• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

In An Envelope…

November 17, 2009 by Joy the Baker 106 Comments

School Days 

Here’s a fun fact:  my Mom is a scrapbooker.  She’s a serious scrapbooker.  She’s got the paper cutters, the corner choppers, the fancy albums and colorful background paper… there are stickers…. so so many stickers.  She’s for real.  Scrapbooking is the new rubber stamping.  Remember the rubber stamp craze!?  Yea, we’ve moved on.  Scrapbooking. 

I went to my parents’ house a few days ago to find these envelopes gracing the brick fireplace.  The envelope in front had my name on it.  I was hoping for an early Christmas stocking.  Boy oh boy did I get it.  Among other darling and embarrassing photos of myself, I found a chronological history of my school days.  From preschool to high school.  Every cute, awkward and downright horrifying picture.  

Now.  Because I don’t know any better.  Because I’m certifiably batty… allow me to share with you preschool through seventh grade.  The later, more awkward years will follow, and we’ll all cry. 

School Days 

Though she will deny it, my Mom gave me this haircut herself.  I remember very well.  Even at four, I knew how ridiculous I looked.  

School Days 

First grade.  Somehow I think I rise above this bowl haircut.  

School Days 

Second grade.  That tiny headband is failing…. big time.  Nice frock.  I would totally rock that these days. Is that weird?  That’s weird. 

School Days 

Nice corner fading third grade!  I feel like there are some serious adult teeth hiding out in that mouth.  

School Days 

Oooh yes.  Full of teeth.   You have to grow into your teeth.  It’s true.  It’s like puppies with big paws.  Should I tell you how much I loved this Cinco de Mayo dress with matching hair ribbon?  Yes.  A lot.  

School Days 

Mixed girl hair is a hard thing.  It wants to be curly.  It wants to be straight.  It wants to ruin your life.  What are you going to do?  Button your shirt all the way up and hope for the best. 

School Days 

a)  Why do the school photographers make you look in the ceiling corner.  It’s awkward.  

b)  I thought this shirt was so clever.  I was right.  

School Days 

Oooh Joy .  Triangle hair.  So short.  So much volume.  I wish I could have gone back in time to tell you everything would work out ok… but the truth is that you’ve got some seriously awkward years ahead of you.  Yeesh. 

Enjoy the kitchen intermission.  Laugh at me.  Please… go on… laugh.  If your Mom is a scrapbooker, you might not want to laugh as hard.  Your time for an embarrassing envelope will come. 

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Beyond the Kitchen

Previous Post: « FoodBuzzed
Next Post: Dad’s Perfect Sweet Potato Pie »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. Miss K

    January 29, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    More more more!!
    You were adorable.

    Reply
  2. Allison

    December 21, 2009 at 8:25 am

    I love that you shared these! It brings back memories of my own history of school photos, and dare I say, scary haircuts by mom!

    Reply
  3. Sarah

    November 28, 2009 at 10:21 am

    I think that shirt is clever. I also had a haircut that my mother gave me when I was five that she maintains was the best my hair ever looked. I have really curly hair and a mom that didn’t understand that you didn’t brush that out. I had no idea I had curly hair until I was well into high school. No one tells little curly girls that they don’t have to brush their hair!!! I feel your big hair in the past pain.

    Reply
  4. Stacy

    November 20, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    you are brave and darling.
    thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Katie

    November 19, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    OOO, you had Molly Ringwald hair in 7th grade! I feel you on the mixed girl hair-thing, I’m Puerto-Rican/Irish (it wants to be a big curly fro-but it can’t so it’s just a frizz bomb). In fact, it took me 23 years to get it under control (sorta). I wish I could go back and tell my younger self how to deal with it, but, alas, I cannot. Also my younger self probably wouldn’t have been willing to spend $18 on shampoo and conditioner….

    Back to you. Isn’t strange how looking back, we weren’t so ugly/awkward/etc. after all? Okay, sometimes we were (usually not the times we expect). But look at you! You were so gosh-darn cute and at the time you were probably thinking *oh, why can’t be x?*. But your Grandma was right, you were beautiful :).

    Reply
  6. Debbi

    November 19, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    My 8th grade photo is used to get terrorists to confess…. nuff said.

    Reply
  7. Ariana from Chicago

    November 19, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    Ok, I know that you MUST know these are seriously cute pictures. Pretty blue eyed girl you were/are!

    Reply
  8. Danny

    November 19, 2009 at 9:32 am

    Wow, it’s like the evolution of man posters… LOL.

    Hey Joy. Just wanted to take this opportunity to say I am very happy for you and extremely proud of you. You’re an amazing person, full of talent and greatness and I am glad you’re unleashing it on the world one set of tastebuds at a time… Though your writing was never anything to sneeze at, either. And photography seems to be treating you quite well…

    Pick up an instrument and you’re a Rennaisance Woman.

    Anyways, Be Well.

    Danny

    Reply
  9. Mary

    November 18, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    I love your 7th grade picture! It’s very Molly Ringwold era-styling…if you weren’t going for that, sorry, I don’t mean it in a bad way at all!

    I fear for the day we have to clean out the “picture drawers” in my mom’s house…there are some scary historical shots in there…oh yeah.

    Reply
  10. Audrey

    November 18, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    You looked so cute in all of them! And I love the triangle cut on you, no matter how poofy the hair got. I agree, mixed-girl hair can be a blessing and a curse. I’m half black and half white–what are you?

