Happy occasions have caught on like wildfire at my office. It seems like every other day someone is announcing a baby, an engagement, or a big move! The kind of news that makes you smile SO big and kind of tear up. Life is change, and while I’m riding the waves more than picking the beach, sometimes I get to see someone else do it. I’m not the sorta girl who fantasizes about when I might get married yet… I’m more likely to fantasize about the next time I’ll be barefoot, eating something delicious, playing with Cocoa Bean, watching X-Men and/or being a general goofball… even though I have found my very own Prince Charming, wedding stuff is far away in my mind. In the meantime, I love helping other people celebrate and every special occasion deserves cake! Even more, I really love weddings.
Last week, GDC got it’s first official order for wedding cupcakes, so be on the lookout for work in progress blogs on how GDC does tasting, pricing, how-to-build your own cupcake stand and the super rad young bride who ordered them!
Many blessings to the all the wonderful couples sharing the growth and gift of love!
Hi Friends. Sorry, I’ve been busy relishing in summer.
After the farmers market in May, I decided to refocus on relaxing in a bigger way! While I haven’t been baking or writing much, I have been having SO. MUCH. FUN. Making new friends and celebrating the ones we already have; travelling; running with my puppy; sweating it out on roadtrips; laughing; crying; and eating delicious, delicious food. Thank goodness for all the wonderful people in my life making all this possible! Click on the likn below and you’ll see my Mom’s business (Harmony Gardening and Sustainable Solutions), Joy’s new puppy (Sookie), my trip to Laramie to move Becky, Family Style Cantonese dinner for my birthday, #malletsarefortourists Barn Party and Crab Feast:
and some pics just from our trip to Asheville:
Some of you may be wondering where you’ll see Gimme Dem Cupcakes next, and the truth is… YOU NEVER KNOW! I’ll definitely be making an appearance at the either DC Veg Fest or DC Cupcake Camp and a Grey Market in the fall; and there have been a few other events and opportunities I just couldn’t make work yet. But as the GDC kitchen prepares to move to the district spring 2012, I’m hoping to set roots and partner with a storefront or kitchen in the area. Let me know if you have any ideas! Maybe August will actually help me get back to work… In the meantime, keep checking back here for updates and I’ll still be doing made to order!!
Belated Valentine’s post! I know it isn’t everyone’s favorite holiday, but I’m glad for any moment taken to appreciate one’s relation to the world around them. Love is in the air. People are taking great pride in their nation, their community, their families, their significant others and themselves.
I’ve been very excited about two projects near and dear to my heart:
#1. Vegan Tiramisu wedding cake for one of the nicest couples on the planet
#2. I finally did it! I got the tattoo of my dreams.
About the cake:
I know it’s not the center-piece or anything, but I want it to be perfect, and most importantly, I want it to be them: charming, playful, warm and intelligent. I don’t know how a cake can be intelligent, but I think I can do the other stuff! Karen sent out a call t her friends to bring together a collection of about 8 homemade cakes instead of a giant one. So smart. The wedding is in the far far away land of Nashville and my kitchen skills travel better than a cake…. Thanks to the wonderful networking abilities afforded by the intertubes, I will be baking with one of the other cakers the day of the wedding! I’m so excited to meet her friends and work on cake together! I don’t want to make too much of a horrendous mess in their kitchen/nail the design so I have been practicing different steps about once a week. I have chronicled the learning process on flickr. Lars and I are stoked for a week long of Nashville adventures and friend celebrating starting next Monday! There is a lot to do yet, but I think I’ll be ready when the time comes!!!
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About the tattoo:
Many of you may be wondering why your favoritre kt b got a tattoo. If I have to explain it all to a grandparent or child, I guess we’ll just have to meet on the values of self-expression and do the best we can. Beyond that, some of you may have known I was stewing on it for years, but for those who do not, here is a little meandering description of the whole deal. As I tell it, there is no fantastic narrative to tie everything together. And to be honest, I’m not obssessed with the inked body,and I don’t envision panels of images stretching the span of my back. And it’s definitely not an act of rebellion. It’s on a pretty personal space, not like I’m trying to be cool (though I am very proud of Rob’s work). So why did I get a tattoo?
