Brea Bag in Progress
Posted by: Jen on: July 1, 2009
I’ve been working on a small hobo bag for a long time (on very tiny needles with single strand worsted weight yarn), but I felt the need to swap projects and make something quick and easy. The need to have a FO is just too strong these days! After some hunting around online to see what the perfect project would be that used some stash yarn, I decided on the Brea Bag using a black ultra alpaca yarn that I love. Here’s the back piece I finished last night. (Please forgive the photography – it’s just a quick shot from my phone!)
Every time I make a piece I learn something new – and with this I *finally* learned the difference between K2tog & SSK. I know it’s just a small thing, but it definitely makes a difference!
I can’t wait to finish this up this weekend …
Building a Sweets Studio (Prelude)
Posted by: Jen on: June 29, 2009
Even though I’m still here at my day job for two more weeks, I am definitely feeling the shift to all things bakery related. On the list this week:
- Talk budgets with the architects & try to bring their design/build quote within a reasonable & reachable fee
- Have an engineer go and check out the space to see if there are any major issues that may make me change my mind on taking the space, before I sign a lease
- Follow up with the owners on sending the lease out to me for review
- Continue developing new cake designs to keep the creative juices flowing and to keep my mind from going to a dark, nervous place that is worried about money
- Make one portfolio cake
I had debated on whether to begin posting these building a bakery posts here or on the Sweet Element blog. In the end, I think it is more fitting to have the posts live here, since this blog is more about all the elements of my patchwork life, and this new bakery is going to be the newest & biggest section! I’ve got a slew of new things planned for the Sweet Element blog coming soon … so if you’re following both – keep an eye out!
Inspiration of the day …
Posted by: Jen on: June 23, 2009
“The way I figure it, if you make every day of your life as happy as you can, nobody can take that away from you. It’s in the bank.” – Kenny Shopsin in Eat Me
It’s Official … 17 more days!
Posted by: Jen on: June 18, 2009
It’s still settling in that I really did give my notice on Monday. I waver between thinking that I am completely insane, and knowing that I am totally making the right choice to pursue a dream. I have 17 official days of work left, but many of those days will be taken as PTO (aka paid time off, something I will definitely miss soon!), so it’s really only 12 work days left!
The current mantra of the corporate culture I’ll soon be leaving is “what if”. Thus, I found it oddly synchronistic that when I randomly opened to a page in The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People, I saw Secret 29: Don’t think “what if.” In the case of Secret 29, the focus is more on looking forward as opposed to the “what if” I did x,y,z different in the past. Oddly, the “what if” of my current corporate culture portrays those words as “what if” we did something different, which also pushes people to look forward rather than dwell how things have always been done in the past. In any case, I think the real lesson to be learned here can be captured in these lines under the headline:
“Think about how you can improve for the future … Think about what you need to do to get where you want to be.”
Here’s to moving forward … one small step at a time.
Life List … 2 1/2 Years Later
Posted by: Jen on: May 21, 2009
It’s a quiet afternoon here at work, and I’ve just about had my fill of surfing the web, catching up on news and hunting for potential brick & mortar spaces for Sweet Element. Instead of getting completely frustrated with how S-L-O-W finding a workable space is going, I thought I’d spend a few moments reflecting on this life list that I put together 2 1/2 hears ago.
1. Write & publish a book - Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have time to even ponder this as a possibility once I’m not commuting into a day job in NYC 5 days a week.
2. Travel the world and see as much of it as possible - While I would love to have been able to have a giant list of places I’ve visited since I initially posted this, my list is small. I do have my passport at the ready now though … just in case!
3. Eat new foods – Definitely been working on this one! While not the most exciting – I’ve added eggplant & kale & a few other new veges onto the list of edibles, and I’ve also been slowly adding seafood onto the list too. Best meal hands down for new food … Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Delicious. The old me would never have gone to a place like that. You don’t order. You just tell them what you’re allergic to, and what you definitely WON’T eat … and they create a menu for you. Apple celery soup … breaded soft boiled egg over black lentils with lettuce broth … hake with meyer lemon over swiss chard … the list goes on, and on. If you can afford to (it’s a little madly expensive) – go. This was our anniversary dinner & gift to each other – and worth every penny.
