Are you a fan…
I love baking shows. Sometimes, I get on a streak and watch episode after episode. We switched our television service, and I thought I’d lost a certain channel. It was one of my favorites because they always had holiday baking celebrations. I recently discovered we do have that channel so I’ve been catching up on the Halloween version!
In my family…
My Aunt Lou was a fabulous cook. She had several special dishes she’d prepare for any family get together. One of my favorites is her version of cherry delight. She would make half of it cherry and the other half blueberry. When she passed, I thought the recipe was gone forever. Then, I found her handwritten recipe card in my baking drawer (what…you don’t have a baking drawer). She’d copied that out for me, and I’d forgotten it. It has become one of the traditions at our holiday get togethers. While Aunt Lou was fabulous at desserts and side dishes, I don’t recall her ever baking and decorating cakes. My mom was a whiz at cooking and baking. She showed me how to make a pot roast many, many times, but I have yet to actually produce one as fabulous as hers! My Grandma Luderman baked cookies constantly. She had a chest freezer full of cookies, and we all knew it!
Nailed It…
Netflix has this gloriously fun show called “Nailed It” hosted by the hilarious Nicole Byer. Her sidekick is Jacques Torres. He is a French pastry chef as well as a chocolatier. They usually have a guest judge as well. The premise of the show is three amateur bakers compete for cash while baking in two different challenges. Decorating is one of the keys to winning as is taste. These amateur bakers are really, really bad! And, they don’t really improve much on the show! One of the things I love about the show is the exquisite honesty of Nicole’s first impressions when she tastes the competitors’ bakes. If you haven’t seen the show, I urge you to watch it. It’s also family friendly!
The Great British Baking Show…
That’s the American title. In the UK, apparently, it is called “The Great British Bake Off.” It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? Truthfully, I liked the show better with Mary Berry, Sue Perkins, and Mel Giedroyc. Oh, and there is also Paul Hollywood. He’s definitely not my favorite. I like Prue Leith well enough, but she is just not the same as Mary! I also think Noel Fielding is riotous, but I often wonder if he’s not a royal pain in the you-know-what to the bakers. The premise here is a group of home bakers compete over the course of several weeks in different categories. They complete a skills challenge, a technical challenge, and a showstopper challenge. What I love about this show is the way the contestants help each other. Even though they are competing against each other, they are quick to come to the aid of one another. I don’t see that quite as often on American baking shows!
And, that has what to do with this…
I detest cooking. If I had oodles and schmoodles of money, I would have a personal chef! I hate coming up with meal ideas; I hate shopping for the meals; and, I especially hate preparing the meals. Obviously, I have no problem with eating meals! Baking is another story. I love to bake. I have lots of different recipes for cookies, cakes, and desserts. One of these days, I’m going to try my hand at baking croissants. but, I digress!
Well, this…
I can bake pretty good cookies. I don’t study why my cookies turn out one way this day and completely differently on another day. Remember, I’m lazy! I’ve always thought taste is the final judge, right? So, if you get some of my cookies, they may not look the best, but I can guarantee you the taste will deliver! Have you ever baked an angel food cake from scratch? I made one…once! They take forever and oodles of egg whites! It’s just easier to buy them! Again, my baking is almost always delicious! My decorating…well, that’s another story!
One Easter…
Easter is one of those holidays where we have pared down the festivities. We usually have a small get together so the kiddos can get their Easter baskets. And, yes, I still do Easter baskets for my kids! One year, I decided not to do it. The kids were not happy! They wanted their own Easter baskets and didn’t want the leavings from their own kids! A few years ago, I made an Easter bunny cake. How hard could it be? Well…I’ll let the photos do the talking! On the left is what it should have looked like. On the right is what it looked like with my son’s editing to explain what was what!
