Year Five.
Five years ago there was this girl that had no idea what to do with herself.
Like really, no idea. Five years ago to this day. 1826 (.2) days ago. She felt bored and incomplete and like the future was a million miles away but at the same time flying by her eyes and that she would NEVER find her place or happiness in everyday adult life in a way that only overly dramatic, internet-generated twenty somethings feel.
So one day she did something truly horrific and… STARTED A BLOG. She told no one for a few weeks because she was embarrassed and mortified that she was writing things on the internet to this invisible space of nothingness. She wrote about her first crush on Patrick Swayze and her second on Zack Morris and attempted to take photos in the yellowest kitchen to ever exist on a three-year-old camera that had been dropped thirteen times (margaritas were involved) and produced the blurriest jpegs known to man.
Years prior, she had massive fights with her parents because no, she wouldn’t study creative writing or journalism or ANY type of writing in college because WTF was she going to do? Become an English teacher or finish writing the stories she had filled notebooks with when she was ten years old? She was soooo far over that stage and had pushed it out of her brain and moved on to more important things like, well… nothing.
It wasn’t until that girl fell in love with that blog and realized that writing things on paper or screens (preferably paper) was what she really wanted to do, no matter how ridiculous her made-up words sounded or if she could only write like she talked or how much she loathed every single thing that landed on the lined page from her pen or the screen from the keys.
She went through incredulous moments of self-doubt and comparison and confusion. And also big fat moments of self-realization and growth and happiness. She made actual invisible friends that were real. And LOTS of mistakes. She made accidentally phallic sorbet and went through multiple pizza, taco and burger phases. She wrote a book! She hated the book, but then she loved it. She had one goal – to remain genuine and keep the people that read it her number one priority.
She wants to thank you! For an awesome five years and for placing your eyeballs on her words everyday even when they don’t make sense or have anything to do with salad or cheesecake. For continuing to read even when she writes annoying stuff in the third person. She loves you bigtime.
160 Comments on “Year Five.”
HAPPY 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF BLOGGING!!!!!
can’t wait to get to your signing in Boston!!!!
And thank YOU for sharing your journey and all your fabulous recipes with us for five freaking years. You deserve all your success!
Congratulations, Jessica!! What an awesome milestone! It is amazing what you’ve accomplished in 5 years of blogging and how different life must be for you today from back then…from your day job at an office to your FT blog to writing a book to your baby on the way! CONGRATS on being amazing and for building quite the empire :)
Happy Year Five! And thanks for all the recipes and thoughts you’ve shared in that time. :) My dinner (and dessert) rotation would not be the same without you!
Congratulations Jessica!!! I think I’ve only been reading your blog for about 4 of the 5 years but you’ve come SO far and you’re one of the bloggers I look up to most. Your writing style is so unique, fabulous, entertaining and you often have this way of putting on paper (or the screen) the exact thoughts streaming through my head. Thank you for the endless inspiration, and I can’t wait to see the amazing things you create (including a mini human!) over the next year. :)
And I’ve loved it since the very beginning! So happy for you <3 <3
Thank YO for sharing all this. It is amazing and I can´t decide whether it is your recipes or your writing that i like teh most.
Thank you so much for your inspiration, your recipes and all your love you spread around! I wish I could hug you now! Congrats! I really love your blog!
Happy 5 Year Blogiversary! Thank goodness you did start this blog and write that book…The internet wouldn’t be the same (nor would the blogging world) without you! We <3 you!
Happy 5th blog birthday! What a blessing and treat it has been to read your blog filled with wonderful stories and recipes. Thank you for always being genuine! Here is to 5 more years!!!
HAPPY 5 YEARS!!! It’s been amazing, I can’t wait to get my hands on your book and to see what else you have in store for the future (aside from the BABYYY of course! :P)
My favorite blog, seriously <3
Happy Anniversary!
We love you too.
Happy Anniversary, Jesisica! Reading your blog posts and making your delicious recipes brings much joy to my life. I’m so excited for you and wish you continued success in the future!
Happy blog anniversary!! Congratulations on 5 years! You’ve accomplished so many things and are such an inspiration. Your blog has been a joy to read for the last few years and I look forward to it every day!
<3 <3 <3
Thank YOU for making the internet a hundred times more fun! I'm where you were at five years ago, wondering what the heck I'm doing with myself and stressing about if I'll ever find my place. Mid-twenties…ugh. Your words give me hope!
Here's to many more years of How Sweet!
