Fall is Here!

...and with it comes a busy schedule! As September sneaks its way into October, I'm finding my schedule packed and there aren't enough hours in the day to complete the things I want to do! Since I've been fumbling around the kitchen lately (and by fumbling I mean not doing my best work... at all, ever), I thought I'd take the time to talk about the things that are keeping me busy this fall.

There are pumpkins at the market! That means it's officially fall.

The Bakery

1. I absolutely love fall. With it comes some great new flavors that you can't find any other time of the year! So I'm working with pumpkin, maple, pecans, and spices to create some tasty goodies that reflect the season. So far, I've had a very hard time with pumpkin (hence the fumbling), but I'm getting there. Every failure is a learning experience, after all! What are your favorite fall flavors? Any requests?

2. As you probably have heard, one of the best things you can do for your health (and your figure) is cut down on your sugar intake. Additionally, a lot of people are worried about gluten these days, and I think we probably all have someone in our lives dealing with Celiac Disease. So I'm currently working on coming up with some sugar- and gluten-free options! Right now I'm still in the research phase for gluten-free recipes, and I'm a little farther along with sugar. I'm already using maple syrup in some recipes (though there isn't a big difference health-wise with maple, at least you know where it comes from and that it hasn't been made with bone char), and now I'm learning to work with agave nectar. If you have any insights on sugar substitutes or gluten-free flours, please send them my way!

3. Finally, I'm working on brainstorming ideas for expanding the bakery. Currently, I work full time, but am able to commit nights and weekends to baking. However, I'm still only getting a few sales a month; a figure I'd like to improve. So I'm coming up with ideas for reaching a broader audience and getting my name out there. Also, I have a secret dream of selling my baked goods at a farmer's market. So that's something to think about.

Our Wedding

Yep! The feller and I are getting married! And we're having a vegan wedding. It's going to be awesome. We are pretty far along considering the wedding is a year away, thanks to our amazing wedding coordinator, Krystel Tien of Couture Events. Here are some things that we're working on now!

1. Obviously, since I have a blog about my own bakery, I love food. So it's very important to me that the food at our wedding is not only vegan, but outrageously delicious. Right now, we're looking into catering companies that will be able to make some wildly scrumptious vegan food. My hope is that it won't even occur to our guests that the food is completely vegan, because they're thinking about how completely wonderful it is!

2. For decor, we are going with a vintage-eclectic theme with lots of do-it-yourself details! So we thought why not start early on our DIY projects? We are collecting all sorts of pretty things to eventually transform into our decor. SO much fun.

3. When the feller and I went back to my hometown for a wedding in August, I went dress shopping with my mom at an adorable shop near our house. Magically, I found several dresses that I loved, and they were all in our price range! After some thought, I chose "the one," so now I've got to put the order in. And no, I can't say which one it is. That would ruin the surprise!

Our Engagement Photoshoot

Ok, so maybe this should go under "wedding," but I'm so excited about it that it's going to get its own category! We are working with the lovely Teale Landstedt of Teale Photography for our wedding photography, as well as our engagement session. Since we're not an "in-the-box" couple, it seemed appropriate for us to do something a little different for our engagement photos. So, we decided on a full-out vintage style shoot. I'm so excited!

1. In order to look like we're in another time, we're going to need some pretty amazing vintage clothes. I'm currently working on putting together our outfits, as well as accessories and props.

2. We have some inspiration photos gathered already, but we can always use more! I'd love to have a nice collage put together of images that we like, so we don't get stuck or feel uninspired on the day.

3. Krystel had the awesome suggestion of using some vegan cupcakes or cookies as part of the shoot, too! So I'm going to have a lot of fun making some beautiful decorated cupcakes.

Burp's Christmas

If you were thinking that I don't have enough on my plate already, then get ready: I'm also producing a movie! This is a project that I've been working on for over a year now with some friends of mine from college. It's going to be a wonderful animated Christmas film titled Burp's Christmas. It's something we're all working on in our spare time, as we all have day jobs. Here's where we're at right now:

1. Currently we're in the stage that we call "Getting Our Face On." To put it simply, we're getting all of our stuff together and making everything look pretty so we can go out and raise some money! One of the final products of this stage will be a polished-looking packet full of information on the story, us, and the process we're using to make the film.

2. On my to-do list for this month is to write another blog entry. Kat, our associate producer, and I are writing a series of entries about producing specifically, and what we do. My next post will be about the differences between producing for animation and live action.

3. Mike, our director and screenwriter, probably has the most of all of us to do right now. He's in the process of creating original art for us to use both in the making of the film, and in the fundraising process. You can check out some of what he's working on at our blog.

I do have a lot on my plate, but that's the way I like it. So, if you don't see me post for longer periods of time than usual, you'll at least know what I'm doing. What is keeping you busy this fall?

Enjoy the weather, and buy yourself a pumpkin at the market! I sure did.