About Me

Our little loves, Lucien and Coco
 

My name is Melissa, I'm a 30 something married girl. Since my husband and I moved to Washington from California in 2006, our lives have changed big time. I went from pursuing an acting career living in Los Angeles to doing chores like cleaning out the chicken coop or shoveling dirt in the garden, and cooking and baking most days. It's been a real trip and also incredibly rewarding. We live on a small farm with 2 dogs, Lucien a Papillon and Coco a mixed breed Terrier. We also have a flock of free range chickens.

I guess I'm kind of like Eva Gabor in Green Acres.

I've always loved cooking and baking but didn't make it a priority when living in Los Angeles where there is a great restaurant on every block, practically. And since I was in the entertainment industry, I was frequently dieting.

Since we've moved to Washington, food, cooking and baking have really become a passion of mine. This blog has become a place for me to share some of the recipes I love. I only post recipes here that I really and truly recommend. This blog is mainly a baking blog. My favorite thing to bake is cupcakes. My pet peeve is a dry cupcake, so all of my cupcake recipes are super moist and full of flavor. I also post a savory item now and then. When cooking, I like to use seasonal ingredients, I keep a vegetable and herb garden, and I shop at local farms as much as possible. I'm a DIY kind of girl at heart, so I've also shared some of my recipes for making homemade ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, and even mascarpone cheese, as well as other DIY items.

I have a love of vintage dishes, I started collecting them before I moved out of my fathers house. In April of 2012 I started an Etsy shop called, House of Lucien where I started selling vintage dishes and housewares. I've been loving it, it's been a real joy. I feel incredibly lucky to have a job with flexibility that I truly enjoy doing.


Lucien


I've always loved quotes, so I like to post a quote with every recipe. I particularly like quotes that are uplifting and inspiring. One of my favorite quotes is the famous Gandhi quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I'd like to live in a world where people inspire others, so I have to be that change.

Canning jams and jellies, making homemade candy for the holidays or banana bread for a friend coming to visit, watching the hens run in the yard, spending time with the dogs, these are some of the things that make me happy.


Coco
 
 

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Melissa.
My name is Paula and I bake. When I'm sad, happy, hungry, bored...I bake and the I bake some more. I bake cakes for a small restaurant in my neck of the woods (CT) and having two little girls and a husband with a sweet tooth, I bake on a regular basis for breakfast, birthdays, you name it.
And when I'm not baking...I'm checking out baking blogs!
But one day, I bumped into yours and the search was over. I've tried soooo many recipes for so many sites before but never, never before I found a blog I can completely trust for flavor and texture. Your recipes are truly trustworthy, every time.
Thank you very much for your hard work and your kindness in sharing your gift.
Sincerelly,
Paula C-P

The Alchemist said...

Paula - Thank you so much for your message and the kind words. I'm so glad you like my recipes and that they work for you, that's so great. Thanks so much for letting me know!

Hugs, Melissa

Unknown said...

Here's my favorite, though I haven't read all of your posts yet to know if it's included here.
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it." Goethe

Love to Travel said...

Thank you for your delicious cupcakes. I made them for my first grand child's baby shower and other special events and now I'm making them for his First Birthday,!

Unknown said...

Are you still baking