Blogging about not blogging? This is a content pet peeve of mine, and yet, here I am doing it.

It has been a year (!) since I’ve added to these archives. Why the hiatus? Had the time come to close this creative outlet? Whenever someone proposed ending this endeavor, my response was an immediate and visceral “No!” How could I? There is so much of my life here, and yet, where does this blogging practice fit in my current life?

I’ve often been so hard on myself (surprise, surprise) that my energy and creativity for food and blogging have waned.

When I am kinder to myself, I look around me and see all the other places where my energy spills over every nook and cranny: designing our home, fostering a landscape that invites bees and butterflies, carving out spaces that bring me peace, learning to skateboard and string skills together into choreography.

Social media puts capitalist constraints on creativity, demanding daily output, and it places a high premium on numbers. It pressures efforts that thrive on quiet, slowness, contemplation, and connection.

All this to say, I’m reevaluating. I’m trying to flip so many negative scripts that keep me stuck in self-criticism. I’m leaning into simplicity. I’m prioritizing my energy when hosting, so that I may be present with friends. I’m trying to honor my intuition. I’m trying to honor the consistent whispers of ideas and honor what I have created.

Like this pie. A peony pie. I thought of it fondly when I saw the first peony bloom on my hillside of flowers. I see disparate threads spinning together more and more.

Part of my reflective process includes questioning what drew me to cooking, baking, and blogging in the first place. Recently, we hosted friends, who shared their family’s Filipino recipes with us. The shared history, culture, and connection through food set off a tiny yet palpable spark within me, a familiar whisper. I found comfort in kneading pie dough for empanadas and sharing the doughy lessons I’ve learned with our friends.

All of this is to say, hello again, to introduce this current version of me, the landscaping-obsessed woman who stays outside until it’s too dark to see, who shares homemade pizzas with friends because pizza is simple and delicious,  the dog-obsessed woman who now fawns over a little orange cat. Who would have thought?

Stay tuned for I’m not entirely sure what’s in store.

Sincerely,