We three?  We always have our mouths in motion, our wine glasses full and our eyes wide… looking for trouble.  

Let me introduce you to On the Lamb Food and Beverage.  We’re a roving catering and events firm made up of three unstoppable Los Angeles women:  Whitney (the sommelier), Rachel (the chef), and Joy (the baker).  

How does this all work?  Here’s how:

First we find an often obscure, always stellar location around Los Angeles.  We design an amazing theme and a ridiculous menu.  Then, here’s the best part… we invite you.  You come.  You meet other cool, unpretentious people who are as dorky about food and drink as you are.  You have a great time and love your life.  That’s exactly how it works.  

Our next event:  The One Night (Stand) Speakeasy on 02.14.2010.  

Would you like to keep up with On the Lamb?  

Email onthelambfb (at) gmail (dot) com to put your name on the email list.  Space is always limited at these shindigs, so be diligent.  We know how to throw a party.  That’s a fact. 

All up in the Internet?  You’ll also find us cavorting around Twitter and Facebook like a bunch of floozies.  Join us!

What’s the deal?  People blog.  People make awards.  People vote.  It’s not too complicated… it’s also kinda fun. 

I’ve used the Bloggies voting page to find some amazing new (to me) blogs.

17 and Baking.  You’re my new favorite…. but I think I might have a baking bias.  Honestly.

The Bloggess… ooh you have made me laugh.. oooh you have made me blush. 

Oh!  Now might be a good time to mention that Joy the Baker was nominated for Best Food Blog.  That this happened is… I dunno… a cross between a miracle and a dirty trick.  It’s fun.  It’s humbling… and heck yes!  I’m excited. 

Go on… find some new favorites, case a few votes.  

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.  

Are you all up in my business?…  Because I want you all up in my business.  

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know exactly when I’m…

on the road…

having breakfast…

or trying to abscond with cats that don’t belong to me.  

You also know when I’ve eaten Milk Duds for breakfast and when I’m on my fifth consecutive hour of watching Mad Men.  

Yep… you’re all up in my Twitter zone.  It’s a fun little place to post silly pictures of myself, sneak peeks at what’s going on in my kitchen, and even have the occasional giveaway.  Twitter.  Dorky and fun.  

I simultaneously thank you and apologize for being so ridiculous.  I’m glad we’re friends.

Merry Christmas from me to you.  

I hope Santa brings you peace and love, a KitchenAid mixer and a dishwasher… and a kitten.   

Thank you for being all up in my area this year.  I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you come to this little place and say nice things… everyday.  You people are truly lovely.

 See this face?  This face needs a nap for Christmas… and a kitten.  That would be amazing. 

Merry Christmas.  Happy Holidays.  Watch out for eggnog… it’ll getcha!

Here’s a fun fact:  my Mom is a scrapbooker.  She’s a serious scrapbooker.  She’s got the paper cutters, the corner choppers, the fancy albums and colorful background paper… there are stickers…. so so many stickers.  She’s for real.  Scrapbooking is the new rubber stamping.  Remember the rubber stamp craze!?  Yea, we’ve moved on.  Scrapbooking. 

I went to my parents’ house a few days ago to find these envelopes gracing the brick fireplace.  The envelope in front had my name on it.  I was hoping for an early Christmas stocking.  Boy oh boy did I get it.  Among other darling and embarrassing photos of myself, I found a chronological history of my school days.  From preschool to high school.  Every cute, awkward and downright horrifying picture.  

Now.  Because I don’t know any better.  Because I’m certifiably batty… allow me to share with you preschool through seventh grade.  The later, more awkward years will follow, and we’ll all cry. 

Though she will deny it, my Mom gave me this haircut herself.  I remember very well.  Even at four, I knew how ridiculous I looked.  

First grade.  Somehow I think I rise above this bowl haircut.  

Second grade.  That tiny headband is failing…. big time.  Nice frock.  I would totally rock that these days. Is that weird?  That’s weird. 

Nice corner fading third grade!  I feel like there are some serious adult teeth hiding out in that mouth.  

Oooh yes.  Full of teeth.   You have to grow into your teeth.  It’s true.  It’s like puppies with big paws.  Should I tell you how much I loved this Cinco de Mayo dress with matching hair ribbon?  Yes.  A lot.  

Mixed girl hair is a hard thing.  It wants to be curly.  It wants to be straight.  It wants to ruin your life.  What are you going to do?  Button your shirt all the way up and hope for the best. 

a)  Why do the school photographers make you look in the ceiling corner.  It’s awkward.  

b)  I thought this shirt was so clever.  I was right.  

Oooh Joy .  Triangle hair.  So short.  So much volume.  I wish I could have gone back in time to tell you everything would work out ok… but the truth is that you’ve got some seriously awkward years ahead of you.  Yeesh. 

Enjoy the kitchen intermission.  Laugh at me.  Please… go on… laugh.  If your Mom is a scrapbooker, you might not want to laugh as hard.  Your time for an embarrassing envelope will come. 

I went to the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco last weekend, and all I got were these silly photo booth pictures with my dear friend Tracy of Shutterbean.  

Ok…. that’s entirely untrue.  

I walked away from the Foodbuzz Festival with more kitchen gear than I could carry, pockets full of fellow food blogger business cards, and a belly full of incredible food.  

A room full of food bloggers means a room full of cameras.  So many.  Rather than crowd around and take pictures of food…. I just took pictures of people taking pictures of food.  Weird.  I know.  

