Thank you all so much for entering the giveaway! The winner is commenter Beth Cook, who said “I think the most memorable moment was my father moving into an assisted living home with hospice services. You just think your parents will be around for a long time to enjoy their retirement years and their grandchildren. It’s hard on my mom going back and forth despite him not really knowing when she’s been there or the last time she came. It’s hard emotionally and financially. This is NOT what they wanted to spend their retirement money on. My guilt is living three hours away. Close enough to visit, but far enough away to have to balance family life/plans.” Congratulations, Beth!
This week marks my eighth year of blogging.
Which still feels a little surreal. Eight years—how did that happen?
I honestly don’t know how the time flew by. It’s almost a decade, and yet I still feel like I’m seventeen inside. That mix of disbelief and gratitude is something I struggle to put into words.
I want to say how much I appreciate every single person who visits this site. I know what it’s like to follow the same voice for years — it can feel repetitive, and sometimes I worry this space becomes predictable because it’s just me behind it. Over time I’ve come and gone, rediscovered favorites, and cheered on other bloggers whose work I love. Still, I can only offer you myself: my perspective, my recipes (often a little messy), my daily ramblings, and whatever I learn along the way.
Your presence here truly means the world to me. You’ve stuck around, read these posts, shared your thoughts, and helped build this small, kind community. I consider many of you my invisible but very real friends — my online BFFs.
I hope you know I do this because I genuinely love it. Even though blogging became my job years ago, I try to keep it authentic and do it because it brings me joy. This site is my way of sharing pieces of life, food, and work with you across the strange landscape of the internet.
To celebrate eight years and to thank you for making this possible, I’m giving away a $1,000 Amazon gift card to one lucky reader. This giveaway is not sponsored; it’s my personal thank-you. It’s open to everyone.
To ENTER:
- Leave a comment on this post telling me a memorable moment you’ve had so far in 2017.
- For an extra entry, preorder a copy of The Pretty Dish and leave a second comment saying you did. If you’ve already preordered, thank you so much — please leave a comment to let me know. Preorders help a lot, and I appreciate every single one.
Thank you again for being here, for reading, commenting, cooking, and sharing. I’m deeply grateful for your support, and who knows — if the internet is still around, maybe I’ll be writing another post like this in another eight years. xoxoxo