On Advent and Hans Christian Andersen: My Plans for 2020

Hello, folks! Happy 1st day of Advent. My manuscript deadline fast approaches (Jan. 1st—EEK!), so I’m taking a day to relax before crunch time begins in earnest. This morning I’m enjoying the first tea from the Adagio Teas Advent calendar I got for my birthday and basking in the calming glow of a candle I scent-mixed myself at RiverFront Candle Co. a couple months ago while visiting my sister. The candle is a mix of bourbon, burnt sugar, and leather, and I named it “Brûlée and Books.” ^.^ Here’s to one last quiet morning before I dive deep into book edits! * clinks glasses with you from across the internet *

In the spirit of a new season, I wanted to reflect on the year a bit, share blog plans for the future, and give you a chance to weigh in on my first few recipes of 2020.

With a new baby, new house, and another cookbook to finish, this year has been one of blessings and chaos. Although it was my original plan to go back to my old posting schedule next year (1 recipe/week), I think I really need to take a breather. I’ve decided to stick with the new 1 recipe/month schedule for 1 more year. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back to creating full menus after that (there are so many more I’d like to do!).

I also want to take next year to think about the future of the blog as a whole. With two small children and two books to promote, I don’t want to stretch myself too thin, but I also don’t want to abandon a blog that has been a vital creative outlet and skill builder for me for the past 6 years. This may mean changing the focus and format of the blog in the future, perhaps pivoting to focus on integrating cooking into homeschooling or experimenting with historical cooking techniques and ingredients in the modern home. I may create a survey about this next year to gauge your interest on different subjects. As much as I want to take the blog in a direction I’m passionate about, it’s also important to me create content that has value to you. After all, I’m not just talking to myself out here! 😉

But enough seriousness. It’s time for some fun stuff! Do you remember last January when I did a Grimm’s Fairy Tales menu and let everyone vote on which fairy tales to use? Next year, I’m doing it again, but this time with Hans Christian Andersen! I’ve posted a poll below (plus others on Twitter and Facebook) where you can vote on which Andersen tales you’d like to see me make recipes for. The polls will be up the entire month of December, and you can vote in each poll once, giving you a total of 3 votes. At the end of December, I will tally the votes and make recipes from the top 3 winners. Since I will continue posting once a month, the recipes will go up Jan-March.

Cast your vote, dear readers! May the best fairy tale win. 🙂