hiiiiii!  before you read the title and freak out, (spoiler alert!) i'm not quitting.  I'm not done blogging, but things are going to be changing… hopefully for the better?  I'm sort of excited and nervous for how to proceed here.

i know i've been pretty absent for the last few weeks and i owe you an explanation for that, so we'll start there.

for a while there, in december, when i was struggling to meet my own deadlines to have content to post while we were traveling for the holidays, i felt pretty overwhelmed and started wondering why i even do this (so dramatic, i know).  i had a few moments where i thought “i could just stop.”  i didn't talk about it, not even to frankie, because it seemed like a taboo thing.  i mean i've poured four and a half years of my life into this blog so i don't even know what it would mean to not be a blogger any more.

but the more i thought about it, the more my mind flashed to sunday nights scrambling to come up with things to write in a Sprinkles post or a Tuesday night rushing through the written narrative of a post JUST to get through it.  i cared more about meeting the “deadlines” and remaining “consistent” than about making it feel authentic and how i want it to.  i let those feelings go because people who know me in real life would read a post and tell me how much it sounds “just like me.”  but in the back of my head it kept feeling like quantity over quality which left a dirty taste in my mouth.

at some point i started treating this blog like a second job instead of a hobby.  which, if you follow the experts, that's what you're “supposed” to do to build a following.  the problem?  i felt disconnected from my audience and really tired of rushing against the clock.  i couldn't even remember why i wanted to do this, it felt more like a chore than anything else.  so… i took a break.  unannounced. i stopped posting and, wouldn't you know, the world kept spinning.  (hellooooo reality check!)

i was more present in my life, with friends and family.  i focused more on myself and my health.  and… i ENJOYED my time in the kitchen again.  i liked being in there cooking and it didn't feel like work.

so when it came time to go through my annual goal setting process and identifying my top priorities for the year, i was surprised to find that the blog was in the top four.  that being said, it IS number four.  meaning three priorities come before it (my health, financial stability, and my relationship), which helped me realize that things couldn't keep on the way they were.  the content wasn't as authentic, you guys weren't as engaged, and i just knew i couldn't keep treating this as a second job in a year when I'm getting married, i'm supposed to run a marathon, and i'm trying to be more fiscally responsible.

something had to give, so i faced reality.

the food blogging market is INCREDIBLY saturated.  the chances of the blog becoming popular/me turning this into a serious method of income are slim and very competitive.  so why should i be bending over backwards to make that happen when it wasn't making me happy?  I want to log into the backend of the blog and be EXCITED to write a post for you guys.  to share my life with you.  i don't want it to be just checking off a bullet on a to-do list.  i want my content to be meaningful.  i want to talk to you about recipes that make me giddy.  i want to talk about cookbooks and fitness and wedding planning.

i want to be real with you.  always.

and in order to do that, i think i need to be more lax around here.  if i don't have a recipe i'm excited to share with you, i might skip a week.  maybe i'll post on a wednesday instead of a tuesday.  basically, i'm not going to kill myself to get things posted if i'm not proud of them.  however, that doesn't mean i'm giving up or not holding myself accountable.  i still plan to post 52 recipes this year.  it just means i'm going to be more flexible with the ebbs and flows of my creative direction.

i'm excited about this new mentality and what it'll bring in terms of organic content, by that i mean the posts came about because its something i WANT to eat (which may mean things will get a little bit healthier around here).

im going to experiment with Sprinkles posts.  i think i'm retiring sunday sprinkles, because honestly i just keep telling you the same things over and over again each week.  instead i'm going to try out monthly recaps and post more photo collections.  As the inspiration strikes, I plan to post about marathon training, wedding preparations, and products i love.  I'll probably be bringing back meal plan mondays, i really enjoyed those and they helped keep me on track with regularly meal planning.  And who knows, maybe you'll even see a what i ate wednesday around here again!

these changes truly are as much for you as they are for me.  i'd love to know if you see a difference and like it (or hate it).  if you're worried that there won't be a set schedule and you maybe won't know when i post a new recipe you can always sign up to recipe email updates (at the very bottom of the blog) follow me on instagram or like The Pike Place Kitchen on facebook (i always post to the facebook page and insta when i publish a new post).

I do feel incredibly grateful to all of you out there who support me and keep coming back to read the blog week after week, it means the world to me and truthfully, YOU are the reason i'm not just giving up and stopping.  i appreciate every share, comment, like, or recommendation i get from you guys.  it makes me so happy to see people making and enjoying my recipes.

thank you for letting me do this the way i think it should be done.

xoxo ❤️