As an introverted person and an introverted traveler, New Orleans has never been a destination at the top of my list. If it was a person, New Orleans would be the life of the party. I'm the person who's standing off by the buffet, nervously eating hors d'oeuvres and counting down the minutes until I can leave.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I attended the International Food Blogger Conference in August. Blogging conferences are a great way to learn about new opportunities in the industry, get ideas about how to be more effective, and network with fellow bloggers and brands. If you happen to be me, blogging conferences are also a great way to make you feel insecure about your blog, your career path, and your hair.

As I've mentioned previously, my travel goal this year has been to explore my own backyard. Travel doesn't need to be far-flung to be satisfying, and some of my favorite travel memories are from trips close to home: wine tasting in the St. Croix Valley, taking a cheap trip to Germany via New Ulm, and doing a food tour in Stillwater. So this year, to celebrate our ten-year anniversary(!) as a couple, Mike and I took a very short jaunt to St. Paul...

Hands down, the best thing about the 2018 International Food Blogger Conference I attended in New Orleans last month was the food. Between small bites from restaurants and samples from producers, I got a taste for some of New Orleans' best local flavors. Here are my favorites.

As I mentioned in my summer recap , I haven't been trying new recipes lately. When my life gets overwhelming—and between traveling, freelancing, blogging, and trying to stay on an even keel...

First things first: the Quad Cities are actually made up of five cities. On the Iowa side of the Mississippi, there's Davenport and Bettendorf; across the river in Illinois, there's Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline. Each city has its own unique character, but they share a focus on the Mississippi River thanks to numerous bridges, riverside parks and trails, and the Channel Cat water taxi route.