The Kittchen Turns 5! (It's my birthday too)

Today marks my birthday, and the 5th birthday of The Kittchen. When my husband and friends gave me a piece of paper with a printout of The Kittchen’s site and a login as a birthday gift, I had no idea that it would completely change my life. It’s crazy to think that I have been doing this for 5 years. I feel so lucky that I get to do something that I love every day. In the past, I had some horrendous jobs that made me feel worthless, so I cherish my current career more than you could probably imagine. Here’s a look back at the past year:

1. All of the travel. In the past year, I made it to 15 different cities in 6 different countries. I hiked up a volcano in Costa Rica, climbed a glacier in Iceland, rappelled through canyons in Utah, ate my way through LA, explored Finland, drank my way through Napa and Sonoma, listened to music in honky-tonks in Nashville, and discovered a love of brisket tacos in Austin.

2. I shot a spread for Midwest Living Magazine. The project was so much work and I can’t wait to see my work in print. The issue hits newsstands today! The photo above is just a quick behinds the scenes snap.

3. The Windy City Blogger Collective had some big successes in the past year. We hosted our first conference in February and it was so inspiring. We got lots of positive feedback and I hope to put together another conference in 2017! More recently, my business partner stepped down and I became the sole owner of Windy City Blogger Collective. Luckily I have an amazing employee, Ashlee, who helps manage the WCBC work.

4. I created more recipes that I love. Some of my favorites are Chocolate Walnut Pie, Shallot and Mushroom Pork Tenderloin, Egg Yolk Gyoza Ravioli, Sesame Chicken, Cheesy Mushroom Spread, and Molten Chocolate Brownie S’mores Pie.

Tonight I am celebrating my birthday by going to see Hamilton!!! Then on Saturday, Charles and I are heading to Toyko and Singapore before I meet up with my sister in Indonesia. (Before you get too jealous… Kelly and I have to spend 30+ hours traveling on 4 separate flights to get home to the East Coast for Thanksgiving … and before I leave I have to get a tooth pulled). You can follow the trip in real time by following @thekittchen on Instagram and Snapchat, and after the trip, I will be telling you all about it on the blog.

Thanks to everyone for following along all these years. Here’s to the next 5 years of The Kittchen!