Eight years ago today, I wrote my very first blog post here. I was living in a ground-floor apartment with friends in Chelsea then, commuting by foot to my office just a few blocks away. I had a window that looked out onto noisy mail trucks rumbling down 18th Street, there were massive black cockroaches who periodically liked to terrify me in the kitchen (water bugs, to get specific) and I had to tiptoe into my roommate's bedroom each morning to take a shower while she slept. But it was glorious! (Well, except for the water bugs.)
One year was the time limit I gave myself to write the blog. Just a year and then you'll be done.
Ha.
Eight years later, I live in an apartment at the very top of an old building in a quiet neighborhood in western Berlin. I have a toddler who is (blessedly) asleep in his room, a lovely husband who (still) works in another city, I'm the author of a book, a book that will be published in paperback in a few short days, and I'm still blogging.
Ha!
To celebrate, I wanted to give you a cake. The tender, gorgeous, simple cake my friend Gabriella made for Hugo's first birthday, the one that made him faceplant into a slice of it (though, admittedly, it might have just been CAKE in general and not that cake, but I'm sticking with the first version). However, my life these days is not conducive to cake-baking. It is not conducive to any kind of baking or cooking or time in the kitchen at all beyond making Hugo's meals and cleaning up after them. I realize this sounds sort of complain-y (I do sometimes fantasize about live-in help), but really, more than anything, I'm just trying to be honest. Life with a toddler – newsflash! – is like living with a crazy person? Who can't speak? Or walk? But has OPINIONS? And NEEDS? And FEELINGS, LOTS OF THEM? I'm still trying to figure it out. (Don't worry, I'll get you the cake eventually – give me another week or three.)
But I still want to celebrate. I mean, eight years! My book in paperback! Me, still here! You, still here! So instead of cake, let's do books. I want to thank you for being here, for reading me, for being my lovely audience and for being patient when I take a little time off. So, if you'd like to win a copy of the paperback edition of My Berlin Kitchen, leave me a comment and by the end of the weekend, I'll pick eight people to send a copy to. Sound good?
Eight years!
xo
Update: The comments are now closed. The eight winners are Carol, Lynn, Kara, Jen, Helena, Yvette, Laura and Abby Lutman. Congratulations!
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384 responses to “Eight Years”
Enjoying your blog very much!
May the next eight years be all
you dream of. Congratulations!
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I was so happy to open my e-mail this morning and see you. I hope that you had a wonderful vacation away and feel recharged. Congrats on eight years! Quite an accomplishment.
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In another 6 to 12 months, you can start cooking and baking with Hugo. What fun that will be! My three kids and I are currently trying out every single zucchini muffin recipe we can find, to somehow handle this year’s zucchini invasion. It’s a wonderful chaos in the kitchen (although I secretly curse when it’s time to clean up). As long as they don’t find “green strings” in their muffins, they will actually eat them. 🙂 And I like to think that we are creating wonderful memories amid the mess.
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Not sure what happened to my first comment…
I started reading the blog yesterday, when a friend sent me a link to this post:
http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2012/01/maria-specks-artichoke-tart-with-polenta-crust.html
So I’m eight years behind! I would love to win a copy of the book!
Happy blog anniversary!
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Congratulations on 8 years and on the paperback, even more readers to come!
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woo hoo! I love the blog, I’d love a copy of the book!
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Happy bloggaversary! 🙂
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Everyone should eat cake each week to celebrate any important event. Congratulations.
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Congrats on the 8 year anniversary Luisa! I started reading just as I moved to NYC and just as you were leaving, and have been hooked ever since. Here’s to another 8 years!
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Happy 8 years of blogging! I’m a recent reader but have enjoyed everything I’ve read so far and would love the read the book (it’s on my Christmas list, but an opportunity to read it 4 months earlier sounds great!). Here’s to (at least) another 8 years!
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Yay for you! I’m looking forward to reading your book. Thank you.
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Wooooohoooooo! Fantastic! Magical blog – magical person. xx
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I’m late to the party and just discovered you, so I’m glad you’re still at it.
And there’s that beautiful cake plate again…
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Congratulations on eight years! Your writing is so personal and open and I enjoy each and every post. Don’t worry about the cake. 🙂
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Luisa, your observations on life with a toddler? Spot on. It IS like living with a non-conversational, immobile, demanding and spontaneously combustible crazy person. It is like living under the reign of a 2.5′ Little Dictator… whom you love with every fiber of your being!
