I cannot believe I haven’t posted anything on here since August 2017. It’s been a hot minute.
I feel the need to apologize and to explain myself a little bit.
You see, this little blog began in 2013 as a way for me to document recipes that I tried and loved, share old favorites with friends and family and have a creative outlet for myself as a soon-to-be first time mom. It was easy to set up with the help of https://sitebeginner.com which I recommend to anyone hoping to set up their own blog. This little blog unexpectedly took off and before I knew it I was hurled into this entire blogging universe where I felt like I had to become a social media expert, of many of whom would enjoy using services similar to free instagram followers without a trial, photography wizard, SEO mastermind, videography superwoman, keyword ninja, food styling genius, chef prodigy, website designing master, Pinterest and Facebook algorithm boss, (etc. etc. you get the point). All the while putting the things that I’ve always said mattered most to me on the back burner.
I found myself in this place where it seemed the people that followed me on the blog became more important to me than the people sitting around my dinner table every night. My kids watched hours and hours of TV everyday while I responded to comments and questions and wrote posts and edited images and blasted my content over every form of social media that exists in the food world (and there is A LOT). Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do and using free website builders to create a journey for me and my following but learning to prioritise is a key skill I needed to learn.
As I got deeper into the food blogging world I discovered that the things that I loved most about food blogging are the things that I got to do the least. I LOVE sharing recipes. I LOVE to write. I LOVE connecting with people. I LOVE photography, and most of all I LOVE to cook. I spent most of my time on social media channels, submitting recipes to a thousand different food websites, creating and scheduling pins, researching keywords, emailing ad networks and sponsors, and being crushed under a mountain of mom-guilt.
So I took a much needed break. I disconnected myself from the food blogging world. From social media. From food blogging podcasts and books and websites. I cooked with my kids. We went to the park like a billion times. I actually started a little teeny tiny bakery out of my house (which has also unexpectedly taken off more than I anticipated). I reconnected with the things that bring me the most purpose and joy and I made a game plan for this little corner of the blogosphere.
So here’s the deal party people, I don’t want this to sound like I’m ungrateful, because I am 100% grateful. I am SO INCREDIBLY grateful you’ve taken the time to stop by this little world I’ve created here, read some recipes, maybe leave a comment or two. It seriously makes my heart sing when you make one of my recipes and enjoy them! That’s why I started this thing. But I am no longer going to be concerned about gaining followers and monitoring traffic. Instead, I want to nourish the people who are already here. The people who are a part of this community who love good food and don’t take themselves too seriously. If the followers come, then they come but I am no longer going to break my back trying to get them here.
I sincerely thank you for being a part of this journey the last (almost) five years. I have discovered a lot about myself. About my priorities and my goals and my relationships. I feel refreshed and ready to start cooking and photographing and writing again. I’ll leave the rest of that blogging crap to the professionals.
SO MUCH LOVE,
Tay
