I've been running this little blog of mine for a little over two years now, and as corny as I'm about to sound, I can't imagine my life without it now. It's become such an ingrained part of my day-to-day routine, that it would be extremely weird (I'm sure there that there is a better word to use than "weird," but I'm pretty sure that it is the most fitting descriptor in this case) to wake up on a Saturday morning and not bake something. Or not to sit for hours looking up recipes and photography inspiration. Or not spend time sorting through dozens of photographs and subsequently editing the ones I have deemed to be the most worthy to publish for the world to see. It would be extremely weird not to have a side project with which to occupy my time and learn from. This blog, even though it is still small and relatively unknown in the world of food blogging, has far exceeded my initial expectations, and I couldn't be happier with it. It doesn't bother me in the slightest that I don't have thousands of subscribers or followers, or dozens of comments on every single recipe that I post. The comments I have received over the past two years have been overwhelmingly positive, and I love reading each and every single comment I get. This blog has become my go-to place for me to simply write down my thoughts and share a few photographs and a recipe that I find beautiful and delicious, and that alone brings me an immense amount of satisfaction. For those of you who have been following along since the beginning, as well as the ones who are only recently beginning to tune in, thank you for sticking around. Your kind words are the cherry on top of my happy blogging sundae. Thanks for reading, for offering suggestions, and for bearing with me while my photography got caught up to speed and during the occasional post where it was painfully clear that I was suffering from an unfortunate case of writer's block. You guys are all really awesome for it.
Aside from learning more about food photography (which I still have tons to learn about) and about myself as a writer, I've also grown much more confident in myself as a baker. Sure, while I still typically choose to focus on simple, homemade recipes, I've certainly grown from baking more than classic drop cookies and quick cupcakes (not that there is anything wrong with them; they're considered favorites for a reason). I can now bake a mean pie with a seriously flaky and buttery crust, and mix up a dozen perfectly rich and incredibly fluffy brioche buns. Two years ago, I doubt I would have considered a completely homemade from-scratch pie to be an option for a simple dessert to share with others, and brioche buns? Please, those were just something I could only dream about being able to make. Fast forward two years, and I've offered to bring homemade pies to potlucks without even thinking twice about it, and I'm thinking it's about time that I make another batch of brioche buns. My next self-imposed challenges include nothing more than piping out a perfect rows of delicate macarons and baking up a dozen fresh croissants to enjoy warm from the oven. I thrive on giving myself seemingly impossible challenges and overcoming them, and macarons and croissants will be no different.
