Change Is Good

It has been a while since I wrote a post which wasn’t focused solely on food or travel. It feels a little odd. No recipes or reviews in this post.

Let’s throw a food pic in to make me feel better:

I have seen huge life changes since I began this blog.

Some of you have been readers since day one, you congratulated me when I was pregnant, you messaged me when you knew I needed support after Chloe arrived and you tell me excitedly when you make one of my recipes – can I just tell you all now what a thrill that is? To know that someone, possibly someone who has never even interacted with you before has made your recipe and has loved it so much that they share it online and with their friends and family. It makes me so happy. I have written about dark days and the happiest and lightest of days too. I have had emails from men and women who have asked questions or taken comfort in my posts about post natal depression and birth trauma and helped raise awareness about topics which I know needed to be highlighted.

Yet now it may seem as though all I do is write about food. In fact a reader emailed me a few months ago and asked if I would be writing more posts on personal topics as they had enjoyed them. I think the answer to that is maybe. The blog has changed and I have changed with it. Creating recipes and sharing them with you is something which I truly love. Blogging is not this easy, show me the freebies ..blaggers world that some believe it to be. A blog can be a hobby, it can be a job. If you are willing to work really hard and be passionate about it then it can be both. It is for me. I am passionate about blogging, about writing generally and about food. Mostly about food. It does however take an awful lot of time. For every recipe post you will see, there will be several recipe attempts to ensure what I am sharing with you will work every time, around 80 -100 photos taken for every dish when you only ever use 3-4.

Then you have to edit every photo, write up the post, share the post socially and continue to promote the post afterwards. If a brand has commissioned a recipe there is often additional work involved. And of course the hardest part of every post.. you have to eat it too!! HA. It is the norm for me to be working on the blog from the time the kids go to bed until midnight as I also have a house to organise and a day job too. I do believe it will be worth it, I always wanted to be a writer in some shape or form.

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”
― Thomas A. Edison

These faces need my attention too:

Writing about personal and difficult times was a type of therapy I think and I won’t be removing those posts from the blog as I know they continue to be a support for some people and I know as much as anyone how some people need that support. But you probably won’t see much of that on here anymore. Firstly – I am a very different person and in a very different place to when those posts were written – thankfully. Secondly – the blog has become my happy place and a second job for me. Thirdly – change is good. 

I am moving away from writing so many reviews, you will have noticed this slowly decreasing over the past year. I will still be reviewing items and sharing gift guides but not as frequently. What you can expect to continue are the cakes and bakes, the simple family meals with more complicated dishes occasionally. Indulgent hot drinks and cocktails will feature frequently and you can expect some coffee related recipes soon too.

Did I tell you that I finally made myself like coffee??? I am a lot more excited about that than I should be. I started off slow with flat whites and mochas but I am edging towards the stronger stuff and I love it. I am thinking I may already have that strange addiction and inability to function in the morning without one that so many of you seem to have.

You will see brand collaborations with recipes developed around products which I hope you will enjoy and the occasional food or family festival coverage. You will only see brands that I would personally use and any reviews I do post will be thorough and honest. You will definitely see more hotel and travel related posts, I am getting invited on more press trips and actually saying yes to them – I have finally realised my children can cope without me for a night or two. In fact they love it.  I want to see more of the world, try new food, dabble my feet in different waters and accept opportunities as they arise and I have accepted that is not a selfish thing to want.

A recent press trip to Bavaria (  not too shabby huh? )

Over the past year I have made a really great group of blogger friends who are supportive and have helped me really progress. By attending events that I wouldn’t have always said yes to I have made some amazing new friends and contacts who have encouraged me to push my boundaries, made me even more enthusiastic about what I do and are always ready to help. I have some great collaborations both on and off the blog coming up. All in all this is an exciting time for bloggers generally and for my blog and I would most certainly not still be blogging 4.5 years on without the support of my readers. So thank you!

Apologies if this has been a bit of a ramble.. I do tend to do that.

In the next few weeks there will be packed lunch ideas, some healthier bakes and some Autumnal slow cooker dishes. I will be also sharing some of my readers favourite recipes, so if you have tried and loved any of my recipes let me know as I would love to include them. On the same note if you ever try something and it doesn’t work out for you – TELL ME PLEASE.