Thursday, September 15, 2011

I Was Wondering?

I was wondering.......wondering how you came up with your Blog name?  I have changed mine twice.  And I am contemplating changing it back to the previous name.  You see, when I began to blog at the urging of my daughter Gennifer, I decided it might be fun, and I was, at the time,  trying to launch a small cake business from home.  I put all of my cakes and cookies and petit fours on the blog.  It was a good way to document my creations, and to also see my improvement as time went on.  But....because of various reasons, I was no longer able to enjoy it, and began to put more of my every day life on my blog, and less and less of my cakes.  I renamed it "It's A Sweet Life" because....well, it was.   And then at a point of sheer frustration, I changed the name again to Simplify.  I was questioning a lot of things in my life, I hit the big 50, and I was looking for a simpler, less hectic life, and felt the new name reflected that.  But I miss the old name.  I notice that some who followed me way back when, still have me listed as that.  I am seriously considering going back to that name soon.  So if you see the name change, you will know.
So, how did you come up with your blog name?
Moving on now, are any of you watching the new food show with Ree, The Pioneer Woman?  I love it.  The first one was sort of sketchy, but she has loosened up and it is more and more entertaining each week.  Last week, she did fig and arugula pizza.  She did hers a little different than I do mine.  I make mine with goat cheese and a thin coat of homemade pesto on the crust.  I top with heaps of fresh arugula and shavings of parmesan, then a light drizzle of olive oil and sea salt.  I also use fresh figs that my neighbor so graciously shares with me.  It is heavenly!  Well, I decided to try it the way Pioneer Woman did hers.  It was made with a fig spread as the sauce, and she used mozarella instead of goat cheese,  and  fresh prosciutto. She baked hers in a large sheet pan.  I made it just the way she described making it on her show.  It was beautiful.  We were starving and couldn't wait to dig in.   Just look at how pretty this pizza is!
Isn't that beautiful?   Well, I cut into it, and the middle was soggy, so I cut the outside corners first, and just let the rest set up a bit.   Mr. G and I both agreed....mine is so much better!! Sorry Ree.   I love  you.  But the fig spread is too sweet for a pizza.  It was far more sweet than savory, and with fresh figs, you don't get that at all.  And she does her crust straight onto a pan.  We do ours on perforated pans, using cornmeal on bottom to aid in sliding it off the sheet.  The perforated pans give a perfectly crusty pizza crust every time.  I did, however, love the fresh prosciutto on top of the arugula!  This added a nice flavor, and I loved putting it on without baking it.
Last night I made quickie tostados that were so yummy!  We were all so hungry and busy building our tostados that I didn't get a single photo.  They were so fast and delicious.   I used premade crisp shells that I bought at fresh & easy.  So with that done, it was just a matter of heating up some refried  beans, browning and seasoning the meat, and cutting up some toppings.  I had cotija cheese, which is by far and away the cheese of choice in Mexican food cooking for us.  Green onions, cilantro, fresh tomatoes, black olives, fresh peppers, and shredded lettuce.  The only thing it was missing was fresh avocado.   A very quick and easy, and delicious dinner!  If I make one for lunch today, I will snap a photo.  ( I am inserting this photo, after taking it of my lunch.  YUM!!)

I spent yesterday getting all of my Fall bins down from the rafters and going through them all, then staging it to be put out in the house and  yards.  It was a day that I really needed to keep myself busy, and busy I was.  When I am done decorating, I will do photos.  This weekend we have our grand girls for an overnighter so that Mommy and Daddy can have a little getaway.  So if I am absent, I am busy playing hopscotch and hoola hoop, and will be back in a day or two.

28 comments:

Lisa said...

I love the original title. :-) It's a sweet life with or without a cake business, don't you think? ;-)

I've neglected my blog just because I lost my blogging mojo. It too, was supposed to be focused on just cakes in the beginning and then I got sidetracked with family stuff. Reeled myself back in but then decided I needed a break from the cake biz. Thought about getting rid of the blog but people do refer to some of the pages (like the petit four directions) so I hate to do that to them! And every blue moon, I might even have a cake photo to share.

Hope you are well. I love reading your blog, whatever you may call it!

Bethany said...

