Making It Official

Big, big news from The Little Yellow Kitchen! For the past 12 months I've been working on getting things in order to make sure I'm doing everything legally in the kitchen. It was actually more work and time than I had anticipated, mostly because I had classes, Ella, and zero motivation the entire first trimester of my pregnancy. Just trying to find a kitchen to work in was an enormous feat. Everywhere I looked for advice online suggested working in a church kitchen, but all of the churches I called said no due to tax issues. Eventually, a friend suggested I talk to the Youth for Christ team at The Encounter building downtown. They've been great! A lease was created, hours set, kitchen storage space cleared, and a trial run completed. After the lease went through, I contacted a gentleman with the State who checked out the kitchen and made it official. I'm thrilled to announce that The Little Yellow Kitchen is now completely licensed and insured!

What does that mean? How is it different than before I was licensed? Well, now I get to basically do whatever I want with my baking. In the state of Minnesota, it's not legal to bake and sell right out of your kitchen. People do it, just like I did, and keep things simple. However, most big venues for parties and weddings require all vendors have a license. Also, it's always a possibility that competing shops or regular people could report the home-kitchen work, which would bring on a fine. Another big aspect of licensing is that without it, a business can't advertise. I haven't done any advertising, but I do have a website, and I think that falls under the same umbrella. But now it's not an issue! No worries and freedom to move things forward. I really don't know how far I'll take this little business, but at least I have the peace of mind that I'm doing things legally and professionally.

 This week I'm moving everything into the kitchen downtown. It's not a store front, but wouldn't it be cool to have one eventually? More dreaming. This is just a licensed space where I can do all of my baking and decorating. One down side to having to bake there is that I now have to have child care during baking hours. The upside is pretty much the same. I have to have child care, which means I'll be able to work much, much faster. I'm pretty excited about the enormous stainless steel work table I'll be using. What a dream! And my kitchen at home won't be quite as cluttered with baking supplies.

What's coming up in The Kitchen? This weekend I have a small wedding reception. Then I have a couple tastings with couples who would like me to do their weddings. Tastings are one of my favorite things lately. It's so much fun to dream with brides and grooms as they plan their wedding. After the wedding this weekend, I think I have five more through September. I'll also be doing a few adorable cakes for birthday parties and, of course, plenty of cupcakes. Yum.

Be sure to check out The Little Yellow Kitchen's website for lots of photos and updates!

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Speaking of weddings, I had the enormous privilege of providing the sugar for my cousin's wedding this past weekend near Park Rapids. I've watched Elliot grow from an adorable little boy to a confident, handsome young man who will be starting medical school next month. His lovely bride, Kirsten, just received her RN degree and has already found a nursing job in the city where Elliot will be in school. Besides providing the cakes, the event was special since it also happened to be our own five year anniversary. It's fun to think that Pete was in a very similar situation with med school when we got married. July 7. It's a good day for a wedding!

Mr & Mrs

exploring before the ceremony - Maira, Ella, Malena

at a beautiful golf course

nicely done, Uncle Jake

Ella loving Cousin Megan's bouquet

Mama Bex & the girls

introducing Sammy to my grandma

four generations

fun on the dance floor - Nana Scott, Ella, Uncle Mike, Maira, Mama Bex

a photo from our own wedding 5 years ago