My Pastry Chef Dream

The day after The Farm Chicks Fairlast June, I was sitting through orientation for culinary school, about to embark on a longheld dream of mine to become a pastry chef that began taking shape when I was a little girl.

In many ways, the timing wasn’t great while we were selling our home, designing the new one, and moving. And yet, in some ways it was good too, pushing me to dig deep and work harder than I imagined when I enrolled. I’d start every day at 5am, leaving for my gym’s 6am workout and then rushing to school right after. I’d arrive back home by 1:30, go straight to work on Farm Chicksfor a couple of hours, then dinner prep ~ oftentimes interspersed with house showings and meetings with the architect.

We eventually sold our home and were scheduled for the closing on a Friday after I got out of school for the day and while I was rushing to my car after class, I received a call from Colin. The buyers had backed out. It was such a crushing time because of how much we’d juggled, the house was packed, and movers were coming the next day. Colin and I took the weekend to unpack a bit, talk ourselves through it, take a deep breath, and I headed back to school on Monday. A couple of weeks later, we closed on the sale of our home with new buyers, re-packed, and moved into the city. In many ways, school was a good distraction because it’s so busy and challenging that I couldn’t help but lose track of everything else while I attacked my assignments. There were many times that I was so focused on my work that when I looked up and saw my classmates and their work, I’d remember: Oh yeah! There’s other people here.

And my goodness, I loved my tablemates so much. Melinda, Brittin, and Sydnee(shown left to right above) were everything I could have hoped for. Dear, kind, and supportive and I’m so thankful we were brought together here. They came from Montana, Idaho, and nearby Walla Walla. I can’t wait to see them pursue their pastry dreams. You can follow along with Brittin on Instagram hereand Sydnee on Instagram here. (I’ll make sure to share if Melinda creates a social media site too!)

I finished school today and Colin is taking me out to dinner to celebrate. Then we’re headed out for a long weekend to celebrate some more and take in one of my favorite things on the planet: CHRISTMAS MARKETS!!!

Why did I go to school? There’s a lot of reasons why. A childhood dream, adjusting to life with the boys all growing upand leaving home, and a thirst for knowledge. There’s so much to learn about the things we love. Moving forward, I look forward to creating more books and using my new skills for creating projects that are meaningful to me.

In the meantime, I’m working on other dear projects like my original love, The Farm Chicks Fair, and the building of our new home, which I’ll be posting more about next week. Hooray!

Notes:

I attended the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy’s baking programwhich is housed inside Spokane Community College.

There’s a wonderful bakeryconnected to the Culinary Academy’s kitchen which is supplied with all of the breads, pastries, and cakes created by the culinary students AND it’s open to the public. Prices are very reasonable and the offerings are delicious. It’s kind of a best kept Spokane secret.

IT'S ME, SERENA!

In 2002, I was dreaming of creating a fun and happy little event to sell my vintage and handmade goods. In 2002, I held my first event in my neighbor's barn along with a handful of friends. The sale became wildly popular and began attracting visitors from across the country and recognition in national magazines. Today The Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair fills the Spokane County Fairgrounds and features hundreds of creatively and carefully curated spaces packed with vintage and handmade goods. Many describe it as a bucket list event, magical, inspirational, and the best event of its kind in the USA. I describe it as the best weekend of the year!