Kim here! And you're here to get some backstory on where this came from, what this is all about. Here 'tis:
I've had a meandering career path, but my passion has always been making food. From a young age, I loved spending time in the kitchen, creating delicious things for my friends & family to eat.
But, ya know, you grow up and pick a career (or two or seven). Maybe you aren't completely in touch with the concept of doing what you love.
For over twenty years, my day job was in transportation engineering as a drafter, then in IT, then as a software developer, and then as a federal planner. I worked hard at finding my place in the workforce, trying to figure out the whole career thing. So much about those years was good. But I wasn't lighting the world on fire, and none of it lit ME on fire. Honestly, I was probably best known for organizing office lunches. HA!
I have always been asked for my recipes, and my first food blog sprouted from that. The blog grew into a personal chef business, which grew to include boutique catering. While I ran that business, the blog took a back burner. I closed the business after growing it for five years when I was offered a job as an event manager.
Did I miss the business? Some parts, yeah sure. I made some great memories and have some fun stories. But overall... No, not really.
Did I miss cooking and baking and sharing for the sheer joy of it? 100%.
I started my second blog with my husband, Doug. We called it Grativibe, a mashup of "gratitude" and "vibe". From that perspective, we wrote about finances, travel, and of course food. The recipes - particularly the ones for dogs - became super popular. It was evident that the name didn't necessarily reflect a food blog, and the recipes needed their own site with a brand to match.
Because I like to talk, and we love dogs, and the food recipes for people and dogs are the point of it all...
Here we are at Yappy Kitchen. I'm so glad you're here, too!