Congrats! Such a great accomplishment :)
<3 Congrats!!! I look forward to every one of your posts and you inspire me. Have a wonderful, wonderful day!
Happy five years! I just discovered your blog but I love it already and I hope you’re gonna continue to share those amazing recipes :) x
http://www.wild-cherrytree.com/
congratulations! you have come a long way and are truly inspiring! your food is fancy and unique without being pretentious!
hip hip hooray!!!! happy anniversary to you!! :)
Congrats!!!!!! We started the same year, me in dec. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years. So glad we met through our blogs! Love ya and am so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Congrats on this anniversary and all the other big changes coming your way!
Congratulations!
That is such a great story, I’m so happy for you! Here’s to many more years in the blog world! :)
Here’s to 5 more…and 5 more…and 5 more after that! Love this space you’ve created! So happy you started How Sweet! Where would we all be without it?!??
Amazing, amazing. I’m about to hit my 5yr mark as well. Love you to death, girl, and am not sure I would have made it this far without you!
happy five years jess! i’m so glad i found your blog. and i love the phallic sorbet reference ;)
All I can say is thank you bring that bit of trash and Sass to the kitchen every time you cook. 5 years is mighty great achievement; and I hope you continue to warm our hearts with drool worthy recipes.
Wooo, Happy 5 years! Here’s to the next eleventy million as I hope you never stop sharing your fabulous recipes and bites of life! :)
CONGRATS! love you.
Congratulations Jessica!! You stuck with it when it was hard, what a champ! :))
Congrats on 5 years! What a major accomplishment. You’re such an inspiration to many. :)
I feel like where you were at five years ago is exactly where i am at now…thank you for your continuous inspiration to go after what you want! And thank you for sharing your journey with all of us readers—and the yummy recipes too! :)
Congratulations on five years and all that you have accomplished!
Congrats on 5 years, and the many more to come! You’re truly such an inspiration to many! A bunch of my girlfriends and I discovered your blog in college and all the recipes and beautiful pictures inspired us to learn to cook, bake, and embrace bacon.
I check out your blog every morning before going to work. It’s mandatory, like going to the bathroom or brushing my teeth. It’s become the start of my day. I already know that whatever is left of my paycheck this week go towards your cookbook that I’ve been dying to have, even though I’ll only have 4 days to cook everything since I’m having jaw surgery next Thursday and will have to be on a liquid diet. Oh how I’m hoping there’s some smoothie recipes in your cookbook so I don’t have to stop using it for 2 weeks. This is how much I love your blog. And your Tuesday Things is what makes Tuesdays better. I can’t wait to get off of work so I can come home and read about them.
AHHH you’re so GREAT! Keep being you. Congrats on five years, lady!!
Congrats, Jessica! Here’s to 5 more and beyond. Way to go for following your heart!
Happy 5 Years!! I’ve been reading almost that long…and enjoy reading it so much everyday! Here’s to many more hilarious stories, gratuitous vacation photos, adorable baby updates (I hope!) and of course yummy recipes!
Can’t wait for the Nov. 6 cooking class at Crate – looks like so much fun!
I love her too!!!! Totally!!!! And will keep on reading until until until!!!!
So freaking exciting. And I’ve been following you for every single one of them :) Ole!
I place my eyeballs on your words with love, I have been doing that for quite some time now, and I will probably continue doing that for quite some time too (: Happy 5 years!
I still remember that phallic pink sorbet!!! I thought I was the only one with the dirty mind!!!!!!
Happy anniversary. I’ve been a reader since almost the beginning and I’ve truly enjoyed reading along (especially with the annoying 3rd person – hello, are you inside my head??).
I wish we could all be so blessed as to find our way when we don’t know what to do. I’m waiting for that day myself actually.
Congratulations!
Congratulations on five incredible years! We both started this craziness at right around the same time – you were one of my first commenters on my first blog. :) It’s been awesome to watch your growth. Here’s to five more (and beyond)!
reading this after finishing a presentation for a job i can’t stand and am bawling my eyes out. thanks for giving me hope that there’s something else out there!! Congrats on all of your very much well-deserved success!
And we love YOU, Jessica! Thanks for the past wonderful, entertaining and delicious 5 years. Cheers to many more!
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Yay! I’ve been reading your blog for longer than I can remember, and you give me inspiration and courage to be true to myself and my love for writing.
Congrats!!! You are such a source of inspiration, and an even better friend. Thank you for encouraging me to follow my own dreams :) You are proof that hard work, passion, and staying true to yourself pay off. As they say, keep on, keepin’ on.