4. Be more spontaneous - Trying. Really, I’m trying. But working 45+ hours & commuting 15+ hours a week AND trying to get a business off the ground doesn’t leave much time to be spontaneous.
5. Be more frugal (contradiction to #4?!) - Ok, so other than splurging on food … I think I’ve got this one down!
6. Strengthen the relationships with the ones I love - A constant work in progress.
7. Make new & interesting friends – I’ve definitely added a few more very interesting friends to the roster through work & also through friends I already had. I’m hoping that the world of Sweet (Element that is!) will allow me to meet many more cool & interesting people soon!
8. Don’t lose sight of friendships because they have waned - This is a hard one. Amazingly, I think that Facebook & blogs are really helpful here. Even though friends may move or lives may become hectic, I find that e-connecting is sometimes the easiest way to stay connected.
9. Become physically stronger - Boo. I am a slacker. I was doing good for a while, and then … I just couldn’t get up at 5 AM anymore. I know, lame lame lame. Definitely gotta work on this one.
10. Train my future puppy to be so good she/he doesn’t even need a leash – I really, really, really, really, really wanted a puppy. Correction – I STILL want a puppy. Instead, I got another cat. I thought, silly me, getting another cat would be easier. HA! I’ve been working since last Thanksgiving to integrate lil’ Bella into our family. Luckily, she seems to like her upstairs “apartment” and doesn’t require as much attention & training as a puppy would. I think puppies will have to come much, much later … like in my retirement – when I have time!
11. Read more – Trains. They’re great for reading on.
12. Create a knitting pattern – Kinda did. It didn’t quite work out as planned … so I don’t know if that counts.
13. Volunteer for a good cause - Maybe, just maybe in between this job and my own shop I’ll have time for this. Maybe I’ll also make the time to integrate volunteering into Sweet Element’s to-do list. I hear that people like free cake.
14. Be my own boss - Working on it!!! Less than two months to go!
15. Have a business that will become an integral part of a community – See 14 and then add on how long it will take to plan, build, get inspected, get permits, set up and OPEN a shop!
16. Learn more about computer languages and programming – Taught myself HTML. Woot!
17. Be kinder to myself and try to silence my harshest critic – my inner critic - Hard to do. A patient & loving husband and three mushy cats help keep my inner critic in check.
18. Find a cello & teach myself to play it - Didn’t even get close. I watched other cello players though.
19. Get a cancer/snake tattoo - Nope. I’m thinking I may get a whisk instead…or in addition to. Gotta get the gumption to just get in a chair and get one … or both.
20. Become more spiritual – Work in progress.
21. Breathe and try to meditate – Work in progress. Oddly, I’ve managed to do this on the train sometimes. For whatever reason, whenever I really silence my mind – I see orange.
22. Try yoga – Check. I tried Bikram yoga with my aunt and uncle & loved it! Made me a little loopy, but I would definitely like to do this more often once I have time. I even found a studio near our house in Montclair. Oh yeah, and I do Wii yoga – does that really count as yoga?
23. Travel cross country with Jay and stop at only small road-food places to eat - Still on the to-do list. Maybe once we get dogs. 
24. Be a competitor in a food competition – Scary. I’ve seen so many now and the expectations are SO high. Still on my list. I’d love to have Sweet Element on TV!
25. Tell people who inspire me that they’re important and have made a difference in my life – I really don’t do this enough. I’ve done it a few times and felt really great about it, but I definitely should do this more often.
26. Support local farmers by trying to eat locally - Harder than one would think! After reading Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver, I really try to see where the food I’m buying is coming from and to eat more in-season. But in all honesty, I’m guilty of eating strawberries (frozen!) in the middle of winter.
27. Explore NYC more - Sadly, I haven’t. I long to have a love relationship with the city again. At the moment, NYC = corporate life to me, so we’re not on the best of terms.
28. Take more photographing dates with Jay – We need new cameras & time.
29. Knit a sweater – Check & check! I’ve knitted 2 – one for my mom & one for me.
30. Have a cake published in a magazine - Check & almost-check! I’ve been published in New York Magazine and will soon be published in 201 Bride.
