A Heart to Heart… Seriously, I might cry.
Can I share something with you?
I’ve been feeling a little lost lately.
I think this whole new blog has left me feeling turned around and upside down.
Let me explain. I want to take you back to the humble beginnings of Joy the Baker.
See that picture up top? That’s my first site. Oooh me Oooh my. Pretty precious, right? I set this site up two years ago so I could start selling wedding cakes and wholesale baked yummies to coffee shops. I played the wholesale and wedding cake game for a hot minute. I chugged along on my own for a few months before it became clear that food costs and kitchen expenses made it hard for me to even break even. That’s when I started working in other bakeries and restaurants. Phew. That was relief.
Then a magical thing happened. It really did feel like magic. I discovered food blogs. It’s like fireworks went off in my head… as silly as that sounds. Stories plus pictures plus recipes… plus you just get to be yourself at every moment!? Holy heck! In! I wanted in!
Here are some of my very first food photos, taken when I was working as the Head Baker at a tiny bakery in Burbank. These shots? Taken on my camera phone at 4:30 in the morning. You think I’m kidding. I’m totally not kidding. That’s some good glisten on those cinnamon rolls, right? Thank you camera phone macro mode!
Want to see my first post? Ha! I know it’s around here somewhere. Here!
Above is one of the first pictures I took with a fancy camera, a Canon 40D. I propped an Ikea lamp up in the background… that’s what is creating that yellowish glow. Not exactly ideal, I now know.
Can I just say… I was beyond mortified when I discovered that someone had found my blog and left a lovely comment in the days that followed my first post.
Mortified.
The thought of someone finding this space and reading my words absolutely terrified me.
But it didn’t terrify me enough to actually stop posting, and posting, and posting… and posting… and posting some more.
So here I am… almost two years later, still working a day job, cooking, blogging, throwing picnics for hundreds of people like you, and introducing a whole new look with loads of new content into my space.
Can I be honest? That’s what we do here, right?
This whole redesign is a big, scary thing for me. Many, many months ago I thought I might like to start a separate blog… one about my silly life and all the silly things I do. I then thought… ‘Hey! Why not put my food and my life all together into one big ol’ fun site!?’.
Here we are many months later, I’ve hired designers and fired designers. I’ve begged coders to meet deadlines and battled hosting companies to get where I am today. It feels like I’ve built a house, then set it on fire… then had it built all over again… but, really… less dramatic than that and without the fire.
I’ve gone from taking pictures with my camera phone to running an entire site and keeping up with designers and coders and hosting and CSS and CPM and IE6 compatibility and… DUDE! This mess is complicated!!! Bourbon. Where is the Bourbon? Also doughnuts. I need doughnuts!
Am I whining? I’m totally pouting right now, aren’t I?
It’s just that sometimes things become far more than you expected… even when you’re trying to expect them.
I’m telling you all this… I’m showing you where I’ve come from and showing you how we’re right at the beginning of where we’re going, because I have an unreasonable desire to share with you the overwhelming, scary and totally exciting nature of this endeavour. Oooh Internet, how you fussy up my emotions sometimes.
So we’re in this together right? I couldn’t have nearly as much fun with this space if you weren’t here to share it with me.
Thanks for being here for as long as you have… even if it’s only for the past two minutes. Thanks for adjusting to all this change I’ve thrown at you.
Thanks for being patient as I get my footing here, yell at my hosting company, recharge the batteries on my camera…. and do some freakin’ dishes.
And hey! Let me know what’s working for you here… and what makes you sorta wanna yell and scream (in a bad way). You matter. I’m listening, unless it has anything to do with my use of the ‘…’, then I’m not really listening. Holla back.
151 Comments Add A Comment
I’m totally with you there, I’m going sort of through the same – having the blog redesigned, will still be a personal foodblog, though linked to what I hope will also be a job (as you can see I’m not saying anything yet, just in case!).
Sorry it’s all in Italian, I’ve had twin bilingual Italian and Spanish blogs until now, will eventually move on to Spanish only (that’s where I live). I sometimes wish I wrote it in English, but being the language knowledge the way it is in Spain I’d have very few local followers…
Keep pu the good job, I love reading you!
