You are looking at a long time goal of mine. I have been a loyal food blog follower for years. I started out simply looking for recipes at first. Slowly, I fell in love with the concept of creating my own space, an online journal, with what I was cooking, what I was doing and what I was feeling. One day I realized that the longing I felt wasn’t to just read blogs anymore. I wanted to create my own. Many times I found myself staring wistfully at the computer screen, wondering if I could start a blog, how I would go about it, if I would be good at it. I talked myself out of it a million times. Then I stopped saying “I would love to…” and started saying “I am going to…”.

Not very long ago, I christened my upcoming 2014 the “Year of the Food Blog”. In preparation, I started scribbling down recipes and taking photos of what I made. I bought a light box. I bought a laptop. I researched platforms and photography tutorials. I did my homework. And then, for the very first time, I hit “Publish”. If you are reading this, (without a doubt because you were peer pressured, bribed or threatened by me), thank you for taking the time to stop by!

Interestingly enough, the getting started feels like the hardest part so far. The cooking and the writing are easy. I have had an interest in cooking for as long as I can remember. In elementary school I had several kids’ cookbooks and while I made lots of recipes from them, I was quick to identify those as too easy and “childish” for my taste. I often volunteered to cook supper for my family of six and pack my Dad’s lunches for work. I loved getting compliments and feeling like I was good at something, especially at that admittedly awkward age.

I often pored over pictures of the fanciest, most complicated dishes and remember not being intimidated in the slightest to try them, not only because I hadn’t royally messed up a recipe yet but because it wasn’t me paying for all of the expensive ingredients. I recall an instance at the age of 12 or so when one of my sisters and I, bored at our aunt’s house in a tiny rural town, decided to whip up a cake. We made a beautiful square layer cake thick with buttercream, which I had doctored up from an entire block of butter and a TON of powdered sugar. It looked and tasted great so I couldn’t understand why my aunt was so devastated that we had used a whole block of her precious, expensive, and hard to come by in the boonies, butter. Of course, now that I know not only the cost of butter but also of the trip to the city to pick it up, I’ve become a much more considerate house guest.

Something I also always loved was writing. Essays, stories and poetry came really naturally to me. I found that I never had to work very hard to earn a high mark in English or Creative Writing. Since I was a young girl, I faithfully recorded my life happenings in my journals, many of which I’m sure still float around somewhere in my parents storage. I wrote many entries listening to Alanis Morissette or the Spice Girls on my ghetto blaster while wearing my favorite stretchy plastic choker and pondering school dance drama, my latest haircut and the newest Lip Smacker I was dying to have. Growing up in a town of 400 people or so, I felt cooped up a lot and I always dreamed about going to other places. Writing gave me a bit of an escape and encouraged me to dream, no matter how humble my roots.

My whole life, my relentless sweet tooth (thanks Dad!) has been the inspiration behind many of my creations. The richer the better in my eyes and anyone who’s tasted a dessert made by me will confirm this. As I often bring dishes to get-togethers or parties, I find myself getting asked for recipes a lot. I am looking forward to creating an online log of what I make and keeping track of them that way. It is an understatement to say that my scrap papers and cookbook collection are out of control. I intend to post old standbys and those family classics I still adore from childhood as well as new recipes and I definitely want to throw in a “life” post every once in a while. At this very early and inexperienced stage, I can’t be sure what exactly this hobby will become but I am excited to find out.

I am not a techy by any means and am definitely intimidated by that aspect of blogging. I anticipate there to be some struggles but I also know that I am combining two of my old loves with a brand new adventure. Learning new things makes me feel alive so in spite of my fears and uncertainties I am also feeling a lot of joy in making this a reality.

Thanks for taking a peek and stay tuned for my first recipe post soon!