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If you walked into my kitchen today, you wouldn’t find a Pinterest-perfect setup with high-end gadgets. You’d find a dusting of all-purpose flour on the counter and me with a rolling pin in hand.
I’ve never been much for the “easy way” out. Whether it’s pressing out tortillas by hand or hand-stitching a memory quilt for my son, I like to feel the work. There’s a rhythm to using a pastry blender to cut the fat into the flour—a steady, grounding pace that helps clear the “topsy-turvy” noise of the week.
The “Spiral” Songwriter
While the dough is rising, I’m usually reaching for a notebook. But you won’t find any fancy leather-bound journals here. My catalog of 180+ songs started on the back of index cards and old student spirals left over from my teaching years.
There’s something about a scrap of paper that makes the lyrics feel more honest. It doesn’t have to be pretty to be powerful. It just has to be true.
The Tech Pivot: KitchenIQ
Even with my “old school” heart, I’m still a believer in moving forward. That’s why I’m building KitchenIQ. I’m taking all those scratch-made traditions and my “Grandmama” hacks and putting them into an app that actually understands a busy household. I’m learning FlutterFlow the same way I learned to bake—one step at a time, failing until it’s right, and not being afraid to get my hands a little dirty.
Living the “Second Half”
I spent a long time throwing myself into projects as a distraction. But today, whether I’m studying for my General Lines license, coding an app, or rolling out dough, I’m doing it with intention.
Life is too darn short to wait for the “perfect” tools. You use the flour you have, the scraps you can find, and the rolling pin your mama probably used. You just start.
Julie’s “Old School” Kitchen Favorites:
The Pastry Blender: — This is the workhorse of my kitchen. Simple, effective, and doesn’t need a plug. I had to replace my old one I found at a thrift shop, it had a wooden handle…But I do enjoy the upgrade with the biscuit cutter and dough blade for splitting tortilla dough or making rolls.
A Solid Wood Rolling Pin: — Sometimes the simplest tools are the ones that last a lifetime. I do enjoy a good thrift find but the best is marble for tortillas and pie crusts, but that wood for the biscuits and breads. Either one works well or if you can have both, why not?
Bulk All-Purpose Flour: — Proof that you don’t need fancy ingredients to make something people love. You can get a great 25 lb bag on Amazon, but I also get it from HEB or Wal Mart in 10lb bags, depending on how much baking I intend to do in any given period of time.
As Cody Johnson sang so well :
“If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance
If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back
If you’re gonna love somebody
Hold ’em as long and as strong and as close as you can
‘Til you can’t”
Go chase dreams, be the light, change the world, protect the children…..
Always Julie
Mothersense and Miscellaneous 