Other baking shows…
I watch lots of YouTube, too. Right now, I’m loving Jamie, the Antichef! He has taught himself to cook/bake. Several of his videos center around recreating Julia Childs’ recipes. He is a fan of the f bomb and other cursey words so you might want to take that into consideration if you’re at work or around kiddos! Here is one of my favorites! Nigel has this idea of watching baking shows because there are rarely dogs on them! Jack has a habit of barking at the dogs (or cows or llamas or…well, you name it) on the television. We have watched lots of baking/cooking shows since Covid!
Decorating…
My family loves your basic Christmas sugar cookies. I bake dozens of them. I have learned a few tricks over the years…use lots of flour, roll out the cookies on cutting boards, put shelf liner (the rubber kind) under the cutting boards…and now, I don’t dread it as much. What I don’t like is decorating. I usually make the cookies and the icing, but I leave the icing to the kids and grandkids! We don’t end up with Pinterest-worthy cookies, but no one complains! They are delicious if I do say so myself! The same lack of decorating applies to cakes! I just don’t do it anymore. I did make my grandson a hungry, hungry caterpillar cupcake cake for his first birthday. I made an artist’s palette board for my oldest granddaughter. So, basic decorating is something I can do. I once thought it would be fun to take a cake decorating class, but I would probably be the failure and made to wear a dunce cap!
Grey jeans…
Did you like that segue? Apparently, grey jeans are on trend this year. I don’t care about that because I just like grey pants in any form! This is the reverse side of the kimono I showed here. While I like the other side better, this side is just as vibrant and colorful. I was going to go with a solid color orange or hot pink tee, but then I spotted this striped tank from Talbots. It’s close to ten years old now. I was amazed at how the stripes matched so closely with the stripes on the kimono. This kimono has two tassel-like things which can be attached to both sides via loops. Honestly, the tassels are pretty much just for decoration. They are so slippery; they just won’t stay tied.
The Lewk!
I don’t know why, but I haven’t been into accessories much lately! Today, I went rather minimal with one bracelet and earrings. The bracelet is from Stella & Dot. The earrings are from Target and probably cost less than $5.00. Both the bracelet and earrings are old. The sandals are from Carlos Santana and are also old. You can see them here. If you look closely, you can see where I scraped the edge of one toe when I tripped!
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I didn’t learn to bake at anyone’s knee. I tried to learn how to cook at my mom’s side. Baking is just more my style! I think it’s because I associate baking more with comfort than I do cooking. I also think baking is less complicated. You only have to bake one thing. But, with cooking, you generally are creating a meal which is so much more problematic! Just in case you’re wondering, I have no intentions of ever being on “Nailed It!” and have warned my family to never nominate me! So, can we talk? Do you like to bake more than to cook? Do you have a favorite recipe? Are you more a “Nailed It!” or a “Great British Bake Off” baker? Please leave a comment or two, and we can talk! I promise to respond as soon as possible!
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Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, My Bijou LIfe, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, Being a Wordsmith, and Mummabstylish. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I’m a co-host on the Weekend Traffic Jam (here). I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I also host Final Friday Print Mixing on the last Friday of the month. I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
I tend to enjoy cooking more than baking because cooking is less exacting; that said I am pretty good at both of them and rarely have any flops. We love Nailed It and TGBBS but I often say I’d love to see professionals try and make the Nailed it creations in the time frame given as I just don’t think it’s only the baker’s fault that their projects turn out as awful as they do. My middle son (the baker!) watches tons of baking shows and he found a Youtube video that compares British and American baking shows; not just the contestants but the sound effects and things too. It was hilarious (and with one of the American baking shows the contestants did try to help one struggling baker and were yelled at!).
Oh, Joanne! You and I are on the same page because I almost always say that about Nailed It! They make it look so easy, and you know it just isn’t! But, the bakers are hilarious in how bad they are. That’s interesting to know they were yelled at for helping…I guess it’s what they say about drama! Now, see, I find cooking more exacting…maybe because I do it more often than baking!
Thanks, Joanne, for stopping by!
