This week marks the ending of a very important journey of my college life; my senior thesis has been completed. Or better yet, it will be completed when I get around to writing the ten page paper that goes along with it all. That’s not due until the week of May 8th, so I’m giving myself a few days to recover from the roller coaster of this past month because man, I deserve it. I’ve pretty much been inches away from a breakdown but who knew that bouncing from stressed, happy, relieved, pissed, angry, hungry, anxious, nervous and nauseous that by the end of it I would just feel kind numb.

The big news: I wrote a book. Yup, a 109-page cookbook with full photographs of each and every recipe.  I would like to share some key things about this phenomenon, my process and some things that I’ve learned. I almost feel like running a marathon would have been easier.

I made and photographed all of the recipes; about ninety percent were cooked and photographed in my dorm room. On a coffee table no bigger than 2 ft by 2ft. With pillowcases and scarves as my cool tablecloths and props. A girl has got to improvise. And make frequent trips to Target to see if there are any new kitchen decor items on clearance.

I was able to use this book as an excuse to spend hours at the grocery store and Trader Joe’s every week. To say that I spent, on average, three hours a week grocery shopping would be pretty close to the truth. No matter how many times I felt like I had gotten everything on my list for the week, I always, without a doubt, forgot something.

It also made it perfectly acceptable to have dozens of cookies in my freezer at any given time and to then, in fact, have cookies for breakfast when short on time. From eating cookies for breakfast, I learned the important of a balanced diet. Meaning, if I accidentally ate cookies for breakfast, then I should try to eat more greens for dinner; because in the end, it all totally balances out. Trust me, because I’ve eaten quite my fair share of cookies this semester. I’ve also run my fair share of miles as well.

I was scared to use a tripod in the shooting of these photographs and therefore spent a lot of time leaping from chairs to couch in order to get the picture that I wanted; I only fell twice. Once on my dog, she got mad at me. I fed her peanut butter and all was forgiven.

I’ve learned that I’m capable of doing anything when I set my mind to it. When I first started this project, it was so daunting and I had no idea where to begin. Now that I’m finished, I’ve surprised myself with how well everything worked out and how rewarding it is to say that I’ve written and designed every single inch of something. Everything in this book is me; I put my heart and soul into it.

As happy as I am for this book to have finally been completed, it’s also bittersweet. I never felt so in control and driven to complete something. This has truly been an experience that I will always remember and hold on to. I thank anyone that has been with me from the beginning of this; especially my family. And don’t worry, I’m still going to be here on Must Come Hungry. I’ve fallen in love with this experience and I’m not ready to give it up! I’m ready to re-devote myself to this blog and share my kitchen adventures :)