You have given so much to your readers, not only in terms of hundreds of delicious recipes but even more so with the glimpses into your life that, for my part, I’ve responded to with laughter, tears, and a huge dose of heartfelt empathy.
Thank you!
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Your blog is one of my favorites. Congratulations on eight years, and here’s to many more posts!
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Carissima Luisa, “per fortuna che hai iniziato a scrivere questo blog”, mi sono detta parecchie volte leggendo i tuoi post! Il Blog e’ a mio parere bellissimo, cosi’ come il libro che e’ gia’ destinato per mia sorella. Io ti seguo praticamente dagli inizi del blog, sono italiana e vivo in Germania da 14 anni per scelta, sono spesso negli Stati Uniti e ho sempre trovato diversi paralleli nelle tue descrizioni di ricordi legati a particolari ricette e profumi italiani. Ogni volta che sono a Berlino penso sarebbe divertente conoscere Luisa di persona. A proposito ti ringrazio di avermi fatto scoprire uno dei miei caffe’ preferiti nel mondo, il Caffe’ Sabarski a New York, ci sono stata gia’ due volte con mio marito (austriaco) ed il menu troneggia nella nostra libreria di casa… Ad maiora! Valeria
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Your blog’s birthday is also my birthday! Serendipity. I hope you had a good one (I certainly did).
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8 years! Congratulations! And, I look forward to many, many more!
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Congratulations! I love reading your posts.
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Congratulations, and thank you. I enjoy your blog and would love a copy of your book.
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Congratulations and all the best for the next 8 years!
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Jealous of your sleeping toddler. Mine is still refusing to go to sleep.
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I’m a loyal library book borrower, and I just put in a request for your book this week. But I would love to own my own copy! Congrats to you and to your 8 beautiful years of cooking, eating, and storytelling. Cheers!
-Emily K
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I’ve been waiting for your book to come out in paperback! I left New York 9 summers ago, and returned for good(-ish) with a PhD and a three-year-old, this month. We were in Chelsea yesterday, naming boats on the Hudson and eating gelato. I felt very, very lucky. I’ve enjoyed reading your story and trying your recipes along the way (uh, until said three-year-old made his appearance, and everything in the kitchen more or less ground to a halt…).
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I raise my glass of white wine to your eight years! I discovered your blog this year, and I really enjoy it – the food, your family, Berlin. My mother is a Berliner Pflanze (sp?), and I went there once during my junior year in Madrid in the ’70s and met my relatives for the first and only time.
Thank you for your lovely blog, and I hope to continue reading it for many more years.
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Congrats on eight years, Luisa! I’d love a copy of paperback copy of The Berlin Kitchen!
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Happy Anniversary Luisa!
Right there with you girl kiddo-wise.
I’m a single mom and what works for
us right now is I cook all of our meals
at once each week. Some we eat off of
some go in the freezer. All the while,
my 2 year old empties all of the cabinets,
bookshelves, boxes, bins, etc in her reach.
End of cooking day looks like a Macy’s parade
marched through our house. Soon as she
goes to bed I clean up, exhaustedly feeling
satisfied we have healthy meals for the week
ahead with minimal effort.
We’re also working real hard on using
the word “please”. Helps mom’s morale
out a whole lot 🙂
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Congratulations on 8 years! I started reading your blog last year. I spent a lot of my childhood in Switzerland, though sadly only made it to Berlin in 2010 for a week! Still, I loved it. Now that I live back in Australia, I’d love to read your book about Berlin and cooking – a hobby I’m slowly picking up!!
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Eight years is just a beginning. Take it from one who has spent lots of ‘eight years’ with a baby / toddler / little person / adolescent / teen; lots of ‘eight years’ with a family of people and animals which keeps reducing, then revitalizing with new love; lots of eight years finding then changing who I am and want to be. You have a wonderful gift of connecting with others that will enrich all the “eight years” to come.
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I’m just so relieved to hear that I’m not the only one who is dealing with the terrible ones! 13 months, to be exact. And what, pray tell does this behavior portend for ages 2 and 3? I would love a copy of your book because I haven’t read anything but your blog, Orangette, and the occasional peek at ‘reasons my son is crying,’ just to remind myself that toddler hell happens to everyone. Mazel tov on all your milestones!!
