Welcome to the Curious Plate!
Howdy, friends!
Or should I say, SURPRISE!
Welcome to The Curious Plate.
I have so much to tell and show you that I figured the best way to approach this complete brand overhaul is to start at the beginning.
But! Before we begin……I have a question:
Do you ever get that interior feeling of restlessness?
Like something in your life is not quite right. Like maybe it’s time for a challenge? Three years ago, that feeling of restlessness hit me while I was on vacation with family at Table Rock Lake. That sunshine, the water rushing by the boat with foam and ripples. . . maybe I felt safe enough to let the need for change bubble up.
I had just published my cookbook, “Modern Comfort Cooking” and I had been blogging for almost 10 years. I loved it! Cooking and picture-snapping and eating and friends! Yet, I had been itchy enough to contact a branding agency about “maybe a new name for my blog.”
That day at Table Rock Lake, I received a phone call from the Gardner Design with a possible new name for the blog. I sorta’ freaked out. Let me tell you, naming my first business, having it be fairly successful. . .it was a scary thought to consider changing it.
It struck me that a change had to be more than just changing a name. I needed to create a new and expanded blog; something that would give me and my readers – more heart, more thought, more real-life value. My mind zoomed ahead.
And then. . .my desire for change met up with the real world.
We lived in a tiny house in Denver that we could barely turn around in. So, in the summer of 2018, after that Table Rock Lake trip, I was scrolling Zillow for fun. I was just curious as to what was out there in the Denver housing market.
My curiosity led me to find an old house, on a big corner lot in a wonderful neighborhood in Denver. Twelve blocks from the house we lived in. And, the house was CHEAP for Denver real estate. So, instead of working on that blog name change, I moved, with Mr. B and Juniper into a fantastic old house that needed work.
We tore out the entire upstairs, leaving one guest bedroom for us to sleep in. Mr. B began installing heat and air-conditioning by himself, tiling a shower, and install all new flooring. And then, in January of 2019, I became pregnant with Charlie!
I decided I wasn’t emotionally ready to overhaul my blog and business. If I was going to change my decade-old brand, I wanted to really be present.
I thought after Charlie was born I could give some thought to how to change and update my brand. I completely underestimated the work of being a new mom! Trying to be creative when you are sleep-deprived is not ideal. So I tabled the name change again.
No one tells you that you can be craving a change and yet life keeps bumping up against you, even with good things, that draw you away. Let’s just say ‘change is strange’. It has its own time table.
And then change got really strange.
The Pandemic of 2020 arrived, and like everybody else, I had to make other plans. I took each day and tried to find something positive. One of my favorite things I did during the height of the Pandemic was to take a morning walk around the neighborhood and listen to “The Science of Success” podcast.
I will never forget the episode I listened to with Michael Bungay Stanier, author of “The Coaching Habit” and “Advice Trap.” He went into depth about how curiosity is our greatest superpower.
Michael works with people and asks:
“What’s on your mind?”
“And what else?”
“And what’s the real challenge here for you?”
These questions encourage people to self-reflect, and to take the time to be curious about their own lives. And when we give ourselves space and time to be truly curious, we become mindful, more humble, and we begin to have more empathy for ourselves and others.
This was a lightning strikes moment for me. I remember shouting on my walk, “THIS IS IT!” On that walk, I came full circle on what The Curious Plate was meant to be. It wasn’t just a name change; it was a new way of thinking.
My mission for The Curious Plate was to empower individuals to be more curious.
I wanted to take my trials and mishaps in the kitchen, my travels across the world, a cookbook, a kid, a bulldog, marriage of fifteen years and show how I’ve used curiosity to grow as a person. I will continue to be curious about my own life and encourage you to be curious about yours.
I have found:
- You can teach yourself anything
- Taking risks is almost always valuable
- Boldly following your sense of wonder will pay dividends
- There is no thrill like creating something from nothing
So, after three years in the making, that’s why I am evolving Climbing Grier Mountain into The Curious Plate, which I believes best represents this sense of wonder that continues to fuel me to keep creating and keep learning.
And now for the rest of the story…
What does The Curious Plate look like moving forward?
First and foremost, the content around here won’t do a somersault change, but it will become deeper and more elevated. My recipes will still focus on making easy, tasty, comforting food!
I will also be sprinkling in more story content that feeds the entrepreneurial spirit and empowers the curious mind. I promise this journey will FEED YOUR CURIOSITY.
Okay, let’s take a quick tour of the new website. . .
We have a whole new homepage! I wanted you to be able to easily access recipes, travel recaps, entrepreneurial posts, and motherhood stories.
A cool new feature is the sort functionality. With this, you can filter the exact recipe you need. Whether it’s by Diet, Cooking Method, or By Season, it’s all customizable and easy to find!
Something new to The Curious Plate family is the Merchandise Shop! The Stay Curious Collection is a collection of tees and hoodies, home goods, tote bags, and cool wall art that will inspire your curious mind!
Alright, take a look around! Let me know if you have any questions. Thrilled to have on this new journey with me!
Love and Curious Cooking,
Lauren Grier