Same kitchen...



Same kitchen - Different perspective


So here’s the deal. I’ve struggled with this blogging thing. When I jumped into this, I had high hopes of a blog that had phenomenal original and delicious recipes, witty commentary, thought provoking insight, and illuminating photography. I was not only slightly delusional, but I was totally focused on the wrong thing: the outcome.  I wanted instantly to be really really good at blogging.

I got frustrated because it wasn’t turning out as I had hoped. I was struggling with coming up with original recipes (hadn’t I heard of adapting?), my photos were lackluster (not to mention taking photos whilst cooking is HARD), and honestly, I didn’t think I had much of anything to contribute. I had (and this is nothing new for me) set up ridiculously high expectations for myself and I wasn’t meeting them.

I’ve had the itch to come back to blogging, and I’ve been trying to think through what this drive was – why did I want to try this again when it just left me feeling frustrated before? 

In my last attempt, not only were my expectations too high from the outset, but I focused too much on the external results of the blog. What does the blog look like? Who’s reading it? Were the recipes good? Were people enjoying it? And while all of this is important on one level, it’s not the real point here. Honestly, the real point is a little bit of a selfish one. The real point is that for me, this is a creative outlet – one that I’m seriously lacking right now. It’s a place to write, and since it has the added pressure of the fact that someone might just read it, a place to really work on my writing. It’s a place to share recipes, and since it has the added pressure of the fact that someone else might try them out, a place to really work on being a better cook. It’s a place to share photos, and since it has the added pressure that someone might just see them, a place to really work on my photography skills. It’s a place to CREATE something, and I need that so badly.

And so I’m trying this again, this time focusing on the creative process itself.  This blog is now a place to cultivate and improve my writing, cooking, photography - free (as much as I can manage) of those previous skigh high expectations.

Different approach, same galley kitchen.