About

Howdy.

My name’s Jada and this is my humble little blog.

Nearly a decade after the first post, I’m still here—mixing, pureeing, baking and frying. When I’m not cooking, styling and photographing the food you see here, you’ll find me working my day job as an Associate Creative Director, cuddling with my little munchkins, Leo and Lucas, begrudgingly watching sports with my husband, exploring Chicago’s best brunch spots or spending entirely too much time on Pinterest.

I’m self-taught in every sense of the word, and constantly inspired (ok, distracted) by new blog design ideas, photo layouts, food-styling techniques and Etsy craft supplies.

Want to know more? Contact me here, or read on for answers to some of my most frequently asked questions:

What camera do you use?

I started with a Canon Rebel XS and the stock lens. Since then, I’ve upgraded to a Canon 60D DSLR, a Canon 50mm 1.8 prime lens, a Sigma 30mm 1.4 prime lens and a Sigma 70mm 2.8 macro prime lens. I love these lenses and cameras. If you want to get serious about food photography, I suggest a solid entry- to mid-level DSLR and two lenses: a 30 or 50mm to take wider shots of your table-scape and a macro lens to catch every delicious, up-close detail. I personally prefer fixed (prime) lenses.

I also have a tripod that I use almost always for food photography. I use Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos.

What about the logistics of your blog (hosting, design, etc.)?

I bought my domain name and host my site through GoDaddy (I use the WordPress hosting option). If you’re a regular reader, you know I’ve gone through several design facelifts through the years, but I’ve finally landed on one I really love. It’s a template I purchased from ThemeForest, a site with some beautifully designed, intuitive blog and website themes. I’ve searched far and wide, paid Web designers to design custom themes, used free themes, other paid themes, you name it—and I’ve learned that you can’t beat some of the solidly designed, $45 ThemeForest templates.

Where do you get your recipes?

Almost all the recipes on BWB are my own creations, unless otherwise noted. That’s not to say I don’t draw inspiration from restaurants, friends and, yes, Pinterest. I also highly recommend The Flavor Bible, a fantastic book that helps fledgling cooks throw recipes to the wind and create their own dishes with a little knowledge about complementary flavors, textures, etc.

Got more questions? Contact me below.