Story Time (And Big News!)

Yesterday marked a month since my last day as an attorney. A month as a full-time entrepreneur. I’m so happy to have the time to devote to Begin with Butter and my cottage bakery, The Gloria Bakery, and I’m determined to bring you all the best content and baked goods that I can!

The road to get here has been very bumpy and very long. I’ve experienced so much uncertainty and downright doubt. But I can say, even at this early point, that I have no regrets. Let me explain:

Story Time

Last summer, my family and I went on our annual beach trip to coastal North Carolina. It’s an amazing place, with Red/Yellow flag boogie boarding, fun eats, and miles and miles of uncrowded beaches.

Last year also featured hours of Uno, solo time watching dolphins in my little green tent, a full-moon high tide that erased 50 yards of beach for several hours (and may have eliminated a sea turtle nest), and my first foray into virtual boxing (I…am not a fighter). We’ve visited almost every summer since my son was about 18 months old. It is always an annual highlight.

Last summer, vacation felt different at the beginning. While I was very happy to be away from the grind of my legal job, my vacation mood was heavier. I arrived to my vacation completely burned out from the grind of my career. I was more irritable. And preoccupied. And sad.

But the worst feeling of all was the resentment. Because while I’ve always believed that I have the power to change the circumstance, I had no idea how I would do it.

Turning Point

One morning, my amazing husband went boogie boarding before breakfast. You see, my husband has no fear when it comes to the ocean. He just grabs a board, goes out as far as the ocean tells him, and comes crashing in on the biggest wave he can find. One of my favorite things to do at the beach is to watch my husband and my brother-in-law catch waves together while they’re catching up.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no slouch on the waves. And I look for those huge waves too (and get rolled by them about 40% of the time…totally worth it though). But this is a story about my husband boogie boarding. Because he was out there–alone–without fear.

I was watching him from the deck of the house that morning. Catching wave after wave, seemingly without a care in the world. And in that moment, my favorite quote of all time came crashing into my mind:

You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.

Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo

So, I walked down to the beach, told my husband that breakfast was ready, and, with my heart pounding louder than the waves…I cried my eyes out about how unhappy I was in my career and how I needed to switch gears. And that I wanted to go from being a full-time attorney to running my blog and bakery full-time.

My husband and I are a team, Family; we are strongest when we are on one accord and tackling life together. His buy-in for this plan was incredibly important to me because it was a life change that would impact him, our children, and even our two outrageously rambunctious (and equally lazy) dogs. #JackRusselTerrierMom

I am so incredibly lucky to be married to this amazing man. Because my stoic, traditional, wonderful husband looked at my screwed-up, pained face, took twenty seconds to screw up his own courage, and said: “okay”. He knew what that “okay” meant. And he said it anyway. And from that point on, everything changed.

Big Announcement!

Fast forward…as of today, I’m one month post-legal career. I have a clear vision about the direction of Begin with Butter for 2022, and, most importantly, I have the time to execute every big goal for this year.

The first big goal for 2022 is one that has been in my heart since Begin with Butter began last April. And now it’s almost ready to launch (and I’m so excited I could faint, Fam).

The first course Begin with Butter Home Baking Academy is in the final, beta testing stages and it will be formally launched in April of this year!

The first course is for the home cooks who want to learn how to create their own cake recipes. Because I can tell you all from experience that being able to create both savory and baking recipes of my own has made me feel like a kitchen BOSS.

I understand the frustration of feeling free and unfettered with savory ingredients, only to then feel bound to every step of a baking recipe in order to have any hope of it turning out correctly. The two feelings created very different kitchen experiences for me; from the time I caught the baking bug in 2014, I yearned for the same creative freedom in my baking that I had in my savory cooking.

It took me the better part of seven years, tons of practice, and some essential pastry textbooks, but Family, I’m happy to tell you that I cracked the code and learned how to create my own cake recipes. And now, I can play around with butter, flour, and granulated sugar as easily as I can play with oregano, salt and pepper.

Here’s what I’ve learned: if you learn and practice a few key basics, you can unleash your culinary creativity and create your own baking recipes!

You read that correctly. The power to create delicious cakes is in you.

The Course!

The final course itself will be launched in April of 2022, but I’m doing a final beta test course to give you all an opportunity to help shape the contours of the final course. It’s an opportunity to have live, small-group instruction, with me, over the course of five weeks. At the end of that five weeks, you’ll know the tools (pun intended), ingredients and techniques that you need be able to create your very own cake recipes, and you’ll have had a great time.

You’ll be transformed into a creative baker! And, let me tell you, the freeing feeling that that creates is priceless.

Spots for the beta test are limited, and registration closes this Sunday, February 20, 2022 (or when registration reaches 12 people). Class begins on February 26th at 12 p.m. EST and runs for five weeks, with a break (no class) on March 12, 2022.

If you’re ready to have a ball while learning the basic tools and techniques that will skyrocket your baking creativity, click on the link below to enroll in the beta group!

This course is designed for those home cooks who really want to be incredible home bakers. It's not a formal pastry school, but these are methods that I've learned from professional textbooks (and oodles of practice) over the past eight years. I even used the tools that I'll be teaching in this Live course to start The Gloria Bakery, my cottage bakery in Maryland, so I know that these tried-and-true techniques work!

I want you to be empowered as bakers to try your own new recipes, and to put your own spin on classics. I created this course for those of you who want to dramatically cut the baking learning curve and create your own delicious cakes. If you're interested in participating in the beta course, click here to go right to the course page!

Hope to see you soon! If you have questions, feel free to send an email to hello@beginwithbutter.com and I'm happy to answer them!