The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch: Interview with Shelby Law Ruttan

October 29, 12:04 PMFood Blog ExaminerDonna Diegel

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Snowflake Cookies

Shelby aka HoneyB, is the very talented blogger behind 'The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch'. And behind every talented female blogger is her inspiration, in this case, Grumpy! When I first met HoneyB in cyberspace, I thought, what an odd name for a blog. There's got to be a story behind it, and there was. Grumpy is Shelby's husband – her sidekick, and from what she tells everyone on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog, Grumpy likes to eat. Who doesn't?

HoneyB is an obsessed foodie at heart. Everything she does seems to revolve around food, and her friends and family revolve around her, AND her food! After drooling over her recent Halloween Party, you can easily see why Shelby's house is "Party Central"! No one in their right mind would turn down an invitation to her get-togethers.

Check out Shelby's blog, 'The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch', and gawk at all the delicious photos in the slide show at the bottom of this page, keeping in mind that someone other than you had already enjoyed them!

The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch is such a fun name! What does it mean?
My hubby's grumpy side merited him the name Grumpy, I'm his Honeybunch and the blog is the story of my life and all I love!! I have an about me section on my blog that showcases special people near and dear to my heart.

Shelby, how did you get into blogging? What was your motivation for starting The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch?
I belong to a private forum of friends who enjoyed talking about allrecipes.com.  One of the ladies in this forum shared her blog with our group almost 2 years ago and that was when I thought I would like to write a blog to record memories that my children would have to go back to.  My intention wasn't really food related as my first couple of posts show, but to write things down that I remember from my life.  It quickly turned into food and memories - past and current.  My grandmother is my inspiration as she and I had so many wonderful moments together and I so wish I had some of the stories she told me in writing for myself to remember. 

Where did you get your culinary training from?
I have no "schooled" training.  I learned what I know from watching my mom and grandmother.  I do watch the food shows on TV which has given me "mental" knowledge that I have sometimes put into practice.  I'm just an average gal who loves to cook and bake and like my grandmother, loves to push it on other people. 

Does cooking and baking run in the family?
Yes, most of the girls on my mom's side of the family love to cook and bake as do their offspring!  One of my cousins has a daughter who is looking at going to culinary school.  My kids however, well, they love to eat more than they love to cook however Chris works with food/pizza everyday as he is a manager at Domino's.  I think Chris has some pretty creative ideas with food although he doesn't live to cook, he cooks to live!

It's obvious you love baking. What other foods do you enjoy?
I love Indian food.  I can't get enough of it.  I also can't make it at home for Grumpy because he won't eat it!  I love tofu as I proclaim proudly on my blog often!

Do you blog full time, and if not, what is your real day job?
Blogging is just a hobby for me.  I work as an Administrative Secretary at a private university and have been there 13 years now

I was just drooling over your Halloween Party. Do you entertain on such a grand scale often?
I don't entertain like that often.  Most of my "parties" are just friends or family over for dinner.  I did this party mainly because I had the opportunity to have Foodbuzz support it and because my daughter-in-law Kristina loves Halloween so much.  Kristina is awesome at party planning and decorating and she did ALL the decorations for the party.  We did the food together.  I'm very happy to have a daughter-in-law that loves to entertain and cook herself!

You're very active in the Food Blogging/Twitter/Facebook world. What's your secret to blogging fame?
I think the best thing to help you be seen and loved is to be yourself and to visit other blogs and let them know you visited them.  I also totally believe in sharing the knowledge I have gained and I love to visit new bloggers to encourage them in their passion.  I also will mention new bloggers as well as favorite blogposts of others on Facebook to bring attention to them.  Lets face it, we all want hits, but the best way to get it is to share!

Your photography is amazing. What camera are you using, and if you had unlimited funds, what camera would you buy?
Honestly?  I have to chuckle here.  I started out with a Kodak easy share.  It wasn't the best of cameras but when it died I bought a Panasonic DMC-TZ5.  Still just a point and shoot but I've been really happy with most of the photos I take.  I think the trick with good photos is your lighting (I use a Lowell ego light and reflector) - and use a tripod.  I'm not super camera savvy but if I were to pursue my interest in photography I would look into becoming more knowledgeable about cameras.

Tell us more about the baking and cooking gigs you're involved with?
I started out with Daring Bakers, then joined Tuesday's with Dorie.  I ended up dropping out of them both in the long run for two reasons.  I was gaining weight (surprise!) and when I had surgery on my cervical spine in late March I felt too tired and physically unable to keep up.  Not to mention I was still gaining weight!  I have also participated in My Kitchen, My World where you cook a meal from a different part of the world every week, Taste & Create where once a month you are paired up with another blogger and make something from their blog (where I met Laura of The Spiced Life) and I am the co-host of Family Recipes Event with Laura of The Spiced Life.

The Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club looks like so much fun. How did you get into it?
My friend Val of More than Burnt Toast suggested to me that we do a 2 Gals Cooking Light week back in June 09.  During that week, our friend Helene of La Cuisine d'Helene saw we were doing the Cooking Light posts and wanted to continue to do something.  She contacted Cooking Light and the ball started rolling from there.  I suggested that Aggie of Aggies Kitchen and Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club join us as they did something similar to what Val and I did and I knew they were fans of Cooking Light.  Our group was formed and we became the first official virtual supper club with Cooking Light!

How many cookbooks do you own?
Um, this means I have to get up and count?  LOL.  I couldn't tell you.  I probably own more magazines than books though.  Grumpy really hates it!

Favorite kitchen equipment or appliance?
My microplane zester and my food processor.

Do you taste-test everything you make?
Absolutely!

What has been your #1 favorite meal or most requested recipe?
The biggest favorite in our home is the Walnut Shrimp. 

Any duds, something you threw away and don't want to talk about?
Kugelhopf failed terribly and although I posted it, we did not eat it.  A few other items I made from TWD turned out nicely and very pretty - but they just weren't something I loved so I ended up giving them away.  My dad really loved the Dimply Plum Tart but it wasn't up my alley.

Where do you see The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch going from here?
I plan to continue blogging.  I'm still healing from my surgery and I get tired which is why I don't post as often as I used to.  I'm hoping to be back into full swing for the holidays however....so my friends and family need to be prepared to get fatter as I don't intend to eat it all!  This is still my hobby that happens to have a few perks attached to it now (Cooking Light and Foodbuzz).  I don't really have any other "plans" but if someone came to me with an offer too good to refuse, I probably wouldn't refuse!  Recently one of my friends on Facebook suggested we do a "reality show".  LOL.  That I probably would refuse. 

What food bloggers would you like me to interview next?
Well, with no doubt Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club.  Jamie is a new blogger and she has such a great blog.  I think she deserves some attention!

Any cookbooks in the works?
Yes there are!  This weekend I am going to Albany with my mom and Aunt Marlene to visit my Aunt Ann.  Our plans are to go through all of grandma's recipes.  I also plan to collaborate with my mom and put together our own cookbook.  My mother, like myself, loves to write and express herself with written word and record memories.  I've even thought of taking all my grandmother's diaries and putting together a book if I could.  My grandmother wrote in a diary every day of her life that I can remember! So, you can see my love of writing and cooking is definitely inherited!

Last meal - What would it be?
Don't laugh - General Tso's Tofu. 

Do you have an awesome food blog with sinfully rich photos we can lick off the screen? If so, email me at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com for an exclusive interview and some great press!

Photos and interview are copyrighted and used with written permission by Shelby Law Ruttan of 'The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch'.