This is my first "real" online blog, so keep that in mind, "gentle readers," as we take the journey together. Blogs have always been a source of interest- it takes great courage to put the private moments of your life out there for an invisible audience's scrutiny, feedback and comments. Fear of the unknown is a legitimate concern. But its also richly rewarding- meeting folks with similar dreams and mindsets, and finding the good souls out there that can encourage and provide moral (virtual) support, in the crazy world of the internet. It seems these days that the world has been reduced to a tunnel of virtual communication and we have lost the gift of the 'face to face" and phone/real life/written correspondence of the past. In light of that, I've decided to take the plunge and attempt to chronicle the inspiring minutiae of a new small business owner and aspiring artisan, to see who else out there can relate, and find out if the experience is rewarding or one best left to others better equipped to enjoy the virtual world.
To introduce myself, my name is Jamie and I am an artisan from New Orleans, specializing in making jewelry, arts & crafts and masks; I am also a full-time photographer and writer. Photography is my passion and my profession, although I don't have a resume listing credentials and schooling to that effect- my picture taking skills are completely self-taught, supplemented by the guidance of my husband and other photographer mentors. I am a shutterbugg, running around with a small camera and big dreams, determined to capture all the large and small moments in life while doing the small business thing full time. In another life (read: about a year ago) I was a full time legal secretary, nose to the grindstone, working 8 hour hectic days at the office, on a rigid schedule, and coming home each and every day with zero energy, stress headaches and fading dreams that were lost in the daily grind. Forward to present day, unemployed but ambitious, I have lots of time on my hands to create and visualize and learn, and am doing everything I can to make my at-home business dream a successful reality. Running through the soundtrack of my days is a fascination with cooking- and that's where the blog title "Kitchen Magic" kicks in. Kitchen Magic is a twist on an old expression- the small everyday "magic" that women were purported to possess as they ran their households and make everything go smoothly like magic, behind the scenes. A garden-variety craft of sorts, Kitchen Magic is also a phrase referring to the everyday use of herbs and seasonings in the kitchen, an art that has been with us for centuries and that has filtered down to the modern world- a lost art for the most part, as few people take the time to grow and create anymore. Finally the name is relative to my love of cooking, and this blog will be filled with many culinary detours, recipes and helpful hints for the beginner cook- because that's what I am. You won't find specialty foods and hard-to-locate ingredients in my writings, because the average beginner has a shoestring budget and limited expertise. You'll be learning alongside of me, because I am starting from the ground up as well.
To sum it up- our journey will cover a lagniappe- (the N'awlins term for "extra something") of poetry, cooking, photography, good quotes, everyday moments, and the arts, from the corner of my world to yours. If this blog was a meal, it would be gumbo, filled with a variety of many ingredients that lead up to one highly-seasoned, satisfying experience. Enjoy!
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