Saturday, May 30, 2009

Confiming my conviction


Last night I attended a Pampered Chef Party, not something I would normally do but it was to raise money for breast cancer and I am all about protecting the future of my boobies. Pampered Chef, just like every other cooking store, tries to cover a little of everything. They have some interesting stone ware baking pieces but other than that I am not impressed by the tools they recommend for bakers and I am not convinced of the quality for the price.
I did buy a couple of pieces and when I get them home I will test them out and let you know how they worked out. But what this party really did was confirm my conviction to open my store. Everyone I talk to "gets it," which has to mean that I am explaining it well and that my passion and love for it translates. I hear the warnings from everyone, the choruses of "you'll work 24/7" and "you won't make any money for years" and the loveliest of them "there is no way to open a mom and pop type store in this economy." I refuse to hear those chants, well maybe I don't refuse to hear them but rather absorb and put in the effort to not let them be my downfall. I don't mind the notion of working 24/7, I grew up in a family business and some of my best memories were working hard all weekend long right next to my parents. I would love that to be the future of my life and my future families.
Today, life is good.
I have an interview, for a company that no longer has a job open for me, on Thursday because the hiring manager was impressed with my resume and with the feedback from the recruiter. And I had a phone interview this past Tuesday that went really well and should be hearing back from them sometime next week. Maybe my future is looking up..remember, getting a job is the sticking point for me getting money to start my store.
Wish me luck!

One last note.. I knew that Pampered Chef and I were not in the same league when they baked a boxed chocolate cake with store bought frosting in the microwave..it was alright but by no means delicious and certainly not something that I would encourage CraftBakers to do...if you need a cake in 8 minutes, go to your local bakery and support a struggling business...

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

oh the silly heart..

a deleted blog posting..

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A job????

A new job would mean I am one step closer to this store! Yeah! I think I will have an interview this week. Not the most money in the world but better than no job and no money for sure!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

apple pie filling in puff pastry..

Yeah, that's a good day. I don't like apple pie..but I do love good homemade apple pie filling in some puff pastry, a la turnover..all hot and delicious, swimming in vanilla ice cream.

That's it for today..that's my blog.. life changing, I am sure!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

what are you going to sell?


I have been having more and more conversations about this dream of mine and everytime I talk to guys I get a puzzled look and the following statement "what are you going to sell?"

It might be hard to imagine that this generation is embracing traditional values in a modern way. We aren't closed minded and uninterested in the world but we do want to make personal connections with friends, family, and community at large. We no longer want to "buy" our place in society but rather we want to earn it. We want our families to grow with some tradition that does not involve a quick trip through the drive through. Not everyone can be a Betty Crocker but everyone can bake something and that's what I am going to sell.

So many people think that the world is only going to be online and that everything is going to be bought and sold online exclusively but people like to feel connected and they are willing to pay a little more for some things to cover the expenses of the overhead that come with that connection. A real store, brick and mortar, provides a meeting place, allows you the opportunity to touch and taste and ask questions.

I decided that I really don't want to sell all the small appliances that go with baking (the kitchen aid mixers, the food processors, blendors etc) they can all be bought online or at mass retail outlets and while I will have them in the store and reference them on the website it just doesn't make sense to sell them. I want to see the ingredients and tools used to bake. Cookbooks, interesting tools, chocolate, extracts, flours, sugars, fancy things, basic things, some hardware.. I want to keep the prices reasonable but in reality there will be items in the store at every price point. My goal is to never have anyone leave the store without at least buying something.

But most importantly.. what I am selling is that old fashioned connection with a modern assist. No online store but certainly an online community.

Monday, May 11, 2009

will the frustration ever end

I am so tired of searching for a job that just doesn't seem to exist. My dream is to open a store not to work for some big corporate machine. Does it always have to be part of the game? I suppose if I had kept my life more simple (no animals to support, no mortgages or car payments..no credit cards for sure) I might be able to be living my dream right now, but the dream didn't come to me until December, 2008!

