Filipina Meets the South

I was born and raised in a small town in Manila, Philippines – San Juan (now a city), and I spent most of my summers as a probinsyana (country dweller) with my grandparents in Pangasinan.

My event management career came a few years after I graduated from the university. I developed my work ethic, learned what quality meant, and raised my standards. The work also afforded me the opportunity to travel the country and beyond. That’s when my tastebuds opened up to a gamut of different flavor profiles.

The high stress of my job, compounded over 18 years, led to a major burnout, and I decided to take a long break and volunteer on organic farms in Napa Valley, California, and Cochise, Arizona. It culminated in an open-ended respite in New Orleans with one of my best friends. That’s when I met Mike (now my husband).

We met on our first date during Mardi Gras in 2016. Eleven months later, we were engaged. I uprooted and moved to Louisiana in 2017 and married my Southern gentleman. Read more of this story in this SMART PARENTING article.

Be With Mia Was Born

I started posting food on social media when I moved here to Prairieville, Louisiana. It was a way to tell my family and friends I was alive and okay, without constant phone-call updates. If they see a food post, it signals that I am alive and well.

I started this site as a food blog, a repository of recipes that I post on my social media. I was on a roll for a bit. However, life as an immigrant took over, and I needed a breather that turned into a lull here at Be With Mia.

What started as a food blog will now feature a steady mix of anecdotes from life around the kitchen, travel, and living between two cultures.

Nostalgia still drives my work, but my approach is more pragmatic now. You’ll find recipes, kitchen stories, travel notes, and reflections on living between two cultures–written at a mellow tempo.

If you’d like to receive these occasionally, you can join Notes from Mia.

Salamat!

Mia