Changes

Nine months away from my blog and so much has changed and will continue to keep changing as the rest of this year progresses.

Yesterday was Bake My Day's 1 year anniversary and today I declared to the world that we are pulling the plug on Bake My Day Seattle. Over the past few months there's been so many developments in our lives and our business and a lot of things have become more clear to us as time went by.

Russ' time here in the Pacific Northwest is nearly over and Washington orders are so hard to come by (he's been looking since the beginning of the year!) because the Navy presence up here is so tiny that we have faced the reality that we will be leaving the PNW. Rather than fight the tide and find a way to to stay here and perhaps be separated even longer, we have decided to close up shop, at least in Seattle.

I'm keeping Bake My Day and hope to revive it wherever I end up and Mom will do the same wherever she ends up as well. It's all up in the air, I know! But, the bottomline is that Bake My Day Seattle is ending. Leading up to our ultimate decision, everything was glaringly obvious that Bertha Mae was running its course. I tried to hold on because we have both worked so damn hard to bring this dream into reality and I didn't want to quit.

For the last six weeks we have been grieving over this decision. I lay awake at night feeling the full weight of my disappointment over the way things have turned out. Deep down, I know this is the right choice but it doesn't dull the pain.

Sometimes I feel angry and wish that I'd never undertaken this endeavor because being a Navy wife, you can never bank on staying anywhere. I'm trying to see things in a more positive light these days. If we had never started this journey, we would have never gotten to experience parking under the Space Needle, vending from Pike Place, or catering someone's wedding. We catered for some famous companies and despite the pressure, had a blast. We got to watch people's faces light up when they ordered a cookie dough or Nutella brownie. 

Days are getting easier as the decision settles into my mind and becomes our new reality. The massive 'to do' list keeps me occupied so I don't have to think about how horrible it'll be watching someone else drive Bertha Mae away. 

But, Bake My Day will live again... somewhere! And until then we just have to deal with the changes.

Launched

Hello again! I've been absent for a while but I'm sure you are all okay with it, it's not like you're refreshing this page and waiting with bated breath for me to post.

So yeah, August 9th we officially launched Bake My Day. The days leading up until our launch were so exhausting! We had so much work to do; not only to prep our products but also to prep the truck and make sure it was in working order as well as the generator. 

The worst decision we could have made was the bake at 5am the morning of opening. I broke into tears twice and was heinous and stressed for the entire morning. We had to cut two menu items because we had no room to bake anything and the ovens suuuuck at our kitchen. The cookies came out horribly and we had to adjust the baking time and babysit everything in the oven. It was awful. 

But, the day did turn out quite well! We sold a lot, had a little bit of leftovers (just because we had no idea the quantity to make at all). Our view was spectacular though. :)

My brother captured our very first truck transaction! 

Contrary to what this picture might say, I am not miserable in my truck- just extremely exhausted and warm because we were facing the sun all day. 

After sleeping for two hours the night before, getting up at 3:30 to leave at 4 and arrive at the kitchen around 5 to bake for four hours and leave around 10 to arrive at our site and set up... and then to work the truck for five hours... we were all just dead on our feet.

The entire ride home not a word was spoken, I just drove on and then we unloaded the truck, scrounged for dinner and went to sleep where I slept for about 12 hours to recover from the days events. 

Since then we've taken the truck out two more times and I think things are going pretty well. It's a lot of guesstimating about how much to make at certain sites and we're still learning and probably will learn something new everyday. 

I'm hoping as I learn to work this schedule that I'll be able to pop back in here a little more often!

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

The countdown is on, we've got a huge week ahead. Our opening date is officially Saturday August 9, at 11 am. We're only five days away but I still have a to-do list a mile long and I'm so exhausted that I don't feel like doing anything. 

We have two designated spots we're going to be parking at.

1.) 1250 Denny Way, Seattle
This spot is an empty lot that's going to be turned into a substation next year. Right now though, curators from Portland have turned the spot into a place for public art and performances. 

The green box is where we'll be parking, not to scale, obviously. 

2.) 516 Broad St; Ride The Ducks Seattle

We will be parked almost in the shadow of the Space Needle, it's a dream spot! We went down there last weekend on a Saturday to see how the traffic would be and it was really busy. I'm hoping we will definitely be easily seen on that busy corner!

Right now we've got a set schedule for 3 days a week but we can definitely pick up other spots as they come available. Some people double book themselves and sell their spots for a discount at a certain place for the day so we might be able to pick up some places that way. 

It's not a commonly known fact that food truck owners have to pay to rent the spots they part at. Sometimes the property owners even expect a percentage of sales. Sometimes they set stipulations on the spot such as we can't sell anything pre-packaged like drinks or chips that could compete with another business nearby. 

There's a lot more that goes into owning a food truck than buying a truck and hitting the road. I wish it were that easy!

Generating Problems

Let's go back to this past Sunday... 

