Chocolate Caramel Apple Bars + Why I Love Blogging
Do you like chocolate, caramel and apple?
Who doesn't?
Today I'm writing all about these gooey bars on Keep it Sweet! Ooey gooey apple and caramel scattered atop a layer of semisweet chocolate, then sandwiched between crumbly oat goodness and topped with even more sticky caramel sauce is what these bars are all about. Be sure to head over to Keep it Sweet to get the recipe! And if you aren't reading Lauren's blog, you really need to get on that because her dessert recipes are absolutely mouth watering and she is just the sweetest (no pun intended :))
So today is Wednesday and you know what that means...it's What About Me Wednesday! Every week I do a more personal write up about myself, my life or just random tidbits. If you have a question or an idea for a topic, please send it my way! Today, I want to talk about something super important to me...my love of blogging.
I started blogging in 2009 at Between JC and Manhattan. After a year, I totally revamped my blog, my direction and my look with The Avid Appetite. It's become a part of who I am, how people know me, and I never knew what it would lead to when I started.
Why I Love Blogging
It fulfills a passion.
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Be it in a personal journal, {terrible} short stories as a tween, or editor of my high school newspaper, I always knew that I wanted to do something where I could write. If you would have told me 10 years ago that I'd be writing a cooking and food blog, I probably would have fallen out of my chair with laughter. Me...cooking? HA! Little did I know that my blog would fulfill 2 passions...writing and my love for cooking and sharing food.
It gives me motivation to be better at everything I do.
I'm always trying to improve my blog, my writing, my cooking, my social media and more. Knowing that people will be reading or interacting with my blog in some way makes me want it to be the best it can possibly be...and I find this motivating me to give everything my all.
Because of You! - Making blogger friends.
This is a huge part of my love for blogging, and I'd say the least expected part. When I started blogging, I had no idea of this amazing community that exists where people are just so nice. I started my blog as a way to write and to possibly help me find a new job, not because I had been reading other blogs and wanted my own. Through blogging, I've not only found amazing blogs that I'm addicted to reading each and every day, but real, friendly people who organize meet ups, send each other foodie gifts, dedicatingly comment on each other's blogs, give amazing feedback and even more motivation to put out great content. Blogger friends, I heart you!!
Because of You! - Making reader friends.
I've connected with, and reconnected with, the wonderful people who read my blog. I'm being 100% sincere when I say that anyone who tells me they read my blog makes me blush (let alone if they say they like it). Comments, e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, or even in-person mentions are just about the best thing I could ever ask for. To know that people read my blog...and might even be disappointed if I stopped writing it...is a wonderful feeling. I adore connecting with readers who also love to cook, love to eat, have recently developed a love of cooking, or who don't do any of the above, but enjoy reading about it. I love having the outlet to share recipes, restaurants and ideas. It's definitely at the top of my list of favorite blog things that I never knew existed B.B. (Before Blogging). So thank you :)
I can do whatever I want - this blog is mine, all mine! Muahahaha!
I love having my own outlet to be creative and make this blog whatever I want it to be. Of course, I want it to be what you want it to be too! It's fun to have this just for me...it's not related to my day job or to any obligations in my life. If I want to write about the best thing I've ever made, I can. If I want to write about the fact that I shot an entire can of tomato sauce all over my kitchen while Shaun was away on business, I can (true story). If I want to write about sitting around in my pajamas, I can. I hope it doesn't come to that last one, but you get what I mean :)
So those are just a few reasons in a long list of why I love blogging. Perhaps this is just part 1 of a series!
Questions of the Day:
If you are a blogger, what do you love about blogging?
If you aren't a blogger, what do you love about reading blogs?
16 Comments | November 2, 2011 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged What about me Wednesday, blogging | in What About Me Wednesday Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (16)
yay!!! love you friend! and love your aprons :)
Thanks for reminding me why I love blogging! I might be ready to come back to it next week!
I love anything homebaked,but to be honest iv never had apple and chocolate as a combo before! I didnt even see any toffee apples in our shops for this Halloween :(
I love blogging too (although, admittedly, I've considered what else I could be doing with all the time I spend blogging!). Like you, I like having my own personal space to do whatever I want with. I was a writer/ editor in magazines for several years, and it's nice to be my own creative director and editor!!
AGREED... my #1 favorite part about blogging has been getting to meet so many supportive girls with whom I have so much in common. It's so great!
Aaaand I love writing. SO, there ya go. ;)
Why how did you know I love chocolate, caramel and apples? These bars look amazing- so simple too! My favorite part is also getting to know so many wonderful and supporting people who are easily becoming my great friends
You have the cutest aprons!! Where did you get them all? I have NONE. Well, none that are that cute...
The first two are Anthropologie, the autumn one is Target!
Ok, you also have the cutest aprons! Adorable!
I love blogging for many of the same reasons but what makes me happiest is when people tell me they have tried a recipe or I've inspired them to cook, eat healthier, etc.
saw your guest post - good job! hands down, the best thing about blogging to me is the friendships + connections i make. with cool people like you! =)
reading other great blogs, like yours, is inspiring! and I love knowing what everyone is up to..I'm a busy-body that way! :)
Loved the recipe on Keep It Sweet and loved hearing about why you love blogging. As much as I enjoy seeing good recipes, I always enjoy so much more learning about other bloggers. Like you said, it's great to be a part of the foodie community.
I kind of just posted about this on my editorial post at Stage of Life! I love to blog because I feel like, at the end of the day, writing helps me to know myself better. I think I'd still blog without readers - but having readers makes it 100% better!
Thanks again for your awesome guest post! My mom said she is going to make those for Thanksgiving!!
Yup, blogging rocks. I really think that being part of this community is the most amazing thing. I think no matter how motivated you are, if no one was reading the stuff, we'd move onto something else.
PS - LOVE all of your aprons!
The realization that our blog is being read by a group of people is fulfilling in itself. One regular follower is already an accomplishment, if you ask me! Keep on blogging! It's good that you have a separate motivation to blog; that means you'll be blogging for a long time!
- Matthew Leanna