New Directions

When I first started this blog, I envisioned something along the lines of 101 cookbooks, or Orangette, or Chocolate & Zucchini -- easily my three favorite blogs, and easily my inspiration for starting one of my own.  Heidi, Molly, and Clotilde are kind of heroes to me, and my dream, if you will, was to establish a presence comparable to that of each of them (I said it was a dream!).

As I started blogging (or failing to blog, as the case might be), I quickly stumbled upon the so-called world of "healthy living blogs"--blogs that combined a love of (healthy) food with a love of exercise.  In other words, blogs that extolled living a "healthy" life.  In the world of these blogs I discovered many a person just like myself.  Others who loved kale and whole grains and "weird" foods that other people tend to wrinkle their noses at.  People who loved to run, and move, and be generally active.  I quickly discovered that there existed a community encapsulated by these blogs -- and I realized it was a community in which I wanted to take part.

Now, I would be lying if I didn't say that some of these blogs do worry me at times.  There is such a thing as too healthy, or at least being too fixated on being healthy.  Believe me, I would know (been there, done that, as one might say).  Part of healthy living, at least in my opinion, is balance.  It's great to want to eat quinoa instead of pasta, it's great to enjoy running, but it's not great when you become inflexible, or anxious, or just a downright pain to be around.

After coming across these blogs, a part of me immediately wanted to "change" my blog's focus into that of "healthy living."  But another part of me resisted, both for the reasons mentioned above, and because, like I said, I idolized the authors of the purely food-focused blogs.

But then I realized something.  If I believe in balance when it comes to healthy living, why can't I believe in balance when it comes to my blog?  That is, my blog doesn't have to be an either/or.  Instead, it can be a blend between the two types of blogs I enjoy most: those concerned primarily with gourmet recipes, and those concerned with "health."  I can post about food; I can post about fitness; I can just post about my daily life.  It's my blog, gosh darn it, and I'll do what I like.

So on that note, welcome to my new (and hopefully improved!) blog.  I guess you might say that its new focus is, well, no focus.  It might be a risky strategy, but it's one that makes me happy.  And let's be real: the main thing that matters in each person's individual life is his or her own happiness.  Trying to mold yourself to make others happy never works out well.  Cliched, perhaps, but true.

On that note, I'm off to the NY of C for the week!  I may well be without internet access (I'll be staying with my grandparents, who do not have internet), but expect many wonderful pictures and stories upon my return.  Ciao!