Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Dunmire.
Hi Nikki, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My food blog came about one day during a work lunch. One of my fellow Team Members at the time suggested I start a blog since I always spoke about my passion for eating, traveling, and photography. Prior to having a food blog/food Instagram account, I would post about some of my dining experiences on my personal Instagram. On the spot at lunch, I came up with the Instagram handle, “repeatandeat”, to focus solely on my foodie adventures. This was back in March of 2018; I can’t believe how much time has passed already! I truly am in awe of the relationships and experiences my food blog has brought me throughout the past few years. I have been able to attend amazing events, meet wonderful fellow foodies and business owners, and connect with other individuals around the world. It’s wild to think that this all started when I was newly dating my now husband and we are about to have our first baby!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say that yes, it has been a fairly smooth road. However, a key area of improvement that I can immediately think of is businesses around the Orlando area recognizing the importance and impact of what us fellow foodies do regarding our stories and posts for them. Of course, I participate in food blogging out of pure joy and passion; however, it is especially nice when I receive compensation for my hard work. If you think about it, many of us drive far for dining experiences, have professional equipment and editing software to showcase the restaurant’s food to the best of our ability, and spend time posting and promoting them.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Aside from being a “foodie”, my professional career is in the field of Human Resources. I greatly enjoy helping others and anyone who remotely knows me typically describes me as “Type A”, organized, and punctual. So of course, I would love the field of Human Resources. Before being a professional in the Human Resources field, I attended Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina for my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education to become a teacher. After graduation, I moved home to Orlando, Florida, and attended the University of Central Florida to obtain my Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (along with receiving my Mental Health Certificate). After graduation, I landed my first job as an Outpatient Therapist helping underprivileged families in Jacksonville, Florida. This was my most rewarding and eye-opening career. At the ripe age of 24, I could tell I was making a positive impact on children and families. A great opportunity then opened for me to move back home to Orlando to begin a career in Human Resources. I have been in that field ever since! Altogether, I am most proud of helping others in general. I will never forget that during my student teaching experience at Clemson, one of the students wrote me a letter stating that I “taught her how to be happy”. From a “foodie” standpoint, what I believe sets me apart from others is my love for capturing colors in my photos. I will say though, every food account I come across is so unique and special.
What matters most to you?
This is going to sound like a cliché response, but at the end of the day, what matters to me is being healthy and feeling as though I am making a difference in other people’s lives. In the back of my mind, I try to tell myself to be present at the moment because life happens quickly, and you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Contact Info:
- Email: repeatandeat247@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/repeatandeat/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/repeatandeat247