I know people get tattoos for all sorts of reasons. But here was my basic criteria:
1. Whatever idea I get has to stick after at least a year of ruminating in my head.
2. The phrase or image should be in a place I can see it so it’s for me and not just other people to look at.
3. Most importantly, the phrase or image should represent me.
4. And lastly, it’d be nice to have original artwork.
I had the idea about 3 years ago and found an artist last year for the drawing. This year, I found an artist for the actual sitting Rob L. Smith, II at Caspian Tattoos in Lynchburg, VA.
I think tattoos can be beautiful, even if certain motifs may have less meaning to the general viewer because of their repeated use. But that’s the thing, regardless of the image, tattoos are personal symbols the individual chooses that aren’t just about what others see on skin, but what the image represents to the body’s owner. I needed that. I needed to do something for just me. I generally channel a good deal of my effort into things intended for others. Testing students, training volunteers, waiting tables, baking at midnight, paying bills… Don’t get me wrong, I still love all those things, especially making you cupcakes and helping people learn English; I just needed to remind myself of me.
Hippos are such a funny dichotomy between the doughy, friendly things humans like to idealize, and the actually massive, territorial, dangerous animals that they are. It doesn’t hurt that they are vegetarians! I came upon the hippo as a gift at the end of high school, just as I was just starting to figure myself out. After all this time it stuck with me, first as a joke then because I really identified with them. Maybe it seems like a dramatic move, maybe part of a big exhale after a lot has changed. I do know that when I look down and see it etched onto my waist, it feels absolutely right. It feels like me.
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Thank you all for all the constant support in things I love to do!
I hope you’ll celebrate the compassion and understanding you share with others every day! Happy Valentine’s!!!
My friends, I’m sorry my blog has been neglected. Please know Gimme Dem Cupcakes has been working and playing hard!
This MLK, Jr. weekend rounds out my holiday season, and I have truly been a very lucky girl. I think about all the people in my life, and I am so thankful. We exchange so many gifts of love. Sometimes in the form of new cooking tools for GDC, gardening gear for Harmony Gardening, goofy socks for my favorite derby girl, or mostly in the occasions to be together sharing food, laughing and learning.
I worked ahead and actually had a whole week off over the holidays to be with my family. Lars and I had a wonderful pre-Christmas with the Gotrich’s in GA, I came back for Christmas weekend lucky to find my mom was able to join us, and then we celebrated with my Grands the following Monday. Quality time was spent baking on my own, making phone calls to friends, late night gaming with my sister, and eating lots of delicious food. All these moments are so precious to me.
While I wish dearly to have a more normal work schedule, for now, I have been enjoying my work even when the hours and days run together; and I am so happy that after working so hard, there really is time to spend with the ones I love. Thank you all for being so patient with me. We all work hard, and I hope you find yourself refreshed by the new year and that you find all the time you need to be with the ones you love doing things that help you grow. Let me know if Gimme Dem can help!
Google Docs is pretty much saving my life. Groceries, Cupcake orders, work tasks, life goals, recipes to try, everything is pretty much there and oh so easy to access with my Droid. I’ve been working extra hard so I can provide you with all the holiday goodies you deserve. Running here, there and everywhere plus a killer flu/cold put me out for a little while, so I’m sorry, because I’ve been a bad blogger. I hope the warm smell of cinnamon coming from my kitchen has kept you stoked!
That said, I put together a wishlist that any baker would love for you to get ideas for your favorite vegans/bakers:
If you’re interested in what to get this baker, I always have a list going too…
When I need to recover from my infinite work-week, I look forward to the bliss of Saturdays. They seem brighter, freer, and fresher. Usually I go to the market with my sister, but this Saturday was extra special. I woke up and made three batches of mini-cupcakes (tiramisu, chocomint, and dreamsicle) for DC’s first Cupcake Camp! I was satisfied with the presentation, but I wish I had gone with an original recipe and more ambitious decorating for competition.
