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2017 WENDY CORREEN SMITH. Powered by Blogger.

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Wishing You a Hoppy Easter


From the bottom of our hearts we want to say Thank You for all the kindest messages, phone calls, emails, texts, & comments about our angel baby. The prayers mean the world to us & we cannot even begin to say how much we appreciate them.

As I look back on Magnolia's first Easter I'm reminiscing about the year before when we found out her life had began in a little petri dish. She is our golden egg!

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Wendy Correen Smith
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Not the Pregnancy Announcement We Dreamed of Sharing


I've been away from the blog lately & it hasn't been without good reason.

Several times I've said to Ryan, "I wonder what it'd feel like to pee on a pregnancy test & see two lines!" Never in my life had I stood over the bathroom vanity with a pregnancy test in my hand & felt that ecstatic feeling when two lines appeared. [We found out we were pregnant with Magnolia by a scheduled blood test.] I've shared before that we have a desire in our hearts to grow our family & that our prayers are always for God's guidance & grace. I'm still breastfeeding Magnolia & after my surgery for endometriosis our doctor told us that IVF was the route we needed to go if we wanted to have a baby. Those are two big factors that would lead one to believe natural conception wasn't going to happen for us. After having Magnolia, despite exclusive breastfeeding, my menstrual cycle returned when she was about six months old. The pain of my cycles was gone! I believe God answered our prayers of healing from the endometriosis. Ryan & I weren't necessarily "trying" to get pregnant, but it was certainly something we very much wanted.

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Wendy Correen Smith
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Make The Ordinary Come Alive


I read a poem the other day that got all my emotions flowing. Memories of days at my grandparents house came flooding into my soul. I could make a never ending list of ordinary joys I experienced with them every single day. I have the most vivid memories of them living intentionally with gratitude & joy. They're both in Heaven now, but the way of love they taught me, still overflows from my heart. If I can give Magnolia just a fraction of the love they gave me then I know I'm doing good. This poem has a rich lesson. 


Make The Ordinary Come Alive

Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples, and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.

By William Martin

XO
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Wendy Correen Smith
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An Interview With Sugar Rush Bakery


When I discover a locally owned business or small shop I love I feel a duty to share about them with all my friends & family. There is so much heart + soul + passion that goes into running a small business & I do believe our world needs all of that feel good stuff we can get.


When I first found Sugar Rush Bakery I was daydreaming about Magnolia's first birthday party. It all started when she was probably six months old (yes I started thinking about it way early, it was a dream come true after all) and I sent a message to Nicole, the owner of Sugar Rush, on Instagram. I had originally thought we would do a unicorn party & with time my dream evolved into a Swan Lake Ballet theme. Nicole was such a sweetheart through all of my brainstorming. I literally sent her photos of my ideas & she gracefully brought it all to life. Magnolia's first birthday dessert table was the highlight of her party (after her, of course) & everyone went crazy over how delicious it all tasted. Her kind soul & amazing talent brings me to today's post all about her booming business!


Whether you're shopping for a big wedding cake or a tiny smash cake, or looking for cute sugar cookies for a special occasion, or even thinking of a place to take a loved one for an afternoon date, let me say two words: SUGAR RUSH!




I did a sweet interview with Nicole, to find out more about her bakery, and she is a huge inspiration. You may have seen her on our local news stations before, if not, watch for her - she is adorable!

First things first, tell us about Sugar Rush. 
Sugar Rush is a locally owned gourmet dessert bakery. We specialize in cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and popcorn.  

Your cakes & sweets are delicious. Can you tell us about what you usually have in stock?
In our store we carry anywhere from 18-30 flavors of cupcakes (depending on the day). We also have a large selection of cake pops, fudge, popcorn, and cookies. We carry fudge turtles, chocolate covered Oreos and chocolate covered pretzels. All our products are handmade in house. 


Tell us about your special orders. 
We love custom orders! We bake and decorate all of our cakes and cookies the day the order goes out. We can customize pretty much anything, but our most popular are our cakes.  We make cakes as small as tiny smash cakes all the way up to huge tiered cakes for weddings. My personal favorite item to decorate is our sugar cookies. 

All of your sweets are beautifully decorated, where do you find your inspiration?
I find inspiration from many places. Sometimes a design just comes to me as I go. Other times I find inspiration from different fabrics, wrapping paper, and miscellaneous objects. Sometimes I also find inspiration from other cake and cookie decorator's work. 




There are so many yummy cake & icing flavors, what is your favorite cake flavor combo?
Our bestselling cupcake flavor is our salted caramel which I will recommend until the end of time, however I am more of a lighter-sweeter type of person. I LOVE our lemon cake. Sometimes I prefer our fresh strawberry or raspberry icing and other times I just want the cake without the icing! 

What has been your best story/experience since opening Sugar Rush?
Sugar Rush has blessed me in so many ways. The stories, laughs, and love created because of the company amazes me. We have spent sleepless nights inside the store working to get orders done (blasting Pandora's Beyonce radio station, of course). We have dance parties which have included leaps and toe touches. The coolest thing that has happened to me since opening Sugar Rush would definitely be overhearing strangers talk about my bakery out in public and not knowing I was the owner. Or seeing others recommend my bakery on Facebook or whatnot. It is always very surreal.



How do you know how many items to make each day?
After having our store for almost 7 years it has been easier to see trends in sales and seasonal trends. However, it is still hard to guess and get it right every single day. We keep our ovens on for 2 shifts of the day so that if we do run out we are able to make some more of that flavor.

What do you think is the most important tip for a successful bakery?
I have always thought the people is what make the biggest difference. Surround yourself with great staff and you cannot go wrong! When your staff cares about the business just as much as you do the service and care they give is second to none. I also believe that presentation is equally as important as taste.




What is your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment is one thousand percent the employees that became friends that became family. I am not sure how I was blessed with such amazing people in my life. They push me to be better, to do better, and stop and enjoy the small things. My staff past and present are truly my best friends. We text and talk late into the night, give each other life advice, go shopping together and probably my favorite tradition: have bachelor watching parties every Monday night together.


The passion & talent infused into her work is something to be admired! I hope you enjoyed reading her interview as much as I had sharing it!

The majority of her marketing is through social media & I hope you'll follow her on Facebook & on Instagram @sugarrushkc. She's great about responding to price inquiries & ideas via messages. She makes it all look so easy & it was such a pleasure working with her to bring Magnolia's first birthday vision to life. Now I'm just dreaming up a new celebration to get another cake!

Sugar Rush Bakery is located at 13778 S Blackbob, Olathe, Kansas & telephone is 913.839.2158

I know your sweet tooth is craving some of her creations, so go get some!

XO 

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Magnolia's First Birthday


Magnolia's first birthday party was over a month ago & we recently got her photos back from our photographer. Now we get to relive the celebration all over again. It was such a special day & I'm so grateful we got to party with our loved ones, in such a charming venue, while we thanked God for the gift of her in our lives.

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