If you've seen my cupcake menu you know it's pretty long.  Okay,  it's VERY long with 200+ flavor options.  But I can't seem to help myself by continually making updates.  You can blame it on running out of booklets.  I'm out right now (so if you need one I'll have to email you the document version) which means before printing more I might as well make a few changes...or additions!

Not all the menu changes are new flavors.  Some of them are simply changes or updates to current flavors.  For example, the chocolate toffee crunch cupcake (pictured to the left) was one of the many flavors that got a makeover.  So if you order a flavor you've ordered in the past and it looks a little different, or a little more fabulous, that just means I updated it!

There are plenty of new additions I couldn't help but sneak in.  To name a few:
-Blondie crunch
-Peanut butter lover
-Blueberry crumble
-Chocolate delight cheesecake
-Mocha chip

Plus some that I've introduced at open days or created in the last year that just haven't been added to the printed version of the menu yet!  

I'm sure many of you are thinking "why so many flavors?!"  I know it can make decisions hard when placing orders or for wedding decisions, but I love having tons of flavors so I can have different flavors at all the open days...and it's one of the things I love the most about this business; making my own flavors and creations!  So get ready for the next few open days to feature some new flavors...and the classics of course!

How long have you been coming to Steph's Sweet Treats open days?  Did you know that Valentine's Day six years ago (just over two month after I opened) was my first ever open day?  And that "open days" were never a part of my original business plan?

Six years ago, fresh into my bakery business, I put up flyers around town advertising my Valentine's Day treats.  I also posted online and was pleasantly surprised by how many people were contacting me and ordering.  I was a brand new business in town and the response was more than I could have hoped for.  So I thought, what if I open like a "regular bakery" for Valentine's Day.  My by order bakery business was confusing to most locals as it is, so I worried that by opening for walk-in business for one day would further confuse people.  

So I baked my heart out and opened my doors to the public for the first time, having no idea what to expect.  It was me and my mom, my tiny front counter and two cases I had ordered last minute because my original tray with lid idea seemed too cheap looking.  As if me and my mom using a calculator to add up every single order was somehow sophisticated enough to make the cut?  But like I said, open days were never in my plan.  The response was overwhelming in a good way and that day I made the decision that yes the public could handle the odd business set up I had in my head....you order all the time; one day a month I open to the public for a little local event. 

Over the years my counter has grown, I've added more cases (one of which now needs replacing as I've literally worked it to its breaking point), I have a register, my front room is completely different looking, and the popularity of open days has grown.

If you are new to open days you might be surprise to hear my hours use to be 6am-4pm.  At one point they were 6:30am-5pm; but over time the morning rush got so busy that I would run out of foot traffic and/or cupcakes by lunch time...so my hours shortened.

While it might be easy to say "why not just make more cupcakes so the hours can stay longer," it is A LOT easier said than done...especially now that I have a toddler and another on the way.  I try my absolute best to get as much ready for open days as possible.  If you don't already know this, or haven't ready it here before, I work the schedule I work because it means I get to still spend the majority of my day, or days, with my son.  For the most part my mom watches him while bake, then she goes to work herself; and sometimes he tags along with me and does his own pretend baking.  So while I use to spend 2am-6pm chugging a long at the bakery, these days I try to have the best of both worlds.....baking and my babies- and it works!

This year I managed to go through/sell out with 864 cupcakes and 420 cookies....by 10am!  Which is totally crazy to me.  All of you pack into my shop, line out the door, while I run around like a crazy person (no time to even keep the cupcakes in the cases so I have to run to the kitchen for every person), all for my treats.  Beyond amazing and so so grateful.  To top it off, I got to take my handsome little frosting face boy out for a mommy son Valentine's Day date!

Now into my sixth year of business, I look back and realize there's never been a year where there's not "something else" going on or some sort of expansion.  Year one- moving into a home and planning a wedding; year two and three- having a baby and building a house; year four- selling lipsense/senegence products; year five- adding a women's boutique....so it only seems fitting that year six has something in store too right?  

So what's your guess? 

No more suspense...Steph's Sweet Treats is growing with baby number two due on August 23rd! I feel like keeping the secret was even harder this time around!

If you are wondering how this will impact the business side of life I can tell you a few things I am expecting/planning for:

-Like I did with Wyatt, I plan to take and fill orders as far into my pregnancy as possible.  I filled them up until the weekend I went into labor with him and I let everyone ordering know the situation so they could "order at their own risk."

-With Wyatt I filled orders two days after returning from the hospital.....looking back I see how crazy this was.  I also see how impossible that will likely be with a newborn AND a toddler.  I took Wyatt in with me to do all my work, but taking two in is far more difficult.  So I plan to play that by ear.  I for sure am doing weddings/all the weddings I have booked.  As for other orders, I may not take orders during the week right away and may put a stricter cap on weekend orders.

- Because of the order cap I am thinking of and not doing the middle of the week orders right away, I hope to make open days a little bigger/extend the open hours when I get back to doing them IF I can get the foot traffic.   Right now foot traffic dies at 10am because people are use to be being out of product after that.  

Like I said, kind of playing this by ear.  Please don't hesitate to contact me for your orders, but also don't be surprised if I am booked or limited on flavors or what I can make for you after baby number two is born or towards the end of summer.  While I'm on the subject of contacting me, know that email or facebook message is the best and fastest way to contact me.  Stopping what I am doing and finding time to take or return phone calls (in quiet) can be a challenge.  Also give me as much information in your messages as possible- date you need the order, what you are interested in, how many people you are feeding, etc.  This allows me to respond one time and give you as much information as possible without having to go back and forth searching for the information I need from you. 

If you want to check out my other businesses click below:
Steph's Cupcake Kisses- Senegence/Lipsense
Sprinkled with Style- women's clothing boutique (all made in USA)

Thank you all for your continued support and orders!