Welcome to my first post!

First blog post–who dis? All jokes aside, I am super excited to finally get this blog up & running — it’s been a long time coming! My first blog post is to tell you more about the story behind my blog, why I am starting it, and give you a taste of what you can expect to see from me!

Welcome Readers!

If you’ve made it this far, you should know a bit about who I am. If this is your first time here…

Allow me to re-introduce myself!

My name is Desiree’ Slaughter, but I prefer to go by Desi (des-zee). I’m a multitalented creative professional, solopreneur, and digital creator from Detroit, MI. This is my personal blog!

To learn more about me, keep reading below or head to my about page to read my bio.

I’m interested in learning more about you!

Comment below to share more about yourself and what you hope to see. It’s going to be so much fun connecting with you all!

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s get into the story.

My Reason Why

Having an influential personal blog has been something I’ve been passionate about for more years than I can count and have wanted to do for a long time. For years, I have had so many ideas that I wanted to share with the world. I remember being in high school in 2007 when Facebook was becoming popular. Teyana Taylor‘s My Super Sweet 16 episode recently aired. She released her song “Google Me” during my senior year in 2008.

My only thought then was that I wanted to make my personal brand so strong that I’d be known online and people would have a reason to Google me. Sharing ideas and connecting with new people through blogging sounded so fun and exciting to me!

I WANTED TO BE A DIGITAL CREATOR BEFORE I EVEN KNEW WHAT IT WAS!!

It’s easy for me to go on and on about how passionate and excited I am about this, but you get the idea!

Despite my growing interest, from high school on, anytime I expressed that I wanted to do more online and be more known, most of my family immediately shunned the idea with statements like, “You ain’t gonna be tellin’ the world all your business” and the like.

After a while, I started to believe that I shouldn’t and couldn’t be what I wanted to be online and eventually stopped showing up altogether. Despite it all, growing my online presence through social media and blogging has stayed in my mind. I always knew I wanted to find a way to succeed at it.

Getting Started

This blog was initially started as a passion project back in 2008

Naturally driven by so many things, I’ve spent so many years (not days, YEARS) worth of time learning as much as possible about whatever sparked my interests. As a freshman in college, I became more interested in blogging. Between my personal branding research and my Media, Arts, and Technology degree courses, I really dug deep into learning how to start a blog and started my WordPress website design journey. 

Being such an easy platform to get your first blog up and running, I finally decided to stop procrasti-FAKING and doubting myself. Along with my background in design and coding, learning to use WordPress for websites and blogging became a breeze for me. Eventually, I used it to create the first version of my blog to share my thoughts, work, experiences, recipes, nerd out on the things I love, and connect with my tribe. 

Stopping and Refocusing

That first version was a fun, creative outlet for me to get started. Still, I did less with it than I’d planned. Since that first version, I’ve gone through countless ideas for names, themes, and niches, and I’ve started, deleted, and even lost a few posts I’ve written over the years. Finding a way to tie everything together in one place became so much that eventually, I got into a destructive cycle of splitting my identity. Over time, I had created so many versions of my blog that it was all lost in the sauce. 

After spending an extended period of time struggling with launching my blog and maintaining consistency, I decided to take a step back to reevaluate my challenges and the purpose of it all. In thinking about my goals and what I want to do in my life (outside of other people’s expectations), it became clear to me that I’d never be the influencer or digital creator I wanted to be if I didn’t get serious about my long-time desire to use blogging and YouTube to grow my brand and share my story.

Starting Fresh

From there, I researched, read books, and scoured the internet for inspiration month after month until it finally hit me … a hybrid-style lifestyle blog.

Years later, I am finally taking a leap and jumping feet first into publishing my blog despite the lack of perfection and previous feelings of lack of support.

Thus, Eat. Nerd. Create. was born!

Behind the Name

I chose to name my blog, Eat. Nerd. Create., because those are the main three topics where most of my interests and experiences lie. 

I love to eat, make and share good food with good people; nerd out on technology, art, media, and everything Apple; and share all the things I’ve learned, designed, or DIY-ed to create the life of my dreams. That’s how I came up with my tagline: “eat good, nerd out, create more.”

Keep reading to find out more about each area.

EAT GOOD.

Be honest…

• Have you ever had your taste brought to tears of mouthwatering joy from the sight or thought of food?
• Or had a meal so great you had to close your eyes as you tasted and savored each and every note of flavor in your mouth?
• Or dreamt of a food experience in an epic “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” fashion?
• Or even wished to be a judge on any of the Food Network cooking shows, just to experience the world of flavor combinations you have yet to experience?

‘Cause I have more times than I could count.

I’m undoubtedly a foodie (and a pescatarian) — There’s no shame in my game!

Being the oldest of 4 with a single mother, I spent a lot of my childhood helping my mom care for my younger siblings. In order to help my mom more, I learned to cook at a fairly young age. By the age of 10, I could cook a full meal to feed our family of 5 (and also because I am a horribly picky eater). Although I was pretty much the pickiest eater in our house, you should know that I’m completely obsessed with food. I love to watch the food channel (who doesn’t) and scroll Pinterest for new recipe ideas. I even dream of one day having my own cookbooks.

Having worked in food services for just over 10 years, I am constantly trying to create restaurant-inspired dishes on a budget that are fresh, creative, quick, easy, and perfect for sharing with those you love. I believe that cooking should be fun and recipes, flexible. I love to create new twists on recipes inspired by the things I know and love, and I hope my recipes inspire you to step into the kitchen to cook a delicious meal, with your own twist. Above all, I love eating good food in good company—does it get any better than that?

