The day in the life of a food blogger and her phone!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SamsungUnlocked #CollectiveBias

I love my job, and I’m not under duress when I say that. 🙂 I truly love what I do. I also realize how fortunate that makes me. The day I first learned to cook, was also the day I discovered my calling. There’s no drug in the world that makes me happier than the pure act of baking a cake! I’m very grateful that I get to do something I love every day, but what most people may not realize is how involved and busy a food blogger can be on any given day. So let me share with you briefly what a day in the life of this food blogger and her best friend in the trade (cell phone), is like.

There are two key parts to a food blog. There’s the food, and then there’s the blog. Of course, I need my kitchen, pots and pans, an oven and a fridge along with a few other equipment, and most of all the food and ingredients to make the food come to life. But none of that will see the light of day without the blog. There are 4 things that I absolutely require to run the blog – Internet, my camera, my laptop, and my phone.

The phone is arguably the most important of all – if only for the fact that it’s a uniquely handy tool that incorporates all 4 of those components into one device. A decent smartphone these days is a still camera, a video camera, a computer, internet, and an on-the-go organizational tool all rolled into one. And when it comes to phones, I’ve always been an android girl, with a special affinity for Samsung Galaxy phones (and that may or may not have anything with my recent series of galaxy-themed food creations 🙂 )! From Samsung Note 2 to Galaxy 7 – they have all served me exceptionally well! So when I got the opportunity to try the new Samsung Galaxy GS8, I jumped at the chance. I mean, I literally jumped.

Up until last Friday, my Galaxy 7 was not only my organizer and social media manager, but it was also my camera and video too! Every single one of my recipe videos on the blog so far, were recorded with my phone, so a chance to upgrade my video quality and organizational skills with the Samsung Galaxy GS8 was fantastic. I ordered an UNLOCKED Samsung Galaxy GS8 online from Walmart. The process was extremely easy, and it was delivered straight to my door (with constant updates and the ability to track the delivery, of course). There are two phones you can choose from too – Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

 

Apart from my very first smart phone, I have always owned Samsung galaxy phones. And all of them have been unlocked (even my phones prior to Samsung), so that I had the freedom to choose my own phone plan and carrier. This has always been very important to me. I’ve lived and moved between different countries and continents quite often over the last 15 years, and to be able to stay in touch with friends and family that lived in different places, meant that I needed to choose the best plan for my situation, with a good data, unlimited texting and overseas calling plans. And that’s almost never possible with a locked phone. And of course a great data plan lets me stay up to date with all my email and social media stuff which has become even more important since I started my blog. It also lets me research ingredients while I’m on the go, or if I see something interesting at the grocery store, I can look it up quickly on google to gather more information and decide if I should add it to my shopping cart.  And a great data plan also gives me the peace of mind, so I don’t need to worry about running out of data, or text or call minutes.¹ This unlocked phone comes with a standard US limited warranty which is fantastic too!³

Since an unlocked phone has more internal space available (due to fewer preloaded apps), I have more room for extra apps (like adobe apps which I absolutely need!). After talking to MANY food bloggers, I can also promise you that ALL OF US have a separate “note pad” app (that’s built into the GS8) that let’s us jot down recipe ideas that we get while we’re in the middle of something else. 😀 Plus, if I travel overseas, I don’t need to pay huge for roaming. I just get a local sim card, which saves me a bunch of money². What are your reasons for choosing an unlocked phone? 🙂

Some of my can’t live without phone apps (not including social media of course!)

• One Note
• Google docs
• Photoshop express
• Adobe clip
• Samsung notes
• Out of Milk
• Gif to Video
• Alto (this is my favorite phone game – seriously relaxes me!!)
• and now Bixby!

There are so many new features that I love about the new Samsung Galaxy S8. The new infinity screen that is seriously beautiful on my black phone. It almost looks like it should be owned by James Bond! The new features available on the edge are amazing too. I am also LOVING the new Bixby tool. It helps me stay on top of my to-do list every day. I usually keep my to-do list and reminders all on my phone. Since the phone is with me most of the time, it’s the easiest way for me to stay organized. I can use to Bixby tool to schedule my pinterest and other social media accounts. It’s also the last thing I check on my phone every night, so I know what my plan is for the next day.

