Bethany and I were college roommates. Before that we became friends, I always thought she was gorgeous and secretly wanted to be her friend but it wasn’t until my phone went off in the middle of class with a Beyonce ringtone singing “To the left, to the left.” I was awkward as I tried to find my phone in the bottom of my backpack and apologized, it was then that Bee knew we would be friends. After the whole embarrassing Beyonce episode, we kept running into one another at church and Starbucks, finally we started to hang out and the rest is history. It’s crazy to think that that was 8 years ago and yet whenever we get together we revert back to our college selves, laying in bed and staying up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and talking about life.

We have had countless Starbucks dates, planned weddings from our beds, studied occasionally, eaten too much sushi and talked life a lot together. We never fail to pick up where we last left off and our adoration of wine and sushi always seals the deal. I’ve gotten to hang out with her in Chicago a few times over the last months and I just had to photograph her in her apartment (with her crazy awesome cat, Norman.) She is a food blogger and is always posting amazing recipes that I promise myself I will make when life slows down a bit more! I give major props to food bloggers, a lot goes into a single post from grocery shopping to photographing each step of the process, to styling the food and making it look delectable. I pretend that I know how to style food on my Instagram account but this girl is good at making me drool over her treats! I just wish we lived closer so that I could become her official taste tester.

I asked Bethany a few questions so that you could get to know her better! She’s amazing, so you really should be her friend. Hey, Bee, what’s the story behind your blog name, Mikey’s In My Kitchen? 

The reason for the name, Mikey’s In My Kitchen is because I am married to an inspirational eater who always finds his way into any kitchen. Trust me, I love when Mikey is in my kitchen, but I don’t always love how he picks at everything while I’m prepping and making it. My tolerance for the grazing has improved over the years, but when we were first married it made me crazy – hence the blog name.

Mikey was always in my kitchen, grazing on the salad, picking out the big pieces of avocado or eating the chicken out of the pasta. His Mom and I have laughed about this and how she used to experience the same thing from Mikey and his siblings when they were growing up…she would always yell to them, “Get your mitts off the Mackinaw”… We still use the phrase and joke about  it’s mysterious origin often.

What made you want to start a food blog? Where do you find your passion for cooking and baking?

My passion for baking definitely comes from my Mom. I am also inspired greatly by both my Grandmothers in the kitchen as well as in life. My Mom picked up a few cooking and baking tips from them but mostly taught herself. She encouraged me to experiment in the kitchen as a kid, and no matter how many times I failed (salt instead of sugar in a muffin recipe, oops!) she picked me up, dried my tears and told me not to be discouraged, but to try again.

She taught me to have faith and grace and to trust in and lean on God in every aspect of my life. She is a living and breathing example of how to love like Christ and I pray I can be an example like her some day. I still call my Mom on a regular basis when I have baking questions and she is always there to guide me and share delicious recipes with me (though some are still a secret).

 Check out her: Blog // Facebook Page

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The fun is just getting started, click a link below to continue the merriment:

• Behind a Happy Marriage
• Cullen + Meghan – Maternity Session
• SURPRISE!!!! (No, I’m not pregnant)
• Tyler + Bethany – Old World Wisconsin Wedding