Dear Friends,
Today is my last post.
After over twelve years, I’ve decided to hang up my apron and close this chapter of my life.
It was an easy decision but also, not.
When I set out on my Joy journey in 2025, I made this year’s resolution (although we don’t use that word here) to find joy in the everyday. Given the events of 2025 thus far, it has turned into my almost-daily post on instagram that I’ve come to call my #JoyintheTimeofFascism. What it also meant is that I found it harder and harder to motivate myself to be creative, and to come up with the recipes that you’ve come to expect from me over the last decade plus. Writing, at least in this form, had lost its joy.
When I started this little project in September 2012, I did it for myself – to break solidly away from my salad, egg and cottage cheese diet, and to add some excitement to my daily menu by cooking my way around the world. V. cool if others decided to read and jump on this journey with me, but it was never about doing it for fame, or for even making it my job. In fact, I made a concerted effort over the years to ensure that it didn’t become my job. I have one of those, and this was to sit solidly in the hobby column.
But what a hobby! THB has led me to do some amazing things (hello, Today Show!), seen some amazing places (yay, Providence!) and met some lifelong friends (too many to count). All things that were ever beyond my wildest expectations when I wrote my first post about meatloaf. And for that, I’m so grateful and thankful.
However, I’m not a quitter, and to finally be real with myself and decide to hang up, I had to remind myself that quitting after 2 weeks is giving up. Quitting after 12 years is evolution.
So what’s next? I’m thinking of jumping on the substack bandwagon to create a newsletter that’s a little more freeform. Blog writing, especially recipe writing, can be very prescriptive and after all these years, I do still enjoy writing, and sharing my food and travel and life adventures with you. I just want to do it in a more breezy way.
If you’re subscribed to these pages, you’ll be automatically signed up to the substack, should it come to fruition. As always, you can opt out of that if you’re tired of my ramblings, but I do hope that you’ll join me on my next adventures, whatever that entails.
The blog, and its recipes will still be here for you and for me. I’m even still eyeing a redesign down the road. I mean, I’ve got some delicious stuff on here, and it’s worth keeping it out there for all to enjoy. And who knows, maybe I’ll get my groove back and want to get into it again. I’ll have that option – and you’ll all be the first to know. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be blue skies ahead.
Until then, I’m always on the ‘gram, so let’s please do keep in touch. It’s been my pleasure to keep you entertained all these years.
Wishing you delicious dishes and awesome adventures.
Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye.