If you have an April Fools’ prank, you would probably want to pull it on me because I’m the most gullible person you’ll meet. Take that time a few years ago, when I was duped by a fake break-up on Facebook. Over the course of an hour, I was reeled in on the faux-drama, like a big fish caught on a bait. It was gut-wrenching. It shocked my senses. It was a brilliant April Fools’ prank.
I may have been the brunt of many jokes, but I’m awful when it comes to dreaming up my own. So don’t worry, I won’t pull anything on you today. Instead, I’m going to share how my life has changed drastically since I started blogging.
1. I’m into old fences now.
You know how seasoned food bloggers shoot their photos against a gorgeous distressed wood backdrop? I envy that wood. I covet it.
At a gathering last month, I overheard my friend talking about how he needed to get rid of his old fence. I swooped into the conversation in a heartbeat. “Can I get a bit of that wood?” were my exact words. Yup, I got mine.
2. I’ve become a shameful hoarder of all spices and cookware.
We’ve already talked about my obsession with cookware before, but wait until you see my spice drawer. Actually, my spices take over the kitchen. If I’m being honest about things, I don’t actually know what spices I have anymore. I just know that I usually find what I need. That’s the most important thing, right?
3. 90% of the photos on my phone are of food or ingredients lists on packages.
I sprinkle in a few pictures of the world around me, cloudscapes, and black sheep. Oh yea, friends, too.
4. I can’t remember another time in my life when I’ve used phrases like “This looks so delicious”, “Gorgeous photo”, “That looks dreamy”, “I love the way ___ looks”, more than I do now.
It comes with the food blogging territory. Blame it on my food blogger friends who cook up dishes that look so dang delicious! Perhaps I should seriously consider investing in a thesaurus.
5. This has become my motto:
6. Tarnished is my new black.
Well, tarnished silverware has been in vogue for years now, but it’s new to me. I scout my local second-hand shops for a good piece dirty silver. So far, I’ve found a good spoon. Small victories.
7. I’ve become a sniffer.
Wine tasters always take a whiff of their drink before sipping on it. I’ve just taken that to a whole new level. I have taken a good whiff of tea, cookies, fruit, and on occasion, water. Pleasuring the olfactory senses makes the experience feel more special.
8. I hear “Are you taking another photo for Instagram?” from my friends all too often now.
It’s not enough that I’m enjoying myself. I must share all my excited feels with everyone else. Pardon the interruption, friends!
9. I’ve become acutely aware of food holidays.
A year ago, the only food holiday I knew and cared about was Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s (April 14th this year, by the way). Now, I know all about National Strawberry Month, National Oatmeal Cookie Day, and National Doughnut Day. #TMI
10. I read food magazines more than I read the news.
Don’t worry, I usually get wind of the important pieces of information somehow. I’m just weeks behind everyone else.
I wish I was just joking about all of this, but it’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I blame it all on food blogging, yet it’s also these quirks that make me love my job. Happy April 1st!
Linda @ Veganosity says
Haha! This is great Lisa, I can totally relate. My spice cabinet has now overflowed to the cabinet next door. I think I have three jars of everything. 🙂
Lisa says
Haha, I’m guilty of having too much nutmeg around the house!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Haha, I love these Lisa! So true to all of them! Hoarding and collecting all the cookware, spices, cookbooks, props…I can never be satisfied! I mean…I now have 4 blenders 😛
Lisa says
Hahah 4 blenders?! You have me beat on that one!
Tina Muir says
Haha I can relate to so many of these…..some of which I wasnt even aware of until you just pointed it out! Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading this 🙂
Lisa says
Haha, thanks, Tina!
lindsay says
um –> THAT IS ME TOO! and i just had a friend give me her old barn wood. and i stole my mom’s old silverware. and um, yes yes! how funny.
Lisa says
Barn wood is amazing! I never thought I would say that!
Colorado Gal says
Haha this is funny! Obviously, I blog but I’m definitely NOT a food blogger so this made me laugh. I always wondered how people made their food photos look so darn beautiful!
Lisa says
Haha, yea, we look for old things from other people. I recently asked my friends on FB if they had an old chalkboard they wanted to get rid of.
Michelle @ Healthy Recipe Ecstasy says
Love this post Lisa! I do the exact same!!!
Lisa says
Birds of a feather… 😉
Alyssa @ Simply Quinoa says
Haha these are SOOO true (especially the wood one). No joke, I live in NYC and when walking in the park one day, I noticed a pile of scrap wood that seemed to have drifted up from the river. I’ve now been scouring that pile for months trying to find the perfect pieces of wood to use as a backdrop. #foodbloggerproblems
Lisa says
Hahahaha, I love it, Alyssa!
GiGi Eats says
Meh! The news is depressing, keep your nose in those food magazines! 😉
Lisa says
Girl, you speak the truth!
Maggie says
9. I’ve become acutely aware of food holidays. => not there yet. It’s my next goal!
Great post, and totally shared the same feelings 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks, Maggie! I usually just look up food holidays before the beginning of the month and write them all down!
Tammy says
HA! So relateable on so many levels. Love the motto…or how about ‘every day I’m stumbling’ xD
I read more cooking magazine than books…I consider the two the same. I learn from each 😉
Fun post!
Toodles,
Tammy<3
Lisa says
Haha, totally the same. Thanks, Tammy!
