Coffee Break
Long time no talk! I haven’t shared any updates in awhile, so let’s sit down together and catch up.
First, I made my favorite vanilla cupcakes the other week. Didn’t feel like whipping out my piping tips or anything, so I simply frosted them with my small icing spatula. I love this look. Just plop a bunch of frosting in the center, spread it to the sides, then make a little well of sorts in the center for some sprinkles. I tinted the frosting with AmeriColor gel deep pink and sky blue.
And did I tell you I reshot my red velvet cake? I can’t remember. I made it back in February and decorated it naked cake style. I used Wilton 12 small round piping tip to pipe dollops of frosting around the top edges. So pretty!
Work has been very busy lately. I shared this in my Facebook group, but haven’t made the formal announcement on my blog: my website is currently being redesigned! We’re actually very near the launch date– only a couple weeks away, hopefully sooner. This redesign has been a year in the making. Weekly conference calls, plenty of tweaks, updates, and revisions. What a project! My goal with the redesign is to improve user experience with easier navigation and more interesting features. It’s a dramatic change, but also a REALLY cool one. I’ve taken many of your suggestions and requests and I’m thrilled with how it’s turning out. I’m confident you’re going to love it too. Stay tuned.
I’m trying to work ahead so I can enjoy more time off in the summer. We booked a long August vacation at our favorite spot: Deep Creek Lake. It’s a very special place for us, both where we got engaged and spent our baby moon. I already bought Noelle’s first swimsuit with a sun hat to match!!
We also began shooting videos again. I took a break from videos when Noelle was born, but Kevin has been filming me doing a few tutorials lately:
Have these videos been helpful for you? Videos are like beginning food photography all over again. It’s a huge learning curve, but practice makes progress. We both really enjoy it, so we’re going to keep it up. And there will be a video section on the new website!
Not only has work kept me busy this year, someone is very mobile, eating solids, and teething! So many big changes for our big girl. I count my blessings everyday. 🙂 We started going a little stir crazy inside this winter, so Noelle and I joined a mommy & me gym class. It’s so much fun to get out and spend time with other parents and babies. Now we’re patiently waiting for the weather to warm up so we can adventure outside more often.
I can’t believe my sweet girl is 6.5 months. It was this time last year that I announced my pregnancy. I know parents always say this, but it’s the truth: time flies by. It’s funny because sometimes the days feel very long, but the weeks and months are flying past us. We actually sat down to dinner the other night and I told Kevin that I just want to slow down and savor it. No matter what stage of life you’re in, life can feel heavy and chaotic. But it’s so important– no, it’s CRUCIAL– to sit back and savor those moments because you’re never going to get them back. I actually found this video on a day I felt tired and overwhelmed. Here’s the article.
Related to this, the start of spring is the perfect time to revisit 2018 goals. As the months go by, new year goals seem like distant memory and we’re right back in our old habits. A season of renewal, spring gives us a chance to refocus energy and take another look at our intentions. Everyone falls off track, myself included, so last week I remembered my 1 big goal for 2018: create the life I want to live. Sounds vague, but what I mean is saying no to the things that bring me down and saying yes to anything that makes me feel alive. Maybe this is a goal you have too? To make it a reality, I wrote down specific monthly ideas/activities. For example, in April I want to (1) try a new cupcake decorating technique (2) sign us up for story time at a local library and (3) go on 2 long runs outside. Each activity is realistic, simple, and brings me joy. Writing down my monthly ideas/activities will remind me to DO THEM! Just an idea if you have a similar goal. 🙂
A couple readers have already tried the April Baking Challenge. Croissants, this month’s challenge recipe was shared earlier in the week. Have you tried them yet? Will you try them this weekend? Please keep me posted on your croissant baking adventures.
This next picture cracks me up.
Jude celebrated his 10th birthday last week and Franklin turned 2 in February. Jude got extra special attention for hitting the double digits, including a peanut butter smeared “10” on the special birthday plate. 🙂
Talk to you soon!
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