Whilst I know that social media has been proven to exacerbate mental health issues and I purposefully no longer have a Facebook account for this exact reason, I can’t help but find myself with a slight addiction to both Twitter and Instagram.  I have met a lot of amazing people through social media and it really came in handy for me last night.

I had a meltdown.  It happens more often than I would like, but let’s be honest, we’ve all been there.

​I was working on icing a cake and it wasn’t going as well as I had anticipated.  I struggle a lot with perfection, in that I have a vision of something in my head and when the reality doesn’t meet that vision I want to throw in the towel.  My ever-loving and long-suffering boyfriend did what he could to talk me round, but like those who suffer with anger issues, the ‘perfection mist’ had risen and there was nothing he could do (except feed me which definitely helped).  I finished icing the cake and popped it in the fridge, washed up and sat down.  At this point I started looking through Instagram and came across a post by the lovely Made by Margie (www.madebymargie ; Instagram.com/madebymargie ; twitter.com/madebymargie) which gave me the social media equivalent of a lovely hug.

I realised that I couldn’t give up at the first hurdle.  If I want to make my business work I’m going to have to grow a tougher skin and realise that there are going to be times when things go wrong; where I’ll have to scrap a cake and start again or remake sugar paste flowers or I’ll be clumsy and drop something on the floor and ruin it.  What I also realised is that there are so many wonderful people out there who are so very supportive.  Obviously I have those close to home; my boyfriend (who I’m surprised puts up with me but who I love with my entire being), my family (who definitely support my cake business as it means they are never without something sweet!).  Friends and colleagues like Charlotte White (who is constant source of love and inspiration) and those wondrous folks on my social media feeds who are always giving me a cheeky thumbs up or buoying my confidence in one way or another.  I am very lucky.

​I think the lesson here is that life is too short not to try and not to simply give up just because something doesn’t go exactly as you expect.  Sometimes the most beautiful things are created from disaster.

Keep smiling and as always, happy baking!

Stay Hep, Cats

Anyone who knows me knows I am massively into food.  This is clearly obvious given that I’ve started a cake business, but I don’t just love cake, I love all food!  I’ve actually got a diploma in Nutrition and have started my advanced diploma recently. 

Given my love of food (and that my boyfriend is a chef) I’m very often found at most of the food festivals that take place throughout the year and throughout the country.

I’ve been attending Foodies Festival for well over a year now and I have met some wonderful people during that time and made some amazing friends and I have been very lucky to have seen some fantastic demonstrations there too.  It is therefore an utter thrill to share with you that I will be doing my first ever live demo at Foodies Festival in Bristol this weekend!!

You can catch me on the Cakes and Desserts stage curated and compered by my super fantabulous and stunning friend Charlotte White (aka Restoration Cake, or "my sister from another mister"!) on Saturday 13th May and Sunday 14th May at 11:30am and 12:30pm respectively.  I will be showing you how to make a super simple but delicious and gorgeous gluten free Victoria sponge with homemade raspberry jam and American butter cream.  Anyone who follows my Twitter and Instagram accounts will have seen a sneak peak of the finished article.

Hopefully I will see some of you there!

To book tickets for Bristol or any of the other Foodies, visit their website http://foodiesfestival.com/  

If you can’t come and see my demo, you’ll definitely find me wandering around at most of the other venues!

Stay Hep, Cats