five years in

A few weeks ago, this blog hit 5 years of being in existence. I’ve been trying to write this post for the last couple of months now, and I’m still not sure how to say everything I want to say.

I started this space on a cold January night, with no idea of what would happen here. Maybe I would post for 2 weeks, get bored, and stop. Maybe I could keep it up for a year or two. But never – ever – did I think that I would still be here writing 5 years later and loving it just as much as I did when I first started.

Things have definitely changed in the last few years. We moved into our first house. Got our first dog. Traveled. Graduated. Changed jobs. Dealt with quite a few family emergencies, losses, and new additions.

I started all of this without much knowledge or experience in the kitchen. Honestly, at that point, we were just happy if the meal I made for dinner was edible. I was terrified of going “off recipe”, thinking that any change I made would completely ruin the dish. And let’s not even talk about the lemon pasta dish that we threw out after just one bite. That was definitely the worst….but I still blame the recipe.

Never in my previous 25 years of living did I ever think I would be making croissants or bread or coming up with recipes on my own. And back then, I would have laughed if you told me that I would get paid to come up with recipes. Seriously? Did they know me? Did they realize I could barely boil water just a few years ago?

Having this space has caused me to grow in so many ways over the past 5 years. The most growth has definitely been in the kitchen – coming up with recipes, having the courage to try new things (and fail), and learning what I’m great at (cookies) and where I still need practice (seriously – mashed potatoes. what is so hard about this?!).

But most importantly, it has stretched me into a person I never imagined I would be. I’ve traveled all over the states because of this blog. I’ve met so many people that I would have never met otherwise. Some of my best friends in real life are friends that I met because of this blog. I was on tv – which is still insane to me, and I’m very thankful that I didn’t throw up even though I felt on the verge the entire time in front of those cameras.

So, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for reading and for commenting and for telling me what recipes you’ve tried and loved or sharing your favorite food memories here with me. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what’s to come in the next five years.

I’ve still got a few fun giveaways for all of you in the coming weeks, too! I think you’ll love these things just as much as I do.

In the mean time, here are a few of my favorite recipes from these first 5 years:

Monster Macadamia Coconut Chip Cookies

Chocolate Covered Apple Cider Toffee

Grilled Cheese with Apple and Rosemary Walnut Butter

Spiced Beef and Leek Fried Rice

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Cups