Thursday, February 28, 2013

Year Two

It's hard to believe another year has passed. Today marks my blog's 2nd birthday!

And what a year this has been! On the personal front, I got married, honeymooned in Paris and Amsterdam, and sampled some amazing European cuisine while I was at it. I had the opportunity to visit and eat my way through New Orleans, one of my favorite cities in the U.S. I saw my friend realize his food truck dream. I got crazy busy at work, but continued to enjoy learning what the Pittsburgh dining scene has to offer as much as I can, while trying new ingredients in my own kitchen. I even created some pretty decent recipes, if I may say so myself! Photography-wise, I very recently acquired my first mac, and am now learning to use Apple's Aperture for photo editing. I continue to learn and draw inspiration from others whose work I admire - like trying to embrace dim restaurant lighting more than I am averse to it (thanks to some excellent low light photography I've seen over at With the Grains).  Looking back on my very first post on this blog, I can definitely say that one of the original goals for this blog - to improve my photography skills - is being realized.

This blog has also begun to get noticed around town, having been mentioned by Edible Allegheny magazine, CBS Pittsburgh, and About.com, and a photo of mine was featured in Serious Eats as well. It's all been so validating, yet humbling at the same time!

While the craziness of the past year has meant being not quite as up-to-date on my blog and my Twitter feed as I would have liked, I continue to be grateful to have started this little project two years ago. As I said on this day last year, this blog has helped me become more connected with my adopted hometown, and some amazing friendships were born as a result. And without you - the readers! - this blog really wouldn't have done quite so much for me as it has.

So, thank you.

Food Collage, Year 2
Food Collage, Year Two