Today I’m making my daughter’s birthday cake. Two six‑inch chocolate sponges — the same design as last year because she requested it again, just in different colours . And filled with salted caramel and salted caramel buttercream. Last year's was chocolate and cherry. (A returning client. My favourite client. My most loyal and yet demanding client.) And because I spend so much time encouraging other people to value their time, I thought I'd time how long it would take me

International Women’s Day always brings up a mix of feelings for me. There’s the celebration — the joy of seeing women lift each other up. But there’s also the reality: empowerment is often talked about far more than it’s lived. And this year, as I step into a new chapter with Flourish & Bloom Kitchen, I’ve been reflecting on what empowerment actually looks like in practice. Not the slogans. Not the branding. The behaviours. One thing that’s helped me understand my own approa

There comes a moment in many careers when you start wondering if it’s time to leave the day job and finally give your side hustle the space it’s been asking for. Not in a dramatic “quit your job” way, but in a quiet, persistent way — the kind that makes you question whether the work you do on the side is actually the work you want to build a life around. I’ve been pondering that question for a while now, balancing the security of a stable job with the pull of something more