Welcome to Averie In Real Life!

Hello! I'm sharing about more than just recipes - travel, restaurant recs, city guides, transitioning to life as an empty nester, book reviews, fashion and beauty finds - a little bit of everything!

Inside the Eiffel Tower, July 2025

Why I Created Averie In Real Life

This is a longish story so stick with me. I started blogging in 2009, which is at the present time is 16 years ago. When I first started blogging, I was going through a divorce and had a 2 year old daughter (now 18!) and was trying to find a way to make ends meet. I also wanted to stay at home and I had no idea what '“blogging” really was - and that if it was even viable to make a living on the internet. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But I thought to myself, maybe this could work.

So I poured my heart and soul and everything I had into my website, now known as Averie Cooks. Fun Trivia - When I started my site, it was called Love Veggies and Yoga. I shared supremely healthy recipes, while navigating life as a divorced new mom, with a small child. I loved yoga and veggies (I still do) and I shared my grocery hauls and parenting mishaps and fashion finds and pictures of my little toddler.

However, by 2013 it was clear that in order to “make it” on the internet, I really needed to hone in on my niche and pick a theme. Food seemed the most viable and Averie Cooks was born.

But in sharing about recipes, I gave up writing about anything else. No more stories, no family photos, no sharing about my most recent vacation or great restaurant. Just recipes. Google algorithms and even the general public seemed to prefer this more sterile format. (Although, times are changing and in order for the algorithms to know that I am not an AI robot, more sharing may be preferred.)

However, in recent years I have really missed sharing more personal info about my life than just recipes! I love to write and want to talk about about what I’m up to, my musings on life, and get out of the lane of solely recipes AND to connect with my current audience more, while attracting new followers. This is why Averie In Real Life is becoming a reality!

Zona Romantica golden hour, Puerto Vallarta, June 2025

What’s Substack?

This is an ad-free platform that allows you to view what I write without ads. I have purchased the domain www.averieinreallife.com but behind the scenes, I’m using the Substack platform to write, share the photos, and ping your inbox if you choose to know when I have a new post live.

You don’t have to download the app - although you may want to if you do most of your reading on your phone rather than computer, but it’s not required.

Our Paris Trip, July 2025, inside the Eiffel Tower before she goes off to college.

Is There a Cost?

Yes and no. Every month, I’ll post something that’s totally free to view. Everyone will have access to these posts.

However, in total transparency, I plan to share more personal information here, more valuable things like restaurant guides, city guides; info about my family, my thoughts, cooking demos, Q&As, and my Real Life.

This is work that is time-consuming and labor-intensive to create, or much more personal and I don’t feel comfortable having the whole world being able to scroll-and-troll it; and therefore you’ll need to subscribe for certain posts at a cost of $5 per month, or $50 annually.

My husband, Christian, and I, May 2025 at a dinner out.

What’s The Benefit For YOU

If you’re here and reading this, you’re reading on the free version.

If you want to upgrade for $5 bucks a month (recurring, and you can cancel easily at any time), you can expect:

• 100% ad-free experience. One of the things that people complain about the most in general these days is the constant barrage of ads, popups (which people confuse with ads but popups are not necessarily an “ad” and may be alerting you that I have a free Holiday Entertaining email series and by providing your email address, you’ll get the series in your inbox), but I get it. Pro Tip: If you’re interested in viewing Averie Cooks Without Ads, I have a membership there too with monthly, semi-annual, and annual plans.

• Access to in-depth reviews. We’re talking reviews such as The Best Restaurants in San Diego, The Best Tacos in Puerto Vallarta, Why to Avoid X Activity in Paris, The Best Audiobooks I’ve Ever Listened To, and so forth.

• Deeper and more personal writing. My only child is moving out of state for college in early August and I plan to write about this transition. I am newly-ish married to an immigrant and the immigration process is mindbogglingly difficult. More personal things of this nature that weigh on me and I want to share. Maybe some of you will have tips and similar experiences and we can all share and learn together.

• Access to Me. I plan to do live Q&As with my audience, and I personally will answer every question/comment posted. That’s another thing, if you’re not a member you won’t be able to post comments. I want this to be a safe space and snark-free! I figure if you’re paying a nominal amount to be here, you’ll be gentler and kinder.

• Learn Fun Things! I’ve fallen down many rabbit holes on Substack and have learned things about my favorite cities that I didn’t know, I’ve found new books to read, I’ve caught glimpses of someone’s more personal side who I’ve always admired online, and much more. It’s fun to learn, discover, and ponder.

My daughter, Skylar, and I, June 2025. Savoring every last moment with her!