Christina Tosi

Hope, wonder, indulgence, escape, frosting…dessert has it all.

The joy trails we can trace throughout our lifetimes are very often paved by dessert memories.

When you get paid barely minimum wage and have no time to treat yourself, a five-dollar cup of coffee you can enjoy out in the non-kitchen world like a “normal person” is just about the most thoughtful luxury you can imagine.

We worked in a cold, hard kitchen where talk is cheap and the action is fast.

dare you to celebrate big moments, little moments, and everything in between. Celebrate your good days and bad days, the out-loud occasions and private turning points. Celebrate your accomplishments, especially the invisible ones that only you know about.

Celebrate your grit—even if it didn’t land you in first place—and your ability to laugh at yourself when you fall flat on your face.

just bake the cake

When terrible things happen and the bad news just keeps coming, grace isn’t easy to access. It’s hard to wake up and choose to be positive. I think joy is misunderstood as this bright, sunny thing that just happens when the stars magically align, but there’s no magic to it.

My Grandma’s greatest advice whenever I felt angry, lost, scared, lonely, or unsure was “Go sew.” Which is to say: act. When she got mad or upset, she forced herself to do something of use and taught me to do the same. Plug your brain into something else, keep your hands moving, and latch onto something—anything—productive. Act for good.