    Reply
  11. steph (whisk/spoon)

    November 18, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    i am totally laughing– sorry! more to do with your commentary…the photos are really super cute!

    Reply
  12. jen

    November 18, 2009 at 2:40 pm

    My mom has them in a plastic bin, ready for scrapbooking! Same torture ride through the 80s. She was partial to cutting a huge fringe of bangs, like starting at the top of the head or those evil sponge rollers for school pictures. awful.

    Reply
  13. micah rose

    November 18, 2009 at 2:36 pm

    I agree….mixed girl hair is a lot to deal with…but you have to admit…the drama of it makes it worth it:)
    Great blog:)

    Reply
  14. Jane George

    November 18, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    Hair!! the bane of our existence, at least you did not have to suffer pin curls every night!

    Reply
  15. Miranda

    November 18, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    Love it. I would be very afraid to share some of my hair styles.

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Beyond the Kitchen

New Year, New Orleans

If you can spend a holiday away from home, do it. Christmas on a beach with a cocktail? Yes, please. Santa can bring his swim trunks! This year I decided to ring in the new year in New Orleans, my favorite place outside of Chicago, with my girlfriend Breyon. A bae-cation, if you will. We…

Read More

An Update from Joy

Hi friends! Thanks for letting me pop into your Saturday. What are you up to this weekend? If I were to guess the goodness of your life, I’d say you’re putting an elf on a shelf, drying oranges slices into ornaments, and going for an epic no-budget Trader Joe’s run. Since I have a habit…

Read More

My 12 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes

We want to make sure your holiday cookie tin is the best because you are the best. This is not a competition, but obviously, if we were to momentarily think of this as a competition –  you have to win. We’re giving you only the best 12 holiday cookie recipes ensuring instant victory at any…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

Baked pull apart garlic bread baked in a loaf pan.

Erin’s Roasted Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

cowboy cookies close up showing texture.

Cowboy Cookies with salted cereal brittle

Raspberry linzer cookie recipe stacked on baking sheet.

Raspberry Lemon Linzer Cookies

Iced Oatmeal Cookies layered on a cooling rack.

Eggnog Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
My prayer is that we are fortified, flexible, and My prayer is that we are fortified, flexible, and well fed this year.
Homemade Hamburger Helper with Sneaky Veggies. ⁣ Homemade Hamburger Helper with Sneaky Veggies. ⁣
⁣
The thing is, you think you’re making enough for leftovers but somehow it’s all gone in one sitting. It’s that good. Recipe linked in the bio. Xo
I made these Almost Almond Croissant with a sheet I made these Almost Almond Croissant with a sheet of puff pastry and half a log of almond paste. Consider this a max volume weekend treat. ⁣
⁣
You’ll need:⁣
- A thawed sheet of puff pastry, fridge cold⁣
- 3.5 ounces or half a log of almond paste cut into 12 even-ish pieces⁣
- An egg beaten for egg wash, with a splash of heavy cream and a glug of vanilla bean paste for extra luxury⁣
- Sliced almonds⁣
- Powdered sugar ⁣
⁣
Lightly roll a sheet of puff pastry and slice into six rectangles. ⁣
Brush each rectangle with egg wash. Arrange each with two slices almond paste. Pull two corners of the puff pastry up and over the paste, pressing lightly to seal. Brush lightly with egg wash. ⁣
⁣
Transfer to a small, parchment lined baking pan and allow to rest in the freezer while the oven preheats to 425 degrees f. ⁣
⁣
Bake from chilled for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and again lightly brush with egg wash. Top with almond slices and bake for 6-8 minutes more. Keep an eye as to not burn the almonds. ⁣
⁣
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before dusting with powdered sugar and enjoying warm.
No hesitation. Marshmallows in every cookie. ⁣
⁣
Peanut Butter Fluffernutter Cookie recipe linked in the profile. 💋
🙋‍♀️ if you buy bananas just so they can 🙋‍♀️ if you buy bananas just so they can languish on the counter long enough to be baked. ⁣
⁣
These Almond Flour Banana Bread cookies are stacked with walnuts and chocolate and one of the best way I know how to celebrate a speckled banana. Find the recipe linked in the profile! xo #bananabread #glutenfreerecipes #joythebaker #cookies #bakingrecipes
Just tryna get the most cheese on my most simple s Just tryna get the most cheese on my most simple small-batch bagel recipe. Get in on this with me: ⁣
⁣
2 Easy No Yeast Bagels⁣
1/2 cup self-rising flour⁣
4 tablespoons greek yogurt (plus a teaspoon or two more if needed)
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash⁣
1/3 - 1/2 cup grated gouda or gruyere⁣
Everything bagel seasoning⁣
3 tablespoons baking soda with 2 cups of boiling water. ⁣
⁣
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper lightly with nonstick spray. ⁣
⁣
In a small bowl, use a firm spatula to work together the flour and yogurt. Add a few teaspoons of yogurt if it feels dry and knead into a cohesive ball for 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle with a bit more flour if it gets overly sticky. Cover with a damp paper towel and gather your toppings. ⁣
⁣
Divide dough in two and roll each piece into a roughly 8-inch rope. Bring the ends around and pinch into a circle. ⁣
⁣
Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared pan with grated cheese in two spots.  Pour boiling water over the baking soda and float each bagel in the water for 20 or so seconds.  Use a slotted spot or spatula to transfer the bagels on top of the cheese.  Brush lightly with egg. Sprinkle with more cheese and everything bagel seasoning. ⁣
⁣
Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and smearing with cream cheese.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up