Two weeks ago I took a rare week off and went on holiday! That may seem very normal for most folks, but as I was sitting on the plan jetting off to Portugal with my boyfriend, I realised I hadn't taken a whole week off to go abroad for at least 3 years! Was this the right thing for me to be doing!? Would my business fall apart if I took time off!?

To Laptop or to not!

During the build up to the holiday I had a dilemma raging through my head - to take my laptop or not! I am not sure if any other business owners have this dilemma as well -  but let me know if you do.
It may seem bizarre but my laptop is such a huge part of my life and my business, that just the thought of being apart from it for a whole week started to give me palpitations!  That is not healthy! I clearly needed a break!

So I took the hard decision to put an out office on and leave it behind. I also thought if I am going cold turkey with the laptop, I should leave the bakery phone behind as well.  But how would I cope!

The view 

Stepping out onto our hotel balcony and taking in the view and the sunshine, I knew I had done the right thing by leaving the business technology at home. Just being in the beautiful Portuguese hills for a week was a fantastic experience. It allowed me to reconnect with myself, and spend some quality time away from Vanilla Pod HQ, and as a bonus the sunshine did wonders for my M.E.  That is not to say, I didn't think about the business....





... I always think about the business, I suppose it is like a loved one, you always think about them but you don't have to be with them 24/7.

But anyway, the hotel we stayed in was amazing and that is what got me thinking....

I am constantly developing ways in which to grow Vanilla Pod and I absolutely love helping people and I would ultimately love to marry the two.  The Vanilla Pod Bakery currently has two key areas to the business - Wedding Cakes and Hen Parties - and two areas which are under development Corporate Gifts and VPB Consultancy. The reason the hotel got me thinking, was as part of the consultancy area of business,  I would love to develop a 5 day retreat/mastermind for business owners. Whether it is for start-up businesses, or baking/decorating retreats, or to help businesses that are 3 - 4 years into their journey facing a cross road situations, I haven't yet figured that out.  But within the next three years I would love to have something like this actioned, and staying in the hotel in Portugal  made me realise it would be the absolute perfect place for my dream to be realised. So watch this space! It would also be great to hear from you if this is the type of event would be of interest?



Importance of taking time off

So this holiday as made me realise that as a small business owner it is so, so, important to take more than a couple of days off at a time, during the year.  You really do need to switch off and live in the moment every once in a while. It gives you clarity on yourself and towards your business.  I have come back feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. I have even scheduled another week off in September! I am determined to look after my health and business this year, and I want 2015 to become my best year yet.

My 6 Top Tip's For Taking Time Off From You Business:

1. Switch your email out of office on - let people know you will not have access to your emails until x time.
2. Record a voicemail greeting letting people know you are unavailable of x amount of days.
3. Leave the laptop /phone at home.
4. Take a notepad and paper - just incase ideas spring into your mind and you need to jot them down for reference when you get back home.
5. Schedule a day or two when you get back from holiday to get back into the swing of things, unpack, do the washing, etc,  then go live to the public.
6. But ultimately remember to relax, enjoy the view and take a selfie!

Today I thought I would share this pretty two bee themed cake I made for a 65th birthday.

The client contacted the Vanilla Pod Bakery via email and told me the recipients likes and dislikes, how many people they wanted the cake to feed and what flavour they wanted. From there I designed a few sketches and the client chose his favourite.

From start to finish this cake took 3 weeks to organise, design and create. Normally, I like a bit more time but I had a rare free space so happily took on the order.






It was quite tricky working with the dairy free buttercream to crumb coat the cake and then cover with sugarpaste icing, as normally I use a chocolate ganache to crumb coat. But overall I was very happy with the cake and the client was too.

This fantastic cake continues to be a wedding favourite and is fast becoming a classic cake design. Yet there are still so many options within it. Today I thought I would showcase a few cakes that use both light and dark sponges, and how using these contrasting colours adds another dimension to the rustic but elegant cake.

The first cake we can see is one I made for a wedding fayre as a real live example.  Previous to this display cake all of my brides had opted for the single tone look. However, now I have shared this image the two tone look is now becoming popular with my couples as well.

The one below showcases a simplistic take on the Naked Cake. It has exposed layers of ruffly buttercream (created using a large star nozzle and piping bag), it is then dressed with fresh fruit, a satin ribbon, fresh pink flowers and finished with a dusting of icing sugar.

Simplistic Mary Berry Cake

Two Tone Mary Berry Cake

Lovely testimonial from bride who had the cake above.

Day 7 and I am on a roll! Today I am going to share this super Final Fantasy themed wedding cake I made in March for a lovely couple who got married in Egypt Mill,  Nailsworth.

