H E A R T F U L L . N E W S L E T T E R
NO. 1
confession time:
since we’re all here, might as well dive straight in
I do my best writing while driving in the car. Disclaimer: I do not recommend this. As any “wise” parent would say, “do as I say and not as I do!” However, I get most of my creative breakthroughs while driving silently in my car. My sporadic brain doesn’t keep good thoughts for long, so when the inspiration hits, I go with it. Even if that means I might be putting myself at risk.
I would like to note though, that this portion of this writing excerpt is being drafted as I’m safely in my parked car. Literally, in this exact moment, 4/3/22 at 12:04 PM, I’m sitting in my car, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, about to leave a beauty supply store to head home and wash my hair. I just had to get the remainder of my thoughts out of my head because while I was driving here, I was drafting a section of my pesto recipe* intro and it dawned on me that a lot of my writing comes to me in the car. I don’t know why that is, but driving alone is therapeutic for me. When I’m not having my best day, I hop in my car just drive. Sometimes blasting music. Other times, in complete silence. By the time I arrive back home, it’s like all my problems blew away with the wind as my car whizzed down the road.
Anyways, welcome to the world of how my brain works.
*pesto recipe coming next week. ;)
how did we get here?
& what’s the purpose for all of this?
The purpose of this quarterly newsletter is to get to know me on a personal level. You see my recipes on my blog and may follow me on Instagram where you get small glimpses of who I am, but there are many unseen pages to the story of my life. I want to share those moments with the people who truly support me and are curious about the person behind Cater Your Heart.
A brief intro of how cater your heart even came to be is a simple idea that I wanted a food blog. I hadn’t been cooking for long at that point, but after many hours bingeing Anthony Bourdain and seeing the food from around the world, it sparked something in me to want to document the things I created in the kitchen.
Side note: thank God for growth because the food I made back in 2014-2016 was horrid! You couldn’t tell me I wasn’t making masterpieces back then though.
There was no deeper idea of what direction I wanted the blog to take even after finally launching it in 2018 . Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out four years later, but nonetheless, we are here and I’m happy I stuck with it.
more background:
Before the name Cater Your Heart, the first name I was stuck on was Waiter Her Heart. Get it? If you don’t, it’s ok. There’s a reason why it didn’t make the cut. Sadly, my boyfriend, who’s now my husband, found a similar named blog and I was crushed. It wasn’t exactly that name, but he told me that I needed something more unique. So, we spent hours playing with combinations of words until he said, “Cater Your Heart.” We instantly knew it was a winner. Let me stop lying…he knew it was a winner, but I had to sit with it for a minute before I committed. Then, that same night, November 2016, I bought the domain. For such a simple name, you would think it wouldn’t take long to go from Waiter Her Heart to Cater Your Heart, but it took quite some time to get there. Also, let’s skip over the fact that I bought the domain in 2016, but didn’t officially launch the blog until 2018. Good things come to those who wait, right? Right! Now, let’s move on while I still have some dignity.
…I speak of dignity as I’m probably about to lose all credibility after this next section. Don’t skip ahead! I know you can see it, but read this first. This next section will be an ongoing thing for this newsletter.
Without giving myself away too much, I was under the influence when I came up with this idea and I think it’s pretty genius. While eating my snack, I thought to myself, “I wonder what other chefs eat late at night when the rest of the world is sleep.” So, here I am, sharing my midnight aka 2 am snack.
things i eat in the middle of the night when no one is watching:
peanut butter toast?
Peanut butter, crushed up banana chips, walnuts, a drizzle of honey and an overbearing amount of cinnamon on a sad, non toasted, floppy piece of white bread. Could I toast the bread? Sure, but I have another confession…I like it this way. Something about the way the bread & peanut butter stick to every corner of you mouth, gets me going. For the people who like when breads or cakes stick to the roof of your mouth, you’ll understand. For the rest of you, you can call me weird, disgusting and whatever else, but if I catch you eating this, I’ll know where you secretly got the idea. You’re welcome :)
sharing is caring:
Now it’s your turn to share with me.
What made you interested in my blog? What are some things that stand out? What are some things you think I need to work on? Criticism is welcomed. Even if I don’t like the way critiques make me feel, I know it’s meant to make me better, so bring it on!
Lastly, what new things would you like to see from me? No idea is too wild.
Welp, that’s all for now folks. We will meet again in July (my birthday month) for the second edition of this heartfelt newsletter.
WITH ALL MY LOVE, KAYLA