. I took off riding on nearly flat tires, not knowing it was the bike that was slow and not the rider who hadn’t ridden her bike since last summer. But the sore butt and legs and kids yelling at mom to hurry up was all worth those little candied fruits!