Friends,  

The truth is… I haven’t quite been able to get my act together since my move.

I’ve been trying to distract you with posts about my box grater.  I’ve been trying to distract you with candy giveaways…. but that’s all starting to feel a little silly.  

The fact of the matter is, my KitchenAid is still unplugged and my new oven needs a good scrubbing… and, I just ate a giant slice of store bought coconut cream pie.

Want to take a peek into my new space?  Suuuure you do… come on in!

My walls went from a super intense turquoise to a lovely shade of light blue/grey.  I also painted my concrete floors navy. No the edges aren’t perfect.  Nope.  That’s ok with me.  Daniel… you gave me edges with character.  I like you and I thank you.  

I painted my door navy too.  It’s now the sexiest door I’ve ever seen.  

I like big pillows.  I like a lot of big pillows.  

The ceilings in my loft are metal.  There are all sorts of metal beams and bars.  Perfect to offset my sparkly blue glass chandelier.  I feel pretty. 

I had a ridiculous amount of cookbooks to unpack.  

My tiny couch is blue.  My little rug is lime green… and yes, that’s a frog pillow.  That’s a frog pillow that I latch hooked a few years back.  I didn’t have many friends.  I was single.  I didn’t have a blog.  I latch hooked myself a pillow.  Don’t judge me. 

Asher was the shining star who helped me carry big, annoying things like mattresses and dressers all around… up and down.  I paid him in pearls.  Cheap, fake pearls.  God bless him.  

Thanks for being patient while I settle in.  I’ll be back with sweets real soon.  

I want caramel corn.  So… that’ll happen real quick  like. 

Here’s what the last two years have looked like around these parts.  Come along… let’s reminisce. 

Once upon a time I made a podcast.  It’s totally dorky.  I can’t bear to watch it.  It’s like listening to your own voice on the answering machine.  Too much.  Totally.  Dorky.  

I made these cookies waaaay back in the day when Barack Obama was still battling it out with Hillary Clinton.  My Dad hated it.  He hated it so much he left a nasty comment on my blog.  Yea…. that happened.  Thanks Dad.  Love you.  Always.

A looong time ago, we talked about how to decorate a cake!  It was fun.  There was caramel. 

I’m pretty sure I annoyed everyone in my family by taking pictures of them eating.  Just look at this sister of mine though.  Those eyes! I’ll never get over it.  Daaaang I love that girl. 

Two years ago I made an engagement cake.  Not my own engagement cake.  That wouldn’t have worked.  Yea…. wow. 

I’ve been to San Francisco a lot in the last two years.  There’s water.  There are bridges.  There’s amazing food.  If you’ve never been… well, now you know what you’re missing. 

I’ve been in love.  Love is nice.  Love should come with a warning sign. 

I’ve been on the other side of love too.  The break-up side.  Yea…. not as awesome as love.  The break-up side of love requires a lot of chocolate pudding .  More than you might think actually.  True. 

Shut up… I made doughnuts.

I love my Dad’s hands.  I’ve known them my whole life… it’s kinda weird.  Those are the hands that taught me how to bake.  Thanks Dad!  

I went to the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.  Fancy it is not.  Snoozetown it is. 

I found a gum wall in Seattle with my name spelled out in green gum.  Turns out this is equal parts awesome and terrifying. 

I stomped through Napa like I owned the joint.  

Buttermilk biscuits make the world right.  I know.  I’ve done the research. 

Last year this little blog was named one of the 50 best food blogs in the world.  Aw, shucks.  

I don’t even want to tell you how many cakes I’ve dropped on the floor in two years. Let’s just say it’s between one and twelve… and it’s way more than one. Sometimes bad things happen to good cakes in my kitchen. 

I’ve had fun with confetti and friends in the last two years.  

S’mores Brownies.  Amazeballs. 

My Mom helped my plant a One Pot Garden.  It was lovely… until I killed it.  I don’t want to talk about it. 

I made Homemade Vanilla Extract.  You should too. 

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Avocado Buttercream.  I’m a weirdo. 

Last summer I threw a rooftop picnic in downtown Los Angeles…

and people actually came!!  Lots of people.  I love you people. 

Homemade and handmade pasta.  A dream come true. 

Last year I won Foodbuzz’s Best Baking Blog. That made me feel good about myself.  Fun fact. 

I also drank a lot of wine last year.  That made me feel good about myself too.  Wait…. that’s bad. Nevermind. 

Vacation.  Real life vacation.  I ended the last two years with a vacation, a bath tub and a lovely view from behind fancy drapes.  It was just about the most amazing thing ever. 

But really… the most amazing thing is that you decide to come here and be a part of Joy the Baker.  Maybe you’ve been here for two years, two months or two days… however long, thank you.  Really.  This little piece of Internet has become more than I ever could have imagined.  Is that totally dorky to say?  Yea… but it’s true.  I thank you.  

I’m a regifter.  

Yep.

