Today we’d like to introduce you to Vianney Rodriguez.
Vianney, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started my food blog to have a creative outlet. At the time, I was a stay at home mom, homeschooling my kids, while my husband completed his Master’s Degree.
I selected the name Sweet Life Bake to showcase my journey into learning how to bake, LOL! I soon found out that sharing baking recipes did not make me happy. One evening at dinner, I had made beans. My husband suggested I share my bean recipe, I laughed and told him, “everyone knows how to make beans,”
He said your family recipe smake you happy – why not try sharing what makes you happy. I ladled some beans into a bowl, shot a few pics and uploading my family recipe with a short story about my Abuelita. As soon as I hit publish, it felt different. I smiled and walked away from my computer. Over the next few days, my email was brimming with people thanking me for sharing my bean recipe. People expressed their gratitude for the recipe, as when their loved one was alive they never took the opportunity to learn the recipe. This is when Sweet Life became what it is today – me sharing the plates of my childhood easy recipes for the home cook, recipes that evoke memories and connect us with our culture.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s been one hell of a ride – once I started really focusing on Sweet Life, I had more opportunities to share my recipes this lead to amazing experiences but also forced me to work countless hours. I would cook the recipe for dinner, place a plate in the fridge and shoot the photos after my day was done. Most of my earlier recipes were shot at 2m in my bathroom, with a small lightbox. It was challenging the first years to find a balance, there really wasn’t any.
Over the years, I have learned to find a balance, say no to certain opportunities that did not align with my overall vision for Sweet Life. I often tell young women who want to start a food blog to simply start – start with a few hours a week, begin with what you can take on at the moment. Don’t take on too much, because it will lead to burn-out – this has happened to many food bloggers I love and it always makes me sad to see them step away from sharing their love of food.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Sweet Life -sweetlifebake.com story. Tell us more about the business.
On Sweet Life, I share my passion for good food and experiences and memories celebrated with family, through travel, entertaining and soul-satisfying meals together with family. And every post here on Sweet Life is filled with the vibrant culture and food of South Texas. As a proud Tejana, I invite you to join me on this journey and to experience all the rich culture that Texas has to offer.
I specialize in Mexican, Texas and Tex-Mex food and whole lotta cocktails. I’m a passionate cocktail gal, love queso and am endless sharing my love for frijoles.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sweetlifebake.com/
- Email: sweetlifebake@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetlifebake/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetLifeBake/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sweetlifebake/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/sweetlifebake/sweet-life-recipes/
Image Credit:
Jason David Page
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