I have been a long time follower of your blog, but this is my first comment. I’ve never commented before, because let’s face it….lot’s of other people comment, and tell you exactly what I’m thinkin’! But I’m writing now to officially declare….I love your blog…I love your personality that shine’s through your words on here, and I have tried several of your recipes, and they have all been AWESOME! I’m always excited to see when you have posted something new! I appreciate all that you have gone through, to present such a JOY in my life! :)
Thanks for coming out of the shadows Megan! That means a lot. Rad. Thanks!
Joy, I find that change is (always, for me anyway) painful and tends to stir up so many emotions. I hate change. Dread it. Fear it even, at times. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that change is good. It may take time for the dust to settle, to get back into that coveted comfort zone (ohh how I lurrrve the ‘comfort zone’!), but you’ll get there. And it will be good.
Don’t worry lovely lady! Just go with the flow and it’ll take you where you need to be :)
Joy, I love following this blog because we’re the same age (10 year class reunions, ugh) and you inspire me to push myself a little, redesign my own blog, actually start writing in it once in awhile. Note, I said you inspire me to…not that I’ve actually done yet.
Keep it up. Although I love the redesign, it’s really the tone of the writing that keeps me coming back.
i love love love your blog. i am only a recent follower of the past few months but it is exactly what i dream to be doing one day. thank you for giving me a peak into your life and letting me live a little vicariously through you!
Joy-
I look forward to checking your blog every day. I know exactly the excitement you felt when you discovered food blogs, I did it about two months ago! I just hope I can get as good at
a) baking
b) taking photos
c) writing about it
as you have become! (At the very least I can practice the bourbon and doughnut consumption side of things!) Keep at it, if nothing else than for the inspiration you give for baking days everywhere!
I’ve always enjoyed your blog and am grateful for the time, effort and sharing you do for all of us. It can’t be easy and change can be scary….blogs may change but stay true to yourself! We’ll always be here for you!
Thanks for sharing your story. I love checking your blog to see what is new. You are very inspiring.
Oh, Joy. One of my life beliefs is, “Think Big! But, be easy on yourself.” You’ve created an adventure for yourself- and it’s all there because you had the drive to do it. You’ve created the world of Joy The Baker, and you brought us all along for the ride.
We love that! And personally, I wouldn’t have started blogging (it’s been a week now!) had it not been for the gentle and whimsical voice you’ve given your blog.
If it all seems to much, have a bourbon, a donut and take a little break. Think Big, but go easy on yourself, Joy.
all the best,
Chef Robear
Robert! Man alive is that good advice for me! Thank you so much!
Joy, I think your blog — both old and new — is AWESOME! You can go to any food blog and find good recipes, but your blog is super rad in that your personality shines through and keeps me wanting to come back daily to check it it out. Your witty, sincere, heartfelt, honest writing is what makes this blog a…well a joy to read! Don’t change a thing! Be you and that is all we need! OK, and your recipes are pretty wonderful as well.
Hey Pretty…
I’ve been here since the almost beginning. I’ve weathered changes with you and am delighted to get a sneak peak into your life as well as your cooking. You are enchanting and delightful and quite often bring a smile to my lips and a lift to my day, even when you’re freaking out. I like that you are real and appreciate your openness. You’re right, this was made for you, that my dear was evident from the beginning.
Keep on rockin girl!
It’s funny, because I too am starting out a new venture, very nervously, and am trying to get my head around blogs and sites and design and such. I always wanted to make comic books, and I have been for the last year, and I’m going to exhibit at the Small Press Expo in a few weeks, my very first experience trying to sell my work. Been trying to put some kind of blog together so I can sell my work online, and what I’ve got now is so simple and dopey-amateur looking. Funny thing is, I saw your beautiful site redesign and felt really inadequate – it’s so slick and classic and lovely. But knowing it took a while to get to this point, that your site started out just as simple as mine is, well, that’s nice to see. And all this site design and maintenance stuff is manageable, though it takes some patience. This post of yours is encouraging, so thanks. :-)
Anyways, just sharing. *hugs* your way. You’re a cool chick and I feel like your friend, though it’s only through the Interweb. ;-) I read this site every day. I’ll keep reading and baking, you keep working out the kinks.
Rad Heather! Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your comic books.. for real!
When I’m sad, I come to your blog and it makes me smile, makes me happy. When I want something delicious and comforting to bake, I come to your blog and I find it. I think the new site is lovely, but truthfully, it could be a white word document with black text, and you, Joy, would still be enchanting and wonderful to read and bake with.
I love, love, love your blog! One thing, however, is that I would love to be able to read all your posts chronologically. I just found your blog a few months ago, so I am trying to go back and read all the older posts.
