I Jumped...

I finally took the jump and bought a Mac. Happy early birthday to me!

So far I love it. My only complaint, like almost every other person, is you can't use Windows Live Writer anymore. This is the first post I have written in over a year directly into Blogger. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I have been reading up on html so it is easier than it was a year ago to make changes directly into html.

Any tips or suggestions to help me transition from PC to Mac are more than welcomed.

One

I can’t believe a year has gone by since I clicked on that big orange publish button for the first time. Blogging has definitely become a love of mine. As well as photography, cooking and graphic design. I knew I liked all of these things before but blogging has taken all three of them to a new level. I hope to continue learning and improving in all of these areas as I have much to learn! I have met so many wonderful ladies through this blog. Thank you all for reading and all of your encouraging comments and emails I have received this past year!

*I completely forgot to post this yesterday...

A Work In Progress

So, do you notice anything different? How do you like my buttons to the left?

Also, check out my Restaurants and Where I’ve Been pages. I just redesigned them! Please let me know what you think!

I have big plans! Learning how to do it first makes it take a little longer but I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it.

Food Blog South 2012 Recap Part 3

Up next, Drink Blogging and Beer Tasting session with Ale Sharpton and Mike from Good People Brewing Company.



We got to taste 3 different beers all from Good People Brewing Company. To be perfectly honest I do not drink beer so I didn’t like any of them. The Brown Ale was the most tolerable though. I did enjoy tasting and learning about each of them. This is what I learned.
4 Basic Elements of Beer:

1. Water
2. Yeasts
3. Hops
4. Mault

Snake Handler – pale ale, 9.3% alcohol, aromas of grapefruit and ginger, pair with a citrus salsa

IPA – #1 seller, 7.2% alcohol, aromas of pine and citrus, cuts through fried and fatty foods, pairs with Cajun dishes, Indian dishes, lemon salmon and citrusy dishes

Brown – 5.8% alcohol, aromas of maple and brown sugar, paired with honey glazed ham, blackened salmon, sweet bbq to pull out caramelization

After we tasted some beer it was time for Marketing Your Brand with Helene Dujardin, Lisa Ekus and Hanson Watkins. It was very interesting to learn the dos and don’ts of marketing your blog. I found out that I did something right when I made my business cards. I put my picture on them. Helene also has her picture on hers and thinks it’s a great way for people to remember you. Instead of just seeing a business card and not remembering who gave it to them they see your face and will be able to remember exactly who you are. FYI I did not put my picture on my card out of vanity but to be more memorable.



For a snack we had sugared pecans from Pecans! that were amazing! Go order some! It’s for a great cause too! I got some pecan butter to take home and try. I haven’t yet but I’ll let you know how it tastes!



For dinner Kristen and I went to La Paz. I ordered a Skinny Margarita and the Taco Salad with chicken instead of beef and no olives. The margarita and taco salad were both great. I had a ton of food left though I wish you could order a smaller portion.






 


After dinner we went to the Good People Brewing Company for a beer and cheese pairing after party. It was in a big warehouse. It was very open. Great for parties.

























Other FBS 2012 Recap Posts:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Food Blog South 2012 Recap Part 2

Just a heads up this post is going to be pretty long!

Saturday I woke up and Kristen laid out a great spread for breakfast! I mixed 2 cereals and added blueberries and milk.



The conference was at Old Car Heaven. I loved the venue. It had a lot of old cars and cool décor.



The first speaker I chose to go to was Colleen Duffley. She is a professional photographer and works with Studio b. Studio b is in Florida and I really want to go take some classes there. It sounds like a great experience. Her session was on Camera-Phone Photography in other words “iPhoneography.” IPhones have so many great apps that can be used to take great iPhone pictures. Colleen has even done photo shoots for clients with her iPhone.

Here are some apps Colleen recommended to use to improve your pictures:

• Hipstamatic
• Camera Bag
• Photoshop – I love this app!
• Camera+
• Best Camera
• Big Lens
• Slow Shot
• Pic Grungier
• Diptic – This is the app that I used to group the photos in this post. Totally worth the $0.99!
• Tilt Shift

Other tips Colleen gave:

• Turn off the flash on your iPhone camera and use another light source.
• Do not use overhead lighting.
• Use a mirror or foil to reflect light.

The next session I attended was Tammy Hart’s on Blog Design. Here are the notes I took away:

• Psychology of Color
• Red & Orange – stimulates hunger
• Yellow – sociable, but be careful yellow renders differently among monitors
• Brown – natural, calming, iffy when using around food
• Green – calming, aids in digestion
• Blue – appetite suppressant, do not use when talking about food
• Make text large and easy to read
• Make sure links within text are bold and stand out
• Use space don’t cram

After Tammy’s session was over it was time for lunch catered by Shindigs.



