I left for college and lived in the campus dorms. For the first time I was away from my home and I was living with new friends who were in the same situation. It was a very exciting time, we all thought we were pretty awesome.. Going to classes, staying up late, but when it was time to eat we all kind of looked at each other. How much pizza and ramen can one person eat without going crazy? The UF dorm that I lived in had kitchens in our room. I really didn't know how to cook or bake growing up, but I knew that when we had friends and family over, my parents were great hosts. No one left hungry. So, I just naturally fell into the role of cooking while living in the dorms. When I first started, the only thing I knew about food is what it should taste like when it was done... So I slowly taught myself. I had the best audience ever. Hungry friends who were used to eating not-so-great dorm food. I loved everything about cooking and baking for others.. I love seeing the happiness of fellowship and how sharing brought us together as we laughed and feasted on good food and treats. I completely understood why my family and extended family enjoyed getting together; there was love in the food we shared, in the memories we created together. As a teen my dad would ask me what I wanted to do in life, I would say I wanted to own a business, more specifically the mall. I thought if you own the mall, you own everything in it. Well years later, I realized it wasn't a mall I wanted to own, but a cafe or Bakery. A place I could create and bake.

 

As life went on, I continued to bake cakes for everyone's birthday celebrations, but my dream of having a bakery seem to be slipping away as I started my career as a physician assistant. Then, I had my lovely two boys (and later my beautiful daughter) and I fell in love with being their mom. Could I want anything more than my husband and kids? They're pretty awesome. Could I be that greedy to want more, then my husband slapped me back to reality and said yes! "You need to do this. You love it and it's your dream." So, I decided that day I would. I rustically told my friends I was opening up a home bakery without business cards, menu, or a professional business plan (I have all this now) and received my first take orders from my awesome friend, Janice, over a year-and-a-half ago. I still work as a physician assistant in heart surgery part-time and run my home Bakery throughout the week. Both my jobs are centered around the heart and I couldn't be happier.