How to Create a Vision Board & What I Cooked Last Week
A guide to creating your own vision board (and why it works), Grandpa’s Korean fried rice, crispy potato wedges, summer tomato sandwich
Hi everyone,
Hope you had a great week! My mom was in town last week, and we had so much fun cooking together, as always. I can’t wait to share everything we made with you over the next few weeks. Doug was in New York for most of the week, but when he got back on Friday, the three of us went to dinner at Funke in LA. It was our first time trying it, and we really enjoyed it. We already love Mother Wolf, so we had high expectations since it’s also Chef Evan Funke’s restaurant. The pasta was cooked to al dente perfection, and we left very full and happy.
Today, I’m sharing a step-by-step guide to creating your own vision board. It’s one of the first things I did after I was laid off from my corporate job in 2022 and decided to pursue Maxi’s Kitchen full time. At the time, I’d built a following of about 100k while working in tech, but there was so much more I hoped to accomplish. I was so determined to turn my dream into a reality, and creating a vision board felt like the perfect place to start.
Looking back at my vision board is pretty wild. I’m surprised by how many of the things I put on it have come true. So a couple weekends ago, I decided to make a new one, this time focused on what I’m hoping to achieve over the next three to five years.
I think of it a bit like making a birthday wish. I can’t tell you exactly what’s on my board or it might not come true ;)! But hopefully, in five or so years, I’ll be able to show it to you. In the meantime, I can give you a few glimpses and walk you through exactly how I put it together so you can create your own.
First, here’s a recipe for my grandpa’s Korean fried rice with bacon, onion, and napa cabbage. He was such a talented cook, and this was one of the dishes he made all the time. Gochujang (a spicy fermented Korean condiment) and soy sauce give the rice a delicious sweet-and-savory depth of flavor. I hope you give it a try!
As always, my cookbook Maxi’s Kitchen is now available for purchase at your local bookstore or online:
Thank you so much for your support 🤍
What I Cooked Last Week! ↓
Grandpa’s Korean Fried Rice
This is a quick and simple recipe my grandpa made all the time. It’s packed with cabbage and is so flavorful and delicious.
You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)
Crispy Potato Wedges
The key to the crispiest potato wedges is par-boiling them in water with baking soda, which breaks down the surface and creates a starchy layer that crisps up beautifully in the oven.
Summer Tomato Sandwich
I love making this when summer tomatoes are at their peak! A perfectly ripe tomato should feel heavy for its size, give slightly when squeezed, and smell sweet and fragrant at the stem.
How I Create a Vision Board ✨
Start with the vision
Plant the seed in your mind and let it marinate for a few days. When you think about your life three, five, or even ten years from now, what are your wildest dreams? Maybe you want to become a talk show host, buy a house, travel the world, or become a parent. Or maybe it’s something smaller, like finally getting that purse you’ve been eyeing.
Even if a goal feels unrealistic or out of reach, if it’s something you genuinely want in your heart and soul, write it down.
I had six items on my list, which felt like the right amount and was similar to my first vision board. But there’s no perfect number. It can be more or less.
I kept my list in the Notes app on my phone, though you could just as easily write yours in a journal or wherever you like to keep ideas.
Choose your medium
I used a foam board, which I highly recommend because it stands up on its own. A poster board or any other sturdy paper works just as well.
Once you have your list of goals, find an image to represent each one. It can be a photo, an illustration, something you find online, or even a picture cut out of a magazine. The important thing is having a visual representation of each goal so you can imagine it becoming reality.
This time, I had a little more creative energy and time, so I drew my own illustrations with a ballpoint pen and colored pencils. I also used some beautiful paper and decorative tape that I’d saved from our trip to Japan.
That said, it definitely doesn’t have to become a big art project. The first time around, I simply printed photos and glued them to the board with some stickers.
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