Oh hi friends…
I am so tired. So. Dang. Tired.
The past 2 weeks I have chained myself to my kitchen.
On purpose, of course.
I’ve been knee deep in desserts! Not a bad problem to have, I guess!
You see, I had this BRILLIANT idea that I would take 3 weeks in January and remake all my recipes for the book to photograph. I have all my recipes written and tested, but I needed to retest the recipes and photograph them too! I decided early on that I wanted to shoot my book myself (what is wrong with me)…I even asked my dad and step mom to fly up to New Jersey to help me through the process. They must really super love me to fly from Texas to NJ in January…AND to basically become a slave to dish washing all day errday, but they agreed.
I can’t wait to share my concept of my book with you guys…it’s not really a concept…because the book is basically The Cookies and Cups cookbook (not the name) BUT there is a fun twist that I think you guys will super love!!! We’re still trying to nail down a title, so when we have all that I will share.
But now we’ve been at it for 2 weeks. And you guys we’ve remade, tested and photographed 86 recipes as of yesterday. EIGHTY SIX in 13 days. Now. That might not sound like a lot, but trust me. It is. It’s basically the equivalent to having a dinner party everyday for 2 weeks straight. Not cool bro.
Honestly, it’s the photography end that adds so much extra time to the process….and trying to shoot pictures in dang natural light in the middle of January was NOT well thought out on my part…but here we are. Plugging along. Having my folks here helping has been an ENORMOUS help to me. Because beyond cooking and cleaning ALL THE DISHES we had the RIDICULOUS idea before the holidays to get a new puppy…
What in the dang world is wrong with me???
But seriously, look at that face.
His name is Chewie (my kids named him) and he is an itty bitty Yorkie, currently clocking in at 5 pounds. Sooooo potty training and shooting a cookbook is the most fun. Ummm.
When we got Chewie he had pneumonia, so the first 2 weeks of his little life were touch and go…and we were unable to house train him as per the vets orders. (Little dude was super sick)..BUT now he’s all better and peeing pretty much whenever (and where ever) he wants. Any tips from y’all would be fantastic. Polly, our other pup, kind of likes him, but mostly doesn’t. She tolerates him, but I know she wishes he would leave her alone most of the time!
ALSO my editor told me a few days ago that she would like some pictures of me posing with food. Ummmm….
Apparently she has to present me to the marketing department at Simon and Schuster so they know how to sell mt book. NO pressure at all… especially when my face regularly looks like this…
I still have yet to get professional head shots done…procrastinate much…
But we snapped a few in my kitchen that look ridiculously dorky, but yeah…that’s me.
…and this one…
I’m just standing here slicing cake trying not to look stupid. Oh hi.
Also, trying to make your face look normal in pictures is hard.
OH and yeah.. I got my ombré spruced up…Love the contrast.
My friend asked me why I would have someone do that to me on purpose 🙂 But I love it.
Anyhow, that’s why the site has been a little quiet this week. I actually have recipes to share, but by the end of the day I don’t even have the energy to hit “publish” on my new posts!
Hope you have a great weekend!! You know where I’ll be!!
Chewie is a sweetheart! I also believe the crate trainig is a great success. We’ve used them thru 3 pups. They eventually relate their crate as “they’re personal bedroom =). Our baby is our 2nd Min-Pin. Love our small companions! (Like Children) Cant wait to crack open that new cookbook. Busy women, keep up the yummy work!
A leash and keeping him near you when he starts sniffing. We have crate trained our dogs, use them mostly at night now. We do this for sleep sanity. If anyone in our house got up to go to the bathroom, get meds because of cramps or whatnot they would deem it wakeup time and keep pestering us. We tried letting them out, but that was not the problem, they would go from side to side and keep bugging us. On the plus side if we need to get up early for a sport event or traveling we leave them out, once the alarm goes off the chance of falling back a sleep is gone.
But the crates can be used like a leash, if you take him out and he doesn’t go put him back in the crate and try again 15 minutes later, keep doing this until success. Once they go keep him out til the next time. I also liked the crate during chewing stages. If I had to leave I used the crate, no chance of chewed up shoes, electronics, or trash can scavengers, or any other obstacle a family with kids can accidentally leave out.
Is Chewie short for Chewbacca?
Yes it is!! 🙂
After years of loving your blog I finally subscribed to the email list so I can stay on top of this book. So excited!!! Can’t wait to preorder!
Thank you so much for sharing! Its so fun to see the ‘behind the scenes” stuff!
Even stuffed with desserts and pots and pans, your kitchen looks amazing! Congrats on your newest addition. Chewie is adorable!!! Just be thankful it’s not a cat. Our kitten used to get into EVERYTHING while I was baking and cooking!
I love your pictures! They look great!
It’s a lot of work to bake. All your food looks so darn good…
Your puppy is so cute. Hope to see the book soon.
Such an exciting…and exhausting…time for you! It will all be so worth it I’m sure! Chewie is precious and your pictures are so cute! Oh I love those glasses BTW – look great on you!
Wow! You’ve been super busy. Chewie looks totally worth the trouble. We got a new kitten, Salem, and the situation sounds almost identical! The first two weeks she had a cold and pink eye, but now she’s better. And our adult cat is okay with her, but I think she wishes the kitten would leave her alone most of the time. Chewie and Salem might be soul mates. Can’t wait for your cookbook! And, I think your portraits are super cute. You’re not awkward!
Can’t wait to try the recipes in your cookbook – I have been impressed with the ones from you that I have made so far! Good luck on “The Picture” ugh….not a fan of having them taken 🙂 and good luck with your baking!