31. Have $0.00 in personal debt – Huzzah! If you don’t count my mortgage, both Jay & I have $0.00 in personal debt. I’m sure this will change quickly once the shop starts getting built!
32. Own a home with a view of the ocean - Lofty. Still a goal. A retirement goal. Maybe earlier … if I sell a LOT of cake.
33. Become a mentor – Hrm. Possibly when I’m a shop owner & have interns?
34. Support deserving and talented artists as much as possible – Too easy & fun! I love buying art in all forms (paintings, jewelry, writing) and have done so whenever something has really moved me.
35. Learn to ride & communicate with a horse - Not yet!
36. Hone my psychic abilities – Definitely need to work on this one.
37. Recycle – Proud recycler.
38. Read *real* news and expand my world view - Wish I had more time. But when I do, I try.
39. Work through an entire cookbook cover to cover – Started a lot … haven’t finished one. I’m a little spazzy when it comes to cooking. At the moment I’m working through Cook’s Illustrated Cooking for Two. I highly recommend the corn chowder & meatloaf recipes!
40. Try not to be so jealous – Oof. I had this as a goal?!?! The green eyed monster is SO hard for me to control. I’m a little too competitive. I know it’s important though. Maybe when I’m actually doing what I love I won’t be so jealous.
41. Learn family recipes before it’s too late – Hard to do when I’m not near family, but I do have some.
42. Go skydiving - Nope.
43. Learn how to pole dance – Nope. I’ve danced with a Pole though 
44. Donate blood - Nope. Shame, shame, shame on me.
45. Learn new words – Yup. Love word games. They are a guilty pleasure.
46. Finish an entire NYTimes Crossword – the Sunday edition - Maybe one day, but not yet.
47. Have something I created on Oprah’s Favorite Things List – I hope Oprah still has a Favorite Things List by the time Sweet Element is officially in business! I secretly hope that one of my own cake designs makes the list.
48. Go to one crazy, expensive, delicious and fancy-pants meal a year, even if it involves getting on a plane - See #3. Check. I’d love to add a few more 4 star NYC restaurants to the list soon.
49. Listen to new music – Check. This is easy when your husband is addicted to new music. My new personal fav find - India Arie.
50. Try not to lose my temper & blow up at people when I am frustrated - It’s genetic. I’m sorry people. I’m trying to be better! Meditation helps. So does a giant bag of potato chips or a very sweet cat who nuzzles your chin.
Whew. Not too shabby. I’ll have to work on revising this a bit now.
A few small changes …
Posted by: Jen on: May 12, 2009
It was only a matter of time, but I finally decided to break apart Sweet Element posts and all other posts (knitting, recipes, kitty updates, etc.). All the original cake & chocolate posts will remain on this blog as well, but all future cake & chocolate related posts can be found at the Sweet Element blog.
So why did I start separating everything? This is one of the few first steps to really begin to focus on Sweet Element as an entity of it’s own and not just another jumbled thing that falls somewhere on my to-do list of a million other things. I know I’ve been kind of chicken-little in the number of times I’ve said that I’m closing the door on my corporate life and jumping into pastry, but the time is quickly coming! For real! I swear!
Am I crazy to leave a good job in the middle of uncertain economic times? Perhaps. Am I crazy to want to follow through on a goal/dream I set almost six years ago? No.
I kept adding on to the original goals I had wanted to acheive before I left corporate, and as of this July, I should have met all initial and added on goals. Basically, I wanted to be debt-free (except for our regular mortgage), and I wanted to have a substantial amount saved so we could self-finance my future bakery. As you might imagine, the ”amount saved” goal kept increasing and increasing the more research I did. I hope that I’ve picked a realistic amount!
I’ve decided that as a gift to myself for my 32nd birthday, I will set myself free. I have equal amounts of fear and relief about this gift every day.
