What's In A Name?

I love my white plates and what I put on them!

I've done a lot of things in my life.  There is always this one thing that keeps me coming back... COOKING.  I love anything that has to do with cooking and kitchens and the gadgets that go along with it.  I capital L O V E it when people act as if their having foodgasms when they eat what I have prepared.  I love to create.  I LOVE a beautifully presented plate.  I just love it all.  I'm a New Orleans girl living in Atlanta and thank God in Heaven on my way back home to New Orleans next summer!  Food is what I know.  It's in our blood, us New Orleanians. (Not all of us but a lot of us.)

I was supposed to be a singer.  I was supposed to be this singer/songwriter.  I was supposed to be sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar on my knee, strumming my life's happiness, loves and woes to a crowd of mellow, high on life, snapping their fingers instead of clapping, spoken word, Bohemian, natural hair wearing just like me, 'world be damned what I chose to wear screw yall' type of folks.  Yes.  That was me.  But this tug.  This tug of creativity from every single molecule and syllable, hyperbole and period of my person won't allow me to just sit down and do one thing.  Am I not focused enough for one thing?  Do I need to sit my hiney down somewhere and concentrate?  Am I suffering adult ADHD?  Nah.  It's none of that.  I'll tell you what it is.  Come close...

God is HILARIOUSLY funny about giving what you ask for.  I asked a long time ago as a little girl for creativity and talent and man did he heap it upon my head.  I guess I should have asked for a dash of 'focus on one thing for a little while-edness', huh?  It's not too late to make the request but I'm just not sure if I really want to.  So here I stand before you a woman of noble means... (Okay, I got carried away a bit.)

Here I am: A woman that is a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a bff in The Firm (We'll talk about those crazy ladies later), a former singer/songwriter turned upcoming author(book in progress)/food blogger/baker/self appointed home chef/bakery owner/radio show owner/on-air personality/letmeseewhatIcomeupwithnext.  And you know what?  I like that just fine!  I am excited about it!  I asked for it.  God gave it to me.  I'm going to use it all until He says differently.  Oh!  I'm a student at Full Sail University too!

The purpose of this first entry is to figure out a name for our bakery.  Since June we've been Heaven Sent Cake & Cupcake Boutique.  Sounds upscale, doesn't it?  I like the ring of it.  I see it in my mind.  Picture the exposed copper and metal and whoodly doos in the non-existent ceilings, the funky coffee house/independent artists from my radio show playing softly, fancy coffees and teas, tall glass doors opened wide and inviting, fancy wall lighting in the evening time with sofas and stuff to relax on and free wi fi.

Photo courtesy of: NY Magazine
Now we ALL know that THIS is utter swankaliciousness!

Can you see it?  I know!  ME TOO!  That's exactly what I saw when I first said the name out loud.  You know what my darling husband said?  "That's too long and it's a mouthful."  I was not to be deflated.  I didn't care that he thought that as at that time,  he had no intention of baking one cupcake.  He's the 'business side' of the business.  I decided to go where I know I'm loved most... my kids.  They like everything mommy says.  All 5 of them loved the name and so it was!

Then it happened.  One day I had a thought.  Sometimes, they are dangerous.  Sometimes they are annoying.  Sometimes they're really quite brilliant.  This was one of the annoying ones.  I wanted to change the name.  We have only done one cake.  I bake a lot of things and I make gourmet candies as well.

CUPCAKES!

The thing that is requested of me most is my cupcakes.  It doesn't matter what flavor they are, people want them.  I do a lot of baking for friends and the kids' school stuff so my name is coming along decently in our local area.  I have all of my Wilton accreditation and all.  But it's MY name.  Angel.  Not the bakery name.  So I felt that I could change it and get away with it.  Then I felt like I couldn't leave the first one because it represents me in so many ways.  The second name?  Everything's Comin' Up Cupcakes.  You know what my husband said when I told him this one?  "It's a lot.  It's a mouthful." (Seriously, babe?  NO help.)

It's chic.  It's classic.  It's homey.  It's swanky!

I LOVE the name!  It's cute.  It's catchy.  It makes me smile.  It has the word cupcake in it and that's always a good thing, right?  It reminds me more of homey goodness than swank but it can be worked so that it can have both of those things as I am both of those.  Wanna see what it looks like in my mind?


I figured that maybe I could use Heaven Sent... as the bakery name and perhaps do Everything's Comin' Up Cupcakes for the cupcakes?  No.  It won't work.  It's one entity so it needs one name.  So I figured that perhaps YOU could chose the name.  You will be the ones that purchase what I bake as soon as we go online with shipping and put up a mouth-water website. (Fingers crossed on that.)  You will come and spend time with me here and use the recipes that I share.  You will take this journey with me as I go from home bakery to owner of swankalicious pastrydom on Carrolton Ave. or  St. Charles Ave. (Those are my desired locations).  If you are ever in the area, you will come and chat with me while I serve you something delicious, right?  Because I have an extra boost of self confidence today, I just know that you all are nodding your heads in agreement with me.  As such, I'd like you to chose.

Which will it be?  When you decide, can you tell me why you like that one better?  Thanks everyone!

Heaven Sent Cake & Cupcake Boutique

or

Everything's Comin' Up Cupcakes