I love to cook and bake. I can not stand making the same thing every week, so my family never knows what we will be eating. Though we always circle back to some of our favorites and comfort foods. I watched my parents cook together all the time when I was a kid. Guess it paid off because I never attempted until I was 24 years old living in my own place and I was naturally good at it. Baking came with a little more practice and I enjoy when I have the time. I find it to be relaxing. I love cookie and cake decorating (have a bunch of cakes on Pinterest). It always feels good to be able to release my creative side into food.
Love your outfit Marsha! Love Nailed it! Makes me laugh every time.
Thanks, Meagan! Isn’t Nicole Byer something else? I wonder if she and Wes are good friends off camera. I do wish I liked cooking. I have a few basic recipes, but I really need to find some healthier alternatives. I will go looking for you on Pinterest!
I don’t really watch baking shows but I do love to bake! Although I know my skill set and know better than to take on anything too fancy.
I haven’t yet worn my grey jeans this season but I will! I like the way your colorful kimono works with your grey denim!
xo,
Kellyann
Thanks, Kellyann! But, that bunny cake looked so easy! At least we had a good laugh and a good story! I do stick to the basics as I just know I am not a decorator at all!
I love cooking programs! I love The Great Brittish Bake off, but I love The great British Meny better because I love cooking better then baking. I love Mary Berry cooking at home and I loooove every Jamie Oliver show.. We have 24kitchen on the telly and that is fantastic! I could go on and on about cooking! Love it!
I have heard of Jamie Oliver, but I’ve never watched any of his shows. I will have to look for them. I really do like cooking shows…but I just don’t like to cook!
Thanks, Nancy, for coming by!
Love this chic kimono with your grey jeans! I am not a big fan of cooking and have never watched cooking shows. Maybe I should give a go. One time I made the famous lamb cake and my brother-in-law said it looked like a dog instead. Lol! I gave up baking things like that since then. We do love our sugar cookies at Christmas though!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Hahaha!!! I didn’t even attempt that lamb cake because I knew there was no way I could make it look right! But, that bunny cake looked easy enough…I guess it had the last laugh! It seems like there are so many cooking shows on, and they rarely have dogs barking so Nigel is good with that!
Thanks for coming by, Kathrine!
Can you share your sugar cookie recipe?
Thanks!
I will email it to you. I use the one out of the old Betty Crocker cookbook…I received it as a wedding present decades ago!
Gray jeans tend to me a nice contrast with many hues. And comes off like a neutral without resorting to black always. I think they are a lovely shade and I’ve been wearing them for years. What is old is new again and that’s the sentiment with fashion. Those shows sound good. Lately Netflix hasn’t had any great films. They just seem silly and nothing worth watching. The cooking shows sound great especially for ideas for the seasons. Hope your enjoying your weekend. I just celebrated my birthday and saw Dubai. Check out my guide on it if you ever decide to travel here. https://www.bauchlefashion.com/2022/10/5-things-you-should-know-before.html?m=1
I did read your post on Dubai! It looked like a dream come true! I hope you picked up something absolutely fabulous as a gift to yourself! I don’t think we’ve seen many good movies on Netflix either. We tend to watch HBO for movies. And, I haven’t worn grey jeans in a few years because I hadn’t found any I liked. These are really versatile in that they’re a very neutral grey…if that makes sense!
Thanks for stopping by, Heather!
My husband and I love watching cooking shows and enjoying trying out new recipes (could explain the weight we’ve both gained over the past several years). I enjoy baking cookies during the holidays but our current house has a small kitchen. I’m a big fan of grey jeans … had a pair years ago and completely wore them out. A new pair is on my list.
Thanks for coming by, Beth! Oh, my goodness! I feel you on the small kitchen! It seems we are always in each other’s way in this new kitchen! I’m not sure how it will hold up when it’s time to bake those dozens of Christmas cookies! What’s your favorite baking show? I’d love to know!
I haven’t watched that Great British Baking show in some time, but that was always so fun. We are big fans of most of the FoodTV shows … they are addicting! Our local PBS has some wonderful cooking/baking programs also.
