Thanksgiving week and I have a lot to be thankful for.
I started my blog earlier this year, and it has been a great 11 months. I’ve learned how to take an appealing picture of slow cooked meat or smoked salmon and eggs that appeals to food porn sites, the general public and my mother. An enormous accomplishment, I can tell you.
I have met so many supportive people on my food blogging quest, mostly at food blogging conferences where I have learned essential tricks of the trade, about tools that make for a better blog, and have listened to advice on what makes for a popular blog. One piece of advice being the inclusion of a weekly newsletter to my blog, Hence my “Blog Life” posts. I have learned so much that my to do list will keep me going far into 2016. The most recent nuggets of information were obtained at the BlogHer Food 15 conference in Chicago. I learned necessary behaviors for tax purposes, how to attract followers on Facebook – an obstacle I have yet to clear, and the dos and don’t on creating an attractive Pinterest page – I have a lot of work to do there also!
It was my first visit to Chicago, and I really enjoyed myself. I stayed at the Hyatt overlooking Lake Michigan and what a view. I couldn’t get enough of it. Middle of the night bathroom breaks became a pleasure for a few days. I went to sleep with this view and woke up to this view, I was truly sad to leave my room.
But I did leave my room, not only to learn from those who have found success sharing their recipes and ideas, but also to experience a little of Chicago. I had a sensational martini in Marty’s Martini Bar and some great Mexican food with a spicy margarita at El Mariachi in Andersonville.
On my last day the wonderful weather allowed me to explore the city. I started with coffee in Boys Town and then I headed back downtown. I had planned to enjoy a meal at Latincity, described as the Latin version of Eataly, but to my horror, yes horror, Latincity was closed for the day. The executive chef was at the entrance and explained that due to overwhelming success, Latincity had run out of food! The chef apologized profusely and handed me a small offering of guacamole and chips – two words, ugh divine – and suggested I walk around, check the place out and come back again another time. As I 
mentioned earlier, I was horrified, my senses were assaulted by a spicy, aromatic wonderfulness of which I would be unable to enjoy. The kitchen staff were busy recreating their menus for service the next day, by which time I would be back in New York! Luckily Chicago has many exciting places to eat, so stumbled over in a chic restaurant called Atwood and I had a perfectly wonderful brunch with many blood orange mimosas, and then said goodbye to Chicago.
So back to what I’m grateful for. Aside from seeing new cities, while I learn at the hands of experts in my field, I am grateful for those who have supported me, my advocates who have joined me on my food blogging ride. Right now, they’re smiling as they read this. I’m grateful that I have family and friends who want me to succeed, they read every post and call me to discuss them. They recreate my recipes and share them with their social media followers proudly, but only those that look beautiful and that are plated well – bless them. They join me on my test kitchen days, not only to enjoy the food, but to get inside tips that perhaps I haven’t yet shared on my blog. Finally, they inspire me to keep going, their reassurance is my fuel and their approval my solace.
So I would like to say thank you not just to my friends and family, but to everyone who has shared a comment on my blog or social media sites. Thank you for coming back again and again to check out what I have to share, and thank you for making 2015 a defining year for me. The year when I found something that not only feeds my family and friends, but my more significantly my soul.
Blog Life Week 48