Now the tricky part is finding a space that my future bakery can call home for the next five years. I’ve been finding that it’s near impossible to keep a job in the city and try to find a shop in the burbs while also trying to keep Sweet Element afloat and cranking out cake & chocolate. If only I could split out myself as easily I split out these two blogs!!! Of course, even though near impossible, I do have a space I am working on to see if it will be viable for a bakery. Unfortunately, on the current list of priorities, anything space-related falls to the bottom these days, since my day job, cake making and family related matters are eating up all the time I have.
On other notes … this past weekend, while procrastinating starting another cake due this Saturday, I finally finished a knitting project I started over a year ago. This particular project had a lot of sentimental meaning for me, because I started it while my beloved Jersey was still with us and every time I look at it, I’m reminded of her and how she was my knitting companion. The fact that the piece is jersey grey as she was, also pulls at my heart a little. I’ll post photos soon….
I hope to have more changes & updates to report soon. For now, I’m hoping that I can carve out a few moments a day to keep posting on both Whisking on Pens & Needles and Sweet Element blogs and keep everyone up to date with the ups and downs and roundabouts that jumping corporate ship into entrepreneurial waters brings!
Resurfacing
Posted by: Jen on: February 23, 2009
I feel somewhat like a bear coming out of hibernation – it’s been a small eternity since I’ve posted anything! Between keeping the peace amongst the felines, madness at the office, stepping towards opening up a retail outlet and all the other things that make up this life of mine spattered in between, I haven’t had much time to sit down and collect my thoughts.
So let’s see … on the feline front, I am failing miserably. Bella is still terrified to leave her 2nd floor “apartment” for fear of running into Jasper, who still attacks her whenever he’s given the chance. We’ve brought her down to our bedroom a few nights here and there, and although she acclimates quickly, if we leave the bedroom door open, she freaks and rushes to hide under the bed. I can understand the fear – her 7 lbs vs. his 23 lbs … plus his complete ferociousness with bared teeth and even puffier self make one scary package.
On the other hand, Bella seems to be completely at ease with Jameson. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s shown his darker side to her as well, but she feels comfortable defending herself, which we have strongly encouraged. I’m guessing since Jameson’s only about 2 lbs heavier than her, she feels like she can hold her own. Most of the time though, she and Jameson can be happily co-existing in the same room without any issue whatsoever.
I’ve questioned whether or not adding our new lil’ girl into our family was a good idea many times since last November, and every time I am in doubt and she is in the room, she crawls right up on my chest and kisses me on the face. I think she’s ok with her two room palace at the moment, even though I’d like her to have our entire house to romp in.
On the work front, I’ve been insanely busy, which in turn has made me turn into somewhat of a hermit. While I am definitely *not* a fan of the work I currently do by day, I will admit that I have learned a whole hell of a lot over the past few months. I like to believe that I needed this experience here at this agency to prepare me for events in the future. I stepped into this new account with hardly any knowledge of how this client’s processes worked and quickly realized that I was being looked to as a “go-to” person on the team from other capabilities on what needed to get done when. I’m hoping that the time management and stress management skills I’ve had to develop in order to survive in this world will come in handy when I open up my own shop!
On a positive note, a co-worker & friend connected me with one of her friends which led to me getting the opportunity to submit my cakes into a popular magazine in the area, and I think that one of them is going to be published!!! Of course, as exciting as that is, it propelled me to start moving on getting a real retail space of my own so I can finally put 100% into my dream of making cakes & chocolate full-time instead of trying to squeeze in as much pastry work as possible during my “off hours” when I’m not here at the office and not passed out on the couch after the sadly commonplace 14+ hour work day.
I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think I may have finally found a new home for cake & chocolate production. More details to come once things become more concrete (literally & figuratively)!
I’ll close, of course, with cake – a little late is better than never, right? This was my mom’s birthday cake this year – Chocolate devil’s food cake, filled with peanut butter mousse, frosted in buttercream & decorated in modelling chocolate and painted chocolate. And just in case you were wondering, yes, my mom’s birthday is actually on Christmas Day!
Christmas Tree Cake
The Feline Order
Posted by: Jen on: December 3, 2008
Now that our lovely Jezebella has finally gotten over her lil’ cold & case of pink eye, we started her formal introductions with the boys last night. Oddly enough, our resident nasty cat, Jameson, seems to be getting along with Jezebella just fine. He has not hissed at her once and has been mega sweet to us too. It’s almost as if her presence in the home has changed him … in a good way. I think Jezebella has taken to Jameson as well, running right up to him and wanting to eskimo kiss him on the nose.