Other than that, I have to say, this is my FAVORITE blog, and I love how real you are and how you write! Every recipe of yours I have tried (which is a lot at this point!) has turned out insanely delicious!
I suppose the only way to read my blog mostly chronologically is to go through the In the Kitchen posts, and keep clicking back for the previous posts at the bottom of the page. If I think of a better way… I’ll let you know!
Joy, kudos to you for being brave to do what you do. Your dedication to this site certainly shows. And you always make me laugh, in a good way.
p.s. I ordered the Hummingbird book and it is lovely. I can’t wait to make something from it.
I totally know where you’ve been with the redesign–it took us over a year to get The Cupcakes Club to work the way we want it to and there are still some tweaks that need to be tweaked.
We have had so many people come over and take a peek by being “friends” with you this last week–thank you! Like you, we still try to figure out new ways to make money to pay for everything–but I just received an email from a grandma who had sent some Cupcakes Club products to her grandchild and told us how her graddaughter was SO excited to get something in the mail JUST FOR HER and LOVED it all–and you have to sigh.
It’s exhausting and draining..but obviously you must love what you do–just like we do with our “Cupcake” girls- to keep going for it. Best of luck and thanks for all you do!
Oh Joy, you are like “Like Water for Chocolate” in blog form. You are pure heart and soul, passion and uncertainty. I love it any time you come to this space and tell us a story, any which way you se fit. That there’s a stack of pancakes and a recipe in there somewhere is just a bonus. I particularly enjoy when you talk about your family and your quest for “husband hugs.”
Like Water for Chocolate analogy!? Dang that’s a lovely compliment! Thank you Yolanda!
You are very sweet and talented. I’m sure you have plenty of followers. I’ve only commented once before but I’ve been checking out your recipes for quite a while.
I think I’ll go have a doughnut. Maybe that will help you you feel better. Virtual doughnut eating. Works for me. And then I’ll sit back and enjoy reading your blog like I always do. Then maybe I’ll have another doughnut.
Hello Joy!
My name is Kenny and I’m 18 years old. For the past year I’ve gotten really interested in baking and have been taking photos of some of my stuff and posting them onto my facebook. I search online for new recipes that catch my eye and that’s how I found your blog. Your blog is my FAVORITE blog of all the blogs I’ve come accross. Your recipes and ideas are absolutely fantastic and your photos are beautiful. I probably check your blog 5 times a week. You’ve really got a talent.
After reading this latest blog I felt compelled to respond and to tell you what an amazing job you’re doing. Cheer up please and don’t worry. I look up to you.
Sincerely,
Kenny
Kenny! Thank you so much for the sweet comment! You totally made my day! Happy Baking and let me know if you have any recipe requests. I’ll try my best to bake em up for you!
Hello again Joy!
I do have a recipe request, but please ignore it or excuse it if it’s unappealing. I’ve tried making challah a couple of times and everytime it comes out, well, poorly :(
I was just wondering if you had a good challah recipe and the intructions for the process. I always have some trouble with bread baking. I’m also a sweet potato fanatic so if you’d rather not do the challah, I’d love to see how your sweet potato pie looks.
Well I’m leaving for college soon, but luckily I’ll have access to a kitchen and I’ll keep on looking into your blog.
Sincerely,
Kenny
just being honest here…love the change/update, but dislike the double click navigation it takes to get to the meat (i.e. the food!). I’m looking for easy access to recipes and find your newer design harder to work with. If you don’t catch the rotating/flip image on the landing page, you end up clicking through to something else. Otherwise, have to click on “in the kitchen” Am I getting that right? Also, as long as I’m being honest…the pale pink, light gray text is not so easy to see. There. I said it. Carry on, Joy. Enjoy the work you produce, even if it’s hard to get at. Thx.
I totally understand your frustration. I’ve put links below the slide show that will take you directly into the posts that are featured in pictures. Those links are in big pink letters… and they don’t rotate, so you won’t be taken somewhere you don’t want to go.
Thanks for the feedback!
hey joy! i left a comment before regarding the new layout- which is really gorgeous ;) but just wanted to reiterate how incredible i think you are- for undertaking this whole blog makeover, and even the blog at all, and for taking time out to give to others, like with the whole picnic get-together! i think you’re great! take your time to adjust, dont worry, it’ll be awesome ;)
Hi Joy, I LOVE your blog. It is such a refreshing break from work :) Keep pouring your heart out and do what you love!
