Jennifer Strauss is a wonderful woman that I am privileged to call my friend. She is this amazing chef that started out as a farm girl in rural Iowa and attended culinary school in Chicago. She owns the Carefree Patisserie in Valley Junction and is a great mom of 2. To be a business owner in DSM is hard enough..not to mention being a great mom too. She never fails to amaze me...she can be planning a fabulous birthday party for her 7 year old daughter one day, then making a $1000 one-of-a kind wedding cake the next. At last year's fair she sculpted the butter cow one day, then her 4 year old son got a blue ribbon for showing a cow the next. AMAZING! She is a hoot to go out to eat with too! First of all she is extremely generous and always manages to pay for half my dinner. She knows all the best restaurants in town and always seems to get special treatment from all the chefs. One of her favorites is Bistro Montage on Ingersoll...I haven't gone there with her yet, but I'll let you know how it goes. It's fun to go anywhere with her..because people will shout out..hey it's the cupcake lady??? She knows more people in this town than I do and I teach 130 toddlers every week...and I'm from DSM! She specializes in cupcakes (apparently they are all the rage now) and can make the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen.
I know Jen loves me..but she loves to giggle at my culinary expertise??? I made the mistake of inviting a pastry chef (Jen)to a huge (50+) birthday party for my twins 3rd birthday. We had it at the church and did a tiny tot class, crafts, pizza, and my first homemade sheet cake. It was a success of a party buy the cake was not my best work and I asked her to help serve it. Apparently flipping the cake out on a dish towel and frosting and serving it on one was not the classiest thing I've ever done :) LOL Also, my time consuming perfect shell piping was not "professional" like I thought it was. I can't even say "shell piping" around Jen...I think it's a naughty word around pastry chefs. I've come a long way in my kid's cake decorating, thanks to Jen. I still insist on making them myself, but fabulous Jen lets me decorate them at her shop...God Bless Her. I have been told by Jen that I show promise in my drawing skills and I can draw almost anything on a cake...she still helps me a little though. Jen and I met at St. Mark and our kids are the same age...so Jen and I were preggers at the same time **what a sight** I believe God brought us together, to learn from one another, and to help each other out. I believe God brings friends and people into our lives everyday. Friendships need cultivating and time and energy, and sometimes at the end of a busy day, we don't have the energy. In my life, if a friend crosses my mind, I believe it is God reminding me of that relationship and that gift. i immediately say a silent prayer for that friend, if I have time, I call them or text them and let them know that I'm thinking of them. Thank God for the friends He's put in your life. Friendships are an important part of our life and need to be nourished...call a friend today!!!!!!! :)
I know Jen loves me..but she loves to giggle at my culinary expertise??? I made the mistake of inviting a pastry chef (Jen)to a huge (50+) birthday party for my twins 3rd birthday. We had it at the church and did a tiny tot class, crafts, pizza, and my first homemade sheet cake. It was a success of a party buy the cake was not my best work and I asked her to help serve it. Apparently flipping the cake out on a dish towel and frosting and serving it on one was not the classiest thing I've ever done :) LOL Also, my time consuming perfect shell piping was not "professional" like I thought it was. I can't even say "shell piping" around Jen...I think it's a naughty word around pastry chefs. I've come a long way in my kid's cake decorating, thanks to Jen. I still insist on making them myself, but fabulous Jen lets me decorate them at her shop...God Bless Her. I have been told by Jen that I show promise in my drawing skills and I can draw almost anything on a cake...she still helps me a little though. Jen and I met at St. Mark and our kids are the same age...so Jen and I were preggers at the same time **what a sight** I believe God brought us together, to learn from one another, and to help each other out. I believe God brings friends and people into our lives everyday. Friendships need cultivating and time and energy, and sometimes at the end of a busy day, we don't have the energy. In my life, if a friend crosses my mind, I believe it is God reminding me of that relationship and that gift. i immediately say a silent prayer for that friend, if I have time, I call them or text them and let them know that I'm thinking of them. Thank God for the friends He's put in your life. Friendships are an important part of our life and need to be nourished...call a friend today!!!!!!! :)
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