A Fresh Coat of Paint Recipe
Happy New Year to everyone. Wishing each of you a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year.
I spent the better part of the past ten days carefully placing everything in my kitchen into moving boxes. Every plate. Every mixing bowl. Every single quirky, mismatched baking pan. I know some of you might be sad to see the yellow cupboards go, but I've been ready for a more neutral-toned kitchen for quite some time. And so the painters arrived on a Monday. And by the end of day Wednesday, Christmas Eve, my kitchen was cloud white. And by 3 a.m. Christmas morning I was too sick with the stomach flu to set foot in it. I missed Christmas (and the better part of the following two days) entirely.
It was a rough way to send off 2008, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I suppose the upside of it all is that I had some time to think about the coming year. Time to think about how to make it meaningful and fulfilling. I flipped through a few old journals and notebooks, trying to remember what resolutions I've made in the past. And while it turns out I'm not big on resolutions, I seem to express many of the same sentiments year after year. To make an effort to see more of the world I live in. To make an effort to collaborate on projects with interesting, innovative individuals. And to spend more time with my family. These are the big themes for me.
As far as the minutiae of day to day life? I do my best to walk not drive, eat healthy, shop local, go jogging, try new things, meet new people, be kind, turn off lights, say yes more often than I say no, help others, read, and drink lots of water. I succeed a lot of the time, and I fail a lot of the time too. I do the best I can on any given day, any given moment. Ten years ago I was doing very few of these things, yet somehow, little by little, they have all become part of the fabric of my life.
One of the first things I want to do as we start another year is to thank you. I feel very fortunate to have this site as a creative outlet. It has helped me grow as a cook, a writer, as a photographer, designer, and as someone who has always been curious about the ways technology can intersect and enhance the creative process for individuals. I'm continually surprised and delighted by what you bring to this site - your comments, ideas, suggestions, your emails to me, the photos you post. I hope you continue to come visit in the coming year with your good ideas, good feedback, and (because there are plenty of times we need it ) a bit of good humor.
Wishing each of you a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year, Heidi
I'm curious - what are your resolutions, or what are you focused on as we head into 2009?
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Comments
Thank you, Heidi! So sorry to hear you were ill--hope you have a better start to 2009.
You are truly inspiring. Your hard work is appreciated. Keep those good ideas and recipes coming along with your insightful writing. I resolve to make that mushroom casserole and those black bean brownies!
After making your AWESOME Gingerbread for Christmas, I resolve to make really yummy things this year enjoy them rather than feel guilty. I am so hard on myself sometimes! Why not make something wonderful and really enjoy it? I'm going to learn to be comfortable with foods that are typically high calorie and just plan my intake for the day better. We've got to live our lives and enjoy every moment! Thank you Heidi for your site...I look so forward to everything you post; food ideas, travel and photos...you embrace life and capture it for us in this little gold nugget: 101 cookbooks!
Fabulous!! Happy New Year, Heidi!!
i am so sorry to read you were ill for christmas, and sorry for those whom you would have cooked for on that special day. perhaps you can have a special christmas dinner later. now let's start getting those beautifully clean surfaces spattered up!
Dear Heidi, Thank you for your candid reflexion on New Year's resolutions. Like you I have changed my lifestyle, to be more respectful of my environment and to contribute to protect life for the next generations. But I sometimes have the feeling that it is not much, not enough. Yet I try to do my best. And over time, I guess it does make an impact. As each one of us does its share, the sum of our efforts can produce a significant result. So my resolution is to continue to do what I can to reduce my ecological imprint. And to enjoy life doing it! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us in such a friendly, honest way.
thanks soo much for ushering me in the kitchen! your site has been one of my very favorites through out my "kitchen beginnings" ! so thank you! i have a 4 year old son and im learning to cook for the two of us...he is a very fickle eater...but loves some of your recipes! so thank you soo much! here is to 2009! CHEERS!
Heidi, Congrats on your beautiful new kitchen for the new year! I hope you gain much inspiration from it! I'm not one for resolutions, but I am setting out to practice yoga more and write more recipes :) Cheers!
Happy New Year and glad you're on the mend. My resolution is to continue to seek out healthy, tasty, satisfying menus for my family. I have found that when I eat healthier, I tend to stick to a healthy lifestyle in general. Thank you for sharing your humor, insight and ideas with all of us. Wendy
I don't do resolutions, since I feel they kind of set you up for failure (the word just has a negative connotation for me). I set goals that I feel I can accomplish, and one of them is to be more creative with my cooking! I marvel at other cooks' ability to combine flavors in ways that, though I appreciate and enjoy tasting, I would have never thought of because I haven't been that adventurous. So my goal for 2009 is to be more adventurous! From my choir's tour to Italy (we're singing at the Vatican!) to Poor Girl Eats Well's recipes, I'm going to crawl out of my shell and put my imagination to work. Happy New Year, Heidi! The cupboards look great!
Hello Heidi, hope you feel all better now. Your kitchen looks lovely though - looking forward to seeing more great food and ideas created in the kitchen this year, too. For this year I would like to try more new things - the past few years I seem to have been hovering around the same place, more or less, whether it is food I cook/eat, places I travel to, people I see, or photographs I take, etc. Hopefully by the end of 2009 I will have discovered something new... I'm already excited! Thank you ever so much for your inspirations... may the year bring you lots of love, laughter, and good food.
What a beautiful white kitchen and lovely thoughts to start what I personally feel will be a wonderful year. I try to follow most of those sentiments and have started to accept that it's ok not to always be on top, it's enough to try. Hoping all mankind can find the time to stop for one momment and reflect on the beauty of life......the treasure that it is. Cheers to you and your loved ones. M
Heidi, Happy New Year and thank you for this site. Through your photography and writing you have brought a rich, and beautiful approach to food, cooking and nourishment to my Brooklyn home and I thank you for that. I am continuously delighted by what i find on 101 Cookbooks! thank you and best wishes for a wonderful New Year!
FELIZ AÑO 2009 PARA TI Y TU FAMILIA!!!
Heidi, Happy New Year and thank you for this site. Through your photography and writing you have brought a rich, and beautiful approach to food, cooking and nourishment to my Brooklyn home and I thank you for that. I am continuously delighted by what i find on 101 Cookbooks! thank you and best wishes for a wonderful New Year!
What a great way to start 2009! You have such an eye for what to capture with photos as well, which along with the usual recipes, I find super-inspiring! Thanks!
I resolve to eat chocolate every day. Good quality dark chocolate. So I started the day properly with a breakfast of pain au chocolat.
Heidi- thank you- I have learned so, so much from you. Ive actually decided to really let the juices flow this 2009, and be more creative and expressive with recipes and dishes- really, all things and experiences. Thank you for the ever-present inspiration! Cheers!
BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN, SORRY TO HEAR YOU GOT SICK HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR
The cupboards look great!
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