Make Moments Sweeter
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Pricing
Pricing will depend on customization and request of product quantity. Please contact Michelle directly by phone/Facebook message OR fill out the order now link with details on the request.
Basic Flavors
Vanilla
Chocolate
Red Velvet
Margarita
Peanut Butter
Lemon
Other flavors upon request. I love whipping up custom requests! Send me all of your Pinterest dreams <3
My Sweet Journey
Meet the baker behind Simmons Sweets: A Mom of Four on a Sweet Journey
Welcome to the heartwarming world of Michelle Simmons, a remarkable woman whose life is a beautiful blend of motherhood, faith, resilience, and the art of baking.
👩🍳The Baker - Michelle discovered her passion for baking through self-guided exploration. What started as a simple curiosity evolved into a skillful craft. With each recipe, she adds a pinch of love, turning ordinary ingredients into extraordinary moments of sweetness. Her creations aren't just food; they're a reflection of her love for bringing joy and making moments sweeter for others.
🙏The Faithful Soul - Central to Michelle's life is her unwavering faith. She finds solace and strength in her love for God, guiding her through life's challenges and victories. Her faith is not just a part of her life; it's the anchor that keeps her grounded as she navigates her journey.
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My Sweet Journey
🌱The Healing Path - Michelle is on a remarkable healing journey. Life's trials have made her stronger and more compassionate. She's an inspiration to others who face their own hurdles, showing them that growth and healing are possible even in the most trying times.
💼The Recruitment Director - Professionally, Michelle is a dedicated and resourceful Director of Recruitment. She manages her demanding job from the comfort of her home, proving that a balance between a thriving career and a nurturing family life is possible.
🍰Making Moments Sweeter - Michelle will share her love for baked goods with the world. Through her blog, not only will she share recipes but also the stories and emotions behind each dish. Her culinary creations aren't just about taste; they're about creating sweet moments and lasting memories.
Join Michelle on her journey as she bakes her way through life, one beautiful moment at a time. With each recipe, she spreads love, faith, and the message that, no matter what life throws your way, it's always sweeter when you have a little faith, a dash of resilience, and a lot of love.
there’s just something about a whisk in your hand
11/02/2023
There’s just something about a whisk in your hand. The hard times, that hard moment, the sadness, the satisfaction of making something by hand just melts into the recipe. I’ve found myself many times up in the middle of the night baking just to forget because I know that when I make something for someone else it’s going to bring happiness into their life.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my KitchenAide and she’s (yes she) gotten me through thousands of orders over the last few years. She was actually a Christmas present from my husband, Clint. We didn’t have the money for it, but he knew how much it would save my hands from baking larger orders. The first Christmas that I used her for my orders she brought that bounty back to our home and bliss to those who received their orders.
If you’ve read this far or any of my other blogs you know that baking makes me happy and has been a way of letting it all go over the years. I’ve suffered a lot of loss, heartbreak, and hurt over the years but I’ve always gone to baking to wipe the tears, mend the heartbreak, and whisk my love into sweets for my family, friends, and people I’ve only encountered when picking up their orders. The late and quiet nights when all the world stops and sleeps I can be alone with my thoughts, my music, and my whisk.
There have been many times when I’ve longed to call those who have hurt me and tell them the excitement that I’ve been blessed with. The hurdles that I’ve overcome and the joy that I am finding because the ones that cut the deepest are always those who are the closest to us. So instead I go to my whisk when I don’t have them to call.
It’s crazy to think that I've come this far in my journey. Never would I have imagined that just a few years ago I would be happily married again, four beautiful babies that God has blessed me with, thriving in my career, and owning my own made from scratch bakery. I look back and I am thankful for the hurt, the doubt, and the perseverance that has brought me this far.
There were countless times that no one believed in me, chastised me for working too much and not “being there”, or simply saying I was too much. I am thankful for the heartache of forced love, the hurdles of life’s troubles, because all along I’ve learned how to love my family more, love myself, and tell others if I’m too much, go find less. I’ve learned that a love between a husband and wife can be unbreakable if we walk hand in hand and love not only in the good times but also the hard times. I know that sounds cliche but it’s real life. Clint and I have had to walk through a lot of years of hard times together and each night we still vow to love each other more the next day. He understands me, our blended family, and the life that we are trying to provide for each other.
Now life is looking a little differently and I’m not always just picking up the whisk for those quiet moments when the day has been long and the darkness has crept in. I pick up the whisk to make moments sweeter for those around me.
