So, I have been gone for a while. Silent while I parented, worked and lived. All the while fighting with myself why I was doing what I was doing, how I could make it more engaging for my followers, clients, and myself. Feeling like I didn't really have a place in the industry I work in has been an issue for me for years. My imposter syndrome is strong. I came to the realisation one of the reasons that I felt like that was that I had been taking work I didn't want to and that that had to stop. Hence why all the cakes I am doing this coming wedding season are designed by me and not replicas of other peoples work. I have tried my best not to pander too much to trends but instead pick creative paths close to but not on top of things others I love have done. I am feeling much more in tune with myself as a result and like I still ...
Blog
Things going on.
So a lot has happened since I last wrote anything here. Some great, some really crap. I have had a difficult but rewarding summer with work and with my family. I made a mistake in August, I made a wrong judgement call but for the best reasons, so I sleep well but my bank balance isn't great. Facts of running your own business I guess. I am also really excited as The Treehouse restaurant in Alnwick Gardens has listed me as their recommend supplier and I will be with them for their open evening on the 8th of October at 5pm. Really excited to be showing off my new designs there and meeting brides/grooms to be! If you're getting married and want to try some cake, macarons and have a chat about my services please come and see me there. Then to top that off I got a call today that I really wanted and will be creating a ...
Family, friends and fun.
I am back. It feels as if I never left. My house is a tip, and we have had five world wars in one day, there are four more weeks of school holidays. Gun, head, shoot. I now have to tackle the mountain of washing (actually I lie, its like one pile as I stayed with a friends parents, so we had a washing machine and 35 degree heat to sort us out for two weeks) and then sort my work diary for the next few months. This trip to France was a gorgeous one, made solely with the purpose of visiting a very old close friend and her little boy, who's friendship has lasted across sea and time. As her house couldn't fit all my five thousand, her parents Kindly allowed us to stay in their house. A typically beautiful French town house, four floors including a wine cellar, dating back to 1722. The kids of course loved it and spent lots of time ...
A break…
After a rather usual hectic week we are now off on holidays. I currently have three small girls asking to leave already , we can't go until their eldest sister finished her last shift at work at 2pm and they really don't get this. Pretty sure we have world war three yesterday in our house 3 hours into our "holiday", I haven't packed a thing due to taking an extra cake this week so I have decided to quickly type this up to add to the pressure. Today I delivered an American baseball themed cake for Davids birthday at the request of his lovely wife, Sara. I loved this one as it was a stack of jerseys and I have wanted to do a "stack of shirts" cake for ages now! I also finished a magic themed cake for little Elliot, who is now 6. Elliot goes to school with my little Phoebe and is a good friend to her. As we leave for our holidays ...
Nightmares and Dreams
This week at Plumb and Rabbitts has been a stressful but equally lovely one. I celebrated my daughters sixth birthday, my 9 year old was very seriously ill yesterday evening resulting in a rush down to the nearest A & E. We got another buyer for our house after losing the first two (lets hope this one sticks!), which in turn meant we can again proceed with the purchase of our first marital home. I missed the wedding show I had been working towards for two weeks due to the hospital rush. I am incredibly exhausted but have two cakes due this Saturday and a wedding cake due on Monday so its full steam ahead until I start my annual leave on the 20th. As family we had a lovely thing to do last week which was a family beach shoot by the very talented Fiona Saxton. As I have a large family its so ...
Running.
I am currently trying to keep on top of a few things. The website update being the main one but also working on a few new cake models for Doxford Barns up and coming wedding show on the 11th of July. I am trying to make the time to develop my work as I think it is as important as my actual orders. This has been a challenge. I am partial to distraction and have to focus myself with pep talks etc. I guess the development time is also me-time. I am doing it because I love it not because someone is paying me. I will try and upload some new pictures as it unfolds. Off on the school run now. Mad running about is what I do best - insert laughing cry face here. p.s watched a show on BBC 4 last night by Rich Hall on the American worker, crazily interesting. Love a bit of comedy mixed with history. A. x ...
Currently working on… everything.
Right, I am going to try and write something everyday. No matter how mundane. I am currently wrangling with this website update and because I can't really afford to get someone else to do it all for me, I shall carry on like I know what I am doing. I have four cakes this weeks and no sleep in sight. The fourth is my own little girls 6th birthday cake, and I cannot begin to explain the cake designing monster I have created. We have agreed on a complicated but simple cake, hahahaaa (this haha then descends into sobbing). I will try my best to try to keep to this new blog thingy, hahahaha (again, sobbing) ...
Cake.
This year has been a strange one for us. Last October i had gave birth to my third daughter, and this has meant things have slowed down for me. I havent had the time i thought i would to push my business as i needed to, and last year was my busiest ever. But i am back! My littlest is now in care for two mornings a week allowing me, what feels like, a crazy amount of hours to get stuff done. Including blog posts! Here is the first one. I often get asked how i find the time to do everything. Be a mum and run my tiny business. The answer is simple. I work nights. When the kids go to bed i work until 1am. and sometimes spend another hour in bed on Pinterest ha! This week my favourite person is Faye Cahill, of Faye Cahill Cake Design in Sydney, Australia. Not only is she a working mother like me, but she also ...
All round lover of anything edible, sugar crafter, artist, wife, amateur photographer, and devoted mother of five girls.