Ready. Set. Blog.

Have you guys heard about Project Food Blog? Think Next Food Network Star meets The Bloggies. FoodBuzz has set out to identify the next great food blogger through a series of challenges. What’s in it for the winner? A special feature on Foodbuzz.com and a cool $10,000 in cash. Not bad, huh?

I’ve decided to throw my hat into the ring for this competition. Of the over 4,000 featured publishers on Foodbuzz, over 1,800 are participating. And only 400 will make it through this first round!

Food Buzz has challenged all of us who are participating to write a post that defines who you are as a food blogger and why you have what it takes to be a food blog star.

I started thinking about who I am as a food blogger. I think my blog name says it all. After Hubby and I moved from a 3-bedroom house in Ohio to a ~700 square foot one bedroom condo in Boston, I decided that I like to bake. A LOT. I honestly rarely baked when we lived in Ohio… I guess something about that tiny little Boston kitchen got me motivated.

I started out baking just once a week. But as I started to challenge myself more and more, my addiction grew and grew. These days when someone asks me how often I bake, I tell them anywhere from 2-5 times a week. I seriously start getting a twitch when it’s been a few days since I was baking and it’s always the first thing I want to do after vacation or a long day at work.

I love to bake for people. When someone comes to visit I always make sure that I find out what kind of desserts they like and whip something up for them. I even make exceptions to my strict no-repeats rule for guests. I think baking is one of the most thoughtful things you can do for someone.

As my blog started to grow, I started to improve on my photography skills. I wanted my photographs to fully represent the awesomeness of the recipes I was trying in my kitchen. I am continuing to learn more about lighting and exposure, but I’ve definitely come a long way.

Sometimes people ask me why I blog. And as cliche as it sounds, it really is because of you guys. Obviously, Hubby and I get to enjoy the food that comes out of our kitchen, but I really love hearing from you guys. Whether it’s through a comment, an email, or a note on Facebook, it really does make me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that you guys trust me enough to try the recipes I post on here or to ask for advice.

Now on to the big question of this challenge. Do I have what it takes to be the next food blog star? I absolutely have what it takes. It’s been 1118 days since I hit publish for the first time. In the begining, I used cake mixes from a box and took short cuts whenever I could. I was learning how to cook and bake. And I was bringing everyone along for the ride.

Because of this blog, I tackled my fear of yeast. After making some bread, pretzels, and cinnamon rolls, yeast doesn’t even phase me anymore.

I’ve worked my way through 95 posts worth of cupcakes. That’s a LOT of cupcakes.

I grew out of my cupcake phase and into my brownies and bars phase.

I tackled my first layer cake, then I tackled decorating a layer cake.

I’ve challenged myself to continue to try new foods and make things I’ve never made before.

I’ve tackled learning my way through some HTML code so that I can update my blog layout on my own.

At the end of the day, I have pushed myself through many challenges in the 1118 days since I started this blog. I am ready to face these 10 Project Food Blog Challenges head on. They can’t be any more scary than yeast, right?

Voting for Project Food Blog will open to YOU on Monday, September 20th (don’t worry, I’ll be sure to remind you!)

Be sure to come check out my Project Food Blog profile where I answer these questions:

• Why did you start your food blog?
• What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?
• What is the most memorable meal or foodie moment?