One Year of Shades of Cinnamon

I can’t believe that its been one year since I started Shades of Cinnamon. So many exciting things have happened since its inception , I don’t know where to begin.

It was a dream to one day document my recipes into a book for my children so that they could carry on cooking the food that they remember from their childhood. Sadly my mother passed away at a very young age, and I regret the fact that I was never able to get any of her recipes. I didn’t want this to happen to my children. When Brendon left home to follow his dream in the USA I painstakingly wrote out each recipe that I knew he loved, and packed the lovingly handwritten book into his bag when he wasn’t looking. My first child leaving home, what heartache. Brendon married his childhood sweetheart 5 years ago and I am so happy to see my book sitting on their kitchen shelf when I go to visit.

Then last year on the long trip back to South Africa from the States I decided it was time to expand on these recipes, and to add to them my food photography skills which I had been working on for a few years. I am so passionate about food and photography that it just seemed right to combine the two, and it evolved from there. I started off using a simple blogspot account because it didn’t require any major computer skills, and within an hour I had my first post up. Once I started delving into the endless possibilites on the net, I realised that apart from social media accounts I needed a more professional looking platform for my blog. I opened a hosting account, bought the thesis theme from wordpress, and haven’t looked back since. I cant lie to you, it has been a major learning curve for me, but spending half the night at the computer learning each step of the way, has been the greatest fun. Now my every waking moment involves cooking, developing new recipes, (of course tasting them) finding the best light to take the perfect picture, and working at my trusty computer.

The grand finale of the year was being chosen by Pick and Pay as one of South Africa’s top 50 food bloggers, to be part of a Food Blogging Challenge over a 12 week period.

My biggest heartache is that I am going to be losing my son Kelvin and his amazingly talented wife. They will be emigrating to Australia in a few weeks, and even though I am so excited for their new journey in life, I am secretly dreading the day I have to say goodbye. They have both had such an amazing influence on this blog. Kelvin has taught me so much about photography and still continues on a daily basis to encourage me to push my boundaries with my photographs. Helen, as you all know has added her creative talent by supplying recipes, styling so many of my photographs, and decorating the most beautiful cakes. She is going to go great places with her styling and decorating skills, and I am sure its not the last you will be seeing of her fabulous creations. With a bit of luck I may get them to pool their creative skills to do some guest posts for me. Look out Donna Hay – I suggest you employ Helen before she takes over the Australian baking world.

I also have to mention my beautiful daughter Michelle, who has helped so much with her design talents and encouragement. I am sure I can get a little demanding at times, when she is holding down a super busy job, and mom phones for some random design advice. And of course what can I say about my husband, who has encouraged me to fulfill my dreams and is the best food taster in the world. Although he did once tell me that if he dies of a heart attack it will be my fault for feeding him so many decadent meals.

I am so grateful to those of you who have followed my progress and who share my enthusiasm for this little space on the net that I call home. I love all my friends who have supported me, and the new ones I have made along the way – you are all amazing.

And as C.S.Lewis once said ” You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream“

inspiration