Overall, it was a great event though. On possibly the most gorgeous day in September, a slew of cupcake bakers and consumers shared mutual love of food and experience. Dedicated volunteers managed a blog to build buzz and organized volunteers to manage the event. Cupcakes were divided into rounds to be distributed to judges and then spectators every 15 minutes. I wish it was a bigger venue and that they had anounced the rounds, but I did meet some nice bakers and I totally chowed on so many cupcakes. Next year, bringing containers so I don’t go into sugar coma. Lars helped me recover with a catnap and a pretty serious session of bbq consuming. Check out the Flickr pool to see more pictures from the areas cupcake camp! Can’t wait ’til next year!
I’ve been a bad blogger but a much better baker. I’ve had orders alost every week, but it’s been full tilt boogy with my work schedule. I pack something in every day and it’s turning out to be a very full summer.
So the other evening, I was slouched in a seat on the metro when I was overtaken by a whiff of nostalgia. A smell of food service, the kind of smell that comes from no-slip shoes that have tread the kitchen many times, day in and day out. The feet that walk across the floor when it’s pristine in the morning, half-covered with crumbs during the rush, and sudsy mid-mop at the end of the day. They are decidedly stinky shoes with a layer of grime that is embed in the sole. I still love that smell, though. My parents worked at restaurants when I was little, one a kitchen manager, one a server, both rigorously emptied of energy each day.
I remember visiting them at work, meeting their coworkers, playing flashlight tag during power outages, helping myself to their cheese cakes, crab legs, and whatever else the smörgåsbord of the moment provided. The restaurant regulars and workers were our community of friends and neighbors. When my parents weren’t working, I’d want them to relax, playing server to them at home. I’d scoot a little cart to carry their food or beverages. Maybe it’s that romanticism mingling with manifest destiny that I now find myself a server to support my dreams of full time baking.
I work almost as many hours at Artie’s as I do at the office and I realize that you can’t spend that kind of time in a place for three years and not fall in love with the people. It’s hard not to make them cupcakes… Wednesday afternoon, my last guests were the sweetest middle aged couple I’ve ever met. About 3:30, a smallish man around 60 and his wife sat down at a window near the door and we fell in love. Over the few moments it takes to serve water, a bowl of soup, the crab cakes and a crème brûlée, we fell in love. I was overjoyed and refreshed as they graciously thanked me for every little thing. That’s the sort of people who come, nice people, people who care about how they treat others nd care about how others treat them. The same goes for my coworkers. Since I got back from vacation, the company has been in a huge staff transition since a good number of our servers are going back to school or moving on to other jobs, some firings, and the stress of spreading our talent to the new restaurant opening in September. So this month has been full of hellos and good-byes and it’s made me reflective. I realize, I’m really very proud of the work I do and what it helps me do for myself and my family, and I’m really glad I’ve gotten to work with so many wonderful people.
I always thought what mom and dad and all their coworkers do was beautiful. Every kitchen is a magical place wherethe human touch can create not only fuel for the body, but something that pleases the senses and cravings–something that pleases the mind, too. I’ve always found cooking and cleaning to be a mentally calming activity especially when its full of tension. So, learned behavior, genetics or choice, my love of giving places me close to a kitchen.
Hopefully things will come together and it’ll be a kt kitchen all the time. I’m on the lookout for kitchen shares or rentals and/or getting experience working for a bakery I believe. Next month, I have a counseling session at George Mason and I’m going to DC VegFest on the 11th. In the meantime, check out the new and improved online order form and pick out something special or just write me and say hi!
I have to say, this like many recent posts, is going the long way ’round before we ever get to the cake… Today was Katie Beckman day, aka my 26th birthday. Where am I? Who did I enjoy my birthday with? While I usually spend most Independnce days and birthdays with my immediate family or closest friends; today I was in Georgia with my boyfriend and his family. I got to meet his mom, dad, brother, sister in law, and her two little sisters (flickr album). This is my first time in GA, first time meeting his family, first time meeting a family that lives so far from me.
I’ve spent a little over a year getting to know Lars, and as much as I love him, I knew he was part of a family of good people. Our first night and day of vacation was in Athens, and while I was immeditely drawn to the open and inclusive culture of one of the country’s best college/music towns, I found myself at the edge of my seat with excitement as we drove to his family’s home in suburban Atlanta. As I entered the door, they immediately hugged me hard and made me feel so welcome and so loved. I can’ fully describe how good and how complete each moment has been, but I feel incredibly blessed. I hope for more, but I’m so satisfied for what is now.