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I already have a copy of your wonderful book so don’t pick me — but I just wanted to say congratulations on eight years. That is truly something. xo
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Just discovered your blog. Well done. That’s a long time to have a blog and well done getting a book published. It’s very hard. Going to try your recipes soon! Thanks.
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I would love your book!
I check in with you every day. Keep up the good work.
Susie, Vancouver B.C.
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BIG congratulations on 8 years of practicing the fine art of making more beauty in the world. Love. Food. Hugo. Life. Nice work! Thank you.
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I have been reading your blog for the past five years. Five glorious years!
Recipes on this sweet blog have become staples in my life, by which I mean I tweak them in the most loving way.
Your candor and willingness to share your world with your readers is what keeps me here and the beautiful pictures and tasty food…
Congratulations on your eigth-a-versary!
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Congrats, Luisa! I’d love a copy of the paperback to keep in my kitchen! I love your recipes and stories!
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Congratulations on your book! I’d enjoy winning a copy!
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Hi Luisa — I’ve just started reading back through your archives (and drooling on my keyboard … not a good idea!). I really enjoy your blog and your recipes. I’d love to have a copy of your cookbook.
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I have a rare free Saturday – I’ll bake you a cake this afternoon. 8 years! Congratulations!
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My father was born in Berlin in 1928, came to America just before they stopped letting Jews leave. He died when I was a child and I’ve always wondered what that cuisine was like. Hope your book would give me discover a taste of the past. Thanks.
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I thought I left a long rambling post yesterday… Lost? Deleted? Just in case it was lost, I want to send a message once again of how important you are to your loyal readers. Congratulations on eight years! Can’t wait to read your book.
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About a yr ago, I discovered your blog, went through your archives & read everything from the beginning of your blog to the present. I even felt your heartache when you wrote of your break-up with your boyfriend in New York, your feelings of having to leave & move to Berlin. Your blog is interesting & never boring… I especially love when you write about your visits to Italy & of course your receipes. I am so happy of all the good things that have happened to you since you moved to Berlin, especially meeting your husband & then having a beautiful baby. You deserve all this happiness, & success. I had your book in my book list to borrow at my local library, but winning a paperback would be wonderful. Hope you pick me!!!
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Congratulations on 8 years, Luisa! I have always enjoyed your very warm and honest writing voice. I’d love to read all the stories you have to tell!
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Congratulations on your anniversary! I loved your book and your blog has been part of my weekly blog reading routine for a few years now, so thank you 🙂 Also, you gave me tips about blogs/websites on Berlin when I visited last month and they were great. I found some awesome restaurants–Kuchi and Princess Cheesecake, for example–and loved learning about the city. Good luck with Hugo, he’s adorable!
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I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog years ago! I don’t trust anyone else’s thoughts on food and recipes as much as yours. I would be lost without this place!!!
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Oh my. Well I’ve just spent the most lovely evening. . .reading back through your archives. I didn’t plan to spend the evening that way, but I got lost in it. It started because I wanted to comment here and say, I’ve been reading for a long time, I haven’t purchased your book yet, I would LOVE a copy. But that got me thinking, exactly how long have I been reading? I knew I had been around here for a long time, but I couldn’t remember exactly. Well, it turns out that one post rang a loud bell: a Dimply Plum Cake in September of 2007. I’d be willing to bet that that was the first post I read here. September 2007! Well, that’s not your entire 8 years, but it’s a long time in blog years! I haven’t commented much in that many years, but I want you to know how much I enjoy your blog. And here I am, still reading, loving, being inspired, and enjoying your story (not to mention the food). Happy Anniversary!
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Hi, Luisa! I haven’t been reading your blog for eight years (!), but it has been four years at least, and I’ve loved every moment. Thanks for continuing to share your story with us. Can’t wait for that cake recipe!
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I’d love a copy of your book! I’m a huge fan of your blog and am so glad that you decided to stick around for more than a year…
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I lived in a few different places, each vastly different to each other, in my twenties, but always knew I would settle in my home city in Australia…which I did, with my new Italian husband in tow. Fast forward 12 years and I find myself in Italy (for the last 3 years) dealing with ever-evolving feelings about belonging, identity and family (and food!), but also with a sense of home. I only discovered blogs when I moved here (I know!) and I have enjoyed the glimpses into your journey. Your book is on my wish list!
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