My Journey
I grew up in the city of Houston with its dense, hot Texas summers and non existent winters. It was a quaint 90s childhood which I filled with sticker collections, TGIF, and Disney movies. But most importantly my mama was my hero.
Saturday afternoons were spent watching my mom make the custard for homemade ice cream on the stove and then taking turns with my cousin churning it by hand. Hands sticky from stealing cookies from the banana pudding that just came out of the oven, and eating our weight in homemade cookies my mom would make every year for Christmas. We visited the country every summer and marveled at the beauty of the bluebonnets each year. It wasn’t perfect, but it was mine.
I have always viewed food as story telling. A way to connect, to show gratitude to those you love. Memories and traditions passed down from my great grandmother’s Navasota farm, to the small kitchen at my grandmothers house. Food in our family equaled love.
A Baking Bond
My grandmother will tell you that she never had much patience when it came to teaching anyone how to cook but rather you learn by watching her. Watch, take notes, then try. My passion was truly ignited when I moved in with her while attending to nursing school. She would turn out sweet potato pie, buttermilk pies, and bread pudding with such ease. The first cake I made at her house was a hummingbird cake. It came out a disaster but peaked my interest as to the whys and how can I make this better? I started baking every weekend, making her taste test everything along the way. I became hooked. Wanting to try everything until I eventually got it right. Browsing through her old recipes and Julia Childs cookbooks. The bond we formed in that tiny kitchen was unmatched. It is where I became alive and where my heart lives.
A Vintage Love Story
I started Vintage Confections as a way to satiate my creative spirit. To share my love for Southern cuisine and to pass it on to others. So much of what I create is an ode to all the beautiful, powerful women in my family who have taught me so much. I hope that through my stories and recipes, I am able to bring people together through the love of food. Southern food provides a comfort unlike any other and it is my goal to show others what makes it so special. I hope you decide to stay so we can bake, create, and celebrate all things dessert!! You’ll find me in my tiny apartment kitchen (still baking for my grandmother every weekend ) with my fiancé, son, and two year old pup Finn, dishing out classic Southern treats. Still curious, and always hungry for more.
Love you to the moon and back,
Lauren