Cassie @ Almost Getting it Together says
These are so cute… my friends always know to wait to eat until I snap a photo… when I’m bothering to actually take them, that is!
Lisa says
Haha, you friends are soo understanding!
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
Each and every one of these apply to me as well. I don’t feel so pathetic now, thank you.
Lisa says
Nope, there’s so many others with these food blogger quirks!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
Lisa, I can relate on so many levels!!!! I love this post!!! ah, the life of a food blogger. . sometimes, I think we are crazy, other days . . brilliant. 😛 I’ll stick with the brilliant for today! 🙂 loved reading this!!!
Lisa says
Haha, yes, I’m with you on sticking to brilliant. Thank you soo much, Alice!!
[email protected] says
Don’t forget “Get less sleep” because you are working so hard on your blog or cant put that foodie magazine down! 🙂
Lisa says
Hahaha, YES, Kristi! I usually flip through magazines before I go to bed. I’m not sure why because it always makes me hungry!
Amy | Club Narwhal says
Lisa, I totally hear you on ALL of this! And LOL’d at the wooden fence one 🙂 I never thought I would own so many random dishes as I do now !
Lisa says
Amy, the mismatched dishes and mugs situation in my apartment got so out of control that I had to buy a shelf for them! So glad you can relate!
Serena says
My dishes closet is overflowing. Yikes. So glad I have a soul-sista! Loved this post!
Lisa says
Haha, sooo glad you have the same problem I do! I used to keep my dishes with the usual ones I eat with. I quickly saw that the food props dishes were outnumbering the normal ones!
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
Hilarious post – I can relate to many many of your pointers (and why have I not pulled out my two sets of inherited silverware that I never use because I don’t polish silver? I’m trendy now!)
Lisa says
Deanna, I am SO jealous of that silverware of yours. It’ll be amazing for your photos!
Inês says
This is exactly what I do! Except for the barn wood, I hadn’t had much luck on that field… Food blogging makes us see things in a completely different and better way 🙂
Keep up the great work Lisa!
xx, ofoatmealandwanderlust.blogspot.com
Lisa says
Aw, thank you so much, Ines! So glad you can relate to this!
Melanie says
The envy for beautiful wood to take pictures of your food on is real!! Haha! I’m glad you got a piece of a fence. Great post!
Lisa says
I laugh at myself sometimes when I look at food photos, and think “wow, that’s a good piece of wood.” My friends think I’m crazy, I swear.
Kelly - A Side of Sweet says
Ahahaha, guilty of all of the above! Love seeing Edible Silicon Valley among the mix – I have a recipe I created for them going up on their blog tomorrow! 🙂
Lisa says
I saw it!!! How exciting and Congrats, Kelly!!!
Joanne says
Haha I’m sure the.boy could also tell you a few more quirks that I have (like…my proclivity for standing on tables), but YES to all of these!!
Lisa says
It’s amazing what we do to get a good shot right? I usually shoot on my storage ottoman, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve climbed on that thing!
Lily Lau says
Love this post and all the recipes you’ve been sharing with us all this time! Keep going, Lisa! 🙂
Lisa says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Lily!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Yup, I get it Lisa! You scored on the old fence! Way to go, swoopin in to salvage a beautiful resource! And I can’t seem to get enough of food magazine and food blog gawking in… there’s a steady stream of inspiration… and now, your site too! Looking forward to following your blog, Lisa! So happy to have connected! 😀
Lisa says
Traci, I’m so glad I found your blog, too! Thanks for your kind words. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the sourdough starter post!
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says
hilarious and oh, so true!
Lisa says
Thanks, Jessica!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician says
Hilarious!!! Each and every one of these hit home. The hoarding of food staging props (backdrops, utensils etc) is rampant in my home 🙂
Lisa says
It’s so funny how we think that we feel the compulsion to collect all these things because we think that we might need them one day. I think I might need to go through some sort of spring cleaning purge of my props!
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says
Hi Lisa! So funny! While I’m more of a healthy-living blogger, I still can relate to so many of your points here. Love it! And if you’re celebrating Easter, I sure hope you can take some great photos for IG, even if it means annoying your friends and family! 🙂
Lisa says
Haha, thanks, Ashley!
Zainab says
I relate to ALL of these!! It is so weird how much our lives have evolved since we started blogging. I was at a graduation once in Indiana (hundreds of miles from home) and saw an abandoned barn. I made my husband stop and go investigate with the locals if we can take a few boards for my photography. It’s my favorite board to date!
Lisa says
Oh my gosh, I LOVE that story, Zainab! I might have to do that the next time I travel! Was your husband totally cool with doing all this? What a sweetheart! 🙂
Danielle @ (healthy) Vittles & Bits says
Lol I can totally relate to all of these things. Anytime someone in my extended family talks about getting rid of cookware I’m always like, wait, can I have that? It might be good for the blog. Still love how our blog names are so close, lol. Makes me feel like we’re somehow related, hahahahaha.
Lisa says
YES! We’re kindred spirits. 😉 Wish I could pick up some old cookware from my family!
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen says
Haha – SO into old fences and so jealous of your fence find! I walk by my neighbor’s house on my way to BART everyday and I’ve noticed a few old fence boards just SITTING on the ground on the side of their house. Is it weird if I knock, “You gonna use those??” Hahaha
Sarah@WellDined says
Omg – this is my life! Love it – ha!
Lisa says
Haha, yes!!