Today’s post is not a recipe but rather a big announcement. It’s so huge, I’m giving you a warning now before the announcement actually happens.


Homemade In The Kitchen Logo

I’m rebranding and changing my blog name to Homemade In The Kitchen.

Don’t worry – my recipes are staying the same. You’ll still be able to find recipes for two and small batch recipes. In fact, with the name change I’m becoming more hyper focused on this niche. I’m (slowly) updating my old recipes to scale them down into smaller sizes.

What does that mean for you? Over the next week, you’ll see a new logo and blog layout. You don’t need to do anything other than call me by my new blog name. Here are some things you need to know:

  1. You can access my home page at www.homemadeinthekitchen.com, which will then automatically redirect you. If you can’t remember and go to www.chocolatemoosey.com, that works too. I’ll still be here.
  2. All of your bookmarks and Pinterest pins will remain the same. No need to update them!
  3. All of my social media handles will change over automatically. No need to follow/unfollow!
  4. Join my Facebook group. With all of the newsfeed changes, fan pages are becoming more and more obsolete. In my Facebook group, you’ll be able to ask me questions and share recipes you’ve made from my page.

That’s all you really need to know, but keep reading for why I’m changing!

I started Chocolate Moosey back in 2007 without giving it much thought. It was named after a stuffed moose I had because I wanted a whimsical name. Had I known it would grow into a full-time business, I would’ve picked a better name for sure.

Truth is I’ve been unhappy my name for the past few years. It first started when a potential client flat out told me they’d never promote me because I had Chocolate in my title, which would confuse their social media followers since they expected savory recipes.

I brushed it off and kept going; after all, this is MY blog and I can name it what I want. But in the back of my mind, I couldn’t shake the feedback. Then more evidence poured in. I found myself more and more having to explain how I’m not all about desserts and how I offer dinner recipes.

Now I’m at a crossroads – do I embrace my name and become a desserts blog? Or do I change it altogether? I knew I wanted to write about more than dessert, so the answer was clear.

The other part of the decision comes from me saying the name out loud. Most conversations with people end up going like this:

Person: Oh what’s your blog’s name?
Me: Chocolate Moosey
Person: Oh Moussey. Clever!
Me: No, no. Moosey as in the animal.
Person: Oh. Oh um ok.

Over and over again. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even want to tell people my blog’s name anymore. That’s when I knew I needed to change.

The hardest part about starting anything new is coming up with a name; it’s why it took me years to change.

Then one night it hit me. I don’t even remember what I was doing. It was nighttime, so I was probably sitting on the couch watching TV. A simple name – Homemade In The Kitchen – popped into my head. Surely a name as common and as simple as that was taken, right?

I searched on every social media site out there. I searched domains. Homemade In The Kitchen was available. I hurried up and snagged every handle and domain I could. This was it! This would be my new name.

Then I sat on the decision for another six months. Here’s the part you don’t know when you start blogging.

You see, the longer you’ve been blogging, the stronger your domain becomes for both SEO and for advertisement money. I’ve had Chocolate Moosey for over 10 years. To give that up and go back to zero in an oversaturated market of food bloggers? I’d be a brand new blog all over again with zero guarantee I’d ever make it back to where I was before.

After so much hemming and hawing about what to do, I found a compromise. I’m changing my name and logo to Homemade In The Kitchen but not changing the domain. It’s a little unconventional, but it’s the best of both worlds.

My goal is to make this transition as smooth as possible for you. If you have any questions or notice any hiccups, please let me know!