I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of 2014 already. It’s been a big year for me! Or to be more precise, the second half of the year has been big, exciting, eventful and yes, a little overwhelming at times. Dan and I started the year off slowly, with the main event of note being our trip to Jamaica in March. It was our first vacation for just the two of us since our honeymoon back in 2010, and we reveled in the slow pace, warmth and sunshine.
And then in July, our lives flipped upside-down. I shut down a business, and the very next day, I found out I was pregnant. I spent most of the summer fending off all-day nausea and dreaming of our little March baby, while Dan was alerted to a possible job lead that would bring us much, much closer to family.
Fast-forward just a few weeks, and suddenly he was accepting that job and we had six weeks to sell our house in Ithaca, find a new house in Minnesota, pack up our entire lives and say good-bye to the town and friends we had loved for the past five years.
Last week, after 12 days of staying with family, we moved into our new home. We are so happy and excited to spend the start of 2015 getting settled and finding our rhythm in the new place…before any semblance of routine gets thrown out the window when our baby girl comes in 10 weeks or so.
So that was 2014 for me, on a personal level. Let’s talk about the professional level. I had to give up my job reviewing wineries this summer (sampling from multiple wineries in one day doesn’t exactly jive with pregnancy), but I took on three new regular freelance positions with Edible Finger Lakes, recipe.com and Food Fanatic. At each of the last two, you can find me writing about preserves and recipes that use said preserves a few times a month.
Which brings me to the major change that happened here at Savvy Eats in 2014: this summer, I switched my blog focus to be entirely on food storage how-to’s and recipes that help you use the foods you’ve stored. I think I’ve finally found my niche in the food blog world, and I’m excited to see where I can take this topic in the new year!
In the meantime, let’s talk about the top 14 posts from 2014. These are the posts that you visited, commented on, pinned or otherwise shared the most over the past year. They are a nice mix of food storage posts and recipes. Without further ado, here they are:
1. The Best Way to Store Muffins and Quick Breads
2. Garlic Butter Shrimp
3. Vegan Quinoa Corn Chowder
(This recipe was one of my personal favorites from 2014. We still make it on a regular basis in the colder months of the year.)
4. How to Store Scones
5. Creamsicle Margaritas
6. Tortilla Espanola
7. Strawberry Vodka Collins
8. How to Freeze Lasagna
9. Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cheesecake
10. Jalapeño Cornbread and How to Freeze It
11. Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper Preserves
12. Raspberry Macaroon Tarts
13. How to Freeze Taquitos
14. How to Freeze Your Thanksgiving Turkey Leftovers
Here’s to a happy 2015 for all of you!
