Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a young girl with a very well-planned dream: one day, she would marry her Prince Charming. With a type-A personality that was as precise as a well-oiled clock, she had the entire blueprint for her fairy tale mapped out.

At 22, she’d be engaged.
At 24, she’d tie the knot.
By 26, her first child—a beautiful little girl—would arrive.
At 28, her handsome little boy would join the family.

And that, she believed, was the perfect fairy tale in the making.

But, as most fairy tales go, life has a funny way of throwing in plot twists.

As the years passed, there were plenty of princes and white knights who appeared on the scene. But no one told her about the evil queens, the bad princes, and the dark knights lurking in the shadows. Worst of all, no one warned her about the frogs—the ones that never, ever turned into princes after you kissed them (spoiler alert: they just hopped away).

Her first true love—an aspiring prince—was sadly overshadowed by a wicked queen (his mother), whose black magic worked against the naïve young woman in ways she hadn’t seen coming. Naturally, the relationship was doomed from the start.

At 28, still single, she decided to venture into the vast world beyond her childhood dreams. And what an adventure it turned out to be! She traveled to far-off lands, forged incredible friendships, and indulged in life’s greatest pleasures—food, wine, and all the flavors in between.

But let’s not sugarcoat it. Along the way, there were more black knights, bad princes, and even some frogs that just refused to evolve.

When she crossed the ocean to the land of America, she was sure that true love awaited her around the corner. But alas, her quest for her prince continued to be… well, a bit of a rollercoaster. What was going on with this kingdom of Princes, she wondered?

It was during one of these adventures, between sips of wine and bites of amazing food, that she realized something important: her life, though far from the fairytale she had imagined, was still pretty darn magical.

She had a career that allowed her to help people grow, friendships that lasted the test of time, and a family that spanned two continents. She had traveled, laughed, and tasted some of the finest wine known to humankind.

And suddenly, she realized that her 40-something years had shaped a life far more interesting and fulfilling than any fairy tale ever could.

So, she took to the world of blogging to share everything she had learned, to encourage others to take a big gulp out of life, one small sip at a time.

And so, Life-Food-Wine was born one year ago today, a platform for this once-naive (but still occasionally a little naïve) woman to share her adventures with the world.

“Join me on my journey,” she invites her readers, “as I sip my way through the wild ride of life.”

Happy Birthday to my Blog!
And… a huge thank you to all my readers! You’ve been the true princes and princesses in my story, cheering me on every step of the way.

 Tracey