Teacupcake’s iBlog – A Feature Story on My Blog

About a week ago I saw a post from the lovely Nicole over at teacupcake, who has started a new little project: she wants to write profile feature stories about her fellow bloggers, to get to know them better and to reach new readers as well. I was (as far as I know) the first to react, and the first installment of iBlog is about Books Baking and Blogging! Nicole wrote a lovely story about my blog. I hope you enjoy, and don’t forget to visit Nicole’s blog!

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DARK chocolate, plain flour, butter, sugar, eggs and raspberries. Anne is making brownies.
The rich, dark chocolate mixture glistens in the pan and she smiles, they’re perfect.
Baked to perfection – a light crisp texture on top and still gooey and fudgey inside. What better way to start?
Once cooled, Anne cuts them into squares and casually-yet-precisely places them onto a crimson plate. She focuses the camera lens on the delicate morsels and click! The perfect picture for her first post on Books Baking and Blogging.
Sitting down at her computer in hometown Groningen in the Netherlands, Anne munches on a chocolate brownie as she contemplates introducing herself to her future readers.
“So, why Books Baking and Blogging? Well, let’s take it one at a time,” she says. “I love reading. When I was little my parents used to read to me before I went to sleep, and ever since then I’ve loved stories.
“Once I was able to read I took full advantage of it and read every night before bed without exception.”
While Anne’s love of books is ingrained, her love of baking came later in life – although she’s not entirely sure just how or when. What she does know is she loves it.
“It’s not really about the end result (although it’s a nice benefit) but more about the process,” she says. “Baking is sort of therapeutic to me. If I have a lot of stress it calms me down to just be busy with those ingredients and not worry about anything else.”
Anne, a 20-year-old English student, started Books Baking and Blogging in October 2013, but she’s no stranger to the online medium.
“I’ve had a few blogs when I was young teen, no older than 16,” she says. “Those were mainly diary-type blogs in which I told about what happened to me. I’ve always liked writing, and have been writing ever since I can remember.
“I started BB&B because I missed writing on a regular basis (and writing stuff that didn’t have anything to do with my studies).
“I had been walking around with the idea of starting a new blog for a few months, but I wanted a good idea about what I’d write about before actually starting. I didn’t want it to be like an online diary anymore. I wanted to start a ‘serious’ blog with a specific topic.
“My life is not even close to being exciting enough for starting an interesting diary-type blog!”
And so Anne set about writing about her two loves, with the occasional anecdote thrown in for good measure.
“I try to maintain a nonchalant way of writing, to keep things light and (I hope) sometimes funny,” she says. “I also really like to take the photos that accompany my posts.
“I bought my camera in the summer of 2013, and kind of regretted it later, because I hardly used it after my trip to London. Now, however, I use it weekly, and am getting better at taking pictures. The photography is a really fun part of blogging.”
While Anne started blogging again to write more (and admittedly bake more), it is this new-found passion for photography, connection built with fellow bloggers and creating each post that keeps her inspired.
“I aim to post twice a week (Thursday and Sunday), and I like having those deadlines each week,” she says. “I feel a little proud every time I make the deadline.”
When Anne’s not reading, baking or blogging, she’s just like every other university student.
“I love to play guitar in my spare time and hang out with my friends – watching films, having a few drinks,” she says. “I also like to play the Sims 2, have been playing it ever since it came out, and it’s still one of my favourite pastimes.
“I also watch a lot of series, like Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Castle, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl (it’s a looong list). My all time favourite show is Friends, though; I’ve watched all the episodes way too many times, and still enjoy watching it every time.”