I think what I am trying to say in all of this is that it’s ok to have hard times, just don’t stay there forever. Find your glimmer, your hope, your higher calling, whatever you want to call it. Find it and hold tight. Grip the handle, scrape off the hurt, and bake with love each and every day because one day your joy inside will be a light for others in their happiest and saddest moments. Let those who have caused pain know, “it’s ok we forgive you too”, and whip up a new recipe, because there’s just something about a whisk in your hand.
the importance of saying, hey! you’re pretty cool
10.22.23
…life has been wildly unplanned, sporadic, and adventurous over the last eight months. We finished out the gymnastics season by watching B take 3rd place all-around at Regionals in Minneapolis, MN for level 3 Men’s and Blakester take 5th all-around at State in Lincoln, NE for level 3 Women’s. Both kiddos genuinely surprise the heck out of me their dads (yes, I said dads… they have their daddy and their bonus daddy)...how lucky are they?! B and Blakester work really hard at gymnastics and have come a long way in three short years!
Now, Miss Rhett is grinding her way up to the girls team and has been extended a spot in “hot spots”. It’s an additional class on top of her recreational-intermediate class that allows her to start learning skills that will prep her for competing! I will just put out there that words don’t even begin to describe how excited she is! She LOVES her “nastics”.
We traveled a lot during the summer for B’s baseball and Asher was 27 hours old when he received his first taste of summer baseball when we attended B’s state baseball games in Columbus this year. Ya I know I’m crazy, irresponsible, misunderstood, and irrational for taking a 27 hour old infant to state baseball, but B knew mom would be there. I think that’s what a lot of other judgy Karen’s misunderstand about my viewpoint on motherhood. Mom is GOING to be there. Asher is a “bleacher babe” and our family couldn’t imagine it any other way! What works for us won’t and doesn’t always work for others and that is A-Ok… is that A-Ok with you? :)
Outside of traveling for baseball, I coached A LOT of 8U Girls softball games and by A LOT I mean twice a week while being extremely pregnant with little Asher James. Eventually, Clint stopped me from pitching during the games and I coached a lot from the sidelines with the help of my awesome assistant coach and all of the parents that love our little chicadees! I think the most important part of coaching softball for me has and will always be instilling the love of the game for the girls and seeing them enjoy
learning the FUNdamentals.
Ok, ok… so where does the baking come into play during all of this? Baking has and will always be a source of peace and enjoyment for me. But what I love about it is that I can share the love and enjoyment of baking with the kids. I remember when Braden (B) was really little and would love helping me make ninja turtle cupcakes, carrot cakes during the holidays, and simple pancakes to add extra pizazz to our morning breakfast. Over the years we have found new recipes and experimented as well as FAILED in our endeavors. We’ve burnt a lot of recipes, gagged, and thrown things in the trash. But what is important is that together and by myself the intent to keep learning and trying has held strong.
The first time I took a wedding order for a cake I was really excited but I am pretty sure the cake tasted like shit and I ruined that part of a very special moment. Everyone makes mistakes and you learn from them. So to that bride, I’m very sorry and I can’t fix it now but I have worked really hard for years to make sure that it never happens again. Since then, I’ve catered my fair share of weddings and received positive reviews and recommendations. I think the point of all of this is that it’s ok to fail and it’s important to keep trying if it’s something that you really love. Don’t give up on your dreams just because of failure. You need to keep turning those challenges into opportunities to be better and do better. My kiddos see that and I see them trying too!
We started making cinnamon rolls together and the first few times were total disasters and we all giggled as we tried to choke down our homemade, made with love cinny rolls. *insert crying/laughing emoji* None of us wanted to admit that they really sucked…but when Clint gave his honest critic review, we knew we needed to make some changes to the recipe. Flash forward to October and the cinny rolls are one of the most requested items on Simmons Sweets menu! –don’t give up, keep trying– you never know who you are inspiring–
The last few months have been months of trial and error in motherhood and trying to be a supportive wife. The “mom guilt”, antidepressants, therapy, lots of change, and being there for my husband have been really trying to say the least. After having Asher I knew that I immediately needed to be put on something for my postpartum depression after seeing such strong signs of depression and anxiety during my pregnancy. My doctor was very supportive along with the world’s most amazing nurse, Cyndi. She honestly saved my life when helping me through some really dark moments of being able to text her and just “vent” along with my sister-in-law, Shelbi. Thank you both for loving me and supporting me as a mother in moments where I questioned a lot of my thinking.
If you are struggling, seriously, don’t wait… talk to someone about it and don’t be afraid to ask for help. I’ve done a lot of counseling and therapy in the past to help with some trauma and I recently started again because I just question a lot of why I feel the way that I do and questioning if I am the best version of myself and for others. I’ve found that a lot of what I am feeling is because of stuff that has happened in my past and that’s ok. Baking has been one of the ways that I have coped and found joy in the sadness and change.
