Our 6th Blogiversary!

I just realized it's been six years since I started my little blog!  Time sure does fly when you're having fun, right?  It's a time I like to look back and see what's happened over the past year and what the next year might bring.

While I've consistently blogged over the past year, I will admit that I have read less blogs over the past year.  And I have seen decent stats as far as readers are concerned, but I've seen less comments over the past year.  I love hearing what you guys have to say, but if you don't comment I certainly won't hold it against you!  Are blogs going by the wayside in favor or Facebook?  Am I missing any good new blogs?  If so, please let me know in the comments.

Remember the Millennium Falcon cake we did last fall?  Well recently it sort of went viral, well at least as viral as anything we've done before.  It was featured on some really cool geek sites like BoingBoing, Wired Italy, Laughing Squid, and a bunch of other sites that I have to use Google Translate to read!  It's been fun to see all the new hits from these other sites, but going viral doesn't put coins the coffers.

As far as my outlook on 2015, I want this year to be all about rebranding.  I have started working on a new and improved website, and today I contacted a designer about creating new logos for the business.  I need something that fits my business better and can double as a watermark.  I really do dislike watermarks, but I've had my photos stolen in the past, and with photo sharing all the rage on sites like Pinterest, I've decided it's become a necessary evil.

So look forward to seeing some new branding here soon, and don't forget to post any cool new cake blogs in the comments that you think I should check out!

Our 5th Blogiversary!

 

We are five years old this week! Well actually The blog is five years old this week! Our little business is more along eight years old now. Time flies by when you are baking cakes! To be honest, 2013 was not a great year for business. Our sales were almost half of 2012 and 2011. It was a challenge some weeks to bring you a cake and blog worth reading, but I hope we did. We really do wish more people that read the blog would leave comments. There is a small faithful handful of you that are there every week with sweet and encouraging words. To you guys, we want to extend our wholehearted thank you! It truly does put "fuel" in our little blogging engine. See what I did there? I know signing up for a Google account takes a few minutes, but please do it. Little blogs like us really like to know you are there and that we aren't talking to the wind. I am not the type of a girl seeking praise for cakes. I really want feedback, opinions and requests for content. We are working on some new videos for the upcoming year. If there are things you want us to show, teach, or complain about, just let me know.
 

Lastly, I wanted to thank Chad for keeping this blog going. It is only because of him that this part of our story continues. That man will not let me skip a week because we have to "be consistent". There are many times that I try to bring him to the dark (lazy) side, but the man is committed and it's one of my favorite things about him! 

My Fourth Blogiversary!

Well, this week marks the fourth year my little old blog has been in existence.  In the beginning I didn't know if I would like writing it, or if anyone would even read it.  There's the occasion when I get really busy and it feels like work, but for the most part I really like sharing and communicating with other decorators from around the world.

Participating in the online caking community has been very rewarding.  I have made several very good friends, learned a lot about new cake techniques, and even had my cakes featured on several websites.  This last year alone I have had 2 cakes featured in digital cake publications.

So what does the next year hold?  Well I hope to do some more awesome cakes, learn a few new skills, and maybe even see some more of my cakes published.  And I would love to make some new friends... so more of the same!

And I really want to thank each of you for stopping by and reading my posts and flipping through my tutorials.  There will be more of those coming too!

Happy Third Blogiversary... to Me!!!

Chaddy reminded me yesterday that Wednesday was our 3rd year blogiversary.  It doesn't seem like I have been marking up this little corner of the interwebs for 3 whole years, but it's true!

I started writing this blog because I thought it might bring more brides to my website, and it does, as sometimes brides will mention it during a phone call or consultation.  But I soon found that I was finding it personally rewarding as well.  It was just nice to write down my feelings and troubles, and not to get all ten-dollar-wordy on you, but it was truly cathartic.  And soon after, other decorators showed up and agreed and sympathized with my problems.  And lots of you told me what a great job I was doing as I honed my cake skills.  Cleansing, validation, and respect (with a smidge of marketing) all in one place - why would I ever leave??

I do admit there's times when the blog becomes more of a chore, but I'm an opinionated girl, so I always eventually find something to talk about.  But I also want to hear from you!  As my little blog begins it's fourth year of existence is there anything you want to see more (or less) of?  Would you be heartbroken if I switched to blogging once a week instead of twice? 

Let me know in the Comments!
  