On weekends, it starts with the grocery shopping on Saturdays. With the help of an app, I have my shopping list ready to go. It’s especially useful, when sometimes I can’t find an ingredient that I want for a recipe I’m developing. For example, this week I needed to get some Queso Oaxaca, but I couldn’t find it at the store. That’s when my phone and my data plan come to the rescue, so I can quickly look up for an alternative, or change my recipe to accommodate a different ingredient. Technology is a powerful thing. 🙂

Another awesome feature that the GS8 has over my previous GS7 is Bixby vision! Ask any food blogger and one of their favorite pastimes is looking for and shopping for food props and dinnerware. Which is why I personally LOVE Bixby vision. I haven’t had the chance to use it at the store yet, but I tested it at home. Essentially, you take a well lit photograph of an item that you like, and Bixby vision will locate similar items using pinterest. It’s like reverse image search for google, but easier. I did a test run with one of my favorite bowls and Bixby vision recognized it precisely! This is going to make my food prop sleuthing so much fun!

And today, you can bet I’m going to be at a Solar Eclipse viewing party! 🙂 It’s a first time for me, and I cannot wait to see the total solar eclipse! If you tune into my Instagram, you will see plenty of Instagram stories about what’s happening, and photos of the event. If it does rain tomorrow, I won’t have to worry about my phone, because I can keep taking photos and videos with my Galaxy S8, because it has a  IP68 water resistant rating!

I mentioned earlier that I use my cell phone as my video camera for all of my recipe videos. A lot of my food blogger friends cannot believe that I use my phone for those videos, but it’s true! If you stay tuned (and subscribe to the blog), you’ll be able to see plenty of behind the scenes footage of creating great videos with a phone! I’ll be sharing what other equipment I use apart from my Samsung Galaxy S8, and how I set up the food for the video and how I edit the video for the final product as well. I use my phone to take quick photos of food I eat when I go out, as well as quick photos for instagram too! The good news is that I can edit my photos right in my phone too! The GS8, has a more detailed editing layout which gives me more control over the final images, which I love!

If you’re wondering what happened to my beloved Galaxy GS7, it found a happy home with my husband! He has been inlove with my phone for awhile now and is more than happy to be it’s new owner! Thankfully, thanks to Samsung Smart switch, I was able to quickly transfer ALL my data on my old phone to my new GS8 phone very quickly and very easily too!

What’s your choice when you choose a phone? Do you go for an unlocked plan like me too? If you love android phones, then you definitely need to get your hands on the Samsung Galaxy GS8 or GS8+!

 

If you liked this behind the scene post into a food blogger’s life, don’t forget to subscribe for the next installment – behind the scenes on how to create video recipes with a phone – by entering your email address on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM,  PINTEREST, YOU TUBE and GOOGLE-PLUS too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimers provided by Samsung

¹ Wireless voice, data and messaging services on Samsung Unlocked Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge devices are compatible with most major U.S. GSM and CDMA networks. For these devices, wireless services are available on GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile and CDMA networks such as Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular®. Visit www.samsung.com for more information on your device. Support for certain features and services such as VoWiFi and hotspot, vary by wireless service provider. Wireless voice, data and messaging services on Samsung Unlocked Galaxy S6 and Galaxy J3 devices are compatible with most major U.S. GSM networks. For these devices, wireless services are available on GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile. Visit www.samsung.com for more information on your device. Support for certain features and services such as VoWiFi and hotspot, vary by wireless service provider.

SIM card must be compatible with area’s available networks. International calling, data services and coverage vary by network provider. Contact provider for details.

.² This Samsung Unlocked phone will work on any GSM or CDMA compatible network. For these devices, wireless services are available on GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile and CDMA networks such as Verizon, Sprint, US Cellular®. Support for certain rate plans, features, and services such as VoWiFi and hotspot vary by wireless service provider. SIM card must be compatible with area’s available networks. International calling, data services and coverage vary by network provider. Contact provider for details.

³ For more information on Samsung standard U.S. limited warranty, go to samsung.com/customersupport/xxx