Frequently Asked Questions
We get a lot of emails asking a variety of questions, so I thought compiling them all into a faq page would be useful for all of us! If you have a question that is not answered here or on our about page, feel free to get in touch.
How do you get such great food photos? What is your setup?
It’s a never-ending learning process. If you go way back into the archives (and I’m NOT going to link you there), you’ll definitely notice a difference. At first I thought it was cool to get as close as humanly possible to my food. You could barely tell what the whole thing was. And for that I apologize! hehe. For those interested, all my photos before spring 2011 were shot with a Canon Rebel digital SLR camera, outfitted with a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens. I have since upgraded to a Canon 5D, and now use a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens 90% of the time. I try to use natural light whenever possible (our huge windows are absolutely wonderful for this), but in the wintertime I’m often stuck using just the track lighting above our dining table. I’m still trying to figure out a better nighttime lighting setup, and will be sure to let you know when I do.
What is your day job?
Good question! It’s easy to believe that we just sit around baking cupcakes all day, but that’s not the case. In fact, we work from home (yes, together, all day, every day). We run two web businesses, Purr Design, web and graphic design, and Pattern & Paw, handmade cat and dog collars (and psst! since we love you all so much, enter coupon code *LAOO* upon checkout and get 15% off your order!) Two very different endeavors, but they keep us very busy!
What IS Taylor’s favorite food?
A little dish he calls pizza-burger-sushi-pho-hotpastramisandwich, with a side of italian sausage and a cold beer.
How did Taylor propose?
Only the best proposal, like, ever: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2008/04/a-sweet-proposal.html. I mean really, how could you say NO to a guy who bakes you 12 dozen mini chocolate cupcakes?
I want to know about your exercise habits. How do you stay thin even after baking all of those cupcakes?
I’m going to apologize in advance, because both of us are very lucky in that we have never had to deal with weight issues. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean we just go and eat anything and everything we want. Weight isn’t the only factor in overall health. We really make an effort to eat well and live healthy lifestyles in general. We work out 4-5 times a week (the program we do is called P90X, if anyone is interested, it is seriously INTENSE, albeit cheesy). We also do our best to make healthy eating choices, something that is much easier to do when you are cooking your own meals rather than eating out. I am and always have been a very light eater (and I’m working on Taylor and his tendency to stuff himself). We are only periodic meat eaters, maybe twice a week at the most, and then it’s usually seafood or poultry. We eat very little dairy or fried foods, and rarely go out to eat (maybe 2-3 times a month). So while yes, I admit I have a very large sweet tooth (or two), we still consider ourselves on the healthy side of things and try to keep it that way.
Tell us about your kitchen.
We live in a place with a very open layout – our kitchen is basically part of the living room. But that means tons of light, super high ceilings, and… very little storage. Like, practically none. So we had to get creative. The “pantry” you see is an old antique hutch we inherited and refinished. It sits on the wall across from the kitchen and holds all of our dry food in a collection of jars and various containers. We also had to find a shelving piece to hold all of our dishes… this particular one was actually an old store display shelf we found on sale. We’ll replace it with something more sturdy… someday. You can see more photos of our home and kitchen on flickr.
What got you started blogging?
I’ve always been a bit of a computer nerd, and was involved with various online ‘newsletters’ and ‘journals’ long before blogs even existed. But what got me started with THIS blog was a fancy new camera and macro lens. What better to take really close up detail shots of than food? And since we’re always cooking, I figured, why not!
Can I sent you my product for a review/giveaway/sponsored post?
We occasionally mention products and/or host giveaways on the blog, but are very selective about the products we feature. Generally, we only feature products we personally know or love, or know that our readers would love. But you are welcome to get in touch with us. Please note that we reserve the right to express our opinions (good or bad) or not say anything at all. We will never accept payment to publish positive feedback.
