08/23/2026
Okay, sweet friends… what an AMAZING weekend! 🥹💚
Friday was my wedding anniversary, and then today I got to do something I’ve never done before - compete in the Great Cinnamon Roll Challenge at the Iowa State Fair! This is a statewide competition with bakers from all across Iowa, which made this experience feel even more incredible. 🎀
I started my morning baking at 4 AM getting everything ready, and I was SO nervous walking into the competition. There were so many talented bakers from all over Iowa and hundreds of cinnamon rolls on the tables. Honestly, I looked around and thought, “There is no way I’m going to place!”
But a couple hours later, they started announcing the winning names… and somehow, they called MY name. Not just once, but TWICE! 🥹
I placed in the following catagories
🥈 2nd Place - Lollapalooza Challenge with my Apple Pie Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls
🏅 4th Place - Caramel Rolls
The first time they called my name, I was completely in shock. My husband was sitting there with the biggest, proudest smile, telling me to get up front and accept my prize. He is truly my biggest supporter and the person who constantly talks me out of my own doubt and reminds me that I’m capable of more than I sometimes believe. ❤️
I was still trying to process what had just happened when, just as I got back to him… they called my name AGAIN! 🥹
I truly cannot put into words how surreal it felt. My very first year competing in a statewide competition, surrounded by so many incredible bakers from across Iowa and hundreds of cinnamon rolls, and I somehow walked away with TWO placements!
This competition was something I almost talked myself out of doing, but I am SO glad I took the leap and gave it a shot. It was such a fun experience and definitely one I’ll never forget!
A very special thank you to my dad for encouraging me to sign up in the first place. He mentioned this competition to me a few months before he passed away, and I knew I just had to give it a try. I knew he would have wanted me to, and I’m so glad I listened. 💚
Between celebrating our anniversary Friday, this incredible experience today, and a day tomorrow filled with snuggles from our two daughters, I’d say it’s been a pretty darn great weekend. 🥹💚
Thank you all for continuing to cheer me on, support my little baking adventures, and support my business. I’m so incredibly blessed with this life I get to live, and I don’t take any of it for granted. 💚