Rhett has had some changes with her bathroom behavior and has been having some problems with having potty accidents at school and home. I think it has a lot to do with Asher and in all honesty she just doesn’t have a lot of the attention that she had before he was born. It happened with Blake when Rhett was born too and eventually, life just went back to being normal. She is trying so hard and I know it’s been hard on her with so much change. One thing that has been positive for us is baking and spending time in the kitchen together. She is and always has been a “do-er”. Her hands are always in the “cookie jar”...haha or the flour…or egg shells in the batter! So we now have “Rhett’s time in the kitchen”. That way she understands that when mommy is baking for her customer’s that it isn’t “Rhett’s time”.
Today, we made DIY caramel frappes and this brought her a lot of joy. It was my time to say, Hey! You’re really cool and I appreciate our time together <3. So again… that time spent in the kitchen brings healing, togetherness, grace, and growing and that is why baking is so important to me and allows me to make moments sweeter for others. Enjoy the little moments because today was a big moment of spending time with mommy for Miss Rhett Anna.
not all stories begin with once upon a time but they begin at one point in time
2.27.23
…and God said “be still”. Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t even know how you got there in the first place? Yeah…me too. As I sit here and think about how my journey brought me here, I think about the trauma that I have survived by being in a narcissistic marriage and relationship, enduring the emotional roller coaster of being a mom, healing through baking, and trying to find the joy in bringing joy to others when I can’t seem to bring it to myself.
Over the years I have found that God laughs when you tell him your plans and then jolts you 360 degrees full circle only for you to realize you were on the wrong path all along.
Welcome to path 3,692 of Michelle’s journey.
Currently, I am unemployed and venturing through life five months pregnant with our fourth baby all while juggling every curve ball life decides to throw at me. I cried before I started typing this blog post. …alot… I even asked my OB a few days ago if it were acceptable to take antidepressants and anxiety meds while pregnant only to find out that asking for those things is still so taboo in the year 2023 when prenatal care is at the bottom of any totem pole and mental health is the Voldemort of social society.
My path started long ago when I wanted to fix a human that I was madly in love with and found out two babies and ten years later that fixing someone just isn’t something you can
do unless they want to be fixed. Instead, I endured a decade of mental, emotional, and physical abuse. To my surprise, the trauma doesn’t really ever leave even with a shit ton of counseling, you’re not a piece of shit books, dark humor, killing people with kindness, and living for your children so that you don’t end up living for nothing.
After divorcing, I really believed I would just be a single mom the rest of my life and I was starting to be ok with that. Somehow my current husband ruined all of my dramatic plans, swept me off of my feet, and wanted to marry this broken human. He took this magical glue and started putting me back together piece by piece until I was a jigsaw puzzle that should have been displayed in a
survivor museum.
My path looked a little different now that I was in a healthy relationship with my husband and just a toxic relationship with my extended family. Remember when I said I was in a narcissistic marriage? …try on a narcissistic mother-in-law for size… *insert ad to drink Mom Waters, a delightful alcoholic beverage named after toxic mother-in-law(s)* Linda is my favorite flavor. She isn’t worth more than a few sentences so we will continue moving through this journey of how we are “here” on the map of Michelle’s new blog.
Oh ya…healthy path… I left organized labor and found myself advancing my career in a local position that didn’t require me to travel any longer. I had more time for the kiddos, their
activities, and to finally sit down and bake again. I started opening my Christmas orders and was overwhelmed by the support that I received just from posting on Facebook. I don’t know why but baking requires the jams from the early 90’s and 2000’s. When our son requests a song by Usher or NSYNC, I giggle inside knowing that I am doing something right as a mom.
In the meantime of all of this new found freedom, I started going back to school and finished my four year business degree in two years. …yeah I am bragging…but I never brag about myself, so here’s my free moment. It’s hard to find excitement in self accomplishments because the world calls you selfish if you’re not always exerting yourself for anyone other
than…you.
Although I felt accomplished it was one moment that striped it all away and I found myself unemployed. The details are messy and sometimes we don’t have to tell outside of the story in order for the book to write itself. So that’s when the failure and self loathing started to sink in and I felt the words, “be still”. I know that I talk to myself a lot, but this time it wasn’t that little voice inside my head that responded. It was someone or something different and I truly believe, God is telling me that in all of the struggle, uncertainty, doubt, hurt, and unknown, that I just need to be still.
By doing so, I have started something that I have wanted to do for a very long time. …bake…full…time…
Sounds scary, doesn’t it? It’s because it is. But I currently have no other options being five months pregnant and no employer will state that they’re not hiring me because I am “pregnant”... why… that would be pregnancy discrimination…so for now, I’ll just accept that they found another candidate who matched the profile more closely. *insert eye-roll and a gag reflex*
Maybe you’ll like my baking, maybe you won’t…but it would sure be nice if you did… Welcome to Simmons Sweets where life is raw, motherhood is rough, we are going to continue baking to heal, and hopefully get some catering orders in the meantime.