{a day in the life} Dessert for Two
Posted: 09/24/2013
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Today’s “a day in the life” is Christina of Dessert for Two. I started reading Christina’s blog very early on in my blogging career and haven’t stopped. She’s a sweetheart and I love her concept of small-batch desserts. Decadence without overdoing it. My kind of girl.
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Tell me about yourself and how you started food blogging.
Howdy! I’m Christina. I’m a Texas girl, but part of my heart stayed in northern California, where I moved from a little over 1 year ago. I’m a newlywed currently living outside Kansas City. My husband and I bought a house, started new jobs, planned our wedding, and made new friends this past year. It was a whirlwind of a year, and I found myself on prescription medicine for stress and anxiety more than once. But, I can say that I’ve learned what’s really important in life (newsflash: it’s not what I thought it was). I’m the most driven person you will ever meet. I set goals, and then I attack and accomplish them. Watch out! :)
I started blogging over 3 years ago because I realized the desserts that I was scaling down in my kitchen to serve two people might be of interest to others. Since then, I have developed a ‘For Two’ empire plan in my head. (See above note about goals).
6:23am My alarm goes off at 6:45, but I am almost always awake slightly before then. I’m like Kramer on Seinfeld—I’m convinced I have an internal alarm clock. If my husband sets his alarm for a different time, sure enough, I wake up a few minutes before that, too. I’m a morning person. I like to pop out of bed and start accomplishing things.
I put on a pot of water for tea. I buy my green tea in bricks at the Asian market.
7:00am I like carbs in the morning. Whole grain carbs. I like sprouted grain bread with raw almond butter or mashed avocado. Lately, I’ve been good about making homemade muffins, but they must only be sweetened only with honey or brown rice syrup—no refined sugar in the morning! I also love leftover navy beans with salsa (I’m a Texan, what do you expect?). Morning food should be hot, never cold. Cold cereal and milk makes me crabby.
I pack our lunches every day. I always make sure we eat a substantial portion of vegetables each day. I’m a bit of a nut for raw foods, too.
7:25am I read the She Reads Truth bible study plan. It never fails to speak to me, and I’m so grateful to Jenna of Eat, Live, Run for introducing me to the series.
7:48am I leave for work. My commute is roughly 15 minutes. I work in the field of agricultural research and breeding. I grow plants in greenhouses, and my job requires me to be very active. I drive tractors and forklifts, and I get dirty daily.
5:00pm I’m on my way home from work, and this is the happiest part of my day. I’m full of energy, even though I should be exhausted from being on my feet all day.
6:15pm Yoga class. It makes me feel alive. On days that I don’t go to yoga, I go for a brisk walk. We have some serious hills in the neighborhood that make for a great workout. I love when my neighbor joins me.
7:00pm I make dinner, and we eat around 7:45. We eat dinner late on purpose to prevent after-dinner snacking. We usually snack on wine and cheese while I’m cooking.
8:00pm I work on lingering blog projects. Photo editing, post writing, freelance projects, and any other creative outlet that may be fulfilling me. Lately, it’s design work. I do the majority of my blogging on the weekends. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that blogging is easy—I have said ‘no’ to plenty of social events because I have a self-imposed blogging deadline. Blogging is the most serious time commitment I’ve ever had in my life, besides graduate school. It’s not for the faint of heart.
10:00pm Bed time. I go to bed with a small glass of red wine and a book. I try very hard to turn off my brain from technology.
What is your one must-have kitchen tool or gadget?
My microplane zester. I add fresh lemon zest to everything.
What is the most important part of your day? Why?
The most important part of my day is the morning because it sets the tone for the whole day. I love reading my Bible study while drinking my tea. The calmness helps me ease into my day.
What is your LEAST favorite part of the day? Why?
My day job. Am I allowed to say that? I went to college for 7 years to get this great job in agriculture, but I’m having second thoughts about whether or not I want to climb the research ladder the rest of my life. When I’m at work, I feel like I could be doing so many more things in the kitchen.
If you could choose one room in your house to remodel (on an unlimited budget!) which room would it be and why?
I have always dreamed of having a large warm, welcoming family room. I want one of those rooms that people want to sit and stay a while. I’m imagining a large sectional couch, plenty of ottomans, and even a great bar area. I would pay a designer to help me decorate with color. My whole house is khaki, white, and pale blue. I just can’t commit to color!
What is your favorite day of the week? Why?
Friday, most definitely. I work all day, come home and relax. There’s nothing on the agenda on Friday nights except going to grab dinner and drinks with friends.
What is your favorite cookbook?
The cookbooks I reach for most often are Heidi Swanson’s. I eat A LOT of dessert, so I balance it with healthy meals the rest of the day.
What recipe on your blog are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of my latest post. A great amount of time and work go into each post, and every time I hit ‘publish,’ I surge with pride.
What recipe on your blog do your readers seem to love most?
It’s a tie between my strawberry pretzel parfaits and my mason jar lid pies. You be the judge.
What have you learned since you began blogging?
I’ve learned how to take appetizing photos of food. I had zero skills in the photography department, and the last 3+ years of blogging has been a steep learning curve.
What have you found to be the most challenging part of blogging?
Photography. I have a hard time discovering the correct angles to photograph food. I struggle with setting up the shot. I’ve learned to try several different angles, check my work in Photoshop, and then proceed.
Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in cooking or food blogging?
If you’re interested in cooking, I mean REALLY passionate about cooking and you can’t imagine doing anything else with your life, then do it. Don’t ignore your passion.
If you want to get into food blogging, well, make sure what you have to offer the world is vastly different than what is already out there.
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Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
I just love Christina and her desserts! She is amazing and I love that her morning routine and Bible reading are what she relies on to set the tone for her day! Such an inspiration!
Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli says
Loved this!! I sometimes feel the same about my day job…though I work the nightshift so I guess it’s my “night job”! ;) And I have learned so much about not only myself, but about cooking AND photography since starting my blog almost three years ago…I still have a long way to go on the photography front, but I hope to continue to learn and improve! Great interview!