Jasper on the other hand, our sweet giant bengal, is having issues not being “the baby” anymore and having to vie for our attention. Jealousy is ugly I tell you. Hissing, puffing out, chasing … *sigh*. I had pinned him to be the one she would befriend more easily, but I guess I had it all wrong.
Now that I think about it, Jameson has had far more experience with new members to our family. While he probably would have been happiest as an only cat, I think he appreciates having a feline sidekick. I honestly don’t think we could have ever turned Jersey around from her kennel-shock without his help. They were an odd couple, but they were definitely the best of friends. Jameson was also great with Jasper as a kitten … but as two grown males, Jameson’s tolerance has turned into disgust for his giant younger brother.
I hope in time, that Jezebella will learn how to be social with both boys and not “pick” Jameson’s side. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Latest Wedding Cake
Posted by: Jen on: December 1, 2008
Here’s the latest SweetElement creation … a fall wedding cake made as a wedding gift for a friend. Her request … a simple, elegant, fall-themed (with leaves) cake with her Charlie Brown topper incorporated. I think the end result turned out quite nice. All tiers were comprised of vanilla cake filled with strawberry preserves and frosted in buttercream and fondant. All the leaves were made out of gumpaste, and the tiers were adorned with ribbon on the bases. The biggest compliment (aside from a gushing appreciate bride), was seeing one of the slender female guests at our table eat two pieces of cake … AND yell at the servers who were trying to clear her cake plate when she still had a bite left. Now that’s a true compliment!
Delayed Decisions
Posted by: Jen on: December 1, 2008
It’s amazing how quickly time flies when you least expect it. It’s prime holiday season, and I am so not ready for it. It’s odd, because I’ve always looked forward to Christmas, making cookies, getting the perfect gifts, and reconnecting with friends and family via Christmas cards. But this year, I’ve been retreating into my Cancer shell more than ever.
After taking our house off the market last month, we quickly got back into our old horrible slovenly habits, which relaxed the cats and oddly made our house feel more like home. Then, seeing as we didn’t have to save like mad for a downpayment on anything immediately, I treated myself to a PS3 and Rock Band 2 and have been mildly addicted to video gaming since then. Thus, I am behind on my knitting, haven’t experimented much with recipes, have been AWOL on this blog, and have become an overall slacker in many other areas – including running SweetElement like it really should be run.
And just as if I needed yet another distration from all the things I should be focusing on, we decided that we needed to add a little more feminine energy into our house via another feline … and now have a 7 lb 7 oz black and white bundle of loveable mush currently taking up residence in our two rooms upstairs. A few more days of meds to get rid of her kennel cold, and she’ll be ready to start turf wars with the boys … fun! She’s already put our supposedly Alpha cat, Jameson in his place …. so I can’t wait to see how the feline relationships unfold as they start to share the whole house.
Jezebella
We had debated getting a puppy, and I *really* did want one (or two), but I thought it would be best for us and “the boys” if we held off on having puppies until we can truly be home enough and not have to worry about how the feline & canines kids will interact, especially when we are not around. In all honesty, it would have been ideal if we had been able to sell our current home and buy a slightly bigger house so we could have a puppy room. With the way we’re currently situated, the puppy would have to take over our media room in order to allow the cats time to get acclimated, and I truly fear the wake of destruction a puppy could do in our media room, especially with us gone 12+ hours during weekdays.
Speaking of which, I was supposed to have made up my mind by now on exactly what direction I was going to forge ahead in … really opening up SweetElement as a brick and mortar, pursuing a more fulfilling career in corporate/food non-profit (FoodTv? City Harvest?), or simply taking a sabbatical from corporate and SweetElement and healing my creative spirit through art, writing & cooking. Still no decision made. I dread coming into my desk every day, but I do appreciate the security of the paycheck. Am I crazy to just jump ship in our current economy and have us be solely dependent on Jay?
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