Please reserve your judgement.  This is about to get interesting.

See… I’ve been given all sorts of gifts this year.  From two blogger conferences, I’ve amassed enough kitchen supplies to equip a small army of chefs.  

The good news is that I want to share all of this loot with you.  It’s not that I don’t love these things, it’s just that I love regifting more.  It’s like the most fun recycling… ever.  That’s where you come in. 

I’ve got silly whisks.  I’ve got gorgeous cookbooks.  I’ve got coffee and milk frothers.  I’ve got choppers and tenderizers.  Cuisinart, people.  I’ve got fancy sporks and way cool forks… all sorts of little gems.  

I’m regifting four little bundles of kitchen goodies to four of you.  Keep the goodies as a gift to yourself or regift them this holiday season.  I won’t tell a soul!

To enter this (both humble and perhaps ethically questionable) giveaway, just leave a comment in this post sharing the best holiday gift you’ve ever received.  Comments are accepted until Sunday at noon.  

Aprons.  Aprons.  ApronsApronsAprons!

We made aprons.  We bought the fabric.  We cut the patterns.  We sewed and stitched and sewed and stitched and sewed and stitched about a million (ok… just fifty)  times over.  Maybe ‘we’ is a bit too liberal.  My darling and most talented mother made each and every one of these aprons.  Where I can work wonders with a spatula, she can work wonders with a sewing machine.  Please don’t make me sew anything… I just make myself bleed.  

So here’s the plan.  I want you to have fun in the kitchen making Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls or whipping up a batch of Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes.  I also want you to look cute, and feel pretty, and not be afraid to get in there and get some bakin’ done… even if that means dirtying every single dish and emerging from the kitchen covered in flour.  Do it!  I think a fun little apron might help.  

For you pleasure, I’ve even made an Etsy store to showcase Joy the Baker Aprons.  Sweeeeet!  

All aprons are 100% cotton, one size fits darn near everyone… and bonus:  each apron comes nicely wrapped for your gift giving pleasure.  Supplies are limited.  The fabric is flying.

My Mom took this picture with my cellphone.  See?  Proof of cuteness.  Aaaaand… go!

I made you Sweet Potato Cookies with leftover mashed sweet potato my Dad’s infamous pie.  I mixed up the dough.  I portioned out little walnut size balls.  I popped them on the baking sheet and into the oven.  Then I sat down and made a terrible mistake.  Good things did not happen.  Not as good as these awesome cards from The Beautiful Project. 

See… I started browsing Etsy.  

Thirty minutes later my Sweet Potato Cookies were sad little creatures.  They were hard enough to pack into a canon and use as a weapon to storm some unsuspecting village… if I were in to that sort of thing.  

Truth is… I didn’t really want cookies.  I really wanted to shop.  

Instead of cookies, I bring you Etsy.  Cute.  Handmade.  Precious.  All from happy crafters.  I’m shopping all Etsy this holiday.  I like knowing that people as kooky as me are making me cool things.  Also,  it’s impressively cheap.  Also, I think my neighbor is cooking fish sticks for dinner.  On Thanksgiving!?  Very distracting.  

Look at this photo from Meganlee.  It’s so simple and  gorgeous.  Want.  Maybe a picture like this will be just the inspiration I need to write that dang cookbook. Yes.  I think this will do the trick.

Now excuse me while I try to do something about this fish stick smell.

These hand-cast, porcelain replica milk bottles are beautiful.  Pretty and functional and dishwasher safe, making my world a better place.  

I don’t wear a tremendous amount of jewelry, but I love pieces that are simple, colorful and fun.  DaisyChains, I like what you’ve got going on.  

Handmade stuffed lady skunk with a scarf and purple ears… how have I lived without you for so long.  Pupa.  I love it.  

Yes.  I’m a sucker for pretty food photos.  Honey and Jam photos are so calming and serene… a lovely contrast to the chaos that is usually consuming my kitchen.  High five.  

These are just a few of my favorite Etsy spots.  What’s your favorite find on Etsy? Feel free to leave a big fat link in the comment section.  I want to see what kind of Etsy gems you’re hiding up your sleeve ?

Can I tell you about my new favorite kitchen tool?  

Nope… not a big ladle… not a fancy spatula, but a mighty fine and beautifully crafted pizza cutter from Green Kitchen Tools.  

Ironically enough, I have not yet used this pizza cutter to slice pizza, but so far it’s worked wonders helping me with the homemade pasta and slices right through the giant kale leaves that I like to eat for dinner.  Soon enough I’ll use the sharp blade and lovely bamboo handle to slice through my favorite pizza.  

Before I get cooking, I wanted to take a minute to give two of you a set of these super sweet bamboo handled kitchen utensils.  

One happy reader will get a full set of Green Kitchen Tools spoons, spatulas and pancake flippers.  

Another giddy reader will get a full set of grill tools.  Sweet deal right?

 All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment telling me about your favorite kitchen tool.  Come on!  Play along!