birmingham bloggers, where y'all at?

since moving to birmingham, i've discovered so much in the blogging world that i was blind to before. we've got an amazing number of bloggers here, and in tuscaloosa too! i have put so much thought into how to best bring these groups together, and i've been wishing for a site, a facebook group, something that put everyone in one place.

we've got the wonderful social media conference y'all connect, in addition to see jane write birmingham - but i want a more casual group with an identifying badge, something bloggers would be able to join. because when you google birmingham bloggers, not much comes up!

i've worked with beth of bethcakes and molly of hey there sunshine and we've finally got a site together! it would mean the world to us if you checked it out, filled out the join form and helped us move this community forward! we can't wait to start hosting events, having monthly meetups, helping one another and making new friends!

follow us on twitter (@bhambloggers), 'like' our facebook page, & visit bhambloggers.com!

post grad tales: cooking

did you make it through college without having to cook? if so, congratulations. i don't know how you did it, and frankly, i'm impressed.

being comfortable in the kitchen isn't something we've all been bestowed with. for some, growing up involved parents or someone else making food, and kids staying out of it. for others, food and cooking were a natural process. either way, once you're "on your own", so to speak, you've gotta feed yourself, right?

this list is more so targeted to those who have little to zero kitchen experience. i've heard many peers say, "i don't know how to cook, and it's so scary to me!" but i am here to assure you it's not. it only takes a very basic level of familiarity to begin experimenting and eyeballing ingredients.

• try it! fortunately, cooking doesn't get much simpler than that. while some recipes are more daunting, there are tons and tons of resources and simple to follow dishes that can get you started. looking for a quick lunch? try this pasta salad recipe. you don't even have to turn on your oven. start with easy recipes to get comfortable in the kitchen. bookmark or print the ones you enjoy, and begin building your own "cookbook" for future reference.
• invest in a slow cooker. if you don't have one of these, get one. now. i mean it. get up, and go get one. they're as cheap as $15, so most any budget can accommodate one. buy a pack of chicken breasts or pork, cover it in bbq sauce, turn it on 'low' when you leave for work and when you come home, you'll have instant bbq for dinner. slow cooker recipes are simple and endless.
• invite a friend over for dinner. if you don't feel too kitchen savvy, invite a friend over to cook with you. whether this friend is skilled in the kitchen or not, you'll have a great experience bouncing ideas off one another - and laughing about how you have no idea how to tell when pasta is done. the meal could be bleh, it could be delicious, but either way, you're getting yourself kitchen acquainted.
• plan your meals + make a schedule. start off each sunday by deciding what sounds yummy for the week, and pick up the ingredients. if you're just starting out in the kitchen, make it a goal to cook 2 nights a week. if you're cooking for one, each meal should provide leftovers for lunches on other days.

the recipe pictured above is for mandarin orange chicken, found here.

this is a blog series on college post-grad life. click here to navigate to the list of posts in the series. 

growing as a writer & reader

i feel doofy saying it, but i say i'm a "writer". i think in linguistics. my inner monologue includes punctuation. it's a problem.

i minored in creative writing in college, which was perfect for me. i learned so much about the type of writer i am, the type of writer i'm certainly not, and how all of that is actually really ok. in the process, i read a lot of books - poetry, fiction, non-fiction. i'm talking multiple books a week. pretty soon reading on my own time started to sound like a joke. between creative writing reading assignments and reading for other classes, sitting down with a book at the end of the day for leisure was unheard of. i was kinda over books.

it's been almost a year since i graduated. i have not read a single book. i've flipped through a few issue of glamour and instyle, but nope, not a single book in there. i bought myself an ipad for christmas with the intention of reading things on it. well, here i am, in march, and i don't think i've opened the ibooks app.

growing as a writer means growing as a reader. in my years of reading other work, i was taught to admire styles that simply didn't piece themselves together in my mind, that being a 'minimalist' writer was a thing and i wasn't just boring. to keep growing as a writer, i need to grow as a person - and i feel reading facilitates both.

give me your suggestions! what's on your "to read" list for 2014? so far, i've downloaded sheryl sandberg's "lean in", as well as a cheesy singles self help book that is just too ridiculous to name. i've been out of the book game for a while y'all. fill me in!

20 blog post ideas

good morning, y'all. we're halfway through the week & i've got so much on my plate. i haven't really made a post about it yet because our site isn't up, but i'm working with some lovely women to start a local blogging community here in birmingham - we're really close to having it all set to go, so stay tuned on that. otherwise, i'm plugging away at work, loving my beginner's yoga class & being a beast at kickball on thursdays. spring is upon us. i think this week was my last time wearing a sweater for quite a while. oh, and i've gotten into the habit of buying flowers every week - as you can see, this week, i picked up some pink + white carnations.

so are you super busy? feeling stumped lately with blogging? no muse? here are some prompts to get you going again. link me what you come up with, i'd love to see!

01. a lesson your parents/grandparents taught you.
02. your favorite weird food combination - and why others should try it.
03. photograph your city as it enters a new season. do you have distinct seasons? do you like it?
04. pick a food/product, and review 2 comparable products from different companies.
05. write about 3 things that piss you off. really piss you off.
06. do you collect anything? share your collection.
07. what's your favorite memory of middle school? worst? were you a "mean" kid?
08. any advice for college students? grad students? new grads? highschool grads?
09. gush about your favorite app.
10. share your favorite meal, step by step.
11. invent a cocktail. name it after your blog.
12. how do you take your coffee? do you think coffee is an acquired taste?
13. what food do you refuse to eat? could you ever be convinced?
14. write about a big decision you made. any regrets?
15. take a stand for something you believe in.
16. do you consider yourself a writer? what does writing mean to you?
17. do you believe in any conspiracy theories? state your case.
18. how do you feel about your home state? write an open letter. "dear alabama..."
19. what's your travel bucket list?
20. what's your "style"? do you fall into any stereotypes? do you embrace them?

a nashville getaway

this weekend, my friends and i went to nashville for a quick getaway, not for any particular reason other than some good fun and a predators hockey game. we rolled in around 8pm friday night and grabbed an amazing dinner at silo in germantown - amazing cocktails, food was to die for, just oh lord, best meal i've had in a long time. we woke up saturday & hit crema for coffee, then trekked to centennial park to tour the parthenon (i've been here a million times, but never inside!) & taco mamacita for lunch.

that night we went to the nashville predator's vs st. louis blues game at bridgestone arena, after dinner at the pharmacy in east nashville (amazing burgers!!). and of course we spent as much time on broadway as we could handle and took photos with a leprechaun. y'know.

i always have a good time in nashville. thankfully, it's just 3 hours from birmingham and a pretty easy weekend trip. i'm trying to spend weekend in every destination within a 3-4 hour trip of birmingham - next on the list is atlanta, biloxi, maybe savannah. 2014 is all about going places... and scouting out places to live in a few year's time (hint hint).

hope everyone had a great weekend!