The White Collar Redneck

Well, here it is. Another year, another new blog.

Last year, I began a journey of culinary discovery as I attempted to live on my own, sans roommate and sans parents, for the very first time. I scrunched myself, my two cats, and all my belongings into a tiny, 490 square foot, 8^th floor studio in the 'burbs of DC. I downsized from a beautiful, spacious kitchen with a gas stove to a tiny kitchenette. There was maybe 18 inches of counter space, and an electric stove that left ugly burn rings on my precious Le Creuset pans.

I titled my original blog The Studio Foodie, in homage to my first on-my-own apartment. I moved out about 10 months later, and am now renting the basement of a townhome not far away. As I began to grow out of my tiny space, I began to grow out of the blog too. What started as a simple 'how to cook things in a tiny space' memoir began to shift into something a little bigger.

Over the past year, I've begun to adopt a “suburban homesteading” philosophy. I'm working to become more and more self-reliant, with certain adaptations. I mean, as much as I'd like to, I can't set up a generator in my back yard. HOA rules (and my landlord!) won't allow it. I also have a full time job with at least a 2 hour round trip commute each day—I just don't have time to live a truly pioneer lifestyle. But I do what I can.

“White collar redneck” is a term I came up with to describe my residence in the cross hairs of cultural and socio economic stereotypes.

I grew up the oldest child of two college educated parents, who chose to raise their family in a blue collar, working class town. In one school, I was teased as “the little rich girl” because my daddy was the only daddy on the block who wore a suit to work. I transferred to another, and was bullied for being “white trash.” My mom stayed home, so with only one income to pay the bills, we learned to stretch what we had and waste nothing.

Jeff Foxworthy once defined “redneck” as the “glorious absence of sophistication.” It is not defined by class or income level, but by action. For instance, I'm employed but a large, international consulting firm. Our employees are clad in expensively tailored suits and drive luxury vehicles. I drink out of Mason jars and drive a Saturn.

As my mama always told me, and her mama before her, and her mama before her...remember who you are, what you are, and where you came from. I'm proud of my redneck roots, and I'm blessed to have the opportunities I've been given.