Hello World!

Hello world

My name is Zoe, and this is my blog. I've been wanting to run a blog for a while but struggled on what the topic should be. After having my daughter this past February and spending most of my days either taking care of her or cooking/baking something I thought that might be a good source of inspiration. I know there are many other mommy blogs, so I wanted to try to do something different with mine. While I will be talking about the ups and downs of motherhood, I plan to mainly talk about my adventures in learning to cook and bake.

My mom tried to get me in the kitchen when I was a kid, but I wanted to do other things, so I very rarely was. When I got into high school, I started to gain an interest in baking and cooking, this came from my interest in Japanese culture and cuisine. Eventually, that interest weakened, but the interest in cooking didn't. Now I cook and bake when I can, sometimes once a week, sometimes more. I have a

[Clockwise from top-left: devil's food cake w/ coconut pecan icing,
red velvet w/ funfetti icing, B-chocolate cake w/ lemon icing
T- yellow cake w/ chocolate icing, brownie cake w/ buttercream icing]

sweet tooth, so baking is the main thing I try to do. I also tend to make a lot of chocolate chip cookies for my fiancé since they are his favorite. I’ve also been trying to get really good at decorating cakes so that my daughter, and future children, will always have awesome and pretty cakes. As you can see, I have a long way to go. The flavors may seem odd, but these were all made for other people.

When I say I want to show my adventures in learning to cook and bake that includes the fails. If a cake doesn’t come out right or I burn a burger I will still share it. You can only learn from your mistakes. I have already had a cake where the top fell in and I was only able to save it by leveling it, but it was still oily and dense, not that you could tell from the outside. It was also gone pretty fast.

I've also been baking bread recently. I love homemade bread better than any store-bought bread. I have only really made white sandwich bread though. I know sourdough is common, but I really don't like the taste of sourdough. I want to make french bread soon, I just haven't gotten around to it yet, especially since I'm worried about messing it up.

I also cook dinner quite a bit. I have a few housemates, so I don’t always have to cook. Soup is one of my favorite things to cook and eat so I make it a lot. I recently made broccoli cheddar soup, which is a household favorite. I live up in the mountains where it’s really cold during the winter and soup is a great way to keep warm. I’ve made gumbo a few times as well, which is a personal favorite, as well as my fiance's favorite. I made it for him for our 1st anniversary and for his birthday this past August.

As I mentioned I have a daughter as well. I'll call her Cora on here. She's 6 months old and is teething. Her bottom two teeth have actually cut through so teething biscuits have been a godsend, and my

nipples haven't stood a chance. I love being a mom so much but I also know that my time as a parent is just beginning. I grew up with twin brothers who were ten years younger than me so I have some experience with children. I will admit that it is much different when the child is your own though. Everything from how much you love them to how you may discipline them is completely different.

I can't wait to share funny things she does (and one day says) and milestones she hits. She's growing so fast already I feel like in a few days she's gonna be 5 and starting school. Then, next, she'll be going off to college. I hold on to every moment with her that I can.

Some More Interesting Things About Me

• I love Taco Bell
• I have two black cats; Oryx & Thackery Binx
• My birthday is October 17th (Libra FTW)
• My favorite ice cream flavors are cotton candy, bubblegum, and strawberry; in that order
• I love broadway, but sadly was never in theater class or club
• Instead, I was in the ACAC (Anime) club, the Quittich club (fuck JKR though), and the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) club
• My favorite season is autumn, followed by winter
• Basically, if it's sweater-weather and time for soup/chili, then I love it

I definitely look forward to having this to look back on as I get better at baking and cooking. I hope you will join me on this adventure as well.

Thank you for reading!