The Happy Baker

A GIRL’S GUIDE TO EMOTIONAL BAKING

Dedicated to every man

who has broken, bruised or made my heart ache (either good or bad)…

Dedicated to my mom.

And everyone who has enjoyed my baking and countless dating stories over the years.

The stories in my book are inspired by events in my life.

Vodka may have been involved while writing them. My intent is to write humorous relatable stories, not to bash the men I have encountered…seriously.

My Name is Earl meets Sex and the City meets “Grandma’s Cookie Jar.”

Yep, that’s my book in a nutshell, possibly with a little Golden Girls thrown in…think Rose Nylund.

The Happy Baker book is a collection of recipes of which most are unique to my rural upbringing, matched with my personal dating memories. The memoir vignettes are singularly my own but are at the same time very relatable. Sometimes it’s nice to know you weren’t the only one to make out with a long-haired rocker in the middle of a cornfield, with bangs the size of Oklahoma!

I am part country, part city…and all woman. After living for eighteen years in a village of nine hundred people, I thought it was time to tackle the Big Smoke aka Toronto, Canada’s answer to N.Y.C.! I spent two years taking a cosmetics program there. Being a makeup artist for the last thirteen years has been quite successful for me. Most people might wonder what a professional makeup artist is doing writing a chick-lit cookbook. But, baking has come as naturally to me as makeup artistry has. When you’ve got passion, anything is possible. If they gave out degrees for sugar addictions, I would be on the honor roll.

My writing career started at the fall fair, in public school. I am the proud recipient of many first-and second-place ribbons for creative writing. If you saw the way they judge a pumpkin, you would know why. The idea for this book hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t have stopped writing if I’d tried. I would have written in my sleep if possible. I even got writer’s arm (definition: a tan on one arm from writing outside all day).

I love to bake and I love to tell stories. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Erin, you should write a book.” Well, here it is. The recipes are easy to follow, with ingredients that are easy to find. Dating is hard enough, so I figure your emotional baking shouldn’t be. Since the recipes are my personal favorites, they are tried, tested and true. Many are passed down from grandmas, aunts, great aunts, moms and the occasional kissing cousin. Others are my own twist on the original. Baking is an escape for me. I truly am happiest when I’m baking. I love sharing my baked goods and spreading the joy of baking around. Dating is not always an escape for me, but it sure is entertaining.

There were many times when I second-guessed myself while writing this book. A lot of time and energy went into it. On several occasions I thought, maybe I should focus this energy on furthering my makeup artistry career. I haven’t even had a date in a couple of months because I have basically locked myself up in my condo after work to write. It didn’t help watching The Shining one night and worrying afterward about getting cabin fever! I guess the worst I could do would be to hack up my plants.

But, whenever I had moments of doubt, a sign would occur that would make me continue on my writing journey. My first sign happened after about three straight weeks of writing. One morning, I stood in my kitchen and shouted, “Just give me a sign!” I needed to know that I should be investing so much time into this project. Later that afternoon, I was sitting at my desk writing when I heard a large rustling noise on my balcony. I looked over and there was a hawk. I said, “You must be my sign.” He nodded and flew off, circling above for a few minutes. I quickly looked up the symbolism of hawks: integrity, focus, determination, strength, messenger of the Gods. Okay, sounded good to me! So, I continued, finishing my manuscript.

When the next major moment of self-doubt happened, I got another sign. I called my mother for support, and she told me that our former neighbor (from when I was five) had come by and dropped off a picture he’d found in his basement from the local newspaper. Thing was, this picture was twenty-three years old. It was from the public school fall fair. I was a pigtailed ten-year-old with my beloved (now departed) Gramps, looking at the creative writing exhibits. If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.

There were many times I felt vulnerable about putting myself out there with my stories. But then I thought, who am I kidding, because if we met you would know my whole life story in about five minutes. It’s taken years of dating, many bottles of red wine and many hours of listening to Coldplay CDs to make this book possible. I’ve unlocked my vault of emotions. By reading it, I hope that no matter what dating stage you’re at, you know you’re not alone. And, you’ll come away with a great sugary recipe to put a smile on your face after all the good, the bad and the fugly.