We’ve had a wonderful few days, and today, they celebrated my birthday with me. Lars’s mom has been very accommodating to my dietary decisions, and today was no exception. She prepared a gorgeous cake, the oh so decadent Death by Vegan Chocolate cake from The Grit cookbook. Accented with blackberries and served with one of the delicious teas, I was surprised to open a great collection of records to accompany the new record player from Lars.
The evening was punctuated with family stories, music, and delicious food. I can’t believe we leave Wednesday, but I feel like this has been the most relaxing vacation I can remember. Every year feels like I’m more and more me, and I’m lucky to have the company of such wonderful, wonderful people. I hope I remember how much I love them, however long they’re in my life.
I hope as you read this post, maybe you can have some idea of how special it is to love, and then fall in love a little deeper. Please remember, I love you all and know I send you lots of happy thoughts! As soon as Lars posts bday pictures, you’ll have a better idea of the cake and Jude’s wonderful culinary skills.
It’s late afternoon at the office; I’m listening to Buena Vista Social Club and I’ve taken the evening off Artie’s… left with the itch to hop on my bike and ride until I feel like jumping in the pool back at the apartment. This week, I have been a weird kind of exhausted-fine to go, go, go all day, then when my head hits the pillow, I’m out. Deep sleep that fights the morning’s light with heavy eyelids and a heavy head, frequently ignoring alarms. Heavy like the Virginia summer. Borderline steamy, the air frequently hangs until a passing car stirs it with even hotter exhaust. As I prepare for my vacation down to Georgia with Lars next week, I feel affected by the weather and I think about what it is to be Southern and to slow down for your environment; to be a culture of people who are pacing themselves, and savoring the hot air that ripens the fruits. Maybe I’m being too romantic. Maybe the hot yoga has reminded me to worship the heat. In any case, I’m loving it after the severe cold and snow we had all winter.
Tomorrow, I take my annual trip down to the berry farm to harvest my favorite blackberries and I will be sure to post all the vegan goodies I prepare as a result. You can expect a few pictures of kt in the bushes or just laying in the grass, generally being eaten up by bugs and havinga good time. I hope I’ll get to share the fruits of this beautiful Virginia summer with you.
Thursday, June 17th, 2010 was a very special day. Any good anthropologist or sociologist will tell you, human societies and the individuals in them, need their rites of passage. We need the physical, mental and somewhat spiritual key change to progress from one stage of life to another. We could write them off as meaningless hiccups in a string of ordinary events, but I myself, love the opportunity to celebrate the ones I love. Yesterday was one of the best. My whole family was with me and we all woke early to go about preparations for my “little sissy’s” graduation from high school. A very special batch of mini Tiramisu in arm, we drove downtown for a gorgeous afternoon of celebration.
An excerpt from the email I wrote to our closest friends and family:
“Yesterday, Mom, Dad, and I had the great joy of seeing our Jenny graduate with her classmates at DAR Constitution Hall. The weather was hot but bright and breezy, Jenny looked stunning, and everyone cooperated so we could be on time and ready for each stage of the day. Everything about the day just made Jenny shine. Sitting in the hall, we anxiously searched the sea of red caps for her head of brown with blonde undertones. The speakers were humble and poised, especially the valedictorian (who gave Jenny a specific nod in her speech). When Jenny finally walked across the stage, I was mid-holler when the tears came. It was so much coming to fruition and such an honor to be part of her moment. After everything that’s been happening, the past few years especially, it was just so wonderful to celebrate Jenny and think about the child she was and the beautiful woman she’s becoming.
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I hope you’ll join my family in congratulating Jenny and the other students for their work to grow and mature throughout their schooling. It was a very special day for our family and personally one of the most precious memories of my life. I’d also like to personally thank each of you for all the family, friendship, support, and love you’ve shared with us. People like each of you make our family feel so loved and so fortunate.“
Congratulations to the class of 2010- you deserve every opportunity the world has to offer you, and the world deserves to see you pursue every one of your goals and talents.
Last week, GDC got it’s first official order for wedding cupcakes, so be on the lookout for work in progress blogs on how GDC does tasting, pricing, how-to-build your own cupcake stand and the super rad young bride who ordered them!
