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When I announced that I would be starting a blog in 2024, I think a lot of people didn't understand why I did that. I'm a baker and a farmer, do I need to be a writer too? I completely understand the confusion on that, so let's chat about it.
What a lot of people don't know (So let's keep this little secret between us, okay?) is that I've been writing a book for the last two years. Yeah, I know, a whole fantasy novel coming out of my brain? We'll see. It's been a hobby of mine so I've never taken it seriously. I only write whenever I'm inspired, and it took me forever just to finalize the plot.
But your girl is writing a book! Will it ever see the light of day? I'm not sure about that. Come back in another two years when I finally get around to finishing the first draft. But that all leads to my blog.
I enjoy writing, and it gives me the opportunity to articulate my thoughts and feelings about any topic I'm discussing. Whenever I'm talking to people or recording myself, I tend to speak with little to no filter. And if my words don't give away my thoughts, then my face certainly will (the ultimate betrayal, my lack of a poker face). I consider myself to be an honest person, but that honesty can come across as more blunt than anything else.
So blogging gives me a chance to connect with my community in a way that's comfortable for me! I'm still working on being comfortable in front of a camera, but for the most part this blog will probably be where you hear from me the most.
What Inspired This Blog?
Around the end of every year, before I close my bakery and farm for the winter, I reach out to a lot of my regular customers and small business friends. When I talk to them I ask various questions:
What can I do better?
How can I expand next year?
What were your favorite products?
What new things would you like to see?
I honestly never expected to hear so many people tell me to start writing and teaching. A lot of customers asked me for a cookbook and a memoir? While I'm not quite sure I'm up to that caliber yet, I'm seeing this blog as a stepping stone towards that goal.
None of my customers or small business friends knew I was already writing, even though it was something completely separate from the bakery. So hearing that a little hobby of mine was actually something people wanted to see? I wish I recorded the shock on my face.
What Will My Blog Focus On?
I thought about making this a strict food blog with lots of recipes, or have it be a lifestyle blog instead. When I look at the options I do get a little stuck trying to write something people would enjoy reading. However, like my book, I decided I would rather write things I would want to read rather than being paralyzed with worry about what others may think.
So, like my own passions and hobbies, this blog will become fairly eclectic. With splashes of lifestyle, sprinklings of snapshots and reviews, and a nice cherry on top of recipes and food blogging. This will slowly become more like a personal journal, or maybe a scrapbook? I'll share my favorite places to go, my favorite foods, goal setting, coffee galore, and so much more.
Working on developing this blog has helped inspire me to reconnect with some of my old favorite hobbies, something my mom is admittedly excited about. I lost touch with my love of drawing, painting, and swimming when I graduated high school and college. Most of my painting supplies had dust on it by the time I pulled it out. But I decided to find inspiration from what's around me in my life now.
Here's a snapshot of what I mean:
The Struggles Of Being A Creator
Calling myself a creator makes me cringe sometimes, especially when it makes me sound like a wannabe influencer. Technically speaking though, all I do is create things. From food, to gardening, to writing, to painting. I'm always bouncing between all my various hobbies.
My biggest struggle whenever I create content is the internal battle I have. On one hand, I want to share my life with everyone and connect on what makes us similar. Seeing where that could lead is an adventure of its own kind. On the other hand, I would rather live off the grid where no one has any idea about my life. I mean... I did move across the country to start my life over. I wasn't too keen on being open about my life to strangers after living in a community where everyone knew my grandparents, my parents, me, and my kid brother. Honestly, I didn't even bother making friends for the first six months I lived in Tennessee. I liked walking around knowing no one would recognize me. Back home, I couldn't go to a movie theater as a teenager without half my hometown finding out about it. In college I ended up on literal posters for various classes to bring in more students. This was community college too. While I loved being a part of that community and having a lot of people looking out for me, it also gave the introvert in me a ton of anxiety and paranoia.
Now though, living in a new state and chasing my dreams, I want to be more open about my life. Even on the boring days where all I'm doing is starting seeds in the greenhouse or baking for ten hours to prep for a pop-up. Or how most evenings I'm watching a new drama or discovering new music to listen to. I'm going to try to set up my camera more and capture these mundane moments. Someday I may look back on them and see they weren't mundane at all. Someday those moments may even inspire someone else.
Creating A Community
You won't see me on TikTok anytime soon, sorry guys. I tried it when it first became a thing but to be honest, I can barely keep up with my Instagram and YouTube channel. I mean, my poor YouTube channel collects dust for months between uploads. This won't stop me from trying to build a community though.
My goal for this blog is to build a connection with all my customers and readers. Whether you're reading this the day it's published or five years from now, I hope you'll join me at T&C. Write a comment, tag me online, or snag some coffee with me if you're local! In 2024 I'm working to develop T&C exclusive pop-ups so we can all hang out, grab our desserts, and say hi. In the future I may be able to build an exclusive online community as well with perks, but that's still in the drawing board phase. Hopefully, I can build a community where we can all hang out. If you have a question about starting your own bakery, need a recipe idea, or just want someone to listen, I'm hoping to become someone who can fill that role.
I hope this blog gives you an idea of what's going through my head about this whole writing thing. This whole thing will eventually turn into a snapshot of how my brain works probably. If you liked this post please like it and share it so we can start growing that T&C community! Until next time everyone!
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