I bought our 4000 watt generator at Harbor Freight for $299 plus a 1-year Extended Service Plan (plus a $25 wheel kit). It came to a horrific total of $409 but large payments I'm sadly getting used to. But, it's necessary to get the truck up and running so if it gets me closer to making money, it's what I have to do!

Sunday was the day of truth- the first day when we would test our power and plumbing and see what happened.

This baby weighed (what I thought was a whopping) 196 lbs empty. Lifting it into the truck was extremely hard but doable, even alone because I'm a beast but whatever. 

I have no pictures from Sunday because it was a terribly annoying letdown of a day. We got the generator powered up (I had to figure out how to put the engine oil in and fill it with gas along with the starting procedure) and turned on the breakers in the truck only to discover not all of our outlets work, most importantly the one that powers the water heater. 

... ugh... 

It was hot at the storage place where we've got the truck parked which made our experience even more extremely miserable. Just the thought of having to drive our truck back to Auburn and to the guy who supposedly "fixed" our electrical and plumbing was exhausting and infuriating. Early morning traffic heading down to Auburn could take over double the time.

Oh, and it did. It took us 1.5 hours to drive what should have taken 35 minutes.

We drove the truck down there on Tuesday while banging our heads against our steering wheels for him to troubleshoot and figure out why the hell everything wasn't working for the 5K we paid him to make everything.... work. 

It took him about two hours to redistribute the electrical load in the truck and then we were left with a measly 10 amps of power to spare (and not even our coffeemaker or microwave hooked up).... even though we told him everything we wanted to power on the truck and he assured us that a 3000 watt generator would do the job. So now he told us that 4000 watts isn't powerful enough. Grr.  

He checked to make sure the water came out of the faucets, they worked and then we said goodbye to him and even though he's a nice guy, I really don't want to see him again. Like, ever again.

After resigning ourselves to the fact we needed to get another generator, we then had to deal with the fact we couldn't return it full of fuel and engine oil. We had to buy a siphon and siphon everything out... which took me a good while.

And then stupid crap happens to me like this. The gas spout somehow broke apart and is now living at the bottom of the can. Because, that's our luck. 

Then we took the generator back to Harbor Freight opened, barely used, but free of oil or fuel. With my extended service plan I bought they allowed me to return it with no restock fee and upgrade it to a 8000 watt generator. We also bought an ATV ramp on sale for $45 that should help get the generator up into the truck.

Our new generator has been dubbed The Monster because that's what she is. She clocks in at 236 lbs while empty. She's a beast. Maybe I should call her The Generager?

Anyway, we got her to the truck and I put the wheel kit on, fueled and oiled her up just like the last generator. I'm becoming a pro at this. 

I worked in the only shade provided to me- between the truck and the storage place fence. It worked.

She came on and worked very well, everything came on. But, one thing came on too much. Our water heater was dribbling water all over the floor. We realized that the two connectors on the top weren't closed very well allowing water to freely flow out onto the floor. Also, our hand washing sink's drainage pipe is cut too long and doesn't match up to the rest of the plumbing well. 

So... there's always something else to fix. 

But, at least those things aren't deal breakers and we will be able to open on time.

BUT STILL! I feel like I should get some of that 5K back that I paid my truck builder. :(

Tour Ride

Hop aboard, everyone! It's time to take a little truck tour!

We've painted and installed our curtains, our lovely family photos, and cushy floor mats (found at ULINE.com for $20 each) to make the hours standing and serving at the windows a little more bearable on our feet.

These frames I found at the thrift store and tried to find the lightest-weight frames I could find. They were about .99-$1.99 each. I sanded them down, repainted, and put some crackle medium on them to match the menu boards. Then I put in the pictures of our truck's namesake, Bertha Mae (my Mom's grandma). 

Here's the view from the rear of the truck showing our bakery racks and vinyl covers. I haven't hung up the hooks or clock yet as I haven't decided where I want everything to go yet. 

The hooks are just barely hanging on in some old holes that were already on the wall. 

We got some bins for more storage- cleaners, packaging, anything else. I secured it with a bungie cable that'll keep things from sliding while the truck is in motion. 

We've got a trash can and some more drawer storage secured with a cord as well. 

Here's how we hung up the curtains: I found some hooks that could screw into the hollow form of the window without compromising anything and a curtain rod that would span the window. I ended up putting in four hooks just to make sure it was all supported. The rod fit pretty well in the hooks but I used a rubber band to just make sure it wouldn't pop out of there. It's not very noticeable so it does the job. 

The curtains are kid's blackout curtains we found at Target that we just hemmed to the length we needed. I put some Velcro on the bottom to keep the curtain from opening freely when in motion. 

Nothing too exciting here, I just picked up a nicely sized bin for some more storage. There was a crumbling basket already there that was just cracked and broken and full of odd parts like spare wheels to the fridge. 

It gives me a nice place to toss some keys or perhaps a water bottle or two.

Then we got some cheap adorable dash accessories- some lucky cats to bring in the customers!

