Podcasts I Love: Joy The Baker

Podcast I Love: Joy the Baker

podcasts i love joy the baker

Who they are: 

Joy is a baker (duh) who lives in LA with her cat and writes an awesome blog and cookbooks. She has a new series called Bonkers Awesome and seriously cracks me up.

Tracy writes Shutterbean, lives in the Bay Area, has a husband, kid and day job. She takes tons of pretty pictures of life and food and loves black and white stripes and patterns and basically kicks internet ass.

Two best friends having conversations about totally important unimportant things. Topics that have totally killed me: office SWIMMING party, dudes who still live with their mom, and a rousing game of would you rather among other things. Pretty much every episode I have at least one hearty laugh.

 Why I love Joy The Baker and what I learn from it:

Going from a super duper active and social teaching job to full-time baby wrangler was a shock to my system. It was so QUIET at my house. Like have every clock in my house stopped and why is time moving soooooo slowly quiet. To battle the quiet around my house (and the panic in my head), we started listening to podcasts to keep me company while I played on the floor with my tiny one.

The first year of stay at home mom-dom could have been super lonely, but instead I feel like I got to know Joy and Tracy. I really felt like these ladies kept me company while totally cracking me up. It felt like I was eavesdropping on some seriously funny girlfriend conversations. Just what the doctor ordered!

Let me start with I think everyone should start with the first episode and listen in order until you are caught up to the current one. That’s how I did it and I’m so glad I did. Not only did I get to see how Joy and Tracy’s friendship grew, but got in on the insider jokes and serious lingo along the way. Plus the early ones are super funny because I think the ladies weren’t self-conscious because they didn’t realize how many people were listening.

Lessons I’ve learned (and some of my favorite episodes):

Red Flags – life warnings – life, recipe,restaurants, boy red flags. Warning signs from your gut which come up and smack you on the nose.

20 Questions – What to ask on a date with a dude, nosy questions to ask your maj (best friend), and more.

Embrace Your Inner Hippie – nut milks and quinoa, coconut oil and lots of other awesome hippie tips.

Modern Etiquette – how to stay polite in the whole new world of social media including dating in the FB age.

Posts/episodes I find inspiring and/or hilarious:

The Grass Is Always Greener: Catland (Joy really loves her cat), do people just want what they don’t have? Curly hair versus straight hair, boobs: bigger or smaller, thighs and more.

Boozy Susan: Office SWIMMING party (I can’t think of anything worse) and what to bring and wear to the party.

Would You Rather. One of my favorite games. And funny as hell listening to someone else playing.

Tiers of Tears. Tyler Florence will never be the same again.

If you haven’t already, go check out Joy The Baker podcast and then tell me what you think.

What podcasts do you love?

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Blogs I Love: Shutterbean

Blog I Love: Shutterbean.com

shutterbean header

Who they are: 

blogs i love shutterbean

Smart, sassy, half of the Joy The Baker podcast duo, Tracy from Shutterbean.com just may be your new best friend. Or at least you want her to be.

Maybe you already know Tracy from the podcast or her blog and I’m late to the party, but seriously, I can’t get enough of this blog.

Tracy says this about herself:

I’m a working mom/wife/photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. – Read more of her words here.

Time magazine pretty much nailed it perfectly when they said this about Shutterbean.

Some bloggers take you too far into their worlds, documenting their every move. Tracy Benjamin, also known as Shutterbean, offers just enough of a window to leave you wanting more. Her beautifully shot recipes are usually fun and easy to make, offering variations on classics like banh mi sandwiches and Bloody Marys. Weekly collections of quirky links and a feature called “My Everyday Life” offer her takes on friends, family, food and more. A sleek, easy-to-navigate design is a cherry on the top of Shutterbean’s already delicious sundae.

 Why I love Shutterbean.com and what I learn from it:

Tracy and I share a deep love of stripes. Her recipes all look delicious. Her photography is beautiful. The stories around the food are usually funny. And then there are ridiculously helpful posts like The Perfect Fried Egg.

 Posts I find inspiring:

Even though Shutterbean is mostly a food blog, I my favorite posts are her Every Day Life weekly round-up of photographs. Tracy captures the beauty of daily life in creative and interesting ways. She actually inspires me to want to take better photographs and to stop and pay attention to my surroundings.

Tracy also has an occasional series called Out and About – places to go and eat. There are a lot of Bay Area locations because she’s based there and being a native myself, it’s like hanging around my old stomping grounds. With better photos!

On the Plate:

Obviously there are a ton of recipes on Shutterbean because it’s a food blog. The difference is the photography, adding cute graphics to her photos and her obvious love of food.

A small sampling of the recipes I want to make:

Orange Cream Floats

Honey Rosemary Lemonade

Goat Cheese Guacamole with Pita Chips

Orzo Salad

Grilled Greek Panzanella

Life Changing Vegan Thumbprint Cookies

If you haven’t already, go check out Shutterbean.com and then tell me what you think.

What blogs do you love?