Back in 2008, I came across Molly Wizenberg`s column "Cooking Life" in Bon Appétit magazine. It was there that I discovered her blog Orangette and became an avid reader. She began her blog in July 2004, so I had some catching up to do! She has a lovely, easy style that drew me in. Over the years, following her column and blog, I started to dream about having my own blog. I had studied journalism for a couple of years before life's road took a detour and led me down a new path. My dream of writing had lived on the back burner while I married and raised a family. Reading her blog rekindled my dream and made me believe that I could. I had finally figured out what it was that I wanted to write about. And so began my journey.
My husband has been my biggest fan and cheerleader in all of this....he surprised me with a new laptop to get the ball rolling on this dream of mine. My son helped me with the technical IT stuff. My other son bought me my own domain name. It really has been a family affair. It was all up to me now...no more procrastinating, no more excuses. So here we are....a year later. I have learned a lot in this, our first year together. I have learned that it takes commitment and discipline to find my way to this space regularly while raising a family and working a full time job. I've learned that the best laid plans can go awry...just visit my 12 Days of Christmas page and you will understand. I've learned that life gets in the way and that is ok too. That has been the hardest lesson. It's easy to find excuses not to write, it really is. The truth is it is harder for me not to write now than it is to write. I am always thinking about this space, what you might like, what I am going to cook, what I am going to share with you. It has become a huge part of not only my life, but of my family's too.
Yesterday, we went out with no real destination in mind. Over a late breakfast my husband and I talked about our day, how we were going to spend it together and of course, about this weekend's blog post. I had originally planned on cooking a festive meal to celebrate the blog's milestone. The cold I have been fighting for the last few days has left me feeling tired and worn out so that was off the board. I mentioned in passing that I had hoped to have built my blog office for this big day. I have been planning it for a while and just had the furniture left to buy. He asked me why we weren't doing that??....and with that we were off to Ikea. For the record, my husband hates Ikea, especially on a Saturday.
An hour later, we arrived home and the assembly began.
P.S. Thanks Molly :)