NERD OUT.

I’ve heard that…

• If you are constantly pushing up your glasses, you may be a nerd.
• If you snort when you laugh, you may be a nerd.
• If you’re constantly obsessing about technology and other things people don’t care about… you may be a nerd.
• If your passion is sometimes confused with you being a know-it-all, you just may be a nerd.
• If you are an intellectual badass, you are definitely a nerd.

Based on these, and other factors, I’m sure my nerd quotient is through the roof!

Growing up, I always had my nose in the books…I am truly a bookworm; I’ve read so many books I can’t even count. From as early as the age of 4, I can remember always wanting a new book series to complete. If it caught my eye, I wanted to read it, and I obsessively devoured book after book…Barbie, Amelia Bedelia, Dr. Seuss, Goosebumps, and too many others to list them all. I’ve read all of the Harry Potter series and seen every movie, multiple times, and I honestly can’t wait to make a special trip to Florida just to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

When I was a kid, I really wanted to be an Engineer (I seriously hated Science tho…), but when I went away to college I learned that I was more of a creative tech geek. I have so many interests that there’s no telling what could catch my eye next. From movies, anime, comics, games, and science (the concept, but never the classes), to ancient history, mythology, astrology, and technology.

Being a nerd can have many definitions (there’re levels to this shit), but nonetheless, the nerd life ads its possibilities are limitless. You don’t have to have every trait of the “classic nerd” to embody all the best qualities of and be considered a nerd. Being an intellectual badass is about having equal parts of smarts and sass. It’s time everyone started embracing their nerdiness and wearing it proudly. Follow along here for my nerdy notions, interests, and rantings.

CREATE MORE.

“Being creative is not a hobby, its a way of life.”

I’m a code-writing, pixel-pushing, content-crafting, and Apple-loving creative. I’ve been creating all of my life, but I have been perfecting it since 2007.

I’ve created and managed the design of everything from brochures, banners, websites, flyers, logos, and more. I have worked with a variety of people in which combined ideas helped produce wonderful creations. Design is my passion. I am currently working a few jobs and building my freelance and blog businesses on the side.

Being a designer, I have a natural knack for creating new things. Whether it’s designing something, DIY, crafting, doodling, writing, or journaling, I love using my creativity to shape my life experiences. I truly believe that you create the life you want. Every day, there is some new creative thing that I am dying to try, but occasionally the procrastination sets in tough, and I have a hard time choosing between Netflix, snacks, and chill, or working on my blog and other creative stuff after a long day filled with work and other things (SPOILER ALERT: Netflix usually wins the battle). Either way, I always try to make time to read, watch, or listen to something inspiring that will spark action toward being creative every day.

Here I will also be sharing the things that I create and giving you tips and resources on how you can flex your creative muscles and start creating the life you want.

MY LIFE.

Along with the other content areas that I explained above, you’ll also see me sprinkling in lots of stories about life in Michigan, where I spend my days cooking, adventuring, learning, DIY-project-ing, working, building my brands, spending time with some great friends and family, Oh, and hanging out with my #1 sidekick and crumb snatcher — my playful pup, Bandit. (Feel free to take a peek at his socials, Bringing Up Bandit!)

What to Expect

Overall, this space will have a little bit of everything – from food, tech, creativity, lifestyle, and personal development to my story, thoughts, random musings, and other experiences worth documenting. 

My goal with this site is to inspire, educate, and entertain everyone within my reach by sharing my experiences and giving an inside look into my world. I hope to one day grow this blog into a place where foodies, nerds, and creatives can connect with, create with, and inspire each other through the things we love.

When I Will Post

I plan to publish and promote a minimum of 8 posts per month over the year, starting with 2 per month, then 4 per month, then 6 per month, and finally 8 per month, increasing from there. 

How To Use My Site

To get you started, below, you’ll find a breakdown of how my site is set up.

• The homepage of my website is the entry point to just about every other place you can get to. It gives an overview of who I am, what I do, and where to find me. 
• The blog page always has the newest posts and updates I’ve shared across all categories.
• The Eat (Eat Good) category is the foodie haven! It has all the food-related posts like recipes, challenges, reviews, and more.
• The Nerd (Nerd Out) category is the place for the geeky, tech-obsessed, ever-curious geniuses that are always in the know!
• The Create (Create More) category is filled with design, DIY, journaling, and many other ways to practice creating daily.
• The Life (My Life) category is my place to share my personal story and other relatable experiences relating to adulting, in general, and living a well-rounded lifestyle. 
• And the General category is where I put all the other posts that may not fit in other places (like this one!). 

Final Thoughts

Last but not least, let me just say how happy I am that you’re reading my very first blog post. I’m thrilled to be starting this journey!

As I begin, I ask that you all be patient with me as a newbie. I am so grateful for my readers already, and I hope that you stay along for the ride with me! 

If you can relate to the journey of an early 30-year-old, cluelessly adulting, stick around for my weekly posts. Hey, you might find some information that you can benefit from! (^_^)

Please leave me any ideas or things you would like to see here in the comments! Remember to follow my blog by reading it here on my website, following with your favorite RSS reader, or subscribing to my email newsletter to get new posts in your inbox. 

Thanks again for stopping by, and remember to always eat good, nerd out, create more, and live YOUR life!