Media | vmac+cheese

Fall in Love with Cheese Cupid (+ giveaway!)

Posted on May 18, 2012 by vmacandcheese

It should come as no huge shock to you that I love cheese. Who doesn’t? I mean, even most people I know who abstain from dairy all say the thing they miss most is cheese. But to be honest, most of the time when I’m putting together a platter, I just open up whatever wine we have around and roll with it. Total pairing fail. I was STOKED to discover Cheese Cupid, a beautifully designed site that helps you pair your favorite cheeses with beverages that go beyond the vino. Whiskey with blue cheese? Don’t mind if I do. Stout with gruyere? Sounds good to me! (Psst — they have an iPhone app too, perfect for the next time you’re at the store and freaking out about what to buy!).

Cheese Cupid also just premiered a series of ten videos, featuring the flavorful stories that come when you’re celebrating any occasion, however small (even a Wednesday night is reason enough for some Chardonnay and swiss). They make me hungry — and smile! And I am happy to say that my future in-law situation does not drive me to drink.

Cheese Cupid is the amazing brain child of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, which also runs a blog, Cheese Talk. Today, I’m happy to be over on Cheese Talk, sharing my own flavorful pairing idea (it includes one of my absolute favorite beers, tied to many childhood memories. Okay, that doesn’t sound right. You’ll just have to go read the post!).

And, if it wasn’t enough to give you a new app to download, and videos to spend time watching at work on this lovely Friday morning, you can win some cheese too. That’s right, today, Cheese Cupid and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board are shipping one lucky reader their choice of two cheeses. Get ready to stuff your face, lovers! Here are the deets:

1. Simply enter a comment below, being sure to input your email addy in the email addy field so I know how to contact you. You can comment about your favorite cheese, your favorite pairing, your favorite flavorful story video, anything!

2. The giveaway is open until next Friday, May 25, at 11:59pm Pacific time.

3. Sorry friends, this one’s only open to US residents.

Get the full scoop on the giveaway, right after the jump below.

Bonne chance and bonne fromage!

For running this sweepstakes, participating in this sponsored post, and contributing original content to the Cheese Talk blog, I received compensation from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. (more…)

Filed under: Cheese!, Food, Giveaway | 27 Comments »

Blog Tip of the Day

Posted on April 10, 2012 by vmacandcheese

Undoubtedly one of the questions that most comes up in my Photoshop Elements tutorials is “How the heck do you created a dotted line?” Believe it or not, it’s a very easy technique, completely customizable to whatever graphic you’re putting together, and is done basically the same way in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

In both cases, a dotted line starts in a place you’d least expect it — with the brush tool! See how it’s done right after the jump. (more…)

Filed under: Blog Tip of the Day, Blogging | Tagged: graphics, how tos, photoshop, photoshop elements, tutorials | 18 Comments »

3.2.12

Posted on March 2, 2012 by vmacandcheese

This week I…

+ Worked on three (count ‘em THREE) client projects. Awesomesauce.
+ Guest posted at two of my faves (here and here if you missed it).
+ Tried out a new conditioner. It smells nice.
+ Had lunch with Jeanne at Zazie. A) I heart her and really, truly admire her business acumen, and B) I want to take Joe there for brunch ASAP.
+ Saw and decided on a wedding venue. I’ll share deets once it’s official and papers have been signed, but funnily enough, I’m betting A LOT of you have actually seen the space! Well… sorta. You’ll see.
+ Am working on setting up my accounting systems for Vivaleur. Funny how those mundane little tasks can make you feel so GOOD.
+ Started working out again. I won’t be able to walk for a few days, but it felt amazing.
+ Sent out invites to a St. Patrick’s Day/Spring Fling party. I can’t wait to host friends!

Link of the week: I’m curious what you guys all think about the Pinterest kerfuffle. If you haven’t heard about it, this post sums it up (and also takes a drastic though not necessarily unreasonable stance). What do you think? It is hard for me to imagine life without Pinterest now…but the legal grey areas make me a little uncomfortable. I’m a girl who tends to play by the rules, even though I like to think I don’t. Check it out and share your thoughts! (UPDATE: Via the previous post, I found this blog post and a follow-up with input from Ben Silbermann this morning and it’s even MORE food for thought! I’m so conflicted, you guys…)

Oh and duh…have a great weekend!

{Image Credit: Roden Gray SS 2011 Lookbook. Photography: Jennilee Marigomen; Art Direction & Styling: Redia Soltis; Assistant: Adam Flynn; Model: Alex Richardson. Found via wit&delight}

Filed under: Blogging, Friday Link Love, Just thinking... | 30 Comments »

Blog Tip of the Day

Posted on February 28, 2012 by vmacandcheese

Here’s a picture I took of some ingredients a long time ago.

It’s the kind of photo that I’d pair with a how-to — a recipe. Been on Pinterest lately? These are the types of things that get pinned. And once they get pinned, they get Tumbled. And as we all know…once something is Tumbled, it’s pretty easy to lose an original source.

If you’re sharing original content on your blog (i.e., photos you took yourself), it’s important that you “watermark” your images so that people can source the image and credit you. And as a bonus, it’ll drive traffic back to your site! It’s easy to watermark an image, especially if you already have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Here’s the same image, watermarked: (more…)

Filed under: Blog Tip of the Day, Blogging | Tagged: blog tip, blogging, content, copyright, media, photos | 22 Comments »

Some Notes + This Weekend

Posted on February 9, 2012 by vmacandcheese

My oh my what a week it’s been. To say that I was overwhelmed by all of your support after Monday’s announcement is an understatement. You guys. I can’t tell you how much your comments, emails and tweets mean to me. Truly, I am so humbled by your words of encouragement. And I feel honored too. I told Joe that the part about all of this that means the most to me is that I am inadvertently inspiring so many of you to keep chasing after your goals. I am promising you now that I will continue to do everything I can to inspire and encourage you. Let’s start with this: Don’t settle. KEEP GOING. Have faith in yourself and in your future. Okay?

Now, on to a few other notes and ramblings (including the winner of the Refinery 29 + Herringbone giveaway, and why the above photo references Friday when it’s Thursday…): (more…)

Filed under: Blogging, Friday Link Love, Just thinking... | 16 Comments »