Or Nataliaaa as my closest friends and family would say; named after my great-grandmother and raised by the grandmother who pasted on to me the joys of baking.  

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As a child of the 90s growing up in Inglewood, California, baking with my grandmother was the closest thing to home I ever knew. From taking out the ingredients that sat at room temperature, to waiting patiently by the oven for the slightest trace of lightly browned butter crust, baking with my grandmother was like a well-orchestrated symphony that played effortlessly throughout my childhood. I never really got to pick my own cakes or the flavors and fillings that went in them but the smells of fresh baked goods in the morning, and the pairing of breads and cakes with hot coffee or tea, flourished in me an inner feeling of comfort  & belonging that I knew I wanted to bestow onto others. The utter bliss of watching her bake so confidently, gliding about the kitchen singing & baking all sorts of things that brought everyone together. Captivated by it all,  unknowingly kindled in me a love and passion for baking. But it wasn't until my daughters' first birthday, that I truly found my calling.

Being the wildly creative & imaginative person that I was, I hand-designed all of her first birthday decorations from nothing but cardstock, glitter & glue. Everything from the giant paper-mache cupcake pinata to the hand-crafted cupcake invitations, centerpieces, goody bags, and decorations all elaborately executed to the utmost detail.  I had everything but the cake and desserts, and while I  knew I wanted something custom, what I didn't know was where to get it or if a place like that even existed. All that was missing was my vision of the perfect cake, a collection of cupcakes all put together to create what looked like a giant Cupcake, frosted together and capable of pulling apart instead of cutting and serving, convenient for a child's first birthday party at the park.

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I remember driving all over the place hitting every bakery on the map from Inglewood to Anaheim and no one wanted to take my order because they felt it was "too complicated".  Personally, I thought the cupcakes frosted all as one was easier than my original idea of having a sculpted giant cupcake on top of a regular cake, and while I considered doing it all myself, I was already doing more than just setting up, decorating, and hosting the event.