Joy the Baker

Joy the Baker is two years old.  Two years of cookies.  Two years of cupcakes.  Two years of pancakes.  Two years of me standing on a chair in my dining room trying to get the right shot of a slice of cake before I gobble it up.  Two years of me.  Two years of you.  

Here’s what the last two years have looked like around these parts.  Come along… let’s reminisce. 

Once upon a time I made a podcast.  It’s totally dorky.  I can’t bear to watch it.  It’s like listening to your own voice on the answering machine.  Too much.  Totally.  Dorky.  

I made these cookies waaaay back in the day when Barack Obama was still battling it out with Hillary Clinton.  My Dad hated it.  He hated it so much he left a nasty comment on my blog.  Yea…. that happened.  Thanks Dad.  Love you.  Always.

A looong time ago, we talked about how to decorate a cake!  It was fun.  There was caramel. 

I’m pretty sure I annoyed everyone in my family by taking pictures of them eating.  Just look at this sister of mine though.  Those eyes! I’ll never get over it.  Daaaang I love that girl. 

Two years ago I made an engagement cake.  Not my own engagement cake.  That wouldn’t have worked.  Yea…. wow. 

I’ve been to San Francisco a lot in the last two years.  There’s water.  There are bridges.  There’s amazing food.  If you’ve never been… well, now you know what you’re missing. 

I’ve been in love.  Love is nice.  Love should come with a warning sign. 

I’ve been on the other side of love too.  The break-up side.  Yea…. not as awesome as love.  The break-up side of love requires a lot of chocolate pudding .  More than you might think actually.  True. 

Shut up… I made doughnuts.

I love my Dad’s hands.  I’ve known them my whole life… it’s kinda weird.  Those are the hands that taught me how to bake.  Thanks Dad!  

I went to the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.  Fancy it is not.  Snoozetown it is. 

I found a gum wall in Seattle with my name spelled out in green gum.  Turns out this is equal parts awesome and terrifying. 

I stomped through Napa like I owned the joint.  

Buttermilk biscuits make the world right.  I know.  I’ve done the research. 

Last year this little blog was named one of the 50 best food blogs in the world.  Aw, shucks.  

I don’t even want to tell you how many cakes I’ve dropped on the floor in two years. Let’s just say it’s between one and twelve… and it’s way more than one. Sometimes bad things happen to good cakes in my kitchen. 

I’ve had fun with confetti and friends in the last two years.  

S’mores Brownies.  Amazeballs. 

My Mom helped my plant a One Pot Garden.  It was lovely… until I killed it.  I don’t want to talk about it. 

I made Homemade Vanilla Extract.  You should too. 

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Avocado Buttercream.  I’m a weirdo. 

Last summer I threw a rooftop picnic in downtown Los Angeles…

and people actually came!!  Lots of people.  I love you people. 

Homemade and handmade pasta.  A dream come true. 

Last year I won Foodbuzz’s Best Baking Blog. That made me feel good about myself.  Fun fact. 

I also drank a lot of wine last year.  That made me feel good about myself too.  Wait…. that’s bad. Nevermind. 

Vacation.  Real life vacation.  I ended the last two years with a vacation, a bath tub and a lovely view from behind fancy drapes.  It was just about the most amazing thing ever. 

But really… the most amazing thing is that you decide to come here and be a part of Joy the Baker.  Maybe you’ve been here for two years, two months or two days… however long, thank you.  Really.  This little piece of Internet has become more than I ever could have imagined.  Is that totally dorky to say?  Yea… but it’s true.  I thank you.