Oh, I forgot about PBS. For years, that was my only way to watch good baking shows. Have you seen the series about Julia Childs? I’m not sure which streaming service it’s on, but the show is excellent. I do hope there’s another season!
Thanks for coming by, Beth!
Primo print mix! Looks great with the grey jeans. I don’t like cooking or baking…and neither does my husband. It’s a miracle we keep ourselves fed. Your rabbit cake was a valiant effort 🙂
Thanks, Sally! My poor rabbit cake…it looks so easy, doesn’t it? Oh, I’m so glad to see I have a compatriot when it comes to cooking! I think, if someone told me what to cook and shopped for it, I wouldn’t mind it quite as much!
The kimono is fabulous. It’s nice to have the variety of both sides, I think.
As for baking, we always laugh that I got my husband to marry me by baking him cheesecakes. And then once we were married, it all ended, haha!! That’s not the whole story, but with our clean eating life now, there’s no cheesecake, anymore, that’s for sure.
Which means, I can’t watch those shows because it’s too hard to resist. But I love that the contestants on the UK version will help each other. Now there’s something everyone can take to heart.
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Oh, I watch them but never even attempt to make what they do! So, I can’t use that as an excuse! But, I love that you caught Rob with a cheesecake! Oh, yes, the kindness sometimes brings tears to my eyes. One of the other things the Great British Baking Show brought me was a love of Mason Cash bowls. My son has bought me one, and I bought another. Mike bought me a batter bowl. Now, if I only had a place to display them!
Thanks for coming by, Jodie!
My girls and I love to watch Nailed it! It’s so hilarious! We’ve started the Halloween one last week. I love baking, but I’m not a decorator of cookies or cakes. I stop at a simple frosting job!
I think my favorite part about Nailed It is how real it is! Those moments when the cake is so bad, and you can tell Nicole wants to spit it out but doesn’t…golden! I am with you…fancy is when I add sprinkles!!
Fabulous print mixing, Marsha! This side of the kimono is gorgeous too. Very cool. As for cooking and baking, I dislike them both equally. Ha!
Michelle
funkyfashionstyle.com
Hahaha!!! I do like to bake cookies and easy cakes. But, the fancy things…nope, no way! I cannot believe I completely missed that this was a reversible kimono and was so surprised when I discovered it myself! Can’t wait to check out the new blog!
Well, you already know how much I adore this kimono! And the rest of the post was so much fun to read! I think your bunny cake turned out way better than any bunny cake I could make! But I was cracking up that your son labeled the photo. I used to love both cooking and baking but now menopause has given me so much food aversion that I have lost much interest in cooking. But I will still bake because I am always craving all the sweet things! Like you, what I bake always comes out super delicious but never as pretty as one would want! I make some pretty killer cheesecakes but I always have to load some kind of fruit on top to cover the ugliness! Hahaha I remember one Thanksgiving when I was about 20 years old I found a recipe for apple cider pie that I decided to make. I followed the recipe exactly and it smelled so amazing while it was baking. When the timer dinged and I opened the oven, there was just a sad old empty pie crust sitting there! Apparently the recipe was missing a key ingredient to make he filling set so it evaporated completely instead! I was so embarrassed. But we discovered that all the delicious flavor absorbed into the crust so we just filled the yummy crust with ice cream instead!
Shelbee
Oh, Shelbee, you made lemonade out of lemons…or more like apple pie sundaes out of evaporated apple cider! My youngest son is a character. He did the voicemail message on my phone. I always wonder how many people don’t leave messages because they don’t quite understand it. Others tell me it’s hilarious! Anyway, I did make a Yule log one year that looked pretty dang awesome! It was also quite tasty!
Thanks, my gorgeous friend!
Oh how lovely your jacket is, You look so happy in the whole thing. Thanks for sharing with #Chicandstylish Jacqui x
Thanks so much, Jacqui! It is a favorite jacket of mine. It’s such an unusual color for a denim jacket, isn’t it?