Hey there, I’m Jess, and am glad you’ve stopped by on my blog! I started this thing in 2016 as a way to have a creative outlet and keep in touch with anyone who was interested in seeing what I get up to, but then as life got busy and I realized I didn’t really know where I wanted to take this blog, I kind of let it lie fallow for a while.
After moving to Connecticut in April 2017, I decided it was time to revamp this baby and give it some love. I had come to a point in my life where I realized that I need to spend more time developing my creative instincts, and this blog has been super helpful in allowing me to do that. So now I use this blog to share my reflections on life in general, and things that happen to me.
About Me
So, a little about myself. I was born and raised in Jamaica, but then moved to Massachusetts when I was fifteen to go to boarding school. Yikes – I was not ready for all that cold and ice. After surviving two years of that life, I decided that I really needed to suffer, and moved to Illinois for college where it was WAY colder. It was in college that I met my husband, Kyle (or “Hubs”, as I generally refer to him on this blog). We crazy kids decided to get married before we finished college, which put us way ahead of the pack. Nevertheless, I am definitely that girl who is the first to comment when young people decide to get married – “they’re way too young!”, I say. Then my husband gives me the “don’t-be-a-total-hypocrite” eyes and we move on with our day. What can I say, I knew I was young (and don’t regret it at all!), but marriage is definitely not for every nineteen or twenty year old.
After we both finished college, we moved to Baltimore (to thaw out a little) and for Hubs to complete his PhD in sciency things, while I worked in finance for five years and eventually became a citizen here. I figured that on the off chance that the world decided to collapse around us and walls were built around every country’s borders, I needed to make sure I was on the side where Hubs was.
Oh…also, did I mention that I’m also Canadian? My mom, through a long, complicated story of her own, is an English-Jamaican-Canadian. So I am also Canadian through her, by birth, even though I’ve never lived in Canada myself. To makes things a tad more complicated, my family moved (without me, since I was already in the States by then) from Jamaica to Canada in 2014. So now Hubs and I take long road trips to spend time with my crazy, freezer-burnt, tropical fruit family up North.
What’s Up With The Cinnamon?
I’ve gotten a bit of feedback that the name of my blog is sometimes confusing or misleading, so I’d like to take the time now to break it down a little.
One of my life mottos is “variety is the spice of life”. I love trying different things, whether it’s an outdoor activity, a board game, or a new cuisine I’ve never tasted. Cinnamon is also one of the most important spices to me, since it is widely used in Jamaican desserts, and I think that a little bit of cinnamon makes so many things taste better. So that’s kind of where the name came from, on a surface level.
On a deeper level, I want to share with my readers my perspective on life, which is that life – your life, my life, all life – is beautiful. You may think that mundane or routine activities are something to get through as quickly as possible, or perhaps you think that they make your life boring. My perspective is that they are the very things that make life beautiful and worthwhile. If your child asks you fifty thousand questions about why some cheeses are hard, and some are squishy, each of those questions adds another depth of “flavor” to your life. More importantly, each of your answers will add to – or takeaway from – the flavor of your child’s life, depending on how you choose to answer.
Another way to put it is – everything matters. Each cup of coffee you drink, each load of laundry you run, and each time you take out the trash matters. Each one of us has been placed here on this earth to provide a vital piece of the global puzzle. We all have our specific purpose – which can at times be epic and grandiose, but at (most) other times, it can be as simple as kissing a boo boo or giving a word of encouragement that you don’t even realize you are giving. Your purpose is usually not one grand act – like stopping a war or founding a country – or even something that you work your entire life towards, but rather, it is comprised of each action and decision you make, every micro-detail that makes up your entire life story. So never take anything for granted.
Things I Like To Write About
Sorry if you came here thinking this was a food blog, but hey, I do REALLY love food, so I will write about it from time to time! Travel is also something that I hope to do a lot more of over the next several years, and I would love to take you with me on some of my trips (virtually, of course).
I mostly write about everyday life, though, since my life is mostly “normal” (whatever the heck that means), and I don’t lead some crazy lifestyle of jet-setting or making delicious concoctions every day. I spend a lot of time thinking about things, and then occasionally I will write those thoughts down and share them with you. I try to keep my messages uplifting, since I practice something I call “intentional optimism” – which basically means that I count my blessings rather than my faults (at least out loud, and when I haven’t allowed myself to go into one of my famous funks).
So there it all is! I hope you enjoy my little slice of the internet. Please, stay a while, kick up your feet and make yourself at home! If you like what you see, please subscribe to my blog for weekly updates, and don’t forget to check out my Facebook or Instagram pages as well. I’d love to connect with you!
See you soon!
Jess
