My name is Michelle, this is my blog and I’m located in scenic (and still weird) Portland, Oregon. I like to cook, eat and take photos of it all. I live in inner SE Portland with my husband jwa. We lost our two cats over the last couple of years: Spencer who was 18 in 2011 and Chelsea, who almost made it 21 years old in February 2013. I’m sure this blog will still sometimes be about “occasionally, cats”, but we’ll probably take a little break in cat ownership to heal our hearts and fix our hardwood floors.
Previously, I grew up in Chicago, went to grad school in Indiana, moved to Flagstaff, AZ to work on my thesis, moved to Menlo Park, CA and worked at an Internet company way back in the day (Infoseek, 1998-2001), then moved to Portland. I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. There will be occasional Firefly and Buffy references in this blog. Shiny!
I love to plan trips and research where to stay and eat. If I do a travel post, believe that there was a spreadsheet involved in the initial planning.
A note on restaurant reviews and recipes posted here — I like all the recipes and restaurants that I post about. I don’t write about recipes that didn’t work for me or restaurants that I didn’t like. So, if you see it here, I liked it when I ate it.
All of the photos on this site are my own. Please do not use them without permission. Thank you!
If you would like me to review your product or cookbook and I feel it is a good fit for my blog and audience, I would love to do so. Related to that, I’m also ALWAYS interested in trying/documenting (and photographing) my meals at local restaurants.
I’ve also had a number of giveaways (Kretschmer Wheat Germ, USA Pears, Simple Truth Organics, Bob’s Red Mill) on my blog and am interested in those kinds of opportunities as well. Please contact me. mlbATjemangelavilleDOTcom
On that topic, whenever I get food/products for free, I will disclose that in my post. Sending me free products or inviting me to fancy restaurant meals will not guarantee a positive review. But if I have any issues with the product/meal, I will definitely let you know that before I post anything.
I am also especially interested in working with local Oregon food and drink companies and restaurants. I love this region and all of the amazing food we grow/make/sell.
I am interested in opportunities to create recipes for a specific ingredient or product. I prefer to work with natural ingredients (such as: pears, salmon, lamb, potatoes, cheese, etc…) rather than packaged products like sauces or mixes, etc… But if you’ve got a really great food product, feel free to contact me. A list of companies that I have developed recipe for: USA Pears, Oregon Hazelnuts, American Lamb Board, Bob’s Red Mill. mlbATjemangelavilleDOTcom
Hey, I think that it’s super awesome to take photographs of nice-looking food and restaurants. I do this on my own for fun! Do you own food or a restaurant that you would like nice and fancy photographs of? And would you pay me for these nice and fancy photographs? Let’s talk. You know the drill — mlbATjemangelavilleDOTcom
I don’t share or do anything with the email address you supply when you leave a comment. If it’s a giveaway, I’ll use your email to contact you if you’re the winner. That’s about it.
PS: I like cheese.