23 BEFORE 24

Guys, I'm going to be a little selfish today and make this one all about me. Don't worry, it won't be too long, I promise. :) But I just wanted to make a special post (or any post really, I haven't been keeping to a very strict schedule after all...) because today is my birthday!

I have been on this lovely planet for 23 years now. I have done a lot of things in that time, a lot of fun things for sure (went to the Cayman Islands with some friends after graduating high school), a lot of important things (for me at least, like graduating college with a degree in something I love), yes. But I feel like a lot of the things that have happened to me or I have done in my life are things that have just happened, or they've been planned out. This year I think I want to be a little bit more spontaneous. Not like go on a cross-country road trip on the spur of the moment, though that would be tons of fun. But I want to create more memories this year. Do more things that have an impact on my life, those things where I'm in the moment and I can stop for a second and just know that this is going to be something that I will always remember. I love those moments, and I want to create more of them. That probably means that I will have to start saying "yes" more than I say "no". There are reasons for my saying no, but every once in a while it couldn't hurt to be sleep deprived, right? I mean, I'm 23, and that's what 23 year old bodies are meant to handle, yah? Haha, well we shall see.

I'm making myself a list of things that I would like to do or accomplish during this new year of life. 23 things I want to do before I turn 24. Seems feasible. I can do this!

We'll see how I did a year from now! :)

xo Morgan

CUPCAKE TEST RUN

I have the priviledge of being the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding this June. They have been engaged since May of 2013, so it feels like it's been a long time coming, and everyone is so excited around here! I'm throwing her a bridal shower in a month and I'm also making cupcakes for it (as well as making her wedding cake, but you'll have to wait till June for that). I've tossed around a couple of ideas in my head for what flavor I should make, or if I should make two different flavors, or merge both flavors into one cupcake. Decisions! I think I've decided on just one flavor to cut down on stress before the shower, seeing as how I will also have to figure out how to safely transport them 300 miles to Indiana, but let's not worry about that now. What we do need to worry about now is which flavor to make...

And the winner is... (cue drumroll)...

...actually I'm not going to show you the winner. I'll save that till after her party (just in case she happens to be reading my blog right now... Hi Olivia!) but I can show you the loser, how's that?

And the loser is... (again cue the drumroll)...

Lavender, Honey, Earl Grey cupcakes with Earl Grey Buttercream frosting.

I think the idea of these cupcakes were amazing. I mean lavender, honey, and earl grey? That sounds pretty much like heaven to me. Unfortunately the recipe I used didn't have the "cupcake" texture I was looking for. It felt more like a muffin. A yummy muffin, but still a muffin. Also, the earl grey buttercream frosting. A super delicious concept, but with as much tea as I added, the flavor never got to the point that I wanted it to.

I'm definitely going to be trying the concept again, but with some different recipes, or maybe I'll just have to come up with my own. But until then I'm not going to be putting the recipe for these bad boys on here until I'm happy with them. So you'll just have to enjoy the pretty pictures. Wish me luck next time!

xo Morgan

WELCOME!

Welcome to my blog, The Wooden Spoon! I'm so glad you're here. I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for a very long time. Now, I've finally taken the plunge and done it!

The Wooden Spoon is a food blog, first and foremost. I'm an avid baker, who sometimes likes to cook, and I always make a mess. I graduated from culinary school in May of 2014 and since then I have done absolutely nothing with my degree. Well, that's not quite true. I did make a birthday cake for a friend's one year old son (I used my cake decorating skills!). But other than that my life has revolved around my families business and trying to save up enough money to move out on my own. I currently hold two jobs, and while I can't see myself staying with either of them for the long term, they are sufficient for the time being.

And all of this has led up to the starting of my blog. I'm a baker at heart. It's in my bones. I have a pent up energy inside of me from all of this time not being in the kitchen. If I don't get it out I'm pretty sure I'll explode. And so, my blog. A creative outlet. A reason to get back in the kitchen and make things. To keep practicing, learning new things, and sharing it here on The Wooden Spoon.

Speaking of wooden spoons, you know it's funny, but I have never, in my entire life, owned a wooden spoon. But I have always loved them. When I hear "wooden spoon" I instantly think of making delicious food, creating new things, and having fun doing it. When I think of "spoon" I think of a tool used to shovel food into my mouth. Obviously there is not so much of a difference between the shapes, but the purposes are very different. That's why I chose the name The Wooden Spoon, because I hope that it brings up images, and maybe even memories, of whipping up yummy treats and sharing them with loved ones.

And I hope that's what this blog will be. A place where you can come and find delicious recipes with easy to understand directions and beautiful photos to reference. Perhaps you'll even learn something new!

In the mean time, I'm going to go and get me my first wooden spoon. ;)

xo Morgan

(The image for this post was from a cake I made for my mom's birthday a few months ago. The recipe will most definitely be showing up on the blog sometime, so stay tuned!)