vmac+cheese

So, are you originally from the Bay Area?

Nah. I grew up in Austin, Texas, and lived there for 18 years until moving to Los Angeles for college (USC, not UCLA). From there, I came to San Francisco, to attend culinary school. I’ve been here ever since. For the record because it often comes up: lost Texas accent, sometimes still say “y’all,” totally miss Tex-Mex.

Why is this blog named vmac+cheese?

Vmac has been a long standing nickname of mine, a combination of pieces from my first and last name. When I first started writing this blog, I wrote mostly about food, since I had recently finished culinary school. The name just kind of stuck, despite broadening the topics I like to write about.

Why/How did you get interested in design?

Same as with food, if I think back, I’ve always loved beautiful interiors. As a kid, I used to move the furniture in my room around all the time; once my mom came home and I had switched my bed out for the one in our guest bedroom, and completely reconfigured my room (luckily, she was okay with it!). I think all of the things I like to talk about on the site — food, wine, design, pretty things — fall in to the same category of a love for the good stuff in life. We’re only on this planet for so long. Why not surround yourself with beautiful things, swoon-worthy food and lovely people?

So you used to work in food media, eh? Do you have any samples of your work?

Sure. You can find some published articles and recipe styling work here. Please note that it might take a few seconds for the link to load in your browser.

Do you write all of your own recipes?

All recipes on this site, unless stated otherwise, were conceived and written entirely by me. There’s no such thing as copyrighting a recipe (or at least an ingredient list), but if you do post these recipes elsewhere, just show some link love.

What do you use to create graphics on your blog?

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements. It’s an infinitely helpful tool if you’re interested in creating photo and text graphics for your website, and also want to perform photo correction. If you’re a new blogger trying to decide between Photoshop versus Photoshop Elements, know that for most everything you will ever need to do, you can do it in Elements. Save yourself the cash! Have PSE, but need some help figuring out how to use it? I currently offer Photoshop Elements tutorials for bloggers. Let’s work together!

For free resources to create images and graphics, check out Big Huge Labs and Polyvore. I’ve also heard of bloggers who use Microsoft PowerPoint to create images, then save slides as screenshots that they edit into single images. For fonts, I like finding mine on Da Font. 

Do you currently host giveaways/sponsored posts/advertisers?

Short answer: yes! Check out this page for a little more info, but best thing to do is contact me. If I like what you do, and feel that it’s an appropriate fit given the content of this blog, we can work together to find a way to feature you on the site. If you are interested in getting more information about my site statistics, please email me and request my media kit. 

Can I use some photos from your site?

Sure thing. But same story as sharing the recipes: just link it back.

If you see any of your photos on this site, and they’re not attributed to you, I’m really sorry about that! When I use photos from around the Internet for this site, I always do my absolute best to link back to the source. If your photo fell through the cracks, please email me. I’m happy to link it back and share the love. If you want your photo removed completely, that’s fine too — just let me know.

What kind of camera do you use?

For much of this blog’s history, I was shooting with a very old Canon PowerShot. In late 2009, I started shooting with a Canon EOS Rebel XS, with the standard lens. In January 2011, I was gifted with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens, which I now shoot with almost exclusively. If you’ve recently gotten a DSLR and are looking to purchase a second lens, I can’t recommend the 50mm enough. As far as taking good photos goes, I’d say avoid using the flash when you can and try and take photos with only natural light. I also utilize Photoshop Elements and products like VSCO film to help enhance my photographs.

I need my blog to be redesigned. Do you know any good designers?

Oh, plenty. Shoot me a note and I’ll be happy to send along a list I’ve amassed.

Any other blogging tips for me?

If you’re new to blogging and want to learn more about expanding your site, I wrote a post about it here, and with the help of 20 or so bloggers, put together a week about blogging here. I also currently offer blog and social media consultation services (email me for rates and package details!). I’d say blogging’s like anything else — keep at it, practice, experiment, and eventually you’ll find your groove, figure out what works for you, and before you know it, presto! Rockstar blogger.