I Was 32 When I started Cooking, Up Until Then..I Just Ate.....

Up until this past year, I have always said it doesn't really matter if I am on my own, as long as I am doing something with my life that makes me happy.

Owning my own cupcake business is wonderful. I love what I do.
And I want so many more doors to open here.
I believe they will too.

I love the people I meet. They fill me with endless bubbles of joy.
I call my cupcakes my children.
I am like a soccer mom of cupcakes whenever I go out on a delivery in my little Toyota. That makes me happy. ♥

But I have to be honest..
It would be nice to see a glowing shiny happy face greeting me when I am done baking.
I want to cuddle when I come home at night, even though I might be covered in frosting and glitter.
I want that sneak attack of cuddly-loving-ness in the kitchen that comes up from behind and I feel all warm and tingly inside.

I wonder if Martha Stewart ever wants this. Or how did a historical kitchen maven like Julia Child find that balance between her love for food & her love for...company?

The "recipe" I found when I asked myself this question...

I am 32 ♥

Dancing in the kitchen ♥

Sending Peace and Love. In the form of a Cupcake.

I always wanted to make this huge difference in my time here on earth.
I wanted to travel to Thailand on a missions trip, or cuddle orphans in other countries.
Not saying that I won't do these things one day.

But it seems that I make a difference with cupcakes more than anything else.
Especially my cupcake kaleidoscopes.
Because I can ship them anywhere.

It is basically all this baked love & goodness...

inside of a jar.

I know people make cupcakes in a jar all the time.

But I call mine Cupcake Kaleidoscopes.

Because they are more special than just a cupcake inside of a jar.

(Like these smiling Oreo Cupcake Kaleidoscopes!)

They are pretty on the outside. I make sure of it.

By adding sprinkles, dots, color.

Glittery Heart Notes and Sparkly Ribbon.

By showing the delicious texture of food and frosting and sugar.

The spoon is an added bonus-it is your grant to dig in as quickly as you can.

Sometimes I add bacon.

and maple frosting.

Other times I just add the things that remind  me of being a kid.

I figure they'll remind you of that too, and that can only mean authentic happy-ness. If even for a moment.

♥

I've even added a tie instead of the ribbon for a Father's Day Gift

Complete with Jelly Beans..Because Dads love Jelly Beans.

I recently sent some cupcake kaleidoscopes to my friend Carolyn of Network Fitness in California. She used to be my amazing cross fit trainer in Cali until I moved back to Wisconsin. Now it seems I am tempting her with naughty delightful goodies.  She used to tempt me with the allure of having six pack abs! But it wasn't just tempting. She made me work at it. I still can't find anyone to replace our workouts.

So cheers to you Carolyn..

time to indulge in some sinfully great buttery sugary mmmmmmmmmm.

This is one of the kaleidoscopes I sent to her.

She and her husband Jeff (who are the cutest couple ever) made a video of Carolyn opening her birthday gift! She okayed me to put it here on my blog. I absolutely had to!

It just proves that in some small way (or maybe big..depending on how you look at it)

I am making a difference ♥ through deliciousness!

Not necessarily in the way that I predicted I would.

But somehow this "way" ends up being very true to me...and I couldn't be happier with it.

Lemon Love Notes ♥

I was writing my business plan tonight.

I was on the first page where I had to state my mission.  One of the my missions in my journey to start a bakery is to share joy and love with the world through my cupcakes.  Another vision of mine is to bring community together to just forget about everything on the outside world, and perhaps for even a moment there would be "peace" in the realm of cupcakes.

Think of the time when you were young, and looked forward to that grand cake entering the room, your friends centered around you.  The cake glowing with candles.  Sprinkles, sparkles, crumbs, wishes for the future.

Then I knew that I had to share something I had planned for over a year here on my blog..

and when I was the cupcake sponsor for the Fox Valley Technical College's scholarship benefit, I made this "vision" a reality.

To share an edible message inside of cupcakes. A love note, really.  In this case, a "Lemon" Love Note.

I cut up little pieces of fondant into small rectangles, used my edible marker, and wrote inspiring messages for the future on each piece.  This is for you! Daydreamers, starving artists, future business owners.  This is for you!  The ones who build starting from the bottom and climb your way to the top. The believers, the idealists, the optimists. 

Extra credit:  Mini raspberry pies inside of the Lemon Love Note cupcakes.

All that inspiration topped with a cloud of light, fluffy, lemon zested frosting!

When I displayed the cupcakes at the event, I made a sign to tell people to expect a special "note" on the inside of their cupcake.  Adding the note was a bonus perk for the people who ate the cupcakes! Instead of stuffing your face, you had to take your time...enjoy the flavor...and....discover....your lovely edible note.

Thank you to my lovely assistants Cassie & Lonnie who are the joys in my kitchen with me. They helped me write out all these messages while we laughed, danced, and sang to bad music while decorating these cupcakes.

Now that I have started, I can't seem to stop passing love notes.

I made some "girls night out" Lemon Love Notes.

Instead of hiding the message inside, I found the best possible valentine heart messages for a girls night out and displayed them as the love notes on top of the cupcakes!

Go Girl!

It's True.

 

On a deeper "note".....

I even added some inspirational tags to some mail order cookies for someone who really deserved a surprise uplift of joy in the mail.

"We can do no great things....only small things with great love."~Mother Teresa

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

One of my favorite quotes by Oprah Winfrey.

And I used this quote as my title because I have been moved to happy tears the past few weeks by the support I've been shown by friends, strangers who have become friends, and colleagues.

People may think that all of the exciting events that have happened to me in the past few weeks have happened overnight.  But really I have been working so hard for several years trying to find my "niche" in the world by creating cupcakes for people.  I had no other intentions than to make people smile, squeal, dance, or just plain make someone's day brighter.

I remember last year someone told me while I was going through a trial in my life..."Just keep making cupcakes and giving out that love.  Maybe some of that cupcake love will be returned to you."
And honestly, whenever I deliver cupcakes that love is given right back to me.
I want it to stay that way forever! Love is the quality in my cupcakes. And it always will be.

So this blog, my sweet darlings - is a tribute to all of you. And you know who you are.

This blog is a mix of things that have been given, done for me, or said to me in the past 2-3 weeks of my cupcake existence.

By posting this I am showing you that I am blown away and so very grateful.  This makes all of my countless half sleepless cupcake chaos frosting filled nights when I leave the kitchen with frosting in my hair really worth it!

I hope it never ends. This wondrous busy cupcake chaos is my true love and I wouldn't ask for another career ever again. They say be careful what you wish for.  Well I wish for this cupcake dream to grow so big so that I can share my style of cupcake love with most of the world. ♥

And seriously..Ellen Degeneres..if you are watching...I really want you to eat one of my cupcakes! (I make a mean vegan cupcake! Preferably a cupcake kaleidoscope because that is how I envision it) That's next on my list. ♥

"You are going to be Waupaca's first cupcake gazillionaire."

"We just got done watching you on the news,

both segments about four times because Jimmy

wanted to watch you over and over again!

You did such an amazing job!

You looked beautiful as ever and we are very proud of you."

Thank you all for your love. ♥
Now you see why I am overwhelmed with joy!