On the Porch: Rising Days | Sweet Tea & Thyme

I had a post on Facebook go mini-viral this week. It was just a small testimony I felt God push me to write. To encourage y’all who are scared to start a business. So I figured I’d share here too.

Before I started Sweet Tea and Thyme, I had brought up turning food blogging (which I was doing on a free blog *because I didn’t know what I was doing*) into a full fledged business. Which, looking back, I had no true idea how to do, which is common for many new bloggers.

Anyway, I had brought it up to a few family members, who either laughed at me, belittled me, or just told me to go back to working at Macy’s. And I quote, “In three years’ time, you could be a manager if you work your way up.”

Half ouch, half ‘really, guy?’.

So here I am, three years later. And I’m looking at the two me’s that were possible:

Macy’s Manager Me, who would be making about $37k-$40k a year. Having a boss, having an insecure job (hello, ‘at-will’ work states.), working a $15/hr job on hours I may or may not be truly available to work, having to ask someone if I can have time off to vacation, or deal with the passing of a loved one, or being terrified that if I get pregnant or end up hospitalized or Greyson was ill, I’d be fired for missing work.

And there’s me now. Recipe Developer, Food Photographer.

In 2016 I didn’t know nothing about lighting, editing, composition, or how to use a DSLR manually. I just knew that I loved food, I just got out of culinary school, and I wanted to make this a business. I had a fire under my little brown behind to move, just do it.

And really, glory to God because a year prior I was sobbing on my mama’s shoulder wailing about I didn’t know what to do with my life. I’ve never been a ‘get a job and work til you die doing whatever’ type of person. Some people love 9-5’s…I’m just not one of them. And restaurants do not care if you went to culinary school, you’re sweeping onion peels and working minimum wage ’til you work your way up if you stay (once again, that job insecurity has me scared, honey!).

I don’t like bragging about what happens in my life because of God guiding me to pursue blogging. But after two years of scraping up information and trying to learn and trying new things and networking and learning, everything had finally clicked together and 2018 was the year everything changed. I was getting interviews. Brands started reaching out, websites featured my blog, Food Network offered me opportunities onto competition shows…but I’m not a competitive person, haha. If you ever want me to judge Beat Bobby Flay or talk about my favorite place to eat…or make me the next Molly Yeh or Ree Drummond, though, y’all let me know, Food Network.

We had a real tree this Christmas. We haven’t had one since 2015. They can get expensive.

I was featured in one of my favorite magazines.

I’m freelancing my photography and recipe developing skills for restaurants, websites, and clients around the world.

I teach people how to food blog now so they aren’t stumbling around without a clue, taking bad photos, running their business illegally (yes! Most people don’t know that they need to make it a legal business before they make a penny!), screwing up their SEO, having a crazy looking site that runs slow, not knowing how to pitch and who to pitch to for sponsors, how to build blog traffic, all the stuff I had to deal with alone and all the stuff that causes people to give up on their dreams. My clients are happy and every single call ends with “I learned a lot today.” and I feel so right serving this community.

I’m financially secure. I’m looking to build my dream home.

I’ve been home raising Greyson. He’s never been to day care (he goes to school now for a couple hours a day). I spend so much time with him and am able to do so much with him now, which is exactly what I wanted since I was a latch-key kid.

Long story short…I may have been a Macy’s manager at age 26 in another universe.

But I jumped into this business in scared, went in degraded by everyone except my husband, continued on even when I had to sell my camera, when I didn’t have a kitchen to cook in or my own bed to sleep in, when I was making $15 a month through ads (because I still had no idea what I was doing!).

And now I look back and I’m happy I went through all of that. I wouldn’t be where I am now without it.

So start your business, honey. The short term problems won’t mean a thing when you have a long term goal in mind.

5 things I love this week

I’ve put the chai to the side for now and have been drinking English Breakfast Tea every morning. So smooth, so yummy.

This. Dress. Got it off Amazon for $26, it’s so adorable. I’m buying it in at least 3 more colors, including the lemon pattern. I have a pair of lemon shoes to match! If you love vintage 50’s aesthetic, these dresses are fantastic and not cheesy or costume-ish. I’ve gotten so many compliments, they are serious eye catchers.

This book. Been reading it every morning! It’s inspiring, it’s thought-provoking, it’s a great read as a woman entrepreneur.

This e-series about Cliff Vmir and his wig empire. A millionaire by 19? I’m here for it!

This Buzzfeed video on the CEO routine. I think I’m going to do it myself, call it the CEO challenge or something and film it for everyone to watch me struggle to get up at 4:30 AM. Hey, they said following it can help make more money and make you feel better so why not?!

BONUS: I joined 27 other amazing Black food bloggers in celebrating black culture and black history month through our favorite recipes.

My favorite Valentine’s Day Recipes

Decadent Pasta Carbonara

Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pan Seared NY Strip with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Cinnamon Rolls

Potatoes au Gratin

Salmon en Papillote

Top Comment of the Week

Mike about Gnocchi with Bacon Cream Sauce

“I made this with a few changes and it was most excellent. Once gnocchi was cooked, I sauteed the gnocchi to give them a crispy outside, added the garlic, onion, bacon back to the pan and followed the rest of the recipe as is. Was a really great tasting dish.”

I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Mike. Love that you sauteed the gnocchi in the bacon pan, it’s full of flavor! Remember, y’all: cooking recipes are more like guidelines, do what you feel is right. I’m totally crisping up the gnocchi next time I make this dish!

This week’s Menu Plan:

Thursday:

Happy Valentine’s Day! I have a secret Valentine’s Day Menu with a dessert recipe that hasn’t been posted to send to my subscribers this week! Subscribe to get this exclusive menu!

Friday:

Date night since we don’t ever go to a restaurant on Valentine’s Day!

Saturday Brunch:

Croque Madames and Mimosas

Sunday Supper:

French Dip Sandwiches

Most Popular Posts this Week:

Eden Westbrook

Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.