Whew guys… what a whirlwind the past couple months have been.

The energy was flowing fast and furious from the biz’s anniversary right on into the holiday season.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Tremonte’s first birthday with me in November. The day was super fun and busy, popping up at Fred. I made two birthday cakes and handed out free slices to customers. I still ran out in a matter of minutes!

I always say, the most important part of this business is the community around it. Seeing so many familiar faces, new friends and old, come out to celebrate Tremonte’s, was deeply meaningful. Hearing about what my cookies mean to you, and seeing the joy they bring you, is everything to me.

Tremonte’s birthday was followed by an absolute banger of a holiday season. I launched new, special holiday cookie boxes, which sold out immediately. I managed to open up a second wave of sales, which also sold out right away. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who bought Christmas cookies. And my sincere apologies to those who missed it. I know what a pain it is to have to be online at a certain time to get an order. I can’t even handle signing my kids up for swim lessons for this very reason. (Luckily I’m married to someone who has the fortitude to withstand the constant refreshing).

Truth be told, I had to turn down quite a few special orders and pop-up opportunities over the holidays. I really hate to do that… but there’s only so much one girl can bake. And that’s a pretty great problem to have.

I had three Christmas cookie pop-ups in December. My pop-up at Big John’s PFI was my biggest day yet. A new PR, if you will. I had 480 cookies on pre-order and sold over 250 in two hours. So, I baked over 730 cookies fresh for one day.

If you haven’t yet sent me a message or pic of your Christmas cookies, please do!! I would love to see how you celebrated with your cookies and hear how you liked them. I accept all feedback- positive and constructive.

By the time I closed up shop on my last pop-up before Christmas, I was complete toast. I had pushed through the previous months of prep-work, willing myself not to get sick. So, of course, as soon as I was done, I crashed.

In fact, I’m still recovering.

I’ve traded working until ten every night for falling asleep on the floor in my kids’ room during their bedtime.

In completing a full year of business and two holiday seasons… I’ve learned a lot. I’m carrying what worked into the new year and ditching what didn’t.

It’s time to hit a little reset on the biz

For one thing, I’ve learned that the potential for business in December is pretty much unlimited. You know what people like at Christmas? Cookies! So, next year I’ll try to stockpile even more frozen dough ahead of time. Allowing me to do even more orders.

On the flip side though… last January was slow. Being slow, of course, isn’t ideal. If I know that’s how it’s going to be, though, I’ll use that time to recover. I’ll prep for busier times and get some R&D done. And I’ll focus more on growing the special order biz and less on pop-ups.

Speaking of pop-ups, I’m planning to do things a little differently this year. Pop-ups are great because I love getting out into the community and connecting with my customers. And I can usually sell a lot of product in a short amount of time. But, all the prep work, packing up and transporting all my product, setting up and tearing down for each day… it takes a lot out of me! I’m a forty-year-old with two young children at home. The energy reserves are already wearing thin! So, I’m probably going to do a few less pop-ups this year.

I’m also going to be pretty strategic about when and where to pop-up. I haven’t sorted it all out yet, but I’ll update my events page and Instagram with all the info.

When it comes to special orders, I don’t think I’ve done the best job of promoting them. But, they are almost always available (unless I’m super booked or on vacation). And I love special orders because, in doing them, I get to be a small part of your celebrations. Or just be there to fulfill your cookie needs! Also, special orders allow me to make a set amount of product. No fear of selling out, or of going home with unsold cookies.

So, check out my options for special orders and tell all your friends!

Something I’ve had the opportunity to do this year are corporate gifts and events. These are great, large special orders for me. If you know anyone who’s looking to treat their employees or clients, send them my way.

By the way, if you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for in my online shop, drop me a line. Maybe you want one of my olive oil cakes, my famous rainbow cookie cake, or a batch of one of my holiday varieties. Send me an email with what you’re thinking. With a few days extra lead time (in case I need to grab an ingredient or two that I don’t always have on hand), I’d be happy to make your Italian cake and cookie dreams come true.

Alright, enough with the shop talk.

It’s a new year, which means it’s resolution time. To be honest, I’ve tended to think making New Year’s resolutions is not “for me.” Because, whenever I’ve done it, I’ve stuck with my resolution for a week or so, and then promptly forgotten about whatever it was I was going to do…

But, I actually do have a resolution of sorts, for the blog. Since I’m sharing it with you, my blog readers, maybe I’ll actually hold myself accountable?!

This past year was really about building my business. In doing so, I’ve lost track of other, more creative, aspects of this endeavor (and my life).

When I started the blog, it was stories and recipes. But, the past year has been all business updates. I’ve really just been scrambling to get the info out.

But, I’ve actually got a big back-log of recipes and stories I’ve been wanting to write up.

What do you think? Would you like to see a little more variety here on the blog?

Maybe you subscribed to the blog for the recipes and stories. And all you got were a bunch of boring business updates. Ha! Or maybe you like hearing about what’s going on, on the biz front. Either way, I hope to provide a little of column A, a little of column B this year.

So, we’ll see how it goes. I’ve never been good at sitting down and doing computer work. Truly, every job I’ve ever enjoyed, whether in a kitchen, a lab, a restaurant, or as a coach, has involved continuous physical movement.

Since I’ve had kids my ability to sit still has gotten even worse. Something about the constant physical doing, and urgency, in taking care of young children, has instilled an even stronger impatience with sedentary work. Parents, is this normal? Or is it just me?

So, even though it goes against my nature to sit down and write, I really do want to document my stories and recipes. Especially the ones with strong family connections. It’s my way of preserving them. And I really want to share it all with you.

Do you have New Year’s resolutions? Do you think they’re silly, like I do, and yet have them anyway? What are yours?