Final Fantasy Themed Wedding cake

The couple first approached me about two years ago and we met for a tasting consultation at my old bakery, where together we designed their dream wedding cake. I thought it was a fantastic idea as it was so personal to them.

Fast forward to now, and wow, that two years went by fast! At the beginning of March 2015 it suddenly dawned on me that this cake will be quite a challenge! I had previously sketched the design so I studied that hard,  and then went on my journey of ordering and purchasing all the ingredients and equipment needed.

I started the modelling process seven days before the wedding day. Using homemade rice crispy treats, white chocolate, lots of dowels and sugarpaste I created the mushroom tree trunk house which I was very happy with. Then over the next couple of days I went on to make the wild flowers and the two Moggie figures. By this time it was three days until the cake was required so I got on with the baking process. The couple opted for a Poppy Seed and Lemon Drizzle cake for the bottom tier and a Orange Blossom Drizzle cake for the top. The also ordered a Battenburg, tray of Triple Chocolate Brownies, a small Rich Fruit Cake  and a tray of Bakewell Tart. So there was quite a lot to do.



After the baking, I coated the two tiers with white chocolate ganache to protect them and make sure that they held their shape. Once set I then stacked the cakes and whipped up some green buttercream, which I then lovingly applied to the cake. The cake was finished with the decorations and I then stood back to admire my work. However, I wasn't happy, something was not quite right, and I couldn't put my finger on it.  I thought the best thing to do it leave it for a couple of hours and come back to it.

I came back a couple of hours later and realised the buttercream was just too dark and too green, and getting darker and green by the minute!  I was not at all happy with it. So I painstakingly removed all the decorations and the dark green buttercream. And started the decoration process again, I whipped up a fresh batch of pale green buttercream, lovingly applied and reattached the wildflowers and tree trunk. I even had to make a few extra wild flowers as some had got damaged in the removal stage.

I am 100% happy that I that that, as it completely changed the look of the cake. The pale green buttercream, made it look romantic and pretty,  and perfect for a spring wedding.

The cake was safely delivered and I received a wonderful testimonial from the couple a few days later. I absolutely loved making this cake, it was a fantastic challenge.

The Wonderful Testimonial

Hello Blog Readers! You may have noticed I haven't written in here for a couple of weeks but I am still doing my blog challenge, it is taking a lot longer than expect! The reason being, I have been super busy baking here at Vanilla Pod Bakery with lots of birthday cakes, wedding cakes and cupcakes flying out the door....which I will blog about in the next coming days - watch this space!

But for now, as I approach Day 6 of my blog challenge, and I thought I would write about Easter Inspirations for beautiful spring weddings.

Whether you are religious or not Easter is a major holiday, and is a wonderful time of year to spend with friends and family. Over the last 5 years I have had the privilege to create many beautiful Easter wedding cakes (like the buttercream one below) and attend a few friends Easter weddings too.


I particularly like the colour palette for Easter weddings, many of my past couples have opted for spring yellows, pretty pastels and glamorous golds.  I have created wedding cakes for weddings which used Easter eggs and some which don't and either or looks stunning.

If your planning your Easter wedding, or you are just feeling inspired I have put together a beautiful Easter Pinterest board (which I had great fun doing). Even if your not getting married, it has a wonderful selection of pins to inspire your Easter weekend table settings, delicious recipes to serve friends and family,  as well as a super cute furry beings to keep you entertained.

Today I had a wonderful time at the beautiful Hyde Barn. The venue held their 3rd annual Wedding Inspiration Day which showcased the gorgeous barn, and their recommended suppliers. Over 300 brides-and-grooms-to-be, along with their families, attended the four-hour event. Where they were treated to an array wedding related activities, such as flower arranging and cupcake decorating, as well lots of yummy food and drink. Certainly a wedding fayre to remember.

The Vanilla Pod Bakery

My stand had a pretty selection of Vanilla Pod Bakery iced tiered cakes as well as my signature 'Naked' Cake or the Mary Berry Cake as I like to call it. I also had a dainty cupcake tower on show too, but they all got eaten before I had a chance to take a photograph! As well as being on hand to chat to the prospective couples, they also got to taste a selection of yummy samples including; Carrot & Walnut, Red Velvet, Lemon Curd Drizzle, Victoria Sandwich and Vanilla Cupcakes. The guests could also got to have a go at piping their own cupcake, I have to say I was very impressed with the outcomes.

Natalie Sisson said this would be challenge and it is certainly living up to it's name!  Finding the time to blog is hard!   Anyway onto day 4, and I thought I would talk about my nine favourite apps/online tools that help with my business and personal wellbeing.  I also think if you are currently in the process of planning your wedding some of these would be a fantastic help. I have put stars next to the ones I think would be most useful.