I like both of them, but I think I lean more towards the sweet life....
Mine is so roundabout--I had a ton of stuff left over from a craft show I did, so I figured I'd open an online shop to sell the leftovers. I called it Sweet Bee Creations. Then I read somewhere that if you have a shop you should have a blog, so I created one right away. I was going to call it Sweet Bee but that was taken and abandoned but not available. I figured that bees buzz, so I tacked on the buzzings. I don't know if that's what I'd go with now, but I don't know what ELSE I'd go with either so it's staying put for now.

Whosyergurl said...

Kris, I have to say I had noticed that your URL says "cakesbykristin." I like both names.
Mine came from Hoosier Girl but wanting a unique spelling. Whos yer gurl?
Some people get it, some don't.
It is on everything...my art, my blog, my pinterest, my twitter.
it is me.
xo, Cheryl

From the Kitchen said...

I only know you as "Simplify" but I'd follow you under any name for a piece of that pizza-or a dozen petit fours!! = )

I just grabbed "From a Writer's Kitchen without much thought. I write. I cook. That simple!

I will say that I never intended to become a serious blogger or had no idea how many "friends" I'd make. Now I love visits and worry when my best bloggers don't post for awhile.

Best,
Bonnie

Unknown said...

I always wondered why you showed up with two names. But I know where to find you no matter what you call yourself KRIS... You think you may hide, but you won't get away from us crazies now. Any who, Garden, as I love to garden and Bell, as that's my maiden name. I wish I had not had THE, but oh, well. I'm The G.B. and probably that will stay.

You know what you are tons ahead of that P.W. She doesn't hold a candle to you and you delish treats. You know I just wing it here. Like the Fried Chicken Soup I just made up today. It all just flew into the pan.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. No chevron here yet, but am determined to bust that pile down a little.

Teresa Kasner said...

Kris, I love both names and will be your pal no matter what you call your blog. I started my blog and called it Teresa Kasner's Crochet.. but then I realized that I wanted freedom to post about whatever I wanted and so I removed the "Crochet" part. I still find that people ask me why I'm not showing more crochet. So, making it as broad as possible is the best unless you just want to be one-dimensional. So jealous that you have your granddaughters nearby. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Pammy Sue said...

I remember Cakes by Kristin! I was here way back then. I have never changed my blog name, but I had. I have a stupid name. Very unoriginal. Ha-ha. Oh well.

Pammy Sue said...

Oh and I like the name "Simplify." You've done your best work under that name! :)

Sandy said...

Genn actually gave me my blog name! I was stuck and she suggested it and I thought it was cute. :)

Gloria Baker said...

I love your Blog's name is beauty and perfect, LOL, gloria

Dawn said...

I did see the "Pioneer Woman" they day they did the pizza and my first thought was of you and your pizza.
I love the blog name "It's a Sweet Life". It is so hard to come up with a catchy name, that will be remembered by everyone. I guess if you change it and don't like it, you can always change it again. I made my name up when starting my blog in about 2 minutes, I guess I didn't work to hard at it. LOL
Can't wait to see what you do.

Kerri said...

I will follow no matter what you decide on your blog name! I couldn't think of a name for my blog...and then heard Highway 20 Ride by Zac Brown Band and used phrase from that song.

NanaNor's said...

Hi Kris, I always wondered about "cakes by Kristin"and how it related to your blog-so thanks for sharing. I like both names but for me, I prefer Simplify because I like that concept. My oldest girl got me into blogging too and I came up with my blog name because I wanted to focus on all of lifes blessings. The pizza looks incredible-yummy. Have a great weekend.
Hugs, Noreen

Unknown said...

I like 'It's a Sweet Life' but I know you will pick the one you are the happiest with...I have changed mine. It was Cheney Bag Lady (from all the tote bags I made) and then to Vintage Bag Lady because I like old stuff!! I was thinking of another one the other day but....not going there. Love the sound of your pizza and those tacos... I am hungry now....

Kristi said...

Kris, I'm pretty sure you can redirect the url to go to a new blog with whatever blogspot.com you can find that would work with your title. If you need some pointers, let me know. Or I can hook you up myself if you'd like! Everything would be able to be seen from the new url. It's redirecting. I've done it with my Dad's business website. We are working on a different website for him but in the meantime I wanted to get something up for him. So I directed his .com to a blogspot.com. But you'd never know. You can check it out and see what I'm talking about if you'd like www.kmkelley.com

Everything looks so yummy! How fun for Jake and Genn...it's so needed, can't wait to find out where they are headed! Such a nice Grandma you are! Have fun with the little ones!

Cheryl said...

