Coffee Break

Hello from Salt Lake City! I’m here for a work conference this week. Tomorrow I’ll be running a cooking demo– we’re making toffee from Sally’s Candy Addiction. The white chocolate macadamia nut toffee– have you tried it? I’ll be sure to have my wonderful assistants shoot some Insta stories while we’re there in action. On Friday I’m running a discussion about hiring assistants and how imperative it is to a growing blogging business. I couldn’t do this job without Steph and Hilari! They help me manage my calendar, social medias, videos, inbox, and more.

It’s been awhile since we chatted though! I’ve been avoiding writing my usual monthly Coffee Breaks the past couple months because I knew I’d spill the beans. And we weren’t ready to share the news with the world until recently. Speaking of, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your kind words and congratulations. We feel so blessed.

Feeling refreshed now that spring is in the air! Though my allergies have never been worse. I usually take prescription medication for them because they are quite severe, but can’t this year because of pregnancy. Any natural remedies you know of?

For any expecting mamas out there, I want to share a couple clothing items I just bought. I’m weary of buying maternity clothes online because they’re really something you have to try on, right? But I bit the bullet recently. I’ve been living in these maternity yoga pants, but when I need to be a real life, put-together human being… I ordered these:

1. Navy Blue Floral Maxi Dress – I bought my pre-pregnancy size. So comfy, stretchy, and flattering. I was worried I’d have to have it hemmed, but it’s the perfect length. (I’m 5’6″)


2. Burgundy Wrap Dress – this is more like a royal purple in real life. It’s beautiful! Pre-pregnancy size.


3. This LOFT fitted shirt – I totally bought this in 4 colors. Pre-pregnancy size fits wonderfully– it’s stretchy and comfy. I’ve found that I prefer fitted tops over loose in my pregnancy. I just feel like an elephant in super loose tops! I’m wearing the hot pink one in the photo above.

And two more things. If you’re a first time expecting mama and feel overwhelmed, I’ve learned so much from this book already. It’s certainly calmed my anxiety about this new adventure. It was recommended to us by my brother-in-law and covers just about everything in easy-to-understand detail. For a pregnancy book, this book has been my bible. Because of all this new reading, I haven’t picked up a new novel since finishing 19 Minutes. Which, by the way, I loved. Thank you for the recommendation. What a deeply emotional, twisted, and suspenseful story.

And, for fun, here is baby Quinn’s first hat. Obviously.

Another recent announcement: Sally’s Cookie Addiction pre-order! The cover is finalized, the manuscript is being edited, the spread designs are in action. I love how this cookbook is coming together and I’m thrilled you can pre-order now. If you pre-order soon, I will send you 5 bonus cookie recipes so you don’t have to wait until the Fall to begin your cookie baking adventures. Here are all the details for how to get the bonus recipes. Make sure you’re using info@sallysbakingaddiction.com as the email address. 🙂 I’ve sent out almost 2,500 and if I by chance missed yours, please email again!

If you received the bonus PDF, which recipes have you tried yet?

How were your two-toned roses last month? That was April’s baking challenge and now that we’re in May, we have a new challenge to take on! I posted the tutorial and recipe for strawberries ‘n’ cream cake roll on Monday and hope to see your pictures of the creation throughout the month. We have a video coming for the cake roll in a couple weeks, so stay tuned.

Attention Bakers!

You agree with this, right? I had a wonderful conversation with Facebook followers a few weeks ago. To me, baking is not a means to an end. Sure the result is delicious, but I don’t really bake indulgent treats for myself. I enjoy baking for others, sharing that “made with love” creation, and spending time in the kitchen with loved ones– or completely alone for some me time. It’s where you can be creative, have fun, relieve stress, and/or make memories. Is this what baking is for you as well?

I try to center my blog’s message around this very thought as well. To encourage readers to get in the kitchen and have fun with from-scratch baking.

New Dinner Recipes

Remember how I used to write and create recipes for Delish? I’m back at it with savory recipes this time! They asked me to be part of their weekly Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinners column. I’ve scaled back on savory recipes on Sally’s Baking Addiction, limiting to only 1 or 2 per month. This is so we can still cook together, but really keep the focus on the core of this blog: baking. I’ll be sharing a few savory recipes on Delish each month if you want to head over and check them out. I’ll be sure to remind you each month so you don’t miss any! Here are 5 I created:

1. Salmon BLT Salad (pictured above)


2. Hot Cheesy Spinach Pockets


3. Coconut Shrimp Curry


4. Ham Egg & Cheese Breakfast Pizza— confession, I didn’t taste this one because of the runny eggs. But Kevin cooked it, ate it, and I photographed it. He loved it.


5. Kale Pesto Chicken Pasta (pictured below)

I made a 2nd batch of the kale pesto pasta for our friends who are vegetarian. I actually really loved it without the chicken too! I don’t normally love pasta (so weird, I know), but devoured that particular recipe. The kale pesto has wonderful flavor. I’m thinking of creating a savory recipe with it to share here on my blog!

Remember how Kevin and I have been trying 1 new dinner recipe per week in 2017? That’s still going strong. Besides the 5 recipes I shared above, here are some recipes we’ve been making lately: we LOVE this walnut crusted chicken. I’ve made it 5 times since I posted the recipe. Have you tried it yet? We really loved this recipe for healthier chicken parm with zucchini noodles— followed the recipe exactly. This slow cooker ham was phenomenal on Easter and this zesty slow cooker pulled chicken is a favorite. (I only use 2 Tbsp brown sugar.)

How are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo? I’ll be on this work trip until Sunday, so any Cinco de Mayo fun will be with blogging friends out here! If you’re looking for some recipe inspiration, here are 10 I’ve come across along with a few of my own.

1. Margarita cupcakes (pictured below)


2. Piñata cake


3. Piñata cupcakes


4. Easy baked chicken taquitos


5. Homemade restaurant style salsa


6. Mango guacamole (my fave)


7. Strawberry kiwi margaritas


8. Fresh pineapple salsa


9. Fiesta corn & avocado salsa (make this on the reg)


10. Mini taco stuffed peppers (so cute!)

Other than that, it’s been business as usual around here. I’m working hard to get ahead on content for the summer and fall. There are so many wonderful recipes coming– my best work indeed. If you have any recipe suggestions, please share!

Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Sally’s Baking Addiction.

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