all of the things i know now but didn't know then

The last days of the year have been long and slow. Time is almost non-existent. We go to bed when we want, wake up when we feel like it, and eat when we're hungry. I've been spending my afternoons back in the kitchen, leisurely and lovingly concocting meals that take well beyond my typical 20 minutes to prepare. Hot pots of laksa, crusty loaves of bread, and elaborate midnight snacks. For the first time in a long time I'm not completely caught off guard by the closing of another year. I checked off all my boxes in 2014, resolved above and beyond what I thought I was capable of. I was challenged and stretched, pushed and pulled, and knocked to the ground. I fought my worst critic, myself, and I won. I forgave and let go. I chose joy. I chose to encourage rather than criticize my peers. I chose to stand on my own two feet, and not bite the bait. I found the strength to get on the right path, finally. Finally! I've come to accept the pain with the joy, and for all of it I am grateful.

Here's to new beginnings. Happy 2015, all. I'll be back shortly with a whole whack of recipes.

currently:

listening to this

reading this

drinking this

can't stop cooking out of this