Joy,
You were actually one of the first people that inspired me to begin my own food blogging adventure :)
Thank you =)
~Rose
Rad. So rad.
I heart your blog. it’s seriously my favourite one out there… I even blog about my love of it. your personality and recipes are the absolute BOMB! that’s for being yourself, letting all of us foodies who think like you that it’s cool to be soooo into baking…. not only do i feel like i get a great recipe when i visit your site – i feel like i’m catching up with an old friend. thanks for being so pure and lovely and full of joy… thanks for being you. Your new site is awesome… keep up the brilliant work! (oh – i wish i was a half as creative as you are… but i love trying) :0)
Change is an adventure and you’re adventurous! They new site is awesome, and as a totally technically challenged individual – it’s so user friendly. And pretty! I can’t wait until you have a cookbook!
We love you, your blog and especially your recipies!!!! Yeah the new blog took some getting used to. And yeah I hate change but this is good. I’m on your site as much as humanly possible! You have inspired me to think about a change in careers. Oh, and did I mention your style of writting totally reminds me of my childhood best friend.( Ah sweet memories) Am I blabbing? Anyway… YOU ROCK!
Joy, you dear, thanks for sharing your thoughts! It is your blog, after all, and I think that you ought to just keep being yourself at this spot in the virtual web, because as for me, I love reading what you have to say!
As for trying new things and being terrified about it, I know perfectly well what you mean, though in different contexts. :) But I am learning that sometimes these kinds of crazy things are doors that lead to big and amazing things, even if we don’t see the end right away.
Keep posting, whether you have good or bad things on your mind and heart!
Wow. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one that feels a little nuts sometimes. I love your blog though. I look forward to seeing all that you’ve got new (both in the kitchen and out) each day. I’m not a big one for change, either, so I feel ya there. I’m loving the new site too! Keep up the good work, Joy! =)
Hi Joy – Like Megan (#52!), I often don’t post because I feel a bit like Johnny-come-lately to the party when it’s late in the day and everyone else has already said witty, happy things about your fabulousness. But I check your blog EVERY day because I don’t want to miss a recipe, and anecdote, or an open letter to a rude airplane passenger. You rock. Seriously.
Love you, Joy! And love your daily blog.
keep doin’ what you’re doin’ cuz you’re doin’ it right
Joy, I’m prolly one of your oldest followers, and I’ve been following you for about a year now. The first time I commented I was mortified that I was defending you regarding a post written by your dad!!! It was pretty weird to find that out, and once I got over it, I did laugh. But I must tell you a secret. You and your blog…well you kind of brought me back from a haze I was in. I’ve been baking forever, along with cooking, but had lost the ‘spark’, so to speak. I have a kid about your age, and since she’s gone it just didn’t seem to matter what got slapped on the table for dinner. Oh, I still cooked, even whipped out a box cake once in a while, but there was no ‘oomph’ to it. Then one night, stumbling around, I found YOU. Wow, I thought, that looks interesting! And your personal writes made me feel kind of homey with ya. So I kept coming back. Then I made one of your cakes. Cupcakes. Cinnamon rolls. And you brought me back! Thanks for being the sparkle you are, and no matter WHAT you do to this blog, I will figure it out and return as long as you keep putting yourself out there. One thing I do miss tho is the cute pic of you that used to be here. But the new one is fine. Whatever you do is fine!!! Thank you always!!
Joy, I am so excited for you! The website is and was very cool, you should be proud. I loved your very first post. When I was first learning to cook, my mom was forever telling me,”Do you have everything assembled on the counter?”. It is a big scary idea, sharing your thoughts and putting yourself out there for the general public. You have done a wonderful job and I am sure your loved ones are very proud of you.
PS – LOVE the glazed lime cake!
Hi Joy.
Thank you so much for your wonderful blog. It is the place on the internet that I come to read when I need a break from my life. I love my life, really I do, but I research trauma and genocide and sometimes, life needs to be about cupcakes and bees.
Your writing, photography, and recipes provide lightness to balance the density of pain.
Jen
Hey Joy, that’s a lovely post. Thanks for sharing how you’ve come along. I’ve been here for a few month now and loving coming back. You’re awesome.
I love reading your blog! I get super delicious recipes and snazzy ideas from you! And I love your quirky sense of humor and positive outlook on life! You’re an inspiration, Joy! Keep it up!
p.s. My boyfriend is a photographer and gives you two thumbs up on the delicious, mouth-watering photos you post! :) yah for you!
