Behind the Scenes

Am I the only one who is constantly tweaking my blog, or do others do it too?

I started this blog in 2003, thinking I would post reviews of the restaurants that I went to.. at that point in my life, we were dining out at least once a week at different places. We still try and go out now, but it's usually to the same, kid-friendly pub. I never took notes, so if I didn't post right away, I would forget details. So that died out. I tried to revive it a few times over the last 4 years, but I never had any real motivation. Plus I was just too busy with other stuff...

In the past month I have tried to be more active because my head is constantly filled with ideas. But the blog needed an overhaul. So I went looking for advice and inspiration. When I typed "restaurant review blog" into Google (or was it food blog popular"?), up popped a link for .the Amateur Gourmet, and the post was filled with lots of advice on how to make your food blog readable and interesting. The comments were filled with gratitude and thanks from a number of different bloggers. SOme of them even had links to their sites.

I followed a few, and read a few and then started my improvements. First thing to go was the design. Originally it was a dark olive background and black text. The blog title was also in text (a lovely orange). What was I thinking? The people who rely on me professionally for my knowledge of web design would be shocked.

I created an image header and have been tweaking the layout to get to something I like.

Next, the posts. I'm still working on this one. Images are a must. I took photography, and enjoy it, but photographing food and making it look appetizing is a real challenge which I am still perfecting. Grammar and voice - sometimes I read a post and see errors or omissions. Since I haven't really broadcast this blog yet, I feel okay about correcting things. For now.

Subject matter - also working on this one. I'm trying to figure out my niche, and a common thread to my posts. I'm a mom, but not necessarily a mommy blogger. Which I define as someone who incorporates a lot of stories about their kids. Though some do it pretty well. And let's face it, they are a big part of my life, and a lot of the experimenting I do is to try and find interesting, nutritious dishes that they will eat! I also don't have a lot of time to prepare elaborate meals. Nor am I a real gourmet wanna-be. But I like meals that look good, taste good and are easy to prepare, which is possible.

I've posted some links to food-themed songs and bands. I'll keep that because it taps into the quirkier side of my blog.

I tried posting a "Recipe of the Week", only to realize a) I don't want to be pinned to having to post a recipe every week and b) most of the recipes I post are because my family likes them (or at least two of us do). So out went "Recipe of the Week" and in came "Family Favorites".

So I'm still tweaking it. I'd like to change the URL and title of the blog, but the one I want is being used, sort of. I'd like to think my writing will get better over time, especially if I get feedback.

So that's it for now. I reserve the right to add more as I continue to tweak ;-)