This also happened…

…which was extremely surprising and extremely exciting.  The fact that I ran off the stage after accepting this award adds to my charm, right?  First I blushed.  Then I stumbled a bit.  I dropped my phone.  I might have thrown in an awkward curtsy… and then I ran.  

 Thank you to every single one of you who voted for me.  Seriously, friends.  This means a lot to me.  

Also… a big, fat, wet kiss to all of the darling people at Foodbuzz who put such a belly filling event together for us.  I hella heart you Foodbuzz.  And Tracy…. we’ve had heart-to-hearts at two different blog conventions…. we’re totally friends now, like it or not. 

Hey!  Can I share some fun news!?  Sweet… thanks.

What makes dinner with friends even more fun and lovely?  A dash of holiday spirit… aaaand whiskey.  

I love the months between September and January because I get to cook and cook and cook.  Something about the holidays inspires people to gather and consume… it’s just heaven for me.  

This holiday season I’m teaming up with my super chef friends and crackpot wine buddies to cater big ol’ homey holiday suppers for people in their homes.  You gather.  We throw down in the kitchen.  You consume.  We’re talking six course meals with things like Braised Cocoa Beef with Buckwheat and Corn Polenta Cakes and Christmas Lima Beans. Yea… the real deal.  How about Warm Apple Crostadas with Butterscotch Ice Cream and Bourbon Whipped Cream?  Yes.  Please.  Dang.  

We also do dishes.  Wait… chefs who do dishes!?  Well… we bring help.  That’s true.  

I’m telling you all of this goodness because if you’re in Los Angeles or San Francisco… well heck, maybe you’d like to throw a badass holiday dinner party.  Weeks sure are coming and going quickly so email us at joythebakerdinners (at) gmail (dot) com if you’d like to talk food… talk wine… talk menu and pricing… and talk holidays with you.

Hey Friends!

Guess what!? OOOooh yes! It’s almost picnic time! That means… it’s almost Virtual Picnic time!

But what the heck is a virtual picnic, and how is this going to work? Don’t worry. I have answers. Here’s how I’d like it to go down.

1. I would love for you to gather your friends… gather one friend… gather ninety friends… get together on Saturday August 22nd or Sunday August 23rd, share your favorite baked goods, and just enjoy fun and laughs over sweet treats.

2. Take pictures of you and your friends at your JtB picnic extravaganza. Why? Because you want to send those photos to me to be posted along with pictures from the Los Angeles event as it happens on August 23rd.  Pictures!  Pictures with signs.  Pictures with cupcakes.  Pictures with your smiling faces… I want them!

3. Do you follow me on Twitter? You probably do… and that’s great!  At 4:30 PST I’ll be live streaming video of the picnic extravaganza using TwitCam.  Yes… welcome to the future.  All you’ll have to do is find me on Twitter at 4:30PST and follow the link that says “Check out my live video stream of TwitCam”.  You’ll get to plug into the picnic as it happens!  You’ll see my in my pretty pink dress acting like the hostess with the mostess.  You’ll even be able to tweet comments and questions as I’m live streaming.  Oooh future.  You’re rad! 

4.  There will be prizes for the Los Angeles picnic participants and yes… prizes for some Virtual Picnic participants too.  There will be one random drawing and one prize for the virtual picnicers with the most spirit.  Who doesn’t like prizes!? 

Want to play along?  Want to gather your friends in the name of Joy the Baker and cupcakes?  I think you should.  Do it!  Then share the love with me!  So…. you in!?

What..?  You want a recipe?  Ok… how about Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream with Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce?  Good.

I think it’s important that you all know something about what comes out of my kitchen:  it ain’t all pretty folks.  Not every creation that comes out of my kitchen is pretty, polished and ready for its blog debut.  The reality is that I have my fair share of flops, dropped eggs, burned butter and dirty dishes… I just don’t usually show those kitchen tidbits with you.  Tricky, right?

Today is your lucky day.  Here’s a peek at the flops, disasters and otherwise icky recipes I’ve tried and trashed.  

Chilled Blueberry Soup.  Ok, seriously.  Who are you trying to fool?  This was just an elaborate recipe for blueberry juice.  You tricked me and I resent you Blueberry Soup.  This won’t be soon forgotten.

Low Fat Chocolate Mousse with tofu.  I think I over whipped the eggs with this little darling.  It was so thick and tough   just all around noooooooot cute.

Greek Yogurt Frozen Yogurt.  I wanted to love you, but holy heck you were thick and rich.  Too thick.  Too rich.

This Nectarine Cobbler overflowed… big time… while I was one the phone.  There was screaming and cursing… mostly because I should have known better.

You were supposed to be a fresh peach scone.  Instead you decided to be a bland peach cookie… that’s just not good enough.

Ooooh Cinnamon Rolls.  You didn’t fail me.  I love you.

Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies.  I must have eaten a cool dozen of these cookies trying to decide if they were good or not.  I knew with each cookie that they were absolute rubbish.  Bleck. 

Apricot Scones. Flat and beige Apricot Scones.  Note to self:  figure out how to make scones.  Seriously, how have you not mastered this yet Joy?

Avocado Milkshake.  Boooooring picture plus do not like.  The photo and taste gods were not with me on this day.  For this, and for all of these recipes that I tried and failed.. well, I suppose I just have to shrug my shoulders and laugh you off.  Thanks for the lessons… and the memories?