Inspiration.

Saturday night my mom and I went to this thing called KC Cakefest. There was a Groupon for it, so we were like, "What the heck... it might be interesting." To be honest, it ended up being kind of lame, so we just hung out for an hour or so, chalked it up to a good experience to people watch, then headed home. One thing I did enjoy in the evening was when this woman spoke named Leigh Grode; she's the co-owner of a famous bakery in Los Angeles called Cake Divas (and apparently she's on TV, too... although I've never seen her on anything...) She gave her two cents on a few things. Like that there is no shame in using cake mixes because all it is is pre-measured ingredients that you would use in a cake from scratch anyway. (So now I don't have to feel guilty when people ask what the secret is for my white cake and I respond, "Duncan Hines.")

Someone also asked her what was her favorite cake that she ever made. Her favorite was a birthday cake she made a boy from Russia that had recently been adopted by an American family. He was 10 years old or something, and it was his very first birthday cake. She talked about how excited he was, and the joy that it brought her to see that. She said that she loves baking because it is a way to celebrate life. I loved that! I already enjoy the art behind baking, and the yumminess behind baking, but I sometimes forget to put my finger on that fact that it's a way to celebrate! I love that, too...

(Seriously though... if you're a baker, buy this.)

I also got Joy the Baker's new cookbook in the mail this weekend. It's great. You should buy it. (Here, I'll give you the link right HERE to make it easy for you.) Tonight I made her Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Cookies to take to work tomorrow. Despite the diet, I taste-tested both and they were pretty alright... Anyway, in the introduction to the cookbook, Joy said something that kind of goes back to what Leigh said. And I liked it a lot:

"I encourage you to use this book to celebrate life and love. They're both made better with sugar, butter, and cream. There's an undeniable connection between sweet treats and smiles; I hope this cookbook inspires both."

Alright, I'm stepping off of my baking soapbox now. I guess you could say it was just an inspiring weekend for me as far as baking goes...

(Depiction of happiness in the eyes of Abby Thomason.)