Well…here I am. I never thought that one day I would start a blog, which is actually quite surprising if you know me. I used to write heaps of poems and short stories so you’d think I’d have some sort of platform especially since blogging was the way to go back then. But then I also never thought that one day I would have my own cupcake business so there you go! If there’s one thing that is certain about life, it’s that it’s unpredictable!

If you don’t already know me, I’m Lynn, mum of 2 boys, podiatrist, face behind Treats by Lynn, and now, blogger! I’m a foodie, massive Lord of the Rings geek, and I love reading and music. I’m also passionate about motherhood and advocating for mental health illness.

So when deciding what to write for my very first blog post, I thought what better topic to start with than the story of how this all began! And by this, I mean cupcake decorating, Treats by Lynn, and, I guess, even this blog!

When I think back to my childhood, some of my favourite memories are found in the kitchen. One in particular, was baking banana cakes with my mum. Mum loved baking, and gifting people with her homemade cakes was part of her love language. Growing up around that, I guess it was only natural that I would end up the same way! I took things a step further though; I didn’t just want to bake, I wanted to ice and decorate too!

I pottered around and had the odd play with cupcake and cake decorating, but it wasn’t something I started taking seriously until 2017. I’m not going to get all into it, but long story short, 2017 was when I had my first experience (that I was aware of) with depression and mental health illness. I tried A LOT of things including professional counseling, but nothing really seemed to help. In trying to find a distraction, I thought I would set myself a challenge and learn something new so I ordered a whole piping tip set and a load of piping bags, and decided to start with a simple two-toned rosette.

It doesn't seem like much now, but back then, the joy and satisfaction I got from achieving that…there were no words. Coincidentally, 2017 was also my first year with a Kitchen Aid stand mixer (seriously, SUCH a game changer)! So with all that in mind, I threw myself into baking and decorating. After all, practice makes perfect, right? Not long after this, I discovered the Mental Awareness Foundation was doing a Walk for Awareness, so some friends and I signed up, and Treats by Lynn was formed as a baking fundraiser for the walk.

Well, the joy I got from baking, decorating, and then seeing people's reactions when they got their treats? Not to mention the fulfillment from giving back to my community and helping a cause I cared about? That was more therapeutic for me than anything I had previously tried.

I had found my passion, and I had found a dream; and that dream eventually became a calling in 2019 when God told me to “Go start that cupcake business”! And here I am now with my fully licensed home-caking business!

And there’s so much more to come! I’ve got so many things in the works right now that all come back to my missions:
1. Spreading love and joy
2. Giving back to God and my community
3. Advocating motherhood and mental health
 
This blog is the first of several more things to come this year (with the next thing “dropping” VERY soon *hint hint*)! Not only is writing therapeutic for me, but I’m hoping it will give me a better platform to connect with you, and allow me to pour more value in your lives through my words (because let’s face it, social media is very much a picture/video-oriented platform).

So make sure you SUBSCRIBE to receive alerts for new blog posts, because I will be sharing FREE tips and tricks, recipes, relatable stories, and pretty much all things baking, motherhood, and mental health!