Okay, this really has very little to with branches, but rather me, and my writing, and a new home I am delighted to have found for my words, of which, as you know, I have many.

When I started Purple House Cafe almost two years ago (!), I started it just as much as a well-defined project for self-improvement as a way to share my love of food.  I had long had the goals of learning how to cook better, experimenting more in the kitchen, learning how to take good photos, and, I think primarily, finding a way and a reason and the motivation to write more.  This site has certainly done all of that for me, but I am most pleased about how it has helped my writing.  Instead of staring at an uninspiring blank page, at least, here, there was food to write about, if nothing else.  If I couldn’t muster profound insights or feelings, at the very least, I could describe a really delicious cookie.  What surprised me were the opportunities writing here every week afforded me to write for others.  Now, two years in, I’m quite pleased with my portfolio of publications, including a year and a half worth of blogging for Taste of Nova Scotia, a couple articles in International Doula magazine, a gig as a regular contributor to The Creative Mama, and another gig as contributing food writer to Local Connections Halifax magazine.  

Those who know me well, or who have been reading Purple House Cafe for a while, know that food is just one thing in my life, which is also full of parenting, birth support, breastfeeding support, health promotion, hiking, biking, stand-up paddle boarding, yoga, travel and other adventures.

Not all at once; I have a three year old, people.  But I try.

I’ve increasingly held the desire to write more about all of these things.  Of course, you know, I do quite a bit of that here, but, fundamentally, this is still a food blog.  All of this to say, I’m really happy to have been invited to become a regular contributor to the Adventure Moms column at Women’s Adventure magazine.  I’ll be joining a team of really cool and inspiring outdoorsy mamas that make hauling my 6-foot pop-up trailer, kid and dog around the province look like child’s play, to write a monthly column.  The first one we collaborated on is a holiday gift guide for adventure parents.  I would really love it if you’d head on over to the site and check it out – there are some really cool ideas, including one I’ll be reviewing here on Purple House Cafe in the very near future.

Thanks for reading, all this time.