POUR / with high fives of admiration for joy the baker

Joy Wilson is one of the down-right most optimistic, loveliest, funniest, just plain coolest people on the internet. She has written some of the most heartfelt blog posts I have ever read and I continue to fall deeper in love with every post. Joy has the uncanny ability to make you feel like her best friend. I mean the kind of friend that knows your deepest darkest secrets, the friend you make pacts with, walk down dark alleys with, break out the cocktails with, and dance the night away in inappropriate high heels with. She is just that cool. I've been an avid follower of her blog and books for years and she is my go-to adviser on everything and anything related to baking. Her little space on the interwebs is my happy place.

Get in your kitchen and take her blog, Joy the Baker, with you. Check out her cookbooks Homemade Decadence and the Joy the Baker Cookbook because everyone needs more laughter, chocolate, ice cream, and decadence in their life: we all need to feel like we belong. Here's one of Joy's recipes that I've been dying to make since she moved to New Orleans and set up a new baking spot.


LEMON POUND CAKE WITH LEMON POPPYSEED BUTTERCREAM

makes one single layer 9-inch cake

Joy adapted from The Joy of Baking

cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (this matters)
1 cup granulated sugar
zest of one large lemon
4 large eggs, at room temperature (this matters, too)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspooons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

buttercream 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (you get the gist)
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (I used 2 1/2 cups of powered sugar, and my buttercream never really smoothed out)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I had to use "fake" lemon juice, only had one lemon for the cake, it was a bit overpowering. lesson = fresh lemon is the bomb and makes all the difference)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
splash of milk or cream as needed for consistency (I used a splash of skim milk, think cream would have been best)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, just sprinkle them in till it feels good

bake

Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. The sides of your pan should have high sides (about 3-inches or so). Set aside the greased pan.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or an electric hand mixer) beat the butter until pliable and soft, about one minute.

In a small bowl toss together sugar and lemon zest using the back of a small spoon. The sugar will become moist and super fragrant.

Add the sugar to the butter and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about three to five minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Mixture will be pale in color.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla extract once all of the eggs are mixed in. The batter may look curdled. That's ok, don't worry.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat on low speed until almost incorporated. Add the lemon juice and beat to combine. Stop the mixer and finish combining the batter with a wooden spoon or spatula. Scrape down the bottom of the bowl to make sure you've completely incorporated all of the ingredients.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth. Allow to bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. All to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.

frosting 

Cream together the butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium until smooth and creamy. Add up to a cup more powered powered sugar to thicken the consistency. Add a splash of milk or cream for thinner consistency. I prefer my buttercream not too thick as to not tear the cake when frosting. Once you get your consistency where you'd like it, beat in poppy seeds.

Spoon and spread the buttercream over the completely cooled cake. Don't worry about frosting the sides. Leave them bare. Allow the cake the rest in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Cake will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to four days.

Share with friends, invite them over to see the magic you whipped up in the kitchen.

FOLD / everything after "I AM"

I'm currently diving into a goal coaching course called igolu "pronounced I-GOL-U". A radical and bubbly yoga teacher friend of mine named Laura Conley is getting her igolu certification (this is on currently on my five year goal list) and has graciously offered her services to a group of us hungry for advice, knowledge and support. I was thinking about some of the key igolu principles today and came across this little gem. It's igolu principle five (you can find the audio link here) and it states:

Everything after "I am"....CREATES. 

Your future, your present, your protections, your inhibitions, your failures, your ambitions, your fears, your passions, your likes, your dislikes, your judgements, your perceptions, your shifters, your roadmap, your life. That is a very powerful statement.

Everything after "I am" CREATES. 

Think about that. That is power in our own creation. That is the ability to change our course and divert to a new path. That is trust. That is faith. That is hard work. That is comforting. That is mindblowing.

I stumbled upon a Danielle LaPorte #truthbomb this week, well there was no stumbling involved, it was lovingly delivered straight to my inbox, that said, "Raise your standards, the universe will meet you there." It got me thinking about our value. Our sense of self. Our beliefs and limitations.

When was the last time you told yourself, "You are a powerful creator!" "You can make it happen." "You are more beautiful than you know." "Your future is yours for the making." "Say YES" "Say NO". If you are anything like me, you need reminding, and reminding, and a maybe a third dose of reminding.

I am happy to yell it off the rooftops for you, "YOU ARE VALUABLE IN THIS BIG WIDE WORLD". There is NO ONE here on this earth like you, except for YOU! And SO AM I.

