2013 in review

The first half of 2013 wasn't kind to me but something I had to go through to get me where I am today. It was really tough at times but I got there. The second half of the year was when things turned around. The property settlement went through with my ex and the house was in my name. All of these things are very stressful but its all done and dusted now. 2013 certainly had its highlights as far as the blog goes. Here are a few that stood out for me.

I introduced a new feature to the blog where I went through my pantry and found products lurking in the back and came up with ideas to use them up. Things like bamboo shoots, anchovies, sweet potato or Weetbix. You can find all of them here.

I got the sewing machine out and started joining in with online sewing swaps like the Sweet Pouch Swap held over at Sew Delicious. I think there's another one starting soon at the beginning of 2014 and I can't wait to get involved. Its a great way of making a surprise for someone as well as receiving a surprise in the post.

I started doing more things for me and went to an Indian vegan cooking class where I learnt how to cook a Southern Indian Vegan Lentil Rice dish.

In May, I was lucky to be a contestant in the Gourmet Garden Blogger's Cook Off held in Noosa where wonderfully talented cooks from Australia, Spain and the UK gathered to enjoy a couple days of food and cooking. Day 1 saw us experiencing 4 ingredient delights at Freestyle Cooking School in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Day 2 saw us just south of the Sunshine Coast at the SjW Mushroom farm enjoying a beautifully prepared lunch by Sammy and Bella, previous winners of "My Kitchen Rules". It was such an enjoyable day even though it was very cold and wet. We finished the day with a tour of the Gourmet Garden factory.

Even though I didn't win the cook off, I made some wonderful friends and got to try this Steamed Pear, Thyme & Ginger Pudding with Ginger Custard and Walnut Praline many times, taste testing in the lead up to the competition.

In September, I was lucky to be invited to a mushroom inspired lunch cooked by Australian celebrity chefs  Ed ("Fast Ed") Halmagyi, Alistair McLeod and Katrina Ryan. 

I went on my first ever girl's weekend away since the children have been born to Cabarita Beach in New South Wales. I joined an online group of ladies who love to travel aged between 35 and 65. We had never met before and had the most wonderful time. I'm looking forward to more outings with them in 2014.

And we finished our school year off with a week away at Coolum Beach at the start of December.

A wonderful year full of memories. I started opening the blog up to a few sponsorship opportunities and giveaways. Being on a single parent pension doesn't bring in much income so I take any opportunity I can to put food on the table or generate income towards paying bills. I'm currently studying and hope to finish that by the end of 2014 and aim for a job in the health and fitness industry.

As at the time of publishing this post, there have been nearly 2,000,000 million visitors to the blog. The most popular post to date is the 23 things to make with t-shirts at over 430,000 people viewing it. The "Recipes" tab is the most visited page on the blog. I've made some fantastic friendships over the last 3 years while blogging and I really, truly appreciate all of you who visit. You've really helped me through some tough times and as I reflect, when I thought about not blogging here anymore, you all kept me going and gave me something to focus on during difficult times. I look forward to another year of good food, frugal friendly recipes and fun and friendship.