Something Delicious and Perhaps Unknown

It’s been a whirlwind of a year so far. A few weeks ago, I was asked by a friend at church to help make some cupcakes for a wedding. Since we weren’t 100% sure that I would be home from work during the event, which was on a Friday, we asked a third churchy friend to join in on the fun.

     

And that’s exactly what we had…fun.

So much fun, in fact, that we want to do it again. It helped that several people during the wedding asked for our contact information so they could hire us for their event. I honestly wasn’t expecting so much interest, though our cupcakes are pretty awesome.

 

Thus, we are starting a cupcake catering business.

In case you didn’t know this about me, I have wanted to start a baking company on the side for a very long time. We were even shopping for a mother-in-law suite that could be gutted for a commercial kitchen during our house hunt. After a few roadblocks, we decided to wait on pursuing my dream of having a part-time baking business.

Hubby calls it his “Retirement Plan.”

Not only did we have interest from others during our first gig this past Friday, but we have had several of them actually call for booking their wedding! In fact, we are making Lemon Squeeze Cupcakes and Key Lime Cupcakes this Saturday for another wedding…a gal we met at our first catering event last Friday evening.

To say I’m excited is just a little understatement. I can’t sleep at night because I am thinking of all the various aspects that can help this business be really wonderful.

   

The best thing? My partners have the same goals. Every time I’ve tried to make money from a hobby that I love, it has ruined the hobby for me. For example, I made jewelry in high school until it just wasn’t fun any more.

Though it was a concern that I would stop liking baking (snort), we all three decided that our main objective is to have fun. It will be an enjoyable creative outlet for each of us. If we happen to make a little spending money on the side, so be it.

I don’t think we will be sleeping in a bed full of Benjamin's or swimming in a pool of gold any time soon. But it will be really fun to see how this thing grows.

Since we already have several more bookings in the works, and each event will give us even more exposure, the whole process might be a little too much fun for the next several months!

 

We are creating a website right now. Hubby has helped with the financial side by creating a spreadsheet to track our expenses and income. And it gives us extra girl time in the kitchen! How fun! Our spouses have all been super supportive and are just as excited as us for this to get going.

Just yesterday, we created a Key Lime Cupcake for our upcoming wedding this Saturday. I then took it to our client’s house for a tasting. She liked them so much that she ordered more. I think we’re on the right track.

   

I just wanted to let you know how busy yet happy we’ve been lately. There have been changes in every avenue of my life in the past few months, and I am loving each and every single change.

And if you are in the Phoenix area and need some yummy cupcakes, I know just the right group of gals who can help you out!

When the Going Gets Green

Ever since I weeded the rock pile in the backyard last week, I have sorely missed color and greenery when I peek outside my windows. Hubby and I remedied that today by planting some beautiful (and affordable) plants in some pots that we bought when we used to be “gardeners.”

That gardening phase has long since passed. In fact, other than basil, I don’t think we are attempting anything in the garden this year. I can’t exactly say that makes me sad…I may or may not have been secretly elated when the executive decision was made by my significant other.

He makes all of the big decisions around here. Which type of cereal he should have for breakfast at 6:00 AM. The perfect timing for his corn dogs to be cooked in the microwave. And which flavor(s) of corn nuts to enjoy during a Redbox movie.

Yes, all of these executive decisions revolve around food. It’s how we roll in this household.

Anywho, back to the lack of vegetation in our backyard…

I know that I shouldn’t complain too loudly here, because our winters in Arizona are pretty stinkin’ awesome. But even without all that white yucky stuff on the ground, I really start to miss some color and flowers and growth (other than algae in the pool…we have plenty of that) around our home.

Without a better way to describe it, I start craving softball season Spring.

It is a huge treat to now look out my window and see colorful pots full of colorful plants looking back at me. The older I get, the less it takes to entertain me.

While trimming the bougainvillea in the front yard, Hubby decided to try an experiment. He kept a long shoot from a chopped branch and planted it deep into one of the awaiting pots in the backyard. We don’t know if it will survive, though my always-positive husband is certain that everything else will die, and his free plant will be the only thing that lasts.

No, we haven’t been tainted by our bad luck in landscaping attempts so far? Why do you ask?

Since we are eating outside on our patio this coming week, we will probably use more branches of the bougainvillea in smaller pots as centerpieces. We’ll see how this big guy does first and then plant the smaller ones even the day-of to imitate real plants.

Fake it ‘til you make it. That’s how we garden.

Unfortunately, we have yet to “make it”…