A dear dear dear soul sister of mine, told me try out this exercise and I've been playing with it for the last few months. Take out a big piece of blank paper. Now, find a fun marker that you love and in the center of that sheet of paper write "I AM". Over the next few weeks, every time someone in your life tells you something great about you, write it down in the I am format. Whether or not you believe it, someone else does, write it down. I promise you will begin to soften to the idea that you are all the lovely things people say about you, love about you, cherish about you, feel supported by you. Feel free to fill up the page with your own loving "I am" statement as well. I needed to check with my support group of friends before the self love started, but maybe your love tap is overflowing with beautiful things to say about you.

This is for you, not for anyone else. So be generous with your words, you're so much more than you know.

FOLD / look up. balcony

Sometimes being a tourist on my own block is the best practice in mindfulness. It allows me to really check in and notice all the nuances of a path i've walked down a thousand times before. I am always learning something new about this immutable strip of concrete.

Today I noticed a tiny little balcony that isn't really useful as a balcony, as most los angeles balconies are. It's cherry red. it talks. It demands to be seen.

did you look up today?

GATHER / notes from our neighborhood

i love to walk, one foot in front of the other. in los angeles you have to make a point to take a walk. you have to go out and seek it. i'll walk two miles from a free parking space anytime, anywhere. i love walking around our tree-lined neighborhood, mostly day dreaming about the million dollar homes i cannot afford to live in. i love to venture up small los angeles "mountains"(in denver, my home away from home, these are referred to as foothills), usually bustling fryman or runyon canyon. i love to climb a flight of stairs, always seeking this out instead of an escalator. if my legs are moving, that's when i am at my best.

the other night, i was flying solo on a walk in the mid-afternoon. a coffee break in the middle of a well deserved day off and i couldn't help but pause, to feel the hot and radiant sun on my face, and acknowledge a true sense of being home. los angeles and i are not the best of friends, we have our blow outs, blow ups, and make up sessions in between. but yesterday, as my small neighborhood was abuzz with food trucks, side-walk shoppers, and a blooming lemon trees. i just couldn't help but be in awe of the life i live here. a sense of true gratitude washed over me like a warm breeze. today, i am happy to be here, on this street, in this apartment, in this city. today feels like home.

have you looked around you? deeply, looked and maybe seen something you've never noticed before?  i dare you.

[my favorite part of my walk today was this cactus. it was a bit frayed around the edges, and tucked behind some other weed-like plants that were overshadowing it's beauty, but I sought it out and it put a quiet little smile on my face. it was waiting for me and my camera.]

FOLD / it's sacred, trust me

this essay popped into my inbox this week and rocked me to the core. it's a short read, do it. do it, right now. http://www.daniellelaporte.com/energize-that/

i love when Danielle says, "something is sacred because you say it is sacred".  boom. slam. YES please.

we have the power. we get to decide how we move through this world. we get to decide who we bring along with us and how we spend our time. i believe in the power of a mala and its mystical 108 beads. i believe in the power harnessed by those who've come before us. i believe in the power of a stone. whatever is holding your sacred energy, worship it. let your desires and dreams embue these objects you hold dear the power to guide you, shape you, whisper to you. As D days, "the universe loves a believer".

GATHER / from where i sit

from where i sit tonight, i can see my bulletin board. i've had this board for the past 11 years. it has followed me across three state lines, been hung in seven homes, and has held onto countless memories. today it has become a bit of a sacred place. today, it's my greeting card holder. my source of inspiration and pure unadulterated joy. it's holding my future. my leap into the unknown. it's holding vendors that i hope to one day collaborate with, learn from, and make my dearest friends. it's holding space for me to add to it. it's holding onto my friends and loved ones that continue to put handwritten notes in the the mail. it's serving as a reminder to follow my heart and quietly whispers to just keep going. it's sitting across from me, telling me that everything is going to work out, that this life is going to be more than i can imagine, and that i am on the right path.

that's a lot coming from a wooden board and a few strings of ribbon.

what is sitting across from you? 

FOLD / look up. sky

these are just some thoughts on being present. i've noticed lately that we miss a lot these days. we are infinitely "connected" to everyone and everything at every moment that we often miss out on what is right in front of us. we vacate the present moment to live through our phones and electronic devices. we spend time cultivating our presence online, but not with the people sitting in the same room, walking across the same street, or going to sleep right next to us in our own bed.

welcome to this little segment i am calling, look up.

today i paused, looked up, and saw this.

this sky. perfect and pillowy, and in a another few minutes had completely shifted into a darker hue as the sun started to fade. it was a perfect moment, on an otherwise ordinary day.

take a moment, just one, and look up. look around. look inside. chances are you are missing something you will never regret pausing for.