The not so terrible 2's!!

Today is the 2nd blogiversary of Jenn's Food Journey!  It's been a crazy little ride over the past two years, and I have enjoyed every moment of it... good, bad, or indifferent!  What I loved the most is getting to know so many other bloggers.  They have brought inspiration and excitement into my life.  I have loved all my readers who are constantly encouraging me to keep going when things have felt a bit overwhelming.  I have loved the creations I have been able to come up with in my very own kitchen and that I have been able to share them so easily with all of you.

Because I love what I do and because I love all of you, I am hosting another giveaway.  This time, it's more vanilla beans!!  I mean, honestly, it's the most amazing gift I think I can give.  I have talked feverishly about these beans from IndriVanilla and I wish that everyone could sample these beauties - SO - with that said - all you have to do is leave a comment, right here and you are eligible for the great vanilla bean giveaway part 2!  Simple, right?  I will give you a second chance to win if you leave a comment on my facebook page too.  And, just for fun - if you mention this giveaway on YOUR blog, I'll give you another chance to win - all you have to do is leave me a link to the post where you mention it.

Three chances to win.. how can that be bad???

You have until 8:00pm pacific time on Tuesday, January 3rd to enter.  The winner will be picked by random.org and will be announced Wednesday morning (the 4th).  Good luck!

 

And what a year it's been...

A year ago today, after receiving much encouragement and much help from Chris, I started this blog.  My first post was a simple post.  An introduction to what was to come.  There were no recipes, there were no pictures...just me welcoming you to come with me on this crazy culinary journey.

At that time, I never imagined that I would have over 100 followers or, better yet, that I would form some lasting friendships.

As I look back through the past year of posts, I giggle a little.  There were times where I thought, why am I doing this?  No one cares.  I didn't even have any followers other than family and friends who I'm sure felt more obligated to follow than anything else (bless their hearts that they did it anyway, though...love you all!!).  But than slowly, ever so slowly, people started taking interest in what I was posting.  And even though I have always said I started this blog for myself..not for the followers, not for the comments, but me and only me..I must confess that it felt good that people were finally noticing my site!!!

A year later and my pictures and content are better and I reached the one goal I set for myself:  Create more of my own recipes.....which I have!! YAY!

So to all of you who have watched me grow...thank you!  Thank you for your kind words, your encouragement, your friendship.  And because of you, I am going to be giving away a $30 gift card to my favorite spice store, Penzeys Spices.  Although you may not have a Penzeys near you, they have a wonderful online store where you can browse their entire selection of herbs, spices, and seasonings.  So, go ahead, stock up on many needed items to fill up your spice rack...it's on me :)

So what do you have to do to enter this giveaway?  Well, it's easy...all you have to do is leave a comment here telling me what spice you cannot live without.  That's it.  Well, you also need to leave me your email address in the comment.  Please spell everything out...for example:  jennsfoodjourney(at)gmail(dot)com   
....And that's really it.  You have until Thursday, January 6th to enter this contest.  The winner will be announced on Friday, January 7th.

Good luck!   And thank you...thank you for being a part of my journey!