Why I Left

Hi! And welcome to A Hoppy Medium - the latest blog venture from me, Michelle Lahey (you can find my original, former food blog here: The Economical Eater). Let's start things off by explaining why I changed blogs - after not blogging for over a year. Shall we?

Over the last year and a half, I've learned a lot - professionally and personally. I originally "gave up" blogging once I started a new, full-time opportunity with a James Beard award-winning chef in Boston. I managed the marketing and events for both of his restaurants, and also acted as his personal assistant. Besides it being a very time-consuming and challenging position, I also learned more about food and the restaurant industry than almost a decade of professional food writing had ever taught me. I began asking myself: How did I ever think that I had the right to judge a chef's food? How could I have ever called myself a legitimate "food writer"?

The job was definitely an eye-opening experience, and had me questioning my chosen profession. A profession I went to school for, and had been practicing for almost 10 years. It definitely made me take a step back from writing and blogging, not only to immerse myself in my new role, but also because I no longer knew where I stood in the food writing world. Or, if I even belonged there in the first place.

Personally, I learned a lot about what I wanted in a career, and my life in general. I wanted to always be learning, always be challenging myself, while also enjoying my personal life outside of work. After over a year of basically working seven days a week, I knew I needed a change - I wanted to get back to the things I loved (i.e.: food writing and cooking), with a new level of knowledge for both crafts that is beyond invaluable. Now, I know that I will always be learning in this profession - I will never be an expert in the world of food, and that's what makes it that much more exciting.

Another personal change was that my husband, "Z," and I decided to leave New England - where we've always lived - for Portland, Oregon. We drove across the country in six days, with nothing but our clothes and bikes (and a few craft beers from our Boston cellar), and made a drastic life change. It's thrilling, albeit a bit scary, but we're both excited for this new chapter - and adventure!

So here, with this new blog/canvas, I'm excited to share with you our new life in Portland, and my new appreciation for all things food, cooking, and writing. Oh, and I like to drink good beer, too. (Hence the blog name - love me a good IPA!). So there will be quite a bit of that here as well.

Thanks for coming on this journey with me!

-Michelle