If this is your first time reading these monthly life updates, welcome!
These life update posts are a way to share things I am working on, enjoying, and struggling with. I also share some of the fun and not-so-fun things that happened behind the scenes in my personal and work life.
The last time I wrote one of these was back in June. It was just the beginning of summer, and I had all the intentions of sharing everything I had planned for summer. Sadly, work and life happened, and I fell behind. But now here I am. Back at it with a brand new life update.
But before we talk about October, let’s go back in time and talk about the highlights of this past summer.
A Summer To Remember
While life was pretty uneventful, we enjoyed summer and even packed a few fun trips here and there. Here are a few of the highlights from the Summer of 2022.
My BFF Moved to Atlanta
You might remember my friend Ceren from my trips to Chicago and Maine. She is my best friend from college. We moved to the US around the same time. We always wanted to live in the same city, but between jobs and life, it never happened. Until this summer.
After living in Chicago for over ten years, she decided that it was time for a change, packed her stuff, and moved down to ATL.
With her being here, I feel like I have a family member who is close by. A feeling I have been yearning for ever since I left Turkey over 20 years ago.
The best part is that we enjoy similar things like traveling, eating good food, and fashion. We have also been discussing starting a new social media account, documenting our mutual interests. Who knows if we’ll be able to make that happen, but I love that she is here, and I get to spend more time with her.
The Restaurant Scene in Austin is Insane!
Dwight and I took a trip to Austin, Texas, to celebrate our wedding anniversary (an early celebration) back in August. We chose Austin because we wanted to attend one of the Secret Supper dinners.
I’ve heard good things about the Secret Supper and thought it would be fun to enjoy one of their community dinners. While the dinner ended up being okay, we truly enjoyed the restaurant scene in Austin. A few places we loved are:
- La Piscina at The Proper Hotel: A Texas-Inspired Mexican cuisine restaurant, La Piscina was my favorite spot. We ordered one of their signature fajitas. Both the flavors and the presentation were creative and new. Plus, the ambiance of the restaurant and the service were impeccable as well. Having been hoteliers in our past lives, we appreciated the attention to detail in the quality and creativity of food and service.
- Clark’s Austin: Originally an Oyster Bar, Clark’s Austin felt like the place to be. With gorgeous-looking people eating delicious food in a cafe-style atmosphere was quite fun to experience. While the food was okay, I truly enjoyed the ambiance.
- Franklin’s BBQ: We were told that “You can’t go to Austin and not stop by Franklin’s BBQ.” So, we put that on the itinerary. We were also warned about the long lines, so we made sure to go there as early as possible. While the wait was about 3 hours long, we had the best brisket of our lives.
San Diego With Blogger Friends
You might remember I attended a food bloggers conference in Chicago back in March. These events are usually enjoyable as you meet many new people and make new friends. The best part for me is that you keep in touch with some of those people and build long-lasting relationships.
So, when my friend Olena (of I Food Real) put together a bloggers retreat in San Diego and invited me, I knew it would be a great experience. The idea was to get together and pick each other’s brains about what is working, what is not, and how we can help each other.
Also joined by Olivia, Katie, Kristen, and Jess, we had the best time together while sharing our experiences and offering each other our knowledge. I came back with so much actionable information to better my business and felt inspired by these women who inspire me every day.
Fall Is Here
On the home front, things have been relatively steady. At the end of summer, Dwight started helping a hotel in New York with some training, so he has been traveling quite a bit.
We recently celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in Canoe, the restaurant we got married. This was the first time I had been back since the wedding, and the minute I entered through the door, I felt all the memories come flooding back. If you visit Atlanta, put Canoe on your list of places to eat. It is an Atlanta classic that is a must-visit.
To this day, the day I got married to Dwight is the best day of my life. Here is a picture of us at the exact place where we said yes.
A Few Updates From The Business Front
Recipe Updates:
I have spent the last ten months intentionally working on the site, mostly updating the older recipes and ensuring they are as helpful as possible.
Sadly, when I started in 2013, we weren’t writing recipes as we do now. At the time, I didn’t know how to be helpful like I do now. Between blogging and social media, a lot has changed, so now I am going back and editing recipes as much as possible to offer more helpful information.
If you are signed up for my emails, you are already getting these updates every week. If you are not and want to, be sure to sign up for it. I keep them short, sweet, and to the point.
Instagram Viral:
One of the most surprising things that happened in 2022 (at least, so far) was having two of my reels go viral on Instagram. I honestly had already thrown in the towel on making it as a social media star, but it took me by surprise to go from 40K followers to, as of the writing of this post, 131K followers within a matter of 2 months.
If you think about the fact that it took me over eight years to get to 40K, you can appreciate and understand where I am coming from.
I am humbled by the experience and am more excited about creating content for Instagram. Who knows where this will take me (and Foolproof Living as a business), but I am enjoying meeting new people and making friends on that platform more than ever.
And if you haven’t already and want to join the crowd, you can follow me on Instagram for a lot of behind the scene videos and mostly silly videos with Dwight.
FPL is Ready for Thanksgiving!
As I write this, we are about three weeks away from Thanksgiving. I spent most of October testing, photographing, and writing about turkey.
I thought it would be great to share recipes highlighting various turkey parts (like turkey tenderloins, drumsticks, and thighs) since buying a whole turkey might not be an option for many people this year.
We’ll start publishing them next week. I hope you find some inspiration and/or try some of them, especially if you plan a small gathering this year.
On a personal note, after many days of testing, photographing, and eating turkey, I need a turkey break. While it may look glorious from the outside, eating the same thing repeatedly gets old after a while.
FPL is No Longer A One-Man Army:
Foolproof Living has been a one-person show for many years. I hired one of my college buddies in 2018 to help me with the business’s SEO and social media-related aspects. However, she has been working part-time, and even though she is lovely, I have been looking for help with running day-to-day activities like writing, managing WordPress (the platform that the site is on), and other back-end-related things.
I finally found the person for the job, which has been a fresh breath of air. Rebecca, my new assistant, is new to most website-related stuff, but she is a quick learner.
She is also an excellent writer, which helps tremendously as nowadays we publish very detailed and long articles. It makes me so happy that another set of eyes goes through every single post (and recipe) and ensures that it is free of errors.
I also hired a new kitchen assistant. Kathy is my neighbor. She is a retired nurse who happens to be a big-time foodie. I felt so excited when she volunteered to help in the kitchen with prepping and testing recipes with me in the kitchen. We worked on all the upcoming turkey recipes together, and it has been wonderful to get a second opinion before sharing them with the world.
On a selfish note, thanks to Kathy and Rebecca, I can now take Sundays off, which was a much-needed change after almost nine years of working nearly every Sunday.
Phew, that was a lot, but now you are caught up with everything I have been doing. You will be seeing many new recipes leading up to Thanksgiving, and I cannot wait to share them with you. I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for being here and letting me share my recipes with you.
Until next month. Cheers!
Aysegul
susan
hello, that was a treat. Lovely that you got to do so many things, out and about, and you now have help with your favourite work…FOOD FOR US !
Thank yo for taking the time. Happy Thanksgiving.
Aysegul Sanford
I usually feel so vulnerable talking about my life so it makes me feel so happy that you enjoy this post Susan. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well.
Ramya
I just read this after work on my computer it is my first time reading your life updates BTW I cant wait to make your recipes soon for me I love your recipes as always brightens up my day after work
Aysegul Sanford
That makes me so happy Ramya. Thank you!