Happy Second Blogiversary!!

Holy cannolis, can you believe that's been 2 years since I first started this little blog?  In the past year my number of followers has tripled and I have made some really good friends along the way!

Birthdays and anniversaries are good times for reflection. And since I have had more than a few people ask me how I got to where I am now, I will tell the tale of how Cup a Dee came to be!

Seven years ago I lived the corporate lifestyle.  I worked for a big retail chain as a regional visual director.  I was on the road constantly traveling to 50+ stores.  I made good money, but I was never home to enjoy it, or my house, my kitties, or my husband.

But I had been bitten by the cake bug!  Heck, I had always liked baking, but the more frustrated I became at my job, the more I baked on the weekends to relieve that stress.  It felt good, and people were always happy to see what I brought them on Monday mornings.

One fateful business trip to New York we visited the Magnolia bakeshop.  People were lined out the door to buy cupcakes for $3 a piece!  And you were limited to a dozen!!  Somewhere in the back of my mind, wheels began to slowly turn.  If they can do it, why can't I?

During this time I continued to do free cakes on the weekends, and I bought every Woman's World or other checkout isle magazine that had cakes on it.  Chad and I started taking Wilton classes at Michael's craft store.

And then we booked a trip to Cancun using my frequent flyer miles, and stayed at the Westin resort using my hotel points.  It was the off-season and the resort wasn't busy, and honestly, we were having a fabulous time just resting by the pool.  I'm a big fan of "self help" books and I used to buy them all the time hoping I would find the time to read them.  One of the books I grabbed for this trip?  The Practical Dreamer's Handbook by Paul and Sara Evans.  I sat by the pool all week, sipping pina coladas and reading that book.  And it changed me (the book, not the drinks)!  I suddenly realized that there were others out there that had left the rat race for something simpler, something happier.  That week I gained a laser focus - I would someday be a baker.  I discussed it with Chad and we started a rough plan on how to make this dream happen.

Things at the corporate job got worse and worse, and now, since I knew something better was on the horizon, I was unwilling to put up with it.  I knew my simple happy life making cakes was just around the corner.  One day I came home after a horrible week at work and told Chad that I wanted to quit work and sell cakes.  The only problem: I didn't know how to sell cakes and I still wasn't great at it.  I considered culinary school, but we really didn't have the money for me to quit work AND spend tuition money.  As fate would have it, I found out about a pastry chef opening in Chattanooga.  The job was making cakes and pastries for 2 restaurants, a B&B, and a coffee shop.  It didn't pay much, but it would keep the bills paid.  I took the job and turned in my notice at my big girl job.

My 8 months in that pastry kitchen is what I now affectionately refer to as "pastry bootcamp".  I went in at 4am and I generally got home about 6pm each night.  Most weeks I worked 6 days, and it was a salaried position... so no overtime for me :(  But I was learning how to do things I never imagined, and best of all, I was learning the business aspects too.  I was also seeing mistakes they were making, and all the while taking notes on how I would run my own business someday.

Eight months later I finally felt I was ready so I began working with the local health department on what I needed to do to legally bake from my house.  The answer was building a separate addition on to my house.  We got a home equity loan and over the course of about 5 months made that happen..

I was now open, but where were all the customers?  I leveraged all my friends.  My friend Mark was a real-estate agent and he needed "Thank You" gift baskets for his clients.  So I made gift baskets with banana bread and cookies.  Another friend called to ask me if I could cater a luncheon at her office... sure I can!  If someone was hungry and had money, we could do business!

As I said when I started, that was almost 7 years ago.  I have continued to take classes and watch videos to hone my skills and now I exclusively do cakes from my little pink kitchen.  And I am happier than ever!

As I blow out these 2 tiny blogiversary candles, my wish is that everyone out there who hasn't already will find their dream and live it!

Happy Blogiversary!

It certainly doesn't seem like it, but this Sunday (March 14) will mark one year that my little old blog has been online.  In that year I have made several online friends and I'm astounded that over 100 people now follow my blog!  I have really enjoyed writing about the activities here at the bakery and the things I have learned and can share with my fellow bakers / decorators / artists.

So thanks to everyone who reads, comments on, and follows my little corner of the Internet.  I hope to keep blogging for many years to come, and hopefully I can post beautiful cakes and insightful comments to keep you coming back also.

Thanks, and have an AWESOME weekend!