It's Complicated

Last night Bill and I watched a movie called "It's Complicated". If you haven't seen this movie, it's a romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. All in all, a pretty good movie; it was funny, it was romantic, it was misleading!!!

Meryl Steep's character owns a bakery. It's nice bakery. It's a big, fancy shmancy bakery with all the bells and whistles; it's a baker's dream, but for yours truly, I'm sorry to say…
… the dream was a sham. A big ole' blemish on the frosted face of baking.

Okay, so, stuff happens, yadda, yadda, until Meryl Streep and Steven Martin have smoked a joint before attending a party so, of course, they're hungry. Guess where they end up? That's all well and fine. Wouldn’t you? (Some of you have - wink, wink!) Hey, we're not complaining! Potheads make awesome customers for a business like ours!

Anyhoo, it's now the middle of the night and Meryl Streep and Steven Martin are inside the bakery and… WHOA!!!

Look at all those cakes, and cupcakes, and baked goods; decorated and piled high in the middle of the store. That stuff isn't fresh baked! Seriously, what preservatives have to be in that cake mix and frosting for it to just be sitting out all night? Do her customers know they could be purchasing day old cake? Who knows how many days old it might be? Those shelves should be empty!

I'll move on…

Meryl Streep offers to make Steve Martin anything he wants, even if it's not on the menu.
First of all, if it's not on the menu, how do you know you have all the ingredients? Say you walked in to The Little Tart after smoking a big fatty (I heard that reference in a movie once - for real.) and you ask me to make - oh, let's say - one of our delicious light and fluffy pumpkin pies. Well, I would say, "I'm sorry, but I cannot do that for you right now because I do not have the ingredients on hand, however, if you know you'll be in the Haliburton Highlands or surrounding area for Thanksgiving you might consider ordering one, but do so soon because orders have already started coming in."

Fortunately Steve Martin orders something from the menu; warm chocolate croissants. True to her word, Meryl Streep gets to work. Now, if you have never made the puff pastry needed for croissants, let me tell you, it's a LOT of work. There's a lot of rolling, and chilling, and rolling, and chilling. It is a process and it takes hours! But not for Meryl Streep. She starts off with this pre-made square of dough, gives it a quick roll with a rolling pin then runs it through a very nice, very shiny, rolling machine because, I guess, a rolling pin takes too much effort. I mean, you've probably ordered that dough pre-made off a truck, why over exert yourself?

You can do that you know? We don't. But you can! You can order pre-made, or frozen, or even par baked (that's right, that is a bakery term we learned a couple of years ago. It means the item will arrive partially baked and you just stick it in the oven and finish it.) You don't even have to know how to make the dough. You don't even have to know how to bake!
"Hey, it might be fun to open a bakery and I'll just order everything off a truck, stick it in the oven and call it fresh baked!

Really?

Really?!

It's obvious to me "It's Complicated" wasn't referring to the baking.

Ahem. Where was I?

So, after very little effort (I won't even get in to the fact that they didn't let the croissants proof before sticking them in the oven.) Meryl Streep and Steven Martin sit down to warm chocolate croissants. And there's some kissing and stuff.

Oh wait a minute… even… if it's not… on the menu… I get it now!

Dirty girl.

Autumn Marks its Territory

A Rainy Sunday in the Haliburton Highlands

Okay, so it's a little grey, a little cold, a little rainy. But you know what? It's alright because what we are witnessing is simply autumn marking its territory. We see this push and shove between summer and autumn play out every year; autumn is ready to move in but summer isn't ready to leave. It's like watching a rerun of a sports event. You already know how it's going to end, but it's still exciting to watch.

One of the things I love about living here in the Haliburton highlands is watching the seasons change because it is so dramatic. Summer will strive to hold on; clear blue skies, blazing sunshine sparkling on clear lakes while soft breezes tickle the vast and variant greenery. But autumn has something so endearing, so magnificent; we forgive its impetuous damp and drizzle because it delights us with a dazzling display, painting our landscape in striking hues of amber and crimson. Autumn is an artist!

 Of course winter eventually gets tired of watching all this push and shove and sends in its minion clouds to drop a big heap of snow everywhere. And that's kind of cool too. Cool and cold and white and cold, and then it gets colder, and it just keeps getting colder, nipping at anything not covered by three layers of heavy winter clothing. It is still and white as far as the eye can see, the car is buried, it doesn't want to start, and the dog doesn't car how cold it is, he has to go… right now! Get out the shovel because that's the only way anyone is going anywhere today.

Suddenly this grey, rainy doesn't seem so bad, does it?

 

 

Thank You For Another Successful Summer!

Seven years ago we took a leap of faith; faith in ourselves, faith in everything I had learned in my mother's kitchen, and faith in you, our most valued customers. We crossed our fingers and hoped to survive here because failing wasn't an option.

Seven years later we opened our doors, as we do every year, with trepidation. What if no one comes? But you have never failed to come through for us.

In the beginning we couldn't have anticipated the response we have received from people who have supported us since before we became The Little Tart, from people who have supported us since we became The Little Tart, and everyone who has come through our door over the past seven years. It's overwhelming and you have moved me to tears more than once this summer with your enthusiasm toward our baking and the wonderful feedback we have received. It gives Bill and I a proud sense of accomplishment. 

Bill and I are grateful and privileged to have our baking be a part of your summer traditions, your celebrations, and your special times with family and friends. We are truly humbled because we know without you, this tiny little pastry shop in the middle of nowhere would never be able to survive. We do our very best to offer the best baked goods we can create, we do our best to offer friendly and courteous customer service, we do our best to make you feel welcome and make your visit a pleasant experience, but our success is really all because of you.

Thank you so very much for another fabulously successful summer. Yes, it was our very best so far!

But we're not done! Our fall season begins next weekend!

If you'll be visiting the Haliburton Highlands this fall, we hope you'll pay us a visit and we'll look forward to seeing you. If this summer was your last hurrah until next year, we wish you a safe and happy fall and winter and hope you'll be joining us next year!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to give my best friend a hug and thank him for being such a great partner (in life and in business), then I'm going to go hug my dog because he needs it!

Have a most wonderful rest of your day!