{a day in the life} Bev Cooks

Today’s “a day in the life” is the hilarious Bev of Bev Cooks. You know Bev, right? RIGHT?  I love Bev. Bev is sweet, talented, and soooo hilarious.

Have you seen her food? And her photos? She’s crazy good at what she does. I can always recognize one of Bev’s food photos as soon as I see it. Pure gorgeousness. 

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Tell me about yourself and how you started food blogging.

Hey, hey! I’m Bev.

So, I started blogging, well, tumblring . . . well actually . . .ya know what, let me just back up a bit. A few years ago I started posting photos of my dinners on Facebook for fun. This was before I had a nice camera, so the pictures were hilariously horrid. But I thought to myself, “I kinda like this,” so 25 seconds later I bought a good camera and it was pretty much over from there. The obsession chewed me up like gas station beef jerky (Mmmm). Fast forward a few months. I had a little Tumblr phase. Fast forward to summer of 2011. I launched Bevcooks.com (with the www and the http:// part, just to be clear) on June 7th, 2011. I think it was June 7th. Wait, was it? Hold on, let me go double check.

It was June 7th!

I mainly started food blogging because my husband grew utterly sick of me waking him up at 5am, “should we have turkey tacos tonight or chicken soup or what about a grilled steak or maybe pizza and salad or maybe just salad alone or oh wait PIZZA ALONE.” So he pawned me off on you. Lucky! (read: I’m so, so sorry.)

Take me through your day.

6:00: My alarm goes off. And by alarm I mean the tiniest muffle of Renée Montagne’s voice on NPR from my little nightstand radio. Buzzing alarms can rot in hell.

6:20: I get up and make French pressed coffee. But I don’t grind my own beans, so I’m not really that cool. And I heat up my little rice sack because I’m obsessed with having it burn a hole in my lap while I work.

6:30 – 8:30am: I write my blog post for the day. And check email and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and the weather and Facebook again because SO MANY OF YOU KEEP HAVING BIRTHDAYS.

8:30 – noon: This varies from day to day, but during the morning hours I eat breakfast (usually a poached or fried egg on a whole grain English muffin with sautéed spinach and melted cheese. And blueberries. And more coffee.), catch up on my reader, go for a run with my dog, shower (but probably not), call my sister and/or mom, clean up the house, check email and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and the weather, check on the garden to see what can be harvested (during warm months) and have a total panic attack because the day is already getting away.

Noon – I eat! I’m extremely routine oriented and like to stick to a schedule, pretty much because I’m an absolute control freak. I’ll either eat some leftovers or a little salad of some kind OR these little frozen burrito thingies from Whole Foods with sautéed greens on top. And check email and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and the weather.

After lunch, I nap. I seriously nap. And when I awake, I rise from the couch refreshed and filled with jubilee, merrily singing, “THE HILLLLS ARE ALIIIIIVE, WITH THE SOUND OF MUUUUUSSIIIIIIIIC.” . . . I’m not even a little bit kidding.

1:30 – 3:30: This is loose too, depending on the time of year, but during this time I’ll usually edit the photos for the next day’s blog post. And check email and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and the weather.

3:30 – 5:00: I cook dinner! Gotta get it all shot before that good light goes away. During the winter months this is moved up to about 2pm.

5:00 – 6:00: I clean the kitchen. Not that it takes that long, but you know I have to check email and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and the weather.

6:00: WELL, Friends USED to be on at this time, so I’d normally turn that on and recite the lines with them. But recently they ripped the show from my life and now Rules of Engagement is on. WHAT. No.

7:00 – 10:00: Aaron gets home abouuuuut 7ish, so we hang, eat leftovers, argue on what movie to watch. “I really feel like something escapist or espionage-ish” BLAH BLAH BLAH. Give me Jennifer Aniston and let’s call it good.

8:30: I fall asleep on the couch during the lame espionage movie. Ahem.

10:00: Bed! Most of the time I’ll read until I get lead lids, which takes around a minute and a half.

What is your one must-have kitchen tool or gadget?

Oh man. Without a doubt, my food processor. I like blitzing things and then saying “blitz” a lot.

What is the most important part of your day?

Is it bad if I say the night? I love sleep. I’m 96 years old and need a lot of good sleep. THE BEST is when I wake up thinking it’s almost time to get up, and it’s only like 11:17! I get so excited. And then I can’t go back to sleep. Hmmm.

What is your favorite part of your day?

The morning! I know I’m completely contradicting myself right now, but I looooove the early early morning when no one is up and it’s dark and super quiet and that coffee starts to kick in, let me taaaaaayell you.

What is your LEAST favorite part of the day?

I think the late afternoon. I get a little slower in my productivity and possibly (definitely) a little whiney.

If you could choose one room in your house to remodel (on an unlimited budget!) which room would it be and why?

Guuuuurl, we remodeled our kitchen back in April and it.is.so.pimp. And I only got stabby 15,634 times! Here’s a quick peek at the room, and the full reveal post here.

What is your favorite day of the week?

Saturday morning! You wouldn’t think it would be as I work from home and all mornings are pretty much the same. But I still love to pop out of bed early on Saturday mornings and make my little coffee and heat up my little rice sack and open up the doors and windows and listen to NPR and meal plan while looking at Pinterest forever. I MEAN only a few minutes.

If you had to choose one place to travel to every year over and over, where would it be? Why? Have you been there before?

Well, see,  I’m a nervous traveler. I’m always wondering if the house blew up or if the grill got stolen or if I left my crimp iron on.

If you could travel anywhere in the world for free, where would you go and how long would you stay?

Oh now this makes me anxious to even think about. Who would watch my dog Charlie?! And if it’s all droughty like it was this year, we’d have to think about one of those sprinkler systems that comes out of the ground and TURNS ON when we’re gone. I wonder if we could get this stuff at Lowe’s or something.

What is your favorite quote or verse?

“You better don’t!” – Naively spoken by a young man outside a barbershop on a rainy day in Arkansas. I’ll tell you the story someday. ;)

What is your favorite cookbook?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

What recipe on your blog are you most proud of?

I think I’d have to go with this Penne Pasta in a Roasted Beet Sauce. I just…you need….I mean….just go.

What recipe on your blog do your readers seem to love most?

Hmmm, well, this Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Noodle Soup made a splash (get it? soup? it splashes? oh.) at the beginning of the year. Y’all be diggin’ some soup!

What have you learned since you began blogging?

I’ve learned that words like “code” and “500 internal server error” and “this page cannot be found” give me gas.

What have you found to be the most challenging part of blogging?

Finding the right balance. Balance between fun and business, guilt and freedom, work ethic and relaxation, selling out and work experience, and how many times I can mention Wilson Phillips before driving my readers to gnaw through their own veins.

Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in cooking or food blogging?

Just do it! It’s not going to be perfect, but that’s just fine. Do it everyday, keep your expectations healthy and have a blast.

Who would you like to see featured here in the future?

Sarah – My New Roots

Is there anything else you would like to tell the world about yourself?

I’m Bev, and I quit biting my nails 4 weeks ago. Hi, Bev…

Thanks so much for having me, Rachel!

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Thanks Bev! I feel the same way about traveling as you do. It’s a love-hate relationship. 

You can also find Bev on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.