07/22/2025
Good morning!
I want to let everyone know that we will be at the CNY Regional Market this upcoming Saturday (7/26)...
But WE WILL NOT be there for the two following weeks (8/2 and 8/9).
I'd like to say I was taking a fabulous vacation, but if I were to be honest, I've had some major challenges over the last two years (health, home, personal) and my body has finally let me know that it's time to slow down.
I know we all try to hide our challenges and pretend we have it all together, so I'll be honest and share that I don't (I'm a mess on a good day! 😉🤣). And that it's okay to admit that we're mentally or physically drowning. I don't know about you, but I've been just barely treading water!!!
And I finally realized the only way to pull myself up and to heal would be to make some changes.
And the timing seemed right.
As of this week, the work on my baking kitchen wraps up (after 18 months of having only partial use of the room), and over the last couple of months, some of my biggest stressors have come to a close.
So now, I've decided to take some time to slow down and finish out organizing my life, my new home, and baking kitchen with joy and intention, and to do so in a manner that will allow my body and mind to rest and heal and find some peace. 🩷
My last two years were riddled with stress, insecurity, anxiety, and crazy health challenges, and I jumped back into baking long before I should have.
But as a newly single Mom, I worried about making a living.
And I feared that going dormant for two years (after closing the bakery, I had some unexpected life changes that kept us from moving into a bigger retail spot as planned) would leave my business irrelevent. During my absence, other gluten free bakers came into the market (they are all amazing! Love them both as wonderful humans and great bakers!), and while I adore and appreciate them, I've lost much of my customer base. It's been HARD starting over.
And my inability to continue geographically on the same side of town did it's own damage (my car is too small to do Markets where I need a tent! I miss my minivan! I tried, but it took 4-5 trips back and forth--both setting up AND breaking down--to do a normal tent setup. It was just too much!). I realize that the Regional Market is a full half hour further West from where the bakery was (so very difficult for customers, especially my regulars who came from Chittenango, Cazenovia, Sherill, Canaatota, and Rome!)
So fearing that if I didn't jump back into business quickly, I might not be able to claw my way back!
But it's been killing me.
My personal life was not settled, my renovations were not done, and my health had taken some scary turns.
I've been running at a pace I can't keep up with for so long that I'm falling apart physically. For those who understand "Spoon Theory", I've borrowed spoons from the next day so often that I've completely emptied the drawer.
And while I've worked to find joy and peace in my new chapter, the life stressors kept coming, keeping my brain in overdrive and my soul splintered for the last couple of years.
So as the renovations are finished and my bigger challenges have ended, I'm going to work on calling this time my next chapter.
I'll be putting my health and my peace much higher on my list.
SO....all that to say that I will be taking some time to regroup, regenerate, and I'm hoping to come back feeling more like myself!
AND I hope that means I can come back to the Market with the passion, creativity, and quality I've always wanted to bring to you!