I like both names...but I always smile when I see "Simplify"...that's what I want to do more of in my life, but again like them both. What a very yummmmmmmmmmy post! My blog name came quite easy. My mom use to dress me in polkadots and rick rack a lot!!!! I was a 50's kid, so the name is a reminder of her and both our love of polkadots and rick rack!!!

Genn said...

Hi Mumsie,

Well, I like Simplify. I think it's a powerful word. And I think it can relate to SO very MUCH in life. Don't you agree? So even though Sweet Life was cute and catchy, I think Simplify is a better name for your blog right now. But that's just me. ;) And, I do believe that you don't have to redirect your blog url to change your name. You've done it before and never messed with any of that.

Barb said...

No matter what you decide I will still follow your blog. I do really like Simplify...it's a good word, and something we all need to practice doing. I did wonder where the 'cakes by Christin' came from...

I recently changed the name of my blog because it had our last name in it. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and then one day when I was looking through the list of old blog post titles I noticed that I had titled a post 'Saturday's Mail'...and it kinda stuck with me. Anyway, good luck with your decision.

Unknown said...

Hey honey!
I never knew you had also changed your name! I do like your original name but I think Simplify is wonderful too! It is what it is and it is comfortable!
My blog started out as Home is where your story begins...
but I wanted to 'simplify' it! and thought that if I ever get into doing photography that Storytime would be a good name!
But you do what is right for you!

deb said...

I like both your names, I love the word Simplfy, it was even my word of the year a few years ago....

my blog name is my nick name that my hubby calls me..been calling me that and different variations of it for years...then when we moved to cucamonga it really fit...lol. I have thought about changing it to my name I used for my doll business...allThingsRaggedy...but I think I will stick to cucaroo....:)
I saw Ree make that pizza and I too thought the spread might be too sweet...better on crackers with cream cheese than pizza:)

Janna said...

I can't decide which name I like better. I had another name picked out for months before denim and dandelions, and I still have it reserved, but for some reason I was saving it in case I decide to "go big." The D&D name came from my daughter - she inspired me with her constant dandelion picking, even if I'm in a hurry she slows down to remind me that it's ok to not be in a hurry all the time. The denim is because I live in jeans, so those 2 things symbolize being real and taking time to enjoy the little things.

Holly said...

Please don't play hula hoop until I get there! I have only known you as Simplify but I don't think it matters, be who you've gotta be! The food looks delish. I'm enjoying PW too. Making her pot roast this weekend with mashed potatos. Yumm

~Niki~ said...

I had several blog names. Pumpkin country. Niki's Sew Country. Niki's Ventures~that was my first blog. I changed blogs each time. Never thinking I could just change the name and keep the address. That's why on my blogger profile it says since like 2006 or something. I've had many. I used to sell items in my online shoppe, so I catered my blog way back when to that. Butternut street is the street my grandma lived on in NY. I miss her so~
Hey that meal looks yummy!. Have fun with the kiddos this weekend!

Pam said...

I like both - It's a Sweet Life and Simplify. I woke up one morning with For the Love of Cooking in my head and it stuck.

I think your fig pizza looks delicious and beautiful. I am also now craving tostadas!

Linda said...

I like both names...I thought the sweet life was just because you had such a sweet life...silly me! My name is my name...at least part of it...I have used that for years and my kids urged me to use it so I did...now I use it for my bag business too!
Anyway...I'll follow you by any name...I love reading your posts!

Kristi said...

Hey Kris...

Just came back to see if you had commented back and I read Genn's comment. I was not saying that you HAVE to do that. I was just saying if you wanted to get rid of the url that you have now, the cakes by Kristen...you could. So that your url was simplify.blogspot.com or itsasweetlife.blogspot.com. And nothing gets lost. So that everything would match if you wanted. I was just trying to help out. You obviously can just change your name to whatever you want. Which for the record, I've loved ALL of your names. I think they are so clever and cute and have always been perfect for you. I was just talking about the url. So nevermind...forget I ever even opened my mouth. Ugh.

Nicolle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nicolle said...

Your food looks SO yummy!

I chose my blog name when I was a new mom, and thought I was going to go crazy.....so Boyd's Crazy Mama just stuck. I LOVE the name Simplify. That is kind of my motto, and I've been doing that for the last few years...simplifying my calendar, my home, my food. Your blog really drew me in with the name, but any name you choose will be great, because you have a great blog!

:)