I filled my plate with:

• Spaghetti Squash & Vegan (L.A.) Balls - Tossed in EVOO, Green Garlic-Tomato Sauce, Fines Herbs & Garnished w/ Artichoke Tapenade
• Spinach Salad with oranges, pomegranate seeds, fried goat cheese and some type of tasty vinaigrette dressing
• Some grain with butternut squash and mushrooms
• Sweet Soy Braised Short Rib
• Some type of broccoli salad with pomegranate seeds
• A piece of bread with some type of olive butter which I didn’t know had olives until I tried it and didn’t like it.

Dessert was amazing! Tiramisu with a lemon whipped cream. We also went back to the High Road Craft ice cream table for some Bourbon Burnt Sugar ice cream.

Food Celebrity Sighting! Justin Balmes from Food Network Star Season 7 was working the Roland sponsor table. I didn't want to be annoying and ask for a picture so I borrowed Kristen's picture. It would have been too weird and obvious if we were both taking creepy far off pictures in the same direction. So thanks Kristen for doing what needed to be done :)



After lunch the next session was Recipe Development with Virginia Willis. She has worked with many popular people and magazines such as Paula Dean and Country Living. I took so many notes at her session I am not going to post them since this post is getting long already. If you want them email me and I will send them to you! 

I still have 2 more sessions to write about and the after-party at Good People Brewing Company so be on the look out for Part 3!

Other FBS 2012 Recap Posts:

• Part 1 
• Part 3

Food Blog South 2012 Recap Part 1

Friday after work I headed to Birmingham to go to Food Blog South with Kristen. Not sure what was going on with my camera in this photo. I know I have no tan but I’m not that white!



The pre-party was at Jim’N Nick’s in 5 Points. They had a complimentary appetizer bar then you could order dinner if you wanted anything.



They are known for their Cheese Biscuits and I can see why! They were extremely good!



I tried the Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip – scratch-made parmesan cream sauce, with spinach, artichokes, sour cream, jack cheese, and served with homemade pico de gallo and chips; Smoked Pork Hot Links; and Ham.

I had a glass of Crane Lake White Zin - Soft and fruity, medium-dry, with strawberries and peaches on the nose.

For dinner I ordered a small house salad with honey mustard dressing and a baked potato with sour cream, cheese and chives. Everything tasted great! They are opening in Tuscaloosa in March or April. I can’t wait!



Food Blog South 2012 Part 2 will be posted soon!

Other FBS 2012 Recap Posts:

• Part 2  
• Part 3

Work in Progress

I have been so busy lately! I can’t share everything yet… It’s a surprise and you never know who is reading this. I will be sure to update you as soon as I can!

If you haven’t noticed, the blog looks a lot different! I am going for a clean minimalist design. I spent days looking at different blog designers sights but just couldn’t pay someone else to do it before I gave it a shot myself. It is still not exactly what I have in mine but I am going to keep working at it. It is a little too plain at the moment. Any suggestions?

I am pretty proud of myself for creating my own button! It wasn’t hard at all after I figured out what I was doing. I tried out a bunch of different pictures but decided on the sushi photo since it is my absolute favorite thing to eat. I worked really hard on it and would love for you to take it! You can find the grab box in the far right column.



If anyone is a whiz at blog designing I would love any tips and/or suggestions you might have! Feel free to comment below or email me at lifeofabamagirl@gmail.com. I am still learning and could use all the help I can get!

I also added a bunch of buttons of other bloggers to my favorites page! I think they are so fun and an easy way to share blogs.

I added a Reviews page.

Questions:

• If you are a blogger, did you design your own blog?

I started with a blogger template and have been tweaking it.

• Did you learn how to design/html from formal training, self-taught, trial and error, etc.?

I have a minor in Computer Applications and Technology. Basically I learned about Microsoft Office and the basic HTML coding. So I am in no way an expert. Mostly it is all trial and error.

Party Potatoes

So this post is a little late but I couldn’t not share this recipe with you. For Thanksgiving at my Aunt’s I took the previous posted Carrot Cake cupcakes and Iowa Girls Eats’ Party Potatoes. I saw this recipe on her site and immediately knew I would be making it soon. I followed the recipe except I used reduced fat products where I could (reduced fat cheese, etc.). No need to change a good recipe so click here if you would like to make it!



Mmmm mouth is watering just looking at the pictures!

Tonight I did something I never thought I would do… Ordered business cards for the blog. I got my first package of cookies from The Great Food Bloggers Cookie Swap today and she included the cutest business card! I am not sure if we are supposed to share about the cookies we received or if it even matters but I will wait. I am such a rule follower that I even get on my own nerves sometimes. Oh well back to the cards. They are from us.moo.com. They have very reasonable prices and are extremely customizable. I ordered the MiniCards and uploaded my own pictures. I can’t wait to get them! Not sure who I will give them too but hey, I will be prepared even if I do I have to wait till next year’s cookie swap to give one away.