I've had a lot on my mind lately about the Pike Place Kitchen and I think it's time to be honest with you guys about it.  I feel like we're always talking in the present and we've never really discussed where the blog is going in the future and I think it's about time I laid my thoughts all out on the table for you.

so, here's the deal!

i've spent a lot of time thinking about the future of the blog and where I want it to go and what I want it to be.  I've always told myself I want the space to grow organically into whatever it is supposed to be – and this thought has allowed me to check out at times and come back and recommit and make executive decisions about the content and the direction and the purpose.  it has basically given my free reign to let the blog evolve. 

But it has also let me not feel guilty about going on random hiatuses or forgetting to post or just not having anything to say.  Because this isn't my job.  it's something fun I do on my weekends and after work.  I don't do it for profit and I have no interest in trying to monetize the blog anytime soon. 

Lately, I have been feeling guilty though.  I started this to have a creative outlet and to keep my friends and family [who were, at the time, 2,500 miles away] updated on my life and what was going on.  I was in a new city and feeling REALLY left out of a community and the blog world seemed like a way to immerse myself in something new.  Plus, I love writing and I love cooking and I love photography.  but what I really loved was having something to IMPROVE on.  something I could strive to get better at. 

I recently had a friend on facebook tell me that she was obsessed with my blog and thought it was “beautiful” and I thought to myself “omg please don't look at the posts for pull apart pizza bread, or frozen blueberry pudding bites, or nutella french toast, or a single thing from 2012 because LAWDDDDDDD I used INSTAGRAM PHOTOS.  INSTAGRAM PEOPLE.”  but doesn't that show how much I've grown as a blogger?  isn't that the point?  isn't that what i wanted?

it is.  it totally is.  i've had SO much fun writing this blog and learning photography and just having something to improve at. 

I love seeing the evolution of this blog.  this little corner of the internet that is solely devoted to me.  I know I still have leaps and bounds of improvement ahead of me in all the areas of blogging: photography, recipes, content, devotion.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but in 2015 I sort of “re-committed” to the blog if you will.  I set myself on a schedule and gave myself deadlines and it worked for the most part [with a few posts being skipped because HELLO I've been a little stressed over the last six months with a cross country move].  I knew my life was about to MAJORLY change and I wanted to remember it.  I wanted to remember moving and the feelings of arriving in New York and moving in with Frankie.  I wanted to have a record of it.  i needed it.

but now that I'm home I have a lot of people talking to me about my blog and asking WHY i do it, what's the point?  and im glad they've been asking because it's really forced me to evaluate the purpose of this little space. 

I had a friend recently tell me it seemed like I was “moving away from food and more into a lifestyle blog.”  and i got defensive because I felt like I had recommitted to the cause [and frankly because in 2015 alone I've already posted 17 recipes which more than half of what I posted in 2012, 2013, and 2014 combined, not to mention the date night posts which feature different restaurants and food we eat] and to me this is first and foremost a food blog.  I could see how it would seem that way though, with me regularly posting my random thoughts on Sundays and New York updates on Tuesdays.  i can see why it seems like I'm shifting more towards lifestyle, but to me it's still all about the food.

And so lately I've been thinking a lot about the food.  and what i actually want.  I feel like sometimes I try too hard to be SUPER creative and come up with things no one has done before [and then I get discouraged when things don't come out right].  I think I've been trying to be adventurous in the kitchen, because (a) it's fun and (b) if I come up with something original it will mean… more blog traffic (GAH I HATE MYSELF, but we're being honest here).  I find it really interesting to see the blog stats and what drives you guys over to my site.  I like knowing what you guys are pinning on pinterest and what you're clicking on facebook. 

But when people ask me why I blog, my answer is always the same, “I do it for me.  I like having the recipes to look back on and I really do refer back to them A LOT.  but if I can also help someone else figure something out in the kitchen why not kill two birds with one stone?  PLUS IT'S FUN, NOW GET OFF MY BACK.”  just kidding about the last part, i don't get angry – but i do think it's fun and incredibly useful to me. 

So i think in the future of the pike place kitchen, we're going to go back to the basics.  Now that I'm cooking for two people, I'm trying to learn some easy staples.  Things I can throw together without worrying.  It's SO expensive to eat out in the city [not to mention it's not the healthiest], so i need healthy, easy week-night meals that I can throw together quickly.  I also want to be conscious of things that I can repurpose (i.e. crockpot shredded buffalo chicken) ad use a billion different ways so it doesn't feel like we're eating the same thing.

I want to learn and grow in the kitchen too.  I want to learn new skills and how to make different things that might seem simple, but I have no clue how to do. 

So this is where you guys come in.  I have a HUGE long list of things I want to make for the blog – some things that I've dreamed up to be creative and others that are staples in my repertoire and some that i just want to LEARN how to do myself.  but, i want more.  I need you guys to give me requests, this is your chance to shape the content and the future of the blog.  What do YOU want to learn how to make?  What do YOU make on a busy weeknight?  Or quite simply, what do YOU want to see on the blog? 

If you could take a second to give me a few requests in the comments, I'd totally appreciate it.  I've started a “future recipes” page on the blog with the lists of things I plan on making and as you send in requests i'll add them to the page.  If you request something, I'll credit you (and link to your blog/website if you have one) on the list and in the post when it's finished.  There's no limit to how many requests you can have and there's no deadline, it's going to be an on-going thing so if you don't have any requests right now but you think of something in a month – come back and comment!

I'm really excited about this.  It feels like I'm going to be collaborating with you guys and I hope you take advantage so you can see more of what YOU want on the blog.

I really appreciate every single one of you, the ones that just found me and the ones who have been reading along with me from day one.

Now, let's take back the food blog shall we?