Love – The Ocelots' Den

We’re Thrilled Wedding Season is in Full Swing!

By Julia on 21 April, 2021

I had my first wedding order completed over the weekend, and I’m looking forward to sharing more answers, questions, and the behind-the-scenes of Wedding Season! My garden is in full bloom, and so are all these budding marriages!

Cake Philosophy

I am in love with love. I have always been a dreamy-eyed romantic. I have an overabundance of love and take the greatest pleasure when I can infuse it into my baking. I only bake ONE wedding cake a week. I am a solo shop, and I want my full attention on one couple at a time.

When I bake (or create anything that will be a gift). I think of the couple or recipient. I make an effort to capture their essence. I think of the happiness they will share for a lifetime. I also pray for them. I believe that this positive and loving energy is baked in and is part of the experience. I am a person full of emotions, and I don’t bake for others when I’m unsettled. (I take time to play piano, sing, take a walk through my gardens, pray, and/or call friends and family before beginning to work on projects). As important I feel it is to include all the Love + Joy when I bake, I am cautious to not let any of my negative emotions infuse into my work.

2020 was a Wet Blanket

By February of 2020, just a month after I launched my website publicly. (I had been toying with it for a few years). I had THREE weddings booked. I was thrilled. I began dreaming bigger goals! (One wedding per month!) Then as we all know, 2020 didn’t go as planned. Unfortunately, only one of my three weddings took place.

I know how hard this has been for all the brides and grooms. They are ready to get married, plus newly engaged couples are struggling to secure plans because of the backlog of 2020 weddings. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. Weddings are stressful enough without the additional challenges.

My other two weddings have been rescheduled (one is this weekend!!! I’m in the midst of making now!!) and another has been added!

I am looking forward to making spectacular memories for my joyous couples.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you can look forward to EVERY Wednesday through at least September!

Wedding Cake Alternatives
Wedding Cake Prices and Budgeting for your cakes
How to cut cakes
The history and traditions that go along with wedding cakes
DIY Tips
Cake design trends and designs I’m obsessed with
Cake Flavors
Gauging the amount of cake for your event
Cake Tastings
Cake-tastrophes
Groom’s Cakes
Themed & Character Cakes
Secret Ingredients
Cake Delivery
Cake Flavors
Gauging the amount of cake for your event
Cake Tasting Questions

Baked Goods | Cookies | Holiday | Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day Special

By Julia on 4 February, 2020

For Valentine’s day, I wanted to turn a classic treat into a delicious cookie. I love the traditional phrases, but I enjoyed taking a LOT of liberties with various other ideas and even asked a few friends for some ideas too!

I knew I needed a classic and modern collection; they were easy choices. I also didn’t want to alienate those that aren’t currently coupled or aren’t into the holiday, and my mind ran wild with the idea of anti-conversation cookies. Maybe you like Valentine’s day, and you don’t want to share the cookies. Or, you want to share some humor with some friends? Perhaps there is someone who doesn’t understand that they have been put in the “friend zone,” and they need a more explicit message?

Building my website has been nerve-wracking. Developing the courage to share it and invite others to view it has filled me with excitement, anxiety, joy, and so many other emotions. To give myself a little extra push, I decided to make a collection of encouragement cookies. A third of them are focused on “GIRL POWER,” but more broadly, they can be used for any audience that needs some inspiration.

I had a lot of “extra” ideas that I couldn’t seem to let go of, but I liked having a clean dozen in each collection. Naturally, this created the “bonus” collection. I thought a cookie that simply said “cats” was a purr-fectly clear message that said, “not interested.” My awesome SIL also thought it was hilarious, but as I mentioned it to a few other people, it didn’t really get any laughs. (Side note, my SIL and I laughed hysterically at this. Maybe it is because we are cat ladies).

Valentines-Menu

Ordering

How to order? On my menu, there is a custom order tab. Fill out the form, and in the notes section, describe the choices you desire and submit! Or you can always email me at Julia@theOcelotsDen.com.

When ordering you can mix and match as you please. Or you can order a dozen of one (or each) collection. If you order 6 or a dozen cookies, the cookies will be 6 different colors (or pairs of 6 different colors). If you order 2 cookies, I will randomly choose 2 colors.

All of the cookie orders will come in their own boxes sized based on the number of cookies.

Half-dozen cookie boxes are shown. Boxes will be chosen randomly for orders.

The cookies are large cookies based on my cookie sizing chart.