Just about four years ago, Scott Bobleo and I found ourselves in limbo. Moving to China didn’t work out quite the way we had planned, and suddenly we were floundering, ex-expats without a plan, without a dime, and without a home. We spent a few weeks with my folks in Florida, regrouping, and deciding how to move forward. We didn’t have much to work with, just a 5 x 10 storage unit back in Connecticut, three very confused pets, and an old Hyundai.
One thing we did have was time. My parents were in no hurry to boot us out, so I spent the evenings in the kitchen, making dinner with my Mom. We started every afternoon by plotting out dinner, going to the grocery store, and then prepping the ingredients. Trying out new techniques and recipes became a nightly event. After spending three months confined by limited access to ingredients and cooking from a single pan, the world was my oyster.
I’d been blogging for years at that point, but my old project, Scribble Nation, just didn’t suit me anymore. I needed a change, so I decided to reign myself in and start a blog dedicated entirely to one topic, food. I gathered up the food posts from my old blog, and imported them into a new site. Thus, Mary Makes Dinner was born.
Scott spent the time practicing guitar, jogging, and daydreaming about where we should go next. With our top interests being music and food, it didn’t take too long for us to figure out that Austin should be our new home. Of course, getting there wouldn’t be so easy. I mentioned that we were totally broke, right?
We ended up heading back to Connecticut to spend a year living with Scott’s parents while he stashed away money from landscaping and I worked part time blogging for The Natural Beauty Workshop, attended culinary school, and worked in a hotel kitchen.
It was a rough year, but by the following January we had put ourselves back together, and were ready to make a break for Austin. We loaded up the car, and three days later we were here, about to start a whole new life in Texas.
That was when I decided to start taking Mary Makes Dinner more seriously. I hooked up with the Austin Food Blogger Alliance, started posting recipes more consistently, and learning everything I could about writing and photography. I even started teaching myself about design and custom css.
Three years later, I am really happy with my blog and where it has led me. I’ve spoken at conferences, won cooking competitions, and taught workshops and cooking classes. Now I’m working on getting ready to publish a cookbook.
It’s been real. Thanks for reading!