I am a smart person with a lot of experience, insight and ability. I should have no problem finding a job even if a tough economy and yet tonight I received another rejection letter. I don't know why life seems to work out this way for me, if love is going well my career is usually going well and vice versa through no fault of my own. Right now..neither is happening and I am so frustrated. I feel like I am failing and flailing to stay afloat. I am hanging in there and things just keep slipping away. I know I am not the only person in this situation but I am so frustrated!!!!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

What's love got to do with it?


This dream to open a store, my store, all started with something and that was a love of baking from the home and heart. I have yet to meet anyone who isn't in love with this idea and while I know that doesn't mean my store will automatically be successful, I am confident that it means I have tapped into something at the right time.

Figuring out where to get the money is hard, I would love to just get this store up and running and dedicate all my time to it while still on unemployment. Trust me, I know that sounds horrible and very much away from my normal conservative roots but sometimes I think that timing is everything.

Since the whole impetus for this venture is my love of baking I thought I would share some recipes and pictures along the way. This weekend my awesome friends had a "Nueve de mayo" party, so I decided to make a tres leches cake. Mind you, I didn't think I would like tres leches (and turns out I was right) but it sounded interested and mexican theme appropriate.

I am a super simple girl sometimes when I am in a time crunch so here is the super secret recipe..

Tres Leches
buy a yellow cake mix, prepare as directed (except use a whisk and just whisk together the batter but not too much..this will keep it from rising too much in the oven and make it a little more like a pound cake)
mix together 1 cup of whole milk, 1 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup evaporated milk and 1/3 cup rum.
While the cake is hot, poke holes (i used a fork) all over the cake, pour the milk mixture over it evenly. Cool the cake on the counter until cool then refrigerate. Before serving, spread coolwhip (or real whipped cream) over the entire cake and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cool whip works well if you aren't going to keep it cold.

you could also put cherries on the cake instead of cinnamon..

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

jobs..

I have to have a job to get the money to opent he store which of course means I won't have time to really focus ont he store but so goes the traditional catch 22. I am okay with all of that because I know I have it in me to do all of this and make my dream a reality.

But today I am entertaining the thought of working in LA. A place that I have never loved but have always called home. So many people are connected to LA and think its the best place on earth to live but my dream locale is San Diego. It's a modern company based in software and technology so the thought that they might let me work from home part time is ideal..and even better they do have a huge HQ in SD so maybe someday I would be able to get back down here all the time..

But am I ready to live in LA again? I would do anything to get this job..it's too good to pass up...

Monday, May 4, 2009

does talking make a dream come true?

I had a revelation tonight while having a conversation with two great girlfriends. How many of us talk about things we want to accomplish, endlessly talk about things we want to accomplish, annoyingly talk about things we want to accomplish...without any plan of action to actually accomplish the dreams of which we speak.

There have been a million speeches about dreams and accomplishing goals, the people giving the speeches have generally accomplished their dream and are trying desperately to inspire us all. I am inspired, sometimes awed, by the accomplishments of such people but have I ever accomplished a dream I talked about?

So I thought and I thought and then I realized that I went back to college at 21 because I felt like I had not finished a dream I started and I wanted to make it happen. I made it happen, not with the perfection that I had envisioned, far from it actually, but I accomplished it and have the paper to show anyone who wants to see.

I dreamed about being a lawyer, architect, electrician, musician, mom and none of those dreams have come to fruition. I am dreaming about the store, I am dreaming about the modern american dream and I am determined to make it a reality.

My lesson learned from accomplishing school is that accomplishing your dream more often than not looks different at the end than the original dream and that's OKAY, sometimes it is even better.

Live your dream and remember to try to inspire others to do the same. We can all accomplish so much with the support of other people. I am going to support my friends in their dreams and do whatever I can to help..and I know they will do the same!

hiccuping my way to success?

he's back...

I don't know what I think about. I feel like my head exploded this weekend.

Time to get my head back in the game and focus on the real american dream I am trying to live. Wish me luck!