I still love my new seat cover and new seatbelt that we installed. The old one I had to wine and dine to get it to come out correctly so I could buckle in. 

And here's the view of my little lucky cats from the outside of the truck! They're so quirky and fun, I hope they bring me lots of customers! 

Tick-Tock Pink Clock

I took forever coming up with that title and in my head it sounds really stupid. Oh well. 

We've been spending the time after getting the decals done on the truck sprucing up the inside. We've added curtains for the window, bins for storage (secured with bungie cords so things don't go flying), some family photos, a paper towel holder, and some cute little dashboard accessories. I'll be sharing more about that later but I recently fixed up a cute retro clock and some hooks to add to the inside. 

I really have been wanting this clock for the inside but at $30, I wasn't ready to pull the trigger. I thought I could probably find something cheaper perhaps. I also wasn't sure if I wanted the clock in black. I couldn't find it in pink and the green that they carry is more on the olive side than mint.

Source

So one day, we found ourselves at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% coupon and I casually perused the clocks, not really expecting to find anything truck-worthy. 

Then I stumbled upon this retro wall clock that is so close to the original one that I had wanted. At $19.99, the price was a tad more than I wanted to spend on a goofy clock for the inside but I figured this was as good as it was going to get. 

I knew that I definitely did not want the cream color (as it would look dirty next to the stark-white of the interior walls) so I got a can of pink spray paint and went to town. I really wanted to incorporate more green into the interior because... I'm not a pink fan, really... but the right shade of mint green is SO HARD to find. So, pink it is. 

We went to Storables, which is a Washington/Oregon chain not unlike The Container Store I believe, and found these cute hooks for $4.99. They met the spray paint too!

I really tried for thin, even coats. The wind was against me a little bit. Painting the clock was challenging so I rested on that folded lip of the cardboard in the next picture to elevate it a little. 

Ta da! I can't wait to hang these up, they are so adorable and charming! 

Graphic Content

This morning we picked up Bertha from our graphics company after they spent Monday and Tuesday of this week working diligently to apply our decals. When we pulled around the corner of the building and saw the truck for the first time, I nearly burst into tears out of happiness. It's an amazing feeling looking at something that was such a long-sought and hoped-for goal that has finally been accomplished. 

Sometimes when you've got a huge task ahead of you it's hard to step back a moment and savor the little victories and how far you've come. Sometimes once you climb one mountain, you're too busy looking toward the next that you don't notice that you have climbed this huuuuge mountain! 

We still have a rather large to-do list but... just look at how awesome this looks!

What's On The Menu?

Our truck needed a menu board that we're going to hang on the middle window. We also thought it was a good idea to make a sandwich board, that way people passing would be able to see our offerings without having to stand facing the truck to read the menu. 

We stumbled upon these two chalkboards at HomeGoods. They were $39 each but considering that they were 1) already together and matched 2) cheaper than the other options I was considering (like building them from scratch with frames) and 3) adorable- Mom and I each bought one. 

We toyed with a few ideas about what to do with them and settled on using a crackle finish to give them an old time-y and worn feel. I found some crackle medium at Michael's (Plaid brand). I was going to go with Martha Stewart's brand but read some not-so-awesome reviews. Mom has used Plaid brand products for years so we thought it was a safe bet. 

I simply taped off the chalkboard and applied one layer of white paint. After the white paint was dry I liberally applied the clear crackling medium with a sponge brush and let that dry for at least 30 minutes. 

While that was drying I set to work on my main menu board that we found on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $20, a steal. The texture looks like chalkboard but it's not so we bought some Krylon chalkboard spray paint. 

I taped off the sides and gave the surface two even coats of chalkboard paint (this was my first time spray painting so I did have a drip or two, I'm not perfect, so I quickly dabbed the drip and went over it lightly). 

After the chalkboard paint was dry I did the same procedure to the menu board as the sandwich boards- white paint, crackle medium. 

This was my first time using crackle medium and it can be finicky! Only go over the surface ONCE or it will smear and look kinda goopy. 

Yeah, kinda goopy looking at the top there... :(

I think they still turned out pretty well for having never done the crackling before.

Despite my best painting tape application methods, I did have some leakage. It mostly came off with some water with a q-tip but my perfectionist tendencies didn't stop there- I used some black acrylic paint to touch it up and look really clean. I figured we aren't going to be writing on the extreme edges and it should hold up pretty well. 

My next step for the two boards was to hinge them together with some hinges I bought at Wal-mart. They were just simple, non-decorative hinges.

I thought I'd have to drill holes for the screws but the wood was soft enough for me to just screw them with a screwdriver. Just make sure the hinges are facing the right way!

I did buy some small chains that I was going to apply on each side at the bottom to insure that the board could only open so far. I tested it out with just the hinges and it stays up pretty well without them so I think I'll just save them for later. 

I'm so excited to place this outside the truck, isn't it adorable!? Ian seems to enjoy it.