"I could tell you what water is made of: two parts hydrogen, one of oxygen. I could describe what it feels like to dive into a lake on a hot summer day or the briny feel of sand and salt at the beach, but the task here is to find your own pool of liquid and give it shape...

You have to find your own dynamic structure, one that fits your story and what you personally have to share.

...You can't tell every minute of your life--or put in every darling experience. You can't eat everything on the table. You choose a portion, some fruit...and put it on your plate. You choose a time, a subject, a place, you give a shape to what is unruly. You lend it a form. The form is not a trick. It develops out of what you want to say and how you want to say it.

--Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away

I came back from Salt Lake City feeling a little overwhelmed by all the things I want to do and how far I feel I still have to go. I often find myself wanting to share every part of my life while simultaneously treasuring the long, slow brunch I shared with my husband in a dark tavern on a lazy Sunday afternoon; or the hot cup of coffee I drank while I sat down to talk to a new friend for the first time in my favorite coffee shop. The hour-long walks I sometimes take by myself or the quiet cups of tea I often drink in the afternoon sunlight of my living room. They don't make it to my Instagram feed and yet they are valuable moments in my life.

Last year I felt like I was almost "there" in some way (but what does that even mean, really?), and this year, though I've come so far in so many ways, it feels as though there has never been a longer road ahead of me. Do our standards get higher as we go on? There is so much that I want to create, write, or share and I haven't even begun yet. And then there are the things that I might never let you read, that will stay typed out on old pieces of paper stapled together through old writing workshops, or scribbled quickly and furiously onto the pages of a leather-bound notebook in the drawer of my bedside table.

2015 is quickly becoming for me the year of less is more, or rather, do less with more. More effort, more intention, more love. More creativity and more practice. More thought. More laughter and more adventure. And, somehow, more structure. I will stretch myself but not too thinly. And I will be truer to myself in the process.

Hello from Salt Lake City! I got in yesterday afternoon and have already been busy going to sessions, meeting new people, and seeing some friends I made last year at Alt Summit.

Last year was a truly life-changing conference for me, and I look back on it as a turing point in my blogging career; so I'm really excited to see what 2015's event has in store! I'm really thrilled to be here with La Crema this time, which is so fun because I'm just crazy about that company. It's such a pleasure to have a chance to see these people I work with online so often in person.

Anyway, I'll be here until Saturday morning, so until then you can follow along on Instagram. Hope you all have a great rest of your week, wherever you are!

Two weeks ago, I shared a link to a reader survey and I spent a lot of time with your answers. I responded in part with this post, but wanted to share a bit about what I learned from what you all had to say about my blog. It felt odd to gather your input and then not share what I was doing with it, so in the spirit of transparency and in an effort to do better, I'm writing this now.

First of all, I want to thank every one of you who took the time to answer and give me your feedback. My readers are so important to me and I really care about your thoughts and opinions. In general, the survey results reflected mostly sweet, reassuring, and positive responses about my writing, recipes, and personality; but there were definitely some negative reviews--mostly about the number of sponsored posts I've taken on in the past months.

I'm not someone who seeks out constructive criticism and then gets their feelings hurt about it, so I found a ton of value in the negative comments. My plans and goals for the next year have been strongly influenced by the things you didn't like in 2014. So here's where I am now: I hear you. But I feel like I'm at a crossroads. Blogging is fun, I think I'm good at it, it makes me happy, and I'm finally at the point where I'm earning enough money that I feel self-employed.

I want you to know that even though I take on a lot at times, I often do say no to things--there are plenty of brands out there that wouldn't be a great fit for Freckled Italian and I turn those down. But I will admit that this year, as my earnings grew, I got more and more ambitious about what was next. Ambition can be good and bad, of course, and now I'm ready to take a step back and do some reevaluating.

I will continue to work with brands because it's part of what I do, but in 2015, I will absolutely be taking on less sponsors and focusing on getting back to writing--getting back to the things you used to love about Freckled Italian. People also said they miss the once more frequent personal posts, and would like to see more things about marriage, friendship, and family. I would like to see that too, and sharing more from the heart is my main goal for 2015.

So what can you expect from Freckled Italian in the new year? Openness and much more writing. More photos, food, and entertaining. Exciting brand collaborations. More recipes and personal style posts. A YouTube channel. Hopefully some fun trips. And maybe a dog!

Thank you so much for reading this blog. It truly means the world to me and I have nothing but love for all of you.