Earlier this month, we met with Ryan Alves, a newspaper reporter with the Georgetown News Graphic, to discuss our new adventure! Below is the article written by Ryan. Thank you to the Georgetown News Graphic, for your promotion and support of KyTasteBuds.
Best Buds create blog to explore Kentucky (written by Ryan Alves)
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Two life-long friends, an eye for the fabulous and a desire to explore Kentucky's riches.
That's what you get when you put Leigh Roach and Tamara Schneider in a room together.
And that's exactly what the pair visions for their new lifestyle blog: Kentucky Taste Buds (www.kytastebuds.com).
"At the base of it, we just want to have fun, go on adventures and blog about it," Roach said. "Get out of our comfort zones and see where it takes us."
The two friends met in middle school and have been best "buddies" ever since.
"I'm constantly amazed by her," Schneider writes about Roach in the blog's about me section,"... I'm so glad to have her as a friend."
Schneider, a Lexington native, and Roach, from Georgetown, created her own company, IDEAist Designs after working as a CPA for Toyota.
Inspiration from a TV show where a woman creates her own lifestyle blog sparked the idea in Roach.
"She was just going out eating, drinking and having fun and blogging about it and I thought why am I not doing that?" Roach asked.
All that was left was to pitch it to her best bud, Schneider, who happily got on board for the fun.
But don't let it fool you- there's more to the new venture than Roach and Schneider partying hard.
"When Tamara was on board, at that point it became bigger. It became about two moms living their daily lives in ruts and wanting to get out and do things. We want to experience Kentucky the way it should happen," Roach said.
Which is where the blog comes in.
Together, the pair visit local restaurants, bars, hangouts shopping boutiques and businesses to seek our the best of what Kentucky has to offer.
Then they write about it.
On their website, each offering has its own category in a drop down menu.
Taste Buds is for foodie fun, like visiting renowned Kentucky chef Ouita Michel's newest restaurant, Honeywood, located in Lexington. Buds Buzz is all about events, like when Schneider and Roach went to a local gun range. Fashion Buds gives an eye toward local boutiques and businesses, while Love Buds is all about local philanthropy. Buds and Suds is for drinking on the job, so to speak. The pair recently visited Georgetown's own Slainte Irish Pub where they found drinks and plenty of laughs.
Buds to Buds features an interactive Kentucky map where visitor's who go to the website can post about about their favorite restaurant haunts.
Roach and Schneider hope the interactive component will set them apart from other blogs.
"People can chime in and say hey we know this great little restaurant in Georgetown that you guys should try," Schneider said. "And then other people can see it. That way it incentivizes other people to get our and try new things."
They eventually want to add a forum for guests to browse.
Roach and Schneider have also been busy using social media, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to interact with their followers.
"We want to help promote tourism in Kentucky and help empower women-lead businesses," Roach said. "That's important to us."
Kentucky Taste Buds doesn't have a specific missions statement, but if it did, it would start with one word: fun.
Schneider said her favorite part of the venture is attending events to meet new people. Roach agrees.
"I love hearing people's stories about what they're passionate about," Schneider said. "Whether it's craft beer or bourbon, I get excited hearing about what makes other people excited. And I like to eat too."
"Me too," Roach laughs. "I'm kind of boring and I always sit and home and do the same thing. So something going on this weekend is an excuse for me to get out. It's a really good time to socialize and meet people."
Recently, the pair got media credentials to the Kentucky Bourbon Affair, where they blogged about their experience They've also been promoting their fun on local radio and TV shows and podcasts.
Kentucky Taste Buds is also about self-discovery and discovering Kentucky as well.
They hope to eventually branch from Central Kentucky to the rest of the state, finding hidden gems along the way and then writing about them for the world to see.
"I can't believe how much I don't know and how much I haven't done right here in Kentucky and even Georgetown," Roach said. "Everyone always talks about leaving Kentucky for vacation. But there's so much here to do. We really want to tap into that."