I have been a lurker for a long time, but never posted. I think your blog bring JOY to so many people. I admire your creativity and willingness to share it. I love your website and actually prefer the new design. Change always stinks, but it makes you grow and think a little bit different than before. Keep it up………Just wished I lived in LA area instead of London area. I’d have been at that rooftop picnic in a NY minute!
I love your blog. I love it so much I’ve shown it to other people, cramming it i their face like a kid who has found a shiny shell on the beach – look..look! LOOOOK!!
Happily nobody has gone “uh…yeah… that’s…um, really interesting.. now put it down and wash your hands”.
No.
They’ve gone, “OMG SQUEEE!! Look at the pictures! That recipe sounds awesome! Oh I have to show this to my mother/bestfriend/flatmate/co-worker…”
You should be proud :)
Change is hard as lame as that sounds but enjoy the ride. You truly are gifted ride it as long as you can. We need it!!!
I really enjoy your blog and I am not a food blogger, just a foodie at heart. Good for you for sticking with it. I have been at my blog for six months and sometimes wonder why I keep up with it. Do enough people look at it to make it worthwhile, am I wasting too much time on this thing, etc.? But, it’s been fun and I’ve found some great places to spend a few minutes of my time like your place. The personal reflections are great and they add a nice touch to the recipes. Keep it up and stop by my blog one of these days. You have inspired me to keep going.
Joy I love your blog, it inspires me to be a better baker (or just to be a baker!) but I’m amazed at how much you put into your blog, it’s full of heart, great food and great photos.
i have secret dreams of being a baker and, if i were, i would want to grow up and be like you.
you being you and putting it out here for us is enough.
i do, however, understand the kind of ridiculous nature of blogging just begs to be analyzed. we’re writing about ourselves, does that make us super crazy narcissistic or is it possible to remain authentic in this sea of me me me?
at least, this is what i deal with.
just stay true to your heart. when you are speaking your truth (and for the love of all that is holy adding BAKED GOODS to the mix) it’s evident. and we eat it up.
(good lord, that was corny there at the end. but i’m leaving it.)
Joy,
I found you through Tastespotting, and I was delighted to find a blog with great recipes, eloquent writing and beautiful pictures. Whenever I miss my old bakery job I turn to you to fulfill my vicarious needs, and many of your delicious goods now fill the stomachs of the foster kids I work with.(I made a strawberry cake last week for a birthday girl)
You are awesome, and there is a legion of bakers cheering at your side to prove it. As I slowly save up bits of my pathetic student salary for a Kitchen Aid Mixer and an Canon Rebel, I hope that one day I’ll grow up to be just like you.
Thanks,
Summer
i love the new design! i think you’re splendid!
am i stupid, or do you no longer have a search bar. i liked being able to type in ‘potato’ and have it tell me everything you’ve done with potatoes. so, could we have the search function back? please?
ps: i made the carrot cake pancakes last night, and they were DELICIOUS!!! thank you :)
You’re definitely not stupid but you did miss the search bar up on the tippy top of the page.
Maybe I should add a potato category to the recipe index too..
Thanks!
omg, i am dumb. i found it. but it is pretty sneakily placed :-p
Joy I think you are fabulous, fun, and smart. Your blog is my absolute favorite (I’m so serious). I love seeing the pictures of your life in LA because I’m in little ol’ Maine. You are an inspiration to me. Chin up, doll.
Hi Joy,
I think you may know by now, but we think you’re pretty cool. It is really amazing how you share your life with me and the world out there. And although we’ve never met, it feels like I know you. I think sharing food with people is that best way to let them get to know you, so maybe that’s why I feel like we’re friends….because I’ve made so many of your recipes and have pretty much loved them all. So keep it up, Joy! Maybe one day you can eat my pancakes, but until then I’ll keep bakin’ yours!
Hi Joy,
I rarely comment, but I am addicted to your blog! While it took a few visits to get used to the new design, I can say that I love it. It seems like it has a little more of you in it.
I love the stories and your recipes always work out great.
Keep it up!!
I love your blog Joy. I’ve only been following for a few months but I’ve tried several recipes already and recommended them to my newsletter subscribers, which I hope has opened up their eyes to the world of food blogs and the Joy of Baking that I love. The old blog was great, but the new look is fabulous and I am glad I’m along for the ride.